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 possibility to give and receive support from one another under stressful conditions. Social support makes up of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties. Those of us with strong support systems appear better able 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 types of illnesses, from depression(沮丧) to heart disease, show that the presence of social support helps people defend themselves against 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 feel accepted by others in spite of our faults and difficulties. Second, other people often provide us with informational support. They help us to define and understand our problems and find solutions to them. Third, we typically find social companionship supportive. Taking part in free-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 money aid, material resources, and needed services - that reduces stress by helping us resolve and deal with our problems. Interpersonal relationships are important because they can ________
| A．make people live more easily | B．smooth away daily problems |
| C．deal with life changes | D．cure types of illnesses |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word "cushions"?
| A．takes place of | B．makes up of |
| C．lessens the effect of | D．gets rid of |
What is the subject discussed in the text?
| A．Interpersonal relationships. | B．Kinds of social support. |
| C．Ways to deal with stress. | D．Effects of stressful condition. |
In a computer age，a broadband Internet connection is very popular now．Whether cable or mobile broadband，today’s connections are many times faster than those in the early days. Videos play smoothly, complex websites load quickly，and files download much faster than ten years ago．And the files are much bigger too．
There’s a hidden problem：You have to live near enough to a major city to get broadband Internet. If you don’t，it's slow dial-up access for you. And for those living really far out，there may be no Internet access at a11．
Technology experts often talk about the “last mile” problem， which refers to the difficulty of bringing Internet access to remote locations．In cities and suburbs(郊区)，it's relatively easy to provide access for everyone．It is much more difficult to deliver access to those living far from cities，especially in developing countries．Internet service providers．for their part，have been reluctant to provide access to sparsely(稀疏地)populated areas．The handful of Internet users they would reach wouldn’t cover the expense.
But every year, technological advancements allow of more and more Internet users. Most broadband connections today run over existing cable TV and telephone lines although these technologies aren’t available everywhere．
Some companies have delivered the Internet over standard power lines. Advancements in cheaper more efficient fiber optics cables(光纤电缆)promise to bring extremely fast Internet connections to more users．Still．the“last mile”problem remains hard to deal with．There will always be somewhere that doesn’t have an affordable broadband connection．But someday that might not matter．If the rapid progress in cell phone technology is any indication，it may not be too long before an Internet connection simply follows you wherever you go. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Internet connections have been popular everywhere． |
| B．Internet service providers are willing to care about rural(农村的)customers． |
| C．The problem of Internet access hasn’t been completely dealt with |
| D．Computer can’t become popular in developing countries． |
Paragraph 4 mainly tells us that technological advancements_______.
| A．make TV and telephone available everywhere |
| B．bring great change to people’s everyday life |
| C．bring faster Internet connections to users |
| D．make it possible for more people to use the Internet |
What may eventually settle the“last mile”problem?
| A．The broadband connection’s getting faster． |
| B．The rapid progress in cell phone technology． |
| C．More and more Internet connections． |
| D． More and more Internet users |
The best title for this passage may be________．
| A．Internet Connection Problems |
| B．Internet Connections Need Improving |
| C．Progress in Internet Connections |
| D．Internet Connections Today |
I work in a nursing home and my job is to take care of the elderly．
This year, a very sweet old lady that I cared for，Alice, had gone through a difficult time .She got dementia and so she had been in the hospital twice .In November I was finally able to get her back to her“home”．
Alice had thought her daughter was coming to visit her on Christmas day and that they were going to have the whole family together like the old days. When she finally realized that that happy moment was not going to happen，she was very sad．Knowing that her daughter was coming after Christmas was not enough to make her feel happy，I hated the idea of her being alone on the holiday!
On Christmas Eve，I gave her a surprise by asking if she could like to go to a candlelight service at church that night
Instead of taking her to my church，I took her to her old neighborhood church where all her friends were. We got there early and I got her a seat where her friends could see her as they came in．Then soon some of her friends came to the church and they rushed over to greet her and sit with her．
The candlelight service was beautiful and Alice got a lot of love from her old and new friends there.
The truth of the story is that I am the one who got the best gift: the smile on Alice’s faceThe underlined word“dementia”in Paragraph 2 probably is_______
| A．a house | B．a letter | C．an illness | D．a plan |
Where did Alice spend her Christmas Eve according to the story?
| A．In her old house |
| B．In her old neighborhood church． |
| C．In the nursing home． |
| D．In the hospital． |
What was the best gift that the author got on Christmas Eve?
| A．The candlelight service． |
| B．Praise from Alice’s friends． |
| C．Alice’s happiness |
| D．Thanks from Alice’ s daughter． |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．A special candlelight Christmas Eve |
| B．The dream of all old lonely lady |
| C．My special job |
| D．The true love |
One day a student was walking with his teacher in the countryside．As they went along，they saw a pair of old shoes lying in the path．They were a pool farmer’s，who was working in the nearby field．
The student turned to the teacher saying：“We will hide his shoes，and hide ourselves behind those trees，and wait to see what he will do”
“My young friend．”answered the teacher,“we should never make fun of the poor. Why not put a coin in each shoe，and then we will hide ourselves and watch?”The student did so and they both hid themselves behind the trees. The poor man soon finished his work，and came across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes.
After putting on his coat，he put his foot into one of his shoes，and felt something hard．Then he bent (弯腰) down to feel what it was，and found the coin. Surprised，he looked at the coin，turned it around and looked at it again．He then looked around，but no person was seen．He put the money into his pocket, and continued to put on the other shoe. His surprise was doubled on finding the other coin．
He couldn’t control his feelings and fell to his knees，looked up to the sky and expressed his thanks. Then he spoke of his wife，sick and helpless，and his children without bread．He said the help would save them from dying.
The student stood there deeply moved，and his eyes filled with tears．“Now,”said the teacher, “Are you not much happier than if you had hidden the shoes?”When the student saw the shoes，he wanted to_______
| A．steal them | B．play a joke on the owner |
| C．find their owner | D．give the owner some money |
According to the passage，the teacher is______．
| A．quiet and honest | B．kind and friendly |
| C．patient and clever | D．strict and careful |
When the farmer saw the second coin, he______
| A．was surprised and decided to find the owner |
| B．was worried and looked up at the sky |
| C．was very excited and grateful |
| D．spoke of his difficulties and asked for more help |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．True happiness comes from helping others． |
| B．All good things come to an end |
| C．Where there is a will，there is away |
| D．It is never too late to learn |
Let’s read the descriptions of the following scenes of shopping. A man enters a store to buy milk. He walks out of the store with milk. That is all— milk. At the same time, a woman enters the same grocery store also to buy milk. She buys it. But, she also buys chicken and lemons to make dinner that night. Then she remembers to buy food for her son to eat at school. She also gets a bottle of wine for drinks with friends and a birthday card for her husband's niece. Then she gets coffee for breakfast, ice cream for dessert and remembers stamps to mail the bills. And don't forget soap for the bathroom.
And that is the difference between the female and male brains simply explained in a grocery store. Generally speaking，men do one thing at a time. Women do many. Doing many things at one time is often called “multi-tasking”, a very popular word these days.
Now scientific research supports this theory about male and female brains. A recent study has confirmed what we have known all along—men and women think differently.
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania studied brain images of 949 people aged from 8 to 22 years old. They found that male brains have more connections on one side of the brain, or hemisphere. In the female brain, they found more activities and connections between the right and left sides of the brain. The left side of the brain is known as the side of “reason”. The right hemisphere is known as the “creative” side.
Regina Verma is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. She co-wrote the report. She says when women are asked to do something difficult, they might use different parts of the brain. Men, she adds, generally use just one side of the brain.
As a result, men generally deal directly with a problem. There is a strong connection between the “understanding” and the “action” parts of their brains. Women, however, might include other parts of the brain, like the part connected with reason and the part connected with sensitivity when solving a problem. Women take a less direct path to find a solution.
Dr. Verma warns that the study should not lead anyone to expect some behaviors from women and others from men.By describing the scene of shopping, the writer wants to ____ .
| A．criticize women's wasted living expenses |
| B．illustrate men and women's different brains |
| C．think highly of women's considerate behavior |
| D．reveal men and women's preference of living expenses |
When asked to deal with a problem, _____ .
| A．men tend to take action straight |
| B．women tend to take action straight |
| C．women tend to use a single part of the brain |
| D．men tend to use connected parts of the brain |
Dr. Verma's warning indicates that _____ .
| A．women and men can hardly cooperate well |
| B．women and men can hardly complete multitasks |
| C．women and men can hardly learn from each other |
| D．neither women nor men can always perform the same behavior |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Reason or Sensitivity |
| B．Multi-tasking or Single-tasking |
| C．“Reason” Brain or “Creative” Brain |
| D．Costly Shopping or Economical Shopping |
Here are the comments on CRI (China Radio International) given by people from different countries on the Internet.
| People |
Comments |
| Yingtian Hu Guangzhou, China |
This is the first time that I participate in CRI. And I like it very much. I hope its website will become the most excellent one with the foreign languages. And I choose the important news which I think has a great influence on our society and our lives. In the end, I hope that more and more persons join in CRI and make it perfect! |
| SujanParajuli, Select city, Nepal |
I am both a regular listener of CRI and visitor of its wonderful Website. First of all, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to CRI for its great efforts to keep the listeners up-to-date during the year 2008. We, the listeners, are greatly grateful to CRI for its praise-worthy efforts to quench the thirst of its dear listeners. During the Year 2008, I found all of your programs quite interesting, informative and educational. Once again, thanks a lot for offering lots of information, news, entertainment and many items which have indeed broaden the horizons of our knowledge and understanding as well. |
| Ibrahim Rustamov, Tajikistan |
With CRI, I was impressed by China’s rapid development in all spheres. But I felt so sorry to get to know about the snowstorms in China and Wenchuan earthquake. CRI and CCTV play a great role in introducing China to the world! Kudos! My friends and I wish CRI all the best! |
| Mike Thatcher, London |
My family and I are all keen on Chinese Culture, especially the beautiful Chinese folk music. Various interesting programs by CRI just open a window for us foreigners, through which we can know more about China and have a better understanding of the Chinese culture. Best wishes to CRI! Best wishes to China! |
Which of the following benefits of CRI is NOT mentioned above?
| A．CRI helps to keep its listeners up-to-date. |
| B．CRI helps its listeners to better understand China. |
| C．CRI helps its listeners to practice and improve foreign languages. |
| D．CRI helps its listeners broaden their knowledge with its rich contents. |
The underlined phrase “quench the thirst” refers to _____.
| A．satisfy one’s need | B．supply drinks |
| C．take care of | D．keep in touch with |
What can be concluded from the four comments?
| A．CRI has a great influence on our society and lives. |
| B．Wonderful though CRI is, there are still many weaknesses. |
| C．CRI plays an important role in introducing the world to China. |
| D．CRI has made great efforts to make itself better and gained popularity. |