When I was small and my grandmother died, I couldn’t understand why I had no tears. But that night when my dad tried to cheer (使…快活) me up, my laugh turned into crying.
So it came as no surprise to learn that researchers believe crying and laughing come from the same part of the brain. Just as laughing has many health advantages, scientists are discovering that so does crying.
Whatever it takes for us to reduce pressure is important to our emotional (情感的) health, and crying seems to work well. One study found that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men report feeling better after crying.
Besides, tears attract help from other people. Researchers agree that when we cry, people around us become kinder and more friendly and they are more ready to offer support and comfort. Tears also enable us to understand our emotions better; sometimes we don't even know we're very sad until we cry. We learn about our emotions through crying, and then we can deal with them.
Just as crying can be healthy, not crying — holding back tears of anger, pain or suffering — can be bad for physical health. Studies have shown that too much control of emotions can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and some other illnesses. If you have a health problem, doctors will certainly not ask you to cry. But when you feel like crying, don't fight it. It's a natural — and healthy — emotional response.Why didn't the author cry when her grandmother died?
| A．Because her father did not want her to feel too sad. |
| B．Because she did not love her grandmother. |
| C．Because she was too shy to cry at that time. |
| D．The author doesn’t give the explanation. |
It can be inferred (推断) from the text that ______.
| A．there are two ways to keep healthy |
| B．laughing does more good to health than crying |
| C．crying and laughing play the same roles |
| D．emotional health has a close relationship to physical health |
According to the author, which of the following statements is true?
| A．Crying is the best way to get help from others. |
| B．Holding back tears may cause some health problems. |
| C．We will know our deep feelings if we cry. |
| D．We must cry if we want to reduce pressure. |
What might be the best title for the text?
| A．Power of Tears | B．How to Keep Healthy |
| C．Why We Cry | D．A New Scientific Discovery |
What might the underlined word “fight” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．come back | B．pay back | C．hold back | D．give back |
Swimming is one of those activities that can be learned early in life. Little children can learn to swim as soon as they walk. In fact, you need the same skills in walking as in swimming. However, I believe that five is the best age to learn. By five or six, a child knows fear of water, a very important thing to know. It's wise to be afraid, to recognize true danger. Young ones understand that the water can sometimes be very dangerous.
To really benefit from swimming, every swimmer should learn, as soon as possible, these four basic strokes; butterfly, backstroke, Breaststroke, and crawl. I feel that one of these-the breaststroke-is different from the others, since some young swimmers use this stroke naturally, without any training.
In swimming there are certain rules every swimmer should follow:
1). Never swim alone! No matter how good you are in the water, don’t risk drowning by swimming alone. If you swim by yourself, with no life guards or friends with you, you may get into trouble.
2). Don't go beyond your abilities. Most swimmers know enough not to swim too far from the bank or the beach, Showing off by doing dangerous tricks is no good. Swim safely and you will continue to swim and alive.
3). Don't smoke. Swimming depends on a healthy body; good lungs are part of it.
4). Work at any activity that builds muscles. Little children can learn to swim as soon as _____.
| A．they can talk |
| B．they start walking |
| C．they have no fear of the water |
| D．they are five or six years old |
The author believes that fear of water is_____.
| A．stupid | B．sensible | C．dangerous | D．not smart |
The stroke that some young swimmers use first is_____.
| A．butterfly | B．backstroke | C．breaststroke | D．crawl |
According to the passage, you should not swim alone because_____.
| A．the water is too cold |
| B．your parents would not be happy |
| C．something in the water might attack |
| D．you might drown |
In the 1960s, many young Americans were dissatisfied with American society. They wanted to end the Vietnam War and to make all of the people in the U.S. equal. Some of them decided to "drop out" of American society and form their own societies. They formed utopian communities, which they called “communes”, where they could follow their philosophy of “do your own thing”. A group of artists founded a commune in southern Colorado called "Drop City." Following the ideas of philosopher and architect Buckminster Fuller, they built dome-shaped houses from pieces of old cars. Other groups, such as author Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters, the followers of San Francisco poet Steve Gakin, and a group that called itself the Hog Farm, lived in old school houses and traveled around the United States. The Hog Farm became famous when the
y helped organize the Woodstock Rock Festival in 1969. Steve Gaskin’s followers tried to settle down on a farm in Tennessee, but they had to leave when some members of the group were arrested for growing marijuana.
Not all communes believed in the philosophy of “do your own thing”. However, Twin Oaks, a commune founded in Virgiania in the late 1960s, was based on the ideas of psychologist B.F.Skinner. The people who lived at Twin Oaks were carefully controlled by Skinner’s “conditioning” techniques to do things that were good for the community. In 1972, Italian architect Paolo Soleri beg
an to build Arcosanti, a utopian city Arizsona where 2500 people will live closely together in one large building called an “archeology”. Soleri believes that people must live closely together so that they will all become one.Why did some young Americans decide to “drop out” of society during the 1960s?
| A．They were not satisfied with American society. |
| B．They wanted to grow marijuana. |
| C．They wanted to go to the Vietnam War. |
| D．They did not want all people to be equal. |
Where did the members of the Hog Farm commune live?
| A．In dome-shaped house. | B．In old school houses. |
C．On a farm  in Tennessee. |
D．In an archeology in Arizona. |
Who gave the people of Drop City the idea to build dome-shaped house?
A. Paolo Soleri. B. B.G.Skinner.
C. Steve Gaskin. D. Buckminster Fuller. What was the Twin Oaks commune based on?
| A．The philosophy of “do your own thing”. |
| B．Virginia in the late 1960s. |
| C．The ideas of psychologist. |
| D．The belief that people must live closely together. |
What is an “archeology”?
| A．A person who studies archaeology. |
| B．A large building where people live closely together. |
| C．A city in Arizona. |
| D．A technique to control people. |
The food we eat seems to have profound effects on our health. Although science has made enormous steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat. Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of all human illnesses relate to diet and forty percent of cancer relates to the diet as well, especially cancer of the colon. Different cultures are more likely to cause certain different illnesses because of the food that is characteristic in these cultures.
That food is connected with illness is not a new discovery. In 1945, about 35 years ago, government researchers realized that nitrates, commonly used to preserve color in meats, and other food additives, caused cancer. Yet, these carcinogenic additives remain in our food, and it becomes more difficult all the time to know which things on the packaging labels of processed food are helpful or harmful. The additives which we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin to beef and living animals, and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of treated cow. Sometimes similar drugs are given to animals not for medical purposes, but for financial reasons. The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to obtain a hi
gher price on the market. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tried repeatedly to contr
ol these procedures, the practices continue. What is the best possible title of the passage?
| A．Drug and Food | B．Cancer and Health |
| C．Food and Health | D．Health and Drug |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Drugs are always given to animals for medical reasons. |
| B．Some of the additives in our food are added to the food itself and some are given to the living animals. |
| C．Researchers have known about the potential dangers of food additives for over thirty-five years. |
| D．Food may cause forty percent of cancer in world. |
How has science done something harmful to mankind?
| A．Because of science, diseases caused by polluted food haven’t been virtually eliminated. |
| B．It has caused a lack of information concerning the value of food. |
| C．Because of the application of science, some potentially harmful substances have been added to food. |
| D．The scientists have preserved the color of meat, but not of vegetables. |
What are nitrates used for?
A. They preserve flavor in packaged fo
ods.
B. They preserve the color of meats.
C. They are the objects of research. The word ‘carcinogenic’ most nearly means ‘_________’.
| A．trouble-making | B．color-maintaining |
| C．money-making | D．cancer-causing |
Twenty-first century humanity has mapped oceans and mountains, visited the moon, and surveyed the planets．But for all the progress, people still don’t know one another very well.
That brings about Theodore Zeldin’s “feast of conversation”－events where individuals pair with persons they don’t know for three hours of guided talk designed to get the past “Where are you from?”
Mr．Zeldin, an Oxford University professor, heads Oxford Muse, a 10-year-old foundation based on the idea that what people need is not more information, but more inspiration and encouragement.
The “feast” in London looks not at politics or events, but at how people have felt about work, relations among the sexes, hopes and fears, enemies and authority, the shape of their lives．The “menu of conversation” includes topics like “How have your priorities changed over the years?” Or, “What have you rebelled against the past?”
As participants gathered, Zeldin opened with a speech: that despite instant communications in a globalized age, issues of human heart remain．Many people are lonely, or in routines that discourage knowing the depth of one another．“We are trapped in shallow conversations and the whole point now is to think, which is sometimes painful,” he says．“But thinking interaction is what separates us from other species, except maybe dogs…who do have generations of human interactions.”
The main rules of the “feast”: Don’t pair with someone you know or ask questions you would not answer．The only awkward moment came when the multi-racial crowd of young adults to seniors, in sun hats, ties and dresses, looked to see whom with for hours．But 15 minutes later, everyone was seated and talking. They would be ‘intimate’, continuing full force until organizers interrupted them 180 minutes later.
“It’s encouraging to see the world is not just a place of oppression and distance from each other,” Zeldin summed up．“What we did is not ordinary, but it can’t be madder than the world already is.”
Some said they felt “liberated” to talk on sensitive topics. Thirty-something Peter, from East London, said that “it might take weeks or months to get to the level of interaction we suddenly opened up.” What can the “conversations” be best described as?
| A．Deep and one-on-one. | B．Sensitive and mad. |
| C．Instant and inspiring. | D．Ordinary and encouraging. |
In a “feast of conversations”, participants ________.
| A．pair freely with anyone they like |
| B．have a guided talk for a set of period of time |
| C．ask questions they themselves would not answer |
| D．wear clothes reflecting multi-racial features． |
In paragraph 6, “they would be ‘intimate’” is closest in meaning to “________”.
| A．they would have physical contact | B． they would have in-depth talk |
| C．they would be close friends | D．they would exchange basic information |
According to Zeldin, what prevents many people thoroughly knowing one another?
| A．Loneliness or routines. | B．Shallow conversations. |
| C．Unwillingness to think. | D．The fear for awkward moment. |
From the passage, we can conclude that what Zeldin does is _________.
| A．an attempt to promote thinking interaction |
| B．one of the maddest activities ever conducted |
| C．a try to liberate people from old-fashioned ideas |
| D．an effort to give people a chance of talking freely |
阅读理解（共20题； 每小题2分， 满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C 和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
They like using the Internet．They have lots of pocket money to spend．And they spend a higher proportion of it online than the rest of us．Teenagers are just the sort of people an online seller is interested in, and the things they want to buy－games, CDs and clothing－are easily sold on the Web.
But paying online is a tricky business for consumers who are too young to own credit cards．Most have to use a parent’s card．They want a facility that allows them to spend money.
That may come sooner than they think: new ways to take pocket money into cyber (网络的) space are coming out rapidly on both sides of the Atlantic．If successful, these products can stimulate online sales.
In general, teenagers spend huge amounts: $153bn (billion) in the US last year and ￡20bn annually in the UK．Most teenagers have access to the Internet at home or at school－88 percent in the US, 69 percent in the UK．According to the Jupiter Research, one in eight of those with Internet access has bought something online－mainly CDs and books.
In most cases, parents pay for these purchases with credit cards, an arrangement that is often unsatisfactory for them and their children．Pressing parents to spend online is less productive than pressing on the high street．They are more likely to ask “Why?” if you ask to spend some money online.
One way to help teenagers change notes and coins into cybercash is through prepaid cards such as InternetCash in the US and Smart cards in the UK．Similar to those for pay-as-you-go mobile telephones, they are sold in amounts such as ￡20 or $50 with a concealed 14-digit number that can be used to load the cash into an online account.What does the word “They” in paragraph 1 refer to?
| A．Sellers. | B．Buyers. | C．Teenagers. | D．Parents. |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．More than half of the teenagers in the US and the UK have Internet access. |
| B．Teenagers pay for goods online with their own credit cards. |
| C．Most teenagers in the US and the UK have bought something online. |
| D．Teenagers found it easier to persuade parents to buy online than in a shop. |
A new way to help teenagers shop online is to use _________.
| A．a new machine | B．special coins and notes |
| C．prepaid cards | D．pay-as-you-go mobile phones |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Online shopping traps. | B．Internet users in the US and the UK. |
| C．New credit cards for parents. | D．The arrival of cyber pocket money. |
Which of the following words can best describe the writer’s attitude towards the phenomenon?
| A．Proud and satisfied. | B．Worried and anxious. |
| C．Objective and informative. | D．Concerned and sad. |