Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end with commercials (商业广告) thrown in every three or four minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether you want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window. “Buy Super Clean Toothpaste.” “Drink Good Wet Root Beer.” “Fill up with Pacific Gas.” Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, are you spared the unending cry of “You Need It! Buy It Now!”
The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you’ve traveled that way before. Usually some things have changed, new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road. The bus driver has a style of driving and it’s fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly reckless (鲁莽的) or daring, the ride can be as thrilling (惊心动魄的) as a suspense story. Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the right or the left hand lane? After a while, of course, the excitement dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food always makes bus rides more interesting. But you’ve got to be careful of what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops.
The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know it will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement in that. The seat of course, has become harder as the hours have passed. By now you’ve sat with your legs crossed, with your hands in your lap, with your hands on the armrests, even with your hands crossed behind your head. The end comes just at no more ways to sit.
68. The writer feels long bus rides are like TV shows because _____.
A. the commercials both on TV shows and on billboards along the road are fun
B. they both have a beginning, a middle, and an end, with commercials in between
C. the drivers are always reckless on TV shows just as they are on buses
D. both traveling and watching TV are not exciting.
69. According to the passage, what do the passengers usually see when they are on a long bus trip?
A. Buses on the road. B. Films on television.
C. Advertisements on the billboards. D. Gas stations.
70. The writer of this passage would probably favor _____.
A. bus drivers who aren’t reckless B. driving alone
C. a television set on the bus D. no billboards along the road
71. What is the purpose of this passage?
A. To give the writer’s opinion about long bus trips.
B. To persuade you to take a long bus trip.
C. To explain how bus trips and television shows differ.
D. To describe the billboards along the road.
72. The writer thinks that the end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning because both are _____.
A. exciting B. comfortable C. tiring D. boring
When we see well, we do not think about our eyes very often. It is only when we cannot see perfectly that we realize how important our eyes are.
People who are near-sighted can only see things that are very close to their eyes. Everything else seems blurry (unclear). Many people who do a lot of work, such as writing, reading and sewing become near--sighted.
People who are far-sighted suffer from just the opposite problem. They can see things that are far away, but they have difficulty in reading a book unless they hold it at arm’s length. If they want to do much reading, they must get glasses, too.
Other people do not see clearly because their eyes are not exactly the right shape. They have what is called astigmatism (散光). This, too, can be corrected by glasses. Some people’s eyes become cloudy because of cataracts (白内障). Long ago these people often became blind. Now, however, it is possible to operate on the cataracts and remove them.
Having two good eyes is important for judging distances. Each eye sees things from a slightly different angle. To prove this to yourself, look at an object out of one eye; then look at the same object out of your other eye. You will find the object’s relation to the background and other things around it has changed. The difference between these two different eye views helps us to judge how far away an object is. People who have only one eye cannot judge distance as people with two eyes.We should take good care of our eyes ___.
| A．only when we can see well |
| B．only when we cannot see perfectly |
| C．even if we can see well |
| D．only when we realize how important our eyes are |
. When things far away seem indistinct(模糊不清) , one is probably ____.
| A．near-sighted | B．far-sighted |
| C．astigmatic | D．suffering from cataracts |
The underlined word “suffer” in the third paragraph probably means ____.
| A．experience | B．imagine |
| C．feel pain | D．are affected with |
Having two eyes instead of one is particularly useful for ____.
| A．seeing at night | B．seeing objects far away |
| C．looking over a wide area | D．judging distances |
People who suffer from astigmatism have ____ .
| A．one eye bigger than the other |
| B．eyes that are not exactly the right shape |
| C．a difficulty that can be corrected by an operation |
| D．an eye difficulty that cannot be corrected by glasses |
How to Fight Winter Blue
Winter’s short days are more than cold. For many people, winter depression, the most common type of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), is as much a part of the season as hats and scarves.
Winter serious SAD sufferers may need medical treatment. Those feeling a little blue can help themselves by sticking to a healthy lifestyle.
Here are some tips:
Pace yourself. Don’t expect to do everything you normally can. Set a realistic schedule. Don’t listen to negative thinking, like blaming yourself or expecting to fail.
Get involved in activities that make you feel good or feel like you’ve achieved something. For example, play table tennis or badminton.
If you are feeling depressed, you may feel like staying away from friends. Yet this is a time when friends’ support can be helpful. Call them regularly. Remember, the more we put off calling or visiting a friend, the harder it is to rebuild a friendship.
Think clearly about what’s wrong or right. Instead of giving in to vague feelings of sadness, look at your problems objectively. Break down problems into specific issues that you can work on.
Regular exercise helps to prevent and ease depression.
Eat well. Studies show that a healthy diet can help to maintain (keep) a healthy body and mind. The vitamins, minerals and micro—nutrients found in balanced diet may help our bodies to produce feel-good hormones(荷尔蒙). Foods containing chemicals to help produce feel-good hormones include bananas, turkey, nuts and seeds. Eat at least five pieces of fruit and vegetables every day.
P.S. Symptoms(症状) of SAD:
No interest or pleasure in things you used to enjoy.
Increased need for sleep.
A change in eating habits, especially an appetite for sweet or starchy(含淀粉的) foods.
Weight gain
A heavy feeling in the arms or legs
A drop in energy level
Difficulty in concentrating
Overly emotional
Avoidance of friends and social situations
Frequent feelings of guilt
Long-term feelings of hopelessness, and physical problems, such as headachesThe writer of the passage agrees that .
| A．the cold in winter makes us suffer from SAD |
| B．hats and scarves protect us from SAD |
| C．every one of us meets SAD in winter |
| D．we are blue mainly because of short days in winter |
We may infer that , according to the passage.
| A．more darkness will make us sad |
| B．we should wear hats and scarves in winter |
| C．a healthy lifestyle prevents us from serious SAD |
| D．staying away from friends makes us depressed |
．When we pace ourselves, we .
| A．don’t do anything we can | B．make a practical plan |
| C．face depression easily | D．think something of guilt |
The underlined expression “ease depression” in the passage probably means “”
| A．reduce depression | B．be easy with depression |
| C．face depression easily | D．make an easy depression |
The passage includes the following except .
| A．the earlier we meet friends, the easier it is to rebuild a friendship |
| B．if we give in to unclear feelings of sadness, we’ll be caught in the SAD |
| C．playing table tennis helps us achieve whatever we want |
| D．feel--good hormones from a balanced diet can help a healthy body |
Justin’s bedroom was so full of flat bicycle tires, bent tennis rackets, deflated basketballs, and games with missing pieces that you could hardly get in the door. His parents pleaded with him to clean out his room.
“What use is a fish tank with a hole in the bottom?” his father asked. But Justin simply smiled and repeated his motto, “Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy.”
When Justin was away from home, he always carried his blue backpack — a smaller bag of his bedroom — a place to store the many objects that he collected. It was so worn and stretched that it hardly resembled a backpack anymore.
Justin had earned a reputation for figuring things out and getting people out of otherwise hopeless situations. Many of his classmates and neighbors sought him out when they needed help with a problem. On the first day of school, his friend Kenny, came looking for Justin.
“Do you think you have something in your backpack that could help me remember my locker combination (箱子密码)?” he asked. “I lost the piece of paper it was written on. I have a science class in two minutes and if I’m late on the first day it’ll make me look bad for the rest of the year.” Kenny looked really worried.
“Relax,” Justin said, taking his backpack off and opened it. “Remember how you borrowed my notebook in my home to write the combination down? Well, I know how I can recover what you wrote.”
He took the notebook and a soft lead pencil out of his backpack. The page that Kenny had written on had left faint marks on another page in the notebook. Justin held the pencil on its side and rubbed it lightly over the marks. Slowly but surely the numbers of the locker combination appeared in white.
“That’ s amazing!” Kenny said, “I owe you one.” And he dashed off to open his locker.
It was just another day in the life of the boy whose motto was “Never throw anything out; you never know when it might come in handy.”Why is Justin’s room in such a mess?
| A．He always forgets to clean it. |
| B．He never throws anything out. |
| C．He has no time to clean it. |
| D．He shares the room with his brother. |
In what way is Justin’s blue backpack used?
| A．He uses it as a place to store collected objects. |
| B．He uses it to carry his books and sports equipment. |
| C．His parents tell him to clean it all the time. |
| D．He carries it to remind others of his ability. |
The underlined phrase “pleaded with” means .
| A．ignored | B．asked | C．pushed | D．admired |
How does Kenny feel toward Justin?
| A．Annoyed | B．Disinterested | C．Grateful | D．Angry |
Something in chocolate could be used to stop coughs and lead to more effective medicines, say UK researchers.
Their study found that theobromine（可可碱）, found in cocoa, was nearly a third more effective in stopping coughs than codeine, which was considered the best cough medicine at present.
The Imperial College London researchers who published their results online said the discovery could lead to more effective cough treatment. “While coughing is not necessarily harmful it can have a major effect on the quality of life, and this discovery could be a huge step forward in treating this problem,” said Professor Peter Barnes.
Ten healthy volunteers were given theobromine, codeine or placebo, a pill that contains no medicine, during the experiment. Neither the volunteers nor the researchers knew who received which pill. The researchers then measured levels of capsaicin, which is used in research to cause coughing and as a sign of how well the medicines are stopping coughs.
The team found that, when the volunteers were given theobromine, the capsaicin needed to produce a cough was around a third higher than in the placebo group. When they were given codeine they needed only slightly higher levers of capsaicin to cause a cough compared with the placebo.
The researchers said that theobromine worked by keeping down a nerve activity(神经活动), which cause coughing. They also found that unlike some standard cough treatments, theobromine caused no side effects such as sleepiness.According to Professor Barnes, theobromine ______.
| A．cannot be as effective as codeine |
| B．can be harmful to people’s health |
| C．cannot be separated from chocolate |
| D．can be a more effective cure for coughs |
What was used in the experiment to cause coughing?
| A．Theobromine. | B．Codeine. | C．Capsaicin. | D．Placebo. |
We learn from the text that volunteers in the experiment _____.
| A．were patients with bad coughs |
| B．were divided into the three groups |
| C．received standard treatments |
| D．suffered little side effects |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Codeine: A New Medicine |
| B．Chocolate May Cure Coughs |
| C．Cough Treatment: A Hard Case |
| D．Theobromine Can Cause Coughs |
How to Be a Winner
Sir Steven Redgrave
Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals
“In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes(糖尿病). Believing my career was over, I felt extremely low. Then one of the specialists said there was no reason why I should stop training and competing. That was it ---the encouragement I needed. I could still be a winner if I believed in myself. I am not saying that it isn’t difficult sometimes. But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn't finished yet. Nothing is to stand in my way.”
Karen Pickering
Swimming World Champion
“I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary. This is the key to success----you can’t follow a career in any field without being well-organized. List what you believe you can achieve. Trust yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you’ll be a step closer to achieving them.”
Kirsten Best
Poet & Writer
“When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can’t achieve something. Then, there are other distractions, such as family or hobbies. The key is to concentrate. When I feel tense, it helps a lot to repeat words such as ‘calm’, ‘peace’ or ‘focus’, either out loud or silently in my mind. It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence. This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a powerful psychological tool”What does Sir Steven Redgrave mainly talk about?
| A．Difficulties influenced his career. |
| B．Specialists offered him medical advice. |
| C．Training helped him defeat his disease. |
| D．He overcame the shadow of illness to win. |
What does Karen Pickering put on top of her diary?
| A．Her training schedule. | B．Her daily happenings. |
| C．Her achievements. | D．Her sports career. |
What does the underlined word “distractions” probably refer to？
| A．Ways that help one to focus. |
| B．Words that help one to feel less tense. |
| C．Activities that turn one's attention away. |
| D．Habits that make it hard for one to relax. |
According to the passage ,what do the three people have in common?
| A．Self-confidence. | B．Devotion. | C．Hard work. | D．Courage. |