Old age may not sound exciting. But recent findings offer good news for older people and for people worried about getting older. Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of 50. In fact, they say by the age of 85, people are happier with their life than they were when they were 18 years old.
The findings came from a survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States. The Gallup Organization questioned them by telephone in 2008. At that time, the people were between the ages of 18 and 85. The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry. They also asked about mental or emotional stress.
Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of 24 and 25. The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.
The study also showed that men and women have similar feeling patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.
Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older. One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their feelings. They so spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world, or maybe even changes in brain chemistry.
The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.According to the survey of the Gallup Organization people are most likely to become happier .
| A．when they are between the ages of 18 and 85 | B．when they come to their old age |
| C．when they are in their twenties | D．when they are 18 years old |
You may have the highest level of stress when you are at the age of .
| A．20 | B．25 | C．35 | D．40 |
According to Arthur Stone, old people may .
| A．have a positive attitude towards their life | B．know how to spend money wisely |
| C．dream about good things every day | D．control their behaviors better |
Who would probably show the greatest interest in the passage?
| A．Those who are worried about getting old | B．Those who are single and unemployed |
| C．Those who feel unhappy all the time | D．Those who suffer from mental stress |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Getting Older Means Getting Happier | B．The Young Are Happier Than the Old |
| C．Women Are Easier to Be Happy in Life | D．The Younger, the Happier |
Amanda Kitts is one of "tomorrow's people"﹣people who have artificial（人工的） body parts． She has a bionic（电子操控的）arm．
Now Kitts runs a day﹣care center． Children run up to her happily as she comes into the classroom． She bends over to talk with a small girl． As she bends， Kitts puts her hands on her knees． For most people， this would be easy． However， just a few years ago， this was impossible for Kitts．
In 2006， Kitts was in a car accident． A truck crushed（挤坏） her left arm and the doctor had to cut it off． "I was angry， sad， depressed． I just couldn't accept it，" she says． But then she heard about a new technique that could use the remaining nerves（神经） in her shoulder to control an artificial arm．
In a difficult operation， a doctor moved Kitts's nerves to different areas of her upper﹣arm muscles． For months， the nerves grew． Millimeter by millimeter， they moved deeper into their new homes． "At three months I started feeling little tingles and twitches（刺痛和抽搐），" she said． A month later， she got her first bionic arm． A research engineer worked with Kitts to make the computer programs match her real movements more and more closely．
Today， Kitts's arm is great， but it's not yet perfect． She wants feeling in her hands． For example， she needs to feel whether something is rough or smooth． She also needs feeling to do one of her favorite things﹣drink coffee． "The problem with a paper coffee cup is that my hand will close until it gets a solid grip，" she says． One time at a coffee shop， her hand kept closing until it crushed the cup． But Kitts says positively， "One day I'll be able to feel things with it…and clap my hands…to the songs my kids are singing．"
（1）What is the difference between Kitts and normal people ？
A． She has a bionic arm．
B． She can bend．
C． She can put her hands on her knees．
（2）Kitts got her first bionic arm after the difficult operation．
A． almost three months
B． over one month
C． more than four months
（3）Kitts is able to with her bionic hand．
A． clap her hands
B． hold things
C． feel rough or smooth things
（4）Kitts's attitude toward her new arm is ．
A． positive
B． angry
C． perfect
（5）Choose the right order of the events ．
①Kitts heard about a new technique．
②Kitts crushed a paper coffee cup．
③Kitts had two human arms．
④A truck hit Kitts's car．
⑤Kitts got her first bionic arm．
⑥Doctors moved some of the nerves in Kitts's arm．
A．④﹣①﹣⑥﹣⑤﹣②﹣③
B．③﹣④﹣⑤﹣①﹣②﹣⑥
C．③﹣④﹣①﹣⑥﹣⑤﹣②
One day Vimala and her new friend， Mary， were playing at school． Mary was a very quiet and shy girl but Vimala liked her． While jumping， Mary's glasses fell off and broke． Just then the bell rang and they had to hurry to their science class．
"Oh dear， I'm going to be as blind as a bat． But we'd better hurry． It's Miss Lee's class，" said Mary．
At the start of the lesson， Miss Lee explained how to do the experiment to produce large crystals． Then she started to question the class． Nobody dared to give a wrong answer because Miss Lee was a very strict teacher． Miss Lee held up a clamp （夹具） and said， "What do we use this for？ What do we call it？" All the girls looked down， while she looked at their heads for one to pick on． "Mary？" she finally asked．
Mary was sitting at the back of the class． She stood up and peered at Miss Lee， but she could not see clearly what the teacher was holding． She was nervous a bit and did not answer．
Miss Lee repeated her question． This time she spoke more slowly and there was anger in her voice．
"What is this used for？" she asked．
Vimala saw storm clouds climbing up to Miss Lee's face． She knew that the storm was about to burst on Mary， so she put up her hand． Miss Lee paid no attention to her and stared through narrowed eyes at Mary， waiting for an answer．
Mary did not know what to say． She looked to her left and right for help． Too scared to say out that she couldn't see clearly， Mary hoped that if she kept quiet Miss Lee would ask somebody else．
Vimala guessed what was wrong， so she decided to take a risk． She jumped to her feet and said， "Excuse me， Miss Lee． Mary broke her glasses just before the lesson stared． I don't think she can see the clamp clearly．" Then she sat down， praying（祈祷） that the ceiling would not fall on her．
"Oh!" Miss Lee said， a little surprised． She had thought that Mary was refusing to answer． Now that she understood， her anger faded away． "Thank you， Vimala．" she said．Then the turned to Mary and said， "Come and look at this．"
Mary left her chair and went to the front of the class．
"It's a clamp．" she said． "We can put it on a metal stand（支架） and use it to hold things in place．"
"Well， you got it right at last．" Miss Lee said with a brief smile． "But you'd better not do any experiments until your glasses have been repaired． You can watch Vimala while she does the experiment．"
The storm clouds disappeared． The smile disappeared from Miss Lee's face and she continued with the lesson． Vimala winked at Mary who peered at her and smiled weakly．
（1）What's the matter with Mary's glasses ？
A． They were lost．
B． They were broken．
C． They were left at home．
（2）Miss Lee was teacher．
A． an English
B． a science
C． a math
（3）Why couldn't Mary answer Miss Lee's question ？
A． Because she didn't know the answer．
B． Because she couldn't hear what Miss Lee was saying．
C． Because she couldn't see what the teacher was holding．
（4）The sentence "Vimala saw storm clouds climbing up to Miss Lee's face．" means vimala found ．
A． the sky was cloudy
B． a heavy storm was coming
C． Miss Lee was becoming angry
（5）Which of the following is not right ？
A． Mary was quiet and shy and also as blind as a bat．
B． Miss Lee was a strict and serious teacher．
C． Mary knew what a clamp was used for．
[1]I'm a 34﹣year﹣old man， married， lived in a nice house， and have a successful career． But my life was not always so great． I had a learning disability from an early age． I went to a special school where I got plenty of extra（额外的） help． Still， I suffered（遭受） the rest of my school days in public schools．
[2] My life improved greatly when I discovered art． The art world gave me a chance to express myself without words． I went to a workshop and gradually became good at making things with clay． Here I learned my first important lesson： disabled as I was in language， I could still be smart and well express myself with clay． And my confidence（自信）came along．
[3]I got my next lesson from rock climbing． It was a fun thing but I was scared from the start． （3）I soon noticed it wasn't a talent thing：it needed lots of practice． So I did it more． After about five years of climbing， I found myself in Yosemite Valley on a big wall． I learned that if you fall in love with something and do it all the time， you will get better at it．
[4] Later I decided to learn（4）① to read and write． I practiced reading and （4）② ， which l used to avoid as much as possible． After two years， I was literate（有文化的）．
[5]Through the long process with art， （4）③ ． and reading and writing． now I've got to a point in my life： I am smart enough to dive into（潜入） an area that is totally unknown， hard， but interesting．
（1）What made the writer's school days difficult？ （No more than 5 words）
（2）Why did art give the writer confidence？（No more than 11 words）
（3）Translate the underlined sentence in the third paragraph into Chinese．
（4）Fill in the blanks in the last two paragraphs with proper words．
① ② ③
（5）What have you learned from the passage？ （No more than 20 words）
Some scientists say that animals in the ocean are increasingly threatened（威胁）by noise pollution caused by human beings． The noise that influences sea animals comes from a number of human activities． It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions（爆炸）， ocean drilling， and ship engines． Such noises are added to natural sounds． These sounds include the breaking of ice fields， underwater earthquakes， and sounds made by animals themselves．
Decibels（分贝） measured（测量） in water are different from those measured on land． A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears． In water， a decibel level of one hundred and ninety﹣ five would have the same effect（效果）．
Some scientists have planned to set a noise limit（限度）of one hundred and twenty decibels in oceans． They have found that noises at that level can frighten and confuse whales（鲸鱼）．
A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously hurt some animals． The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing． This seriously affected the whale's ability to exchange information and find their way． Some of the whales even died． The explosions had caused their ears to bleed．
Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds disagree to a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels． They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research． Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals． However， many scientists think that noise is a greater danger than they believed．It's time for them to take action to help ocean animals．
（1）Which of the following is not caused by human beings？
A． The noise of industrial underwater explosions．
B． The noise of ocean drilling．
C． The sound of underwater earthquakes．
D． The noise of ship engines．
（2）What does the second paragraph mainly tell us？
A． The same noise measures differently on land and in the ocean．
B． Different places may have different types of noises．
C． The noises can cause humans to lose hearing．
D． There are different kinds of natural sounds in the ocean．
（3）Which of the following statements is TRUE？
A． Powerful underwater explosions aren't harmful to whales' ears．
B． Many researchers are against the noise limit of 120 decibels．
C． Noises cannot cause whales' death．
D． The noise limit of 120 decibels would hardly influence the industrial research．
（4）According to the passage ，we can infer that scientists will probably
A． work hard to cut down natural sounds
B． stop industrial and scientific research in oceans
C． try their best to make no noise
D． protect ocean animals from harmful noises
A photo of a boy who arrived at school with a head full of icicles（冰柱） has drawn widespread attention to children from poor rural families．
Wearing only a thin jacket， Wang Fuman， 10， had braved ﹣9℃ weather to travel over an hour from his village home to reach Zhuanshanbao Primary School in Zhaotong， Yunnan province． "After walking more than 4 kilometers through the freezing snow， he arrived with his hair and eyebrows completely frozen， causing laughter among his 16 classmates， "said Fu Heng， the school's principal， who uploaded（上传） Wang's photos on Monday morning． Fu added that his classrooms do not have heating because of a lack of money．
After hearing Wang's story， the Yunnan China Youth Development Foundation offered a public donation（捐赠） for children from poor families on Tuesday． It has promised to give each needy child 500 yuan（＄75）to help them stay warm in winter． By 1： 00 p．m． on Wednesday， the provincial foundation had collected over 300，000 yuan in public donations according to their websites．
Wang， who has been nicknamed" Snowflake Boy"（冰花男孩） by netizens（网友）， became well﹣known online． By Wednesday morning， his picture had been "liked" more than 260，000 times on Sina Weibo． "Many children in cities don't have the strong willpower of this boy． I hope all his efforts will be rewarded（回报）． " a netizen wrote on Sina Weibo．
The name Fuman translates as "full of happiness"， but Wang does not come from a rich family．He lives in a mud hut（土坯房）with his grandmother and elder sister， and seldom sees his parents because they are migrant workers in other cities．
"I love school． We can have bread and milk for lunch， and we lean lots of things in class．" Wang said． His village now has electricity and tap water， "and my family is getting help to build a new house close to the school"， he said． "I think our life will get better．"
（1）Why did Wang's classmates laugh when he came in？
A． Because they thought Wang was poor．
B． Because they wanted to laugh at him．
C． Because he appeared with a head full of icicles．
D． Because Wang was late for class again．
（2）What did the netizens do according to the passage？
A． They took photos of Wang Fuman and uploaded them in time．
B． They expressed their support and admiration．
C． They promised to give each needy child 500 yuan．
D． They helped Wang return to school．
（3）The underlined phrase "a lack of money" can be replaced by" "．
A． being short of money
B． losing money
C． plenty of money
D． saving money
（4）What can we know from the passage？
A． The Yunnan China Youth Development Foundation offered a public donation for Wang Fuman on Tuesday．
B． Wang's village doesn't have electricity and tap water now．
C． Wang loves school just because he can have bread and milk for lunch．
D． The children got help quickly because of social love and convenient Internet．
