1 . The secret to happiness is keeping busy, research has found.Keeping the mind occupied with tasks—no matter how meaningless—keeps off negative emotions, the study found.

However, the bad news is that humans are seemingly born to be lazy in order to save energy, according to Professor Christoper Hsee, a behavioral scientist at Chicago University.

In a study, 98 students were asked to complete two surveys. After they had completed the first, they were made to wait 15 minutes to receive the next one. They were given a choice of either banding in the first survey nearby or at a more distant location they had to walk to. No matter which choice they made, they received a chocolate bar. It turned out that about two-thirds (68 students) chose the lazy option. Those who had taken the walk reported feeling happier than those who had stayed put (呆在原处).

Prof. Hsee concluded that keeping busy helped keep people happy. He said the findings, reported in the journal Psychological Science, might have an effect on policies.

“Governments may increase the happiness of idle citizens by having them build bridges that are actually useless,” he suggested.

As for ordinary people, he advised, “Get up and do something. Anything. Even if there really is no point to what you are doing, you will feel better for it.” He added, “Thinking deeply or engaging in self-reflection can be regarded as keeping busy, too.”

“You do not need to be running around, You just need to be engaged, either physically or mentally.”

1. Keeping busy can make people happy because ________.

A．it can help people get rid of laziness

B．it can make people sleep better

C．it can help get rid of negative emotions

D．it can give people a sense of achievement

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Policies may be influenced by the findings.

B．The officials have taken Prof. Hsee’s advice.

C．In the study half students handed in the first survey nearby.

D．Governments can increase citizens’ happiness by building bridges.

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Everybody is born to be happy.

B．Only by keeping working all the time can you gain happiness.

C．Prof. Hsee’s finding was published in Psychological Science.

D．Keeping busy goes against human nature.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．What is Happiness

B．The Secret of Happiness: Keeping Busy

C．The Finding of Research: Do What You Like

D．Take Life correctly

2 . Saving money for the future is one of the great passions of wealthy people. The rich are getting richer because of the way they spend their money.

They are successful at controlling their expenses in order to grow their wealth. One example is Warren Buffett, one of the world’s wealthiest people. He always practices spending money wisely. He is not fond of buying expensive things. He knows the benefits of saving money.

John Poole said, “You must learn to save first and spend afterwards.” If you want to achieve your financial goal, the most important step is to save first. You can’t grow your wealth or money if you don’t start saving first. Did you know that Mark Zuckerberg, one of the youngest billionaires and co-founders of Facebook, is a great saver? During his wedding, the reception was held in his backyard in Palo Alto, California rather than in a fancy five-star hotel. During the couple’s honeymoon in Italy, many people saw them eating in McDonald’s. This guy is still wearing ordinary T-shirts to work every day. I understand why he practices saving. Saving money is important to him to grow his wealth and grow it quickly. He uses extra money to put into other businesses, investments and acquisitions.

Saving money for the future gives you protection for unexpected circumstances. You don’t know what will happen to you over the next days or weeks. And living below your means can give you plenty of room to save. You can use your savings to pay off your mortgage (按揭贷款) early. Also, people who are fond of saving money for the future can retire early.

Saving money for the future is essential. Today will not be the same as tomorrow. You don’t know when the rainy season will come. Every day is full of surprises, and to be ready for uncertainty, save now for your future.

1. What does the example of Warren Buffett explain?

A．The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.	B．Buying expensive things is not a good habit.
C．Saving money can bring us a lot of benefits.	D．Controlling our expenses helps to increase our wealth.

2. Why did Mark Zuckerberg hold his wedding in his backyard?

A．He was not a generous man although he was rich.

B．He had to save money for his honeymoon with his wife.

C．He wanted to use extra money to expand his business.

D．He was practicing the skill of saving money.

3. What does the underlined part in the fourth paragraph probably mean?

A．Spending according to your habit.	B．Saving money for tomorrow’s uncertainty.
C．Saving money for living better in the future.	D．Spending less than you can afford.

4. Which benefit of saving money is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．It makes you feel at safe when an emergency happens.

B．It leads you to live a high-quality life.

C．It helps you achieve a debt-free life early.

D．It allows you to enjoy your retirement early.

3 . 假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧ )，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除:把多余的词用斜线( \ )划掉。
修改:在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;
2.只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。

As it is reported in today’s 21^st Century, a pedestrian was walked down a street when someone dropped litter from a building nearby. Knocked unconscious, the person was sent to a nearest hospital immediately. Admittedly, we have the right do whatever we want. Besides, violating others’ rights is unacceptable. Dropping litter from a high place is impolite and dangerous, that presents a potential threat to many people. If this behavior continue, everyone is likely to suffer from it.

I think the person throwing litter randomly deserves a severe punish. All of us should devote ourselves to improve our own behavior. Most importantly, laws should be introduced by the authorities. And I sincerely hope such cases won’t happen some more.

4 . Making employees feel happy and healthy at work is good for many businesses. But it isn’t always an easy thing. A study suggests that only 33% of the U. S. employees consider themselves fully engaged （投身于）in work, while 16% are greatly disengaged, and 51% are just showing up.

But there is an exception. When it comes to employee engagement, it seems that employees in small companies are doing better. According to the same research, the largest U. S. companies are at the lowest levels of engagement, while companies with fewer than 25 employees are at the highest. And in one recent report, 75% of small business workers surveyed said they were “very” or “extremely” satisfied with their role as a small company employee.

Unlike big companies, small companies are often short of resources but the employees can get more surprises there. Small companies offer excellent career opportunities to their employees. The bosses often know their staff very well and understand their personal needs. Employees of small companies are more likely to receive free meals, paid leave, and they can even bring their pets to work.

But of course ? there are many other draws in small businesses. One of the top draws is flexible scheduling (弹性工时). Another is being able to really see the fruits of one's labor. Besides, non-cash award is also a big draw. This could be something small that reflects employees’ interests and lifestyles.

While a parental leave might lead to some financial problems, small companies may do something to improve it. “It may be impossible for a five-person team to be reduced to four for six months,” writes Camillia Velasquez, head of HR management platform, Justworks. “But it could be possible to allow new parents to take on reduced hours in a work-from-home environment. ” This kind of method has been realized in some small companies.

1. What can we know about employees in big and small companies?

A．Employees can develop better in small companies.

B．Employees can earn more money in small companies.

C．Employees in big companies are hard to be satisfied.

D．Employees in small companies are more engaged in work.

2. What can we learn from Paragraph 3?

A．Working for small companies has many benefits.

B．All the employers in small companies know every staff member very well.

C．Staff in small companies may face many challenges.

D．Staff in big companies have more material benefits.

3. Compared with big companies, what is the advantage of small companies?

A．Employers in small companies have more choices.

B．Small companies have more attractions to employees.

C．Employees of small companies may have higher salaries.

D．Employees of small companies have fixed working time.

4. What can be most probably inferred from the passage?

A．Small companies may have more employees with much happiness.

B．Big companies should learn from some small companies.

C．Employees should have their own hobbies and lifestyles.

D．Employers should pay more attention to the staff’s needs.

5 . Neuroscientists have explained the risky, aggressive or just plain baffling behavior of teenagers as the product of a brain that is somehow compromised. Groundbreaking research in the past 10 years, however, shows that this view is wrong. The teen brain is not defective. It is not a half-baked adult brain, either. It has been forged by evolution to function differently from that of a child or an adult.

The most important of the teen brain’s features is its ability to change in response to the environment by modifying the communication networks that connect brain regions. It allows teenagers to make enormous progress in thinking and socialization. But the change also makes them sensitive to dangerous behavior and serious mental disorders.

The most recent studies indicate that the riskiest behaviors arise from a mismatch between the maturation of networks in the limbic system(边缘系统), which drives emotions at adolescence, and the maturation of networks in the prefrontal cortex（前额皮质）, which occurs later and promotes sound judgment and the control of impulses. Indeed, we now know that one’s prefrontal cortex continues to change noticeably until his 20s. And yet adolescence seems to be starting earlier, extending the “mismatch years.”

The plasticity of networks linking brain regions—and not the growth of those regions, as previously thought—is key to eventually behaving like an adult. Understanding that, and knowing that a widening gap between the development of emotional and judgment networks is happening in young people today, can help parents, teachers, counselors and teenagers themselves. People will better see that behavior such as risk-taking and turning away from parents and toward peers are not signs of cognitive or emotional problems. They are a natural result of brain development, a normal part of adolescents learning how to negotiate with a complex world.

The same understanding can also help adults decide when to intervene. A 15-year-old girl’s departure from her parents’ tastes in clothing, music or politics may be a source of anxiety for Mom and Dad but does not indicate mental illness. A 16-year-old boy’s tendency to skateboard without a helmet or to accept risky dares from friends is not unimportant but is more likely a sign of short-range thinking and peer pressure than a desire to hurt himself. Knowing more about the unique teen brain will help all of us learn how to separate unusual behavior that is age-appropriate from that which might indicate illness. Such awareness could help society reduce the rates of teen addiction, motor vehicle accidents and depression.

1. What is the closest meaning to the underlined word in paragraph 1?

A．disabled.

B．unmatured.

C．intelligent.

D．effective.

2. What can we know about the changeability of teen’s brains?

A．It is a double-edged sword.

B．It is predictable and avoidable.

C．It results from serious functional disorders.

D．It is related to their brain development in the childhood.

3. The limbic system and the prefrontal cortex are mentioned in paragraph 3 to         .

A．show the differences between them

B．explain what leads to teens’ riskiest behavior

C．explain the relationship between early adolescence and them

D．show how the mismatch between their maturation of networks happens

4. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．The significance of the new discovery.

B．The important role adults in teenagers’ development.

C．Possible cognitive and emotional problems of teenagers.

D．Long-term prospects for the research of teenagers’ brains.

6 . Writing text messages (短信）while walking is dangerous. A study says it is more dangerous than texting while driving. Researchers found that there are more     1     (injure) to texting pedestrians (行人) than there are to texting motorists. Their report says walking is not as easy     2     we think. We must focus on many things at the same time to walk safely in a straight line. The researchers said that people forget how to walk     3     (proper), so dangerous things happen to them. They bump into walls and other people. They walk into cars, fall over things in the street, and even fall into holes     4    down stairs.

A professor said walking is a difficult action. There are several reasons     5     texting makes walking dangerous.     6    is that people cannot see the street. Another is that they focus on their phone keyboard instead of their feet. A final reason is that their minds are somewhere else — they are not thinking about     7     (walk) from A to B safely. The professor said over 6,000 people     8     (visit) his hospital last year because of texting. He said     9     worst cases are head damage. When a pedestrian is tossed into the air he/she has nothing     10     (protect) the head. The damage can be serious.