1 . Which comes first, happiness or money? Are richer people happier? And if so, how do people get much richer? A recent study could tell you the answer.
The study looked into thousands of teenagers and found that those who felt better about life as young adults tended to have higher incomes by the time they turned 29. Those who were happiest earned an average of $8, 000 more than those who were the most depressed.
The researchers, from University College London and the University of Warwick, say that very gloomy teens, no matter how tall or smart they were, earned 10% less than their peers, while the happier ones earned up to 30% more.
Happier teenagers have an easier time getting through school, college and a job interview, chiefly because they always feel better about life. It may also be true that happier people find it easier to make friends, who are often the key to homework help or networking.
A report in June suggested that professional respect was more important than dollars in terms of workplace happiness. In August scientists announced that they had found the gene for happiness in women, Alas (the same gene doesn't appear to have the same effect on men). And in October researchers in the UK and in the US announced that people who eat seven portions of fruit and vegetables a day report being the happiest.
The big question is: if it really is true that happier kids end up being wealthier kids, is it necessary for parents to get their kids to do the homework? The fact is that no homework will make kids happy but surely hurt their grades. Studies do show, after all, that more education leads to better-paid jobs, which may give us a deep thought.
"These findings show that the teenagers’ happiness is important to their future success," one of the report's authors writes. "But what is the most important is that we should find a way to help children gain more satisfaction from doing schoolwork."
1. What conclusion can the researchers draw from the recent study?| A．Happy teenagers grow up to be wealthier. |
| B．Money can make people become happier. |
| C．Wealth has nothing to do with happiness at all. |
| D．Schoolwork can help teens achieve success. |
| A．they are easy to communicate with others |
| B．they are good at doing their schoolwork |
| C．they are hopeful and optimistic about their life |
| D．they eat much more fruit and vegetables a day |
| A．upset | B．glorious |
| C．happy | D．wealthy |
| A．The way to educate kids | B．The source of happiness |
| C．How to achieve your goal | D．The secret of being wealthier |
2 . Any car accident is frightening, but an accident in which your vehicle is thrown into the water, with you trapped inside, is absolutely terrifying.
Brace yourself for impact (撞击力). As soon as you're aware that you're going off the road and into a body of water, adopt a brace position. The impact could set off the airbag system in your vehicle, so you should place both hands on the steering wheel in the “ten and two” position.
Undo your seat belt.
Break the window. If you aren’t able to open the window, or it only opens halfway, you’ll need to break it with an object or your foot. It may feel counterintuitive (有悖常理的) to let water into the car.
Escape when the car has equalized. If it has reached the dramatic stage where the car cabin has been filled with water and it has become balanced, you must move quickly and effectively to ensure your survival.
| A．Open the window as soon as you hit the water. |
| B．Surviving a sinking car is not as difficult as you think. |
| C．It takes 60 to 120 seconds for a car to fill up with water usually. |
| D．Such accidents are particularly dangerous due to the risk of drowning. |
| E．In conclusion, if you know what to do in the water, you will be safe. |
| F．This is the first thing to attend to, yet it often gets forgotten in the panic. |
| G．But the sooner the window is open, the sooner you can escape directly through it. |
At the age of three, many children go to nursery school. Two or three years later, they enter a primary school. At the age of 11 they go to a secondary school. Then they may have a chance .of continuing their studies at a university or college.
Universities and colleges are places where some young people go to continue their education after leaving school. Most university students study one main subject, though they may also study a number of others. Teaching is usually by lectures, or by discussions between a lecturer and students.
Most students stay at university for three or four years. At the end of that, they take an examination. If they pass, they receive their Bachelor’s degree, usually a BA, which is short for Bachelor of Arts, or a BS for Bachelor of Science. Some students study for several more years in order to get higher degree, such as a MA or a PhD
Most university courses don’t train students to do a certain job. Colleges, on the other hand, usually teach skills which enable students to follow a career（职业）, such as clothing design, or business studies.
1. The passage mainly tells us_______.
| A．Something about the private schools in developed countries |
| B．How developed countries pay attention to education |
| C．Some general information about education in developed countries |
| D．Why education is important |
| A．Because the children don’t have money to go to school. |
| B．Because the government want their citizens to be useful to the country. |
| C．Because education doesn’t cost the country too much money. |
| D．Because there are not enough private schools. |
| A．the cities | B．members of a country |
| C．the children | D．people who lives in cities |
| A．All the university students study one subject. |
| B．After studying at the university for three or four years, all the students can get a Bachelor’s degree. |
| C．Students usually receive a master’s degree before receiving a Bachelor’s degree. |
| D．Unlike university, colleges usually teach students some useful skills for a career |
4 . At one time, computers were expected largely to remove the need for paper copies of documents(文件) because they could be stored electronically. But for all the texts that are written, stored and sent electronically, a lot of them are still ending up on paper.
It is difficult to measure the quantity of paper used as a result of use of Internet-connected computers, although just about anyone who works in an office can tell you that when e-mail is introduced, the printers start working overtime. “I feel in my bones this revolution is causing more trees to be cut down,” says Ted Smith of the Earth Village Organization.
Perhaps the best sign of how computer and Internet use pushes up demand for paper comes from the high-tech industry itself, which sees printing as one of its most promising new markets. Several Internet companies have been set up to help small businesses print quality documents from a computer. Earlier this week Hewlett-Packard Co. announced a plan to develop new technologies that will enable people to print even more so they can get a hard copy of a business document, a medical record or just a on-line e-mail, even if they are nowhere near a computer. As the company sees it, the more use of the Internet the greater demand for printers.
Does all this mean environmental concerns (环境问题) have been forgotten? Some activists suggest people have been led to believe that a lot of dangers to the environment have gone away.
“I guess people believe that the problem is taken care of, because of recycling（回收利用）,” said Kelly Quirke, director of the Rainforest Action Network in San Francisco. Yet Quirke is hopeful that high-tech may also prove helpful. He says printers that print on both sides are growing in popularity.
The action group has also found acceptable paper made from materials other than wood, such as agricultural waste.
1. The growing demand for paper in recent years is largely due to ________.| A．the rapid development of small businesses |
| B．the opening up of new markets |
| C．the printing of high quality copies |
| D．the increased use of the Internet |
| A．to encourage printing more quality documents |
| B．to develop new printers using recycled paper |
| C．to find new materials for making paper |
| D．to plant more fast-growing trees |
| A．people are concerned about the environment |
| B．printers in many offices are working overtime |
| C．small companies need more hard copies |
| D．they see a growing market for printers |
| A．Computers and Printers |
| B．E-mail and the Business World |
| C．Internet Revolution and Environment |
| D．Modern Technology and New Markets |
5 . Make Up Your Mind to Succeed
Kind-hearted parents have unknowingly left their children defenseless against failure. The generation born between 1980 and 2001 grew up playing sports where scores and performance were played down because “everyone’s a winner.” And their report cards sounded more positive (正面的) than ever before. As a result, Stanford University professor Carol Dweck, PhD, calls them “the overpraised generation.”
Dweck has been studying how people deal with failure for 40 years. Her research has led her to find out two clearly different mind-sets that have a great effect on how we react to it. Here’s how they work:
A fixed mind-set is grounded in the belief that talent is genetic - you’re a born artist, point guard, or numbers person. The fixed mind-set believes it’s sure to succeed without much effort and regards failure as personal shame. When things get difficult, it is quick to blame, lie, and even stay away from future difficulties.
On the other hand, a growth mind-set believes that no talent is entirely heaven-sent and that effort and learning make everything possible. Because the ego (自尊) isn’t on the line as much, the growth mind-set sees failure as a chance rather than shame. When faced with a difficulty, it is quick to rethink, change and try again. In fact, it enjoys this experience.
We are all born with growth mind-sets. (Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to live in the world.) But parents, teachers, and instructors often push us into fixed mind-sets by encouraging certain actions and misdirecting praise. Dweck's book, Mind-set: The New Psychology of Success, and online instructional program explain this in depth. But she says there are many little things you can start doing today to make sure that your children, grandchildren and even you are never defeated by failure.
1. What does the author think about the generation born between 1980 and 2001?________________.| A．They don’t do well at school. |
| B．They are often misunderstood. |
| C．They are eager to win in sports. |
| D．They are given too much praise. |
| A．doesn’t want to work hard |
| B．cares a lot about personal safety |
| C．cannot share his ideas with others |
| D．can succeed with the help of teachers |
| A．Admitting failure is shameful. |
| B．Talent comes with one’s birth. |
| C．Scores should be highly valued. |
| D．Getting over difficulties is enjoyable. |
| A．Encourage them to learn from failures. |
| B．Prevent them from making mistakes. |
| C．Guide them in doing little things. |
| D．Help them grow with praise. |
6 . Keeping a busy social life among lots of friends may keep people thinner than spending hours doing some exercises, according to scientists. They say that socialising and meeting with friends help increase levels of brown fat in the body which burns calories(卡路里)to produce heat.
Living in an exciting social environment was found to reduce fat in mice's belly by half over four weeks, even if they ate more. US researchers say that social excitement aids weight loss by turning white fat into brown. White fat stores calories and makes us fatter, while brown burns energy to produce heat. Turning white fat into brown is extremely difficult，normally requiring long- term stay in cold conditions or exciting part of the body's nervous system.
However, scientists from Ohio State University now think that having a busy social life is an even more effective way of changing white fat into brown. The team came up with their theory by studying the effects of various living environments on mice. Those, who lived alongside a greater number of mice, had more space and toys to excite themselves and then lost far more weight over the course of the study than their “couch potato" fellows.
Study author, Dr Matthew During, whose team's findings appear in the journal Cell Metabolism, said, "I'm still amazed at the degree of fat loss that occurs." Explaining how new technology had threatened face-to-face socialising, he added, "It's not just a sedentary(久坐 的)lifestyle and high calorie foods, but an increasing lack of social activities." Co-author Dr Lei Cao said，"Loneliness is a potential factor for cancer and death; it's equal to cigarette smoking to a certain extent. Social activities are very vital.，，
1. What information can we get from the first two paragraphs?
| A．Brown fat stores calories and makes us fatter. |
| B．It doesn't take long to turn white fat into brown. |
| C．Social excitement helps gain more weight. |
| D．Brown fat can burn energy to produce heat. |
| A．Levels of brown fat can be increased by socialising. |
| B．The mice lacking social life lose more weight. |
| C．The research findings haven't been published so far. |
| D．Dr Matthew During wasn't convinced of the result. |
| A．the fat in mice's belly was reduced because of the relaxing environment |
| B．a sedentary lifestyle and high calories foods influence people's social life |
| C．surfing the Internet may influence people's face-to-face communication |
| D．cancer and death are mainly caused for lack of social life |
| A．Brown fat is beneficial to people's health. |
| B．Socialising is unnecessarily important in people's daily life. |
| C．White fat can be changed into brown fat. |
| D．Socialising contributes to people's losing weight. |
7 . Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But it also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realize just how much unnecessary material we are collecting. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.
1. What does the underlined word “over-consumption” refer to?| A．Using too much packaging. |
| B．Recycling too much waste. |
| C．Making more products than necessary. |
| D．Having more material than is needed. |
| A．the tendency of cutting household waste |
| B．the increase of packaging recycling |
| C．the rapid growth of supermarkets |
| D．the fact of packaging overuse |
| A．Unpackaged products are of bad quality. |
| B．Supermarkets care more about packaging. |
| C．It is improper to judge quality by packaging. |
| D．Other products are better packaged than food. |
| A．Fighting wastefulness is difficult. |
| B．Needless material is mostly recycled. |
| C．People like collecting recyclable waste. |
| D．The author is proud of his consumer culture. |
University tuition fees (学费) are currently capped at £3,000 annually, but this will be reviewed next year and the Government is under enormous pressure to raise the ceiling.
In the researeh, the teenagers were presented with die terms of four different loans but 76 per cent failed to identify the cheapest. The young people also predicted that they would be earning on average £ 31.000 by the age of 25, although the average salary for those aged 22 to 29 is just £ 17,815. The teenagers expected to be in debt when they finished university or training, although half said that they assumed the debts would be less than £ 10.000. Average debts for graduates are £ 12，363.
Stephen Moir, head of community investment at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group which owns NatWest, said. "The more exposed young people are to financial issues, and the younger they become aware of them, the more likely they are to become responsible, forward-planning adults who manage their finances confidently and effectively."
Ministers are deeply concerned about the financial pressures on teenagers and young people because of student loans and rising housing costs. They have just introduced new lessons in how to manage debts. Nikki Fairweathcr. aged 15. from St Helens, said that she had benefited from lessons on personal finance, but admitted that she still had a lot to learn about money.
1. Which of the following can be found from the five-year researeh project?
| A．Students understand personal finances differently. |
| B．University tuition fees in England have been rising. |
| C．Teenagers tend to overestimate their future earnings. |
| D．The students' payback ability has become a major issue. |
| A．to raise the student loans | B．to improve the school facilities |
| C．to increase the upper limit of the tuition | D．to lift the school building roofs |
| A．are too young 10 be exposed 10 financial issues |
| B．should learn 10 manage their finances wellC- should maintain a positive attitude when facing loans |
| C．benefit a lot from lessons on personal finance |
| A．Many British teenagers do not know money matters well |
| B．Teenagers in Britain are heavily burdened with debts. |
| C．Financial planning is a required course at college. |
| D．Young people should become responsible adults. |
Everyone knows that the Frenchmen are romantic, the Italians are fashionable and the Germans are serious. Are these just stereotypes or is there really such a thing as national character? And if there is, can it affect how a nation succeed or fail?
At least one group of people is certain that it can. A recent survey of the top 500 entrepreneurs (企业家) in the UK found that 70% felt that their efforts were not appreciated by the British public. Britain is hostile (敌意的) to success, they said. It has a culture of jealousy (嫉妒).
Scientists at Warwich University in the UK recently tested this idea. They gathered a group of people together and gave each an imaginary amount of money.
“It is not really success that the British dislike,” says Carey Cooper, a professor of management at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. “It’s people using their success in a way that seems proud or unfair or which separates them from their roots.”
| A．This seems to prove that the entrepreneurs were right to complain. |
| B．The one who owns most money in the end is the winner. |
| C．As a result, the survey said, entrepreneurs were “unloved, unwanted and misunderstood.” |
| D．It is not true that British people are born jealous of others` success. |
| E．Some were given a little, others a great deal. |
| F．But instead of being happy they complain that nobody loves them. |
| G．Perhaps it is the entrepreneurs who are the problem. |
10 . They like using the Internet. They have lots of pocket money to spend．And they spend a higher proportion of it online than the rest of us. Teenagers are just the sort of people an online seller is interested in, and the things they want to buy — games, CDs and clothing — are easily sold on the Web.
But paying online is a tricky business for consumers who are too young to own credit cards. Most have to use a parent’s card. They want a service that allows them to spend money.
That may come sooner than they think: new ways to take pocket money into cyber (网络的) space are coming out rapidly on both sides of the Atlantic. If successful, these products can stimulate (刺激)online sales.
In general, teenagers spend huge amounts: $153bn (billion) in the US last year and ￡20bn annually in the UK．Most teenagers have access to the Internet at home or at school — 88 percent in the US, 69 percent in the UK. According to the Jupiter Research, one in eight of those with Internet access has bought something online — mainly CDs and books.
In most cases, parents pay for these purchases with credit cards, an arrangement that is often unsatisfactory for them and their children. Pressing parents to spend online is less productive than pressing on the high street. They are more likely to ask “Why?” if you ask to spend some money online.
One way to help teenagers change notes and coins into cyber cash is through prepaid cards such as Internet Cash in the US and Smart cards in the UK. Similar to those for pay-as-you-go mobile telephones, they are sold in amounts such as￡20 or $50 with a concealed (隐藏的) 14-digit number that can be used to load the cash into an online account.
1. What does the word “They” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Sellers. | B．Buyers. |
| C．Teenagers. | D．Parents. |
| A．More than half of the teenagers in the US and the UK have Internet access． |
| B．Teenagers pay for goods online with their own credit cards. |
| C．Most teenagers in the US and the UK have bought something online. |
| D．Teenagers found it easier to persuade parents to buy online than in a shop. |
| A．a new machine | B．special coins and notes |
| C．prepaid cards | D．pay-as-you-go mobile phones |
| A．Online shopping traps. | B．Internet users in the US and the UK. |
| C．New credit cards for parents. | D．The arrival of cyber pocket money. |
