As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art of relaxation. Once you are in the habit of rushing through life, being on the go from morning till night, it is hard to slow down. But relaxation is essential for a healthy mind and body.
Stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it. In fact, it is not the bad thing it is often supposed to be. A certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and give purpose to life. It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health．
The amount of stress a person can withstand depends very much on the individual. Some people are not afraid of stress, and such characters are obviously prime material for managerial responsibilities, others lose heart at the first sign of unusual difficulties. When exposed to stress, in whatever form, we react both chemically and physically. In fact we make choice between “flight or fight” and in more primitive days the choices made the difference between life or death. The crises we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme, but however little the stress, it involves the same response. It is when such a reaction lasts long, through continued exposure to stress, that health becomes endangered. Since we can't remove stress from our lives (it would be unwise to do so even if we could), we need to find ways to deal with it．People are finding less and less time for relaxing themselves because ________.
| A．they regard working as their greatest enjoyment |
| B．they believe that work is superior to relaxation |
| C．they are traveling fast all the time |
| D．they are becoming busier with their work than ever before |
According to the author, the most important character for a good manager is his________.
| A．strong will to hold out stress |
| B．knowing the art of relaxation |
| C．high sense of responsibility |
| D．having control over performance |
Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the passage?
| A．We can find quite a few ways to avoid stress． |
| B．Stress is always harmful to people's health |
| C．It’s easy to change the habit of keeping oneself busy with work． |
| D．Different people can bear different amount of stress． |
In the last sentence of the passage, “do so” refers to ________.
| A．“expose ourselves to stress” |
| B．“find ways to deal with stress” |
| C．“remove stress from our lives” |
| D．“establish links between diseases and stress” |
阅读理解
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
Car Hire
Hiring a self-drive car really adds to the enjoyment of your holiday. There are so many places of interest to visit, and if you enjoy seeing more than just the city center there's no better way to explore than by car.
| Hire Charges What's included a)Unlimited mileage (英里数) b)Expenses on oil, maintenance ( 保养 ) and repairs, which will be repaid on production of invoices c ) Full insurance (保险) except personal accident ( see below) and contents. What's not included a) Personal accident insurance. b)Garaging, petrol, parking and traffic fines. |
Conditions of Hire
★ The shortest rental period at these special low prices is three days. For prices for periods of one or two days you only see our representative (代理人) at the hotel.
★ Car hire must be booked six weeks or more before arrival in London to guarantee a car. But if you have been unable to make a booking in advance please see our representative at the hotel who may still be able to help you.
★The car types on the sheet are examples of the types of cars in each price range , but a particular car cannot be guaranteed.
★Upon delivery the driver(s) will be asked to sign the car hire company's Conditions of Hire.
★If you decide to hire a car, just fill in the Booking Form and return it to us. A booking fee of￡12 as part of the car hire cost is required.
★Should you be forced to cancel your car hire booking after payment in full (two weeks before date of hire ) , a cancellation charge of ￡ 12 will be made.From the advertisement we can see a car hirer will pay_________.
| A．insurance against damage to the car |
| B．insurance against injuryto the driver |
| C．the cost of maintenance of the car |
| D．the cost of repairs to the car |
Which of the following is NOT true judging from the advertisement?
| A．Such an advertisement most likely appears in a newspaper. |
| B．You should have a driving license when you hire a car from the company. |
| C．When you hire a car from the company, a driver will go together with you. |
| D．You have to pay a booking fee when you hire a car from the company. |
If car hirers change their minds after paying the whole cost of hiring, the ￡12 booking fee is ________.
| A．partly returned | B．doubly paid |
| C．not returned at all | D．returned within six weeks |
The prices for car hire are especially low when________.
| A．it is booked for at least three days |
| B．it is booked two weeks in advance |
| C．it is booked for two days |
| D．the booking is made in London |
The Great Gatsby was not well received when it was published in 1926. F. Scott Fitzgerald appeared to destroy the American Dream, where in anyone, with enough hard work, could get rich and have whatever they wanted from life. He exposed the truth about such myths in this classic book. Basically, the plot could be described as follows:
Poor boy goes East in search of wealth, bored and dissatisfied with inactive Mid West country life.
He meets the super-rich there, attends parties and makes friends with one man in particular, a lonely millionaire of uncertain origins, Jay Gatsby.
He becomes involved with these rich but immoral people, the worst of whom are his own cousin Daisy Buchanan, and her husband Tom.
He observes, with dawning recognition, the corruption in their lives, how lacking in human values or ethical beliefs they seem to be.
He watches tragedy unfold, brought about by the handlings of the wealthy, and visited on the poorer characters.
He remains the only friend of Gatsby, arranging his funeral and mourning his death, and possibly the death of his own American Dream.
He wakes up to the reality of what is important in life, and decides to choose what is of value to him.
He returns to his origins, having recognized the worth of his up-bringing and the moral values it instilled. He sees that money is not everything.
But let us look at this in a little more depth, because the novel is much more complicated than those simple outlines above suggest.
The young man, Nick Caraway, aged 29, lived in a cottage on Long Island. He was an apprentice (学徒) Wall Street trader, and in 1920s, when the novel is set, this job represented a way to get rich, the core value of the American Dream.
Gatsby was a millionaire, who chased a dream too, one of rekindling love with Daisy, Nick’s cousin, a bored, rich, totally unfeeling and spoilt woman. Her rich husband, Tom Buchanan, a businessman, was also less than moral, flattering his mistress, Myrtle Wilson, the wife of a garage owner. It was George Wilson’s love for Myrtle that brought about the tragedy contained in the Gatsby plot.
Gatsby wanted to recapture his dream of love. So he began an affair with Daisy; she was flattered and bored. This action helped to erode Nick’s illusions, and show what wealth can do to people. Gatsby suffered from the realization that Daisy was not the wonderful person he dreamed of, but a shallow and materialistic person.
Eventually, Tom Buchanan suspected what was happening between Gatsby and Daisy, and confronted Gatsby. It was soon after this that Daisy ran Myrtle Wilson down, while driving Gatsby’s yellow automobile.
The tragedy was begun, when Tom Buchanan put the idea into head of George Wilson, that Gatsby had killed Myrtle. In fact, Daisy was secure in the belief that superior status and wealth made her immune, and also, her character was such that she cared little for another human being. Tom Buchanan was the catalyst (催化剂) that sent the emotionally disturbed George to shoot Gatsby for killing Myrtle, then committing suicide. Two dreams turned to dust：George’s of love and the chance to pursue the dream of capitalist endeavor and success, Gatsby’s of recapturing romantic love and the more innocent past, when, in his mind, Daisy was golden and true.
The complete destruction was symbolically expressed when none of Gatsby’s rich “friends” were touched by his death. It was left to Nick, a relative stranger, to make the funeral arrangements. This highlighted the total shallowness of that wealthy, corrupt society, and showed what a worthless person Daisy herself was.
At the end, Nick returned to the beliefs of his Mid Western upbringing. After one last meeting with Tom Buchanan, one last look at Gatsby’s mansion, having buried his friend, he left for home. As Gatsby lost his dream and his life, Fitzgerald drew a portrait of the death of the American Dream.According to the author, that The Great Gatsby was not being popular in 1926 was probably because it__________.
| A．informed readers of American value |
| B．destroyed American dream of that time |
| C．described the life of American upper class |
| D．had complicated relationships of the roles |
The following statements about Nick are true EXCEPT that he_______.
| A．is Daisy Buchannan’s cousin |
| B．betrays his only friend—Gatsby |
| C．was an apprentice Wall Street trader |
| D．is dissatisfied with Mid West country life |
We can infer from the passage that_______.
| A．Gatsby was wrongly killed for Daisy setting him a trap |
| B．it was actually Tom Buchanon that killed Myrtle Wilson |
| C．George Wilson’s love for Daisy was sure to turn to dust at last |
| D．Gatsby died because of his appetite for unrealistic romantic love |
The author writes the passage mainly to_______.
| A．teach readers how to appreciate a tragic love novel |
| B．inform us that wealth is more important than morality |
| C．convince us to look at the American Dream another way |
| D．persuade us to read the famous American writer’s novel |
It appears that the police now have a device that can read license plates and check if a car is unregistered, uninsured or stolen. We already know that National Security Agency can dip into your Facebook page and Google searches. And it seems that almost every store we go into these days wants your home phone number and ZIP code as part of any deal.
So when Edward Snowden — now cooling his heels in Russia — revealed the extent to which the NSA is spying on Americans, collecting data on phone calls we make, it's not as if we should have been surprised. We live in a world that George Orwell predicted in 1984. And that realization has caused sales of the 1949, dystopian (反乌托邦）novel to spike dramatically upward recently — a 9,000% increase at one point on Amazon. com.
Comparisons between Orwell’s novel about a tightly controlled totalitarian (极权主义的）future ruled by the everywhere-present Big Brother and today are, in fact, quite similar. Here are a few of the most obvious ones.
Telescreens — in the novel, nearly all public and private places have large TV screens that broadcast government propaganda (宣传), news and approved entertainment. But they are also two-way monitors that spy on citizens, private lives. Today websites like Facebook track our likes and dislikes, and governments and private individuals hack into our computers and find out what they want to know. Then there are the ever-present monitoring cameras that spy on the ordinary people as they go about their daily routine.
The endless war — In Orwell’s book, there's global war that has been going on seemingly forever, and as the book's hero, Winston Smith, realizes the enemy keeps changing. One week we’re at war with Eastasia and friends with Eurasia. The next week, it's just the opposite. There seems little to distinguish the two opponents, and they are used primarily to keep the people of Oceania, where Smith lives, in a constant state of fear, thereby making disagreement unthinkable — or punishable. Today we have the so-called war on terror, with no end in sight, a generalized societal fear, suspensionof certain civil liberties, and an ill-defined enemy who could be anywhere, and anything.
Newspeak — the fictional, stripped-down English language, used to limit free thought. OMG (Oh my God), RU (Are you) serious? That's so FUBAR (Fucked Beyond Ail Recognition). LMAO (Laugh My Ass Off).
Memory hole — this is the machine used in the book to change or disappear embarrassing documents. Paper shredders (碎纸机） had been invented, but were hardly used when Orwell wrote his book, and the concept of wiping out a hard drive was years in the future. But the memory hole foretold both technologies.
So what’s it all meant? In 1984, Winston Smith, after an intense round of “behavioral modification” — read: torture— learns to love Big Brother, and the difficult world he was born into. Jump forward to today, it seems we’ve willingly given up all sorts of freedoms, and much of our right to privacy. Fears of terrorism have a lot to do with this, but dizzying advances in technology, and the ubiquity of social media, play a big part.
There are those who say that if you don't have anything to hide, you have nothing to be afraid of. But the fact is, when a government agency can monitor everyone’s phone calls, we have all become suspects. This is one of the most frightening aspects of our modem society. And even more frightening is the fact that we have gone so far down the street, there is probably no turning back. Unless you spend your life in a wilderness cabin, totally off the grid, there is simply no way the government won’t have information about you stored away somewhere.
What this means, unfortunately, is that we are all Winston Smith. And Big Brother is the modem surveillance state.What caused 1984 to sell well on Amazon.com?
| A．The similarities between the world we live in and that of 1984. |
| B．The surprise at how Americans are spied on by the government. |
| C．The fact that authorities have access to our personal information. |
| D．The worry that our government agencies can monitor our phones. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．When Orwell wrote 1984, paper shredders didn't exist. |
| B．The war with Eastasia makes people in Oceania fearful. |
| C．Telescreens are used to broadcast and spy on citizens’ privacy. |
| D．Winston Smith loves Big Brother due to the fears of terrorism. |
What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 8 refer to?
| A．Addiction to social media. |
| B．The phone calls being monitored. |
| C．A round of “behavioral modification”. |
| D．Willingness to abandon freedom and privacy. |
The underlined part in the passage replies that _______.
| A．it is impossible for us to return to our initial path |
| B．it’s very difficult for us to change the current situation |
| C．we are walking along the street too far to go back home |
| D．the government can find out which street we are going down |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．We are all Winston Smith. |
| B．Big Brother is watching you. |
| C．We’re living “1984” today. |
| D．The NSA is spying on Americans. |
What is the writer's attitude towards the phenomenon?
| A．Optimistic. | B．Concerned. | C．Angry. | D．Indifferent. |
Catch yourself daydreaming while washing the dishes again?If this happens often you probably have a pretty capable working memory and a sharper brain, new research suggests.
This mind wandering, it seems, actually gives your working memory a workout. Working memory is the mental work space that allows the brain to juggle multiple thoughts at the same time. The more working memory a person has, the more daydreaming they can do without forgetting the task at hand.
Researchers studied groups of people from the University of Wisconsin－Madison community, ranging in age from 18 to 65. The volunteers were asked to perform simple tasks, like pressing a button every time they took a breath or clicking in response to a letter popping up on a computer screen; these tasks were so easy that their minds were likely to wander, the researchers figured.
The researchers checked in periodically, asking the participants if their minds were on task or wandering. When the task was over, they measured each participant's working memory capacity by having them remember letters while doing math questions. Though all participants performed well on the task, the researchers noticed that the individuals who indicated their minds had wandered more than others also scored higher on the working memory test.
“What this study seems to suggest is that, when circumstances for the task aren't very difficult, people who have additional working memory resources allocate them to think about things other than what they're doing，” said Jonathan Smallwood, a study researcher of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science.
When our minds run out of working memory, these off－topic thoughts can take the main stage without us consciously meaning them to; for instance, arriving at home with no memory of the actual trip, or suddenly realizing that they've turned several pages in a book without understanding any of the words.
“It's almost like your attention was so absorbed in the mind wandering that there wasn't any left over to remember your goal to read，” study researcher Daniel Levinson, said in a statement. People with overall higher working memory were better able to stay focused when the task at hand required it. Those who had low working memory often had their thoughts drift away from the task, and did less well at it.
The findings add to past research suggesting these mind drifts can be positive moments. For instance, daydreaming has often been associated with creativity—researchers think that our most creative and inventive moments come when daydreaming. It's likely that the most intelligent among us also have high levels of working memory, Levinson noted.The word “juggle” in the second paragraph can be replaced by “________”．
| A．search | B．understand | C．handle | D．foresee |
What can be concluded from Jonathan Smallwood's words?
| A．Absorbed in the mind wandering, your attention left no space for your goal. |
| B．On the working memory test, people with wandering minds will get high score. |
| C．Dealing with some easy jobs, people with higher working memory will daydream. |
| D．People who often have daydreams probably own a pretty capable working memory. |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Mind drifts are always positive. |
| B．Daydreaming is good for the mind. |
| C．Creative moments come with working memory. |
| D．The more daydreaming, the more effectively one works. |
阅读理解
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
January 1 — January 31
You are charming and intelligent. You are actually quite ambitious. You like to go to parties and chat with your friends. On the other hand, you are friendly, but you are also a very private person.
February 1 — February 28
You are determined and hard working．You are born under the sign of loyalty and faimess．You like parties and enjoy a lot of friends. On the other hand, you are quite famous for your courage. You really like to explore and you are an adventurer.
March 1 — March 31
You are very loyal, independent, and open-minded. You are a born leader, and when you set a goal, you go to it. You adore challenges and competitions. You are most likely to be the one who calls out, "Let's go!" you are always in a circle of friends. You love animals. You are like a roller coaster.
April 1—April 30
You are artistic, well-mannered, intelligent, and diplomatic．You are usually sweet and kind, of course．You are sometimes famous for your artistic sense and good taste. You love throwing grand parties. Vacations and routines are very important to you. You are also fairly popular.
May l — May 31
You are talented, sincere, and most of all, enthusiastic. You are the master of ceremonies. You shine in the crowd．When you walk into a room, heads turn, and you hear whispers and gasps. You have a strong will to defeat any challenge in your way. You have a hunger for fashion.
June 1 — June 30
You are very elegant, wise, and compassionate(有同情心的)．You are very attractive and people are attracted to you. Your friends rely on you for advice. You will be someone like Jacqueline Onassis. You are also very lucky in many ways.
July l — July 31
You are mostly agreeable, energetic, and popular.You like to try new things wherever you go. You know how to dress and you always look your best. You are talented and you love sports. You are always one step ahead of anyone else. You adore freedom and independence.
August 1 — August 31
You are empathetic, easygoing, and compliant．You can get along with almost everyone. Many people admire you for your talent and creativity. On the other hand, you are sensitive and compassionate. You always like to dream. You enjoy peace and quiet at night.
September 1 — September 30
You are individualistic, sociable, and very entertaining. You are capable of anything. You have an excellent memory. You like long, friendly conversations with your closest friends．You turn boring things into the life of the party.
October 1 — October 31
You are thoughtful, intelligent, and the class comedian．You are also very popular, and nice around friends. You love to save the best for last. You are amusing and very fun to be around with. You love to spend hours each day reading and studying for final exams, when the school year has just started. You almost never turn on your friends.
November 1 — November 30
You are unselfish, knowledgeable, and friendly. You are loyal to your friends and family. You can see the difference between right and wrong. You are very honest and you speak out when you feel something has gone wrong. You are the person who likes trendy clothes.
December 1 —December 31
You are smart, optimistic, and willing to help others. You are like a rare diamond. You are intentionally the nicest while you are with friends. You are also very affectionate. You are too good to be true. Your friends trust in you easily. You are also popular in the "Being Nice" way. Who is the combination of very different characteristics?
| A．A person born during April 1---April 30. |
| B．A person born during August 1---August 31. |
| C．A person born during January 1---January 31. |
| D．A person born during February 1---February 28. |
People born in the months of_______ are usually very fashionable．
| A．May, July and November |
| B．May, July and October |
| C．July, October, and November |
| D．April, May and October |