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 tall you how much joy a pet brings. For some, an animal provides more comfort than a husband/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 completed the tasks alone, with a husband/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 released (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 an effect on your eating habits. Researchers at Northwesterm Memorial Hospital spent a
Year studying 36 fat people and were put on a diet-and-exercise programs; a separate group of
56 fat 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 then
15%of their body weight .Dog owners didn’t lose any more weight than those without dogs but ,say
Researchers，got more exercise overall –mostly with their dogs –and found it worth doing. 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 dose 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 stressful 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 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 |
Planning your to-do list for the coming year? To help you out，we've collected our favorite must-see events across Canada.
Red or White Wine
Every spring wine growers get together to celebrate the beginning of another grape-growing season at the Okanagan Spring Wine Festival. The best time to visit the Okanagan is usually from May 1st to 10th·The festival allows visitors to taste the best wines in Canada together with unique dishes representing the latest progress in local cuisine.
The Jazz Festival
Montreal's downtown comes alive every summer during the International Jazz Festival. This Year the event is scheduled to run from June 29th to July 9th·Stages replace cars along busy streets. With a host of free outdoor shows，you'll be snapping your fingers to anything from Dixieland to blues，African beats to modern trip-hop，and everything in between.
The Newfoundland Targa Rally
Just head east to the Newfoundland Targa Rally，which runs from September 9th to 16th this year. The 2，200-ki-lometre race dashes across the eastern and central parts of the province，and is the largest race of its kind in North America. On these sections you race against the clock rather than other competitors. This is a great chance to test your car's limits and your skills.
The Canadian Tulip Festival
In 1945，thousands of tulip bulbs（郁金香球根），gifts from Holland，were planted on Ottawa's Parliament Hill，Canada. These gifts were a thank-you to Canadian soldiers who helped set Holland free in World War II.Since then，the capital has become home to the Canadian Tulip Festival. From May 4th to 22nd，Ottawa and Gatineau will be covered with beautiful flowers. Besides three million tulips，visitors can also attend concerts，which feature some of Canada's brightest musical stars.Wine lovers can have fun
| A．from May 4th to 22nd |
| B．from May 1 st to 10th |
| C．from June 29th to July 9th |
| D．from September 9th to 16th |
Holland is mentioned in the text to show
| A．the cruelty of World War II |
| B．the wisdom of Canadian soldiers |
| C．the origin of the Canadian Tulip Festival |
| D．the popularity of the Canadian Tulip Festival |
The text is most likely to be found in a book about
| A．popular events in Canada |
| B．the geography of Canada |
| C．historical events of Canada |
| D．traditional cultures in Canada |
Susan Sontag（1933-2004）was one of the most outstanding figures in the world of literature·For more than 40 years she made it morally necessary to know everything，to read every book worth reading，and to see every movie worth seeing. When she was still in her early 30s，she published essays in important magazines like Partisan Review.She appeared as the symbol of American culture life，trying hard to follow every new development in literature，film and art. With great effort and serious judgment，Sontag walked at the latest edges of world culture.
Seriousness was one of Sontag’s lifelong mottos,but at a time when the barriers between the well-educated and the poor-educated were obvious, she argued for a true openness to the pleasure of pop culture. In Notes on Camp, the 1964 essay that first made her name, she explained what was then a little-known set of difficult understandings, through which she could not have been more famous. “Notes on Camp”, she wrote, represents “ a victory of ‘form’ over ‘content’, ‘beauty’ over ‘morals’”.
By belief she was a sensualist（感觉论者）, but by nature she was a moralist, In Illness as Metaphor —published in 1978, after she suffered cancer—she argued against the idea that cancer was somehow a special problem of repressed personalities, a concept that effectively blamed the victim for the disease. In fact, re-examining old positions was her lifelong habit.
In America, her story of a19thcentury Polish actress who set up a perfect society in California, won the National Book Award in 2000.But it was as a all-purpose cultural view that she made her lasting fame. “Sometimes,” she once said, “I feel that, in the end, all I am really defending …is the idea of seriousness, of true seriousness.” And in the end, she made us take it seriously too.The underlined sentence in paragraph 1 means Sontag_________.
| A．was a symbol of American cultural life |
| B．developed world literature, film and art |
| C．published many essays about world culture |
| D．kept pace with the newest development of world culture |
Sontag first won her name through ___________.
| A．her story of a Polish actress |
| B．her book Illness as Metaphor |
| C．her explanation of a set of difficult understandings |
| D．publishing essays in magazines like partisan Review |
Which of the following statements is TRUE？
| A．Sontag looked down upon the pop culture· |
| B．Sontag was a sensualist as well as a moralist. |
| C．Sontag blamed the victim of cancer for the disease. |
| D．Sontag thought content was more important than form. |
What would be the best title of the text？
| A．Susan Sontag，a Leading Figure in Culture |
| B．Susan Sontag，a Productive and Tireless Writer |
| C．Susan Sontag，an Examiner of the Old Concepts |
| D．Susan Sontag，a Writer Defending Seriousness |
There is a technology that may someday be widely used as way to identify people.An American doctor can plant a computer chip under his skin which can send personal information to a scanner.The chip gives off information which will be scanned by a hand-held reader.
The chip is similar to that planted in more than 1 million dogs,cats and other pets in recent years to track and identify them. The doctor decided to test the chip himself after the World Trade Center disaster.He though the dead in the disaster could have been identified if their names and other important information had been chipped .
Officials of the company said they hope to sell the chips to patients with man-made arms or legs. The idea is that the chip will provide immediate and correct medical information when it is needed.
The information can contain name,telephone number and other information.Or it can send out a message that ,when connected to a computer can call up records.The scanner can read it through clothes from over a meter away .The new product also could be used to control prisoners .Workplaces of great importance may want to use the chips for employees,too.Some parents may consider planting chips in young children or elderly relatives who may be unable to say their names,addresses or telephone numbers.
Some medical and technology specialists said the product raises new questions about the relationship between humans and computer technology and could cause problems if it is used against someone's wishes,or if your personal information is read by those who should not see it.In the text,computer chips have already been used to
| A．catch escaped prisoners | B．find missing children |
| C．treat sick people | D．follow lost animals |
The doctor decided to test the chips himself because
| A．nobody would dare to try it |
| B．the chip could be used for identification purposes |
| C．the chip had been proved successful on animals |
| D．his patients expected him to experience it first |
We can learn from the passage that
| A．the chip has been proven to be very successful. |
| B．The use of this chip will be favored by everybody |
| C．doctors will make a lot of money by using chips. |
| D．There will be a great market for chip planting in humans. |
What problem may be caused by planting chips in the human bodies?
| A．Personal information may be used improperly |
| B．Chips can be the cause of diseases |
| C．Computers could send out wrong information |
| D．Sick people will be controlled by computers. |
Though problems are a part of our lives, it certainly doesn’t mean that we let them rule our lives forever. One day or the other, you’ll have to stand up and say, “Problem, I don’t want you in my life.”
Of course, we’ve been fighting troubles ever since we were born. Problems with friends, parents, girl friends, husbands, and children---- the list goes on. Apart from these, the inner conflicts within ourselves work, too. These keep adding to our problems. Problems come in different shapes and colors and feelings.
But good news is that problems can be dealt with. Now read on to know how to solve your problems.
Talk, it really helps. What most of us think is that our problem can be understood only by us and that no talking is going to help. But the truth is that when you talk about it, you are setting free the negative energy that’s been gathering within you. Talking helps you move on and let go.
Write your problems. Having a personal diary can also be of huge help if you don’t want a real person to talk with. When you write down your problems, you are setting free all your tension from your system. You can try throwing away the paper in which you wrote your problems. By doing this, imagine yourself throwing away the problems from your life.
Don’t lose faith and hope. No matter what you lose in life, don’t lose faith and hope. Even if you lose all your money, family…, you should still have faith. With faith and hope, you can rebuild everything you lose.
Your problems aren’t the worst. No matter what problem you get in life, there is another one million people whose problems are huger than yours. Tell yourself: when they can deal with them, why can’t I? Your problems might just seem big and worse, but in reality they can be removed.
Go about and solve your problems because every problem, however big or small, always has a way out.According to the passage, the first paragraph is trying to ______.
| A．upset the readers. | B．encourage the readers. |
| C．laugh at the readers. | D．please the readers. |
What is the main idea of Paragraph 2?
| A．There are different kinds of problems. |
| B．Problems are too difficult to deal with. |
| C．We have to fight problems in the whole life. |
| D．We have more and more problems. |
According to the passage, when you talk your problems to others,________.
| A．you will be completely understood by others. |
| B．you can find a way out from others. |
| C．you will create another problem |
| D．you can live on easily. |
Throwing away the paper with your problems means________.
| A．you have solved your problems. |
| B．you don’t need anyone to talk with. |
| C．you are throwing away your problems |
| D．you’ll have no problems any longer. |
Alibaba started taking the lead in China by connecting big Chinese manufacturers(制造商) with big buyers across the world. Its business-to-business site, Alibaba.com allowed business to buy almost everything. Alibaba’s advantage wasn’t hard to judge: size. Alibaba is just big, even by Chinese standards. Its market attracts 231 million active buyers, 8 million sellers, 11.3 billion orders a year — and Alibaba is just the middleman. It encourages people to use its markets — not charging small sellers a percentage of the sale.
If you want a quick look into the influence of Alibaba on daily Chinese life, take my experience. I moved to Beijing a year ago and quickly got tired of visiting small stores across the crowded, polluted city of 20 million people in search of new electronics, bathroom furnishings, and anything else my wife wanted. “You’re looking for what exactly? Why not try it? ” my Chinese teacher asked me one day. With that, my wonderful new relationship with Alibaba began.
Alibaba’s original business-to-business model now is second to consumer buying. Chinese retail(零售) buying makes up 80% of Alibaba’s profit, and leading that group is Taobao, with 800 million items for sale and the most unbelievable selection of things you’ll ever find. TMall.com is Alibaba’s other big site, where you can find brand name goods from Nike and Unilever near the lowest prices.
What I have a hard time explaining to friends and family back in the U.S. is how China has gone beyond traditional shopping — big-box retailers especially —in favor of online purchases on Taobao and a few other sites. In smaller towns than Beijing, where big retailers have not yet traveled, shopping online is shopping, and shopping is Taobao.
I have a list of some of my recent purchases on Taobao for a sense of how wide the marketplace is. Almost everything arrived a day or two after ordering with free shipping. I’m not even a big buyer, because I need friends to help me search the Chinese-language site. When I was searching my purchase history on my Chinese teacher’s iPad, which helps me buy goods, I looked through with great difficulty about 10 of her purchases for every one of mine.Alibaba’s advantage mainly lies in .
| A．its low price |
| B．its big size |
| C．its not charging small sellers |
| D．its business-to-business service |
What can we learn from the underlined sentence in the passage?
| A．Alibaba will continue to develop. |
| B．Alibaba stands out as the best online site. |
| C．Alibaba acts as a bridge between the buyers and sellers. |
| D．Alibaba is of middle size among all the online sites. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．TMall.com provides more profit than Taobao. |
| B．The author’s Chinese teacher is also an online purchase lover. |
| C．Taobao has no obvious advantage over other similar online sites. |
| D．Alibaba’s business-to-business service earns more money than retail. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Shopping online in China is TaoBao. |
| B．How the author purchases online in China. |
| C．Shopping online goes beyond traditional shopping. |
| D．Alibaba influences people’s daily purchase in China. |