That “Monday morning feeling” could be a crushing pain in the chest which leaves you sweating and gasping for breath. Recent research from Germany and Italy shows that heart attacks are more common on Monday mornings and doctors blame the stress of returning to work after the weekend break.
The risk of having a heart attack on any given day should be one in seven, but a six-year study helped by researchers at the Free University of Berlin of more than 2,600 Germans showed that the average person had a 20 per cent higher chance of having a heart attack on a Monday than on any other day.
Working Germans are particularly not protected against attack, with a 33 per cent higher risk at the beginning of the working week. Non-workers, by comparison, appear to be no more at risk on a Monday than any other day.
A study of 11,000 Italians proved 8 am on a Monday morning as the most stressful time for the heart, and both studies showed that Sunday is the least stressful day, with fewer heart attacks in both countries.
The findings could lead to a better understanding of what is the immediate cause of heart attacks, according to Dr Stefan Willich of the Free University. “We know a lot about long-term risk factors such as smoking and cholesterol（胆固醇）but we don’t know what actually causes heart attacks, so we can’t give clear advice on how to prevent them,” he said.
Monday mornings have a double helping of stress for the working body as it makes a rapid change from sleep to activity, and from the relaxing weekend to the pressures of work.
“When people get up, their blood pressure and heart rate go up and there are hormonal（内分泌）changes in their bodies,” Willich explained. “All these things can have an unfavourable effect in the blood system and increase the risk of a clot（血凝块）in the arteries（动脉）which will cause a heart attack.”
“When people return to work after a weekend off, the pace of their life changes. They have a higher workload, more stress, more anger and more physical activity,” said Willich.Monday morning feeling, as this passage shows, .
| A．is not so serious as people thought |
| B．is harmful to working people in developed countries. |
| C．is the first killer in Germany and Italy. |
| D．is created by researchers in Germany and Italy |
To protect people from suffering from heart attack, doctors have paid much attention to .
| A．people’s working time |
| B．people’s living place |
| C．people’s diet and lifestyle |
| D．people’s nationalities |
It can be learned from this passage that heart attack has nothing to do with .
| A．blood pressure | B．heart rate |
| C．hormonal changes | D．blood group |
If the researchers give us some advice to avoid Monday morning feeling, what might it be?
| A．Stop working on Monday |
| B．Create a pleasant working environment |
| C．Get up late on Monday morning |
| D．Go to work with a doctor |
Have you ever heard of blogs (博客)? If you haven’t, you should have. It’s here, it’s growing and it’s having an influence on our life. Surf the Internet and you’ll find blogs everywhere. A blog, shortened from “weblog”, is a public Internet journal written by one person or a group of people. It is a website in which a person or a group can place news, personal thoughts, text, photos, video or audio files, or links upon which visitors can comment. A blog lets you post on the Internet without having to know web design or be technical. You are given an environment to make dated entries on the topic of your choice which are “published”, so other people can read them.
Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called “blogging”. Blogging has revolutionized Internet publishing in the last several years because it gives everyone with Internet access the opportunity to become an online writer. Objects, such as “text and photos” in a blog can be called “blog posts”, “posts”, or “entries”. The person who posts these entries is called a “blogger”.
Now, somewhere around the world, a blog is created almost every 6 seconds. Because it’s great potential, Bill Gates views it as important as e-mail, BBS, and MSN. He’s trying to make blogs the important tools for future business communications.A blog is __________ .
| A．a comment | B．an Internet journal | C．a design | D．a link |
A person can do the following things in a blog EXCEPT _______.
| A．talk to others | B．give comments | C．read articles | D．enjoy photos |
Who is a blogger?
| A．A person who posts letters. |
| B．A person who writes articles. |
| C．A person who posts text or photos in a blog. |
| D．A person who is an online publisher. |
From the passage we know that _________. .
| A．Bill Gates will invent some tools for blogs |
| B．blogs will be an important business communication tool in the future |
| C．so far, only a few persons have created blogs |
| D．blogs will replace e-mail, BBS and MSN in the future |
While IQ (Intelligence Quotient) tells you how smart you are. EQ (Emotional Quotient) tells you how well you use your smartness. Professor Salovery, the psychologist who created the term, EQ, says that it is IQ that gets you hired but it is EQ that gets you promoted.
Supported by his research, he suggested that when predicting future successes, a person’s brainpower, as measured by IQ tests, might actually matter less than a person’s character, or EQ. Professor Salovery may be correct. For example, have you ever wondered why some of the best and smartest students in your class end up failing exams? Perhaps it is because of their EQ. People often make the mistake of thinking that EQ is the opposite of IQ. It is not. Although it is hoped that people have both high EQs and IQs, there is little doubt that those with low EQs have a hard time surviving in life.
For a long time, researchers discussed if a person’s IQ could be raised. The geneticists said no, while the social scientists said yes. Furthermore, the social scientists said that it was possible to improve a person’s EQ, particularly in terms of “people skills”, such as understanding and communication.
Recently, a professor released the findings of a study on senior high school students. When some normal students were introduced to some disabled students, they found that afterwards they were more willing to help people in difficulties. At the same time, there was a marked change in the disabled students’ attitudes. They became more positive about their disabilities and were more eager to try new things. People with high EQs often have positive attitudes towards life and are open to different ideas, so they tend to be more creative in their thinking. Please remember that having a high IQ is helpful but having a high EQ might even be more helpful.According to Professor Salovery, what factor matters the most in predicting whether a person will be successful or not?
| A．How a person tests his / her brainpower. |
| B．A person’s character. |
| C．How smart a person is. |
| D．A person’s IQ. |
The second paragraph tells us that __________.
| A．people who have a high IQ always have a high EQ |
| B．EQ is the opposite of IQ |
| C．people who have a low EQ tend to have a hard life |
| D．people who have a high EQ always have a high IQ |
Which of the following is the writer’s attitude toward EQ and IQ?
| A．IQ is more helpful to people than EQ. |
| B．IQ can be raised by understanding and communication. |
| C．EQ can get people hired. |
| D．A high EQ is of great benefit in getting people promoted. |
Which of the following would be the best title of this passage?
| A．A person’s brainpower. | B．IQ, EQ and success. |
| C．IQ and a person’s character. | D．A person’s IQ and EQ. |
When I was an official of a school in Palo Alto, California, Polly Tyner, the president of our board, wrote a letter that was printed in the Palo Alto Times. Polly’s son, Jim, had great difficulty in school. He was classified as the educationally handicapped and required a great deal of patience on the part of his parents and teachers. But Jim was a happy kid with a great smile that lit up the room. His parents knew his difficulties, but they always tried to help him see his strengths so that he could walk with pride. Shortly after Jim finished high school, he was killed in a motorcycle accident. After his death, his mother submitted this letter to the newspaper.
“Today we buried our 20-year-old son. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on Friday night. How I wish I had known that the last time I had talked to him would be the last time. If I had only known that, I would have said to him, ‘Jim, I love you and I’m always so proud of you.’ I would have taken the time to count the many blessings he had brought to the lives of the people who loved him. I would have taken the time to appreciate his beautiful smile, his laughter, and his genuine love to other people.
“When I put all the good things on the scale and try to balance them with all the irritating (恼人的) things such as the radio that was always too loud, the haircut that wasn’t to our liking, the dirty socks under the bed, etc., I find that the irritations really don’t amount to much.
“I won’t get another chance to tell my son all that I would have wanted him to hear, but, other parents, do have a chance. Tell your young people what you would want them to hear as if it may be your last conversation. The last time I talked to Jim was the morning of the day when he died. He called me to say, ‘Hi, Mom! I just called to say I love you. You have to go to work now. Bye.’ That day, he gave me something to treasure forever. ”
If there is any purpose at all for Jim’s death, maybe it is to make others appreciate life more and to tell people, especially family members, that they should take the time to let each other know just how much they care. You may never have another chance. Do it today!What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “the educationally handicapped”?
| A．The learning difficulty. |
| B．The physical problems. |
| C．The psychological problems. |
| D．The communication difficulty. |
According to the writer, which of the following about Jim is TRUE？
| A．He was always sad about his school marks. |
| B．His parents always scolded him about his bad school marks. |
| C．His study needed more attention from his parents and teachers. |
| D．He was killed in a car accident. |
What did Polly think of Jim?
| A．He was a lovely boy with a beautiful smile who always loved others. |
| B．He was physically sick but always happy. |
| C．He was an irritating boy with some bad habits. |
| D．He seldom expressed his love for his parents. |
The purpose of Polly’s letter is to _______. .
| A．memorize her son |
| B．teach parents to appreciate their children |
| C．teach children how to be good boys |
| D．give some advice on how to deal with children’s problems |
It is only during the last few years that man has generally realized that in the world of nature a balance exists between all forms of life. No living thing can exist by itself. It is part of a system in which all forms of life are joined together. If we change one part of the nature order, this will almost certainly bring about changes in some other parts.
The cutting of forests reduced the supply of oxygen. The killing of weeds and insects by chemicals led to the wide-spread poisoning of animals and birds. The throwing of waste products into the ocean hurt life in the sea, while waste gases changed the chemical balance of the atmosphere and shut out some of the sun’s necessary life-giving rays.
And so we could go on adding more examples until in despair(绝望) we might feel like giving up the struggle to control these harmful human activities. Man is very clever at changing the world around him to satisfy his immediate needs, but he is not so clever at looking far ahead, or at thinking about what the future results of his action might be. Man may well destroy himself because of his silly action. The first paragraph tells us that _____.
| A．all living things in nature depend on each other |
| B．everything in nature can’t exist without the help of man |
| C．man has known the importance of the balance of nature for a long time |
| D．no living thing can live naturally |
In the second paragraph the examples given are used to prove that _____.
| A．all forms of life belong to a system in which all the parts can be changed for one another |
| B．it is only during the last few years that man has generally known the balance of nature |
| C．there are some living things which can exist by themselves without change |
| D．we can’t change one form of life without destroying the balance of nature |
The last paragraph suggests that in order to get his immediate benefits(利益) _____.
| A．man is always anxious to control his activities within limits |
| B．man is always too eager in planning for distant future |
| C．man often fails to think about their future results of his action |
| D．man often feels that he will have to give up in despair |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Cutting down woods does little harm to human beings. |
| B．Man has to pay much more attention to the future results of his present action. |
| C．Oxygen comes from forests. |
| D．The passage tells us to try our best to get as much as possible immediately. |
After years of hearing drivers complain about scratches on their cars, Japan's Nissan Motor Company has officially announced the next big thing---a paint that not only resists scratches and scrapes, but actually repairs itself within a few days.
The new material, developed by Nippon Paint Company, contains an elastic rubbery-like resin(弹性树脂) that is able to heal minor marks caused by car wash equipment, parking lot encounters, road debris (石头碎片) or even on-purpose destruction. The automaker admits its results vary depending on the temperature and the depth of the damage, but adds this is the only paint like it in the world, and tests prove it works. Minor scratches, the most common type, are said to slowly fade over about a week. And once they're gone, there is no trace that they were ever there. The special paint is said to last for at least three years after it is first applied, but there is no word yet on whether more can be added after that period.
Nissan claims car washes are the worst offenders for this type of damage, accounting for at least 80 percent of all incidents. But the complete auto-healing won't come without scratching your wallet. The vehicle maker notes the special paint adds about $ 100 U.S. to the price of a car. It plans to use its new chemical mixture only on its X - Trail SUVs in Japan for now, as it looks for a more widespread presentation. And while plans to offer the feature overseas haven't been made yet, if it's a hit there, you can be almost sure market forces will drive it to these shores, as well.From the article, we can find that_______.
| A．the paint has already been used on cars by now |
| B．it beats other products of its kind in its lengthy effect |
| C．car damage is mainly caused by scratches and scrapes |
| D．marketing this paint in Europe is not under way |
The paint used on cars can______.
| A．last 3 years before it is re-applied again |
| B．fade only in a few days |
| C．help to protect cars from minor paint damage |
| D．reduce car scrape incidents to 20 percent |
What can be inferred from the article?
| A．The paint was developed by Nissan Motor Company. |
| B．The paint might work better in summer than in winter. |
| C．The mark on the car could disappear as soon as the paint is applied. |
| D．The paint is very popular in Japan. |