The power of humor and laugher is numerous. They entertain us and make us feel good. But, above all, we have discovered that humor and laughter are the best medicine. They relieve pain, reduce stress and anxiety, and are anti-aging and longevity facilitators.
They are extremely necessary for helping us to find and maintain a balance between life and work. However, they are slipping away from us. We have become far too serious. The only ones who still enjoy humor, laughter, fun and play to the fullest are young children. Children tend to laugh an average of 200 times a day. For adults, however, it is a totally different story.
In the 1950s people laughed on average 18 times a day. Today, we are lucky if we average between 4-6 times a day.
As a matter of fact, a recent study found that people laugh 6 more times in the presence of one person but 30 more times in a group of people. You can get a chuckle(咯咯笑) from jokes you get on the Internet, but it is not the same as belly jiggling laughter (a deep laugh) you get when you interact with others.
Socializing with friends and relatives was much looked forward to. However, this is no longer the case. In fact, the majority of people can hardly find time, nor do they have the inclination towards socializing outside home. They turn to electronic media such as television, computers, the Internet, videos, CDs, and audio equipment, which can provide them with instant self-entertainment at the push of a button.
The workplace does not fare(进展) much better. Due to the pressures to produce more in the same or fewer hours available and to compete, for example, in a manufacturing field with cheaper labor elsewhere in the world, humor and laughter in the workplace have gradually eroded（逐渐毁坏） away.
I have developed a real appreciation, perhaps closer to a strong desire for the power of humor and laughter. This encouraged me to write my first book titled “The Power of Humor” and subsequently my second book titled “Kids Say the Goggonest Things” based on the natural humor, laughter, play and fun that kids experience and they freely share with parents, grandparents and teachers.
From writing about humor and laughter, people start to ask me to speak up for them. To date, I have developed a number of humor-laughter topics that I use in my keynote presentations. You are invited to subscribe to my free monthly e-magazine “The Humormeister’s Forum” by clicking on the Free Humor E-zine navigation button on the website.According to the author, laughter is leaving us partly because ________.
| A．we fail to maintain balance between life and work |
| B．the pace of change in our lives is becoming faster |
| C．we adults treat everything in a serious way |
| D．we have more pain, stress and anxiety now |
The fourth paragraph mainly tells us that ________.
| A．people laugh more heartily when spending time with others |
| B．getting a deep laugh nowadays is difficult |
| C．we can entertain ourselves with the help of the Internet |
| D．researchers have made a new discovery about the effect of laughter |
The underlined word “inclination” in Paragraph 5 most probably means “________”.
| A．destination | B．approach | C．attitude | D．tendency |
Which of the following articles can we most probably find in “The Humormeister’s Forum”?
| A．The power of honesty. |
| B．Don’t be your own worst enemy. |
| C．Live life purposefully: The relationship within. |
| D．Funny Christmas stories to share with your loved ones. |
Faced with a tough job market, fresh graduates are dreaming of running their own businesses instead. But a recent survey has showed that such ambitions lack the required support and remain just that — dreams.
The Shanghai MunicipalEmployment Promotion Center poll of 1,276 graduates in several universities and colleges in the city, released last Friday, showed 59.78 percent of respondents considered the possibility of setting up a company or at least a small store. "But they just stop at the 'thinking' stage," it stated.
Respondents put the top reasons for not going it alone down to a shortage of investment and a lack of business opportunity. They also listed lack of business experience and social networks, the need for advanced study and objections from family members as factors that stood in their way.
More than 90 percent of the interviewees said they would rather take up a job after graduating and then consider starting their own business two or three years down the road.
Guo Bing, a senior student in Shanghai International Studies University majoring in English, decided he wanted to be his own boss last year. But he is looking for a job first. "If I fail to find a satisfying job, I would like to establish a company in exhibition services," Guo said.
The Shanghai native has some relatives working in a local printing plant. With their help, Guo hopes to produce exhibition brochures at a relatively low price. He is also confident that his English language skills can help him do well in the industry.
"Social networking is an important factor leading to business success," Guo said.
Guo said that the shortage of graduate jobs is the main reason driving more university students to set up a business right after their graduation.
Jiang said the university sets up a business guide team made of government officials and professionals. They regularly give training courses to students who show an interest in having their own business. The parents of university graduates are more willing to help their children start up alone, the survey showed" Once you win the support of your family, you have won half the battle," Guo added.
61. Which of the following can be the best title?
A. A Tough Job Market B. Graduates Who Can Only Dream of Being Boss
C. The Ambitious Fresh Graduates D. The Story of Guo Bing
62. Which of the following does NOT stop fresh graduates realizing their dreams of being bosses?
A. The lack of business opportunity and investment.
B. The shortage of business experience.
C. Less skilled English language.
D. Their family members’ objections.
63. In the view of Guo Bing, what is the key factor that makes fresh graduates dream of being boss soon after graduation?
A. Their family don’t support them.B. Their social networking is not good.
C. There are not enough graduate jobs. D. They want to achieve greater success.
64. Which of the following statements is NOT true about Guo Bing?
A. He has started his own business with the help of his relatives.
B. English is his major in the university.
C. He is trying to find a job which can satisfies him.
D. He is a Shanghai native.
65. Who is this article mostly intended for?
A. The parents whose child graduates from university soon.
B. Those who will graduate from university.
C. Those who want to be bosses.
D. The officials who work in the government.
PART THREE READING COMPREHENSION
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.
Swaying palm trees, turquoise-blue water and sugar-white sand make beach lovers sigh with delight. But not all beaches have those ingredients. The most interesting beaches come in different shapes, sizes and colors.
Those who want beauty and something unique can go to the Seychelles’ La Digue Island. Large granite (花岗岩) rock formations overlook beautiful, white-sand beaches. The pinkish-grey rocks look like sculptures that have been forgotten on the beach. Tourists traveling to La Digue Island to see the unique rocks will also discover one of the world’s most beautiful islands.
Hawaii’s Big Island has one of the rarest beaches of all — a beach made up entirely of green sand. The sand, which is formed by dark green crystals called olivine (橄榄石), is deposited (堆积) by volcanic activity. Green Sand Beach lies on the slopes of the world’s largest active volcano, Mauna Loa.
One of the world’s most unusual beaches lies on the island of Santorini, Greece. The sand on Red Beach gets its reddish color from the red volcanic rocks that make up the cliffs (悬崖) around the beach. Tourists flock (蜂拥) to see the red sand, making Red Beach one of Santorini’s most popular beach destinations.
Black sand makes up the huge beach of Karakare. Through the years, volcanic sand mixed with iron ash to form this black beach on New Zealand’s wild, west coast. With all the beautiful beaches in the world, beach lovers have lots of choices. But for those ready for something different, a unique beach vacation might be just the ticket!
56. What would be the best title of the passage?
A. One of the world’s most unusual beaches B. Beach lovers having more choices
C. A unique beach vacation D. Unique beaches around the world
57. According to the text, ______ would be regarded as the general characteristics of beautiful beaches.
A. swaying palm trees, turquoise-blue water, sugar-while sand
B. rocks, white sand, pinkish-grey rocks, sculptures
C. green sand, slopes of an active volcano
D. black sand, iron ash, wild coast
58. Beaches on the island of Santorini are red because of _______.
A. the cliffs around the beach B. the large granite rocks
C. the red volcanic rocks D. crystals called olivine
59. If you want to see pinkish-grey rocks, then go to _______.
A. Santorini, Greece B. Seychelles’ La Digue Island
C. Hawaii’s Big Island D. New Zealand
60. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Different beaches have different colors.
B. Different places have different beaches.
C. White sand and blue water are the main characteristics of beaches.
D. People have many choices for beach vacations.
Sunday, October 5
Clear, 69°F
My wife, Eleanor, and I took the train from Paris to Strasbourg, where we were met by our driver and guide, and the minibus which goes along with the boat. We stopped off in Barn for an hour on the way. Then we were taken to Nancy where the boat was kept.
After the other passengers arrived, we had our first dinner on the boat. After dinner we walked into downtown Nancy, a village with a large square and wooden houses.
Monday, October 6
Rained last night, cloudy in the morning, 69°F
We spent about two hours in Nancy, then sailed on the Canal de la Marne au Rhine. Kind of a lazy day, eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, after dinner we watched a tape on Baccarat, where we will visit tomorrow.
It was pleasant to sit out on deck（甲板）and watch the scenery go by at about 3 mph.
Tuesday, October 7
Light rain, 64°F
This morning we drove over to Baccarat and toured its museum and the church , which has this unbelievable lamp that is going on a world tour the next day. We did lots of shopping, then walked across the bridge to see a very, very modern Catholic church with special Baccarat windows.
We drove to the top of the Voges Mountains and started down the eastern side. Later we drove to Sorrenbourg to see the 13th century church at the Cordeliers. It contains the largest window by Marc Chagall—24 feet wide by 40 feet high.
Wednesday, October 8
Cloudy, 65 °F
Today we sailed from Schneckenbush to Saverne. We went through two caves, an extremely unusual part of the journey. This river scenery is very different. We were in a mountain valley with grassland on one side and a forest beginning to show some color on the other.
Thursday, October 9
Cloudy, 66°F
Our dependable minibus was waiting to load the luggage and take us to the hotel where everyone went their separate ways. Our boating days are over until next time.
72. Where did the author get off the train?
A. Paris. B. Strasbourg. C. Nancy. D. Barn.
73. On which days did the tourists spend most of their time on the boat?
A. Monday and Tuesday.
B. Tuesday and Wednesday.
C. Wednesday and Thursday.
D. Monday and Wednesday.
74. From the text, we learn that Baccarat and Sorrenbourg are the names of__________.
A. towns B. churches C. museums D. mountains
75. What does the author think of the tour?
A. Tiring. B. Expensive. C. Enjoyable. D. Quick.
Far from the land of Antarctica(南极洲), a huge shelf of ice meets the ocean. At the underside of the shelf there lives a small fish, the Antarctic cod.
For forty years scientists have been curious about that fish. How does it live where most fish would freeze to death? It must have some secret. The Antarctic is not a comfortable place to work and research has been slow. Now it seems we have an answer.
Research was begun by cutting holes in the ice and catching the fish. Scientists studied the fish’s blood and measured its freezing point.
The fish were taken from seawater that had a temperature of -1.88℃ and many tiny pieces of ice floating in it. The blood of the fish did not begin to freeze until its temperature was lowered to -2.05℃. That small difference is enough for the fish to live at the freezing temperature of the ice-salt mixture.
The scientists’ next research job was clear: Find out what in the fish’s blood kept it from freezing. Their search led to some really strange thing made up of a protein(蛋白质) never before seen in the blood of a fish. When it was removed, the blood froze at seawater temperature. When it was put back, the blood again had its antifreeze quality and a lowered freezing point.
Study showed that it is an unusual kind of protein. It has many small sugar molecules(分子) held in special positions within each big protein molecule. Because of its sugar content, it is called a glycoprotein. So it has come to be called the antifreeze fish glycoprotein, or AFGP.
68. What is the text mainly about?
A. The terrible conditions in the Antarctic.
B. A special fish living in freezing waters.
C. The ice shelf around Antarctica.
D. Protection of the Antarctic cod.
69. Why can the Antarctic cod live at the freezing temperature?
A. The seawater has a temperature of -1.88℃.
B. It loves to live in the ice-salt mixture.
C. A special protein keeps it from freezing.
D. Its blood has a temperature lower than -2.05℃.
70. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A. A type of ice-salt mixture. B. A newly found protein.
C. Fish blood. D. Sugar molecule.
71. What does “glycol-” in the underlined word “glycoprotein” in the last paragraph mean?
A. sugar B. ice C. blood D. molecule
It’s not easy being a teenager（13至19岁青少年）—nor is it easy being the parent of a teenager. You can make your child feel angry, hurt, or misunderstood by what you say without realizing it yourself. It is important to give your child the space he needs to grow while gently letting him know that you you’ll still be there for him when he needs you.
Expect a lot from your child, just not everything. Except for health and safety problems, such as drug use or careless driving; consider everything else open to discussion. If your child is unwilling to discuss something, don’t insist he tell you what’s on his mind. The more you insist, the more likely that he’ll clam up. Instead, let him attempt to solve things by himself. At the same time, remind him that you’re always there for him if he seeks advice or help. Show respect for your teenager’s privacy（隐私）. Never read his mail or listen in on personal conversions.
Teach your teenager that the family phone is for the whole family. If your child talks on the family’s telephone for too long, tell him he can talk for 15 minutes, but then he must stay off the phone for at least an equal period of time. This not only frees up the line so that other family members can make and receive calls, but teaches your teenager moderation（节制）. Or if you are open to the idea, allow your teenager his own phone that he pays for with his own pocket money or a part–time job.
64. The main purpose of the text is to tell parents ___________.
A. how to deal with a teenager
B. how to respect a teenager
C. how to understand a teenager
D. how to help a teenager grow up
65. What does the phrase “clam up” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A. become excited B. show respect C. refuse to talk D. seek help
66. The last paragraph is about how to teach a teenager _________.
A. to use the phone in a sensible(明智的) way
B. to pay for his own telephone
C. to share the phone quickly
D. to answer the phone quickly
67. What should parents do in raising a teenager according to the text?
A. Not allow him to learn driving or take drugs.
B. Give him advice only when necessary.
C. Let him have his own telephone.
D. Not talk about personal things with him.