In February 2010, Lydia Angyiou and her two sons were walking through their village in northern Canada. The sound of children shouting made her turn around. To her horror, Lydia saw a 700 – pound polar bear behind her eyeing her seven-year-old son.Getting between the bear and her child, Lydia yelled at the children to run away.She then began hitting and kicking the animal as hard as she could.A neighbor who heard all the noise came and shot the bear.But everyone agreed it was Lydia who had saved her children's lives.A local policeman described it this way: "I guess when your back is up against the wall, we come up with super-human strength."
Where does this "super-human strength" , courage and quick thinking come from? Experts say it comes from stress! In stressful situations, the body releases chemicals that prepare it to take action.These chemicals give people the speed and strength they need to fight danger or run away from it.
When we think of stress, we usually think of its negative effects.Studies, though, show that moderate levels of stress are actually helpful.In fact, the way we perform is usually affected by the amount of stress we feel.Stress causes the brain to release adrenaline (肾上腺素)which in turn increases our energy and excitement.The chemical gives us clearer minds and helps us to do more.This is why some people say they work better under a deadline.Adrenaline that is not released for long periods of time can cause us to be bored and lazy. So some stress actually increases and strengthens our abilities instead of weakening them. We sometimes turn out our very best work when we push ourselves to the limit.Stress can also make us more confident.Handling small amounts of stress now prepares us for handling serious situations in the future.Who knows? Today's stress may even prepare us for the next polar bear that comes along!
60.The author mentions the story of the mother and her children mainly to .
A.tell people females also have enough strength to fight with a bear
B.show us how much the mother loves her children
C.set an example to us about how to deal with danger
D.illustrate to us stressful situations can make us stronger
61.What does the word “it” underlined in the second paragraph refer to?
A.released chemical B.the body
C.stress D.strength
62.What will the author probably continue to write in the paragraph that follows?
A.How to deal with a bear when you meet with it unfortunately.
B.Why we need small stress in life.
C.Tips for a person to develop his ability of dealing with stress.
D.When the brain releases adrenaline.
One day a man found a cocoon(茧)of a butterfly in the forest. He sat there for several hours and watched the butterfly. Suddenly a small opening appeared, and the butterfly made its great effort to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon so that the butterfly could come out easily. But to his surprise, the butterfly got a heavy body and very small wings when it came out of the cocoon.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that the body would grow smaller at any moment and the wings would become larger and be able to fly. But neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling(爬)around with a heavy body and small wings. It was never able to fly.
The man was in his kindness, but he did not understand the nature rules. Before the butterfly came out of the cocoon, fluid(流体)from its body must be forced into its wings, and then it would be ready for flying. It must have a hard struggle to get through the small opening to get its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any difficulties, it would make us fail. We would not be as strong as we could have been; we could never fly.What was the butterfly doing at the beginning of the story?
A.It was trying to make a cocoon for itself. |
B.It was struggling to get out of its cocoon. |
C.It was flying among the trees in the forest. |
D.It was crawling around quietly on the ground. |
What do you think of the man?
A.Patient but cruel. | B.Careful and wise. | C.Kind but unwise. | D.Brave and funny. |
What does the last paragraph tell us?
A.Struggles are sometimes necessary in our life. |
B.Nothing is difficult if we put our heart into it. |
C.Every good deed will come back with a good result. |
D.The greatest happiness in the world is to help others. |
What is the best title for the story?
A.The love for the cocoon. | B.The joy of helping each other. |
C.The lesson of the cocoon. | D.The expectation for the butterfly. |
Education is not an end, but a means to an end. In other words, we do not educate children only for the purpose of educating them. Our purpose is to fit them for life.
In some modern countries it has for some time been fashionable to think that by free education for all — one can solve all the problems of society and build a perfect nation. But we can already see that free education for all is not enough; we find in such countries a far larger number of people with university degree; they refuse to do what they think “low” work; and, in fact, work with hands is thought to be dirty and shameful in such countries. But we have only to think a moment to understand that the work of a completely uneducated farmer is far more important than that of a professor; we can live without education, but we die if we have no food. If no one cleaned our streets and took the rubbish away from our houses, we should get terrible diseases in our town.
In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life, it means that we must be educated in such a way that, firstly, each of us can do whatever work suited to his brains and ability and, secondly, that we can realize that all jobs are necessary to society, and that is very bad to be ashamed of one’s work. Only such a type of education can be considered valuable to society. The writer of the passage thinks that _______.
A.education can settle most of the world’s problems |
B.free education for all probably leads to a perfect world |
C.free education won’t help to solve problems |
D.all the social problems can’t be solved by education |
The writer wants to prove that _______.
A.our society needs all kinds of jobs |
B.our society needs free education for all |
C.a farmer is more important than a professor |
D.work with hands is the most important |
The passage tells us about _______ of the education.
A.the means | B.the system (系统) | C.the value | D.the type (类型) |
AMERICANA HOTEL CRYSTAL CITY
Convenient location 5 minutes from Washington D.C. and one block to Crystal City METRO(地铁),Crystal City Underground. Free Parking, free Deluxe Continental Breakfast and free Hotel Shuttle (区间公共汽车)Service to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
14000 Jefferson Davis Hwy (endurance on S. Eads St.)
Phone (703) 979-3722
DAYS INN ARLINGTON
Days Inn Arlington is located two miles from the Pentagon, Lincoln Memorial. There is a restaurant which serves American style food, plus two meeting rooms and an outdoor pool. Free shuttle service runs to the Rosslyn Metro Station. Free parking is available on the property. Experienced staff welcome our guests.
Phone(703)525-0300
THE HIGHLANDER MOTOR INN
Comfortable rooms at moderate rates. Convenient location only minutes away from Washington area attraction. Near VA Square METRO Station and Ballston Commons Shopping Mall. Free continental breakfast, free parking.
Phone (703)524-4300
HYATT REGENCY CRYSTAL CITY
Conveniently located next to Washington National Airport and two miles from Washington D.C. Free Shuttle to and from National Airport, metro, local restaurants and shopping. Experience a view to remember at our rooftop restaurant “Chesapeake Grill”. Call for Reservations.
Phone (073)418-12341If you want to stay in a hotel which provides free parking and free breakfast, which telephone numbers will you ring to ask for further information?
A.(703)979-3722 or (703)524-4300 |
B.(703)524-4300 or (073) 418-12341 |
C.(073)418-12341 or (703) 525-0300 |
D.(703)525-0300 or (703)979-3722 |
Which hotel is close to airports?
A.Americana Hotel Crystal City | B.Days Inn Arlington |
C.Hyatt Regency Crystal City | D.The Highlander Motor Inn |
Steven loves the idea of having delicious meal while enjoying the night view of Washington D. C. He will probably reserve a room by calling .
A. (703)524-4300 B. (073)418-12341C. (703)525-0300 D. (703)979-3722
Science can't explain the power of pets, but many studies have shown that the company of pets can help lower blood pressure (血压) and raise chances of recovering from a heart attack, reduce loneliness and spread all-round good cheer.
Any owner will tell you how much joy a pet brings. For some, an animal provides more comfort than a husband or wife. A 2002 study by Karen Allen of the State University of New York measured stress (紧张) levels and blood pressure in people— half of them pet owners —while they performed 5 minutes of mental arithmetic (算术) or held a hand in ice water. Subjects(研究对象) completed the tasks alone, with a husband or wife, a close friend or with a pet. People with pets did it best. Those tested with their animal friends had smaller change in blood pressure and returned most quickly to baseline heart rates. With pets in the room, people also made fewer math mistakes than when doing in front of other companions. It seems people feel more relaxed (放松) around pets, says Allen, who thinks it may be because pets don't judge.
A study reported last fall suggests that having a pet dog not only raises your spirits but may also have a effect on your eating habits. Researchers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital spent a year studying 36 fat people and their equally fat dogs on diet-and-exercise programs; a separate group of 56 people without pets were put on a diet program. On average, people lost about 11 pounds, or 5% of their body weight. Their dogs did even better, losing an average of 12 pounds, more that 15% of their body weight. Dogs owners didn’t lose any more weight than those without dogs but, as some researchers say, they got more exercise indeed.What does the text mainly discuss?
A.What pets bring to their owners. |
B.How pets help people calm down. |
C.People's opinions of keeping pets. |
D.Pet's value in medical research. |
We learn from the text that a person with heart disease has a better chance of getting well if_________.
A.he has a pet companion |
B.he has less stress of work |
C.he often does mental arithmetic |
D.he is taken care of by his family |
According to Allen, why did the people do better with pets around when facing difficult tasks?
A.They have lower blood pressure. |
B.They become more patient. |
C.They are less nervous. |
D.They are in higher spirits. |
The research mentioned(提到) in the last paragraph reports that________.
A.people with dogs did more exercise |
B.dogs lost the same weight as people did |
C.dogs liked exercise much more than people did |
D.people without dogs found the program unhelpful |
O. Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank, when some money went missing from the bank O. Henry was believed to have stolen it. Because of that, he was sent to prison. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the reader’s surprise.In which order did O. Henry do the following things?
a. Lived in New York. b. Worked in a bank. c. Travelled to Texas.
d. Was put in prison. e. Had a newspaper Job. f. Learned to write stories.
A.c. e. b. d. f. a | B.e. c. f. b. d. a | C.e. b. d. c. a. f. | D.c. b. e. d. a f. |
People enjoyed reading O. Henry’s stories because
A.they had surprise endings | B.they were easy to understand |
C.they showed his love for the poor | D.they were about New York City |
O. Henry went to prison because .
A.people thought he had stolen money that was not his |
B.he broke the law by not using his own name |
C.he wanted to write stories about prisoners |
D.people thought he had taken money from the newspaper |
What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?
A.He was well-educated. | B.He was not serious about his work. |
C.He was devoted to the poor. | D.He was very good at learning. |
Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?
A.His life inside the prison. | B.The newspaper articles he wrote. |
C.The city and people of New York. | D.His exciting early life as a boy. |