As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art of relaxation. Once you are in the habit of rushing through life, being on the go from morning till night, it is hard to slow down. But relaxation is essential( 必要的 ) for a healthy mind and body.
Stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it. In fact, it is not the bad thing as it is often supposed to be. A certain amount of stress is vital (有必要的) to provide motivation and give purpose to life. It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health.
The amount of stress a person can stand depends very much on the person himself. Some people are not afraid of stress, and such characters are obviously important for managerial responsibilities. Others lose heart at the first signs of unusual difficulties. When exposed to stress, in whatever from, we react both chemically and physically.In fact we make choice between “fight or fight” and in more unlikely to be so extreme, but how little the stress is, it involves the same response. It is when such a reaction lasts long, through continued exposure to stress, that health becomes endangered conditions as high blood pressure and heart diseases have diseases have established links with stress. Since we cannot remove stress from our lives ( it would be unwise to do so even if we could), we need to find ways to deal with it.
6. People are finding less and less time for relaxing themselves because ________ .
A. they do not know how to enjoy themselves
B. they do not believe that relaxation is important for health
C. they are traveling fast all the time
D. they are becoming busier with their work
7. Accoding to the writer, the most important character for a good manager is his _______ .
A. not fearing stress B. knowing the art of relaxation
C. high sense of responsibilities D. having control over performance
8. Which of the following statement is true ?
A. We can find some ways to avoid stress.
B. Stress is always harmful to people.
C. It is easy to change the habit of keeping oneself busy with work.
D. Different people can withstand different amount of stress.
9. The underlined words “such a reaction” refer back to_________ .
A. asking a choice between”fight of fight”
B. “reaction to stress both chemically and physically”
C. “responding to crises quickly”
D. “losing heart at the signs of difficulties”
10. In the last sentence of the passage “do so” refers to________ .
A. “expose ourselves to stress”
B. “find ways to deal with stress”
C. “remove stress from our lives”
D. “establish links between diseases and stress”
On May 29, 1973, Thomas Bradley, a black man, was elected mayor of Los Angeles. Los Angeles is the third largest city in the United States, with a population of three million. About sixteen percent of the city’s population are black.
News of this election appeared on the front pages of newspapers everywhere in the United States. Here is how one major newspaper reported the event:
LOS ANGELES ELECTS BRADLEY MAYOR UNSEATING YORTYBLACK WINS 56% OF VOTES
Bradley called his victory over Yorty “the fulfillment (实现) of a dream”. During his childhood and youth, people had kept telling him, “You can’t do this, you can’t go there, because you are a Negro.” Nevertheless he had won a decisive victory over a man who had been won 43.7 percent.
Los Angeles voters have had many opportunities to judge. Thomas Bradley had to form an opinion of him. The son of a poor farmer Texas, he joined the Los Angeles police force in 1940. During his twenty-one years on the police force he earned a law degree by attending school at night. He was elected to the city council (市政厅) ten years ago.
At the time of the Los Angeles election, three other American cities already had black mayors, but none of those cities had as large a population as Los Angeles. Besides, the percentage of blacks in those other cities was much larger. Cleveland, Ohio, had thirty-six percent black when Carl Stokes was elected mayor of Cleveland in 1967. In the same year Richard Hatcher was elected mayor of Cary. In Newark, New Jersey, sixty percent of the population were black when Kenneth Gibson was elected in 1970. Thus election of a black mayor in those cities was not very surprising.
In Los Angeles thousands of white citizens voted for Thomas Bradley because they believed he would be a better mayor than the white candidate(候选人). Bradley had spent forty-eight of his fifty-five years in Los Angeles. Four years ago Bradley lost mayoral election to Yorty. This time Bradley won.In the author’s opinion, it was surprising that _______.
| A．the whites would vote for a black mayor |
| B．a black mayor would be elected in such a large city |
| C．a black from a poor farmer’s family could be elected mayor of Los Angeles |
| D．there would be so many black mayors |
From the passage we can infer that people ________.
| A．voted for Bradley because of his black color |
| B．didn’t care much about his color when they voted |
| C．voted for him to give a chance to fulfill his dream |
| D．voted for Bradley because they trust him |
Bradley hit the front page headline for _______.
| A．he was the first black mayor in history |
| B．he was the first black mayor in the south of USA |
| C．he was the first black mayor of one of the largest cities in USA |
| D．a poor farmer’s son could also win an important election |
From Bradley’s victory in the election we can see that ________.
| A．blacks had equal rights as whites in the USA |
| B．black people’s situation began to be improving much more than before |
| C．one can be successful through hard work in the USA no matter what color he is |
| D．it is certain that someday the USA will have a black president |
The Man of Many Secrets — Harry Houdini — was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century. He was a man famous for his escapes — from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water. He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America. Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his “magic” tricks.
Of course, his secret was not magic, or supernatural powers. It was simply strength. He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers. He could move his body into almost any position he wanted.
Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17, in 1891. He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in club in New York. They called themselves the Houdini Brothers. When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant. But for a long time they were not very successful. Then Harry performed his first prison escape, in Chicago in 1898. Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspapermen to watch.
It was the publicity(宣传) that came from this that started Harry Houdini’s success. Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape ankle chins. But his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors. Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck — and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks, pass quickly from her mouth to his.
Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local prison of every town he visited. In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full. What was the result? World-wild fame, and a name remembered today. According to the passage, Houdini’s success in prison escapes depends on _______.
| A．his special tricks and supernatural powers |
| B．his unusual ability and a skeleton key |
| C．his magic tricks and unhuman powers |
| D．his wisdom and magic tricks |
In the fourth paragraph, the underlined word “this” refers to _______.
| A．his first prison escape | B．the year 1898 |
| C．the publicity | D．Harry Houdini’s success |
It can be inferred from the passage that Houdini became famous _______.
| A．in 1894 | B．before he married |
| C．at the age of 17 | D．when he was about 24 |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．A Skeleton Key | B．A Man of Many Secrets |
| C．World-wild Fame | D．Great Escape |
In October 1961 at Crowley Field in Cincinnati Ohio an old deaf gentleman named William E. Hoy stood up to throw the first ball of the World Series. Most people at Crowley Field on that day probably did not remember Hoy because he had retired(退休) from professional baseball 58 years earlier in 1903. However he had been an outstanding player and the deaf people still talk about him and his years in baseball.
William E. Hoy was born in Houckstown Ohio on May 23, 1862. He became deaf when he was two years old. He attended the Columbus Ohio School for the deaf. After graduation he started playing baseball while working as a shoemaker.
Hoy began playing professional baseball in 1886 for Oshkosh(Wisconsin) of the Northwestern League. In 1888 he started as an outfielder(外场手) with the old Washington Senators. His small figure and speed made him an outstanding base runner. He was very good at stealing bases during his career. In the 1888 major league season he stole 82 bases. He was also the Senators’ leading hitter in 1888. Hoy was clever and he threw right-handed and batted left-handed. On June 19,1889 he threw out three batters(击球手) at the plate from his outfield position.
The arm signals used by judges today to show balls and strikes began because of Hoy. The judge lifted his right arm to show that the pitch was a strike and his left arm to signal that it was a ball.
For many years people talked about Hoy’s last ball game in 1903. He was playing for Los Angeles of the Pacific Coast Winter League. It was a memorable game because Hoy hit a wonderful ball which won the game. It was a very foggy day and therefore very hard to see the ball. In the ninth inning(棒球的一局) with two men out, Hoy managed to catch a fly ball to make the third out in spite of the fog. Los Angeles defeated their opposition and won the game.
After he retired Hoy stayed busy. He ran a dairy farm near Cincinnati for 20 years. He also became a public speaker and traveled giving speeches. Until a few years before his death he took 4-10 mile walks several mornings a week. On December 15, 1961 William Hoy died at the age of 99. In which order did the following things happen in Hoy’s life?
a. Hoy worked as a shoemaker.
b. Hoy began to run a diary farm.
c. Hoy played a memorable game in the heavy fog.
d. Hoy threw the first ball of the World Series.
e. Hoy became deaf.
| A．d e a c b | B．e a c b d | C．d a e c b | D．e a b c d |
We can infer from the last paragraph that Hoy _______ in his late years.
| A．became famous | B．led a relaxed life |
| C．traveled around the world | D．was in good physical condition |
This passage is mainly about _______.
| A．a deaf player devoted to the game of baseball |
| B．baseball game rules and important players |
| C．the rise in the social position of the deaf people |
| D．where the baseball judge hand signals came from |
What can be inferred from this passage?
| A．Hoy was the greatest baseball player in his time. |
| B．Speaking and listening are not necessary in baseball games. |
| C．The judge had to study the hand signals very seriously. |
| D．Hoy’s family encouraged him to become a baseball player. |
With only about 1, 000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone(克隆) the animal and save the endangered species(物种). That’s similar to what Texas A＆M University researchers have been undertaking(负责) for the past five years in a project called “Noah’s Ark”.
Noah’s Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos(胚胎), semen and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen(氮). If certain species should become extinct, Dr. Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A＆M’S College of Veterinary Medicine, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.
It is estimated that as many as 2, 000 species of mammals, birds and reptiles will become extinct in over 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.
Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.
The entire procedure(过程) could take from three to five years to complete.
“The nuclear transfer(核子移植) of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available(capable of being used) panda eggs could be a major problem,” Kraemer believes. “They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy(having a baby). It takes a long time and it’s difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort,” adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Project at Texas A＆M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog.
“They are trying to do something that’s never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah’s Ark. We’re both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there’s a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It’s a research that is very much needed.”The aim of “Noah’s Ark” project is to_______.
| A．make effort to clone the endangered pandas |
| B．save endangered animals from dying out |
| C．collect DNA of endangered animals to study |
| D．transfer the nuclear of one animal to another |
According to Professor Kraemer, the major problem in cloning pandas would be the lack of _______.
| A．available panda eggs | B．host animals |
| C．qualified researchers | D．enough money |
The best title for the passage may be _______.
| A．China’s Success in Pandas Cloning |
| B．The First Cloned Panda in the World |
| C．Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas |
| D．China — the Native Place of Pandas Forever |
From the passage we know that _______.
| A．Kraemer and his team have succeeded in cloning a cat |
| B．scientists try to implant a panda’s egg into a tiger |
| C．Kraemer will work with Chinese scientists in clone researches |
| D．about two thousand of species will probably die out in about a century |
According to a famous optical(光学) expert, Alexander, who recently visited Shanghai, the developed countries in Europe and America have made rules that children must wear resinous(树脂) glasses instead of the traditional glasses made of glass. This is because the glass glasses are more likely to do harm to children’s eyesight.
Alexander pointed out: wearing the right glasses as soon as possible is still the best way to cure and put right children’s eyesight problems.
In America and Japan the resinous glasses have taken up 80 percent of the glasses market. And some European countries and America have made it a law that children, teenagers and drivers must wear resinous glasses. Now, about 10 million children in China have different eyesight problems and they need timely treatment.
But still, too many parents are buying the traditional glass glasses for their children. This is mainly because many parents know little or nothing about the good points of the resinous glasses. Besides, the price for the new glasses is a little higher than the traditional ones. This news article mainly wants to tell us _______.
| A．Alexander visited China and introduced a new type of glasses |
| B．we should wear resinous glasses instead of glass glasses |
| C．resinous glasses are popular in Europe and America |
| D．glasses can be made of other materials instead of glass |
According to Alexander, the “timely treatment” to eyesight problems is _______.
| A．to stop wearing glass glasses any more |
| B．to buy a pair of glasses and wear them right away |
| C．to wear suitable resinous glasses at the right time |
| D．to buy glasses made in Europe, Japan or America if possible |
It can be inferred from this news text that _______.
| A．resinous glasses are not on sale in China yet |
| B．resinous glasses are not acceptable in China |
| C．glass glasses have disappeared on western market because there is a law against them |
| D．glass glasses are the first choice in China not only because of their price |