In Daniel Gilbert’s 2006 book "Stumbling(跌撞) on Happiness," the Harvard professor of psychology looks at several studies and concludes that marital(婚姻的) satisfaction decreases after the birth of the first child and increases only when the last child has left home. He also declares that parents are happier grocery shopping and even sleeping than spending time with their kids.
The most recent comprehensive study on the emotional state of those with kids shows us that the term "bundle of joy" may not be the most accurate way to describe our kids. "Parents experience lower levels of emotional well-being, less frequent positive emotions and more frequent negative emotions than their childless peers," says Florida State University’s Robin Simon, a sociology professor.
Simon received plenty of hate mail in response to her research，which isn’t surprising. Her findings shake the very foundation of what we’ve been raised to believe is true. In a recent NEWSWEEK Poll, 50 percent of Americans said that adding new children to the family tends to increase happiness levels. But which parent is willing to admit that the greatest gift life has to offer has in fact made his or her life less enjoyable?
Is it possible that American parents have always been this disillusioned(有幻觉的)? In pre-industrial America, parents certainly loved their children, but their kids also served a purpose—to work the farm, contribute to the household. Today, we have kids more for emotional reasons, but an increasingly complicated work and social environment has made finding satisfaction far more difficult. Raising children has not only become more complicated, it has become more expensive as well. The National Marriage Project’s 2006 report says that parents have significantly lower marital satisfaction than nonparents because they experienced more single and child-free years than previous generations.
As for those of us with kids, all the news isn’t bad. Parents still report feeling a greater sense of purpose and meaning in their lives than those who’ve never had kids. And there are other rewarding aspects of parenting that are impossible to quantify..
What’s the main idea of the book Stumbling on Happiness?
| A．Parents are happier shopping than looking after their children. |
| B．Once they have children, the couples can never be as happy as before. |
| C．Compared with their childless peers, parents are leading a sad life. |
| D．The adding of children at home brings down marital satisfaction. |
.
. What can we infer from Para.3?
| A．The Newsweek Poll shows that people think Prof. Simon’s finding is right. |
| B．Many people can’t accept the fact that they are not happy with their children. |
| C．It isn’t surprising that Professor Simon’s controversial research made her famous. |
| D．Simon’s findings are based on the belief passed down from generation to generation. |
.
What can we learn about American’s families in the past?
| A．People had very good parents-children relationship in the family. |
| B．Having children could be partly out of some practical purposes. |
| C．Parents loved their children but they still asked them to work a lot. |
| D．Children had to work very hard to make their parents love them. |
.
What’s the author’s opinion about having children?
| A．The author doesn’t think having children is a good thing to the family. |
| B．The author feels children make the life of a family happy. |
| C．The author thinks parenting can still be rewarding in a certain way. |
| D．The author believes that parents sacrifice a lot for having children. |
Two traveling angels (天使) stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor，the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied: “Things aren’t always what they seem.”
The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable(好客的)farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had，the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night’s rest. When the sun came up the next morning，the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their only income, lay dead in the field.
The younger angel was very angry and asked the older angel, “How could this happen?” “Why did you not watch out for the cow? The first man had everything, yet you watched over his house,” she accused(谴责). “The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you did not help.”
“Things aren’t always what they seem,” the older angel replied. “When we stayed in the basement，I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so greedy and unwilling to share his good fortune，I asked God if I could seal(封口) the wall so he wouldn’t find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed，the angel of death came for his wife. I asked God if the angel could take the cow instead. Things aren’t always what they seem.”
72.The underlined part “the pair” in the second paragraph two refers to .
A. the poor couple B. the rich couple C. the guests D. the angels
73.The younger angel was very angry because .
A. the older angel killed the farmer’s cow
B. the older angel treated the two families unfairly
C. the wealthy man gave them a bad place to live
D. the angel of death took the cow away
74. Why did the older angel let the farmer’s cow die?
A. Because God wanted the older angel to take the cow.
B. Because she wanted to teach the younger angel a lesson.
C. Because she wanted to save the farmer’s wife.
D. Because she was sympathetic to the rich.
75. The story tries to tell the reader that .
A. angels are always ready to help the poor
B. sometimes things are not what they seem
C. angels are always ready to help the rich
D. the young should always learn from the old
Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers. But last summer, Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son: suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents. “The door to his room is always shut,” Joanna noted.
Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter. “She used to cuddle up（蜷伏）with me on the sofa and talk,” said Mark. “Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something. Sometimes she wants to be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady. The problem is figuring out which time is which.”
Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what’s on their minds. “In fact, parents are first on the list,” said Michael Riera, author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers. “This completely changes during the teen years,” Riera explained. “They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers, and their parents last.”
Parents who know what’s going on in their teenagers’ lives are in the best position to help them. To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say, and try to find ways to talk and write to them. And they must give their children a mental break, for children also need freedom, though young. Another thing parents should remember is that to be a friend, not a manager, with their children is a better way to know them.
68. “The door to his room is always shut” in the first paragraph suggests that the son______.
A. is always busy with his studies B. doesn’t want to be disturbed
C. keeps himself away from his parents D. begins to dislike his parents
69. What troubles Tina and Mark most is that______.
A. their daughter isn’t as lovely as before
B. they can’t read their daughter’s mind exactly
C. they don’t know what to say to their daughter
D. their daughter talks with them only when she needs help
70. Which of the following best explains “the wall of silence” in the last paragraph?
A. Teenagers talk a lot with their friends.
B. Teenagers do not want to understand their parents.
C. Teenagers do not talk much with their parents.
D. Teenagers talk little about their own lives.
71. What can be learned from the passage?
A. Parents are unhappy with their growing children.
B. Parents have suitable ways to talk with their teenagers.
C. Parents should be patient with their silent teenagers.
D. Parents should try to understand their teenagers.
Nanda sees a wearable computer as a handbag, one that’s built out of four-inch squares and triangles of fabric (织物), with tiny computer chips embedded (嵌入) in it. It looks, feels and weighs like your typical leather purse.
That’s where the similarities end: This bag can wirelessly keep track of your belongings and remind you, just as you’re about to leave the house, to take your wallet. It can review the weather report and suggest that you grab an umbrella. This purse can even upload your favorite songs onto your scarf (围巾).
Sure, a computing purse and scarf set may seem like the stuff of science fiction. But these devices (装置), part of next generation of wearable computers, could become common within a few years. DuPont created new super strong fibres that can conduct electricity and can be woven into ordinary-looking clothes. And the chipmaker developed chip packaging allowing wearable computers to be washed, even in the heavy-duty cycle.
As a result, these new wearable devices are different from the heavy and silly types of the recent past, which often required users to be wrapped in wires and type on their stomachs. Unlike the old types, these new wearable computers also make economic sense. When her bag becomes commercially available in two to three years, Nanda expects it will cost around $150, which is the price of an average leather purse.
Here’s how the bag works: You place a special radio-signal-transmitting chip onto your wallet. A similar radio in your purse picks up the signal and notifies you that you’ve forgotten to take your wallet. In turn, sensors on your purse’s handles will inform the computer that you’ve picked up the purse and are ready to go.
Already, these new kinds of wearable devices are applied in markets like auto repair, emergency services, medical monitoring-and even, increasingly, for consumers at large. Indeed, more people will want to cross that bridge in the coming years—making for a booming market for wearable computers that don’t look like something out of science fiction.
72. Which of the following describes a wearable computer?
A．It can be washed in washing machines.
B．It is much heavier than a leather purse.
C．It can download songs from the Internet.
D．It is made of clothes conducting electricity.
73. According to the passage, the new wearable computers .
A．require users to operate on the stomach
B．pick up the signals through wires and chips
C．are being put to use in some different areas now
D．are smarter but more expensive than the old ones
74. What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?
A．The new wearable computers have become fashionable.
B．People would like to learn more about the new computers.
C．The idea of the purse-like computers comes from science fiction.
D．New wearable computers promise to sell well in the future.
75. The purpose of the passage is .
A．to introduce a new kind of computer
B．to explain the functions of computers
C．to compare different types of computers
D．to show how high technology affects our life
“We started as a group of friends with the same problem: difficulty in our personal life to manage our time, being always in a hurry.” This thought was recently offered by Bruno to explain the origin of The Art of Living Slowly, an organization that he founded two years ago, with his wife, Ella.
Bruno and Ella said they decided to draw more people’s attention to the overlooked idea that “time is wealth.” On February 19th last year, they created a new holiday, the first Global Day of Slow Living. Despite its ambitious name, the event was limited almost entirely to Italy, where the couple arranged a number of events: a reverse bicycle race in which the last rider was declared the winner; an afternoon of grandfathers reading poetry to children etc.
One Monday in late February, 2008, the couple staged a New York version (版本) of the Day of Slow Living. “It has to be a Monday, the worst day to try to slow down.” Bruno explained. Bruno was wearing a police cap, mirrored sunglasses, and a sandwich board stating, “Watch out! Speed-walking camera is in action!” He flagged down passers-by and handed them postcards printed with fourteen “slowmandments.” For example, No. 4: Write your text message on your cell phone with no symbols and get in the habit of starting with “Dear …” No 7: Avoid being so busy that you don’t have time for yourself. Bruno told the passers-by to read them once a day and keep the doctor away.
Many said, “I can’t do this. New York is too fast.” Bruno admitted. But many stopped, they read and said. “This one is good for me, because trying to slow down is like trying to stop smoking.”
When asked about their plans for the future. Bruno and Ella looked at each other and chanted the name of the city they have chosen for next year’s Global Day of Slow Living, “Tokyo!”
68. The Art of Living Slowly was founded to help people .
A．understand the truth of life. B．know the difficulty in managing time
C．avoid being in a hurry all the time D．make friends with the same problem
69. What did Bruno do in New York?
A．He advertised his idea on a sandwich board.
B．He stopped passers-by and delivered postcards.
C．He served as a policeman to prevent accidents.
D．He took photos for the people who walked fast.
70. Which statement may be included in the fourteen “slowmandments” in paragraph 3?
A．Wake up five minutes earlier. B．Do two things at the same time.
C．Make a habit of writing letters. D．Don’t work on weekends and relax.
71. What can be inferred from the passage?
A．The new holiday is usually celebrated on a fixed day.
B．Italian grandfathers enjoy reading poetry to children.
C．The couple tend to choose busy cities to promote the idea.
D．New Yorkers have a negative attitude towards slow living.
Twenty–six years after a terrible bicycle accident which left her in a coma(昏迷) for two months and with permanent brain injuries, Barbara Buchan performs many actions more slowly than others. But on September 10 in Beijing, Buchan, at 52, the oldest member of the United States Paralympic team, broke the record and won the gold medal for her disability class in the individual 3,000–meter cycling pursuit.
“You can be very upset at the world and have everyone take care of you.” Buchan said by telephone from Beijing, “or get back on your feet again.”
Buchan first dreamed of Olympic gold at age 15 while watching the 1972 Munich Games. She became a top American cyclist by July 1982, when a terrible road–race crash injured her brain and left doctors doubtful about whether she would survive. She was wearing only a soft leather helmet at the time; her accident made the rule put into practice that cyclists wear the hard–shell helmets that are now common.
Buchan recovered enough of her athletic ability to run track in the 1988 Paralympics in Seoul, where she won a silver medal in the 800 meters. Women’s cycling was not included in the Paralympics yet, so Buchan trained to the point where she raced against men in the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney, Australia-she finished 9th and 10th in two races-and then successfully fought for a separate women’s cycling program beginning in 2004 in Athens, where she did not get a medal.
Even though she was approaching her 50s, Buchan kept racing and again made the United States Paralympic team for Beijing-where she is twice the age of most of her teammates and competitors.
“Barbara’s almost the leader of our team-she’s been through it all,” said Craig Griffin, the United States cycling coach. “She’s never tired. She’s never let her body go and then come back. I don’t think age is as big of a deal as people make it out to be.”
64. According to the text, after the accident, .
A．Buchan asked her friends to take care of her
B．cyclists started to wear helmets in competition
C．Buchan could not answer questions correctly
D．doctors doubted whether Buchan could come back to life
65. What’s the right order of the events related to Buchan?
a. She won a gold medal in Beijing.
b. She became a top American cyclist.
c. She won a silver medal in the 800 meters.
d. She suffered a terrible bicycle accident.
e. She took part in a cycling program in Athens.
A．c-d-b-a-e B．b-c-d-a-e
C．b-d-e-c-a D．c-b-d-e-a
66. What does the underlined phrase “get back on your feet” in the second paragraph mean?
A．rise to your feet B．walk on your way
C．go beyond yourself D．depend on yourself
67. Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?
A．The Making of a Hero B．From a Loser to a Winner
C．All Roads Lead to Rome D．Health is Better than Wealth