1 . Since we are social beings, the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal relationships. One strength of the human conditions is our possibility to give and receive support from one another under stressful(有压力的) conditions. Social support makes up of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties. Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to deal with major life changes and daily problems. People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties. Studies over types of illnesses, from depression to heart disease, show that the presence of social support helps people defend themselves against illness, and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely.

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

2. The researches show that people’s physical and mental health ________.

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

3. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “cushions” ？

A．Takes place of.	B．Makes up of.
C．Lessens the effect of.	D．Gets rid of.

4. Helping a sick neighbor with some repair work in spare time is an example of ________.

A．instrumental support

B．informational support

C．social companionship

D．the strengthening of self-respect

2 . Tim Becker and his neighbors are doing something to make their neighborhood a trouble-free area.

When Tim Becker gets in his car to go shopping, he doesn't _______ drive to a store and back home. He always looks _______ up and down the streets of his neighborhood. He looks for anything _______ such as strange cars, loud noises, _______ windows, or people gathering on street corners.

Tim _______ to a neighborhood watch group in Stoneville, Indiana. USA. The neighborhood watch group _______ on the third Wednesday of every month. That's ____ Tim gets together with about ten of his neighbors to discuss community _______. Members of the neighborhood watch group want to help the police _______ their homes, streets, and families safe.

Tina Stedman, president of _______ neighborhood watch group, agrees with Tim.

"People seem to think that crime (犯罪) happens to other people but not _______ them. Well, it's never happened to me," she said, "but I don't think anyone has the _______ to steal from other people or to make them feel _______ sitting in their own homes."

Alex, a member of the group, said that all the neighbors _______ out for one another. "We _______ each other's homes. We keep watch on the neighborhood at night and on weekends. Usually a _______ of four or five of us goes out together. If something doesn't look right, then we call the _______. For example, if we notice a group of teenagers who seem to be looking for ________, or someone destroying property (财产), we report to the police."

Alex feels the neighborhood watch groups ________ a lot in keeping crime down. Her husband Jim agrees, "Police are good people, but they can't do _______."

1.

A．yet

B．still

C．just

D．rather

2.

A．carefully

B．clearly

C．nervously

D．coldly

3.

A．familiar

B．unusual

C．expensive

D．interesting

4.

A．curtained

B．open

C．old

D．broken

5.

A．attends

B．belongs

C．goes

D．turns

6.

A．meets

B．quarrels

C．sings

D．searches

7.

A．where

B．why

C．when

D．how

8.

A．politics

B．wealth

C．health

D．safety

9.

A．keep

B．hold

C．let

D．protect

10.

A．its

B．his

C．their

D．your

11.

A．round

B．on

C．about

D．to

12.

A．right

B．chance

C．courage

D．mind

13.

A．unlucky

B．unsafe

C．disappointed

D．discouraged

14.

A．set

B．let

C．hold

D．look

15.

A．care

B．enter

C．watch

D．manage

16.

A．group

B．set

C．number

D．crowd

17.

A．judges

B．police

C．firemen

D．doctors

18.

A．work

B．burden

C．service

D．trouble

19.

A．produce

B．find

C．get

D．help

20.

A．anything

B．everything

C．harm

D．wrong

3 . You may not pay much attention to your daily elevator ride．Many of us use a lift several times during the day without really thinking about it．But Lee Gray，PhD，of the University of North Carolina，US，has made it his business to examine this overlooked form of public transport．He is known as the “Elevator Guy”.
“The lift becomes this interesting social space where etiquette (礼仪) is sort of odd (奇怪的)，” Gray told the BBC．“The elevators are socially very interesting but often very awkward places.”
We walk in and usually turn around to face the door．If someone else comes in，we may have to move．And here，according to Gray，liftusers unthinkingly go through a set pattern of movements．He told the BBC what he had observed.
He explained that when you are the only one inside a lift，you can do whatever you want – it’s your own little box.
If there are two of you，you go into different corners，standing diagonally (对角线地) across from each other to create distance.
When a third person enters，you will unconsciously form a triangle．And when there is a fourth person it becomes a square，with someone in every corner．A fifth person is probably going to have to stand in the middle.
New entrants to the lift will need to size up the situation when the doors slide open and then act decisively．Once in，for most people the rule is simple – look down，or look at your phone.
Why are we so awkward in lifts?
“You don’t have enough space，” Professor Babette Renneberg，a clinical psychologist at the Free University of Berlin，told the BBC．“Usually when we meet other people we have about an arm’s length of distance between us．And that’s not possible in most elevators.”
In such a small，enclosed space it becomes very important to act in a way that cannot be understood as threatening or odd．“The easiest way to do this is to avoid eye contact，” she said.
1. According to Gray，when people enter an elevator，they usually _____.

A．turn around and greet one another

B．look around or examine their phone

C．make eye contact with those in the elevator

D．try to keep a distance from other people

2. Which of the following describes how people usually stand when there are at least two people in an elevator?

A．

B．

C．

D．

3. According to the article，people feel awkward in lifts because of _____.

A．someone’s odd behaviors

B．a lack of space

C．their unfamiliarity with one another

D．their eye contact with one another

4. What’s the passage mainly about _____.

A．Bad manners in the elevator

B．Some unwritten rules of elevator etiquette

C．An interesting but awkward elevator ride

D．The strange behaviors in the elevator

4 . Women are friendly．But men are more competitive．Why? Researchers have found it's all down to the hormone oxytocin （荷尔蒙催生素）．Although known as the love hormone, it affects the sexes differently．
"Women tend to be social in their behavior．They often share with others．But men lend to be competitive．They are trying to improve their social status," said Professor Ryan．
Generally, people believe that the hormone oxytocin is let out in our body in various social situations and our body creates a large amount of it during positive social interactions （互动） such as falling in love or giving birth．
But in a previous experiment Professor Ryan found that the hormone is also let out in our body during negative social interactions such as envy．
Further researches showed that in men the hormone oxytocin improves the ability to recognize competitive relationships, but in women it raises the ability to recognize friendship．
Professor Ryan's recent experiment used 62 men and women aged 20 to 37．Half of the participants（参与者）received oxytocin．The other half received placebo （安慰剂）．
After a week, the two groups switched with participants．They went through the same procedure with the other material．
Following each treatment, they were shown some video pictures with different social interactions．Then they were asked to analyze the relationships by answering some questions．The questions were about telling friendship from competition．And their answers should be based on gestures, body language and facial expressions．
The results indicated that, after treatment with oxytocin, men's ability to correctly recognize competitive relationships improved, but in women it was the ability to correctly recognize friendship that got better．
Professor Ryan thus concluded: "Our experiment proves that the hormone oxytocin can raise people's abilities to better distinguish different social interactions．And the behavior differences between men and women are caused by biological factors （因素） that are mainly hormonal．"
1. What causes men and women to behave differently according to the text?

A．Placebo．	B．Oxytocin．
C．The gesture．	D．The social status．

2. What can we learn from Professor Ryan's previous experiment?

A．Oxytocin affects our behavior in a different way．

B．Our body lets out oxytocin when we are deep in love．

C．Our body produces oxytocin when we feel unhappy about others' success．

D．Oxytocin improves our abilities to understand people's behavior differences．

3. Why did Professor Ryan conduct the recent experiment?

A．To test the effect of oxytocin on the ability to recognize social interactions．

B．To know the differences between friendship and competition．

C．To know people's different abilities to answer questions．

D．To test people's understanding of body language．

4. The author develops the text by______．

A．explaining people's behaviors

B．describing his own experiences

C．distinguishing sexual differences

D．discussing research experiments