It was the end of the school term and my son Tom had less than three months left before he would finish his six years at high school. During this time he had developed a love for basketball. Sadly, because of my work over the last twelve months, I had only been able to attend a few of his games; however, I was determined to get to his last game for the school term.
Tom’s team came out in the first 10 minutes with a burst of goals that saw them leading by just over 20 points at the end of the first half. The second half changed as the other team quickly played themselves back into the game. Tom’s team started to miss an increasing number of shots. It was at that point that the coach called his first time out.
The noise of the spectators (观众) became quiet as the coach spoke to them. He had the team standing in a half circle, but he squatted (蹲) down, looking up at them and fiving some very calm and clear instructions on what they needed to do in the last couple of minutes. As he stood up to allow the team to return to the court, I saw him give some further words of encouragement to all of them.
You could see that he knew that the team was fighting to save the game and that he needed to lift them up. By squatting down he placed himself in a position where he was talking up to them, rather than down or at them, and as the players went back onto the court his words of encouragement served to lift their energy and spirits.
Well, Tom’s team went on to win the final by 5 points. As I drove away I thought about what can happen to us all in our everyday life. One of my favourite quotes is about the half filled glass of water --- “Is it half full or is it half empty?” Like the coach, the answer to this quote all depends on how you look at things.Why did the writer e to see his son play basketball?
| A．Because his son would graduate from high school. |
| B．Because he felt sorry for never watching his son play. |
| C．Because it was a final his son played a key role in. |
| D．Because he had a strong interest in basketball himself. |
By squatting down, the coach wanted to _____ .
| A．talk about what the players were doing wrong |
| B．make the players feel better |
| C．prevent spectators from hearing what he said |
| D．show his anger at the bad performance of the players |
What is the writer’s attitude towards the coach?
| A．Negative. | B．Supportive. | C．Interested. | D．Unconcerned. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．A father should care about his son at school. |
| B．Playing hard is rewarded with a close match. |
| C．What a coach says has the most influence on players. |
| D．Looking at things positively is important in hard times. |
May : Happenings from the past
May 5,1884
Isaac Murphy , son of a slave and perhaps the greatest horse rider in American history , rides Buchanan to win his first Kentucky Derby . He becomes the first rider ever to win the race three times .
May 9 , 1754
Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette produces perhaps the first American political cartoon （漫画）, showing a snake cut in pieces, with the words “ Join or Die” printed under the picture.
May 11,1934
The first great dust storm of the Great Plains Dust Bowl , the result of years of drought，blows topsoil all the way to New York City and Washington , D.C. .
May 19, 1994
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis , former first lady and one of the most famous people of the 1960s , died of cancer in New York City at the age of 64 .
May 24, 1844
Samuel F.B. Morsr taps out the first message , “ What Hath God Wrought ,” over the experimental long-distance telegraph line which runs from Washington, D.C. , to Baltimeore , Md .We know from the text that Buchanan is_____________.
| A．Isaac”s father |
| B．a winning horse |
| C．a slave taking care if horses |
| D．the first racing horse in Kentucky |
What is the title of the first American political cartoon ?
| A．Join or Die | B．Pennsylvania Gazette |
| C．What Hath God Wrought | D．Kentucky Derby |
In which year did the former first lady Jacqueline die ?
| A．1934 | B．1960 |
| C．1964 | D．1994 |
Which of the following places has to do with the first telegram in history ?
A. Washington , D. C. B. New York City
C. Kentucky. D. Pennsylvania
Doctors say anger can be an very harmful emotion unless you learn how to deal with it. They warn that angry feelings can lead to heart disease， stomach problems， headaches， emotional problems and possibly cancer.
Anger is a normal emotion that we all feel from time to time. Some people express anger openly in a calm reasonable way. Others burst with anger， losing control of themselves. But other people repress their anger. They cannot or will not express it.
For years many doctors thought that repressing anger was more dangerous to a person’s health than expressing it. They said that when a person is angry， the brain gives off the same hormones（激素）that are produced during tense situations. They speed the heart rate， raise blood pressure， or sugar into the blood and narrow the blood vessels（脉管）to the interstices（空隙）. In general， the person feels excited and ready to act.
Doctors said that repressing these feelings only makes the feelings continue. And this can lead to many medical problems. Doctors thought a person could prevent these problems by letting the anger out by expressing it freely. But recently some doctors held a different view. They said that people who express anger repeatedly and violently did become， in fact， more and not less angry.
They said this，too，can cause medical problems.
Some doctors say that both repressing and expressing anger can be dangerous. They believe that those who express anger violently may be more likely to develop heart disease， and they believe that those who keep their anger inside may face a greater danger of high blood pressure.
Doctors say the solution is learning how to deal with anger. They say the first step is to admit that you are angry and to recognize the real cause of the anger， and then decide if the cause is serious. If it is， they say： “Do not express your anger while angry. Wait until your anger has cooled down and you are able to express yourself calmly and reasonably. ”What does the phrase repress anger mean？
| A．Forget one’s anger. |
| B．Express one’s anger openly. |
| C．Treat one’s anger calmly and reasonably. |
| D．Keep one’s anger inside. |
Repressing anger is considered to be dangerous because of all the following except that _____.
| A．the heart rate increases |
| B．the blood pressure rises |
| C．the blood contains sugar |
| D．some blood vessels become thinner |
When you get angry，which of the following should you do for the good of health？
| A．Repressing the anger. |
| B．Expressing the anger. |
| C．Learning how to make a deal. |
| D．Treating the anger properly. |
What is the central topic of this passage about？
| A．The different ways of dealing with anger. |
| B．The dangers of anger and the solution. |
| C．New medical discoveries. |
| D．The argument between the new and old views about anger. |
People in the United States honor their parents with two special days：Mother‘s Day，on the second Sunday in May，and Father’s Day，on the third Sunday in June.These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents.They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens.They give love and care.These two days offer an opportunity to think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers.More mothers now work outside the home.More fathers must help with child care.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother’s Day people wear carnations（康乃馨）.A red one symbolizes a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery. On these days families get together at home，as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents.These are valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important，but it is “the thought that counts.”Greeting card stores，florists，candy makers，bakeries，telephone companies，and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays.Which is NOT a reason for children to show love and respect for parents？
| A．Parents bring up children |
| B．Parents give love and care to children |
| C．Parents educate children to be good persons |
| D．Parents pass away before children grow up |
What do you know from the passage？
| A．Mother‘s Day and Father’s Day are both in May. |
| B．Fewer women worked outside the home in the past. |
| C．Not all the children respect their parents. |
| D．Fathers are not as important as mothers at home. |
On Mother‘s Day and Father’s Day，____ .
| A．people usually have family parties |
| B．everyone goes to visit the cemetery |
| C．children always go to parents’home |
| D．hand-made cards are the most valuable gifts |
What do you think “florists”do？
| A．They sell flowers. |
| B．They make bread or pastry. |
| C．They offer enough room for having family parties. |
| D．They sell special clothes for Mother‘s Day and Father’s Day. |
Women consistently lie on social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter to make their lives appear more exciting, a survey has found.
Researchers found that at least one in four women exaggerated(夸大) or distorted(扭曲) what they are doing on social media once a month. The survey of 2000 women found they mostly pretended to be out on the town, when in fact they are home alone, and polished an exotic(异国的) holiday or their job.
The most common reasons for women to write “fibs” included worrying their lives would seem “boring”, envy at seeing other people’s more exciting posts and wanting to impress their friends and acquaintances.
Psychologists suggested that as people attempt to “stay connected” on social media, they can in fact “paradoxically(自相矛盾地)” be left “more isolated”. They also said that “the more we try to make our lives seem perfect, the less perfect we feel”.
According to the OnePoll survey, one third of women surveyed admitted to “dishonesty” on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter at some stage.
Almost one in four admitted to lying or exaggerating about key aspects of their life online between one and three times a month while almost one in 10 said they lied more than once a week.
Nearly 30 percent of women lied about “doing something when I am home alone”, almost a quarter overstated their alcohol consumption while one in five were not truthful about their holiday activities or their jobs. Almost one in five women even lied about their “relationship status”.
“We work very hard presenting ourselves to the world online, pretending and attempting to be happy all the time which is exhausting and eventually unfulfilling,” said Dr Michael Sinclair, a leading British consultant psychologist.
“Leaving out the less desirable imperfections of our lives from the conversations with our `friends` online leads to less opportunity to feel empathized with(与…产生共鸣), resulting in a greater sense of disconnection from others.”
The survey was conducted by Pencourage, a new anonymous (匿名的)“diary-style” social media website. Which of the words below is closest in meaning to the underlined word “fibs” in Para 3?
| A．life experiences | B．short stories |
| C．careful thoughts | D．insignificant lies |
A woman tends to tell a lie online when she__________.
| A．hopes to make more friends |
| B．envies other people’s exciting life |
| C．feels lonely at home |
| D．gets tired of the boring life |
A woman might pretend to be happier online than she actually is by __________.
| A．avoiding conversations with friends |
| B．describing her holiday activities |
| C．leaving out the imperfections in life |
| D．overstating her trouble at work |
According to Dr Michael Sinclair, constantly lying online may __________.
| A．eventually make one’s life more exciting |
| B．actually lead to a sense of isolation |
| C．really improve one’s sense of happiness |
| D．scarcely have any influence on relationships |
HANGZHOU, April 4 (Xinhua) —Another H7N9 bird flu case has been confirmed in east China's Zhejiang Province, the provincial health department said Thursday, bringing the country's total number of cases to 10.
The patient is a 64-year-old man from Huzhou City. He became ill on March 29 and was admitted to a hospital in Huzhou on March 31.
On Thursday, medical experts confirmed that he was infected with the H7N9 bird flu strain after the provincial center for disease control and prevention said late Wednesday that he tested positive for the virus.
An investigation has found that all 55 people who had close contact with the man have not showed any abnormal clinical symptoms, the department said.
So far, China has confirmed 10 H7N9 cases — four in Jiangsu Province, two in Shanghai Municipality, one in Anhui Province and three in Zhejiang. The two patients in Shanghai and one in Zhejiang have died.
Health authorities and hospitals in many Chinese provinces have been on high alert for H7N9 cases.
In Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi Province, which neighbors Zhejiang, five hospitals have been selected and ordered to be ready to treat H7N9 patients, though no cases have been reported there.
China's health authorities have promised transparency(透明) and cooperation to the World Health Organization (WHO) in regards to human infections of the new strain of bird flu.
On Wednesday afternoon, the National Health and Family Planning Commission distributed prevention and control plans and technique directives（指示）to health institutions nationwide. "So far, the sources of infection have not been clear, but based on past experiences and recent epidemiological (病理学的) studies, the sources could be poultry or the secretion and excrement from poultry," according to the plan.
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that no human-to-human transmission of H7N9 has been discovered and no epidemiological connection between these cases has been found. What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．China is on high alert for H7N9 cases. |
| B．The 10th H7N9 infection case has been confirmed in China. |
| C．China has promised transparency and cooperation to the WHO. |
| D．China distributed prevention and control plans. |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．Four H7N9 cases have been confirmed in Zhejiang including the old man. |
| B．People who had close contact with the man are infected with bird flu too. |
| C．So far three people have died of H7N9 bird flu. |
| D．China kept back the truth of human infections from the WHO. |
In which province have no H7N9 bird flu cases been reported so far?
| A．Jiangxi. | B．Anhui. |
| C．Zhejiang. | D．Jiangsu. |
We can learn from the passage that ______.
| A．H7N9 bird flu can spread from human to human. |
| B．Poultry are the sources of H7N9 bird flu. |
| C．All the cases confirmed are not connected. |
| D．Experts don’t definitely know the sources of H7N9 bird flu. |