“Helping survivors (生还者) of the earthquake and killer waves in the Indian Ocean last week is a race against time” says Kofi Annan , the United Nations secretary-general .
The concern about offers of international aid is based on history. Since we are social beings, the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal relationships. One strength of the human condition is our aim to give and receive support from one another under stressful surroundings. Social support consists of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties.
Those of us with strong support systems appear betterable to deal with major life changes and daily problems. People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties. Studies over a range of illnesses, from depression to heart disease, show that the presence of social support helps people prevent illness, and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely.
Social support cushions stress in a number of ways. First, friends, relatives, and co-workers may let us know that they value us. Our self-respect is strengthened when we are popular with others despite our faults and difficulties. Second, other people often provide us with informational support. They help us to notice and understand our problems and find solutions to them. Third, we typically find social companionship supportive. Engaging in leisure-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting(转移...注意力)us from our worries and troubles. Finally, other people may give us instrumental support: a financial aid, material resources, and needed services -- that reduces stress by helping us deal with our problems.
59. Research shows that people's physical and mental health _______.
A. depends on the social welfare (福利)systems which support them
B. has much to do with the amount of support they get from others
C. depends on their ability to deal with daily worries and troubles
D. is closely related to their strength for dealing with major changes in their lives
60. The underlined word" cushions" in Para.3 means _______.
A. adds up to B. does away with
C. reduce the effect of D. depends on
61. Helping a sick neighbor with some repair work is an example of _______.
A. instrumental support B. informational support
C. social companionship D. the strengthening of self-respect
62. Social companionship is very important because _______.
A. it helps strengthen our ties with relatives
B. it enables us to get rid of our faults and mistakes
C. it makes our leisure-time activities more enjoyable
D. it draws our attention away from our worries and troubles
I watch documentaries, not movies．I read history books, not fiction．I use every free moment to accomplish one of the tasks on my never-ending checklist, and I am completely filled with thoughts of productivity．An hour sleeping is an hour wasted．And like the rest of 21st century America, I like it．But this fixation on productivity is increasingly destroying character and transforming men into robots.
New York Times columnist David Brooks warned American University students of this cultural decline in a speech．“We cut off all things spiritual and emotional in a competitive urge to stand out”, he said, “The pressure to succeed professionally, to acquire skills, to do the things you need to do to succeed in an information age economy really became the overwhelming（难以应付的） pressures, and it sort of eclipses the thinking about character and morality.”
Many students happily go to college, viewing it as a next step on their rise to professional achievement．Forcing as many success-building activities into their schedules as they can, they enjoy keeping busy with little sleep．“Today’s outstanding kids are likely to spend their afternoons and weekends shuttling from one skill-improving activity to the next,” Brooks wrote in an article, “We fear failure more than we desire success.”
A century ago, college was about character building．Today, our characters are in decline．We are experts on economics, material things and professional skills．We fail to discuss and understand relationships, emotions and all things spiritual．
Philosopher Karl Popper divided the world into two categories: Clocks and Clouds．Clock problems are those that can be taken apart, examined and solved through deductive reasoning（演绎推理）．Clouds cannot be taken apart．Cloud problems represent whole systems that need to be understood in a different way.
“When we have a Cloud problem, we try to turn it into a Clock problem,” Brooks said．And in a reason-centered culture, adding titles to one’s resume becomes a trend．At American University, 85 percent of seniors (and 89 percent of business majors) graduate with at least one practical experience which is often helpful to a student’s future career, but can sometimes draw focus away from academics.
To prevent the death of man’s character, Brooks urges rediscovering our human natures through falling in love．And by love he means love for a task, job, or another person．“Synchronicity is key to happiness,” he said．Rather than crazily increasing our long lists of accomplishments, we need to lose ourselves in what we do, and success will come on its own.From Paragraph 1, we can learn that people __________.
| A．are controlled by time |
| B．are keen on reading books |
| C．are changing their characters |
| D．are eager to achieve more |
In Paragraph 2, the underlined word “eclipses” means _________.
| A．deletes | B．weakens |
| C．worsens | D．emphasizes |
The last paragraph mainly tells us that __________．
| A．love is more important than focus |
| B．the focus on human natures counts |
| C．more work contributes to happiness |
| D．success comes from devotion to work |
The purpose of this passage is to __________.
| A．bring awareness to character building |
| B．stress the importance of productivity |
| C．warn about the pressure to seek success |
| D．criticize students’ desire for achievements |
Everyone procrastinates．We put things off because we don’t want to do them, or because wehave too many other things on our plates．Putting things off—big or small—is part of being human.
But procrastination does have consequences．When your procrastination leaves you feeling discouraged, it is time to take action, and one of the best ways to get rid of it is to make an un-schedule.
An un-schedule is a weekly calendar of all the ways in which your time is already accounted for．You consider not only your timed commitments such as classes and meetings, but also your untimed activities such as meals, exercise, time with friends, and the like．Once you have made your un-schedule, you may be able to see your time is often filled with more activities than you realize, for instance, that you really don’t have five hours to spend writing on the night before your paper is due．Procrastinators’ views of time tend to be unrealistic, and the un-schedule can help you outline a realistic plan．By planning accordingly, you will not only get a better night’s sleep, you may also end up with a better paper．
The un-schedule might also be a good way to get started on a larger project, such as a term paper or an honors paper．You may think that you have “all semester” to get the writing done, but if you really map out how much time you have available to write on a daily and weekly basis, you will see that you need to get started sooner, rather than later．In addition, the un-schedule may reveal especially busy weeks or months, which will help you budget time for long-term projects.
Perhaps most importantly, the un-schedule can help you examine how you spend your time．You may be surprised at how much time you spend watching television, and decide to make a change．It’s especially important that you build time for fun activities into your un-schedule．Otherwise, you will procrastinate in order to steal time for relaxation.
You can also use the un-schedule to record your progress towards your goal．Reward yourself for your small successes．Seeing what you’ve achieved will help reinforce（强化）the productive behavior, and you will feel more motivated in the following process.
As you explore ways to conquer procrastination, don’t expect overnight transformation．You developed the habit over a long time; you aren’t going to stop magically．But you can change the behavior, bit by bit．If you start to make an un-schedule now, you will eventually develop new habits．From Paragraph 2, we can know that procrastinators __________.
| A．usually have sleeping problems |
| B．tend to be unrealistic in daily life |
| C．spend more time in doing exercise |
| D．often fail to notice untimed activities |
Which of the following statements best reflects an un-schedule?
| A．“Now I have more time for fun.” |
| B．“I can start my big project later.” |
| C．“I’ll treat myself to a movie for my progress.” |
| D．“I’m going to have more time to finish my paper.” |
According to the writer, people need to make an un-schedule because of their __________．
| A．interests in doing things differently |
| B．determination to try out new things |
| C．inability to manage time properly |
| D．lack of concentration on a project |
The author writes the passage to __________.
| A．show concerns |
| B．offer suggestions |
| C．express dissatisfaction |
| D．make comments |
Ever walked to the shops only to find, once there, you’ve completely forgotten what you went for? Or struggled to remember the name of an old friend? For years we’ve accepted that a forgetful brain is as much a part of ageing as wrinkles and grey hair．But now a new book suggests that we’ve got it all wrong.
According to The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain, by science writer Barbara Strauch, when it comes to the important things, our brains actually get better with age．In fact, she argues that some studies have found that our brain hits its peak between our 40s and 60s—much later than previously thought.
Furthermore, rather than losing many brain cells as we age, we retain them, and even produce new ones well into middle age．For years it’s been assumed that brain, much like the body, declines with age．But the longest, largest study into what happens to people as they age suggests otherwise.
This continuing research has followed 6,000 people since 1956, testing them every seven years．It has found that on average, participants performed better on cognitive(认知的) tests in their 40s and 50s than they had done in their 20s．Specifically, older people did better on tests of vocabulary, verbal memory (how many words you can remember) and problem solving.
Where they performed less well was number ability and perceptual speed—how fast you can push a button when ordered．However, with more complex tasks such as problem-solving and language, we are at our best at middle age and beyond．In short, researchers are now coming up with scientific proof that we do get wiser with age.
Neuroscientists are also finding that we are happier with ageing．A recent US study found older people were much better at controlling and balancing their emotions．It is thought that when we’re younger we need to focus more on the negative aspects of life in order to learn about the possible dangers in the world, but as we get older we’ve learned our lessons and are sub-consciously aware that we have less time left in life: therefore, it becomes more important for us to be happy．Barbara Strauch probably agrees that ______．
| A．the young are better at handling important things |
| B．people’s brains work best between their 40s and 60s |
| C．ageing leads to the decline of the function of the brain |
| D．wrinkles and grey hair are the only symbols of ageing |
The continuing research has found older people perform better on _____ .
| A．vocabulary tests |
| B．number ability |
| C．perceptual speed |
| D．body balance |
People are happier with age because ______.
| A．they learn to value the time left |
| B．they know how to share feelings |
| C．they cannot focus on negative aspects |
| D．they do not realize the possible dangers |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．People get wiser with age． |
| B．People get more forgetful with age． |
| C．People get happier with age． |
| D．People get more self-aware with age． |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项
Summer is slipping away from me．Some days, it makes me want to cry．Other days, I feel a sense of expectation within me just thinking about fall that makes me want to burst．Tonight, all five of us were in the family room doing our own things.
At this moment, my littlest kid is my number one trouble and my number one joy．He has a tooth on the way and although it’s such a tiny thing, it’s causing so much grief．I’m holding him a lot and I’m not going to lie．I live for his afternoon nap(小睡) so I’m able to actually get dressed and use the restroom.
The big E is starting school soon．The other day, I found myself a bit depressed about the end of summer and the beginning of another school year．I looked out of our front window with eyes that were heavy and a bit teary．Then, I suddenly realized just how silly this end of summer depression of mine is．I can’t change time．But, I can change my emotions and my thoughts．I decided not to spend my final days of summer vacation walking around with a sad face．I decided to hug the last few days of summer and remind myself that before I know it, we will be back in our school routine and all will go well.
This week we plan on meeting teachers．I’m taking my girl to have her nails done before her first day of kindergarten．We want to bake a few dozen cookies．We’ll take our evening walks as usual and stay up late．And last but not least, I’ll get school clothes ready, I’ll pack lunches and write lunch notes, we’ll read “The Kissing Hand,” like we normally do, and I’ll tuck(掖好被子) my third grader and kindergartener in their little beds before the big first day.
Thank you summer, you’ve been warm and wonderful, you’ve been sweet and sticky, you’ve been refreshing and exactly what we need．And your sunsets have been amazing, so thank you．According to Paragraph 1, the author ______.
| A．feels excited |
| B．has mixed feelings |
| C．feels worried |
| D．has bad feelings |
How will the author spend the final days of the summer vacation?
| A．Live a simple life. |
| B．Stay at home and relax herself. |
| C．Treasure the vacation. |
| D．Walk around with a depressed face. |
From the passage, we can learn that the author ______.
| A．is fond of reading novels |
| B．has two annoying children |
| C．often takes evening walks |
| D．has no time to get dressed |
Dear Mom, Clear My Calendar
September is around the corner, and some of us are already complaining about summer’s end. But parents have a special reason to do so. The end of summer means the start of school. And these days, planning a young child’s schedule is a big challenge. The challenge is no longer finding activities to fill a child’s day; it is saying no to the hundreds of options available. Our mailbox is filled with brochures urging us to sign our kids up for classes from cooking to martial arts(武术).
Educators are themselves discouraged by the number of special classes that many children attend. In the name of “enrichment,” three-year-olds not only go to preschool in the morning but study French or gymnastics after lunch. One teacher tells of a four-year-old asking for help in the toilet before hurrying off to tennis. Another teacher says that children sometimes hold on to her at pickup time. What happened to unstructured time?
A generous explanation is that we enjoy giving children opportunities we never had. The truth however is that many parents have doubts about how much time they spend away from their families. And one way to reduce this guilt is to believe that time spent in these classes is somehow more beneficial to children than the time we know we should be giving them ourselves.
David Elkind, an expert on children, suggests that the 1960s gave birth to the belief that earlier is better. Parents hope that early music lessons, for example will build a child’s confidence. The truth, however, is that any time children are asked to do too much, too soon, they are at greater risk for feelings of failure.
A child’s time does not have to be planned to be meaningful. Remember the lazy days of summer? Some children sleep late and play with the kids across the street until it’s time to come home for dinner. However, with the majority of mothers working, fewer children enjoy that idle (空闲的) time now.
Come September, children across the country will finish a full day of kindergarten, only to attend an after-school program until 6 P.M., when a working mom or dad comes to take them home. That’s too much for a five-year old. Finances, of course, do limit some parents. But let’s be honest with ourselves – our own busy schedules, whatever they involve, are no excuse for burdening a young child’s.The author holds that it’s a challenge to plan a schedule for a child mainly because _____.
| A．a child’s schedule is too complex |
| B．activities suitable for kids are limited |
| C．parents are stuck in numerous choices |
| D．children always say no to parents’ advice |
What the two teachers say in Paragraph 2 implies that _____.
| A．children love to stay at school |
| B．they are popular with children |
| C．children dislike after-school classes |
| D．after-school classes are of poor quality |
According to the author, what is the real reason for parents to send their children to after-school classes?
| A．Parents want to make up for their own regrets. |
| B．After-school classes develop children’s potential. |
| C．Parents have doubt about their own ability to guide children. |
| D．After-school classes give parents an excuse for being absent. |
Which of the following will the author probably agree with?
| A．For children’s benefits, the earlier the better. |
| B．Children’s spare time should be carefully designed. |
| C．Idle time for children is becoming a thing of the past. |
| D．Parents should be forgiven if they have a good reason., |