Americans gave nearly $300 billion away last year. Do you know the reason? Beyond the noble goals of helping others, it is that giving will make them happier.
It is a fact that givers are happier people than non-givers. According to the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey, a survey of 30,000 American households, people who give money to charity are 43% more likely than non-givers to say they are “very happy” about their lives. Similarly, volunteers are 42% more likely to be very happy then non-volunteers.
The happiness difference between givers and non-givers is not due to differences in their personal characteristics, such as income or religion. Imagine two people who are identical in terms of income and faith, as well as age, education, politics, sex, and family circumstances, but one donates money and volunteers, while the other does not. The giver will be, on average, over 40 percentage points more likely to be very happy than the non-givers.
A number of studies have researched exactly why charity leads to happiness. The surprising conclusion is that giving affects our brain chemistry. For example, people who give often report feelings of euphoria, which psychologists have referred to as the “Helper’s High”. They believe that charitable activity produces a very mild version of the sensations people get from drugs like morphine and heroin.
Of course, not only does giving increase our happiness, but also our happiness increases the possibility that we will give. Everyone prefers to give more when they are happy. Researchers have investigated this by conducting experiments in which people are asked about their happiness before and after they participate in a charitable activity, such as volunteering to help children or serving meals to the poor. The result is clear that giving has a strong, positive causal impact on our happiness, so does happiness on givingAccording to Paragraph 2. We can learn that .
| A．only those people who gave money to charity will be happy |
| B．more givers say they feel having happy lives than non-givers |
| C．those who donate money are happier than those who volunteer |
| D．42% of the volunteers say they are as happy as the non-volunteers |
What causes the happiness difference?
| A．Income. | B．Faith. |
| C．Education. | D．Donation. |
The underlined word “euphoria” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to .
| A．relaxation | B．uncertainty |
| C．nervousness | D．pleasure |
If a person feels happy, he may .
| A．ask for more donations |
| B．stop charitable activity |
| C．be likely to give more |
| D．cook food for the poor |
Which of the following is the main theme of this passage?
| A．Giving brings happiness. |
| B．Americans love donating. |
| C．The happiness difference. |
| D．Feelings of volunteers. |
Scholars and researchers have tried to discover what personality characteristics go along with success in intercultural(跨文化的)experiences. Their findings have often been unclear or incomplete. But three characteristics stand out in their reports: patience, a sense of humor, and the awareness (意识, 认识)of being unclear.
Patience, of course, is the ability to keep calm even when things do not go as one wants them to, or hopes they will, or has even been sure they will. Impatience sometimes brings improvements in relations with other people, but usually it does not.
A person with a sense of humor is less likely to take things too seriously and more ready to see the humor in his own reactions than a humorless person. The value of a sense of humor really needs to be paid more attention to.
The awareness of being unclear is a more difficult concept than patience or a sense of
humor. Foreigners often find themselves in situations that are unclear to the newcomers. That is, they do not know what is happening in the situation. Perhaps they do not understand the local language well enough, or they do not know how some system or organization works, or they can’t be sure of different people’s roles in what is going on. “It’s like I just got here from the moon,” a Chinese graduate student who newly arrived in the United States said, “things are just so different here.”The passage mainly tells us .
| A. that it’s not easy to travel abroad |
| B. that humor is very important in communication |
| C. of some characteristics in dealing with foreigners |
| D. of three main ways useful for communicating with foreigners |
According to the passage, what characteristic should be most focused on?
| A. Patience. |
B. The awareness of being unclear. |
| C. The sense of humor. |
D. Understanding each other. |
“The awareness of being unclear” refers to .
| A. knowing the meaning of an exact situation |
| B. not stating clearly what happens |
| C. realizing the possible misunderstanding in a situation |
| D. being aware of the unclear situation |
According to the writer, the Chinese students are .
| A. a hard-working student |
B. recently back from the moon |
| C. interested in the study of moon |
D. not used to the culture in America |
Which of the following can best sum up the passage?
| A. A. It is necessary to learn the language before you go to the country. |
| B. Americans are used to the culture of other countries. |
| C. One needs many characteristics to live in a foreign country. |
| D. To live in a foreign land one should get fully prepared. |
We were standing at the top of a church tower. My father had brought m
e to this spot in a small town not far from our home in Rome. I wondered why.
“Look down, Elsa,” father said. I gathered all my courage and looked down. I saw the square in the center of the village. And I saw the crisscross (十字形) of twisting, turning streets leading to the square. “See, my dear,” father said gently. “There is more than one way to the square. Life is like that. If you can’t get to the place where you want to go by one road, try another.”
Now I understood why I was there. Earlier that day I had begged my mother to do something about the awful lunches that were served at school. But she refused because she could not believe the lunches were as bad as I said.
When I turned to father for help, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson. By the time we reached home, I had a plan.
At school the next day, I secretly poured my luncheon（午餐）soup into a bottle and brought it home. Then I asked our cook to serve it to mother at dinner. The plan worked perfectly. She swallowed one spoonful and sputtered（喷溅出）“ The cook must have gone mad！” Quickly I told her what I had done, and Mother stated firmly that she would take up the matter of lunches at school the next day!
In the years that followed I often remembered the lesson father taught me. I began to work as a fashion designer two years ago. I wouldn’t stop working until I tried every possible means to my goal. Father’s wise words always remind me that there is more than one way to the square.The author’s father took her to the top of a church tower to ____________.
| A. enjoy the beautiful scenery of the whole town |
| B. find out how many ways lead to the square |
| C. inspire her to find out another way to solve her problem |
| D. help her forget some unpleasant things earlier that day |
What did the author want her mother to do earlier that day?.
| A. Do something delicious for lunch. |
| B. Taste her awful lunch. |
| C. Dismiss the mad cook. |
| D. Speak to the school about lunch. |
The underlined sentence in the fifth paragraph suggests that__________________.
| A. the cook agreed to serve the soup to the writer’s mother. |
| B. the author’s mother was angry with the cook. |
| C. her father persuaded her mother successfully. |
| D. the method the author thought of was effective. |
What did the author’s mother think of her luncheon soup after she tasted it?
| A. It was delicious. |
B. It wasn’t so bad as the author said. |
| C. It is terrible.. |
D. It was as good as her cook did. |
By sharing her own experiences, the author tries to tell us ____________.
| A. when one road is blocked, try another |
| B. how bad the lunch of her school is |
| C. how wise her father is |
| D. about the church tower near her home |
Tokyo is one of those places that you can love and hate at the same time. In Tokyo there are always too many people in the places where I want to go. Of course there are too many cars. The Japanese drive very fast, but in Tokyo they often spend a long time in traffic jams. Tokyo is not different from London, Paris and New York in that, it is different when one wants to walk.
At certain times of the day there are a lot of people on foot in London's Oxford Street. But the streets near the Ginze in Tokyo always have a lot of people on foot, and sometimes it is really difficult to walk. People are very polite; there are just too many of them.
The worst time to be in the street is at 11:30 at night. That is when the night-clubs are closing and every-body wants to go home. There are 35,000 night-clubs in Tokyo, and you do not often see one that is empty(空的).
During the day, most people travel to and from work by train. Tokyo people buy six million train tickets every day. At most stations, trains arrive every two or three minutes, but at certain hours there do not seem to be enough trains. Although they are usually crowded, Japanese trains are very good. They always leave and arrive on time.
In Tokyo, I stood outside the station for five minutes. Three fire-engines raced past on the way to one of the many fires that Tokyo has every day. Tokyo has so many surprises that none of them can really surprise me now. Tokyo is different from London in that ______________.
| A．it has a larger population | B．there are more traffic jams |
| C．night clubs are sometimes empty | D．it is more difficult to go somewhere on foot |
Fires break out___________ in Tokyo according to the writer.
| A．not very often | B．only several times a day |
| C．quite often | D．very seldom |
Which of the following is NOT true about Tokyo?
| A．The streets become more crowded at 11:30 at night. |
| B．There are more trains than cars. |
| C．Fire-engines are very busy in the city. |
| D．Tokyo people are friendly. |
The Internet has got into all the fields of our life. We can study and work on it. We can find a job on it. We can communicate on it. We can treat friends on it. We can buy and sell on it. We can do almost everything on the Internet, and almost anywhere, anytime.
However, although the Internet provides services for us, it is silently getting our privacy(隐私) to some degree. The services on most websites require our personal information. If we want to enjoy these services, we have to provide much of our information, including our names, sex, addresses, telephone numbers and sometimes bank accounts(帐户). Because weak network sometimes is unsafe, our information might be open, stolen or sold. Even sometimes it will be used freely by others.
Considering（考虑到...） the above mentioned, you must pay attention to the safety when using the Internet. First, when you need Internet service, you should always look through those big legal(合法的) websites. Second, if the service requires important personal information, you should think twice before you type it in. Third, store your own important card key(电子钥匙) and don’t tell others easily.According to the passage, we shouldn’t ______by using the Internet.
| A．learn English | B．give our friends’ information to others |
| C．chat with friends | D．look for jobs |
The underlined word “it” refers to ______.
| A．the telephone number | B．the name | C．the information | D．the bank account |
Which of the following ways is correct to protect our information on the Internet?
a. Surf the safe Web . b. Think over and over before typing it in.
c. Don’t chat with friends on line d. Don’t use your key easily.
| A．a,b,c. | B．b,c,d. | C．a,b,d. | D．a,c,d. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Don’t believe others if you don’t know them. |
| B．Remember never use the ID card on the Internet. |
| C．Never use the Internet in the future. |
| D．From now on, we must pay attention to the safety of the information on line. |
Maybe you know some well-known buildings, such as the Great Wall, the Great Hall of the People, the Leaning Tower of Pisa. But do you know the Royal Academy of Arts (皇家艺术学院)?
Lying in the heart of London, the Royal Academy of Arts is an independent fine arts institution (机构) which supports modem artists and promotes interest in the arts through all kinds of exhibition programs. The Academy is completely independent. It is a self-funded (自筹资金的), organization which is governed by the Royal Academicians—eminent practicing, painters, printmakers, sculptors and architects who are elected to the position. The Academy has a long history and was founded in 1768 with Sir Joshua Reynolds as its first President. The Academy lies in Burlington House which itself has a long colorful history with parts of the original structure dating back to1664. Today, the Academy attracts over one million visitors each year, making it one of London’s top 10 attractions for paying visitors.
Air: London’s City Airport. Gatwick Airport, Heathrow Airport, Luton Airport and Stansted Airport.
Rail: Underground: Piccadilly and Green Park or a short walk from Oxford Circus and Bond Street.
Road: Bus: Public services.
Contact Addresses:
Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London WIJ OBD
Telephone: 020 7300 8000
Website: www.royalacademy.org.ukWhich of the following is TRUE about the Academy of Art?
| A．It dates back to 1664. |
| B．You can’t get there by underground. |
| C．It is one of London’s top 10 attractions. |
| D．It is much older than Burlington House. |
You can contact the Academy of Arts by all the following EXCEPT________________.
| A． writing a letter | B．sending an e-mail |
| C．visiting the website | D．making a call |
The main purpose of this passage is to_______________________.
| A．attract more visitors to the Royal Academy of Arts |
| B．introduce the well-known building of England |
| C．show the long history of England |
| D．introduce the arts of England |