Science can't explain the power of pets, but many studies have shown that the company of pets can help lower blood pressure (血压) and raise chances of recovering from a heart attack, reduce loneliness and spread all-round good cheer.
Any owner will tell you how much joy a pet brings. For some, an animal provides more comfort than a husband or wife. A 2002 study by Karen Allen of the State University of New York measured stress (紧张) levels and blood pressure in people— half of them pet owners —while they performed 5 minutes of mental arithmetic (算术) or held a hand in ice water. Subjects(研究对象) completed the tasks alone, with a husband or wife, a close friend or with a pet. People with pets did it best. Those tested with their animal friends had smaller change in blood pressure and returned most quickly to baseline heart rates. With pets in the room, people also made fewer math mistakes than when doing in front of other companions. It seems people feel more relaxed (放松) around pets, says Allen, who thinks it may be because pets don't judge.
A study reported last fall suggests that having a pet dog not only raises your spirits but may also have a effect on your eating habits. Researchers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital spent a year studying 36 fat people and their equally fat dogs on diet-and-exercise programs; a separate group of 56 people without pets were put on a diet program. On average, people lost about 11 pounds, or 5% of their body weight. Their dogs did even better, losing an average of 12 pounds, more that 15% of their body weight. Dogs owners didn’t lose any more weight than those without dogs but, as some researchers say, they got more exercise indeed.What does the text mainly discuss?
| A．What pets bring to their owners. |
| B．How pets help people calm down. |
| C．People's opinions of keeping pets. |
| D．Pet's value in medical research. |
We learn from the text that a person with heart disease has a better chance of getting well if_________.
| A．he has a pet companion |
| B．he has less stress of work |
| C．he often does mental arithmetic |
| D．he is taken care of by his family |
According to Allen, why did the people do better with pets around when facing difficult tasks?
| A．They have lower blood pressure. |
| B．They become more patient. |
| C．They are less nervous. |
| D．They are in higher spirits. |
The research mentioned(提到) in the last paragraph reports that________.
| A．people with dogs did more exercise |
| B．dogs lost the same weight as people did |
| C．dogs liked exercise much more than people did |
| D．people without dogs found the program unhelpful |
Lying in the sun on a rock, the cougar(美洲豹)saw Jeb and his son, Tom, before they saw it. Jeb put his bag down quickly and pulled his jacket open with both hands, making himself look big to the cougar. It worked. The cougar hesitated, ready to attack Jeb, but ready to forget the whole thing, too.
Jeb let go of his jacket, grasped Tom and held him across his body, making a cross. Now the cougar’s enemy looked even bigger, and it rose up, ready to move away, but unfortunately Tom got scared and struggled free of Jeb.
“Tom, no!” shouted his father.
But Tom broke and ran and that’s the last thing you do with a cougar. The second Tom broke free, Jeb threw himself on the cougar, just as it jumped from the rock. They hit each other in mid-air and both fell. The cougar was on Jeb in a flash, forgetting about Tom, which was what Jeb wanted.
Cougars are not as big as most people think and a determined man stands a chance, even with just his fists. As the cougar’s claws(爪子)got into his left shoulder, Jeb swung his fist at its eyes and hit hard. The animal howled（吼叫）and put its head back. Jeb followed up with his other fist. Then out of the corner of his eye, Jeb saw Tom. The boy was running back to help his father.
“Knife, Tom” shouted Jeb.
The boy ran to his father’s bag, while Jeb stated shouting as well as hitting, to keep the cougar’s attention away from Tom. Tom got the knife and ran over to Jeb. The cougar was moving its head in and out, trying to find a way through the wall Jeb was making out of his arms. Tom swung with the knife, into the cougar’s back. It howled horribly and ran off into the mountains.
The whole fight had taken about thirty seconds.Why did Jeb pull his jacket open when he saw the cougar?
| A．To get ready to fight | B．To frighten it away |
| C．To protect the boy | D．To cool down |
What do we know about cougars?
| A．They are afraid of noises |
| B．They hesitate before they hit |
| C．They are bigger than we think |
| D．They like to attack running people |
How did Jeb try to hold the cougar’s attention?
| A．By keeping shouting and hitting |
| B．By making a wall out of his arms |
| C．By throwing himself on the cougar |
| D．By swinging his fists at the cougar’s eyes |
Which of the following happened first?
| A．The cougar jumped from the rock |
| B．Tom struggled free of his father |
| C．Jeb asked Tom to get the knife |
| D．Jeb held Tom across his body |
When Albert Einstein was young, he was a quiet child who spent much of his time alone. He was slow to talk and had difficulty in learning to read. When Albert was five years old, his father gave him a compass (指南针). Albert was filled with wonder when he discovered that the compass needle (针) always pointed in the same direction —the north. He asked his father and uncle what caused the needle to move. Their answers were difficult for Albert to understand. Yet he spent a lot of time thinking about them. He said later that he felt something must be behind things. Albert did not like school. The German schools of that time were not pleasant. Students couldn’t ask questions. Albert said he felt as if he were in prison. One day Albert told his uncle Jacob how much he hated school, especially mathematics. His uncle told him to solve mathematical problems by pretending to be a policeman. "You are looking for someone," he said, "but you do not know who he is. Call him X. Find him by using your mathematical tools." Albert learned to love mathematics. He was studying the complex math of calculus (微积分学) while all his friends were still studying simple math. Instead of playing with friends he thought about things such as "What would happen if people could travel at the speed of light?". Albert wanted to teach math and physics. He graduated with honors, but it was a pity that he could not get a teaching job.According to Paragraph 2, we can learn that Albert Einstein ________.
| A．was interested in the compass | B．wanted to be a great scientist |
C．was not clever enough | D．didn’t like thinking by himself |
Why did Albert Einstein hate school?
| A．He couldn’t play with his friends there. |
B．Students were not allowed to ask questions. |
C．The schools were small at that time. |
D．He had to learn mathematics that he didn’t like. |
What does the underlined word "complex" probably mean?
| A．useless. | B．Difficult. | C．Boring. | D．Interesting. |
We can learn from the passage that ________.
| A．Einstein became a mathematics teacher after graduation |
B．Einstein gradually loved mathematics with his uncle’s help |
C．learning mathematics is like working as a policeman |
D．Einstein liked playing with other children |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．How Albert Einstein studied in school. |
B．Something about Albert Einstein’s early interests. |
C．Something about the young Albert Einstein. |
D．Why Albert Einstein learned more than his classmates. |
Today, when a man steps on to the moon, or something new and important happens, the world learns about it immediately. What did the newspapers say about that first flight in 1903? Strangely enough, they said hardly anything about it at all. There are only a few reports about it in the papers. These reports said very little. Some of the things they said were not even correct.
In 1904 the Wrights built a second machine. They called it “Flyer No. Two”. They invited some reporters to a field near Dayton to watch them fly. Unfortunately, there was some mechanical(机械的) trouble with the plane and it did not fly at all that day. The newspapermen went away. They were disappointed and did not come back. The Wrights went on with their work. In 1905, they built an even better machine, “Flyer No Three”. They were able to stay upon the air for half an hour and more in the machine. Farmers and travelers on the road around the Dayton often saw them flying, but when three people told newspapermen about it, they refused to believe them.
The Wrights offered “Flyer No. Three” to the United States government. The government was not interested. They seemed to think the Wrights wanted money in order to build a plane. They did not understand the Wrights had already done this, and flown it as well. Experts were still saying that mechanical flight was impossible. At the end of 1905, the two brothers took their planes to pieces. The parts were put into a huge wooden box. It seemed nobody was interested.The reporters were disappointed in 1904 because________.
| A．the Wrights did not invite them |
| B．the plane could not stay long in the air |
| C．the plane did not fly at all that day |
| D．they had wanted to see a better machine |
The U．S. government could not understand that________.
| A．the Wrights had already built a machine that could fly |
| B．experts still thought flight was impossible |
| C．the Wrights wanted more money to build an airplane |
| D．“Flyer No. Three” was now in a wooden case |
The Wrights took their plane to pieces because________.
| A．they planned to go to Europe |
| B．nobody was interested |
| C．the government didn't give them any money |
| D．the newspapermen didn't report their flights |
What does the underlined word “Flyer” mean?
| A．Pilot. | B．Drive. | C．Plane. | D．Kite. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Today, people are very interested in new things. |
| B．People in the past talked little about new things. |
| C．Reporters are now as interested in new happening as in the past. |
| D．People in the past even told each other wrong things. |
Teenagers in England do much the same as children in America do. They enjoy sending messages by their mobile phones and they also like swimming, listening to the latest music, watching TV and surfing the Internet.
How do teenagers in England spend their free time and holidays? Let’s follow Sally, a British teenager, and spend five days with her during her school holiday.
Day One
After breakfast, Sally’s mother went out and left her alone at home. She checked her mobile phone during lunch —one of her friends sent her a message early in the morning. Dinner was at 6:30 p.m. After that, she finished her English home-work. Then she surfed the Internet.
Day Two
Sally and her mother paid a visit to their friends and went swimming together. Later, they went shopping for clothes and books, and had dinner in a restaurant.
Day Three
She went to the supermarket with her mother to buy fish and chips for lunch as well as some pens. After she got back home, she spent the next few hours surfing the Internet and watching TV.
Day Four
She surfed the Internet. Her mother took her out for lunch before she went to work. She then read stories after lunch.
Day Five
She woke up at 2 p.m., and so did her mother. They went to a park. Her mother met some friends there. When they got home, it was already time for dinner. Afterwards, she did her homework until 10 p.m.When did Sally do her homework?
| A．In the morning. | B．In the afternoon. |
| C．At lunch time. | D．In the evening. |
Sally and her mother went shopping again to buy __________.
| A．food for lunch and pens | B．some books and pens |
| C．some fish and clothes | D．food and books |
Which of the following things did Sally do on Day Four?
| A．She went swimming. | B．She went out for breakfast. |
| C．She read books. | D．She went shopping. |
How many times did Sally and her mother meet their friends during the five days?
| A．Once. | B．Twice. | C．Three times. | D．Four times. |
According to the passage, it can be inferred that ________.
| A．a park is the best place to meet a friend |
| B．parents shouldn’t leave teenagers alone at home |
| C．teenagers don’t usually do their homework during their school holidays |
| D．surfing the Internet has become an important part of teenagers’ lives |
A long time ago, there was a seed and because he was only a seed, nobody noticed him. Thus, feeling inferior (低级的), the seed gave no importance to his existence (存在). Then one day, a wind picked him up and threw him on an open field in the sun. Later, he was given rain. Years later he saw a traveler sitting by his side. "Thank you God for this. I really need some rest," he heard the traveler say. "What are you talking about?" the seed quickly asked. He thought the man was making fun of him. No one ever spoke to him like that. "Who just spoke?" the shocked man asked. "It is me. A seed." "A seed?" The man looked at the big tree. "Are you joking? You are not a seed. You are a big tree!" "Really?" "Yes! Why else do you think people come here?" "What do they come here for?" "To feel your shade (树阴)! Don’t tell me you didn’t know you had grown over time." A moment passed before the traveler’s words brought him pride. The seed thought and smiled for the first time in his life. The years of torture (折磨) by the sun and the rain finally helped him grow up. "Oh! That means I’m not a little seed anymore! I was actually born to make people feel comfortable. Wow! That’s great!"The seed didn’t realize the importance of his existence because __________.
| A．nobody looked after him |
| B．he was thrown into the open air |
| C．he can’t not grow up |
| D．he didn’t believe in himself |
The traveler sat by the seed’s side to _____________.
| A．escape from the rain |
| B．thank God for offering him a tree |
| C．have a rest and enjoy the shade |
| D．talk with the big tree |
How did the seed feel after hearing the traveler’s words at last?
| A．Sad. | B．Proud. | C．Funny. | D．Sorry. |
The author’s purpose of writing the passage is to ________.
| A．tell us a very interesting story |
| B．praise the seed for his strength |
| C．teach readers a lesson: don’t laugh at others |
| D．tell us that we should never lose hope |
Where does the passage most probably come from?
| A．A history book. | B．A science book. | C．A story book. | D．A guide book. |