It has become the modern substitute of glancing at your watch—the furtive(偷偷的)look at a phone screen to check for new messages or have a quick look at Facebook. Researchers have now found why we often feel such a strong urge to glance at our handset. Using your mobile, they say, is easily affected by other people.
A University of Michigan team say people are twice as likely to pull out their phones to check their messages or emails if they’re with someone who has just done the same. It also found that females were more likely to use their mobile than men because it was more ‘consistent ’ with the daily lives of women.
The team watched students in dining halls and coffee shops around campus, observing pairs of students sitting at tables for as long as 20 minutes and recorded their cellphone use at 10-second intervals.
“What we found most interesting was just how often people were using their mobile phones, ” Dr Daniel Kruger, the study’s co-author, said. “Every person we observed used his／her phone at least once while one woman was on hers about half of the time. You may see others checking their incoming messages and be encouraged to check your own. ’’
Overall, the students used their cellphones in an average of 24 percent, the researchers found. But they were significantly more likely to use their phones (39.5 percent) when their companion had just done so in the previous 10-second interval than without the social clue, the researchers said, adding that this behavior was often repeated.
Cell phones create an alternative way for one’s attention and may both promote and interrupt ongoing social activities, the researchers wrote.
Kruger believes this pattern could be related to the effects of social acceptance and rejection. If one person in a pair engages in another conversation through their phone, his or her companion may feel rejected. That companion then might be forced to connect with others from outside so as not to feel left out.
People’s strong desire to check their messages partly results from ___________.
| A．the same behavior of other people |
| B．the new messages of their handsets |
| C．the update service of Facebook |
| D．the modern substitute of their watches |
Why do women use their phones more frequently?
| A．They want to show off their modern mobiles. |
| B．They desire to meet the demands of society. |
| C．They try to set a good example for others. |
| D．They are more likely to be influenced by others. |
How might one feel when his companion is busy checking messages?
| A．Relaxed. | B．Ashamed. |
| C．Ignored. | D．Surprised. |
The underlined part “this behavior” in Paragraph 5 refers to _______________.
| A．receiving social clues | B．using the cellphones |
| C．joining in activities | D．engaging in conversations |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Social Acceptance And Rejection |
| B．Females Use Mobiles More than Men |
| C．How Do People Check Messages? |
| D．Cellphone Use Is Spreading |
It was a sunny winter day. I had gone down the tower when a blind man came toward me. He kept close to the wall, touching it lightly with his arm. I stood still and looked at him walking toward the tower.
"What does a blind man want to climb up the tower for?" I wondered, "Not the view (景色) certainly, perhaps he wants to jump. "Thinking of this terrible reason, I thought I should follow him.
He went up slowly and stopped from time to time. I followed him a few steps behind. When he got to the first corner of the bell tower, I came close to him. "Excuse me," I said as politely as I could, "but I wonder why you came up."
"You'd never guess." he said.
"Not the view or the fresh air on this winter day?"
"No." he said.
"Tell me, then."
He smiled, "Perhaps climbing up the tower. You have noticed - and yet, not being blind, perhaps you won't - how the sun shines into the tower through the windows here and there, so that one can feel the cool steps suddenly become quite warm, even in winter. But behind the wall there is shade (阴影). There is no place so good as this for feeling the difference between light and darkness. Though I'm blind, I also want to feel the happiness brought by the sunlight. In fact, it isn't my first time to be here." He said and seemed as pleased as a child.
I had never thought that even a blind man could have his way to enjoy the beautiful life. But we often paid no attention to its value because we never lost it.
We went down the tower together and I left him. From then on, I began to treasure what life has given me.The winter met the blind man on .
| A．a sunny winter day | B．a rainy winter day |
| C．a sunny summer day | D．a rainy summer day |
The writer thought the blind man wanted to .
| A．see the view | B．breathe the fresh air |
| C．warm himself | D．jump off the tower |
What did the writer learn from the blind man?
| A．To take exercise | B．To feel happiness |
| C．To enjoy sunlight | D．To treasure life |
Going green seems to be 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 April22, 2011, 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 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 life 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 lifestyle. 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 ignore others’ ungreen behavior. |
| C．They chose better chemical cleaners. |
| D．They sold their home-made food. |
What can we infer form the last paragraph?
| A．The government will give support to the green people. |
| 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. |
Christmas has never looked as beautiful as it is now, when this one-foot-tall mini tree grew from a pothole(坑洼)in the streets of London.
London pothole gardener Steve Wheen , 34 , has created over 150 little gardens so far the smallest one of which is just one-inch-square.
“I really enjoy the reactions of people who come across my work and love them .”said Steve. "London can be so grey, especially at this time of year. When l was thinking about how to brighten it up, gardening came to my mind."
Steve has been pothole gardening for four years, mainly around the streets of London His pothole gardens are made with some plants he chooses from his local garden centre. Each of them usually costs between five and ten pounds. Although they are often temporary to the streets, Steve is sure that they can be in people's mind for a long time, if they are lucky enough to come across these small gardens while they go about their daily lives.
“I'm always surprised when I ask people what they think the message is behind my Work .”he said. "Often they think I'm against or in honor of something. One person even considered that l was marking the places where people had died in car accidents."
“I think in a city like London, where it's easy to feel short of green space, my message can be seen as a green one and that's fine with me. ”he said. "The environment is something we all need to be thinking about more and more. But most importantly, it's all about making people smile and giving them an unexpected moment of happiness.”Which of the following pictures can describe "a pothole garden" best?
Steve thinks the main color of London around Christmas is
| A．white | B．blue | C．grey | D．green |
What does the underlined word "temporary" probably mean?
| A．lasting for a short time. |
| B．beautiful but dangerous |
| C．strange to passers-by |
| D．very expensive |
Steve Wheen makes pothole gardens in London mainly to _____.
| A．be against or in honor of something |
| B．mark the places where car accidents happen |
| C．protect the environment |
| D．make people enjoy more greens |
When asked about happiness, we usually think of something extraordinary, an absolute delight, which seems to get rarer the older we get.
For kids, happiness has a magical quality. Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved (毫无掩饰的).
In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it’s conditional on such things as excitement, love and popularity. I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party.
In adulthood the things that bring deep joy — love, marriage, birth — also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. For adults, happiness is complicated.
My definition of happiness is “the capacity for enjoyment”. The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It’s easy to overlook the pleasure we get from the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, and even good health.
I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch-box and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which I love. When the kids and my husband came home, I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.
Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work. I don’t think that my grandmother, who raised 14 children, had much of either. She did have a network of close friends and family, and maybe this is what satisfied her.
We, however, with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area, have turned happiness into one more thing we’ve got to have. We’re so self-conscious about our “right” to it that it’s making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren’t necessarily happier.
Happiness isn’t about what happens to us — it’s about how we see what happens to us. It’s the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. It’s not wishing for what we don’t have, but enjoying what we do possess.As people grow older, they ___________________.
| A．feel it harder to experience happiness |
| B．associate their happiness less with others |
| C．will take fewer risks in pursuing happiness |
| D．tend to believe responsibility means happiness |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 5 and 6?
| A．She cares little about her own health. |
| B．She enjoys the freedom of traveling. |
| C．She is easily pleased by things in daily life. |
| D．She prefers getting pleasure from housework. |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 7?
| A．Psychologists think satisfying work is key to happiness. |
| B．Psychologist’ opinion is well proved by Grandma’s case. |
| C．Grandma often found time for social gatherings. |
| D．Grandma’s happiness came from modest expectations of life. |
People who equal happiness with wealth and success______.
| A．consider pressure something blocking their way. |
| B．stress their right to happiness too much. |
| C．are at a loss to make correct choices. |
| D．are more likely to be happy. |
What can be concluded from the passage?
| A．Happiness lies between the positive and the negative. |
| B．Each man is the master of his own fate. |
| C．Success leads to happiness. |
| D．Happy is he who is content. |
The United States government wants to know what the public think about its findings on the safety of cloned animals.
The Food and Drug Administration says meat and milk from clones of adult cattle, pigs and goats are safe to eat. An F.D.A. official called them "as safe to eat as the food we eat every day." And when those clones reproduce sexually (有性繁殖), the agency says, their offspring (后代) are safe to eat as well. But research on cloned sheep is limited. So the F.D.A. suggests that sheep clones not be used for human food.
The United States this year could become the first country to approve the sale of foods from cloned animals. First, however, the public will have ninety days to discuss three proposed documents. On December 28th the F.D.A. released a long report, called a draft risk assessment, along with two policy documents.
The agency says it must receive the public’s opinion by April second. The F.D.A. seemed ready to act several years ago, but an advisory committee called for more research. For now, the government will continue to ask producers to honor a request that they not sell foods from cloned animals.
Clones are still rare. They cost a lot and are difficult to produce.
The F.D.A. says most food from cloning is expected to come not from clones themselves, but from their sexually reproduced offspring. It says clones are expected to be used mostly as breeding animals to spread good qualities.
Public opinion studies show most Americans do not like the idea of food from cloned animals. But this research also shows the public knows little about cloning.
Cloning differs from genetic engineering. A cell taken from a so-called donor animal is grown into an embryo in the laboratory. Next, the embryo is placed into the uterus (子宫) of a female animal. If the process is successful, the pregnancy reaches full term and a genetic copy of the donor animal is born.The main purpose of the text is to __________.
| A．tell an interesting story |
| B．give some advice on foods |
| C．give a report |
| D．compare different opinions |
From the passage we know that ___________.
A. foods from cloned animals are popular in America
B. according to F.D.A., some cloned adult animals are safe to eat
C. cloned animals will be easy to produce
D. most foods from cloning is expected to take place of other foodsWho believe that foods from cloning are safe to eat?
A. Most Americans B. An advisory committee
C. CriticsD. The F.D.A.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that __________.
| A．cloning has much in common with genetic engineering |
| B．not every cell taken from a donor animal can grow into a genetic copy |
| C．the donor animal should be a female one |
| D．cloned animals grow faster than normal ones |
Which of the following is TRUE about foods from cloning?
A. They come from the sexually reproduced offspring of cloned animals.
B. The government is in favor of foods from cloning now.
C. Only F.D.A. has the right to sell the food.
D. Many countries have sold foods from cloned animals.