In February 2006, Lydia Angyiou and her two sons were walking through their village in northern Canada. The sound of children shouting made her turn around. To her horror, Lydia saw a 700-pound polar bear behind her eyeing her seven-year-old son. Getting between the bear and her child, Lydia yelled at the children to run away. She then began hitting and kicking the animal as hard as she could. A neighbor who heard all the noise came and shot the bear. But everyone agreed it was Lydia who had saved her children’s lives. A local policeman described it this way: “… I guess when your back is up against the wall, we come up with super-human strength.”
Where does this “super-human strength”, courage and quick thinking come from? Experts say it comes from stress! In stressful situations, the body releases chemicals that prepare it to take action. These chemicals give people the speed and strength they need to fight danger or run away from it.
When we think of stress, we usually think of its negative effects. Studies, though, show that moderate levels of stress are actually helpful. In fact, the way we perform is usually affected by the amount of stress we feel.
Stress causes the brain to release adrenaline(肾上腺素) which in turn increases our energy and excitement. The chemical gives us clearer minds and helps us to do more. This is why some people say they work better under a deadline.
Adrenaline that is not released for long periods of time can cause us to increase and strengthen our abilities instead of weakening them. We sometimes turn out our very best work when we push ourselves to the limit. Stress can also make us more confident. Handling small amounts of stress now prepares us for handling serious situations in the future. Who knows? Today’s stress may even prepare for the next polar bear that comes along!In the first paragraph, the case of Lydia Angyiou is mentioned to______.
| A．introduce the topic to be followed |
| B．remind us of the unexpected danger of life |
| C．praise Lydia Angyiou for her bravery |
| D．show the importance of super-human strength |
What does the policeman probably mean by saying “your back is up against the wall”?
| A．You are helped. | B．You are inspired. |
| C．You are confident. | D．You are cornered. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Brave Mother |
| B．The Cause of Stress |
| C．The Benefit of Stress |
| D．Super-human Strength |
Mr. Brown worked in a factory of a small town. He had been there for twenty years before one day he was sent to the capital for important business. He was quite excited because he had never been there before. Before he set off, he asked his wife and three daughters if they wanted him to buy something for them in London. Mrs. Brown began to think it over and then she said she wished her husband would be able to buy a nice umbrella for her, and so did their three daughters. As he was afraid he would forget it, he drew an umbrella on his hand. To his regret, he lost it at the station.
On the train Mr. Brown sat opposite to an old woman. The woman’s umbrella was so nice that he carefully looked at it and said to himself not to forget to buy a few umbrellas like it. When the train arrived at the station in London, he said good-bye to the old woman, took his bag and her umbrella and was going to get off.
“Wait a minute, sir,” shouted the old woman. “That’s my umbrella!”
Now Mr. Brown noticed that he had taken her umbrella. His face turned red at once and said in a hurry,“Oh, I’m very sorry, Madam! I didn’t mean it!”
Seven days later Mr. Brown left the capital. To his surprise, he met the old woman and sat opposite to her again. Looking at the four umbrellas, the old woman was satisfied with herself. “It seems that I had a better result than the other four women.” She thought.We can learn from the passage that Mr. Brown was ______.
| A．a conductor | B．a thief | C． a worker | D．an umbrella maker |
The underlined word “it” in the first paragraph refers to ______.
| A．his ticket | B．his drawing | C．his bag | D．his umbrella |
Why did Mr. Brown take the woman’s umbrella?
| A．Because the woman misplaced it beside Mr. Brown. |
| B．Because it was much like his own umbrella. |
| C．Because he thought the woman would not notice it. |
| D．Because he was lost in thought. |
When looking at Mr. Brown with four umbrellas, the woman felt ______.
| A．surprised | B．fortunate | C．angry | D．sad |
How did Mr. Brown get the four umbrellas?
| A．He picked them on the train. |
| B．He bought them in London. |
| C．He brought them from his small town. |
| D．He stole them from four women. |
Christian Eijkman, a Dutch doctor, left the Netherlands for the island of Java. Many people on the island had a disease（疾病） called beri-beri. He was going there to try and find a cure.
At first, Eijkman thought some kind of germ (细菌) caused beri-beri. He raised some chickens. He didn’t eat them, but made experiments on them. The local people were quite surprised at that. One day he noticed that his chickens became sick when they were fed the food most Javanese ate — refined white rice (精炼米). When he fed them with unrefined rice, also known as brown rice, they recovered. Eijkman realized that he had made an important discovery — that some things in food could prevent disease. These things were named vitamins (维生素). The Javanese were not getting enough vitamins because they had actually removed the part that contains vitamins. Later, other diseases were also found to be caused by the lack of vitamins in a person’s food.
Today many people know the importance of vitamins and they make sure they have enough vitamins from the food they eat. If they don’t, they can also take vitamin pills.The underlined word “cure” in Paragraph 1 probably means ______.
| A．a kind of rice | B．a kind of vitamin |
| C．a kind of germ | D．a medical treatment |
Christian Eijkman went to the island of Java to ______.
| A．help the Javanese with their illness |
| B．find ways to grow better crops |
| C．do some research about the island |
| D．spend his holiday |
Why did Christian Eijkman raise some chickens?
| A．To eat them. |
| B．To give the Javanese a surprise. |
| C．To carry out his experiments. |
| D．To make money by selling them. |
If a person doesn’t get enough vitamins in his diet, he’d better ______.
| A．eat vitamin pills | B．eat more meat |
| C．eat some chicken | D．eat more rice |
We can learn from the passage that ______.
| A．beri-beri was caused by chickens |
| B．Christian Eijkman’s experiment was successful |
| C．the Javanese didn’t like vitamins |
| D．the Javanese’s disease was caused by a kind of germ |
When Christopher Columbus landed on the then unnamed Costa Rica in 1502, he saw many Indians wearing gold earrings. So he thought the land must be rich in gold. He named the place Costa Rica, which means “rich coast” in Spanish.
Though little gold was found, Costa Rica today is indeed rich with coffee and bananas. Coffee is the most important product in Costa Rica and most of it is exported (出口) to other countries like America and West Germany. Bananas are the country’s second most important export.
Costa Ricans also grow many other crops such as fruits, corn and beans for their own use. Costa Ricans love colors and their houses are painted in bright colors.
Education is very important to the Costa Ricans. Almost every village has a school and education is a must for children between seven and fourteen years of age. Boys and girls go to separate (单独的) schools. Classes begin in March and end in November. The other three months of the year are harvest time and the children have to help their parents to pick coffee beans. What’s the main idea of the first paragraph?
| A．How Columbus found Costa Rica. |
| B．What the Costa Ricans wore |
| C．How Costa Rica got its name. |
| D．What language the Costa Ricans spoke. |
The Costa Ricans may NOT paint their houses ______.
| A．pink and red | B．blue and green |
| C．grey and black | D．yellow and orange |
In Costa Rica, boys and girls between seven and fourteen ______.
| A．can choose to stop schooling at any time |
| B．study in the same school |
| C．do not have to go to school at all |
| D．must go to school |
From December to February, school children in Costa Rica ______.
| A．have lessons every day |
| B．help their parents pick coffee beans |
| C．have their examinations |
| D．help their parents decorate their houses |
This passage is mainly about ______.
| A．Christopher Columbus | B．some products from Costa Rica |
| C．Costa Rica | D．the education of Costa Rica |
You can’t always predict a heavy rain or remember your umbrella. But designer Mikhail Belvacv doesn’t think that forgetting to check the weather forecast before heading out should result in you getting wet. That’s why he created lampbrella, a lamp post with its own rain sensing umbrella.
The designer says he come up with the idea after watching people get wet on streets in Russia. “once, I was driving on a central Saint Petersburg street and saw the street lamps lighting up people trying to hide from the rain. I thought it would be appropriate to have a canopy(伞蓬)built into a street lamp.” he said.
The lampbrella is a standard-looking street lamp fitted with an umbrella canopy. It has a built-in electric motor which can open or close the umbrella on demand. Sensors(传感器)then ensure that the umbrella offers pedestrians shelter whenever it starts raining.
In addition to the rain sensor, there’s also a 360°motion sensor on the biberglass street lamp which detects whether anyone’s using the lampbrella. After three minutes of not being used the canopy is closed.
According to the designer, the lampbrella would move at a relatively low speed, so as not to cause harm to the pedestrians. Besides, it would be grounded to protect from possible lighting strike. Each lampbrella would offer enough shelter for several people. Being installed at 2 meters off the ground, it would only be a danger for the tallest of pedestrians.
While there are no plans to take lampbrella into production, Belyacv says he recently introduced his creation one Moscow Department, and insists this creation could be installed on many streets where a lot of people walk but there are no canopies to provide shelter. For what purpose did Belyacv create the lampbrella?
| A．To predict a heavy rain |
| B．To check the weather forecast |
| C．To protect people from the rain |
| D．To remind people to take an umbrella |
Which of the following show how the lampbrella works?
| A．motor→canopy→sensors |
| B．sensors→motor→canopy |
| C．motor→sensors→canopy |
| D．canopy→motor→sensors |
What does paragraph 5 mainly tell us about the lampbrella?
| A．Its moving speed | B．Its appearance |
| C．Its installation | D．Its safety |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．The designer will open a company to promote his product. |
| B．The lampbrella could be put into immediate production. |
| C．The designer is confident that his creation is practical. |
| D．The lampbrella would be put on show in Moscow. |
Aquatic Adventures!
Help Us Get Ready for Showtime!
Trainer Program
What does it take to work with seals or sea lions? Find out with Atlantis Marine World’s Trainer Program and go behind the scenes with our Marine Mammal staff and:
﹒Learn how we train our animals and help train our sea lions to learn how to paint
﹒Go into the seal exhibit with trainers
﹒Join in a seal training period - and get to pet and feed one of our harbor seals
﹒Help prepare food for seals
﹒Attend our Sea Lion Show
﹒Get a kiss from sea lion, Java – and take home a photo
Summer Adventure Days – Camp! Atlantis Style!
Our camp program adds interactive excitement to your child’s summer vacation. Children ages 3 to 14 discover the wonders of the sea environment through age – appropriate activities.
Pirate Snorkel Adventure
Yo-ho-ho, this is a whole lot of fun! Join us this summer for our interactive Pirate Snorkel Adventure and help Captain Poseidon locate missing treasure. While searching our lake, don’t miss tropical fish from all around the world. When you’re done, you’ll walk away with some booty （战利品） of your own – a ＄2.00 game card and a pirate eye patch (海盗眼罩) featuring our very own Jolly Poseidon!
Smooth Sailing: Taste Long Island Wine Cruise Now Accepting Reservations!
Experience the magic of Taste Long Island, a Saturday evening wine and cheese cruise aboard the Atlantis Explorer Tour Boat. Featuring local wines, this adventure along the Peconic River is a relaxing way to enjoy both beautiful scenery and fine wines. Guests 21 and older only. Members and Green Key Cardholders enjoy 25％off.The activities in Summer Adventure Days are divided according to _______.
| A．children’s hobby |
| B．children’s age |
| C．the price |
| D．the type of sea animals |
In which activity will you get something as a reward?
| A．Atlantis Marine World’s Trainer Program. |
| B．Summer Adventure Days. |
| C．Pirate Snorkel Adventure. |
| D．Smooth Sailing. |
What is special about Smooth Sailing?
| A．Guests under 21 cannot be accepted. |
| B．It provides famous wines from all over the world. |
| C．Guests usually get a discount. |
| D．It doesn’t accept bookings. |