You maybe surprised to learn that one of the best steps you can take to protect your health is to step outside and spend some time in the grass, dirt and water．
Our ancestor
s enjoyed the healing power of nature , and now scientists are starting to catch up．According to research in recent years, just having a view of nature has been shown to improve hospital patients' recovery and reduce illness rates among office workers．Also, exposure （曝露）to wildlife, horseback riding, hiking, camping and farms can be helpful for a variety of health conditions in adults and children．
Much of this type of research is focusing on children, and in fact an entire movement has quickly developed to connect kids with the healing power of nature．
Obesity （肥胖）．Rates of childhood obesity have grown sharply in recent years, and this is partly because of reduced outdoor activity time．Increasing the time students spend learning about nature, both in and outside the classroom, would help solve this problem．Such lessons are often more attractive for students and often lead them to become more active outside．
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder （ADHD） （注意力缺失症）．Exposure to ordinary natural settings （环境） in the course of common after-school and weekend activities may be effective in reducing attention deficit symptoms in children．Participation in green activities —such as nature walks—helped ADHD patients from a wide range of backgrounds to stay focused and complete tasks．
Stress．Access to nature, even houseplants, can help children cope with stress．
Depression and seasonal emotional disorder．Major depression requires medical treatment, but physical activity, especially outdoors, can help ease symptoms．For your average case of winter blues, experts suggest spending time outside every day and, if possible, taking the family to a sunny vacation spot in mid-winter．
Experts emphasize that you needn' t go to wilderness preserves to enjoy nature' s benefits—simply walking in a city park or growing in a rooftop garden can make a difference．It can be inferred from the first two paragraphs that____．
| A．ancient people were not familiar with the healing power of nature． |
| B．modern people are not familiar with the healing power of nature． |
| C．the healing power of nature works better on children． |
| D．the healing power of nature works better on office workers． |
According to Para．4, lessons about nature_____．
| A．should engage parents in them |
| B．should take place outdoors |
| C．are used widely at schools |
| D．are liked by students |
Exposure to green areas in neighborhoods can_____．
| A．improve children' s skills at learning |
| B．help reduce ADHD symptoms |
| C．treat major depression |
| D．cure winter blues |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．You can only enjoy nature's benefits in the wilderness． |
| B．A common natural setting is beneficial to your health． |
| C．A city park and a rooftop garden have different benefits． |
| D．Too many people in the wilderness will reduce the benefits of nature． |
Exploit your parking space
An unused parking space or garage can make money. If you live near a city center o
r an airport, you could make anything up to £200 or £300 a week. Put an advertisement（广告）for free on Letpark or Atmyhousepark.
Rent a room
Spare room? Not only will a lodger（房客）earn you an income, but also, thanks to the government-backed “rent a room” program, you won’t have to pay any tax on the first £4500 you make per year. Try advertising your room on Roomspare or Roommateeasy.
Make money during special events
Won’t want a full-time lodger? Then rent on a short-term basis. If you live in the capital, renting a room out during the Olympics or other big events could bring in money, Grashpadder can advertise your space.
Live on set
Renting your home out as a “film set” could earn you hundreds of pounds a day, depending on the film production company and how long your home is needed. A quick search on the Internet will bring up dozens of online companies that allow you to register your home for free—but you will be charged if your home gets picked.
Use your roof
You need the right kind of roof, but some energy companies pay the cost of fixing solar equipment(around￡14,000), and let you use the energy produced for nothing. In retur
n, they get paid for unused energy fed back into the National Grid. However, you have to sign a 25-year agreement with the supplier, which could prevent you from changing the roof.If you earn ￡5000 from renting a room in one year, the tax you need to pay will be based on ______.
| A．￡800 | B．￡500 | C．￡4500 | D．5000 |
Where can you put an advertisement to rent out a room during a big event?
| A．On Letpark. | B．On Roomspare. | C．On Grashpadder. | D．On Roommateeasy. |
If you want to use energy free, you have to_____.
| A．sign an agreement with the government |
| B．pay around ￡14,000 for the equipment |
| C．sell the roof to some energy companies |
| D．keep the roof unchanged for within 25 years |
For whom the text most probably written?
| A．Lodgers. | B．Advertisers. | C．House owners. | D．Online companies |
At night, bats fly through the air, catching hundreds of insects and other small animals. But during the day, they hardly move at all. Instead, bats pass the time hanging upside down from a secret spot.
There are a couple of reasons why bats rest this way. First of all, it puts them in a position for takeoff. Unlike birds, bats can’t fly into the air from the ground. Their wings don’t produce enough lift to take off from a dead stop, and their hind legs are so small and underdeveloped that they can’t run to build up the necessary takeoff speed. Instead, they use their front claws to climb to a high spot, and then fall into flight.
During the hours when most enemies are active, bats gather where few animals would think to look and most can’t reach. This allows
them to disappear from the world until night comes again. There’s also little competition for these resting spots, as other flying animals don’t have the ability to hang upside down.
Bats have a unique physiological adaptation that lets them hang around this way without using a
ny energy. For you to hold your fist around an object tight, you contract（紧缩）several muscles in your arm, which are connected to your fingers by ten
dons（腱）；as one muscle contracts, it pulls a tendon, which pulls one of your fingers closed. A bat’s talons（爪）close in the same way, except that their tendons are connected only to the upper body, not to a muscle. To hang upside down, a bat pulls its claws open with other muscles. To get the talons to take hold of the surface, the bat simply lets its body relax. The weight of the upper body pulls down on the tendons connected to the talons, causing them to hold tight. Therefore, the bat doesn’t have to do anything to hang upside down.Bats hang upside down because________．
| A．they haven’t developed a pair of strong claws | B．they can’t start to fly from the ground directly |
| C．they have no hind legs to support their body | D．they can’t find quiet places to stay during the day |
The third paragraph tells us that bats’ hanging upside down_______.
| A．is to save their energy for night movement | B．is a way to fight against flying animals |
C．is a great way to hide from danger |
D．is a skill to compete for the flying places |
Why can bats hang upside down easily?
| A．Because their upper body is light. |
| B．Because they have strong muscles. |
| C．Because their talons are linked to muscles tightly. |
| D．Because their tendons are linked to their upper body. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The living habits of bats. | B．How and why bats  hang upside down. |
| C．The importance of bats’ hanging upside down. | D．How bats use their energy at night. |
What time is it？Most people are pretty accurate in their answer. And if you don’t know for sure, it’s very likely tha
t you can find out. There may be a watch on your wrist; there may be a clock on the wall, desk, or computer screen; or maybe you’re riding in a car that has a clock in the dashboard .
Even if you don’t have a timepiece of some sort nearby, your body keeps its own beat. Humans have an internal clock that regulates (调节) the beating of our heart, the peace of our breathing, the discharge (排出) of chemicals within our bloodstream, and many other bodily functions.
Time is something from which we can’t escape. Even if we ignore it, it’s still going by, ticking away, second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour. So the main issue in using your time well is, “who’s in charge？” We can allow time to slip by and let it be our enemy. Or we can take control of it and make it our ally.
By taking control of how you spend your time, you’ll increase your chances of becoming a more successful student. Perhaps more importantly, the better you are at managing the time you devote to your studies, the more time you will have to spend on your outside interests.
The aim of time management is not to schedule every moment so we become slaves of a timetable that governs every waking moment of the day. Instead, the aim is to permit us to make informed choices as to how we use our time. Rather than letting the day go by, largely without our awareness, what we are going to discuss next can make us better able to control time for our own purposes.The underlined word “ally” in Para.3 most likely means somebody or something that is____________.
| A．your slave and serves you | B．your supporter an helps you |
C．un der your control and obeys you |
D．under your influence and follows you |
The author intends to tell us that time __________.
| A．could be regulated by a timepiece such as a clock or a watch |
| B．could be managed by the internal clock by human bodies |
| C．should be well managed for our own interest |
| D．should be saved for outside interests |
In the next part, the author would most probably discuss with you ________.
| A．how to keep up with the times | B．how to make up for lost ti me |
| C．how to have a good time | D．how to make good use of time |
We've all experienced a "good cry"． Shedding （流） some tears can often make us feel better and help us put things in perspective． But why is crying beneficial? And is there such a thing as a "bad cry"?
The researchers analyzed the detailed accounts of more than 3,000 recent crying experiences and found that the benefits of crying depend entirely on the what, where and when of a particular crying episode （一段经历）． The majority of persons reported improvements in their mood following a short period of crying． However, one third reported no improvement in mood and a tenth felt worse after crying． Criers who received social support during their crying episode were the most likely to report improvements in mood．
Research to date has not always produced a clear picture of the benefits of crying, in part b
ecause the results often seem to depend on how crying is studied． The researchers note s
everal challenges in accurately studying crying behavior in a laboratory setting． Volunteers who cry in a laboratory setting often do not describe their experiences as making them feel better． Rather, crying in a laboratory setting often results in the study participants feeling worse; this may be due to the stressful conditions of the study itself, such as being videotaped or watched by researchers． This may produce negative emotions, which neutralize （使无效） the positive benefits usually connected with crying．
However, these laboratory studies have provided interesting findings about the physical effects of crying． Criers do show calming effects such as slower breathing, but they also experience a lot of unpleasant stress, including increased heart rate and sweating． What is interesting is that bodily calming usually lasts longer than the unpleasant． The calming effects may occur later and overcome the stress reaction, which would account for why people tend to remember mostly the pleasant side of crying．
Research has shown that the effects of crying also depend on who is shedding the tears． For example, individuals with anxiety or mood disorders are least likely to experience the positive effects of crying． In addition, the researchers report that people who lack insight into their emotional lives actually feel worse after crying． We can infer from the passage that __________________．
| A．people don't like being seen crying |
| B．crying in public makes people feel better |
| C．a bad cry is as common as a good cry |
| D．a good cry can sometimes help us face problems rightly |
The beneficial effects of crying can be shown when _________．
| A．your breath becomes slow | B．you sweat a lot． |
| C．your face turns pale | D．you are being watched |
Who will be least likely to feel
worse after crying?
| A．People who receive help in course of crying． |
| B．People who fail to understand their emotions． |
| C．People who are anxious and nervous． |
| D．People whose mood is not in order． |
The passage is mainly about ___________．
| A．the types of crying | B．the way of crying |
| C．the psychology of crying | D．the causes of crying |
If you're into sports, you've seen it happen． You've probably even experienced it: basketball players shaking hands after four quarters of knocking each other around, tennis players leaping over the net to shake hands with their oppone
nts （对手） after a hard-fought match, soccer players exchanging sport shirts after an intense 90 minutes, even boxers touching gloves at the beginning of each round, then hugging each other after beating each other into a pulp for 12 rounds． It seems like competitors in every event, from spelling bees to hockey, behave this way． What's going on?
It's all part of sportsmanship, a great tradition in sports and competition that means playing clean and handling both vict
ory and defeat with grace, style, and dignity．
What is sportsmanship? Sportsmanship is defined as: playing fair, following the rules of the game, respecting the judgment of referees and officials, treating opponents with respect．
Some people define good sportsmanship as the "golden rule" of sports --- in other words, treating the people you play with and against as you'd like to be treated yourself． You demonstrate good sportsmanship when you show respect for yourself, your teammates, and your opponents, for the coaches on both sides, and for the referees, judges, and other officials．
But sportsmanship isn't just reserved for the people on the field． Cheerleaders and fans also need to be aware of how they behave during competition． Sportsmanship is a style and an attitude; and it can have a positive influence on everyone around you．
Learning good sportsmanship mea
ns finding that the positive attitude learned on the field carries over into other areas of life． At school, for example, you're able to appreciate the contributions made by classmates and know how to work as part of a team to complete a project． You may enjoy more success at work as well, because a big part of learning good sportsmanship is learning to be respectful of others, including customers and co-workers．The author introduces the topic of the passage by___________．
| A．showing an interesting discussion |
| B．comparing several sport events |
| C．explaining some game rules |
| D．giving some specific examples |
When players play clean, ____________．
| A．they play in fresh air | B．they play in a skilled way |
| C．they play within the rules | D．they play without hurting each other |
The purpose of writing this passage is to ____________．
| A．advise readers to take some exercise | B．provide some basic sport knowledge |
| C．show the meaning of sportsmanship | D．expect players to compete actively |