Rae and Bruce Hostetler not only work very hard，they also relax just as well.Numerous vacations help the couple to maintain their health and emotional wellbeingand it’s no surprise to health care professionals.
“Rest，relaxation，and stress reduction are very important for people’s wellbeing and health.This can be accomplished through daily activities，such as exercise and meditation，but vacation is an important part of this as well，” said primary care physician Natasha Withers from One Medical Group in New York.Withers lists a decreased risk of heart disease and improved reaction time as some of the benefits from taking some time off.“We also know that the mind is very powerful and can help with healing，so a rested，relaxed mind is able to help the body heal better，” said Withers.
Psychologists confirm the value of vacations for the mind.“The impact that taking a vacation has on one’s mental health is great，” said Francine Lederer，a clinical psychologist in Los Angeles who specializes in stress and relationship management.“Most people have better life perspective and are more motivated to achieve their goals after a vacation，even if it is a 24hour timeout.” The trips could be good for their health，good for their family and good for their businesses.
The online travel agency Expedia conducted a survey about vacation time in 2010，and according to their data the average American earned 18 vacation days—but only used 14 of them.France topped the list，with the average worker earning 37 vacation days and using all but two of them.Americans’ responses may not be surprising in a culture where long hours on the job often are valued，but that’s not always good for the individual，the family or the employer.
Psychologists have also found that people who don’t take enough time to relax may find it harder to relax in the future.“Without time and opportunity to do this，the nerve connections that produce feelings of calm and peacefulness become weaker，making it actually more difficult to shift into lessstressed states，” Mulhern said.How did the author introduce the topic of the text?
| A．By making comparisons. | B．By giving an example. |
| C．By raising questions. | D．By providing data. |
According to Natasha Withers，vacations can________.
| A．weaken reaction system |
| B．cure serious diseases |
| C．reduce the level of wellbeing |
| D．decrease the risk of heart disease |
Expedia’s survey shows that Americans________.
| A．dislike family gatherings |
| B．have the shortest vacation |
| C．enjoy as many vacations as the French |
| D．think much of spending long hours on the job |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．One should never wait to relax. |
| B．Work and rest go against each other. |
| C．Time and opportunity wait for no man. |
| D．A relaxed mind determines everything. |
What is mainly talked about in the text?
| A．Ways to relax in one’s free time. |
| B．The benefits of taking time off. |
| C．Different opinions on holidays. |
| D．The Hostetlers always on the go. |
You're in a department store and you see a couple of attractive young women looking at a sweater. You listen to their conversation:
"I can't believe it-a Lorenzo Bertolla! They are almost impossible to find. Isn't it beautiful? And it's a lot cheaper than the one Sara bought in Rome．
They leave and you go over to see this incredible sweater; It's-nice and the price is right．You've never heard of Lorenzo Bertolla, but those girls look really stylish. They must know. So, you buy it. You never realize that those young women are employees of an advertising agency．They are actually paid to go from store to store, talking loudly about Lorenzo BertoHa clothes．
Every day we notice what people are wearing, driving and eating．If the person looks cool, the product seems cool, too．This is the secret of undercover marketing．Companies from Ford to Nike are starting to use it.
Undercover marketing is important because it reaches people that don't pay attention to traditional advertising．This is particularly true of the MTV generation－consumers between the age of 18 and 34．It is a golden group. They have a lot of money to spend, but they don't trust ads．
So advertising agencies hire young actors to "perform" in bars and other places where young adults go．Some people might call this practice misleading, but marketing executive Jonathan Ressler calls it creative．"Look at traditional advertising．Its effectiveness is decreasing．"
However, one might ask what exactly is "real" about young women pretending to be enthusiastic about a sweater? Advertising executives would say it's no less real than an ad．The difference is that you know an ad is trying to persuade you to buy something．You don't know when a conversation you overhear is just a performance．T'he two attractive young women were talking so that they could_____．
| A．get the sweater at a lower price | B．be heard by people around |
| C．be admired by other shoppers | D．decide on buying the sweater |
Lorenzo Bertolla is ______．
| A．a very popular male singer | B．an advertising agency |
| C．a clothing company in Rome | D．the brand name of a sweater |
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The two girls are in fact employed by the Lorenzo Bertolla Company． |
| B．The MTV generation tends to be more easily influenced by ads． |
| C．Traditional advertising is becoming less effective because it's too direct． |
| D．Undercover marketing will surely be banned soon by the government． |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Two Attractive Shoppers | B．Lorenzo Bertolla Sweaters |
| C．Ways of Advertising | D．Undercover Marketing |
The basic flag of the United States is one of the world's oldest national flags．Only the basic flags of Austria,．Denmark, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland are older．
During the discovery and settlement of what is now the United States, the flags of various European nations were flown over the land, as symbols of possession．Later, in the Colonial and Revolutionary War periods, flags representing famous persons, places, and events were flown in the American Colonies．
The first official flag of the United States was created by Congress on June 14, 1777．It consisted of 13 alternate red and white stripes? and 13 white stars in a field of blue, representing the 13colonies that had declared their independence in 1776．Congress adopted a new flag of 15 stars and 15 stripes in 1795, to give representation to the two new states admitted into the Union, Vermont and Kentucky．
By 1817 there were 20 states in the Union, and it became apparent that adding one stripe for each new state would destroy the shape of the flag．As a result．Congress in 1818 restored the original design of 13 stripes and provided that each state was to be represented by one star．In 1921 Preside William H．Taft made the first official provision for the arrangement of the stars．He ordered that there be six even rows of eight stars each．Previously the arrangement of the stars had
been left to the flag- maker's fancy．
The evolution of the stars and stripes reflects the growth of the United States．After the admission of Hawaii into the Union in 1959, the flag was officially changed for the 26th time since its creation．
There are many government flags flown in the United States in addition to the national flag．Among them are the president's and vice-president's flags and those of the federal epartments and some federal agencies．Each state in the Union has an official flag．The United States Navy uses special flags for signaling．The basic flag of the United States is _____．
| A．the oldest national flag in the world |
| B．one of the world's oldest flags |
| C．the most beautiful flag in the West |
| D．as old as the basic flags of some European nations |
Before the War of Independence the flags of various European nations flown over the land were symbols of．
| A．self- rule | B．occupation |
| C．peace and friendship | D．independence |
The first official flag of the United States was adopted _____．
| A．before the Independence War |
| B．right after the Independence War |
| C．when independence was declared in 1776 |
| D．during the War of Independence which ended in 1783 |
The 13 red and white stripes and13 white Stars represent____．
| A．13 independent states |
| B．the colonies that declared independence in 1776． |
| C．the U．S．Congress |
| D．13 famous figures in the American colonies |
“You know, these cups bring to mind a tea quote(说法) I heard.” Mary’s aunt said.
She poured tea. There were four of them and there were four totally different cups on the table.
They took their tea cups.
“What quote?” Mary asked.
“Well, maybe I should rather say it is a story,” aunt said, “I heard that there was a wise teacher who took all his students for tea. They were surprised that all the cups on the table were different. Each of them took a cup and started drinking their tea, each looking at the cups of others. The teacher let them do that for a while and then said,‘ Do you notice your behavior? You are all looking at each other’s tea cup and I can see some of you with the broken ones are even envious(羡慕的) of the finer cups of others. Is this not so?’ ”
The students agreed, amused by their own behavior.
“You may have wondered why you all had different cups, but I put them here on purpose. You see they represent (代表) life itself. Life is like that tea and the cups are like the physical circumstances(状况) of your life. You all got the same thing in your cups — tea. And yet you can not truly enjoy it in your envy of another’s cup. It’s just the same with life. You forget to enjoy your own life when you concentrate on envying the circumstances of someone else’s life.
So now, close your eyes, and taste your own tea. Really taste it. And tell me — did it matter from which cup it came from?”
Aunt finished telling her short tea story and they all sat in silence for a while, tasting their tea. A sleepy fly buzzed(嗡嗡作响) past, a bird sang in the tree. And it really did not matter one bit from which tea cup they drank. When the students found they had different tea cups, they_____________.
| A．were satisfied with their own cup |
| B．were angry about the broken cups they had been given |
| C．asked the teacher to get new cups for them |
| D．were curious about the difference between the cups |
From the text, we know that _____________.
| A．the teacher prepared different tea cups for each student |
| B．the teacher should have given the students the same cups |
| C．the teacher made the tea cups different by mistake. |
| D．each student took their time to choose a cup they liked |
According to the passage, by comparing the cups to the physical circumstances of people’s life, the teacher meant that people_______.
| A．should try different ways of life |
| B．shouldn’t focus on envy others’ physical circumstances |
| C．can never change their physical circumstances |
| D．should work hard for a better life |
In the passage the teacher’s message to the students was that _______.
| A．life is hard and boring for everyone |
| B．it is strange to be envious of the lives of others |
| C．everyone should learn to enjoy his own life |
| D．people act differently in different circumstances |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．More than tea in a cup | B．The value of tea |
| C．Tea vs cup | D．Enjoying tea with a broken cup |
After a busy day of work and play, the body needs to rest. Sleep is necessary for good health. During this time, the body recovers from the activities of the previous day. The rest that you get while sleeping makes it possible for your body to prepare itself for the next day.
There are four levels of sleep, each being a little deeper than the one before. As you sleep, your body relaxes little by little. Your heart beats more slowly, and your brain slows down. After you reach the fourth level, your body shifts back and forth from one level of sleep to the other.
Although your mind slows down, you will dream from time to time. Scientists who study sleep point out that when you are dreaming, your eyeballs begin to move more quickly (although your eyelids are closed). This stage of sleep is called REM, which stands for rapid eye movement.
If you have trouble falling asleep, some people suggest breathing very slowly and very deeply. Other people believe that drinking warm milk will make you drowsy. There is also an old suggestion that counting sheep will put you to sleep. The text makes us know that not getting enough sleep might make you _________.
| A．suffer form poor health | B．enjoy more |
| C．dream more often | D．breathe quickly |
During REM, _______.
| A．you move restlessly | B．you start dreaming |
| C．your mind stops working | D．your eyeballs move quickly |
The underlined word “drowsy” in the last paragraph probably means______.
| A．lazy | B．sleepy | C．relaxed | D．pleased |
A good title for this text might be_________.
| A．Dreams | B．Sleep | C．Good Health | D．Work and Rest |
One of the ways to fall asleep easily is to _______________.
| A．breathe slowly and deeply | B．drink cold drinks |
| C．get up and run | D．look for some sheep |
Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But many years ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, people never tried skating on wheels. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making instruments. In his free time he liked to play the violin. Merlin was a man with many ideas and many dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to go to an important party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think. He wanted to find a way to make a wonderful entrance at the party. Merlin had an idea. He thought that he would attract a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skate shoes. Merlin was very proud of them. He dreamed of arriving at the party and skating into the room while playing the violin. He was sure that everyone would be very surprised.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing his violin. Everyone was really surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skating. He rolled on, playing the violin. Then, with all eyes on him, Merlin hit into a huge mirror on the wall. The mirror broke into many pieces with a very loud noise. But nobody forgot Merlin’s wonderful entrance after that.The story tells us that people began to enjoy roller-skating _______.
| A．before the year 1750 | B．before the invitation |
| C．because of Joseph Merlin | D．because it was dangerous |
People called Merlin a dreamer because ___________.
| A．he slept and dreamed a lot | B．he was full of different ideas |
| C．he was a talented violinist | D．he always made people’s dreams come true |
___________ made Merlin think of skating on wheels.
| A．Merlin’s work | B．Merlin’s violin | C．A huge mirror | D．An important party |
What was Merlin’s problem after he rolled into the room?
| A．He couldn’t stop his roller-skating. | B．He couldn’t attract a lot of attention. |
| C．Everyone was surprised at him. | D．He couldn’t play the violin while rolling. |
The text is mainly about_________.
| A．a strange man |
| B．an unusual party |
| C．how roller skating began |
| D．how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century |