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“Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell.”
This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown citizen who lived in Rome in AD 52 wrote it.
We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives.
But have all these developments really improve the quality of our lives?
Picture this: You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. How calm and happy do you feel?
Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have not telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they lead simpler lives.
One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10, and Tomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phones.
The grandmother, Lyn, said, “It was hard physically, but not mentally.” She believed life was less materialistic. “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes,” She said. The boys said they fought less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a “trendy（时髦的）, beer-drinking granny, to one who cooked things.”
Here are some simple ways to beat the stress often caused by our inventions!
Don’t be available all the time. Turn off your mobile phone at certain times of the day. Don’t check your e-mail every day.
Don’t reply to somebody as soon as they leave a text message just because you can. It may be fun at first, but it soon gets annoying.
72．The passage is mainly about .
A．problem with technology
B．improvements of our life with technology
C．the important roles technology plays in our everyday life
D．major changes which will be likely to happen to technology
73．The writer quoted（引用） what a citizen in ancient Rome said at the beginning of the story in order to .
A．share a truth about life
B．tell us what life was like long time ago
C．make us wonder what causes such a thing to happen
D．point out that you experience some big problems and they may be the same
74．Why did the family choose to spend some time in a 1940’s house? Because .
A．they liked to live simple lives
B．they were curious about how people lived without modern inventions
C．they were troubled by modern inventions
D．living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them
75．What do you think the underlined word “available” in the first suggestion offered by the writer mean?
A．Busy on line. B．Free.. C．Be able to. D．Be found by others.
Stanley Yelnats was given a choice. The judge said，“You may go to prison，or you may go to Camp Green Lake.”Stanley was from a poor family. He had never been to camp before. So， Stanley Yelnats seems set to serve an easy sentence，which is only fair because he is as innocent as you or me. But Stanley is not going where he thinks he is.
Camp Green Lake is like no other camp anywhere. It is a place that has no lake and nothing green. Nor is it a camp，at least not the kind of camp kids look forward to in the summertime. It is only a desert wasteland，dotted with countless holes dug by the boys who live at the camp.
At Camp Green Lake，the warden(看守)makes the boys“ build character” by spending all day, every day, digging holes：five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is searching for something，and before long Stanley begins his own search—for the truth. Fate is to find a solution to it all—the family curse，the mystery of the holes. The great wheel of justice has ground slowly for generations，but now it is about to reveal its verdict(裁决).Stanley Yelnats went to Camp Green Lake to_________.
| A．enjoy the summertime | B．show his innocence |
| C．Serve his sentence | D．make a choice |
We can learn from the passage that Stanley_________.
| A．stole the shoes for his relative | B．got the shoes by accident |
| C．donated the shoes to an auction | D．blamed the judge for the sentence |
In fact，the warden made the boys dig holes to__________.
| A．kill the time |
| B．build character |
| C．break the family curse |
| D．look for something |
In which section of a newspaper does this passage probably appear?
| A．Law. | B．Geography. | C．News. | D．Literature. |
Nowadays, girls are so mean to each other. Many girls are becoming the victims of the harmful behaviors of the female bully.
Emma Tracey was a popular 17-year-old and a well-liked athlete who had already won a soccer scholarship to college. But none of that stopped Emma from becoming the target of online girl on girl bullying (欺凌). Emma began to receive hundreds of online unpleasant comments via the latest social networking site called www.formspring.com.
In March 2011, Emma committed suicide and although all agreed that the online bother was not the single factor that led to Emma’ death, everyone did agree that it was a contributory factor.
Unfortunately, Emma’ story is not unique. A 2010 study conducted by the Cyberbullying Research Center states: “Cyberbullying victims were almost twice as likely to have attempted suicide compared to youth who had not experienced cyberbullying. Girls are 57% more likely to be victims of aggressive cyberbullying and 92% more likely to be the criminals.”
Suicide is obviously the extreme and no one can minimize the tragedy of it. However, there are other damages that occur as a result of aggressive bullying. It can damage self-confidence and lead to feelings of worthlessness, and also increase social isolation and make victims become withdrawn, depressed, anxious, and unsafe. So what causes girls to be so unkind towards each other?
A term known as relational aggression may best describe the cause of girl on girl bullying. It starts with a clique (派系) usually led by a girl with a high level of social status and popularity. In order not to lose her position, she will control girls within the clique and take action if she feels threatened. At the leader’s directive the girls within the clique will spread rumors and lies and annoy other girls continuously.
The bullying starts at school but will quickly go to cyberbullying due to anonymity (匿名) and lack of punishment. Girls will easily do so in the anonymity of the Internet. Finally the cause will be summarized as the unsafety and jealousy of one girl and the twisted loyalty of members within her clique. Underneath the confident exterior (外表) of a female bully lie desperate unsafety.The example of Emma Tracey is given to show.
| A．popular youth are not easy to become the target of bullying |
| B．today’s youth don’t like to study any more |
| C．suicide is a serious problem among youth |
| D．cyberbullying is quite common among teenagers |
The bullying will quickly go to cyberbullying mainly because .
| A．it’s free to post comments online |
| B．the bullies don’t have to give their names online |
| C．it will not attract much attention |
| D．it will not affect their real life |
Which of the following is NOT the cause of bullying?
| A．Lack of safety. |
| B．The twisted loyalty of members within a clique. |
| C．Jealousy of others. |
| D．Trying to be friendly. |
We can infer from the last paragraph that a female bully_______ .
| A．has strong self-confidence |
| B．has strong leadership skills |
| C．is actually weak inside |
| D．is usually good at study |
The forces that make Japan one of the world's most earthquake-prone (有…倾向的) countries could become part of its long-term energy solution．
Water from deep below the ground at Japan's tens of thousands of hot springs could be used to produce electricity.
Although Japanese high-tech companies are leaders in geothermal (地热的) technology and export it, its use is limited in the nation.
"Japan should no doubt make use of its resources of geothermal energy," said Yoshiyasu Takefuji, a leading researcher of thermal-electric power production．
The disastrous earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 caused a reaction against atomic power, which previously made up 30 percent of Japan's energy needs, and increased interest in alternative energies, which account for only 8 percent.
Artist Yoko Ono has called on Japan to explore its natural energy, following the example of Iceland which uses renewable energy for more than 80 percent of its needs.
For now, geothermal energy makes up less than 1 percent of the energy needs in Japan, which has for decades relied heavily on fossil fuels and atomic power.
The biggest problem to geothermal energy is the high initial cost of the exploration and constructing the factories. Another problem is that Japan's potentially best sites are already being developed for tourism or are located within national parks where construction is forbidden．
"We can't even dig 10 cm inside national parks.” said Shigeto Yamada of Fuji Electric, adding that regulations protecting nature would need to be relaxed for geothermal energy to grow. Researcher Hideaki Matsui said, “Producing electricity using hot springs is a decades-long project. We also have to think about what to do for now as energy supplies will decrease in the short term.”
The Earth Policy Institute in Washington, US, believed Japan could produce 80,000 megawatts（兆瓦）and meet more than half its electricity needs with geothermal technology.
Japanese giants such as Toshiba are already global leaders in geothermal technology, with a 70 percent market share. In 2010, Fuji Electric built the world's largest geothermal factory in New Zealand．What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Alternative energies in Japan |
| B．Japan thinks of geothermal energy |
| C．Japan takes the lead in geothermal technology |
| D．World's largest geothermal plant |
What percentage of Japan's energy needs is geothermal energy?
| A．About 8%． | B．Around 30%． |
| C．Below 1%． | D．Over 80%． |
According to Shigeto Yamada, the growth of geothermal power in Japan needs ____．
| A．high technology | B．financial support |
| C．local people's help | D．a change of rules |
Geothermal energy is considered as a long-term program by _____．
| A．Hideaki Matsui | B．Yoshiyasu Takefuji． |
| C．Shigeto Yamada | D．Yoko Ono |
It can be learned from the last two paragraphs that _____．
| A．the world's biggest geothermal plant was built by America |
| B．Japan will not export its geothermal technology |
| C．it is hard to find geothermal energy in Japan |
| D．the potential of Japan's geothermal energy is great |
There are many ways of defining success. It is accurate to say that each of us has our own ideas of success to the extent that each of us is responsible for setting our own goals and determining whether we have met these goals satisfactorily. Because each of us possesses unique differences in genetic ability and favorable environments in which to express these abilities, it is necessarily true that we must define success broadly.
For some people，simply being able to live their life with the least misery and sufferings is considered a success. Think of the peace of mind of the poor shepherd who tends his sheep, enjoys his simple life with his family in the beauty of nature, and who is respected because he does a good job of achieving the goals expected of him and accepted by his family and his society. On the other hand, it seems that even though some people appear to be rich in material possessions, many of them seem to be miserable and consider themselves unsuccessful when judged by their own standards of success. Because not all ventures can be successful, one should not set unrealistic goals for achieving success, but if one has self-confidence it would be unfortunate to set one's goals at too low a level of achievement.
A wise man once said to a young man who was experiencing frustration(挫折）with his own professional success, “You do not have to set your goal to reach the moon in order to have success in traveling. Sometimes one can be very successful merely by taking a walk in the park or riding the subway downtown,” The man added, "You have not really failed and spoiled your chances for success until you have been unsuccessful at something you really like，and to which you have given your best effort. ”According to the first paragraph, what is implied as basic in achieving success?
| A．Ability and goals. | B．Goals and determination. |
| C．Ability and environment. | D．Goals and environment. |
Some rich people consider themselves unsuccessful because______.
| A．their life is busy and miserable |
| B．they haven't reached their own standards |
| C．they set their goals at too low a level |
| D．they are not rich in material possessions |
From the last paragraph we can tell that______.
| A．success means achieving great goals |
| B．success comes from great goal setting |
| C．success means efforts and favorites pay off |
| D．success has nothing to do with the distance of your travel |
The purpose of the passage is______.
| A．to give us a clear definition of what success is |
| B．to talk about how to achieve success |
| C．to state what our life goal is |
| D．to discuss the importance of goals |
Low-Cost Gifts for Mother's Day
Gift No. 1
Offer to be your mother's health friend. Promise to be there for any and all doctor's visits whether a disease or a regular medical check-up. Most mothers always say “no need，” but another set of eyes and ears is always a good idea at a doctor's visit. The best part? This one is free.
Gift No. 2
Help your mother organize all of her medical records, which include the test results and medical information. Put them all in one place. Be sure to make a list of all of her medicines and what times she takes them.“Having all this information in one place could end up saving your mother's life，”Dr Marie Savard said.
Gift No. 3
Enough sleep is connected to general health conditions. “Buy your mother cotton sheets and comfortable pillows to encourage better sleep，” Savard said. “We know that good sleep is very important to our health.”
Gift No. 4
Some gift companies such as Presents for Purpose allow you to pay it forward this Mother's Day by picking gifts in which 10 percent of the price you pay goes to a charity. Gift givers can choose from a wide variety of useful but inexpensive things—many of which are “green”—and then choose a meaningful charity from a list. When your mother gets the gift, she will be told that she has helped the chosen charity.What are you advised to do for your mother at doctor's visits?
| A．Take notes. | B．Be with her. |
| C．Buy medicine. | D．Give her gifts. |
What can be a gift of organization for your mother?
| A．Keeping her medical information together. |
| B．Buying all gifts for her from one company. |
| C．Making a list of her medical check-ups. |
| D．Storing her medicines in a safe place. |
Buying gifts from Presents for Purpose allows mothers to________．
| A．enjoy good sleep | B．be well-organized |
| C．get extra support | D．give others help |