第三部分：阅读理解 (共20小题；每小题2分, 满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
There is nothing else but economy that occupies the minds of Americans at present times of economic stress and recession. The negative statistics on unemployment, housing costs and consumer confidence keep coming and coming, leaving people not just scared to spend money, but also very stressed and emotionally exhausted. This stress has an impact on everything, starting with our sleep, mood, physical health, relationships, and eating habits.
"Times of economic stress lead to increased rates of depression," says Dr. Christopher Palmer, director of continuing education at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. "It worsens illness in people who have been constantly depressed. But it also causes new cases of depression. Just the fear of losing one's job can put people over the edge. "
And, without any doubt, just depression alone can create a variety of negative health effects.
1. SLEEP
33 per cent of Americans reported that they have lost sleep due to the economic crisis.
26 per cent say they are sleeping less than 6 hours per night, which is considered to be at least one hour less than the most favorable 7 to 8 hours recommended by sleep experts.
2. MENTAL HEALTH, STRESS AND HEART
80 per cent of Americans reported last year that the economy is a significant source of stress; 49 per cent said the situation makes them feel nervous or anxious; 48 per cent reported that they felt very sad and have developed depression.
Nearly twice the risk of heart attack or death was found in coronary-artery-disease patients with the highest levels of depression or anxiety. Among those individuals, a 10 per cent higher risk of heart attack or death was found in those whose anxiety rose over time.
3. RELATIONSHIPS
The chances of violent behavior are nearly 6 times higher for individuals who are left without a job.
Workplace stress can lead to domestic violence.
Money is the number one source of disagreement in the early years of marriage.
56. Which of the following is true according to the text?
A. Now Americans don't dare to spend money.
B. Now most Americans have problem in sleeping.
C. Economy is the most troubling problem for Americans.
D. Economic crisis has destroyed many American families.
57. How does the economic crisis affect Americans according to the passage?
A. They sleep fewer than six hours.
B. They sleep less than the proper amount.
C. Diseases caused by economy make them sleepless.
D. They lose sleep at night.
58. If a person is out of work, he might _________.
A. become more violent B. get divorced C. get rid of workplace stress D. go mad
59. The best title of this passage probably is _________.
A. The World Economic Crisis Are Getting worse
B. Economic Crisis Affects Our Health
C. Economic Crisis Causes Trouble to Sleep
D. Ordinary People Suffer Greatly in Economic Crisis
If a business wants to sell its products internationally, it had better do some market research first. This is a lesson that some large American corporations have learned the hard way.
What’s in the name?
Sometimes the problem is the name. When General Motors introduced its Chevy Nova into Latin America, it overlooked the fact that Nova in Spanish means “It doesn’t go”. Sure enough, the Chevy Nova never went anywhere in Latin America.
Translation problems
Sometimes it is the slogan that doesn’t work. No company knows this better than Pepsi-Cola, with its “Come alive with Pepsi!” campaign. The campaign was so successful in the United States , Pepsi translated its slogan literally for its international campaign. As it turned out , the translations weren’t quite right. Pepsi was begging Germans to “Come out of the grave(坟墓)” and telling the Chinese that “Pepsi brings your ancestors(老祖宗) back from the grave.”
A picture’s worth a thousand words
Other times, the problem involves packaging . A picture of a smiling baby has helped sell countless jars of Gerber baby food. When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with the smiling baby on the label. Later they learned that in African countries, the picture on the jar shows what the jar has in it, for many people there can’t read.
Twist of fate
Even the culture and religious factors and pure coincidence can be involved. Thorn McAn shoes have a Thorn McAn “signature” inside. To people in Bangladesh, which is a Muslim country, this signature looked like Arabic script for the word Allah. In that country, feet are considered unclean, and Muslims felt the company was offending God’s name by having people walk on it.From the text we learned that _________.
| A．Chevy Nova was brought in Latin America |
| B．General Motors did the best market research of all companies |
| C．Pepsi still sold well in China owing to the translation problems |
| D．the “Come alive with Pepsi” campaign worked well in the US |
What was “Gerber’s problem”?
| A．A translation problem | B．Cultural factor |
| C．Religious factor | D．The picture on the jar |
For what reason were Thorn McAn shoes turned down in Bangladesh?
| A．They are not designed attractively |
| B．Their advertisements are not persuasive |
| C．A signature looking like the word Allah was in the shoes |
| D．Problem for Thorn McAn was the company’s name |
What does the text mainly tell us?
| A．Lessons from some large corporations. |
| B．How to make use of advertisements |
| C．The importance of market research |
| D．The importance of packaging |
Researchers found that walking around with a forced smile and fake (假的) happiness simply leads to people feeling unhappier. So, putting a brave face on your sadness could be harmful. The research also found that women suffered more than men when pretending to be happy.
Dr. Brent Scott, who led the study, said employers should take note because forcing workers to smile when dealing with the public can result in bad outcomes. He said, “Smiling for the sake of smiling can lead to emotional tiredness, and that’s bad for the organization.” He also said the research showed customer-service workers who had “fake smiles” throughout the day fell into a bad mood and didn’t want to work, so their productivity dropped.
The study is one of the first of its kind to examine emotional expressions over a period of time and compare the different effects on men and women. Dr. Scott’s team examined the effects of “surface acting”, or fake smiling, compared to “deep acting”, or making people smile by thinking of pleasant memories.
Dr. Scott said, “Women were harmed more by surface acting, meaning their moods worsened even more than men’s. However, they were helped more by deep acting, which means their moods improved more by thinking of pleasant memories. ”
According to Dr. Scott, women tend to suffer more when pretending to be happy because they are expected to be more emotionally expressive than men. Therefore, forcing a smile while feeling down is more likely to go against their normal behavior and cause more harmful feelings.
Although deep acting can improve moods a little in the short term, Dr. Scott says, it’s not a long-term solution to feeling unhappy. “There have been some suggestions that if you do this over a long period you start to feel unreal. You’re trying to develop positive emotions, but at the end of the day you may not feel like yourself any more.”According to the passage, Dr. Scott’s study ______.
| A．is supported by some big employers in the USA |
| B．is meaningful as there haven’t been many similar ones |
| C．examined more women than men for a long time |
| D．aimed to make the employees more productive |
Women suffer more from fake happiness mainly because ______.
| A．they usually become shy in public places |
| B．they are supposed to be more emotionally expressive |
| C．they are often treated in a terrible way |
| D．they like thinking of pleasant memories |
It is implied in the passage that deep acting _____.
| A．doesn’t have any effect on men |
| B．cannot improve our moods in any case |
| C．harms our feelings in the long run |
| D．pleases people by feeling like another person |
When was the last time someone unexpectedly did something nice for you ? Not someone you knew, but a total stranger? It’s happened to me a few times, but two instances really stand out.
A few years ago, I was dining in a restaurant with a friend who kept talking about himself, completely not aware of the fact that I was sitting there in misery. It wasn’t my friend’s talks that made me suffer. I was recovering from a broken heart, and just sitting down to dinner reminded me of my last relationship. I could have burst into tears right there at the table.
When we picked up the check, the waitress said, “ Your meal was already paid for .” My friend and I didn’t have a clue how it happened. Then I remembered a man I saw out of the corner of my eye. He was dressed in mostly white, sat down at the bar, had a beer, and stayed for maybe ten minutes. The waitress said, “Yes, the gentleman in white paid for you .” It felt like an angel was saying “I see you, honey. It’s going to be okay.”
Just last year, I was running a half-marathon. With just 1 mile to go, I was out of gas. Runners call it “hitting the wall”. I thought I couldn’t move another inch. Out of nowhere, a stranger came up to me and said, “What’s your name, sweetie? Jennifer? Okay, Jennifer, let’s go! Come on! It’s just around the corner! You can do it!” And he ran with me until I picked up my pace. I found him at the finish line to thank him for the encouragement only to learn he wasn’t even supposed to be in the race that day.
I still shake my head when I think of these momentary angels that came to me at my point of need. Do you have any experiences like these?Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．The kindness of strangers. | B．Valuable friendship . |
| C．Two special experiences . | D．Helping others is worthwhile |
Why did the author suffer when dining out with a friend?
| A．Because she didn’t like the dishes. |
| B．Because she quarreled with her friend |
| C．Because her friend only talked about himself. |
| D．Because she was sad for her last relationship. |
The underlined expression in the passage means “______”.
| A．being hurt by the wall | B．winning the game |
| C．taking a deep breath | D．running out of energy |
March 22, 20II---Most restaurants in the United States offer their customers a glass of tap water at no charge with their meal, but this week many restaurants are asking dinners to pay a dollar, or more, for a glass of water. Cards on their tables explain that this small amount helps bring clean water to children around the world. It’s called the UNICEF Tap Project.
“UNICEF’s Tap Project is really all about bringing attention to the fact that over 900 million people around the globe do not have access to good, clean, healthy drinking water,” says Cary Stem, who heads the US Fund for UNICEF. She adds that water-borne illness is the second-highest cause of preventable childhood death in the world.
“Each and every day approximately 4,100 children die just because they don’t have that access - 4,100 every single day.”
The public service campaign encourages people to help change that statistic with a simple, affordable action: paying a dollar to get a glass of tap water at a restaurant.
“One dollar buys enough good, clean water for a child for 40 days,” Stem says.
“The tap project has expanded since it began five years ago with 300 restaurants in New York City. This year, Stem says, about 3,000 restaurants across the country are participating in the campaign. We raised about $2.5 million over the last five years of this campaign,” says Stem. “Last year, we raised over $1 million for the first time. This year we’re hoping to top that.”
Stem credits the continued success of the campaign to an army of volunteers who support the tap project and raise money in their communities.
The UNICEF Tap Project is promoting its efforts with a simple motto: when you take water, give water. Currently, UNICEF works in more than 100 countries around the world to improve access to safe water and sanitation facilities in schools and communities.
Stem hopes that, by participating in the project, more Americans will realize that what they often take for granted is a precious and scarce resource in many other parts of the world.Restaurants began to charge for tap water to _______.
| A．increase their profit |
| B．urge customers to save water |
| C．raise people’s awareness of the world water problem |
| D．collect money for those without access to safe water |
We can learn from the text that the Tap Project ________.
| A．began in New York City |
| B．was started by volunteers |
| C．is hoping to collect $2.5 million this year |
| D．provides help for 1,000 countries in the world |
It can be learned that _______.
| A．the Tap Project began in 2006 |
| B．America suffers a serious problem |
| C．4,100 children die of water pollution every year |
| D．water-borne illnesses are the biggest killer of children |
How does Cary Stem feel about the work of the Tap Project?
| A．Concerned | B．Hopeful | C．Disappointed | D．Angry |
The summer vacation is the time to consolidate（巩固）your learning and prepare for the year ahead. In July and August Oxford Study Courses will once again hold its Mid-IB Summer School for students half way through their IB Diploma（国际预科证书）.
We’ll be back giving another generation of IB students a unique opportunity to sample a way of life enjoyed by students at famous universities.
Students who have completed the first year of their IB Diploma can join us and we can help them prepare for their important second year.
Students can choose how many subjects they study. Each subject is studied for one week. You can attend up to 5 weeks.
The Mid-IB Summer School is held at Cambridge University in the UK （between June 20th and August 1 st） and at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology （MIT）in Boston, USA （between July 6th and July 25th）.
Student comments
◆ “The classes have shown me new approaches to learning. I have also learned how to approach exam questions and now feel confident in doing so.”
◆ “It was cool creating tight and close relationships with other students from around the world, realizing we all had a connection to each other.”
◆ “I really enjoyed the level of independence, although I felt like people were watching out for us. I also felt like an Oxford student!”
◆ “I have enjoyed the learning style and the course work has been extremely beneficial（有益处的）academically.”
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Enjoy the summer
Our Summer School gives you an action-packed social scene with visits to the fun places in the area, organized sports and social events, and advice on how to enjoy your free time in these amazing cities with your new friends. Welcome to contact us at ose@ose-ib.com or on +44（0）1865 521802!The Mid-IB Summer School is intended for the students who ________.
A. have finished their first year of college
B. intend to apply for Oxford University
C. don’t know how to spend their summer vacation
D, have completed the first year of their IB DiplomaWhat can be inferred from the text?
| A．Students will visit many fun places around the world. |
| B．A student can at most choose 5 subjects. |
| C．Only students from England and America have access to the school. |
| D．Students can obtain their IB Diploma when they finish their studies. |
Which of the following about the Mid-IB Summer School is true?
| A．It begins in July. |
| B．It provides only academic courses. |
| C．It is held in three universities. |
| D．Students attending will study for 5 weeks. |