Fear may be felt in the heart as well as in the head, according to a study that has found a link between the cycles of a beating heart and the chance of someone feeling fear.
Tests on healthy volunteers found that they were more likely to feel a sense of fear at the moment when their hearts are contracting(收缩) and pumping（向---送出） blood around their bodies, compared with the point when the heartbeat is relaxed. Scientists say the results suggest that the heart is able to influence how the brain responds to a fearful event, depending on which point it is at in its regular cycle of contraction and relaxation.
Sarah Garfinkel at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School said: "Our study shows for the first time that the way in which we deal with fear is different depending on when we see fearful pictures in relation to our heart."
The study tested 20 healthy volunteers on their reactions to fear as they were shown pictures of fearful faces. Dr Garfinkel said, "The study showed that fearful faces are better noticed when the heart is pumping than when it is relaxed. So our hearts can also affect what we see and what we don't see - and guide whether we see fear."
To further understand this relationship, the scientists also used a brain scanner(扫描仪) to show how the brain influences the way the heart changes a person's feeling of fear. "We have found an important mechanism by which the heart and brain ‘speak’ to each other to change our feelings and reduce fear," Dr Garfinkel said.
"We hope that by increasing our understanding about how fear is dealt with and ways that it could be reduced, we may be able to develop more successful treatments for anxiety disorders, and also for those for those who may be suffering from serious stress disorder."What is the finding of the study?
| A．fear has something to do with one's health. |
| B．fear is a result of one's relaxed heartbeat. |
| C．One's heart affects how he feels fear. |
| D．One’s fast heartbeats are likely to cause fear. |
When are people more likely to feel a sense of fear ?
| A．When the heartbeat is relaxed. |
| B．When their hearts are contracting. |
| C．When people are tired. |
| D．When people are happy. |
The study was carried out by analyzing （分析）_______.
| A．the time volunteers saw fearful pictures and their health conditions |
| B．volunteers' heartbeats when they saw terrible pictures |
| C．volunteers' reactions to horrible pictures and data form their brain scans |
| D．different pictures shown to volunteers and their heart-brain communication |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to "mechanism" in Paragraph 6?
| A．Order. | B．Machine. | C．Treatment. | D．System. |
This study may be useful to _______.
| A．treating anxiety and stress better |
| B．explaining the cycle of fear and anxiety |
| C．finding the sky to the heart-brain communication |
| D．understanding different fears in our hearts and heads |
In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what “keeping up with the Joneses” is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbours.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbours.
It was like a race, but one could never finish his race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbours. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it “Keeping up with the Joneses” because “Jones” is a very common name in the United States. “Keeping up with the Joneses” came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are “Joneses” in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.
| A．want to be as rich as their neighbours |
| B．want others to know or to think that they are rich |
| C．don’t want others to know they are rich |
| D．want to be happy |
| A．live outside New York City |
| B．live in New York City |
| C．live in apartments |
| D．have many neighbours |
| A．an important name |
| B．a popular name in the United States |
| C．his neighbour’s name |
| D．not a good name |
| A．do as the poor persons around him do |
| B．do everything he likes to do |
| C．do as his neighbours do |
| D．do as the rich people around him do |
When we talk about stars, especially women stars, it seems that they are always young, pretty and own attractive body shapes. But recently a Britain’s Got Talent (英国达人) star Susan Boyle has changed our views completely.
Simon Cowell, one of the organizers of the talent show spoke of his surprise over Ms Boyle’s voice. “This lady came up, and I’m thinking, ‘This will take five seconds and I can go to have a cup of tea.’ That changed when she began to sing I Dreamed a Dream from Lea Miserables. She knew we were going to have that reaction(反应) and just to see that look of satisfaction on her face midway through — it was one of my favorite moments,” Cowell said.
The performance was posted online and before long, the 47-year-old Scottish woman has been famous all over the world.
Speaking from her home in Scotland, Ms Boyle said that she hadn’t thought of changing her appearance. She said that her friend helped her with make-up. “I mean, it’s meaningless.” She added.
Ms. Boyle also spoke of the reason she first began to explore her musical talents. “ I was kind of slow at school, so getting something like singing was a good way of hiding behind that and therefore it built my confidence.’’
________.
| A．she was confident of her singing |
| B．she was satisfied with the organizers |
| C．she was pretty and in good shape |
| D．she sang the song I Dreamed a Dream from Lea Miserables |
| A．It was the musical talents that built Susan's confidence. |
| B．Susan Boyle was not good at her lessons when at school. |
| C．Susan Boyle became famous because of her appearance. |
| D．Simon Cowell didn’t think Susan Boyle a good singer at the first sight. |
| A．It’s never too old to learn. |
| B．It’s easier to succeed at the age of 47. |
| C．If you have a dream, keep trying to make it come true! |
| D．If you are not able to study well, to be a singer instead. |
Some top students are giving advice.
| Bill, Canada When taking tests, relax. If you’re worried that you’ll fail the test, you’re sure to get a low score. If you have studied for it long enough, you shouldn’t be worried about getting a low grade. |
| Lily, America Remember the most important advice to get good grades is very simple; do well on tests to get an A or an A-. Do what your teacher says, and the chances are fairly good that you’ll get an A+. Don’t stress yourself. Act cool! |
| Betty, Britain Write good notes. Coloured pens are fun to write with if you want to get more creative with your notes, but use them only for parts of your notes that will probably be on a test or that are important. It makes them stand out. Go over your notes before you take the exams. |
| Tom, Australia In order to get good grades, try to do your homework immediately after school. Time management is important. If you’re told to do the homework next week, get started the same day you know it. Before you start, you’d better make clear what to do and how to do it. |
| A．Betty. | B．Bill. | C．Lily. | D．Tom. |
| A．not to worry | B．not to stress ourselves |
| C．to get more creative | D．to make clear what to do |
| A．how to get good grades |
| B．how to start learning |
| C．what to do when taking tests |
| D．what to take when going to school |
任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题2分，满分20分）
Travelling is one of the most important activities and people have been interested in it for many years. Modern traffic develops fast, so travelling to different places has become much faster than before. Staying healthy while travelling can make your trip happier. But do you know how to keep healthy during a trip? The following information may be useful to you.
Before leaving
Wear comfortable shoes, a hat and sunglasses.
Take some necessary medicine with you. They can be used when you get sick or have other problems.
Do some exercise for weeks or months before you leave if you plan to do lots of walking or climbing during your trip.
Prepare proper food. Before you prepare the food, the first thing you need to think about is how long you will travel with the food. If you take a long trip, you should bring food such as bread, biscuits and some fruit. They don’t go bad quickly. The nearer people can bring meat, fish, eggs, milk and even salads and vegetables.
While travelling
Be sure not to eat dirty food or bad fruit.
Have enough time to take a rest during your trip.
Tap water is not safe, so drink bottled water and always clean the cover of the bottle.
Keep food in good condition. If you take hot food, you should try to keep it hot. For example, you can put it in heavy towels. If you need to keep cold food cold, you can put cold food in a box with ice. When you arrive, put cold food in the fridge. Remember: If you travel with food, keep hot food hot and cold food cold.]
| How to keep |
|
| Before leaving |
● Wear comfortable shoes, a hat and |
| ● |
|
| ● Exercise for weeks or months |
|
| ● Prepare proper food. Take bread, biscuits and some fruit for a |
|
| While |
● |
| ● Have enough |
|
| ● Drink |
|
| ● Keep food in good condition. |
A taxi hit a truck. A policeman spoke to the taxi driver and to the truck driver. He also spoke to Tom. He was a witness (目击者). This is what they said.
TRUCK DRIVER: I was driving from the airport to Newton. A car crossed the road, so I slowed down. I did not stop. A taxi hit the back of my truck. Nobody was seriously hurt but both cars were damaged（受损害）.
TAXI DRIVER: I was driving behind a truck a few kilometers from Newton. The truck stopped suddenly. The driver did not give me a warning (警告). I was driving very slowly. I could not pass the truck because there were two cars coming near from Newton. My taxi hit the truck, and some glass cut my left hand.
TOM: I was watching the traffic about a kilometer from the airport. A truck was going to Newton. It was not going very quickly. There was a taxi about two hundred meters behind the truck. It was going fast. When the truck slowed down, the taxi hit it. The taxi driver was not looking at the truck. He was looking out of the window at something. My friend saw the accident, too.
Tom's friend spoke to the policeman and agreed with Tom.How many people are mentioned (提到) in the story?
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
The truck was hit on the way ___________ .
| A．to the airport | B．to the police station |
| C．to Newton | D．home |
From the story, we know _________didn’t tell the truth.
| A．the truck driver | B．Tom |
| C．the taxi driver | D．Tom's friend |
In fact, Tom's friend was also a _____________ .
| A．witness | B．driver | C．policeman | D．cleaner |
What's the best title (题目) for this passage?
| A．A Taxi Driver | B．A Traffic Accident |
| C．A Story of Tom | D．A Truck Driver |