Many of us feel uneasy when someone stands too close to us, talks to us too loudly or makes eye contact (接触) with us for too long. But have you ever wondered why those things make you uncomfortable?
It’s all about personal peace, which means not only an imaginary space around the body, but also the space around all the senses. People feel that their space is being violated (侵犯) when they meet with an unwelcome sound, smell or look. This is probably why a man on a crowded bus shouting into his mobile phone or a woman next to you putting on strong perfume (香水) makes you feel angry.
Whether people have had a stronger wish to protect their personal space in recent times is hard to say. Yet studies of airlines show that people have a strong desire (渴望) to have space to themselves. In a survey(调查) by Trip Advisor, a travel website, people said that if they had to pay more for some extra service, they would rather have larger seats than extra food.
Although people may need their personal space, some hardly realize it. For example, people on a bus who hold newspapers in front of their faces to read in fact keep a distance from strangers.
Go and watch a library table. You will notice that one of the corner seats will usually be taken first, because they are the farthest way. What if someone sits opposite to you? Maybe you will pile up books as if to make a wall.
Preference(偏好) for personal space are different from culture to culture. Scientists have found that Americans generally prefer more personal space than people from other cultures. In Latin(拉丁人的) cultures, however, people are more comfortable standing close to each other.The writer mainly _________ in this article.
| A．tells us how to achieve personal space |
| B．explains what personal space people need is |
| C．introduces some knowledge about personal space |
| D．argues for the importance of keeping personal space |
Who might feel his personal space is safe according to the passage?
| A．A person who has to sit next to a lady putting on strong perfume. |
| B．A person who has been watched by a stranger for a long time. |
| C．A person who hears strange noises when reading at home. |
| D．A Latin boy who is chatting with a friend sitting close to him. |
What can we know from the survey by TripAdvisor?
| A．People need a smaller personal space in recent times than before. |
| B．People have a strong desire for personal space in recent times. |
| C．There are not enough seats on the plane to meet people’s needs. |
| D．Food service is better provided than seats on the plane. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The space around the body is more needed than that around all the senses. |
| B．If you hold newspapers on the bus, your personal space won’t be violated. |
| C．People usually choose the corner seats first in a library for personal space. |
| D．Different cultures share the same preferences for personal space. |
At exactly eleven Sir Percival knocked and entered, with anxiety and worry in every line of his face. This meeting would decide his future life, and he obviously knew it.
“You may wonder, Sir Percival,” said Laura calmly, “if I am going to ask to be released (免除) from my promise to marry you. I am not going to ask this. I respect my father’s wishes too much.”
His face relaxed a little, but one of his feet kept beating the carpet.
“No, if we are going to withdraw(退出) from our planned marriage, it will be because of your wish, not mine.”
“Mine?” he said in great surprise. “What reason could I have for withdrawing?”
“A reason that is very hard to tell you,” she answered. “There is a change in me.”
His face went so pale that even his lips lost their color. He turned his head to one side.
“What change?" he asked, trying to appear calm.
“When the promise was made two years ago,”she said, “my love did not belong to anyone. Will you forgive me, Sir Percival, if I tell you that it now belongs to another person?”
“I wish you to understand,” Laura continued, “that I will never see this person again, and that if you leave me, you only allow me to remain a single woman for the rest of my life. All I ask is that you forgive me and keep my secret.”
“I will do both those things, ”he said. Then he looked at Laura, as if he was waiting to hear more.
“I think I have said enough to give you reason to withdraw from our marriage,” she added quietly.
“No. You have said enough to make it the dearest wish of my life to marry you,” he said.
| A．Angry. | B．Calm. |
| C．Nervous. | D．Excited. |
| A．Laura had once promised to marry Percival |
| B．Laura's father wished to end her marriage |
| C．Percival had been married to Laura for two years |
| D．Percival asked to be released from the marriage |
| A．a novel | B．a report |
| C．a diary | D．an essay |
Older people who have low expectations for a satisfying future may be more likely to live longer, healthier lives than those who see brighter days ahead, according to new research
"Our findings showed that being overly optimistic in predicting a better future was associated with a greater risk of disability and death within the following decade," said Frieder R. Lang, the leading researcher of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany." Pessimism(悲观) about the future may encourage people to live more carefully, taking health and safety measures."
Lang and colleagues examined data collected from 1993 to 2003 for the national German Socio-Economic Panel, an annual survey on approximately 40,000 people from 18 to 96 years old. The researchers divided the data according to age groups: 18 to 39 years old, 40 to 64 years old and 65 years old and above. Through mostly in-person interviews, the participants were asked to rate how satisfied they were with their lives and how satisfied they thought they would be in five years.
Five years after the first interview, 43 percent of the oldest group had underestimated(低估) their future life satisfaction, 25 percent had predicted accurately and 32 percent had overestimated (高估), according to the study. The researchers calculated that each increase in overestimating future life satisfaction was related to a 9.5 -percent increase in reporting disabilities and a 10- percent increase in risk of death。
Because a darker outlook on the future is often more realistic, older adults' predictions of their future satisfaction may be more accurate, according to the study. In contrast, the youngest group had the sunniest outlook。
"We argue, though, that the analysis may depend on age and available resources. These findings shed new light on how our perspectives can either help us take action or prevent us from taking action that can help improve our chances of a long, healthy life," Lang said.Based on the passage, the researchers____________.
| A．collected 13 years of nationwide data |
| B．calculated people's life satisfaction within five years |
| C．interviewed 40,000 people from 18 to 65 years old |
| D．divided the data into four age groups |
According to the study, older people predicted their life satisfaction more accurately because_________.
| A．they demanded less materially |
| B．they were more satisfied with their lives |
| C．they had a deeper insight into life |
| D．their outlook on the future was more realistic |
What is Frieder Lang's attitude towards the results of the study?
| A．Critical. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Astonished. | D．Objective |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The researchers only took age into consideration. |
| B．Being pessimistic leads to a greater risk of disability and death. |
| C．The findings could help people to live a healthy life. |
| D．Most participants had overestimated their future life satisfaction. |
The passage most probably appears in the __________ section of a website.
| A．health and fitness | B．arts and life |
| C．public education | D．psychology help center |
On February 3, a Laysan albatross(信天翁), a large seabird, named Wisdom, which is 62 years old, hatched a healthy chick on a Pacific island near Hawaii,. It was the sixth year in a row this bird has hatched a chick. Wisdom’s species normally lives only 12 to 40 years, while she is able to hatch healthy chicks into her 60s.
At breeding time, the Laysan albatross will dig out a shallow nest in the ground. The female then lays a single egg. Both she and her mate will take turns incubating (孵) the egg until it hatches. More than seven out of every 10 Laysan albatrosses’ nests are on just one island -Midway Atoll. That’s Wisdom’s home.
But her species spends most of its time in the air. In fact, biologists observe that after learning to fly, these birds may not set foot on land for the next three to five years.
Albatrosses are powerful gliders (滑翔者), With their six-foot, nearly two-meter, wingspan, Laysan albatrosses can ride wind currents for hundreds of miles or more. Biologists now estimate that Wisdom has flown for an unusually large number of miles-between two million and three million. That is equivalent to traveling from Earth to the moon and back-four to six times! And in the months when these birds are not breeding, they stay in the air, and even sleep there.
Wild albatrosses often die long before they come close to Wisdom’s age. Some are eaten. Others starve, get sick or suffer life-threatening injuries from people’s fishing boats. Clearly, Wisdom is special. She may have raised as many as 35 chicks in her life.Which of the following is TRUE about albatrosses?
| A．The females are responsible for hatching the eggs. |
| B．They can fly hundreds of miles or more in the wind. |
| C．The females usually lay several eggs at a time. |
| D．Most of them normally live more than 40 years. |
What makes Wisdom so special?
| A．She spends most of its time in the air. |
| B．She has lived more than 100 years. |
| C．She hatched a healthy chick in her 60s. |
| D．She hasn’t set foot on land for three to five years. |
What is the main idea of Paragraph 2?
| A．Where Laysan albatrosses live. |
| B．How albatrosses produce babies. |
| C．How albatrosses make their nests. |
| D．Why Wisdom can give birth to babies in her 60s. |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．Wisdom has outlived her species by at least two decades. |
| B．Most albatrosses sleep and breed on Midway Atoll. |
| C．Wisdom gives birth to babies every six years. |
| D．Albatrosses build their big nests on trees. |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Albatrosses-Powerful Gliders. |
| B．Laysan Albatrosses’ Paradise-Midway Atoll. |
| C．Endangered Birds-Laysan Albatrosses. |
| D．The Oldest Mother Bird-Wisdom. |
Lavender (薰衣草) is a beautiful yet tough plant that grows in heat and dust. It has narrow, hairy leaves and a plentiful supply of oils to protect it from drying out. It has been cherished by all cultures alike, not only for its fine smell but also its valuable medicinal properties (特性) , since 3000 B.C.
Lavenders are a small plant group containing about 50 different species Today, "true" lavender can be found growing wild in Italy, France, on the eastern coast of Spain and right into North Africa. It is also commonly found in cultivated form throughout the rest of Europe, as well as in India, China, Australia, the U.S.A. and other countries. Most lavender is cultivated at the latitudes of 40-45 degrees north and south of the equator.
Lavenders is popular in part because it is so useful.
Its essential oil is a very safe oil which can be used for first-aid as well as for a wide variety of common problems such as skin complaints, muscular pain and childhood illnesses. It is recognized for its antiseptic(防腐的)qualities, its ability to drive insects away, and its usefulness in washing. It is also one of the most popular oils for cosmetics(化妆品)and perfumes.
Lavender is also known for flavouring teas, cocktails, desserts and cakes, and is often added to salt and pepper to create the very famous Herbes de Provence (普罗旺斯香草) spice mixture. Its colour and smell have also made lavender a garden favourite for centuries, Finally, dried lavender has long been used as a spice to scent homes and closets.Which of the following about lavender does the text NOT mention?
| A．its disadvantages |
| B．its characteristics. |
| C．its uses |
| D．its growing environment |
We learn from the text that lavender ___________.
A. has broad leaves
B. had been used as medicine since 3000 BC.
C. likes growing in humid places
D. includes over one hundred speciesThe second paragraph is mainly about __________.
| A．where to find wild lavender |
| B．the places where lavender grows |
| C．the origins of lavender |
| D．how to plant lavender |
Which of the following is NOT true, according to the text?
| A．Lavender grow along the equator. |
| B．Wild lavender can be found in North Africa. |
| C．Lavender’s oil is used in cosmetics. |
| D．Lavender’s oil can be used to protect the skin. |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the last paragraph?
| A．Lavender is a popular garden plant. |
| B．Lavender is used as a spice |
| C．Lavender is a popular perfume |
| D．Lavender is used as flavouring in cooking. |
Jason sat on his couch as he normally did, not knowing that his life would change on that beautiful autumn day. As he left his house, he thought of everything that he needed to buy, made a list, and then got into his car. As he began to drive, his mind came to the fight that he had with his girlfriend. When he finally began to focus back on his driving, it was just a moment too late. He had hit a car and there was no way to stop what happened next.
The smell of gasoline filled the air, and he knew that he needed to get out of the car. Strong arms began to pull him out and he saw a woman who was screaming. A stranger handed a child to her and the child was injured. Afterwards, they were taken to the hospital.
By chance, he was in a room on the same floor as the mother and child. For the first time in his life, he was truly sorry. He made his way to their room, looked at the upset mother straight in the eye and said simply, "Please forgive me and I didn’t mean for this to happen." The woman stood there, completely shocked, and said, "It took a lot of courage for you to ask for forgiveness, and my daughter is always saying to me to just forgive and forget. I will give you forgiveness."
Jason began to cry, and not knowing what to do, he threw his arms around the mother of the injured girl and told her that he would do anything they needed. To make it easier for him, the woman told him her and her daughter’s names. Then they sat there and talked for hours, watching her daughter sleep. They are now friends and are enjoying the wonderful friendship, all because of forgiveness.Jason hit a car because ___________.
| A．he had just started to learn driving |
| B．the brakes of his car weren’t working properly |
| C．he was absent-minded while driving |
| D．he was fighting with his girlfriend |
When Jason asked for forgiveness, what kind of feeling did the woman have?
| A．Surprised. | B．Ashamed. |
| C．Regretful. | D．Hopeless. |
What is the main idea of Paragraph 3?
| A．The woman was sorry for he daughter in the hospital. |
| B．Jason learned how to forgive from the woman. |
| C．Jason apologized to the woman and got forgiveness. |
| D．Jason went to hospital to seek advice from doctors. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Jason bought a car for his girlfriend. |
| B．Jason was going to buy something just before the accident. |
| C．The woman helped Jason to get out of the car. |
| D．The woman persuaded her daughter to forgive Jason. |
What does the author try to tell us?
| A．to forgive is to set yourself free. |
| B．Forgiving doesn’t mean forgetting. |
| C．Love is the source of forgiveness. |
| D．Forgiveness benefits both those who give and receive. |