1 . Colors can affect (影响) our feelings. Blue is a calm (冷静的) color. If you are feeling nervous (紧张), you can wear blue clothes or stay in a blue room. Blue is also the color of sadness. When someone says he’s feeling blue, he means he is sad.

White can also make you feel calm. So you can wear white too if you are nervous. And white often means a new beginning.

Green is the color of nature. It can give us more energy when we are feeling tired.

Some colors can make you feel warm. In cold areas, people usually use warm colors in their homes, like orange and yellow. Yellow is also the color of wisdom. Some people prefer this color when they study for exams. For example, they may use yellow school things.

Red is one of the strong colors. It often makes us feel active. But this color can also mean danger. So it is often used in stop signs (停车标志) and lights.

1. Which may be NOT good for you if you are nervous?

A．Wear white clothes.	B．Wear blue clothes.
C．Stay in a red room.	D．Stay in a blue room.

2. If you are sad, you can say “______”

A．I like blue.	B．I’m feeling white.
C．I like white.	D．I’m feeling blue.

3. What colors can make you feel warm?

A．Yellow and blue.	B．Yellow and orange.
C．White and green.	D．Blue and white.

4. The word “wisdom” means _____ in Chinese.

A．智慧

B．消极

C．愉快

D．正义

5. Which is TRUE?

A．White can make us feel tired.	B．Red is often used in stop signs.
C．Orange can mean danger sometimes.	D．Green symbolizes a new beginning.

2 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. conflicts             B. tackle             C. encounter             D. instinctive             E. senses F. regulate             G. sparks             H. originates             I. immediate             J. disagreeable K. interfere

When you are frightened or feel endangered, your breathing and your pulse quicken in order to give you a better chance of either running away from the threat or defending yourself against it. When the danger is eliminated, your body returns to its pre-stress state.

Psychological stress can also be triggered in response to an external-factor, as with a fear of heights or public speaking. However, since it     1     inside our own minds and is strongly tied to out past experiences, psychological stress can also be caused simply by our thoughts about a(n)     2    event is enough to make some people anxious, even when the event is days away.

Experience plays a large role in determining what you consider as stressful. Many reactions to stress are subconscious or     3    and therefore, difficult to prevent. However, while the body’s initial reaction is hard to     4    , the choices you make can play a large role in helping keep psychological stress from going out of control.

So, what are some major types of stress?

The first type of stress is survival stress. When in fear for your safety, your body prepares to     5    the problem either by facing it or fleeing from it. Your body reacts to this type of stress by sharpening your     6    of sight and hearing and increasing your breathing and heart rate.

Another type is environmental stress, which is caused by unpleasant things you     7    in daily life. Workplace stress, which is often caused by overwork or     8    with coworkers, is one common environmental stressor.

The third type of stress is internal stress. This type of stress is caused by thinking about stressful situations that occurred in the past or will take place in the future. Being stressed is an appropriate reaction to a(n)     9    threat, but the same reactions that are helpful in the short term can prove harmful over time. Long-term-stress, known as chronic stress, can cause both mental and physical health problems. For example, many people find preparing for a job interview or to give a speech to be a stressful activity become overwhelming and can     10    with daily life if they last for days or weeks. With chronic stress, severe health consequences can be caused, including heart disease, depression, excessive weight gain, sleeplessness, and digestive problems. Long-term stress tends to weaken your immune system, makıng you more likely to contract flu or other illnesses. Furthermore, it slows down your recovery from these illnesses.

3 . A workday filled with mentally challenging tasks can make people feel worn out and desire a relaxing evening of TV shows. A study led by Antonius Wiehler of Pitié-Salpêtrìère University Hospital provides an explanation for this familiar phenomenon.

Researchers arranged for two sets of subjects to work for over six hours. The first group was assigned a difficult version of tasks, while the second was given a simple version. They measured levels of glutamate (谷氨酸) that collected in the cognitive area of subjects’ brains, finding higher levels of the chemical appeared in the first group, although both groups reported feeling similar levels of tiredness after the daylong experiment. Glutamate helps learning and memory, but too much glutamate can give rise to brain cell damage.

Also, when researchers offered financial choices, as a measure of whether the difficulty of work affected subjects’ decision-making ability, those finishing harder tasks were more likely to choose to take home an immediate reward rather than wait for a larger cash-out at a later date. “Existing theories suggested fatigue (疲劳) is an unreal feeling cooked up by the brain to make us relax,” Wiehler says. “Yet our findings provide proof that cognitive work causes the collection of bad substances, so fatigue would be signal that makes us stop working but for a different purpose: to preserve normality of brain functioning.”

“Defining what fatigue is remains a challenge for the field, says neuroscientist Matthew Apps, “but it’s exciting that this experiment provides a reasonable alternative explanation that is of great help.” He notes some areas where these findings might come in. For people in jobs requiring intense focus, burnout can lead to damaging consequences. Preventing glutamate’ building may help maintain attention. Another area of interest would be researching clinical conditions related to fatigue. The presence of glutamate might reveal why patients struggle with fatigue.

For Wiehler, open questions remain. One limitation is their focus on the brain’s specific region, so what impact cognitively effortful work has on the rest parts remains to be seen. In addition, it’s not yet clear how the balance of glutamate is restored after rest. “Maybe it leaves the brain during sleep,” Wiehler says. “There’s tons of research to come.”

1. What was found in the experiment?

A．People who work longer expect higher rewards.

B．Tasks’ difficulty greatly affects levels of fatigue.

C．Tougher tasks cause more glutamate to build up.

D．Decision-making is linked with financial factors.

2. What might the researchers agree about fatigue?

A．It bothers people in the workplace.	B．It mainly results from mental stress.
C．It signals the necessity of relaxation.	D．It serves as a protection for the brain.

3. What is stressed in Paragraph 4?

A．Reliability of the finding.	B．The practical use of the study.
C．The challenge in the cognitive field.	D．Urgency to solve fatigue-related problems.

4. What might Wiehler explore next?

A．What limitations their experiment has.

B．Whether the balance of glutamate can recover.

C．Why rest is important for the brain to function well.

D．How demanding tasks affect other areas of the brain.

4 . There’s no doubt that football is the global sport. Though basketball, tennis, and other sports are popular too, nothing comes close to football. Being played in every country in the world, football provides dozens of superstars. The numbers are greater when compared to any other sport, and this drives the popularity of football up. Have you ever wondered when the sport started and became popular?

Football has its origin (起源) in China and has a history of more than 2,000 years. However, modern football originally appeared in Britain in the 19th century. Folk football matches had been played before in many cities and towns, but never on a professional level.

Football became a winter sport game played in different schools. The rules were carried out by each school, and this made it difficult for players to play an official game with each other. It all changed in 1849 at the University of Cambridge that invented a set of standard rules known as the Cambridge rules of football. From that moment, a new star sport was born.

By the early 20th century, football had spread all across Europe. In 1904, FIFA was set up. There are seven original members, including France, Denmark and Spain, FIFA became the governing body for many associations in Europe.

England’s international success improved the popularity of the sport in the country. The league (联赛) in Britain was set up in 1992. From the 1990s, it became a truly impressive piece of football organization, becoming the world’s top football league in the process.

Football is obviously the most popular sport in the world. It is impossible for any other sport to take its place, especially with leagues spending billions of pounds every year to stay in the focus.

1. What is the author’s purpose of writing paragraph 1?

A．To describe the level of football.

B．To introduce the topic of the text.

C．To debate the main idea of the text.

D．To introduce famous football leagues.

2. Where did modern football first start?

A．In China.	B．In France.
C．In Britain.	D．In Spain.

3. Why was it difficult to play an official game before 1849?

A．The rules always changed.

B．There were no common rules.

C．The season made players hard to win.

D．Officials made players misunderstand the rules.

4. How is the text mainly developed?

A．By time order.	B．By space order.
C．By listing numbers.	D．By giving examples.

5 . It is a windy day. Glenn Gould has got a coffee cup sitting on the piano top and is working on a music written by Bach. As he plays, he gets so totally lost in the music that suddenly, he stands up, and walks in what looks like a dream to the window.

There’s a total silence. Then the Bach flows out of him. He’s still playing, but in his head. Then he turns, wanders back, sits down on a low chair in front of the piano and picks up right where his voice left off, but now with new energy.

Gould, the greatest interpreter of Bach, is a strange man. He doesn’t like to practise. Instead, he’ll prepare for concerts mentally, running the piece over and over and playing with imaginary fingers.

Gould, for some reasons, reminds me of Michael Jordan playing basketball or Etta James singing the blues: There’s a concentration that’s so deep that it feels special, like a kind of “flow”.

“When you are in it, you lose track of everything except what you’re doing,” writes neuroscientist Daniel Levitin. “There was a surgeon, who wasn’t aware that the roof of his operating room had collapsed until he was done with the surgery. In this state, what you think becomes what you do. You get blissfully lost in an activity, forgetting time, yourselves and your problems.”

How does one get there? That’s still a mystery. Practice is important. Strong will matters. Talent helps. When you find your “flow”, your brain changes. Sex, hunger and thirst matter less. You are chemically released and can now wander far and wide. Yes, you have no idea where you are or how this is happening. But once you find your “flow”, it’s one of the most wonderful experiences ever.

When I watch Glenn Gould walking back to his piano, I see a man living in heaven, if there is one.

1. How does Glenn Gould usually prepare for concerts?

A．By drinking coffee to get more energy.	B．By running the pieces in his head first.
C．By practising over and over on the piano.	D．By doing exercise in his sweet dreams.

2. Which of the following best describes being in the state of “flow”?

A．Encouraged.

B．Worried.

C．Absorbed.

D．Absent-minded.

3. What does the underlined word “blissfully” in paragraph 5 mean?

A．Happily.

B．Occasionally.

C．Unnecessarily.

D．Hardly.

4. What is less likely to help us find our “flow”?

A．Practice.

B．Will.

C．Talent.

D．Desire.

6 . What Is Your Pet Trying to Tell You

Animals want our attention, and sometimes they’re quite obviously about asking for it. Unusual behaviors are often our pets’ way of telling us to stop what we’re doing and play with them. It’s why Fido constantly chases his tail and why Kitty keeps rolling around. A desperately bored pet may have “bad” behaviors to get a reaction-even a negative one!

Feed me.

Sure, your dog loves you, but that’s not why he’s licking(舔)your face. A puppy learns to lick his mother’s mouth to get a little leftover food, so Spot isn’t kissing you in our sense of the word; he just wants a snack.

I’m stressed.

Cat owners also misinterpret their furry friends’ kisses. While a cat might lick you to show love, sometimes she’ll do it to ease herself. One way to tell if her licking is stress-related is to see if it goes on for an extended period of time. Birds also overclean when they feel anxious. Some will even drag out their own feathers.

My tail tells all.

Dogs wag(摇)their tails to the right when they see something or someone they want to approach, and to the left when they see something they want to avoid. When frightened, dogs curl their tails in, while cats wrap theirs around themselves. And if a cat’s tail looks like a question mark, she’s eager to play.

1. What does a dog show if it kisses its owner?

A．Hunger.

B．Love.

C．Fear.

D．Sadness.

2. How many kinds of pets are mentioned in the text?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．Five.

3. What will happen if birds get anxious?

A．They will drag others’ feathers.

B．They will approach someone they like.

C．They will clean their feathers more than necessary.

D．They will stare at their owners for a longer time.

7 . Within your family, are you the “boss”, the “peacemaker”, the “baby” or the “king”?     1    

Firstborn — The “Boss”

First-time parents often have very high expectations for their eldest children.     2     Firstborns tend to be natural leaders who respect and trust authority. Many astronauts and engineers are firstborn children.

Middle child — The “Peacemaker”

Typically, parents don’t give middle children as much attention as the firstborn or the youngest.     3     As a result, they are usually determined to achieve success in their own way. They don’t like conflict and will try to avoid it. They are often realistic, independent, patient peacemakers and good communicators.

Youngest child — The “Baby”

By the time the youngest family member is born, most parents have loosened their rules.     4     They often enjoy amusing others and being the center of attention. They are typically fun-loving, creative people who aren’t afraid to question authority or take risks.

Only child — The “King of the Castle”

Life in the family of an only child often revolves around him or her.    5    An only child enjoys learning from adults and is usually very clever for his or her age. Only children are creative and intelligent and can easily communicate with adults. They are typically confident, independent and very successful. What about you? Does the birth order description match your personality?

A．Thus, they tend to have more freedom.

B．That often causes them to feel they are ignored.

C．Early-born children experience a better social environment.

D．These kids don’t have to share their toys or their parents’ time.

E．Many researchers believe your position in the family influences your personality.

F．As a result, these kids are often responsible, organized, bossy, successful achievers.

G．The relationships between birth order, personality, and behavior confuse many researchers.