A newly-published study has shown that loneliness can spread from one person to another, like a disease.
Researchers used information from the Framingham Study, which began in 1948. The Framingham Study gathers information about physical and mental health, personal behavior and diet. At first, the study involved about 5,000 people in the American state of Massachusetts. Now, more than 12,000 individuals are taking part.
Information from the Framingham Study showed earlier that happiness can spread from person to person. So can behaviors like littering and the ability to stop smoking.
University of Chicago psychologist John Cacioppo led the recent study. He and other researchers attempted to show how often people felt lonely. They found that the feeling of loneliness spread through social groups.
Having a social connection with a lonely person increased the chances that another individual would feel lonely. In fact, a friend of a lonely person was 52% more likely to develop feelings of loneliness. A friend of that person was 25% more likely. The researchers say this shows that a person could indirectly be affected by someone’s loneliness.
The effect was strongest among friends. Neighbors were the second most affected group. The effect was weaker on husbands and wives, and brothers and sisters. The researchers also found that loneliness spread more easily among women than men.
The New York Times newspaper reports that, on average, people experience feelings of loneliness about 48 days a year. It also found that every additional friend can decrease loneliness by about five percent, or two and a half fewer lonely days.
Loneliness has been linked to health problems like depression and sleeping difficulties. The researchers believe that knowing the causes of loneliness could help in reducing it.
The study suggests that people can take steps to stop the spread of loneliness. They can do this by helping individuals they know who may be experiencing loneliness. The result can be helpful to the whole social group.From the passage, we can learn that .
| A．the habit of littering doesn’t spread |
| B．a lonely person won’t have friends |
| C．everyone may be affected by others’ loneliness |
D．lonely people don’t know the cause of their lone liness |
Which statement about the spread of loneliness is true?
| A．The spreading effect was the second strongest among friends. |
| B．No spreading effect was found on husbands and wives. |
| C．Women are more likely to be affected than men. |
| D．Brothers are more easily affected than neighbors. |
If you make 10 more friends in a year, the days of your feeling loneliness will be reduced by .
| A．48 days | B．25 days | C．20 days | D．15 days |
What is the main idea of the passage?
A．Actions should be taken t o help lonely people. |
B．People feel lonely for many reasons. |
| C．Ways to fight against loneliness. | D．Lonely people can affect others. |
第三部分阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节：阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
In a society such as the United States or Canada，which has many national，religious，and cultural differences, people highly value individualism(个人主义）— the differences among people, Teachers place a lot of importance on the qualities that make each student special．The educational systems in these countries show these values．Students do not memorize information．Instead, they work individually and find answers themselves．There is often discussion in the classroom． At an early age, students learn to form their own ideas and opinions．
In most Asian societies, on the contrary, people have the same language, history, and culture． Perhaps for this reason, the educational system in much of the Orient (东方的) reflects society’ s belief in group goals and purposes rather than individualism．Children in China, Japan, and Korea often work together and help one another on assignments． In the classroom, the teaching methods are often very formal． The teacher lectures, and the students listen． There is not much discussion． Instead, the students repeat rules or information that they have memorized．
There are advantages and disadvantages to both of these systems of education． For example, one advantage to the system in Japan is that students there learn much more math and science than American students learn by the end of high school． They also study more hours each day and more days each year than North Americans do． The system is difficult, but it prepares students for a society that values discipline and self-control．There is, however, a disadvantage． Memorization is an important learning method in Japanese schools, yet many students say that after an exam, they forget much of the information they have memorized．
The advantage of the educational system in North America, on the other hand, is that students learn to think for themselves． The system prepares them for a society that values creative ideas． There is, however, a disadvantage． When students graduate from high school，they haven’ t memorized as many basic rules and facts as students in other countries have．
1、The reason why American teachers attach much importance to individualism is that．
A．they are required to do so
B．their students do not memorize information
C．the United States is a country of many cultures
D．their students work individually
2、which of the following statements applies to Asian methods of education?
A．Each child in a classroom draws a different picture
B．students have to find information themselves．
C．Students are prepared for a society that values discipline
D．Teachers serve as a guide in discussion
3、A good educational system would be the one that．
A．has more advantages
B．is the combination of Western and Oriental methods
C．is based on the Western system
D．rests on the Asian system
4、the author believes that．
A．different educational systems reflect different culture of the societies
B．students from Western countries are creative but selfish
C．Asian students are merely interested in math and science
D．there are more advantages to Western system of education than to Oriental one
5．The author focuses on．
A．the differences in methods of education orient and west
B．the advantages and disadvantages to both of the Western and Asian educational system
C．how Asian school systems reflect group goals
D．how Western school systems reflect the value of individualism
Last week, while visiting my dad with my daughter, we went to a restaurant for dinner. When we were seated, my dad asked the waitress if there were any soldiers eating at the restaurant. Then waitress said there was a soldier having dinner with his friend. My dad told the waitress to tell the soldier and his friend that their dinner was paid for! He also said that he did not want to be known as the benefactor(施主).
Then waitress later commented on my dad’s thoughtful behavior saying that she had never seen anything like this before. At a local college, she had studied opera and so she used this to thank my dad by performing a piece from The Pearl Fisherman. Her voice brought me to tears because it sounded perfect!
After a while, the soldier appeared at our table (I don’t know how he knew my dad paid the bill for him.) and said that he would be sent to the front the next morning and that he could not leave this country without saying “thanks” to my dad. My dad replied that it was he who wanted to say “thanks”. They shook hands as the soldier left.
Before we left, the waitress came by again. She did a magic show as another way to show her
“thanks” to my dad. Her show was really great. My dad left her a note with email address asking for her next performance time in addition to a $ 50 tip.
Everyone witnessed something exemplary(可作榜样的) in the human spirit that night. I can only hope to see more of this in the future.
68．What did the soldier do in response to the author’s father’s kindness?
A．He gave something to author’s dad.
B．He gave a big tip to the waitress.
C．He said thanks to the author’s dad in person.
D．He did a magic show for the author and her father.
69．The author considered her father’s action to be ____.
A．funny B．understandable C．worthless D．honorable
70．Their passage mainly tells us that we should ____.
A．learn to be grateful to others B．find ways to thank others
C．try to learn from each other D．respect soldiers and waitresses
A small piece of fish each day may keep the heart doctor away．That's the finding of a scientific study of Dutch men in which deaths from heart disease were more than 50 percent lower among those who consumed at least an ounce（盎司）of salt water fish per day than those who never ate fish.
The Dutch research is one of three human studies that hold the belief that eating fish can provide health benefits, particularly to the heart. Heart disease is the number-one killer in the United States, with more than 550,000 deaths occurring from heart attacks each year．But researchers previously have noticed that the incidence （发生率） of heart disease is lower in cultures that consume more fish than Americans do．There are fewer heart disease deaths, for example, among the Eskimos of Greenland, who consume about 14 ounces of fish a day, and among the Japanese, whose daily fish consumption averages more than 3 ounces.
|
For 20 years, the Dutch study followed 852 middle-aged men, 20 percent of whom ate no fish.
At the start of the study, the average fish consumption was about two-thirds of an ounce each day with more men eating thin fish than fatty fish.Although hurricane season doesn't begin until June 1, a Pacific storm has already struck. El Salvador, which was ruined by a Caribbean storm in 1995, was hit by Hurricane Adrian on Friday. This is the first Pacific-born hurricane to ever reach land in this Central American country.
Some 14,000 people left from the western coast of El Salvador. The storm weakened as it crossed land, heading east. Heavy rains created deadly flooding problems in the hurricane's wake.
Adrian is the first Pacific storm of the season. It reported maximum continuous winds of 75 miles per hour, the minimum strength of a hurricane. A Category 3 hurricane, Adrian also caused damage and flooding in Honduras. It is expected to break up before reaching the Caribbean Sea on the eastern coast of Central America.
Hurricane season typically begins June 1 and lasts through November 30．The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted seven to nine hurricanes for the 2005 season.
"It is difficult to make any kind of an exact prediction of how many of these will strike land," NOAA administrator Conrad Lautenbacher said. He predicts two to three hurricanes will strike the U.S. this season.
Last year, six of nine hurricanes reached Category 3 strength or higher. Four of those hit Florida within a six-week period. Altogether, Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne caused more than $40 billion in damage in the Sunshine State.
This year's forecast is based on ocean temperatures. Warmer temperatures produce more tropical storms, which can then turn into hurricanes.
"The issue, really, this year is the unusually warm sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic," said Frank Lepore of the National Hurricane Center.
60．Which of the following is the 2005 first hurricane?
A．Charley. B．Adrian. C．Jeanne. D．Frances.
61．How many countries struck by the hurricane are mentioned in the text?
A．Six. B．Nine. C．Five. D．Three.
62．We can infer that warmer ocean temperatures ______.
A．have nothing to do with the hurricane
B．cause less hurricane
C．are more likely to cause the hurricanes
D．do a lot of damage to the areas along the coast
63．The passage implies that _______.
A．hurricane season comes early this year
B．every hurricane formed in oceans could cause great damage to the land
C．hurricane often comes in winter and spring
D．tropical storm is more severe than hurricane
第三部分阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Ed Viesturs grew up in Rockford, Illinois, where the tallest thing on the horizon was the water tower. But on Thursday, Viesturs became the only American to climb to the top of the world's 14 highest mountains.
His last hike was up Mount Annapurna, in Asia's snowcapped Himalayas. At 26,545 feet, its peak is the 10th highest in the world. It is the mountain that inspired him to start climbing.
"It tends to be the trickiest, the most dangerous," said Viesturs. "There's no simple way to climb it. There are threatening avalanches (雪崩) and ice falls that protect the mountain."
In high school, Viesturs read French climber Maurice Herzog's tale of climbing the icy Annapurna. Herzog's story was of frostbite (冻伤) and difficulty and near-death experiences. Viesturs was hooked right away.
Viesturs got his start on Washington's Mount Rainier in 1977, guiding hikes in the summer. Fifteen years ago, he set out to walk up to the world's highest peaks. Finally, he's done.
The pioneering climber talks about mountains as if they were living creatures that should be treated with respect. "You have to use all of your senses, all of your abilities to see if the mountain will let you climb it," said Viesturs. "If we have the patience and the respect, and if we're here at the right time, under the right circumstances, they allow us to go up, and allow us to come down."
What's next for a man who can't stop climbing? "I'm going to hug my wife and kids and kind of kick back and enjoy the summer," says Viesturs. But for a man who's climbed the world's 14 tallest mountains, he will probably soon set off on yet another adventure.
56．What record has Ed Viesturs set?
A．He has succeeded in climbing to the world’s 14th highest mountain.
B．He has been to the top of the world’s 14 highest mountains.
C．He has become the first to climb to the height of 26,545 feet.
D．He has become the first man to climb to the top of 14 highest mountains in the world.
57．The underlined word “hooked” in Paragraph 4 can be replaced by “______”.
A．frightened B．discouraged C．interested D．upset
58．The author used Viestures’ words in Paragraph 6 to support a view that ______.
A．mountain climbing is a dangerous sport
B．mountains should be regarded as living creatures
C．mountain climbing needs more skills than physical energy
D．those who like mountain climbing won’t stop climbing
59．What’s the next probable plan of Viestures?
A．Stopping climbing and staying with his family.
B．Climbing to the top of the world’s 14 tallest mountains again.
C．Climbing another one of the highest mountains.
D．Writing down the experiences about his adventure.