1 . Zoe Chambers was a successful PR (Public Relations) consultant (顾问) and life was going well—she had a great job, a beautiful flat and a busy social life in London. Then one evening in June last year, she received a text message telling her she was out of work. The first two weeks were the most difficult to live through.” she said. “After everything I’d done for the company, they dismissed me by text!I was So angry and I just didn’t feel like looking for another job. I hated everything about the city and my life.”
Then, Zoe received an invitation from an old school friend, Kathy, to come and stay. Kathy and her husband, Huw, had just bought a farm in north-west Wales. Zoe jumped at the chance to spend a weekend away from London, and now, ten months later, she is still on the farm.
“The moment I arrived at Kathy’s farm, I loved it and I knew I wanted to stay.” said Zoe. “ Everything about
my past life suddenly seemed meaningless.”Zoe has been working on the farm since October of last year and says she has no regrets. “It’s a hard life, physically very tiring. ” she says. “In London I was stressed and often mentally exhausted. But this is a good, healthy tiredness. Here, all I need to put me in a good mood is a hot bath and one of Kathy’s wonderful dinners. ”
Zoe says she has never felt bored on the farm. Every day brings a new experience. Kathy has been teaching her how to ride a horse and she has learnt to drive a tractor. Since Christmas, she has been helping with the lambing-—watching a lamb being born is unbelievable, she says, “It’s one of the most moving experiences I’ve ever had. I could never go back to city life now. ”
1. When working as a PR consultant in London, Zoe thought she lived a life.A.satisfying |
B.tough |
C.meaningless |
D.boring |
A.Zoe lost her job as a PR consultant |
B.Kathy persuaded her to do so |
C.Zoe got tired of the city life |
D.Zoe loved Wales mare than London |
A.Tiresome and troublesome. |
B.Romantic and peaceful |
C.Mentally exhausting but healthy |
D.Physically tiring but rewarding. |
A.A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
B.Where there is a will, there is a way. |
C.A misfortune may turn out a blessing. |
D.Kill two birds with one stone. |
2 . “In only six days I lost seven pounds of weight.”
“Two full inches in the first three days!”
These are the kinds of statements used in magazine,newspaper, radio and television ads, promising new shapes and new looks to those who buy the medicine or the device. The promoters of products say they can shape the legs, slim the face, smooth wrinkles, or in some other way to add to beauty or desirability.
Often such products are nothing more than money-making things for their promoters. The results they produce are questionable, and some are dangerous to health.
To understand how these products can be legally promoted to the public, it is necessary to understand something of the laws covering their regulation. If the product is a drug, FDA(Food and Drug Administration)can require proof under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that is safe and effective before it is put on the market. But if the product is a device, FDA has no authority to require premarketing proof of safety or effectiveness. If a product already on the market is a danger to health, FDA can request the producer or distributor to remove it from the market voluntarily, or it can take legal action, including seizure(查封)of the product.
One notable case a few years ago involved an electrical device called the Relaxacisor, which had been sold for reducing the waistline. The Relaxacisor produced electrical shocks to the body through contact pads. FDA took legal action against the distributor to stop the sale of the device on the grounds that it was dangerous to health and life.
Obviously, most of the devices on the market have never been the subject of court proceedings(法律诉讼),and new devices appear continually. Before buying, it is up to the consumer to judge the safety or effectiveness of such items.
1. It can be inferred that the ads mentioned in the text are . .A.objective | B.costly | C.unreliable | D.illegal |
A.The court is in charge of removing dangerous products. |
B.New products are more likely to be questionable. |
C.The production of a device must be approved by FDA. |
D.The promoters usually just care about profits. |
A.if it is a drug |
B.if it is a device |
C.if its consumers make complaints |
D.if its distributors challenge FDA’s authority |
A.a product which was designed to produce electricity |
B.a product whose distributor was involved in a legal case |
C.a successful advertisement of a beauty product |
D.an example of a quality beauty product |
A.make consumers aware of the promoters’ false promises |
B.show the weakness of the law on product safety |
C.give advice on how to keep young and beautiful |
D.introduce the organization of FDA |
Social support cushions stress in a number of ways. First, friends, relatives and co-workers may let us know that they value us. Our self-respect is strengthened when we feel accepted by others in spite of our faults and difficulties. Second, other people often provide us with informational support. They help us to define and understand our problems and find solutions to them. Third, we typically find social companionship supportive. Taking part in free-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting (转移注意力) us from our worries and troubles. Finally, other people may give us instrumental support — money aid, material resources, and needed services — that reduces stress by helping us resolve and deal with our problems.
1. Interpersonal relationships are important because they can _______.
A.make people live more easily |
B.smooth away daily problems |
C.deal with life changes |
D.cure types of illnesses |
A.lies in the social medical care systems which support them |
B.has much to do with the amount of support they get from others |
C.depends on their ability to deal with daily worries and troubles |
D.is related to their courage for dealing with major life changes |
A.Takes place of. | B.Makes up of. |
C.Lessens the effect of. | D.Gets rid of. |
A.instrumental support | B.informational support |
C.social companionship | D.the strengthening of self-respect |
A.Interpersonal relationships. |
B.Kinds of social support. |
C.Ways to deal with stress. |
D.Effects of stressful conditions. |
4 . There were smiling children all the way.Clearly they knew at what time the train passed their homes and they made it their business to stand along the railway,wave to complete strangers and cheer them up as they rushed towards Penang.Often whole families stood outside their homes and waved and smiled as if those on the trains were their favorite relatives.This is the simple village people of Malaysia.I was moved.
I had always traveled to Malaysia by plane or car,so this was the first time I was on a train.I did not particularly relish the long train journey and had brought along a dozen magazines to read and reread.I looked about the train.There was not one familiar face.I sighed and sat down to read my Economics.
It was not long before the train was across the Causeway and in Malaysia.Johore Baru was just another city like Singapore,so I was tired of looking at the crowds of people as they hurried past.As we went beyond the city,I watched the straight rows of rubber trees and miles and miles of green.Then the first village came into sight.Immediately I came alive;I decided to wave back.
From then on my journey became interesting.I threw my magazines into the waste basket and decided to join in Malaysian life.Then everything came alive.The mountains seemed to speak to me.Even the trees were smiling.I stared at everything as if I was looking at it for the first time.
The day passed fast and I even forgot to have my lunch until I felt hungry.I looked at my watch and was surprised that it was 3:00 pm.Soon the train pulled up at Butterworth.I looked at the people all around me.They all looked beautiful.When my uncle arrived with a smile,I threw my arms around him to give him a warm hug (拥抱).I had never done this before.He seemed surprised and then his weather-beaten face warmed up with a huge smile.We walked arm in arm to his car.
I looked forward to the return journey.
1. The author expected the train trip to be .A.adventurous | B.pleasant |
C.exciting | D.dull |
A.The friendly country people. |
B.The mountains along the way. |
C.The crowds of people in the streets. |
D.The simple lunch served on the train. |
A.choose | B.enjoy |
C.prepare for | D.carry on |
A.Johore Baru. | B.The Causeway. |
C.Butterworth. | D.Singapore. |
A.Comfort in traveling by train. |
B.Pleasure of living in the country. |
C.Reading gives people delight. |
D.Smiles brighten people up. |
Later that evening, I
We moved to Indiana in 1962, and Michael studied at Concordia High School in the same year. He got
Michael
On graduation day in 1972, Frank and I
Interestingly, Michael then
Children often do as
A.joy | B.surprise | C.dislike | D.disappointment |
A.tearfully | B.fearfully | C.cheerfully | D.hopefully |
A.student | B.son | C.friend | D.doctor |
A.argued | B.realized | C.decided | D.understood |
A.joke | B.mistake | C.warning D wonder |
A.specially | B.strictly | C.naturally | D.carefully |
A.poor | B.good | C.average | D.standard |
A.in | B.about | C.of | D.for |
A.visited | B.chose | C.passed | D.entered |
A.allowed | B.described | C.required | D.offered |
A.missed | B.held | C.delayed | D.attended |
A.high | B.same | C.low | D.different |
A.curiously | B.eagerly | C.calmly | D.jokingly |
A.faith | B.interest | C.pride | D.delight |
A.looked for | B.asked for | C.waited for | D.prepared for |
A.received | B.accepted | C.organized | D.discussed |
A.imperfect | B.impossible | C.uncertain | D.unsatisfactory |
A.honestly | B.much | C.well | D.bravely |
A.hear | B.learn | C.expect | D.speak |
A.wise | B.rude | C.shy | D.stupid |
I hadn’t thought about that story for a long time but something that happened last week brought it back to me. I went to speak with a friend. When I knocked on the door, I met in an instant an angry look and a few harsh(尖刻的)words. When the door was slammed(砰地关上)in my face, I stood there shocked, and in a rush, I was reminded of my dog bit my father 20 years ago or so. What brought that story back was that same feeling of betrayal.
Both stories taught me something the next day. You see, when I got up in the morning and was told my dog had died, it became clear to me that he must have been in great pain. For him to have bitten a family member, he could not have been himself. Much the same for the other story when I learned that my friend’s wife had just left him.
We are all beings of our environments, our opinions and feelings. And all of those things can cause you to say and do things that can’t be understood by those who are not in the same situation with you.
If you meet someone either behaving out of character or acting in a way that doesn’t seem to fit the situation, put out your hand and be patient when you think it is least possible for him to do so. You may turn around a story that has a sad ending simply by your actions.
1. The incident that happened when the author was four______.
A.hurt the author’s feeling deeply |
B.has puzzled the author ever since |
C.left a deep impression on the author |
D.made the author dislike dogs |
A.His friend’s attitude. |
B.The photo of the dog. |
C.His father’s wound. |
D.His friend’s suffering. |
A.he was bad-tempered |
B.he was suffering the pain of losing his wife |
C.he was bothered by an unexpected visit |
D.they once quarreled and he couldn’t forgive the author |
A.Misunderstanding should be removed in time. |
B.Sometimes one will be hurt without any reason. |
C.Many people think more of themselves and less of others. |
D.Many factors will affect one’s behavior. |
A.Help those in need. |
B.Look before you leap. |
C.Learn to understand others. |
D.Tolerance is a kind of virtue. |
The evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families. But it seems that four out of five young people now get on with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly held image(印象)of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.
An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past.” We were surprised by just how positive today’s young people seen to be about their families,” said one member of the research team.” They’re expected to be rebellious(叛逆的) and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well. There’s more negotiation(商议) and discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. They don’t want to rock the boat.”
So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their children as friends.” My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me,” says 17-years-old Daniel Lazall. ”I always tell them when I’m going out clubbing. As long as they know what I’m doing, they’re fine with it.” Susan Crome, who is now 21,agrees.”Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call negotiation. For example, as long as I’d done all my homework, I could go out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that.”
Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected. It is possible that the idea of teenagers rebellion is not rooted in real facts. A researcher comments,” Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period in our social history when teenagers were regarded as different beings. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth change from helping out with the family business to taking it over.”
1. What is the popular images of teenagers today?
A.They worry about school |
B.They dislike living with their parents |
C.They have to be locked in to avoid troubles |
D.They quarrel a lot with other family members |
A.share family responsibility | B.cause trouble in their families |
C.go boating with their family | D.make family decisions |
A.go to clubs more often with their children |
B.are much stricter with their children |
C.care less about their children’s life |
D.give their children more freedom |
A.may be a false belief | B.is common nowadays |
C.existed only in the 1960s | D.resulted from changes in families |
A.Negotiation in family | B.Education in family |
C.Harmony in family | D.Teenage trouble in family |
However, it wasn’t all sweetness and light. There was a reported coldness between the cat and dog in 25% of the homes, while aggression and fighting were observed in 10% of the homes. One reason for this is probably that some of their body signals were just opposite. For example, when a cat turns its head away it signals aggression, while a dog doing the same signals submission.
In homes with cats and dogs living peacefully, researchers observed a surprising behaviour. They are learning how to talk each other’s language. It is a surprise that cats can learn how to talk ‘Dog’, and dogs can learn how to talk ‘Cat’.
What’s interesting is that both cats and dogs have appeared to develop their intelligence. They can learn how to read each other’s body signals, suggesting that the two may have more in common than we previously suspected. Once familiar with each other’s presence and body language, cats and dogs can play together, greet each other nose to nose, and enjoy sleeping together on the sofa. They can easily share the same water bowl and in some cases groom (梳理) each other.
The significance of the research on cats and dogs may go beyond pets ─ to people who don’t get along, including neighbors, colleagues at work, and even world superpowers. If cats and dogs can learn to get along, surely people have a good chance.
1. The underlined word “swimmingly” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ________.
A.early | B.sweetly | C.quickly | D.smoothly |
A.they are cold to each other | B.they look away from each other |
C.they misunderstood each other’s signals | D.they are introduced at an early age |
A.They eat and sleep each other. |
B.They observe each other’s behaviors. |
C.They learn to speak each other’s language. |
D.They know something from each other’s voices. |
A.have common interests | B.are less different than was thought |
C.have a common body language | D.are less intelligent than was expected |
A.We should learn to live in harmony. |
B.We should know more about animals. |
C.We should live in peace with animals. |
D.We should learn more body languages. |
For thousands of years, Polynesian people lived the remote island of Nauru, far from western civilization. The first European to arrive was John Fearn in 1798. He was the British captain of the Hunter, a whaling ship. He called the island Pleasant Island.
However, because it was very remote, Nauru had little communication with Europeans at first. The whaling ships and other traders began to visit, bringing guns and alcohol. These elements destroyed the social balance of the twelve family groups on the island. A ten-year civil war started, which reduced the population from 1,400 to 900.
Nauru’s real troubles began in 1899 when a British mining company discovered phosphate(磷酸盐)on the island. In fact, it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate, which a very important fertilizer for farming. The company began mining the phosphate.
A phosphate mine is not a hole in the ground; it is a strip mine. When a company strip-mines, it removes the top layer of soil. Then it takes away the material it wants. Strip mining totally destroys the land. Gradually, the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon.
In 1968, Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world. Every year the government received millions and millions of dollars for its phosphate.
Unfortunately, the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars. In addition, they used millions more dollars for personal expenses. Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem — their phosphate was running out. Ninety percent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing. By 2000, Nauru was financially ruined. Experts say that it would take approximately $433,600,000 and more than 20 years to repair the island. This will probably never happen.
1. What might be the author's purpose in writing the text?
A.To seek help for Nauru's problems. |
B.To give a warning to other countries. |
C.To show the importance of money. |
D.To tell a heartbreaking story of a war. |
A.Rich and powerful. | B.Modern and open. |
C.Peaceful and attractive. | D.Greedy and aggressive. |
A.soil pollution | B.phosphate overmining |
C.farming activity | D.whale hunting |
A.Its leaders misused the money. |
B.It spent too much repairing the island. |
C.Its phosphate mining cost much money. |
D.It lost millions of dollars in the civil war. |
A.The ecological damage is difficult to repair. |
B.The leaders will take the experts'words seriously. |
C.The island was abandoned by the Nauruans. |
D.The phosphate mines were destroyed. |