In the 1960s, medical researchers Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe developed a checklist of stressful events. They appreciated the tricky point that any major change can be stressful. Bad events like "serious illness of a family member" were high on the list, but so were some helpful life-changing events like marriage.
When you take the Holmes-Rahe test you must remember that the score does not show how you deal with stress -it only shows how much you have to deal with. And we now know that the way you deal with these events dramatically (戏剧性的) affects your chances of staying healthy. By the early 1970s, hundreds of similar studies had followed Holmes and Rahe. And millions of Americans who work and live under stress worried over the reports. Somehow the research got boiled down to a memorable message. Women's magazines ran titles like "Stress causes illness".
If you want to stay physically and mentally healthy the articles said avoid stressful events. But such simplistic advice is impossible to follow. Even if stressful events are dangerous , many — like the death of a loved one — are impossible to avoid. Moreover, any warning to avoid all stressful events is a prescription (处方) for staying away from chances as well as trouble. Since any change can be stressful, a person who wanted to be completely free of stress would never marry, have a child, take a new job or move. The idea that all stress makes you sick also takes no notice of a lot of what we know about people. It supposes we' re all vulnerable and not active in the face of the difficult situation. But what about human ability and creativity? Many come through periods of stress with more physical and mental strength than they had before. We also know that a long time without change or challenge can lead to boredom and physical and mental pressure.
41. The result of Holmes-Rahe’s medical research tells us _________________.
A. the way you deal with major events may cause stress
B. what should be done to avoid stress
C. what kind of event would cause stress
D. how to deal with sudden changes in life
42. The studies on stress in the early 1970s led to ___________________.
A. popular avoidance of stressful jobs
B. great fear over the mental disorder
C. a careful research into stress-related illnesses
D. widespread worry about its harmful effects
43. The score of the Holmes-Rahe test shows ________________.
A. how you can deal with life-changing events
B. how helpful events can change your life
C. how stressful a major event can be
D. how much pressure you are under
44. Why is “such simplistic advice” (Line 1, Paragraph 3) impossible to follow?
A. No one can stay on the same job for long.
B. No prescription is effective in reducing stress.
C. People have to get married someday.
D. You could be missing chances as well.
45. According to the passage people who have experienced ups and downs may become _______.
A. nervous when faced with difficulties B. physically and mentally tired
C. more able to deal with difficulties D. cold toward what happens to them
When students and parents are asked to rate subjects according to their importance, the arts are unavoidably at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it is viewed as mere entertainment, but certainly not an education priority (优先). This view is shortsighted. In fact, music education is beneficial and important for all students.
Music tells us who we are. Because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it reflects their thinking and values, as well as the social environment it came from. Rock music represents a lifestyle just as surely as does a Schubert song. The jazz influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their music is obviously American because it came from American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and values. It gives us identity as a society.
Music provides a kind of perception(感知)that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts explore the emotive (情感的)meaning of the same phenomenon. We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason : No one way can get it all.
The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings “talk “to each other. They are the language of civilization through which we express our fears, our curiosities, our hungers, our discoveries, our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When we do not give children access to an important way of ex-pressing themselves such as music, we take away from them the meanings that music expresses.
Science and technology do not tell us what it means to be human. The arts do. Music is an important way we express human suffering, celebration, the meaning and value of peace and love.
So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize. According to Paragraph 1,students _________.
A.regard music as a way of entertainment |
B.disagree with their parents on education |
C.view music as an overlooked subject |
D.prefer the arts to science |
In Paragraph 2,the author uses jazz as an example to _________
A.compare it with rock music |
B.show music identifies a society |
C.introduce American musical traditions |
D.prove music influences people's lifestyles |
According to the passage, the arts and science _________.
A.approach the world from different angles |
B.explore different phenomena of the world |
C.express people's feelings in different ways |
D.explain what it means to be human differently |
What is the main idea of the passage?
A.Music education deserves more attention. |
B.Music should be of top education priority. |
C.Music is an effective communication tool. |
D.Music education makes students more imaginative. |
It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather. Such a fixation with the weather finds expression in Dr. Johnson's famous comment that “When two English meet, their first talk is of weather.” Though Johnson's observation is as accurate now as it was over two hundred years ago, most commentators fail to come up with a convincing explanation for this English weather speak.
Bill Bryson, for example, concludes that, as the English weather is not at all exciting, the obsession with it can hardly be understood. He argues that “To an outsider, the most striking thing about the English weather is that there is not very much of it.” Simply, the reason is that the unusual and unpredictable weather is almost un-known in the British Isles.
Jeremy Paxman, however, disagrees with Bryson, arguing that the English weather is by nature attractive. Bryson is wrong, he says, because the English preference for the weather has nothing to do with the natural phenomena. “The interest is less in the phenomena themselves, but in uncertainty.” According to him, the weather in England is very changeable and uncertain and it attracts the English as well as the outsider.
Bryson and Paxman stand for common misconceptions about the weather-speak among the English. Both commentators, somehow, are missing the point. The English weather conversation is not really about the weather at all. English weather-speak is a system of signs, which is developed to help the speakers overcome the natural reserve and actually talk to each other. Everyone knows conversations starting with weather-speak are not requests for weather data. Rather, they are routine greetings, conversation starters or the blank “fillers “. In other words, English weather-speak is a means of social bonding. The author mentions Dr. Johnson's comment to show that _________.
A.most commentators agree with Dr. Johnson |
B.Dr. Johnson is famous for his weather observation |
C.the comment was accurate two hundred years ago |
D.English conversations usually start with the weather |
What does the underlined word “obsession “most probably refer to?
A.A social trend. | B.An emotional state. |
C.A historical concept. | D.An unknown phenomenon. |
According to the passage, Jeremy Paxman believes that _________.
A.Bill Bryson has little knowledge of the weather |
B.there is nothing special about the English weather |
C.the English weather attracts people to the British Isles |
D.English people talk about the weather for its uncertainty |
What is the author's main purpose of writing the passage?
A.To explain what English weather-speak is about. |
B.To analyse misconceptions about the English weather. |
C.To find fault with both Bill Bryson and Jeremy Paxman. |
D.To convince people that the English weather is changeable. |
Dear Friend,
The recent success of children's books has made the general public aware that there's a huge market out there.
And there's a growing need for new writers trained to create the $3 billion worth of children's books bought each year " ,plus stories and articles needed by over 650 publishers of magazines for children and teenagers.
Who are these needed writers? They're ordinary folks like you and me.
But am I good enough? I was once where you might be now. My thoughts of writing had been pushed down by self-doubt, and I didn't know where to turn for help.
Then, I accepted a free offer from the Institute to test my writing aptitude(潜能),and it turned out to be the inspiration I needed.
The promise that paid off
The Institute made the same promise to me that they will make to you, if you show basic writing ability :
You will complete at least one manuscript (手稿)suitable to hand in to a publisher by the time you finish our course.
I really didn't expect any publication before I finished the course, but that happened. I sold three stories. And I soon discovered that was not unusual at the Institute.
Since graduation, I have authored 34 nationally published children's books and over 300 stories and articles.
Free test and brochure
We offer a free aptitude test and will send you a copy of our brochure describing our recognized home-study courses on the basis of one-on-one training.
Realize your writing dream today. There's nothing sadder than a dream delayed until it fades forever.
Sincerely,
Kristi Holl, Instructor
Institute of Children's Literature From the first three paragraphs, we learn that _________.
A.children's books are usually bestsellers |
B.publishers are making $3 billion each year |
C.magazines for teenagers have drawn public attention |
D.there is a growing need for writers of children's books |
When finishing the course, you are promised to _________.
A.be a successful publisher |
B.become a confident editor |
C.finish one work for publication |
D.get one story or article published |
Kristi Holl mentions her experience mainly to _________.
A.prove she is a good instructor |
B.promote the writing program |
C.give her advice on course preparation |
D.show she sold more stories than articles |
Imagination and fantasy can play an important role in achieving the things we fear. Children know this very well. Fred Epstein, in his book If I Make It to Five, tells a story he heard from one of his friends about Tom, a four-year-old boy with a cancer in his back bone. He came through several operations and a lot of pain by mastering his imagination.
Tom loved to pretend, and he particularly loved to play super-heroes. Dr. Epstein explained that it was actually a brilliant way for his young mind to handle the terrifying and painful life he led.
The day before his third trip to the operating room, Tom was terribly afraid. " Maybe I could go as Superman " ,he whispered to his mom. Hearing this, the mother hesitated for a while. She had a-voided buying the expensive costume (戏装),but finally she a-greed.
The next day Tom appeared as the powerful Superman, showing off through the hospital halls and coolly waving his hand to the people greeting him along the way. And Tom, with the strength of his fantasy, successfully made it through the operation.
The power of for imagination need not be reserved for children only. We all have the power to use our fantasies to attempt things we never thought possible, to go through those things that seem impossible, and to achieve what we never believed we could. Just as Dr. Epstein puts it, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”
It doesn't mean that you should dress as a superhero for your next job interview. But, next time you are tested in a way that seems impossible, imagine what it would take to overcome it. Become the person you need to become to win over your challenge and do it in your mind first. So, let your imagination run wild, and dare to dream. What do we know about Tom?
A.He was seriously ill. | B.He was a dishonest boy. |
C.He was crazy about magic. | D.He was Dr. Epstein's patient. |
What can be inferred about Tom's mother?
A.She was a rich lady. |
B.She refused Tom's request. |
C.She wanted Tom to be a superhero. |
D.She wanted to get Tom through the pain. |
When Tom went for the third operation, he _________.
A.pretended to be painful | B.acted like a superhero |
C.appeared in poor spirits | D.argued with his mother |
In the last paragraph, you are advised _________.
A.to go through some difficult tests |
B.to wake up from your wild dreams |
C.to become a powerful person in your mind |
D.to wear expensive clothes for job interviews |
What is the purpose of the passage?
A.To tell us an interesting story. |
B.To help us make right decisions. |
C.To advise us to care about children. |
D.To encourage us to use our imagination. |
In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music, dance and theatre in Edinburgh. The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.
It quickly attracted famous names such as Alec Guinness, Richard Burton, Dame Margot Fonteyn and Marlene Dietrich as well as the big symphony orchestras (交响乐团). It became a fixed e-vent every August and now attracts 400,000 people yearly.
At the same time, the “Fringe " appeared as a challenge to the official festival. Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947,in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform, and they did so in a public house disused for years.
Soon, groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.
Today the " Fringe " ,once less recognized, has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre, music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts. And yet as early as1959,with only 19 theatre groups performing, some said it was get-ting too big.
A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971,and to-day there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself. In 2004 there were 200places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50different countries. More than 1. 25 million tickets were sold. What was the purpose of Edinburgh Festival at the beginning?
A.To bring Europe together again. |
B.To honor heroes of World War Ⅱ. |
C.To introduce young theatre groups. |
D.To attract great artists from Europe. |
Why did some uninvited theatre groups come to Edinburgh in 1947?
A.They owned a public house there. |
B.They came to take up a challenge. |
C.They thought they were also famous. |
D.They wanted to take part in the festival. |
Who joined the “Fringe “after it appeared?
A.Popular writers. |
B.University students. |
C.Artists from around the world. |
D.Performers of music and dance. |
We may learn from the text that Edinburgh Festival _________.
A.has become a non-official event |
B.has gone beyond an art festival |
C.gives shows all year round |
D.keeps growing rapidly. |