Bedazzling (眼花缭乱) with their bright colors and eye-catching displays, fireworks light up our night skies during the holidays. However, these crowd-pleasers can have some damaging side effects.
Once a firework is set off, it only takes a couple of seconds before smoke, dust and harmful chemicals are let out into the atmosphere. The loud booming noises are caused by gunpowder. While the sounds may excite some people, they can be frightening to domestic and wild animals — as well as some humans.
The pretty colors you see are a result of more chemicals. Barium, added to make green, is known for its poisonous and radioactive qualities. Blue comes from copper compounds. Cadmium, lithium and lead — all found in fireworks — have been linked to diseases, such as allergies and skin rashes in both humans and animals. Acid rain has been linked to gases given off by fireworks, which sometimes go beyond the toxin(毒素) limits of the United States Clean Air Act.
Once all those chemicals come back down to the ground, they can cause problems too. Debris (碎片) from the fireworks falls to the ground, where animals can burn their paws or noses on piping hot pieces. Humans also are at risk of stepping on or picking up something sharp or hot. Meanwhile, debris that finds its way into waterways can damage animal habitats and water supply sources.
Instead of setting off fireworks, try to come up with some new ways for fun. Here are some ideas to get you started:
• Sky lanterns — a tradition that originated long ago in the most-populated Asian country.
• Party crackers — a favorite in the United Kingdom — give you noise and surprises without the mess of fireworks. You can make your own or buy eco-friendly crackers.
• Want noise excitement with less volume? Consider a fireworks sound recording beforehand or break out the party horns (号角) and blow up a storm!
46. The advantages of fireworks can be seen below EXCEPT that _____.
A. the special sounds of fireworks excite people
B. debris from fireworks can even find its way into water
C. the pretty and bright colors add to the beauty of night skies
D. fireworks are enjoyed as one of the crowd-pleasers
47. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Copper compounds are needed to make green in fireworks.
B. Chemicals in fireworks are both poisonous and dangerous.
C. Too much gases from fireworks can result in acid rain.
D. Chemicals in fireworks are harmful in the air and on the ground.
48. All the underlined words are probably _____________.
A. mineral materials B. tiny solids
C. chemical elements D. broken pieces
49. What is implied from the passage?
A. Gunpowder in fireworks makes loud booming noises.
B. It must be Indians who first started to hang sky lanterns.
C. Fireworks does less harm in the air than on the ground.
D. Fireworks can even break the balance of nature.
50. What can be concluded as the writer’s attitude towards fireworks?
A. It is not allowed to set off fireworks except during the holidays.
B. Fireworks should be banned and replaced by some other means.
C. Night is the best time to set off fireworks and see the pretty colors.
D. You cannot set off fireworks unless you come up with new ways.
About 35 percent of British adults sleep with teddy bears. Many more share a bed with a partner or spouse. Others still co - sleep, alongside children in a family bed.
But lying with your iPad? A recent survey by marketing agency Rosette found that 68 percent of tablet owners use the device in the bedroom, more than in any other location. The living room took a close second place, at 63 percent, reports AdAge. com, and only 45 percent of respondents said they use their tablets on the go.
But bringing devices into the bedroom is a bad idea, if quality rest is your goal. One of the most important factors of sleepiness is darkness, which signals to the brain that it’s time to start speeding up production of the sleep - inducing hormone melatonin. But as the New York Times points out, in our modern world, we are exposed to light long after the sun sets. While any type of light can disturb your sleep, the blue wavelength light given off by cell phones, laptops, tablets and other gadgets is particularly troublesome. Research shows that this blue light causes alertness so decisively that it can actually be used to fight tiredness.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, 95 percent of Americans use some device, whether it’s a TV, laptop, cell phone or other products, within an hour of killing time. “Artificial light exposure between dusk and the time we go to bed at night push our sleeping sense to a later hour - making it more difficult to fall asleep,” said Charles Czeisler, Ph. D. , M. D. , chief of the division of sleep medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Instead, experts recommend turning off all devices an hour before bedtime and finding another method for relaxation, like reading a book, taking a warm bath or performing a series of calming yoga poses. It’s also a good idea to exercise and lay off the caffeine several hours before bedtime. According to a recent survey, most tablet owners use their iPad ________.
| A．in the living room | B．in the bedroom |
| C．in the office | D．on the move |
What can we know from this passage?
| A．The light from cell phones is harmful |
| B．Modern people have trouble falling asleep |
| C．Darkness can create a good sleeping environment |
| D．Blue light can prevent sleepiness decreasing |
If we often play with a laptop just before sleep, we’ll be more likely to ________.
| A．dream of it | B．stay awake | C．feel sleepy | D．become tired |
Each time I see a balloon, my mind flies back to a memory of when I was a six - year – old girl. It was a rainy Sunday and my father had recently died. I asked my mom if Dad had gone to heaven. “Yes, honey. Of course.” she said.“Can we write him a letter?”
She paused, the longest pause of my short life, and answered, “Yes.”My heart jumped. “How? Does the mailman go there?” I asked.
“No, but I have an idea.” Mom drove to a party store and returned with a red balloon. I asked her what it was for.“Just wait, honey. You’ll see.” Mom told me to write my letter. Eagerly, I got my favorite pen, and poured out my six - year - old heart in the form of blue ink. I wrote about my day, what I learned at school, how Mom was doing, and even about what happened in a story I had read. For a few minutes it was as if Dad were still alive. I gave the letter to Mom. She read it over, and a smile crossed her face.She made a hole in the corner of the letter where she looped the balloon string. We went out-side and she gave me the balloon. It was still raining.“Okay, on the count of three, let go. One, two, three.”The balloon, carrying my letter, darted upward against the rain. We watched until it was swallowed by the mass of clouds.Later I realized, like the balloon, that Dad had never let his sickness get him down. He was strong. No matter what he suffered, he’d persevere, dart up, and finally transcend this cold world and his sick body. He rose into sky and became something beautiful. I watched until the balloon disappeared into the gray and white and I prayed that his strength was passed on. I prayed to be a balloon.When the girl asked her mother if they could write to her father, her mother _________.
| A．believed it easy to do so | B．thought her a creative girl |
| C．felt it hard to answer | D．found it easy to lie |
When the girl was told that she could send a letter to her father, she __________.
| A．jumped with joy |
| B．was worried that it couldn’t be delivered |
| C．started writing immediately |
| D．became excited |
In the eyes of the author, what was the rain like?
| A．An incurable disease |
| B．An unforgettable memory. |
| C．The failures her father experienced |
| D．The hard time her father had. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．An unforgettable experience | B．Fly to the heaven |
| C．The strong red balloon | D．A great father |
Retail therapy（购物疗法）has long been considered as a good way to let off stress. Now, US scientists have discovered not only does retail therapy exist，but that it could be caused by an individual's fear of sudden death.
Researchers found materialistic people thought terrorism and war more stressful than others.
Psychologists believe the rise of materialism around the world and its treatment effect on extreme stress might be a response to fear of death caused by acts of terrorism, disease and natural disasters.
The scientists from Michigan State University said people with possession obsessions（妄想）often have lower self-esteem than others so are more likely to shop as the result of severe psychological suffering.
Ayalla Ruvio，a business professor studying people's shopping habits while rockets fell in Israel, said, "When the going gets tough, the materialistic people go shopping. This stress spending is likely to produce even greater stress and lower well-being. Essentially, materialism appears to make bad events even worse.
Dr Ruvio led a two-part study of Israeli citizens living in a town that came under extreme rocket attacks for about six months in 2007. She compared 139 residents of the southern town with 170 from another town that was not under attack to see how their symptoms of post-traumatic stress and shopping habits varied. Dr Ruvio found that, when faced with a deadly threat, those who are highly materialistic suffered much higher levels of stress，while their tendency to shop was increased.
Dr Ruvio said, "The relationship between materialism and stress may be more harmful than commonly thought.”
The second stage of their research surveyed 855 Americans about their materialistic nature and fear of death. They found shopping was used to relieve feelings of stress and anxiety about death but this was in response to fear of a variety of life-threatening events like car accidents, criminal attacks and natural disasters.Which of the following opinion is NOT right according to the text?
| A．Terrorism is believed to easily cause the rise of materialism. |
| B．The materialistic find terrorism and war more stressful than others. |
| C．The scientists think possession obsessions help people get self-respect. |
| D．The scientists think people with possession obsessions suffer a lot mentally. |
Why did Dr Ruvio choose to study the two groups of Israeli citizens mentioned in the passage?
| A．They enjoy the special shopping culture. |
| B．The stresses they face are usually deadly. |
| C．They are in different situation in terms of war. |
| D．They are usually active participants for researchers. |
What's the result about Dr Ruvio's research?
| A．Impulsive spending does good to people's health. |
| B．Shopping can't lower one's stress as it is expected. |
| C．Faced with great stress, people feel hopeless for life. |
| D．Faced with threat，people's wish to shop will decrease. |
Which of the following events threaten people's life?
①Greater stress; ②Car accidents; ③Criminal attacks；. ④Natural disasters;
| A．①②③ | B．②③④ | C．①②④ | D．①③④ |
What's the main idea of the passage?
| A．Greater stress can lead to shopping. |
| B．Greater stress can cause a lot of diseases |
| C．Shopping is very important in people's life. |
| D．Can shopping reduce the stress and relieve the fear of death? |
In the Netherlands，cycling isn't seen as eccrfriendly exercise; it's part of everyday life, as it's people's top choice to school and work. There are more bicycles than residents in the Netherlands. In cities like Amsterdam and The Hague, up to 70 percent of all journeys are made by bike.
So how did cycling become such a popular means of transportation in the European country?
In the 1970s, the Dutch government began to improve its cycling infrastructure（基础设施）due to both a social movement demanding safer cycling condition for children and the oil crisis in the Middle East, when oil producing countries stopped their exports to Western Europe.
To make cycling safer and more appealing, the Dutch have built the widest cycling net- work in the world. The country has over 40，000 kilometers of bicycle lanes and paths，which are clearly marked. They have smooth surfaces，separate signs and lights for those on two wheels. The lanes are wide enough to allow side-by-side cycling and passing.
In many cities the bike lanes are completely segregated（隔离的）from motorized traffic. And in many traffic situations cyclists are given priority（优先权）over drivers. Sometimes， where space is limited and both must share, you can see signs showing an image of a cyclist with a car behind accompanied by the words "Bike Street：Cars are guests".
As young people aren't allowed to drive alone until they are 18，cycling offers Dutch teen- agers an alternative form of freedom. The government also makes cycling training lessons a compulsory part of the Dutch school curriculum（课程）．
Bike parking facilities are ubiquitous in the country. Cyclists are accommodated in the way motorists are elsewhere. Take Groningen, a city in the northeastern part of the Netherlands，for example. The city's central train station has underground parking for 10，000 bikes.We can conclude that in the Netherlands cycling is____．
| A．regarded as eco-friendly exercise |
| B．thought of as part of people's life |
| C．looked on as a way to lose weight |
| D．considered as a way to entertain |
What can we learn about the Netherlands from the first paragraph?
| A．Most vehicles the Dutch use are buses. |
| B．The native people cycle the best in the world. |
| C．Everyone has one bike on average in the Netherlands. |
| D．The number of bikes is larger than the population there. |
Which of the following made the government improve the cycling infrastructure?
| A．A large number of bikes. |
| B．Hope for healthy life style. |
| C．People's preference to bikes. |
| D．Children's safety demand and lack of oil. |
The underlined word "ubiquitous" in the last paragraph means“＿，，．
| A．high quality | B．unique | C．very common | D．special |
What does the Dutch government do about teenagers cycling?
| A．It makes cycling covered by school education. |
| B．It encourages teenagers to cycle alone. |
| C．It will watch over teenagers who ride bikes. |
| D．It suggests teenagers cycling before driving. |
Self-confidence is an attitude which allows individuals to have positive yet realistic views of themselves and their situations. Self-confident people trust their own abilities, have a general sense of control in their lives, and believe that，within reason, they will be able to do what they wish., plan., and expect. Having self-confidence does not mean that individuals will be able to do everything. Self-confident people have expectations that are realistic. Even when some of their expectations are not met，they continue to be positive and to accept themselves.
People who are not self-confident depend too much on the approval of others in order to feel good about themselves. They tend to avoid taking risks because they fear failure. They generally do not expect to be successful. They often put themselves down and tend to ignore compliments（赞美）paid to them By contrast，self-confident people are willing to risk the disapproval of others because they generally trust their own abilities. They tend to accept themselves；they don't feel they have to conform in order to be accepted.
Many factors affect the development of self-confidence. Parents' attitudes are crucial to children's feelings about themselves，particularly in children's early years. When parents pro- vide acceptance, children receive a solid foundation for good feelings about themselves. If one or both parents are much to critical or demanding, or if they are overprotective and discourage children's moves toward independence, children may come to believe they are unqualified or inadequate.
Surprisingly, lack of self-confidence is not necessarily related to lack of ability. Instead it is often the result of focusing too much on the unrealistic expectations or standards of others， especially parents and society. Friends' influences can be as powerful or more powerful than those of parents and society in shaping feelings of one's self. Students in their college years reexamine values and develop their own identities and thus are particularly sensitive to the influence of friends.Paragraph 1 mainly talks about____．
| A．the sources of self-confidence |
| B．the benefits of self-confidence |
| C．the development of self-confidence |
| D．the lack of self-confidence |
In Paragraph 2，the underlined word "conform" probably means“_______”．
| A．refuse | B．separate | C．permit | D．obey |
According to the passage, self-confident people tend to____．
| A．be practical | B．control others |
| C．avoid risks | D．depend on others |
Which of the following can we learn about self-confidence according to the passage?
| A．Self-confidence is usually the symbol of special abilities. |
| B．Parents' protection prevents children's self-confidence development. |
| C．Parents and friends matter in building one's self-confidence. |
| D．College students are the least self-confident group in society. |
What might the author most probably continue to talk about in the following passage?
| A．How we can become more acceptable. |
| B．Lack of self-confident has many side effects. |
| C．What self-confident children usually get from parents. |
| D．What one should avoid in building self-confidence. |