The Sauna World Championships (世界桑拿锦标赛) ended in tragedy at the weekend when one of the two finalists collapsed and died. Vladimir Ladyzhenskiy, a Russian amateur wrestler in his 60s, suffered severe burns in the bizarre(怪诞的) annual event in the southern Finnish town of Heinola. He was pronounced dead late on Saturday after he collapsed alongside reigning (卫冕) champion Timo Kaukonen of Finland roughly six minutes into the final round. The “sport” calls on participants to sit in a 230-degree (110 Celsius) room as water was tossed onto a searing stove, officials and witnesses said. Medical workers pulled both men out of the sauna in front of nearly 1,000 horrified spectators.
Both were shaking and bleeding from what appeared to be severe burns, said Hakon Eikesdal, a photographer with the Norwegian daily Dagbladet. Kaukonen, about 40, was in hospital in stable condition Sunday, contest spokesman Ossi Arvela said. The event, which had over 130 participants from 15 countries, had been held since 1999. It will never be held again, Arvela said. A pint of water is added to the stove every 30 seconds and the last person to remain at the sauna is the winner. There was no prize other than “some small things” Arvela said. He declined to provide details. Arvela said Kaukonen — the defending world champion — had refused to leave the sauna despite getting sick. Sauna bathing is a popular past-time in Finland, which has an estimated 1.6 million saunas for a population of 5 million.
Temperatures are normally kept around 158 to 176 degrees (70~80 degrees Celsius). “I know this is very hard to understand to people outside Finland who are not familiar with the sauna habit,” Arvela said. “It is not so unusual to have 110 degrees in a sauna. A lot of competitors before have sat in higher temperatures than that.” Arvela said all rules in Saturday’s competition were followed and the temperatures and times were similar to those in previous years.Which of the following is True of Paragraph 1?
| A．Only the Russian amateur wrestler suffered severe burns in the Sauna World Championships. |
| B．Timo Kaukonen won a world sauna championship though he was badly burned. |
| C．In the Sauna World Championships Vladimir Ladyzhenskiy was badly burned and then died. |
| D．Both of the finalists were pulled out of the sauna, then they were horrified to death. |
The underlined word “searing” means “__________”.
| A．burning | B．comfortable | C．warm | D．extinct |
What can we conclude from the situation after the tragedy?
| A．There was no prize other than “some small things”, which the world champion would refuse to accept. |
| B．Ossi Arvela suggested there were great risks in the sauna contest and it never be held in the future. |
| C．The contest would be continued in which the temperatures were kept around 158 to 176 degrees. |
| D．It was unusual to have 110 degrees in a sauna and it was hard to understand to some people outside. |
We can infer from the news that ___________.
| A．sauna is so popular that there are often competitions on weekdays in Finland. |
| B．the temperatures in usual saunas are too high for most people to stand in Finland. |
| C．the sauna contest is much too horrible even for the spectators in Finland. |
| D．there is a sauna for more than three people on average in Finland. |
If you live in America in the 21st century you'll probably have to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It's become the default response when you ask anyone how they are doing: “Busy!” “Crazy busy!”. It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint. And the common response is a kind of congratulation:“ That's a good problem to have, ”or“ Better than the opposite.”
Notice it isn't generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the ICU or commuting by bus to three minimum-wage jobs who tell you how busy they are. What those people are is not busy but tired. Exhausted! Dead on their feet. It's almost always people whose busyness is purely self-imposed work and obligations they've taken on voluntarily, classes and activities they've “encouraged” their kids to participate in. They're busy because of their own ambition or drive or anxiety, because they're addicted to busyness and dread that they might have to face in its absence.
Almost everyone I know is busy. They feel anxious and guilty when they aren't either working or doing something to promote their work. It's something they have chosen. Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance(令人安心的保证），a measure against emptiness, obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or tiny or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day.
Idleness is not just a vacation. It is as necessary to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as ugly as rickets. The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration.” Idle dreaming is often the essence of what we do”, wrote Thomas Pynchon. Archimedes' “Eureka” in the bath, Newton's apple :history is full of stories of inspirations that come in idle moments.When many Americans say “Crazy busy”, they mean______.
| A．they are really tired of their present situation |
| B．they are really proud of their present life |
| C．they are complaining about their current work |
| D．their life are full of all kinds of problems |
The writer mentions Archimedes'“Eureka” and Newton's apple to show that________.
| A．history is full of interesting stories |
| B．Archimedes and Newton were very busy, so they made great discoveries |
| C．people may get inspiration when they are idle |
| D．inspirations come from hard work |
The word “its” in the second paragraph refers to_________________.
ambition B. anxiety C. busyness D. dreadFrom the article, we can infer that ___________________.
| A．generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the ICU tell you they are busy |
| B．“Dead on their feet” means “being tired out” |
| C．all the kids are self-imposed due to the drive and motivation |
| D．The author seems to agree that idleness is better than busyness |
Today, in many high schools, teaching is now a technical miracle of computer labs, digital cameras, DVD players and laptops. Teachers can e-mail parents, post messages for students on online bulletin(公告，告示) boards, and take attendance with a quick movement of a mouse.
Even though we are now living in the digital age, the basic and most important element of education has not changed. Most students still need that one-on-one, teacher-student relationship to learn and to succeed. Teenagers need instruction in English, math or history, but they also want personal advice and encouragement. Kids talk with me about their families, their weekend plans, their favorite TV shows and their relationship problems. In my English and journalism classes, we talk about Shakespeare and persuasive(富有哲理的) essays, but we also discuss college basketball, the war in Iraq and career choices. Students show me pictures of their rebuilt cars, their family vacations, and their newborn baby brothers. This personal connection is the necessary link between teachers and students that no amount of technology can improve upon or replace.
A few years ago I had a student in sophomore English who was struggling with my class and with school in general. Although he was a humorous young man who liked to joke around, I knew his family life was far from ideal. Whenever I approached him about missing homework or low test grades, he always had the same reply, “It doesn't matter because I'm quitting school anyway.” Even though he always said this in a half-teasing way, I knew he needed to hear my different opinion and my “value of a high school education” lecture. He needed to hear this speech from me. After he left my class, he struggled through the next two years of school. But, he did finally graduate because we kept telling him to hang in there. We’d cared about him finishing school.
Recently, I saw this former student working at a local Italian restaurant. I told him again how proud I was of him. He said that he was hoping to go back to school to become a certified electrician. I encouraged him to get that training.
Students rely on compassionate teachers to guide, to tutor, to listen, to laugh and to cry with them. Teachers provide the most important link in the educational process—the human one. The first paragraph mainly talks about _____________.
| A．the variety of modern teaching methods. |
| B．the wide use of modern technology in education |
| C．the importance of teacher-parent relationship. |
| D．the importance of using modern technology. |
The underlined word “ compassionate” in Para 5 means ____________.
| A．ambitious | B．knowledgeable | C．sympathetic | D．generous |
According to the text, the most important element in education is _________.
| A．teachers’ good instruction | B．advanced technology |
| C．teachers’ encouragement | D．personal connection |
The author states his view of education by __________.
| A．example | B．description | C．figure | D．Comparison |
400-year-old plants from the Little Ice Age were brought back to life, which could help us understand how the Earth will deal with climate change.
Moss(藓类植物) found buried beneath the Teardrop glacier(冰川) on Ellesmere Island in Canada has been brought back to life. Findings suggest that these plants could help repopulate regions exposed by melting ice caps. Plants that were buried beneath thick ice in Canada more than 400 years ago and were thought to have frozen to death have been brought back to life by Canadian scientists.
Samples of the moss plant, covered by the glacier during the Little Ice Age of 1550 to 1850 AD, were replanted in a lab at the University of Alberta and grew new stems(茎). Researchers now think these findings can give indication as to how regions can recover as the ice covering them melts.
Biologist Dr. Catherine La Farge and her team at the University of Alberta were exploring the region around the Teardrop glacier on Ellesmere Island. Ice on Ellesmere Island region has been melting at around four meters each year for the past nine years. This means that many areas of land that were previously covered by ice have since been exposed. Many ecosystems that were thought to have been destroyed during the Little Ice Age between 1550 and 1850 AD can now be studied, including many species that have never been studied before.
While examining an exposed area of land, La Farge and her team discovered a small area of moss called Aulacomnium turgidum. It is a type of bryophyte(苔藓类植物) plant that mainly grows across Canada, the US and the Highlands of Scotland.
Dr La Farge noticed that the moss had small patches of green stems, suggesting it is either growing again or can be encouraged to repopulate. Dr La Farge told the BBC, “When we looked at the samples in detail and brought them to the lab, I could see some of the stems actually had new growth of green branches, suggesting that these plants are growing again, and that blew my mind. When we think of thick areas of ice covering the landscape, we’ve always thought that plants have to come from refugia(濒绝生物保护区), never considering that land plants come from underneath a glacier. It’s a whole world of what’s coming out from underneath the glacier that really needs to be studied. The ice is disappearing pretty fast. We really have not examined all the biological systems that exist in the world; we don’t know it all.”
Dr La Farge took samples of the moss and, using carbon-dating techniques, discovered that the plants date back to the Little Ice Age. Dr La Farge’s team took the samples, planted them in dishes full of nutrient-rich potting soil and fed them with water.
The samples were from four separate species including Aulacomnium turgidum, Distichium capillaceum, Encalypta procera and Syntrichia ruralis. The moss plants found by Dr La Farge are types of bryophytes. Bryophytes can survive long winters and regrow when the weather gets warmer.
However, Dr La Farge was surprised that the plants buried under ice have survived into the twenty-first century. Her findings appear in proceedings（论文集）of the National Academy of Sciences.Dr La Farge’s research is of great importance to ________.
| A．knowing what the plants during the Little Ice Age were like |
| B．understanding how ecosystems recover from glaciers. |
| C．regrowing many species that have been destroyed before. |
| D．figuring out the effects of melting ice caps on moss. |
The underlined part “blew my mind” in Paragraph 6 can best be replaced by “________”.
| A．surprised me | B．greatly frightened me |
| C．put my doubt out of my mind | D．was exactly what I had in my mind |
According to the passage, Aulacomnium turgidum ________.
| A．lives better in small groups |
| B．is very active in hot weather |
| C．is strong enough to survive coldness |
| D．is chosen from Canadian refugia |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Bryophyte ecology is greatly affected by climate change. |
| B．400-year-old moss’s survival is a mystery to solve. |
| C．Moss in ancient times was discovered in Canada. |
| D．400-year-old plants were brought back to life. |
The power of humor and laugher is numerous. They entertain us and make us feel good. But, above all, we have discovered that humor and laughter are the best medicine. They relieve pain, reduce stress and anxiety, and are anti-aging and longevity facilitators（促进者）.
They are extremely necessary for helping us to find and maintain a balance between life and work. However, they are slipping away from us. We have become far too serious. The only ones who still enjoy humor, laughter, fun and play to the fullest are young children. Children tend to laugh an average of 200 times a day. For adults, however, it is a totally different story.
In the 1950s people laughed on average 18 times a day. Today, we are lucky if we average between 4-6 times a day.
As a matter of fact, a recent study found that people laugh 6 more times in the presence of one person but 30 more times in a group of people. You can get a chuckle(咯咯笑) from jokes you get on the Internet, but it is not the same as belly jiggling laughter (a deep laugh) you get when you interact with others.
Socializing(交际) with friends and relatives was much looked forward to. However, this is no longer the case. In fact, the majority of people can hardly find time, nor do they have the inclination towards socializing outside home. They turn to electronic media such as television, computers, the Internet, videos, CDs, and audio equipment, which can provide them with instant self-entertainment at the push of a button.
The workplace does not fare(进展) much better. Due to the pressures to produce more in the same or fewer hours available and to compete, for example, in a manufacturing field with cheaper labor elsewhere in the world, humor and laughter in the workplace have gradually eroded（逐渐毁坏） away.
I have developed a real appreciation, perhaps closer to a strong desire for the power of humor and laughter. This encouraged me to write my first book titled “The Power of Humor” and subsequently my second book titled “Kids Say the Goggonest Things” based on the natural humor, laughter, play and fun that kids experience and they freely share with parents, grandparents and teachers.
From writing about humor and laughter, people start to ask me to speak up for them. To date, I have developed a number of humor-laughter topics that I use in my keynote presentations. You are invited to subscribe to my free monthly e-magazine “The Humormeister’s Forum” by clicking on the Free Humor E-zine navigation button on the website.According to the author, laughter is leaving us partly because ________.
| A．the pace of change in our lives is becoming faster |
| B．we fail to reflect on fun times in our lives |
| C．we treat everything in a serious way |
| D．humor of situations lies beneath |
The fourth paragraph mainly tells us that ________.
| A．researchers have made a new discovery about the effect of laughter |
| B．people laugh more heartily when spending time with others |
| C．we can entertain ourselves with the help of the Internet |
| D．getting a deep laugh nowadays is difficult |
The underlined word “inclination” in Paragraph 5 most probably means “________”.
| A．destination | B．tendency | C．attitude | D．approach |
Which of the following articles can we most probably find in “The Humormeister’s Forum”?
| A．The power of honesty. |
| B．Don’t be your own worst enemy. |
| C．Live life purposefully: The relationship within. |
| D．Funny Christmas stories to share with your loved ones. |
Feeling exhausted and hopeless, I began walking to my car. Every step seemed tiring, and every step was another to survive. As I looked up into the sky I thought about how my grandmother had left me, and my anger began to return. I was annoyed by the loss, and my belief in God was beginning to fade. I couldn’t understand why these things happened. So as I stood in a public parking lot a million questions formed in my mind. Why did this happen to me? Aren’t we supposed to get signs from the people that pass on? Why did I not feel her presence anymore? Is there a heaven?
Suddenly, a woman driving right by my side rolled down her window and distracted my unanswered thoughts. “Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me,” she said loudly. Thinking she was going to ask for my parking spot, I simply pointed to my car. The thought of having to say where my car was seemed like too much to bear. “No, excuse me,” she said again.
At this point, I felt I had no choice but to see what this annoying lady wanted. As I got closer, I was startled—was this my grandmother’s nurse, Adu, who lived with her during her final months? I soon realized that she wasn’t, although the resemblance was unusual. Then, I realized that this Adu was searching for something in her bag. Surprisingly, I was overcome by a sense of relief that led me to be patient the entire time the lady was searching. Others would be nervous by a stranger reaching in their bag, but I wasn’t. She finally reached to the very bottom of her bag and handed me a three-page booklet. “It looks like you need this,” she said calmly with a warm smile on her face.
I looked down at the mysterious and obviously used booklet and on the front cover in big bold letters read “What Hope for Dead Loved Ones?”
It took me only a few seconds to comprehend the exchange with this woman, but by the time I looked up, she was gone.
I walked slowly into my car holding the tiny little book that was given to me with fear that it would fly away in the wind. I didn’t know what it was exactly, but I knew that if my grandmother had anything to do with that I didn’t want to let it go.
I felt a sense of relaxation as I opened the first page. It explained how people pass on, but their spirit remains with us. This was the first time since my grandma had passed that I felt her with me, just like I had wanted. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but I did know that I finally felt happiness from the surprising change in events.
I couldn’t, and still can’t, believe what had happened to me on that day. I don’t remember the specific details that you usually hear about like what the person was wearing, the time of day, or even the weather, but it doesn’t matter. It was a random day in November when my life turned back around and I began to feel hope again. It was real. It was a miracle. And, I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.The author refused to say anything to the woman but just pointed to her own car at first mainly because ______.
| A．the author did not know the woman |
| B．the woman interrupted the author’s thoughts |
| C．the author thought she wanted to use the vacant parking space |
| D．the author was too weak to say anything |
What can we learn about the author’s grandmother?
| A．She often made the author angry. | B．She left nothing to the author. |
| C．She was kind to the author. | D．She lost faith in God. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The author and the woman became good friends later. |
| B．The woman turned out to be the author’s grandmother’s nurse. |
| C．The author knows the specific details about this experience. |
| D．The author was very grateful to the unknown woman. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Miracle at the Parking Lot | B．What Hope for Dead Loved Ones? |
| C．True Love for My Grandmother | D．Adu, My Grandmother’s Nurse |