Psychologists in Britain have said that the last full week of January is the most depressing time of the year, and have labeled the Monday of that week “Blue Monday”, the most depressing day of the year. Mondays are generally seen as the worst day of the week because people feel grumpy(烦躁的) and tired at having to go back to work after a weekend with a different sleep pattern.
There are various reasons why more people feel depressed at this time of year. Many people have unpaid credit card bills for the Christmas presents they bought. As the party season is over, people feel stressed because they have to go back to real life — work and commuting; they may be unhappy with their body image after eating too many cakes, chocolates, and other food at Christmas-time. People may have already failed in their New Year’s plans, such as giving up smoking. The bad weather in January can also contribute to people feeling fed up.
Some companies are taking this quite seriously and offering suggestions for all the staff who are feeling depressed. They hope that helping people as soon as there are signs of depression will keep people from taking time off. Evidence shows that unreasonable managers who contribute to their staff feeling fed up at this time can expect an uncooperative (不合作的) workforce.
However, it’s not all bad! Many people feel optimistic at this time — that things can only get better. Psychologists offer suggestions of how to fight against feeling blue. These include spending 15 minutes doing a “gratitude exercise”, thinking about and writing down what you are grateful for, such as health, family, friends and so on. Taking up a new hobby, doing some exercise, going to bed earlier, eating a healthy breakfast, and listening to some cheerful music are all recommended (推荐) as ways to feel more cheerful.
68. How many reasons are mentioned in this passage for feeling depressed in January?
A. 2. B. 3. C. 4. D. 5.
69. We can learn from the passage that if we say someone is blue, we mean he is ______.
A. wearing blue clothes B. feeling down
C. very scared D. very worried
70. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Everyone feels depressed during the last full week of January.
B. Many workers leave their jobs during the most depressing time of the year.
C. Some people are not sad in January as they know that all the following months will be better.
D. Psychologists are working hard on how to solve the “Blue Monday” problem.
I’m sure you know the song “Happy Birthday”. But do you know who wrote the song and for whom it was written?
The retired professor, Archibald
A. Hill in Lucasville, USA could tell us the story. Ninety-seven years ago, two of Mr. Archibald Hill’s aunts, Miss Patty Hill and Miss Mildred Hill were asked to write some songs for a book called “Song Storied for the Sunday Morning”. Miss Patty Hill and Miss Mildred Hill were both kindergarten teachers then. They loved children very much and wrote many beautiful songs for the book. One of them was the famous “Good
Morning to You.” The song said, “Good morning to you, good morning to you, dear children, good morning to all.” This song was very popular at that time among kindergarten children. But not many grown-
ups knew it. A few years later little Archibald was born. As his aunt, Miss Patty Hill sang the song “Happy Birthday” to the melody（曲调）of “Good Morning to you” to her little nephew（侄子）. She sang the song like this: Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Archie! Happy birthday to you!
Miss Patty Hill and her sister had never expected that this song would become so popular, but it really did. People all over the world like the song because of its simplicity in tune（曲调简单）and friendliness in words.Archibald A. Hill was __________.
A. English B. Russian C. American D
. AustralianProfessor Archibald A. Hill was Miss Mildred Hill’s __________.
A. son B. student C. brother D. nephew
The song “Happy Birthday” has a history of __________ years.
| A．97 | B．about 90 | C．more than 90 | D．less than 90 |
Why did Miss Hiss wrote songs?
| A．Because they are musicians. |
| B．Because they love children. |
| C．Because they were asked to write for a book. |
| D．Because their nephew asked them to do so. |
The sentence “it really did” means __________.
| A．The song really became popular |
| B．Their wish would really come true |
| C．People all over the world like to listen to the song |
| D．Yes, but the song didn’t become popular |
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项多余选项。___
After I had spent a week with my English family, I slowly began to understand their English a little better. _____ Students in my group are from different cities of Britain and their dialects (方言) are different too! Some of their accents are quite strong and they also have their own words and expressions.
____ Before I came to England I had thought that fish and chips were eaten every day. That’s quite wrong! I get rather annoyed now when I hear all the foolish words about typical English food.
I had expected to see “London fog”. Do you remember our texts about it? We had no idea that most of this “thick fog” disappeared many years ago when people stopped using coal in their homes. But the idea to speak about weather was very helpful. ___ On the other hand, habits are different. People tell me what is typical British here in London is not always typical in Wales or Scotland
____
But what is ordinary for all British is that they follow traditions(传统). Probably Britain has more living signs of its past than many other countries. And people have always been proud of having ancient (古老) buildings in capitals, big cities and the countryside.
I will tell you more about Britain in my other letters.
Love from Britain.
Peter
| A．The weather in London is really changeable. |
| B．I have difficulty in understanding my classmates. |
| C．Thanks for your nice letter. |
| D．The family I live with are friendly. |
E. It’s very different from what I learned at school.
F. Local habits and traditions are not the same as what we knew.
G. But it’s not the language that’s different and surprising.
As you move around your home, take a good look at the things you have. It is likely that your living room will have a television set and a video, and your kitchen a washing machine and a microwave oven. Your bedroom drawers will be filled with almost three times as many clothes as you need. You almost certainly own a car and possibly a home computer, holiday abroad at least once a year and eat out at least once a week.
Now, perhaps, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for. Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world. They feel that the long hours work culture to make more money is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes. Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting（慢节奏的生活） is one of them. Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year.
One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz. They used to work in central London. He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank. They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs, leaving their two children with a nanny. Most evenings Daniel wouldn’t get home until eight or nine o’clock and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings. They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by.
Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales. “I always wanted to have a farm then,” says Daniel, “and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift. It’s taken some getting used to, but it’s been worth it. We have to think twice now about spending money on car repairs and we no longer have any holidays. However, I think it’s made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier.
Liz, however, is not quite sure. “I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours. I’m not really a country girl, but I suppose I’m gradually getting used to looking after the animals. One thing I do like, though, is being able to see more of my children. My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much or you might not do it at all.”The passage tells us that .
| A．people seldom work long hours to make money |
| B．people hardly buy more things than necessary |
| C．people are sure everything they own is in the right place |
| D．people realize there is more to life than just making money |
When Daniel was a reporter he ___.
| A．lived in central London | B．disliked his job |
| C．missed his children | D．was well paid |
Daniel and Liz both agree that the move to the farm ____.
| A．was easy to organize | B．has improved family life |
| C．was extremely expensive | D．has been a total success |
Cyril was a small town. The houses there were all made of wood; almost everything in the houses such as cupboards, tables and chairs were made of wood, too. And all the houses faced south. The town was never peaceful. Fire broke out once a week on summer afternoons. Residents were puzzled who the real firebug(纵火犯) was.
One day a big fire broke out. It was said that a Negro had jumped out of the house on fire, so the police arrested(逮捕) all the Negroes in the street. However, fire never stopped to breaking out when the Negroes were in prison.
Mauson, a physics teacher didn’t believe that the Negroes were the firebugs, for he really knew about those Negroes, He made up his mind to find out who the real firebug was.
One day he was invited to drink in a pub and happened to notice that many bottles and plastic plates were baked by the hot sunrays. Suddenly he realized what the actual fact was. He jumped with joy, saying, “I’ve got the answer!”
Mauson dashed out of the pub to his friend’s house nearby, which also faced south. He made an experiment there to confirm his idea.
The next Saturday afternoon, Mauson asked some policemen and newsmen to come to the house. They were told that the real firebug would be shown there. At that time the sun was shining full into the house and it became hotter and hotter inside the room.
Someone wanted to draw the curtains together, while another was going to use a bottle to drink water, but neither got permission from Mauson, who wanted to let the firebug in.
“Now,” said Mauson, “this house will soon catch fire.” People looked at each other in surprise. Mauson asked them to look at the bottles and focus on the table cloth. After a while the cloth gave off a burning smell and began to catch fire!
The mystery of fire was discovered, but the police wouldn’t believe him and insisted that Negroes had been the firebugs. Instead they arrested Mauson and put him into prison. But Mauson said he would never turn against science. The town was never peaceful, for fire broke out .
| A．in the afternoon | B．in summer | C．at any time | D．A and B |
Why did the police arrest all the Negroes?
| A．One of them had jumped out of the home on fire. |
| B．They were suspected to be the firebugs. |
| C．The police hated the Negroes. |
| D．The Negroes knew something about the fires. |
Drinking in a pub, Mauson realized what the actual fact was .
| A．by experiment | B．by backing the bottles |
| C．through the hot sunrays | D．by accident |
By making an experiment, they knew the real firebug was .
| A．the Negroes | B．bottles | C．sunrays | D．plastic plates |
Mauson was put into prison, because .
| A．he had told a lie |
| B．he had fund out the real firebug |
| C．he had turned against science |
| D．he had made friends with the Negroes |
Women in Nazi Germany were to have a very special job. Hitler was very clear about this. This job was that they should be good mothers bringing up children at home while their husbands worked. Except for some special fields, Hitler saw no reason why a woman should work. Within months of Hitler coming to power, many female doctors, teachers and lawyers were sacked. By the start of the Second World War, very few German women were in fulltime work. From their earliest years, girls were taught that all good German women married at a young age to a proper German and that the wife’s job was to keep a good home for her working husband and to have children.
One of the earliest laws passed by Hitler once he came to power in 1933, was the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage. This law stated (声明) that all newly married couples would get a government loan (贷款) of 1000 marks. This loan was not to be simply paid back. The birth of one child meant that 25% of the loan did not have to be paid back. Two children meant that 50% of the loan didn’t need to be paid back. Four children meant that the entire loan was cleared.
What was more, as housewives and mothers, their lives were controlled. Women were not expected to wear make-up or trousers. Only flat shoes were expected to be worn. Women were discouraged from slimming as this was considered bad for child birth.The aim of the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage was to ________.
| A．attract more young people to join the army willingly |
| B．make those married couples become rich quickly |
| C．encourage people to loan more from the government |
| D．encourage couples to have as many children as they could |
The underlined word “sacked” in Paragraph one probably means “________”.
| A．punished | B．fired | C．killed | D．raised |
According to the passage, women in Nazi Germany ________.
| A．could make up or wear beautiful clothes |
| B．were to have children and do housework |
| C．could receive a good education at school |
| D．were offered the equal rights as men |
Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?
| A．The life of women in Nazi Germany |
| B．The cruel rule of Hitler in Germany |
| C．The marriage policy in Nazi Germany |
| D．Hitler — a powerful leader in Germany |