Happiness and sadness are states of being states of being that define the way we view the world. It is often said that some people by nature have a sunny character. Now scientists may have discovered why.
Some people may be hard-wired for happiness, while others are genetically negative, as
scientists have suggested in a study published in late February, in a British journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Earlier research had already established that the gene known as 5-HTTLPR plays a key role in
determining how the neurotransmitter (神经传递素) serotonin (血清素) works within the brain. Serotonin, a hormone (荷尔蒙), passes chemical messages between nerve cells. It has been closely linked to mood. Several anti-depressant (抗抑郁) drugs regulate serotonin levels. Scientists had also identified three variants of the gene. Two so-called "short" variants were linked to a higher risk of depression and suicide attempts. Unlike the two "short" variants, the "long" variant of 5-HTTLPR showed a clear dislike of negative images, such as fierce animals, and a clear liking for positive ones, such as flowers.
Researchers from the University of Essex in Britain, led by Elaine Fox, showed participants a
series of images. The images were divided into three kinds: negative ones aimed at inspiring fear or stress such as a spider or person about to commit suicide, pleasant ones and neutral ones.
“The participants who had the long variant of the 5-HTTLPR gene showed a clear dislike of negative material alongside a careful attention for positive material,” the researchers found. They paid close attention to the pretty pictures, and ignored the frightening ones. On the other hand, the short variant groups had the opposite reaction.
In January, the Australian government organized "happiness workshops", teaching government
staff how to be happy. The department that held the "happiness workshops" said unhappy staff weren't productive staff. Australian political opposition parties have argued that the "happiness workshops" are probably a waste of money and couldn't increase productivity as intended. However, whether the workshop will have a happy or disappointing result, we will have to wait and see.
67．Form the third paragraph, we know that .
A．affected by 5-HTTLPR, the neurotransmitter serotonin works within the blood
B．there are 5 variants of 5-HTTLPR genes which control people’s moods
C．how the neurotransmitter serotonin works is greatly determined by 5-HTTLPR
D．5-HTTLPR receives chemical messages from verve cells
68．What does “It” in the sentence “It has been closely linked to mood.” in the 3rd paragraph refer to?
A．Serotonin. B．A nerve cell. C．5-HTTLPR. D．The brain.
69．If a person had the long variant of 5-HTTLPR, he or she would probably .
A．like the images of spiders B．prefer the images of crocodiles
C．enjoy an image of green tress D．suffer from depression very often
70．What can we infer from the passage?
A．People’s moods can change a little bit under the influence of certain drugs.
B．Researchers showed participants of the research two kinds of images.
C．A person possesses one long and one short variant of 5-HTTLPR at the same time.
D．The author firmly believes that “happiness workshops” will not change people’s moods.
Welcome to Language upon Thames. This brochure has been designed to give you an
overview of our Language School and the courses we offer. If you have some additional questions
please do not hesitate to contact us for more information.
At Language upon Thames, we feel it is important to be flexible, in order that students can
decide what period of study suits them best.
Small Group General English Courses
These courses are aimed at students who wish to improve their speaking, listening, reading and
writing skills and are offered at the following levels:
BEGINNERS
ELEMENTARY（初级）
PRE-INTERMEDIATE
INTERMEDIATE
UPPER-INTERMEDIATE
Studying one of the above courses will enable you to use English more confidently and competently （适合地）on a daily basis.
Try our free online test to see which level you are at —CLICK HERE
Exam courses
These courses are aimed at students who wish to gain academic qualifications in English and are offered at the following levels:
University of Cambridge exams:
ADVANCED1—FCE（First certificate）
ADVANCED2—CAE（Advanced）
ADVANCED3—CPE（Proficiency）
Studying one of the above courses will enable you to continue your education or enter university in this country. （Students wishing to gain admission to a British university are normally required to have the Cambridge Proficiency Certificate.）
Speaking, Listening & Pronunciation
This course builds on communicative confidence and competence and is aimed at students who
wish to develop the important skills of speaking and listening.
Emphasis is also placed on pronunciation, with activities designed to meet the needs of
students of different nationalities, who need to focus on different areas.
CLICK HERE to register for a General English course.
Other Languages
At Language upon Thames we offer a wide range of cafes, restaurants, shops and bars. Most importantly, we have foreign language classes of French, Japanese, German, Spanish and Italian during the day, evening or on a one-to-one basis.
45．What does this passage mainly talk about?
A．An overview of the language school.
B．Ways to develop students’ language skills.
C．A brief introduction to some English courses.
D．Solutions to build students’ communicative confidence.
46．If you attend Exam Courses, you will.
A．use English more confidently and competently
B．gain academic qualifications in English
C．have better pronunciation and deal with everyday English well
D．be able to get admitted into a university for further education in this country
47．Judging from the description, we can tell that this passage must be taken from .
A．a newspaper B．a magazine C．the Internet D．a guidebook
48．According to the passage，we may conclude that the English courses offered by Language upon
Thames．
A．are flexible but with few language activities designed for students of different nationalities
B．are flexible and will meet the needs of students at different levels and with different
backgrounds
C．place much emphasis on language skills but pay less attention to the needs of learners
D．are all aimed to improve students’ communicative competence by giving classes on a one—
to-one basis
The angry locals of an English village blocked the driver of a Google Street View car who was
filming the neighborhood, saying they feared he world encourage thieves, a report said Friday.
One local, Paul Jacobs, told the BBC he had warned his neighbors after spotting the car from
his window in Broughton, Buckinghamshire, southern England, on Wednesday.
“I don’t have a problem with Google wanting to promote villages. What I have a problem with
is the invasion （侵犯）of privacy, taking pictures directly into the home,” Jacobs said.
“We’ve already had three homes broken into locally in the past six weeks. If our houses are
made noticeable all over Google, it’s an invitation for more criminals to strike. I was determined to
make a stand, so I called the police.”
After his call, a police car arrived in Broughton in response to an argument between a crowd of people and a Google Street View contractor.
“They felt his presence was a threat to their privacy. When police arrived at the scene, the car had moved on,” explained a spokeswoman for Thames Valley Police.
The Google Street View project, set up last month in Britain, aims to provide detailed 360-degree views online of streets all over Britain.
The project has already been strongly criticized by associations like Privacy International, a pressure group which has launched legal action against the IT company.
Google is confident that their new mapping project is within the law.
“Before launching Street View we sought the guidance and approval of the Information Commissioner’s Office. The ICO has repeatedly made clear that it believes that Street View includes the safeguards necessary to protect people’s privacy,” a Google spokesman said.
“The Metropolitan Police （in London） told us they saw no significant security risk, that thieves are likely to make use of the opportunities, and that mapping products can be useful in solving and mapping crime in an area.”
He added: “Engaged in new projects, we sometimes meet unexpected challenges, and Street View has been no exception.”
41．When the police car arrived at the village, .
A．the villagers were angrily arguing with the Google car driver.
B．the map car was stopped from leaving the village.
C．The map car had stopped its working and gone on its way.
D．The map car was surrounded by the angry villagers.
42．The underlined phrase “make a stand” in Paragraph 4 means .
A．stand there all the time whole waiting for the police
B．show full support to Google’s filming the neighborhood
C．attempt to defend locals by stopping Google’s filming the neighborhood
D．stand in the way to stop the car moving on
43．Which of the following sentences is TRUE?
A．Google’s mapping project has not been officially approved.
B．Three homes had been visited by thieves with the help of Google pictures.
C．The police rushed to stop a fight between locals and Google contractors.
D．It was not the first time that the Google map project had been criticized.
44．What’s the best title for the passage?
A．Google’s Mapping Project Promotes the Neighobrohood.
B．Angry British Villagers Stop Google Maps Car.
C．Google Goes On With its Plan to Film the Streets.
D．New Project Meets Challenges Again.
Since the gene, called DAF-16 in worms, was found in many animals and in humans, the finding could open up new ways to affect aging, immunity(免疫)and resistance in humans, the scientists said.
“We wanted to find out how normal aging is being governed by genes and what effect these genes have on other traits, such as immunity,” said Robin May of the University of Birmingham, who led the study.
Populations across the world are aging at a surprising pace, bringing potentially big challenges for health and social care systems. A study by Danish scientists last year found that half of babies born in the rich world today will live to celebrate their 100th birthdays. Scientists are eager to find out how people age to try to develop drugs to help them stay healthier as their lives extend.
“What we have found is that things like resistance and aging tend to go hand in hand,” May said in an interview.
May’s team compared longevity, stress resistance and immunity in four related species of worm. They also looked for differences in the activity of DAF-16 in each of the four species, and found that they were all quite distinct.
May said DAF-16 was active in most cells in the body and was very similar to a group of human genes called FOXO genes, which scientists believe play a role in the aging process.
“The fact that subtle（微妙的）differences in DAF-16 between species seem to have such an impact on aging and health is very interesting and may explain how differences in lifespan and related traits have arisen during evolution,” May said.
71. In which section may the text appear in a newspaper?
A. Education. B. Science. C. Entertainment. D. Culture.
72. According to May_________,.
A. resistance has a lot to do with aging
B. FOXO genes can be found in worms
C. genes play the same role in different species
D. new drugs will change the genes in older people
73. What can we know from the third paragraph?
A. New ways have been found to affect aging.
B. Babies in the rich world will all live longer.
C. Present social care systems are poorly managed.
D. Aging populations are causing more challenges.
74. From the text we know that DAF-16.
A. is a gene that is only found in worms
B. can make people live longer
C. has an effect on aging and immunity
D. has been quite familiar to scientists
75. What can be the best title of the passage?
A. Scientists Find Gene Linked to Aging
B. Population Aging Faster than Expected
C. How to Make People Live Longer
D. Gene Determines How Long We Live
Poorer children would be offered the chance to attend lessons on Saturday to help catch up with their middleclass peers (同龄人), the shadow schools secretary, Michael Gove, said today.The Conservatives would give English state schools the freedom to choose to have longer teaching hours and extra classes at the weekend, he told the Association of Teachers and Lecturers’annual conference.
Gove said the move would help to close the achievement gap with richer children whose parents could afford extras such as tutoring and music lessons.
He told delegates (代表) in Manchester: “For children who come from homes where parents don’t have the resources to provide additional stretch and cultural experiences, there are benefits in having those children in the learning environment, in school, for longer.”
“Parents would love to have schools starting earlier in some circumstances, and certainly going on later in the afternoon, given the reality of their working lives,” he said. He held up the example of Kipp (Knowledge is Power Program) schools in the US, which are often based in the poorest communities and open from 7:30 am to 5pm on weekdays, plus Saturdays.
But it would be up to schools to decide to offer longer hours, Gove added.
Parents said Saturday classes could become a “badge of dishonor”if pupils were forced to go, while teachers raised concerns about their workload.
Margaret Morrissey, of Parents Outloud, said: “I think the suggestion the government made about one-to-one teaching for these kids would be a more preferable way of improving these children’s performance. I’m just not sure whether taking away a child at weekends is actually going to make them cleverer in the week.”
The ATL’s general secretary, Mary Bousted, said: “If we want Saturday schools, then we need more teachers doing the extra hours, not the same teachers working longer.”
66. The program is intended for children____________.
A. who are from middle-class families
B. whose parents can’t afford extra help
C. who perform poorly academically
D. whose weekends are mostly unoccupied
67. “Additional stretch” in Paragraph 4 probably refers to_________.
A. music lessons
B. physical relaxation
C. entertainment activities
D. out-of-school improvement
68. Why did Gove mention Kipp schools in the US?
A. To make a comparison.
B. To introduce a new program.
C. To seek supportive evidence.
D. To prove his program is better.
69. What is Margaret Morrissey’s opinion about the new program?
A. Favourable. B. Doubtful. C. Optimistic. D. Acceptable.
70. Which of the following is true?
A. Teachers may not like the program.
B. Schools are trying to make profits.
C. The program is already under way.
D. The program is popular with children.
Across the United States, there are several places where two independent towns grew together to become one city — but kept both their names. 
WinstonSalem is one of them. It’s a midsized city in what’s called the plateau（high land）, between the Atlantic Coast and the inland mountains in the state of North Carolina. The Winston part is a relatively new place, founded early this century. It’s home to the nation’s biggest openair tobacco market.
The giant R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s headquarters is in WinstonSalem, and Winston is the name of one of Reynolds’bestknown cigarette brands. Fastgrowing Winston soon surrounded the much older town of Salem, so in 1913, people in the area voted to combine them into a single place.
From a historical and tourist point of view, Salem, or Old Salem, as it’s called today, is the interesting and unusual part of town.
Salem was founded in the 1700s by the Moravians. They spoke German, and their community was religiously based, with single men and single women living apart in separate dormitories. The Moravians greatly valued women’s work and brainpower. In fact, one of the nation’s oldest boarding schools for young women— the Moravians’Salem Academy founded in 1772 — is still in operation.
Over the years, Salem lost its Moravian character. That all changed, though, when a nonprofit group began to rehabilitate the historic area. These days Old Salem is what’s called a living history museum, with exhibits, music, and tours of 18th-century houses, taverns and Moravian dormitory buildings just seven blocks from the tallest skyscraper in Winston-Salem.
The historic community is booming again. Just as R. J. Reynolds is taking in millions of dollars making cigarettes across town, Old Salem is generating about S| 15 million a year in tourism revenue and donations.
61. From the passage we can know that____________.
A. Winston-Salem is the name of a city
B. Salem is home to the tobacco market
C. the city Winston-alem has two names
D. Old Salem is the name of a tobacco brand
62. It can be inferred from Paragraph 3 that__________.
A. the two cities benefited each other
B. Salem developed faster than Winston
C. R.J. Reynolds Company has moved into Salem
D. the combination meets the wishes of the people
63. The city Salem is special for its__________.
A. boarding school B. lifestyle and tradition
C. respect for brainpower D. religious belief
64. The underlined word “rehabilitate” in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to “_________”.A. reconstruct B. evaluate C. enlarge D. decorate
65. What will probably be talked about in the following part?
A. Some other attractions in Winston-Salem.
B. How Winston makes profits from tourism.
C. Other examples of cities combined by two parts.
D. Something about the boarding school for women.