Being sociable looks like a good way to add years to your life. Relationships with family, friends, neighbours, even pets, will all do the trick, but the biggest longevity (长寿) boost seems to come from marriage or an equivalent relationship. The effect was first noted in 1858 by William Farr, who wrote that widows (寡妇)and widowers were at a much higher risk of dying than their married peers. Studies since then suggest that marriage could add as much as seven years to a man’s life and two to a woman’s. The effect holds for all causes of death, whether illness, accident or self-harm.
Even if the odds are stacked against you, marriage can more than compensate. Linda Waite of the University of Chicago has found that a married older man with heart disease can expect to live nearly four years longer than an unmarried man with a healthy heart. Likewise, a married man who smokes more than a pack a day is likely to live as long as a divorced man who doesn’t smoke. There’s a flip side, however, as partners are more likely to become ill or die in the couple of years following their spouse’s death, and caring for a spouse with mental disorder can leave you with some of the same severe problems. Even so, the odds favour marriage. In a 30-year study of more than 10,000 people, Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School describes how all kinds of social networks have similar effects.
So how does it work? The effects are complex, affected by socio-economic factors, health-service provision, emotional support and other more physiological (生理的) mechanisms. For example, social contact can boost development of the brain and immune system, leading to better health and less chance of depression later in life. People in supportive relationships may handle stress better. Then there are the psychological benefits of a supportive partner.
A life partner, children and good friends are all recommended if you aim to live to 100. The ultimate social network is still being mapped out, but Christakis says: “People are interconnected, so their health is interconnected.”William Farr’s study and other studies show that _________.
| A．social life provides an effective cure for illness |
| B．being sociable helps improve one’s quality of life |
| C．women benefit more than men from marriage |
| D．marriage contributes a great deal to longevity |
Linda Waite’s studies support the idea that _________.
| A．older men should quit smoking to stay healthy |
| B．marriage can help make up for ill health |
| C．the married are happier than the unmarried |
| D．unmarried people are likely to suffer in later life |
It can be inferred from the context that the “flip side” (Line 4, Para. 2) refers to _________.
| A．the disadvantages of being married |
| B．the emotional problems arising from marriage |
| C．the responsibility of taking care of one’s family |
| D．the consequence of a broken marriage |
What does the author say about social networks?
| A．They have effects similar to those of a marriage. |
| B．They help develop people’s community spirit. |
| C．They provide timely support for those in need. |
| D．They help relieve people of their life’s burdens. |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．It’s important that we develop a social network when young. |
| B．To stay healthy, one should have a proper social network. |
| C．Getting a divorce means risking a reduced life span. |
| D．We should share our social networks with each other. |
B
Senior citizens are permitted to travel cheaply on a bus if they have a special card. Women may get cards when they are sixty.
Mrs. Matthews lives in the country but she went into town once a week to buy food and other things for the house, and she usually went by bus. She always had to pay the full price for her ride.
Then she reached the age of sixty and got her senior citizen’s card, but when she used it for the first time on the bus, it made her feel very old.
The bus driver had often seen her traveling on the bus before, and he notices that she was feeling unhappy, so after she had paid her money, he winked at her and whispered, “Don’t forget to give your mother’s card back to her when you see her again.”
Mrs. Matthews was very happy when she heard this.
40. Senior citizens in the story refer to _____.
A. those who have special cards
B. old people with special cards
C. people who hold high positions in the government
D. those who want to travel cheaply
41. Women over sixty______
A. don’t have to pay for taking buses
B. pay less for their ride if they have a special card
C. have to pay the full price for their ride
D. have to pay their special card
42. Mrs. Matthews felt unhappy on the bus because _______.
A. she still had to pay for the tide. B. the card wasn`t hers
C. she felt she was now an old woman D. the driver whispered to her
43. The driver whispered to her _______.
A. in order to make her feel younger
B. because he thought that she shouldn’t have borrowed her mother’s card
C. because he wanted her to pay the full amount
D. because he knew her mother was still alive.
第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项。
A
As prices and building costs keep rising, the “do-it-yourself” (DIY) trend (趋势) in the U.S. continues to grow.
“We needed furniture(家具) for our living room.” C, “and we just didn’t have enough money to buy it. So we decided to try making a few tables and chairs.” John got married six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling to make a home at a time when the cost of living is very high. The Rosses took a 2-week course for $ 280 at a night school. Now they build all their furniture and make repairs around the house.
Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife died. He has a full-time job at home as well as in a shoe making factory. Last month, he received a car repair bill for $ 420. “I was deeply upset about it. Now I’ve finished a car repair course, I should be able to fix the car by myself.”
John and Jim are not unusual people. Most families in the country are doing everything they can to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a “do-it-yourself”, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who don’t have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself.
36. We can learn from the text that many newly married people _______.
A. find it hard to pay for what they need
B. have to learn to make their own furniture.
C. take DIY courses run by the government.
D. seldom go to a department store to buy things
37. John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to _____
A. run a DIY shop B. make or repair things
C. save time and money D. improve the quality of life.
38. When the writer says Jim has a full-time job at home, he means Jim ____
A. makes shoes in his home B. does extra work at night
C. does his own car and home repairsD. keeps house and looks after his children
39. Jim Hatfield decided to become a “do-it-yourself” when ____
A. his car repairs cost too much B. the car repair class was not helpful
C. he could no possible do two job D. he had to raise the children by himself
第II卷非选择题（两部分，共35分）
第四部分任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。
注意：每空格1 个单词。
Wealthy Chinese do not have a good reputation（=fame）, a survey by China Youth Daily and Sina.com has found.
The poll（民意调查）, conducted last week, showed about 70 percent of 3,990 interviewees believe the well-off are immoral and not worthy of respect. Only 4 percent thought rich people are good, the survey said.
For the rich, to become popular, they need to do three things, the survey suggested.
First, they need to have a sense of social responsibility. Second, they need to be self -disciplined, and third, they need to have a caring heart.
The number of people who make at least $50,000 a year increases by 15 percent a year and, according to the China Economic Times, the country now has 1.5 million rich people.
The China Youth Daily and Sina.com survey found interviewees questioned how the rich became rich in the first place.
“Some rich people are thought to have accumulated（积累）their wealth through illegal means, such as bribery,” said a post-graduate student at the Communication University of China.
Even so, the survey found wealthy people who abide by（遵守） the law, have a sense of social responsibility and a caring heart, are respected.
The poll showed about 60 percent thought these kinds of wealthy people were worthy of respect.
The survey suggested many voters were much better disposed（怀有好感的）toward rich people from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Western economies——rather than the mainland.
Hong Kong property tycoon（大亨） Li Ka-shing was most highly regarded, followed by Bill Gates, mainland property tycoon Wang Shi and basketball player Yao Ming.
“Rich people on the mainland invest too little in charity and gain too much,” a student from Beijing Sports University said.
Yu Guoming, a professor at Renmin University of China, called on the heads of Chinese companies to think and invest in a long-term way. “Social responsibility is not only about charity, it also connects the company with the government and the public.”
Some people don’t believe that driving more slowly can save lives. But the truth is that driving more slowly can help a person to avoid serious accidents.
The following chart shows the distance that it takes to stop a car at a given speed. The distance is measured in feet. The shaded area shows the driver’s thinking distance. That’s the distance it takes for the driver to react to a danger that he sees. The white area shows the car’s braking distance. That’s the distance it takes for the car to stop once the brakes are used. The number at the top of each bar shows the total number of feet that it takes to stop the car
1. According to the chart, what is the total number of feet needed to stop a car that is traveling at 50 miles per hour?
A. 55. B. 73. C. 128. D. 183.
2. What is the braking distance for a car that is traveling at 60 miles per hour?
A. 66 feet. B. 119 feet. C. 185 feet. D. 251 feet.
3. Which of the following statements about braking and speed is TRUE?
A. The braking distance is what it takes for the driver to react to a danger that he sees.
B. The speed of a car has a direct effect on the distance needed to stop the car.
C. The braking distance increases only when a driver drives faster than 50 miles per hour
D. Driving slowly can help a person to avoid all accidents
4. The underlined word probably means _____.
A. equipment for slowing down or stopping B. object that turns around
C. object to control the direction in a car D. large glass window at the front of a vehicle
I love exploring new places. Whether I travel across America or around the world，a new adventure is always waiting. What I don’t always enjoy is the time spent 9,000 meters（30,000 feet）in the air. Tight spaces, long hours, and unexpected-problems can make air travel stressful. Follow these six tips to make your next flight a braze.
1. Make a checklist. Before you pack，make a checklist of everything you need and mark item off as you put them in your bag. Be sure you include important documents, such as your passport.
2. Pack light. You don’t need to pack your whole closet. Choose clothes that mix and match for more variety. Wear your largest shoes on the place to save room in your bag. And pack a few old items that you can leave behind to make more room for souvenirs(纪念品) on the way home.
3. Carry on essential （基本的）items. Unfortunately, dependable baggage service is hard to come by. When you fly, be sure to pack your medicine, important documents, and a change of clothes in your carry-on bag.
4. Pack water and snacks. No one wants to get stuck on a runway for hours without food, water. But bad weather or mechanical problems could leave you stranded（进退两难的）. Pack water and crackers in your carry-on. But leave fresh foods at home. Most countries won’t allow you to bring them across their borders.
5. Stretch your legs. More and more travelers suffer from blood clots caused by sitting too long in tight spaces. You can help prevent this problem by doing stretches in your seat taking short walks every hour.
6. Entertain yourself. A long trip can either mean hours of boredom or an exciting adventure. Plan ahead to keep yourself busy with books，magazines and portable CD player. Just don’t forget to bring extra batteries.
Research airlines before you book your reservations. For just a few dollars more，some airlines offer personal entertainment systems. Singapore Air gives you nearly 70 choices of movies，music channels, and other entertainment！
With a little planning ahead，you’ll be able to sit back and enjoy the ride.
1. It is advised by the writer in this passage to _____ for your flight.
A. pack all the things you will need B. leave your important documents behind
C. carry some fresh foods with you D. take some books, magazines and CD players
2. Which of the following tips isn’t mentioned in this passage？
A. Researching airlines before reservations. B. Staying still during the whole flight.
C. Carrying some water and essential items. D. Making a list of the things you need.
3. The underlined phrase “come by” in tip 3 probably means _____.
A. receive by chance B. obtain by effort C. pass by D. offer in satisfaction
4. We can conclude from this passage that _____.
A. you will get sick during the long flight hours
B. old items are not allowed to bring back on the way home
C. you are not allowed to carry things as freely as you want
D. you can also board the plane without your passport