A new study has found that the best way to make yourself feel happier is to think of something good that happened to you the day before.
Volunteers who were asked to remember a pleasant event from past 24 hours began to feel happier right away. Other activities such as saying “Thank you” and smiling also made volunteers feel happier, but not as much.
Professor Richard Wiseman of Hertfordshire University planned the study. He got 26,000 people to go online to try out a few different activities to make them feel happier. They were told to be nice, remember a pleasant event from the day before, give thanks or smile for 15 seconds twice a day. The volunteers did these activities for one week.
The result showed that thinking about one good thing that had happened the day before worked the best for making people happier. The text may probably be taken from _____.
| A．a personal anecdote(轶事) | B．sports news |
| C．a history novel | D．brief news |
Volunteers who _____ began to feel happier right away.
| A．thought of something good that happened the day before |
| B．were asked to remember a pleasant event from the past 24 hours |
| C．did other activities like saying “thank you” and smiling |
| D．went online to try out a few different activities |
From the text we know that Richard Wiseman is a(an) _____.
| A．worker | B．artist | C．professor | D．director |
The volunteers gave thanks or smile _____ a week.
| A．15 seconds | B．3.5 seconds | C．15 minutes | D．3.5 minutes |
Homestay UK/Great Britain
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Chika and Tara from London, the United Kingdom
Information about the homestay host
Chika is 28 years old. She is away from home most of the time. Tara is 18 years old. She is at home every day. They both speak English.
Chika and Tara’s guests can stay for at least 5 nights and up to a maximum of 365 nights. Chika and Tara have no children living at home. It is a non-smoking residence(住宅). No pets live in this household.
Information about the homestay accommodation
The accommodation is in London. The name of the neighborhood is Greenwich. The distance to the city center is 1.6km. The next access point to public transport is at 15 m distance.
Three guests can stay in Tara and Chika’s house at the same time. The following accommodation is generally available:
Single room with shared use of the family bathroom
*Size: 12.0 ㎡
*Facilities: desk, Internet access, mirror, hairdryer and wardrobe(衣橱)
*Price per night per person: ￡20.00 per night(one single)
Twin room with shared use of the family bathroom
*Size: 15.0 ㎡
*Facilities: TV, desk, Internet access, mirror, hairdryer and wordrobe
*Price per night per person:
￡20.00 per night(one guest)
￡17.00 per night(two guests)
The room charge includes the following services: Internet access, regular room cleaning, breakfast, free use of the washing machine.
Additional available service at an extra charge: Pick-up service(￡60.00 one-way); Lunch(￡6.00 per person per day); Dinner(￡6.00 per person per night)
Vegetarian(素食的) meals are available.Chika and Tara’s house would be a good choice for _______.
| A．a pet lover | B．a heavy smoker |
| C．a person who eats no meat | D．one who needs a one-night stay |
What do we know about Chika and Tara’s house?
| A．It lies in the center of the city. |
| B．It is not far away from Greenwich. |
| C．Public transport is convenient there. |
| D．The distance from the house to London is 1.6 km. |
If Mary chooses a twin room and pick-up service(two-way), how much should she pay per day?
| A．￡140. | B．￡137. | C．￡80. | D．￡77 |
When Armida Armato’s daughter, Alexia, came home from school one day last year keen to go on a school trip to Ecuador, she wasn’t too sure how to feel. She was happy that her daughter could experience something she never did as a teen but was fearful of letting her travel to such a remote part of the world.
Alexia was 16 at the time, a student at Westwood High School. The school sponsored a humanitarian trip for 26 students and two teachers to spend 18 days living in a mountain village to build a one-room school. Even though Armato trusted her daughter, the other students and the teachers, she was worried about the side effects from the travel vaccines, possible accidents, and medical care.
Now that Alexia was home, Armato said she saw her daughter’s new maturity, greater confidence and independence. “This is the best thing I ever did,” Alexia said. “The experience was so eye-opening and life-changing. You’re with people who are not as lucky as you are. They live in very poor conditions but they’re so happy and outgoing. You say, ‘My God. I’m taking everything for granted back home.’”
She said they built a one-room school from scratch with no mechanical cement mixers. They used their hands, shovels and basic tools. She and another student lived with a local family in a small village about eight hours outside the capital, Quito. Despite the initial strangeness and knowing only basic Spanish, she said they grew very close and felt like a family.
Every year, groups of students at Montreal High School like Alexia pack their bags and fly off with classmates and teachers to developing countries where they volunteer for a variety of projects.
“Armato’s worries are very common among parents,” says Bill Nevin, a teacher at St. George’s High School. He organizes a humanitarian rip to India to the Sheela Bal Bhavan orphanage and says the three biggest fears families have are health, security and contact.When hearing the news that her daughter would go on a school trip to Ecuador, Armato was _______.
| A．proud and happy | B．supportive but concerned |
| C．fearful and nervous | D．excited but puzzled |
The underlined phrase “from scratch” in Paragraph 4 probably means “______”.
| A．having great help | B．using high technology |
| C．ending up in failure | D．starting from the beginning |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Volunteering helps students grow and develop. |
| B．School trips make parents worried about their children. |
| C．Ecuador is the most attractive travel destination in the world. |
| D．Brave Alexia dreams to work in Ecuador one day. |
The color red often means danger --- and by paying attention, accidents can be prevented. At railroad crossings, flashing red fights warn cars to stay back. A red light at a traffic crossing tells cars to stop, so they don't run into other cars.
In the future, the color red also may help prevent danger at construction sites. Thanks to new work by engineers, bridge supports --- or other kinds of materials --- could one day contain a color-changing material. It will turn red before a structure collapses(倒塌) or falls apart.
The secret behind the color-changing material is a particular type of molecule(分子). Molecules come in all shapes and sizes, and make up everything you can see, touch or feel. How a molecule behaves depends on what kinds of atoms(原子) it contains, and how they're held together.
To get a rough picture of one way atoms are held together in a molecule, imagine you and your friends standing in a large circle, holding hands. Each person represents one atom, your clasped hands represent the bond, and the entire circle represents a molecule.
The molecule being used to turn the material red is called mechanophore(机械响应性聚合物). When one chemical bond in the mechanophore molecule breaks, the rest of the molecule turns red.
There is a way to get rid of~ the red color: light. When a bright light is shone on the mechanophore, the broken bond is fixed and the red color disappears. This "self-healing" may be a problem for engineers who want to use the color-changer in big construction projects that will be outside, in the sunlight. And if bright light keeps the red color from appearing, then the mechanophore's warning system will be useless.
Scientists still have a lot of work to do before the color-changing molecules can be used outside the lab. If mechanophore can be used in the real world, they are suggested to be employed in a new kind of paint.The first paragraph mainly tells us __________.
| A．the color red is widely used in our life |
| B．how to prevent car accidents |
| C．the color is an important signal of warning |
| D．how to use color red |
The color red will be used at construction sites to _________.
| A．tell different materials used in the building |
| B．warn people that the building is dangerous |
| C．make the building more beautiful |
| D．tell people the building is under construction |
The example given in the fourth paragraph is to show _________.
| A．the way atoms are held together in a molecule |
| B．how a molecule behaves in an object |
| C．how to play an old game |
| D．how people get along with each other |
What can make the mechanophore’s warning system ineffective?
| A．Paints | B．Water | C．Poor building materials | D．The bright light |
Who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years?
Jane Addams (1860 - 1935)
Addams helped the poor and worked for peace. She created shelters, education opportunities and services for people in need. In 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Rachel Carson (1907 - 1964)
Rachel Carson was born in the rural river town of Springdale, Pennsylvania in America. The popular 1962 book “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson made people realize the dangers and the harmful effects of pollution on humans and on the world’s lakes and oceans.
Angela Merkel (1954 - )
In 2005, Germans chose Angela Merkel as their first woman head of the country. She had been a scientist in the past. As Germany’s leader, she has had an effect on the whole world.
Sandra Day O’Connor (1930 - )
When Sandra Day O’ Connor finished her class at Stanford Law School, in 1952, she could not find work because she was a woman. However, she became the first woman to join the U.S. Supreme Court (最高法院) in 1981 after years of hard work.
Margaret Thatcher (1925 - )
In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first woman Prime Minister (首相). She served until 1990, which made her the first British leader to serve three terms in a row. Because of her high standards and strong will, people called her Britain’s Iron Lady.
Marie Curie (1867 - 1934)
Polish-born scientist Marie Curie discovered that some types of metal give off energy called radiation. Her research led to new medical treatments and arms. She received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and in Chemistry in 1911.We can infer from the text that Rachel Carson worked to _____.
| A．help the poor | B．spread geographic knowledge |
| C．protect the environment | D．protect the rights of women |
What do Angela Merkel and Margaret Thatcher have in common?
| A．Both of them were scientists before coming to power. |
| B．Both of them are the first woman head of their country. |
| C．Both of them are famous for being strict. |
| D．Both of them have worked for three terms. |
Who once failed to find a job?
| A．Jane Addams. | B．Sandra Day O’Connor. |
| C．Rachel Carson. | D．Margaret Thatcher. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Great women. | B．Famous scientists. |
| C．Strong leaders. | D．Ways to success for women. |
To many students, high school is just a basic routine. You go to class in the morning, take a break for lunch and go home in the afternoon.
This isn't quite that simple for pupils at Royal West Academy. As if classes and homework weren’t already enough, students are also required to complete a range of extracurricular activities, or ECAs.
The range of ECAs being offered at the school is various, including everything from guitar and jewelry-making clubs, fund-raising marches, to student committees, swimming and tennis.
“I love ECAs. I’m so happy we have them,” said grade 11 student Adrienne, who is a soccer player and member of the graduation committee. “They motivate the students, and they’re a great bonding experience. I think that without them, not half as many students would be joining up for the soccer team.”
Requiring students to complete ECAs is a sign of the times. That’s because young people are preparing for the future in ways that weren’t considered necessary before. This is an era when ECAs are seen as important. Whether it’s for leadership experience, sports, craft skills or volunteer these things are seen as rounding out the individual and improving their future.
ECAs can also help students discover their likes and dislikes. But as the old song says, you can’t always get what you want, especially when so many students are all trying to sign up for the most popular activities.
ECAs can cut into study and homework time if you’re not careful. You really have to get organized or you’ll fall apart.The students at Royal West Academy may do the following ECAs except ______.
| A．to play musical instruments |
| B．to raise money for an organization |
| C．to attend sports events |
| D．to have classes discussions |
From what Adirienne said, we know that _______.
| A．most of his classmates are interested in football |
| B．one can make many new friends in ECAs |
| C．students get encouraged to join in ECAs |
| D．half of his classmates are unwilling to join in ECAs. |
Why are ECAs important now?
| A．They prepare the students for their future. |
| B．They can make students get what they want. |
| C．they can help students find their strong points. |
| D．They can reduce students’ learning time. |
From the last paragraph, we can infer that _______.
| A．ECAs can increase your burden of learning |
| B．you may fall down when playing in ECAs |
| C．too many ECAs may leave you in trouble |
| D．you need to organize other students in ECAs |
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