A German study suggests that people who were too optimistic about their future actually faced greater risk of disability or death within 10 years than those pessimists who expected their future to be worse.
The paper, published this March in Psychology and Aging, examined health and welfare surveys from roughly 40,000 Germans between ages 18 and 96. The surveys were conducted every year from 1993 to 2003.
Survey respondents (受访者) were asked to estimate their present and future life satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 10, among other questions.
The researchers found that young adults (age 18 to 39) routinely overestimated their future life satisfaction, while middle-aged adults (age 40 to 64) more accurately predicted how they would feel in the future. Adults of 65 and older, however, were far more likely to underestimate their future life satisfaction. Not only did they feel more satisfied than they thought they would, the older pessimists seemed to suffer a lower ratio (比率) of disability and death for the study period.
“We observed that being too optimistic in predicting a better future than actually observed was associated with a greater risk of disability and a greater risk of death within the following decade,” wrote Frieder R. Lang, a professor at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
Lang and his colleagues believed that people who were pessimistic about their future may be more careful about their actions than people who expected a rosy future.
“Seeing a dark future may encourage positive evaluations of the actual self and may contribute to taking improved precautions (预防措施),” the authors wrote.
Surprisingly, compared with those in poor health or who had low incomes, respondents who enjoyed good health or income were associated with expecting a greater decline. Also, the researchers said that higher income was related to a greater risk of disability.
The authors of the study noted that there were limitations to their conclusions. Illness, medical treatment and personal loss could also have driven health outcomes.
However, the researchers said a pattern was clear. “We found that from early to late adulthood, individuals adapt their expectations of future life satisfaction from optimistic, to accurate, to pessimistic,” the authors concluded.According to the study, who made the most accurate prediction of their future life satisfaction?
| A．Optimistic adults. |
| B．Adults of lower income. |
| C．Adults in poor health. |
| D．Middle-aged adults |
Pessimism may be positive in some way because it causes people ______.
| A．to fully enjoy their present life |
| B．to take measures against potential risks |
| C．to estimate their contribution accurately |
| D．to value health more highly than wealth |
How do people of higher income see their future?
| A．They will suffer mental illness |
| B．They will become pessimistic. |
| C．They will earn less money.. |
| D．They will have less time to enjoy life. |
What is the clear conclusion of the study?
| A．Pessimism guarantees chances of survival. |
| B．Good financial condition leads to good health. |
| C．Expectations of future life satisfaction decline with age. |
| D．Medical treatment determines health outcomes. |
Imagine being the only person in the Forbidden City. You could stay there all day without swarms of people crowding around. You'd be able to look at the ancient treasures without worrying about other visitors pushing you for a better view. Well, in two years time you'll be able to have such an experience, just like the former emperors used to. The only difference is that your Forbidden City fun will be online.
Thanks to new technology, a virtual(虚拟的) tour of the Forbidden City will be available online by 2008. The project － jointly driven by the Palace Museum and computer company IBM － aims to help teenagers around the world become more interested in Chinese culture. The project will offer an interactive, three-dimensional view of the palace. The virtual tour will provide images from all over the 780,000-square-metre palace.
"The Palace Museum is a big book; there are always places you haven't read about," said Hu Chui from the museum. There are many rooms closed for protection. But the virtual platform breaks the boundaries of time and space, meaning visitors can see whatever they want. "The interaction and games content in the virtual tour will attract more young people to understand and love our cultural heritage," added Hu.
In the virtual tour, historical figures will actually talk to visitors and answer their questions. The stories behind the buildings and treasures will also be told. "The online environment, presented in both Chinese and English, enables visitors to experience the culture and stories of the museum," said James Yeh, an IBM official.
68. If you visit the Forbidden City now, which of the following won't be the case you'll have?
A. It is crowed with a lot of visitors.B. Visitors are pushing you for a better view.
C. You are the only person in it. D. You can see some ancient treasures in it.
69. Which of the following is not the advantage of the virtual tour of the Forbidden City?
A. Visitors can see whatever they want. B. Visitor can ask and talk to historical figures.
C. Visitors can get to know the cultural heritage by playing games.
D. Visitors can walk around the Forbidden City with your family.
70. The "project" underlined in paragraph 2 refers to ______.
A. a virtual tour of the Forbidden City
B. a new "Forbidden City" to be built by the Palace Museum and IBM computer company
C. an Internet cafe to be built in the Palace Museum
D. a big book to be published to introduce Chinese culture
WELCOME TO YOUR FREE ISH MEMBERSHIP
Your Membership
International Students House is a unique, cultural and recreational centre providing a wide programme of events for students 310 days a year.
Located in a fashionable and safe neighborhood, close to Regent's Park, ISH is a central place to meet students from Britain and around the world.
ISH provides all its members with the opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of sports and hobbies in a friendly and fun environment. Many of the activities are free of charge as part of membership, while some charge a small fee.
Membership is open to all full-time students, professional trainees and student nurses.
LEARN
Lecture Series:
ISH organizes a number of lively, topical lectures of political and contemporary(同时代的) interest by famous speakers.
Language Classes
A variety of weekly language classes which in the past have included English, Spanish, Japanese and Italian.
ISH tries to offer as many development and educational programmes as possible for its members. Look out for additional workshops and leadership programmes. E--mail: learn @ish.org.uk.
CREATE
Sunday Cinema:
Films are shown every Sunday evening at 19∶30 including recent blockbusters(大片), theme nights and classics.
Classes:
Show your talents or learn from the beginning with our various classes and workshops which include Life Drawing, Photography, and Drama.
Throughout the year ISH holds numerous exhibitions, recitals(公演) and performances put on by the students. To get more information, e-mail: create @ish.org.uk.
TRAVEL
Travel Club:
The Travel Club runs a comprehensive (广泛的)schedule of day and weekend trips to British and European destinations. Students get the chance to explore new parts of the UK and meet people from all over the world. Sightseeing, canoeing, hiking, eating out, socializing and meeting local people are what you can expect to experience during the trips. E-mail: travel @ish.org.uk.
ACTIVE
Classes:
Try out our Martial Arts and Fitness Classes every week night including Kick Boxing, Tai Chi, Kung Fu and Shaolin as well as Yoga, and Aerobics classes. All our classes are run by qualified and professional instructors.
Sports:
Join in our recreational and team sports such as football, volleyball, running, table tennis, and chess.
ISH Dangerous Sports Club:
We also organize such activities as go-karting, pain-balling and adventure weekends. E--mail: active @ish.org.uk.
64. If you are a member of ISH, you can do all the following except ______.
A. traveling to some European countries B. attending all kinds of interesting lectures
C. attending French classes D. meeting students from all around the world
65. If you want to see a painting exhibition held by ISH, _______.
A. you must pay a small amount of money B. you can't get some information through an e-mail
C. you can get a ticket free of charge D. you can e-mail: learn @ish.org.uk
66. If you want to learn to take photos, which of the following e-mail addresses is useful to you?
A. learn @ish.org.uk. B. travel @ish.org.uk. C. active @ish.org.uk. D. create @ish.org.uk.
67. If you like some adventure on weekends, you'd better _______.
A. join ISH Dangerous Sports Club B. join the Travel Club
C. go to Sunday Cinema D. take some Fitness Classes
Happiness is associated with smiling. But do we always smile when we are happy?
During the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992, Spanish researchers analyzed the facial expressions of 22 gold medal winners at the medal ceremonies. The researchers were surprised to see that these medal winners didn't smile very much. In fact, throughout the different medal ceremonies, they only smiled about 10% of the time. But during the brief moment when the gold medal was put around their neck, the medal winners grinned (露齿笑) about 70% of the time.
The researchers interviewed the winners they had watched to find out how they felt. All the winners interviewed said that they felt intensely(强烈的）happy throughout the ceremony.
Though they were profoundly（衷心地）happy, they didn't smile a great deal. The researchers concluded that smiling was not the automatic expression of happiness. The fact that the gold medal winners smiled much more when they were actually being given their medals could be explained because, according to the Spanish researchers, smiling was a form of communication between individuals. The happy athletes were smiling at the people who were giving them gold medals. Perhaps we can support the findings of the Spanish researchers by making some observations of our own behaviors. When we are all alone, for example, do we smile at ourselves when we are happy? Probably not very often. If someone greets us with a friendly smile, do we respond with a smile? Yes, we probably do. When a friend gives us a beautiful present, will we show our appreciation with a smile? Yes, of course. But if we are sitting alone watching television, do we smile at a commentator (讲解员) who smiles at us?
60. How much of the time did the gold medal winners smile during the medal ceremonies?
A. 10%.B. 70%. C. 22%. D. 92%.
61. According to the passage, when did the athletes smile quite a lot?
A. Throughout the medal ceremony.
B. When they were informed of their success.
C. When the gold medal was put around their neck.
D. When their national flag was raised.
62. According to the passage, on which of the following occasions would we most probably NOT smile?
A. When we are sitting alone watching TV. B. When someone greets us with a friendly smile.
C. When a friend gives us a beautiful present. D. When we feel intensely happy.
63. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The gold medal winners were too nervous that they would hardly smile at the medal ceremonies.
B. People will always smile automatically when they feel happy.
C. Smiling is a way of communication.
D. When the gold medal was put around their neck, the gold medal winners were smiling at the audience but not at those who gave the medal.
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A，B，C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
Want to take an out-of-this-world trip? Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic plans to make that possible. Beginning in 2009, people should have the opportunity to become space tourists, traveling at about 3,000 mph to heights about 75 miles above Earth. Branson has high hopes for his latest plans. "It is just the start of what we believe will be a new age in the history of mankind-one day making the affordable exploration of space by human beings a real possibility," he said.
At the start, though, the trip won't be cheap. Seats aboard Virgin's first craft-VSS Enterprise-will cost about $200,000. Prices could drop after the first hundred space flights. Despite the current ticket cost, more than 30,000 people-including celebrities(名人) Sigourney Weaver and Victoria Principal-have expressed interest in getting onboard.
People who don't have an extra $200,000 still have a chance to get a seat aboard the craft. A computer game contest and a reality television show are in the works. Those who can't afford a ticket will have an opportunity to win a seat.
Virgin is expected to be the first commercial spacecraft. It will hold six passengers and two pilots. Passengers will be able to see the Earth from many different viewpoints. The cabin will include 15 floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing for views that extend about 1,000 miles in any direction.
Passengers will have three days of preflight preparation. On the big day, the spacecraft will take off from the Mojave Spaceport in the California desert. The craft will rocket passengers into space at four times the speed of sound. The journey will last about 2 1.2 hours. Passengers will wear spacesuits and helmets(头盔). They will be able to float around the cabin and do somersaults(空翻) during the five minutes of weightlessness they will experience in zero gravity. At the end of the flight, the craft will land on a runway.
56. Virgin Galactic could be _____.
A. the engineer of the first commercial spacecraft B. the name of a series of spacecrafts
C. the company of the first commercial spacecraft D. a passenger aboard the first commercial spacecraft
57. The space passengers will do all the following except that _____.
A. they will receive a three-day training course B. they will wear spacesuits and helmets
C. they will take about $200,000 with themD. they will experience weightlessness
58. Which statement is true according to the passage?
A. More than 30,000 people have got to travel in spacecraft.
B. Many people signed up for space travel in spite of the high ticket cost.
C. Those without much money could also go space travel without occupying the seats.
D. The first commercial spacecraft will have six persons on board.
59. What is the text mainly about?
A. The exciting moment of the spacecraft's launching.
B. The living condition of space tourists in the craft.
C. Preparations for a space travel.
D. Plans for the first commercial space flight.
To be a good teacher, you need so
me of the gifts of a good actor; you must be able to hold the attention and interest of your audience; you must be a clear speaker, with a good, strong, pleasing voice which is fully under your control; and you must be able to act what you are teaching, in order to make its meaning clear.
Watch a good teacher, and you will see that he does not sit still before his class： he stands the whole time he is teaching; he walks about, using his arms, hands and fingers to help him in his explanations, and his face to express feelings. Listen to him, and you will hear the loudness, the quality (音色) and the musical note of his voice always changing according to what he is talking about.
The fact that a good teacher has some of the gifts of a good actor doesn’t mean that he will indeed be able to act well on the stage, for there are very important differences between the teacher’s work and the actor’s. The actor has to speak words which he has learnt by heart; he has to repeat exactly the same words each time he plays a certain part, even his movements and the ways in which he uses his voice are usually fixed beforehand (预先). What he has to do is to make all these carefully learnt words and actions seem natural on the stage.
A good teacher works in quite a different way. His audience takes an active part in his play: they ask and answer questions, they obey orders, and if they don’t understand something, they say so. The teacher therefore has to meet the needs of his audience, which is his class. He cannot learn his part by heart, but must invent it as he goes along.
I have known many teachers who were fine actors in class but were unable to take part in a stage-play because they could not keep strictly to what another had written.
51. What is the text about ?
A. How to become a good teacher.
B. What a good teacher should do outside the classroom.
C. What teachers and actors could learn from each other.
D. The similarities and differences between a teacher’s work and an actor’s.
52. The word “audience” in the fourth paragraph means ____ .
A. students B. people who watch a play
C. people who not on the stageD. people who listen to something
53. A good teacher ____ .
A. knows how to hold the interest of his students
B. must have a good voice
C. knows how to act on the stage
D. stands or sits still while teaching
54. In what way is a teacher’s work different from an actor’s ?
A. The teacher must learn everything by heart .
B. He knows how to control his voice better than an actor .
C. He has to deal with unexpected situations .
D. He has to use more facial expressions .
55. The main difference between students in class and a theatre audience is that ____.
A. students can move around in the classroom
B. students must keep silent while theatre audience needn’t
C. no memory work is needed for the students
D. the students must take part in their teachers’ plays