A Charlotte N.C. man was charged with first-degree murder of a 79-year-old woman whom police said he scared to death. Can the guy be held responsible for the woman’s death? Prosecutors (公诉人) said that he can under the state’s murder rule, which allows someone to be charged with murder if he or she causes another person’s death while committing or fleeing from a severe crime—even if he or she doesn’t kill someone on purpose.
But, medically speaking, can someone actually be frightened to death? We asked Martin Samuels, chairman of the neurology department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Absolutely, no question about it.
The body has a natural protective method called the fight-or-flight response, which was originally described by Walter Cannon，chairman of Harvard University’s physiology department from 1906 to 1942. If, in the wild, an animal is faced with a life-threatening situation, the automatic nervous system responds by increasing heart rate, increasing blood flow to the muscles, and slowing digestion, among other things. All of this increases the chances of succeeding in a fight or running away from an aggressive beast. This process certainly would be of help to early humans. However, in the modern world there is obvious decline of the fight-or-flight response.
The autonomic nervous system uses the chemical messenger to send signals to various parts of the body to activate the fight-or-flight response. This chemical is poisonous in large amounts; it damages the organs such as the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. It is believed that almost all sudden deaths are caused by damage to the heart. There is almost no other organ that would fail so fast as to cause sudden death.
By the way, any strong positive or negative emotions such as happiness or sadness can cause the same result. There are people who have died in excitement or in religious passion. There was a case of a golfer who hit a hole in one, turned to his partner and said, “I can die now”, and then he dropped dead. What is Martin Samuels’ attitude to the possibility of being frightened to death?
| A．Approval. | B．Disapproval. | C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent. |
What can we learn about the fight-or-flight response according to the passage?
| A．The fight-or-flight response was raised and proved by Martin Samuels. |
| B．It is a natural protective method that can’t be found in all creatures but humans. |
| C．The ancient humans had a better fight-or-flight response than modern ones. |
| D．The fight-or-flight response is beneficial to both our actions and organs. |
What activity can we infer is less likely to damage the organs?
| A．Winning an unexpected fortune. |
| B．Missing a dead family member. |
| C．Watching a horror movie. |
| D．Listening to a sweet song. |
The purpose of the passage is ______.
| A．to explain why people will die of a heart attack |
| B．to offer some advice on protecting us from heart failure |
| C．to compare different kinds of feelings to cause a death |
| D．to show strong emotions can cause a sudden death |
It started off as part of French military training and has since evolved as a sport, founded by Sebastian Foucan and David Belle, to encompass a wide variety of techniques, philosophies and exercises. Park-our now enjoys the devotion of many die-hard fans across the world and has been the source for much inspiration.
But what is park-our? It is the art of using only your body to navigate from Point A to B in the least time possible, which involves besides leaping, climbing and sprinting, various unusual and complex movements to overcome barriers. Just like the James Bond in the movie Casino Royale? Bond jumps down from a roof to a windowsill and then runs several blocks over obstacles on the way. It is just because of Bond’s wonderful performances that the sport has become popular worldwide.
Yes, that’s pork-our, an extreme street sport aimed at moving from one point to another as quickly as possible, getting over all the obstacles in the path using only the abilities of the human body. Park-our is considered an extreme sport. As its participants dash around a city, they may jump over fences, run up walls and even move from rooftop to rooftop.
Park-our can be just as exciting and charming as it sounds, but its participants see much more in park-our than that.
To overcome all the obstacles on the course and in life is part of the philosophy(理念)behind park-our. This is the same as life. You must determine your destination, go straight, jump over all the barriers as if in park-our and never fall back from them in your life to reach the destination successfully. A park-our lover said, “I love park-our, because its philosophy has become my life, my way to do everything.”
Another philosophy we’ve learned from park-our is freedom. It can be done by anyone, at any time, anywhere in the world. It is a kind of expression of trust in yourself so that you earn energy and confidence. Park-our has become popular throughout the world because of ________.
| A．its founder, David Belle | B．the film, Casino Royale |
| C．its risks and tricks | D．the varieties of participants |
The underlined word “obstacles” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “________”.
| A．streets | B．objects | C．barriers | D．roofs |
As its participants move around a city, _________.
| A．they can ask for help | B．they may choose to escape |
| C．they should run to extremes | D．they must learn to survive |
Which of the following is TRUE about park-our?
| A．It challenges human abilities. | B．It is a good but boring sport |
| C．It needs special training | D．It is a team sport |
Which of the following is the philosophy of park-our?
| A．Sports and extremes. | B．Excitement and freedom. |
| C．Dreams and success. | D．Self-confidence and freedom. |
One day, Mary asked her mother, “Mum, what do people mean by saying they have a skeleton(骨架）in the closet(衣橱)?” Her mother paused thoughtfully and said, “Well, it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else know about. For example, if in the past, someone in Dad’s family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be a skeleton in his family’s closet. He really wouldn’t want any neighbor to know about it.”
“Why pick my family?” Mary’s father said with anger. “Your family history isn’t so good, you know. Wasn’t your great-great-grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?” “Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners.” “Gosh, sorry I asked. I think I understand now.” Mary cut in before things grew worse.
After dinner, the house was quiet. Mary’s parents were quite angry with each other. Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read. When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Mary’s closet. Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor. Mary’s mother sank into a faint(晕倒), waking only when Mary put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead. She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter.
“What happened? Where am I?” she asked. “You just destroyed the school’s skeleton, Mum,” explained Mary. “I brought it home to help me with my health project. I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad.” Mary looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly. “They’re crazy,” she thought. According to Mary’s mother, “a skeleton in a closet” means _______.
| A．a family honor | B．a family wealth |
| C．a family story | D．a family secret |
What can we learn about some Australians’ ancestors from Paragraph 2?
| A．They were brought to Australia as prisoners. |
| B．They were the earliest people living in Australia. |
| C．They were involved in some crimes in Australia. |
| D．They were not regarded as criminals in their days. |
Mary’s mother fell down into a faint because she was_________.
| A．knocked | B．terrified | C．injured | D．surprised |
Why did Mary bring a skeleton home?
| A．She was curious about it. | B．She planned to keep it for fun. |
| C．She needed it for her school task. | D．She intended to scare her parents. |
Mary’s parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because________.
| A．They were mentally ill. |
| B．They were over happy. |
| C．They understood what had really happened. |
| D．They both thought they had won the quarrel. |
For their nick-of-time acts, Toby, a 2-year-old dog, and Winnie, a cute cat, were named Dog and Cat of the Year by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
As Amy Paul choked(哽住) on a piece of apple at her home, her dog jumped up, landing hard on her chest and forcing the piece in her throat out. When the Keesling family of Indiana was about to be killed by carbon monoxide, their cat clawed at the wife Cathy’s hair until she woke up and called for help.
No one could explain their timely heroics.
Both pets were rescued by their owners in infancy-----Toby as a 4-week-old thrown into a garbage bin to die, and Winnie as a week-old orphan hiding under a barn, so helpless that Cathy’s husband, Eric, had to feed her milk with an eyedropper.
As the Keeslings recalled it, a gas-driven pump being used broke down, spreading carbon monoxide through the house. By the time Winnie went to rescue, the couple’s 14-year-old son was already unconscious. “Winnie jumped on the bed and was clawing at me, with a kind of angry sound,” Cathy Keesling said. The state police responding to her 911 call said the family was only minutes from death, judging by the amount of poisonous gas in the house.
Amy Paul’s husband was at his job when she took a midday break from making jewelry and bit into an apple. “Normally I peel them, but I read in Good Housekeeping Magazine that the skin has all the nutrients, so I ate the skin, and that’s what caused me to choke,” she recalled. “I couldn’t breathe and I was in panic when Toby jumped on me. He never does that, but he did, and saved my life.”
Both Toby and Winnie accompanied their owners to the awards luncheon.What would be the suitable title for the passage?
| A．Great Honors for Cat and Dog |
| B．Dog and Cat Honored for Saving Their Masters |
| C．Unforgettable Experiences |
| D．So Smart Animals Are |
Winnie saved the lives of its owner’s whole family in an accident by __________.
| A．jumping onto its owner | B．calling for help |
| C．making some strange noises | D．clawing at Cathy’s hair |
Which of the following has the similar meaning to the underlined word “infancy” in Paragraph 4?
| A．babyhood | B．Youth | C．Middle age | D．agedness |
What caused the carbon monoxide spreading through the house?
| A．A pump breaking down. | B．A driver breaking into the house. |
| C．The burning gas. | D．The poisonous gas. |
Why did Amy Paul choke on a piece of apple?
| A．She was too young to care for herself. |
| B．She had a big bite. |
| C．She didn’t peel the skin as usual. |
| D．The apple was too hard. |
Ever since man began to use the telephone, there have been new problems arising from the carrying of messages. At first, each message was carried by a pair of overhead wires. As a result, telephone exchanges were soon surrounded by thousands of wires. The wires were then replaced by cables (电缆)，each containing many pairs of wires. Each cable is capable of carrying many messages. These cables, laid underground, replaced the overhead wires.
The more extensive telephone services have become, the more demand for these services has increased, particularly the demand for long-distance services. In China, for example, this growth is now over 30% every year. Long-distance telephone exchanges are usually in crowded cities, where is not easy to lay new labels for expanding services.
The use of radio to send telephone message and to link all telephone exchanges makes it possible to get rid of overhead wires and some underground cables.
Now man has invented the microwave system ( 微波系统 ). In a microwave system messages from various places can be brought together, and then they are sent out and received by radio. After that, the messages are split into their original form. Finally, they are sent to the places where they are going to be sent.The word “message” ( in paragraph 1) is close in meaning to “______”.
| A．electricity | B．industry | C．information | D．wave |
A cable is different from an overhead wire, because it ________.
| A．is made of wood |
| B．needs more exchange |
| C．carries more messages |
| D．is much longer |
What does the word extensive mean？
| A．growing | B．using | C．holding | D．understanding |
The best title for the passage would be “________”.
| A．The Telephone and Its Past |
| B．From the Wire to the Microwave System |
| C．The Needs for Better Telephones |
| D．How to Use the Telephone |
There is very simple way of measuring the height of a water-tower, which we cannot measure by climbing.
Suppose, for example, that we wish to find out the height of the water-tower, AB, in a factory. We first of all go to where the water-tower is standing and measure a distance of, say, 25 feet from it. Then we take a stick, and stand it in the ground at the spot we have just marked.
Let us suppose the stick we are using is 4 feet in height. We now walk farther away from the water –tower in the same straight line as when we measured off the distance of 25 feet. We go from the water-tower until we come to point E, where with our head on the ground, we see the top of the stick and the top of the water-tower in the same height line---that is, the top of the stick just covers the highest part of the water-tower. Every schoolboy can work out the height of the water-tower now.
Suppose that the line CE is five feet. We know that the stick is 4 feet high and the distance BE is 30 feet. Thus, 5 is to 4 as 30 is to AB.If we want to know how high a tall tree is,_______.
A. we have to climb up the tree
B. we have no way out
C. we must cut down the tree
D we needn’t climb up the tree According to the passage, which of the following is correct?
It is clear from this that the problem can be settled by _________.
| A．a child |
| B．the boy who has little schooling |
| C．everyone |
| D．a girl at middle school |
To measure a water-tower in this way, _________.
| A．no tool is needed |
| B．Besides a stick, tape-measure (卷尺) or at least a ruler is necessary. |
| C．we have to use nothing but a stick |
| D．we have to prepare a set of expensive tools |