How often do you go on holiday? Going on holiday makes you feel good while you're there－you gain the health benefits for months, new research shows.
Jetting off to exotic destinations such as the Maldives cuts your blood pressure, helps you sleep better and bounce back from stress, it found. The benefits last at least a fortnight longer than the vacation and can be felt for months in some cases where it is claimed. Experts say workers should always take their full holiday entitlement each year－as many as one in three don't－to get the benefits.
The study compared key health markers in holidaymakers visiting Thailand, Peru or the Maldives, with people who stayed at home and continued working. The average blood pressure of those on holiday dropped by 6% while the workers saw their blood pressure rise by 2% over the same period. The sleep quality of holiday-makers improved by 17% while that of the non-holidaymakers deteriorated by 14%.
The study also found the ability of vacationers to recover from stress—known as the stress-resilience test－improved by 29%. There was a 71% fall in stress resilience scores among workers. Test showed a fall in blood glucose levels, reducing the risk of diabetes, trimmer waistlines and enhanced mood and energy levels, with the effects sustained for at least 2 weeks after returning home.
The Holiday Health Experiment was conducted by tour operator Kuoni and Nuffield Health, the UK's largest healthcare charity. The author intends to tell us that _____.
| A．it is best to go to foreign countries like Maldives. |
| B．we had better go on holiday for the benefits of health |
| C．we have to go on holiday as much as possible |
| D．you'll certainly get depressed if you don't go on holiday |
According to the article, how many people go on holiday?
| A．Two thirds | B．17% | C．One third | D．A quarter |
The underlined word "deteriorated" in Paragraph 3 probably means "______".
| A．remained | B．rose | C．improved | D．worsened |
Which of the following can we infer from the passage?
| A．Holiday makers are more adaptable than non-holidaymakers. |
| B．The result of the study is mostly based on the description from the people involved. |
| C．The further you go, the better you benefit. |
| D．Most people like to stay at home during the holiday. |
The best title of the passage is ______.
| A．A Holiday Health Experiment | B．Key Health Markers in Holidaymakers |
| C．Health Benefits from Holiday | D．Health Problems of Having Holiday |
Going green seems to be a fad(时尚) for a lot of people these days. Whether that is good or bad, we can’t really say, but for the two of us, going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.
On April 22,2012, we decided to go green every single day for an entire year. This meant doing 365 different green things, and It also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond the easy things. Rather than recycle and reduce our energy, we had to think of 365 different green things to do and this was no easy task.
With the idea of going green every single day for a year, Our Green Year started. My wife and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all the green things that could be done to help the environment. We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.
Over the course of Our Green Year, we completely changed our lifestyles. We now shop at organic(有机的) stores. We consume less meat, choosing green food. We have greatly reduced our buying we don’t need. We have given away half of what we owned through websites. Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice, with no chemical cleaners. We make our own butter, enjoying the smell of home-made fresh bread. In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.
Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year. We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others. We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planet.What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Going Green | B．Protecting the Planet |
| C．Keeping Open-Minded | D．Celebrating Our Green Year |
It was difficult for the couple to live a green life for the whole year because .
| A．they were expected to follow the green fad |
| B．they didn’t know how to educate other people |
| C．they were unwilling to reduce their energy |
| D．they needed to perform unusual green tasks |
What did the couple do over the course of Our Green Year?
| A．They tried to get out of their ungreen habits. |
| B．They ignored others’ ungreen behavior. |
| C．They chose better chemical cleaners. |
| D．They sold their home-made food. |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
| A．The government will give support to the green project. |
| B．The couple may continue their project in the future. |
| C．Some people disagree with the couple’s green ideas. |
| D．Our Green Year is becoming a national campaign. |
Growing up the daughter of an outstanding educator，Andrea Peterson knew at a young age that she wanted to serve others.It was with this mindset that she started to pursue a degree in medicine.However，while visiting her brothers who were away at college studying music education，she realized that she was drawn to teach music，too.
In her ten years at Granite Falls，she has revitalized the music programs at both the elementary and high school levels，to the extent that an additional music faculty member was hired by the district to assist with the workload.The growth of the music program in Granite Falls School District has encouraged students to participate in country，state and national music competitions，and won numerous prizes for the district.
Teaching music is only a part of Peterson's instruction－it serves as a vehicle to other areas.“Music is an amazing tool to unlock students' potential.The most visible benefit from their success in music is their increased confidence and selfesteem，” Peterson said.“However，I don't believe it is the only benefit，nor the most powerful.It is truly exciting to see how my music teaching can transfer to other classrooms.” With this philosophy，Peterson introduced a crosscurriculum program，wherein she takes lessons taught in other classes，such as English and math，and expands upon them in an eightweek unit.
One of the most popular projects in Peterson's classes is the creation and performance of a musical，and whereby students create a play from one of the books they have read in another class.Students work together to choose the music that best fits with the overall feel of the play and then perform it for the greater community.“Through Andrea's efforts these kids have helped to put Granite Falls，Washington，on the map for musical talents.Parents，staff and community members continue to be in awe of what she is able to bring forth from the children，”said Debra Rose Howell，a colleague of Peterson's at Monte Crisco Elementary School.Initially Andrea Peterson planned to work as a(n) ________.
| A．teacher | B．doctor | C．educator | D．musician |
The 2nd paragraph mainly tells about ________.
| A．Andrea Peterson's life at Granite Falls |
| B．country，state and national music competitions |
| C．the growth of the music program in Granite Falls School District |
| D．Andrea Peterson's contributions to Granite Falls' music programs |
Which of the following is NOT a benefit the students get from Andrea Peterson's class?
| A．Music talent development. |
| B．Increased selfconfidence. |
| C．Ability in learning other subjects. |
| D．Prizes for English and maths. |
What is most special about the way Andrea Peterson teaches?
| A．She has a special way of teaching music. |
| B．She makes her classes lively and interesting. |
| C．She combines her music class with other subjects. |
| D．She comes from a family of professional educators. |
The Cave of Lascaux
It was Thursday, September 12,1940.Four French teens were out exploring in the woods off the northern slopes of the Pyrenees.Many years before, an old pine tree fell and left a large hole in the ground.The teenagers were curious and they started to explore the area and fell into one of the most important archeological(考古的) finds of the twentieth century!
There are over a hundred limestone(灰岩) caves in this region of France.Some were inhabited by humans thousands and thousands of years ago.Between 15,000 and 17,000 years ago, humans painted lively creatures such as cows, bulls, horses, and even cats on the walls of the caves.
Why did they mark these walls? Was it to tell a story? Was it to record a famous battle? There are many mysteries and ancient secrets still waiting to be discovered in the cave of Lascaux.There were dots in many of the paintings.What do these dots mean? Were they meant to record time, a calendar? Deep in the cave, there is a drawing of a “birdman”．What does this mean? Was it a place for sacred ceremonies? No one knows for sure.
The actual cave of Lascaux was closed in 1963 due to the overabundance of tourists visiting the site.The carbon dioxide that people were breathing out was causing damage to the fragile(易损的) cave paintings.Up till now the Lascaux cave is still closed for tourists.Only a specialist can visit the cave by a special order that must be made out almost a year in advance.Not more than six persons can enter the cave per day.Two days a week, the cave is completely closed.Due to the great interest of numerous tourists, in 1983 Lascaux Ⅱwas opened for tourism.It is an exact replica of the cave of Lascaux.The Pyrenees are the __________ in France.
| A．mountains | B．forests |
| C．rivers | D．caves |
What does the underlined word “inhabited” in the second paragraph mean?
| A．built | B．explored | C．lived in | D．destroyed |
In the author's opinion, the cave paintings are __________.
| A．old | B．beautiful |
| C．easily damaged | D．interesting |
History is full of cases where dreams have been a pathway to creativity and discovery.A striking example is provided by Dr.Otto Loewi，a pharmacologist and winner of a Nobel Prize.Loewi had spent years studying the chemical transmission of nerve impulses (脉搏)．A tremendous breakthrough in his research came when he dreamed of an experiment three nights in a row.The first two nights he woke up and wrote down the experiment quickly and untidily on paper.But the next morning，he couldn't tell what the notes meant.On the third night，he got up after having the dream.This time，instead of making notes he went straight to his laboratory and performed the crucial experiment.Loewi later said that if the experiment had occurred to him while awake he would have rejected it.
Loewi's experiment gives some insight into using dreams to produce creative solutions.Inhibitions (拘谨) are reduced during dreaming，which may be especially useful in solving problems that require a fresh point of view.
Being able to take advantage of dreams for problem solving is improved if you “set” yourself before retiring.Before you go to bed，try to think intently about a problem you wish to solve.Bury yourself in the problem by stating it clearly and reviewing all relevant information.Then use the suggestions listed in the previous section to catch your dreams.Although this method is not guaranteed to produce a novel solution or a new insight，it is certain to be an adventure.About half of a group of college students using the method for a week recalled a dream that helped them solve a personal problem.The main idea of this passage is that ________.
| A．very little is really known about the meaning of dreams |
| B．it is possible to “catch” one's dreams by planning before going to sleep |
| C．dreams can be useful in producing creative solutions to one's problems |
| D．Loewi's experiment helped in the study of transmision of nerve impulses |
The first paragraph is mainly organized by ________.
| A．classifying types of experiments |
| B．summarizing the work of one researcher |
| C．comparing and exploring historical cases |
| D．telling in time order about one man's research |
If Loewi had thought of the experiment while awake，he would have ________.
| A．asked someone else to do it |
| B．thought it was a bad idea |
| C．tried it out on his own |
| D．thought it was a wise idea |
The author probably thinks that ________.
| A．Loewi should not have conducted his experiment |
| B．dreaming is of very little value to most people |
| C．inhibitions may stop someone thinking of useful ideas |
| D．college students should not try out dream experiments |
The music of your teenage years probably will stay with you for the rest of your life.I think music is deeply connected with memory because of the emotions it awakens.Music also helps to mark time because of the way the fashions and stars of pop culture come and go.I often connect some summers with particular records (唱片 ) that came out while I was on holiday.But what's really the best way to record your youth? Is it your favorite song, or a picture of the singer?
In my teenage years, one of the special things about Britain was the huge amount of information about music.There were 3 weekly newspapers about music：Sounds, Melody Maker and the New Musical Express.Buying records was expensive and it also meant making a choice.So it was wise to read about music instead, and in some ways, it was actually better as well.It was possible for a group to get onto the front cover of one of the music papers without even having made any records—but they needed things to say for the reporters to write about.In fact, the best pop stars of the 1980s were people whose main talent was exactly that.They weren' t great musicians or singers and they weren't especially goodlooking, but they had some unusual acts or habits and a nice way with clever phrases.They were ideal for filling music papers.
When The Face magazine first came out in May, 1980, it was meant to be a rock magazine.I have given away or sold all the records I bought as a teenager, but I think my old copies of The Face will stay with me for ever.Although it started out as a source of information about music, the writers quickly realized that it wasn't really the music that was important—it was the way people spoke and acted, and, above all, the way they looked.According to the author，music can NOT ________.
| A．improve memory | B．awaken emotions |
| C．mark time | D．stay in the mind |
We can infer that during the author's teenage years，________.
| A．there were few records for customers to buy |
| B．some songs he heard while on holiday impressed him |
| C．he spent most of his holiday time on music |
| D．he loved one pop song the most |
According to Paragraph 2，during the author's teenage years，________.
| A．people had few chances to buy records |
| B．it was hard to judge whether records were good or not |
| C．it was not an easy thing for teenagers to get records |
| D．the choice of buying records only depended on newspapers |
The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 2 means that ________.
| A．people could get onto the music papers without having made any records |
| B．people's talent was not what reporters needed to write about |
| C．reporters wrote about the talents of pop stars |
| D．people read about music |