Science can't explain the power of pets, but many studies have shown that the company of pets can help lower blood pressure (血压) and raise chances of recovering from a heart attack, reduce loneliness and spread all-round good cheer.
Any owner will tell you how much joy a pet brings. For some, an animal provides more comfort than a husband/wife. A 2002 study by Karen Allen of the State University of New York measured stress (紧张) levels and blood pressure in people— half of them pet owners —while they performed 5 minutes of mental arithmetic (算术) or held a hand in ice water. Subjects completed the tasks alone, with a husband/wife, a close friend or with a pet. People with pets did it best. Those tested with their animal friends had smaller change in blood pressure and returned most quickly to baseline heart rates. With pets in the room, people also made fewer math mistakes than when doing in front of other companions. It seems people feel more relaxed (放松)around pets, says Allen, who thinks it may be because pets don't judge.
A study reported last fall suggests that having a pet dog not only raises your spirits but may also have an effect on your eating habits. Researchers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital spent a year studying 36 fat people and their equally fat dogs on diet-and-exercise programs; a separate group of 56 people without pets were put on a diet program. On average, people lost about 11 pounds, or 5% of their body weight. Their dogs did even better, losing an average of 12 pounds, more than 15% of their body weight. Dog owners didn't lose any more weight than those without dogs but, say researchers, got more exercise overall-mostly with their dogs - and found it worth doing.What does the text mainly discuss?
| A．What pets bring to their owners. | B．How pets help people calm down. |
| C．People's opinions of keeping pets. | D．Pet's value in medical research. |
We learn from the text that a person with heart disease has a better chance of getting well if_________ .
| A．he has a pet companion | B．he has less stress of work |
| C．he often does mental arithmetic | D．he is taken care of by his family |
According to Allen, why did the people do better with pets around when facing stressful tasks?
| A．They have lower blood pressure. | B．They become more patient. |
| C．They are less nervous. | D．They are in higher spirits. |
The research mentioned in the last paragraph reports that________ .
| A．people with dogs did more exercise |
| B．dogs lost the same weight as people did |
| C．dogs liked exercise much more than people did |
| D．people without dogs found the program unhelpful |
| California Driver’s License Name: Michael T Wright Date of Birth: 23-10-1975 Number: B395961136 Expires: 29-09-2020 Height: 6’1’’ Sex: M |
University of Texas ID: Student 9196381167 Department: Physics Name: Phyllis Roth Expires: 30-03-2014 |
| European Identification Card 1. Name: Mary H. Strenton 2. Place of Birth: United Kingdom 3. Date of birth: 05 December, 1965 4. Signature: Mary H. Strenton 5. ID Number: 9372874918 |
Health Insurance Card Name: Bob Harris Place of Birth: Toronto, Canada Date of Birth: 12 April, 1945 Address: 35 Walnut Drive Toronto, Ontario M3V 2A5 Health ID Number: 35388995 Date of Issue: 01 September, 2003 |
Michael’s license number is _________.
| A．B395961136 | B．9372874918 |
| C．35388995 | D．9196381167 |
Mary H. Strenton is from __________.
| A．America | B．The UK | C．Canada | D．Paris |
________was born on 12 April, 1945.
| A．Michael | B．Mary | C．Phyllis | D．Bob |
Which card shows the card’s date of issue?
| A．The student Card of University of Texas. |
| B．The California Driver’s License. |
| C．The European Identification Card. |
| D．The Health Insurance Card. |
It was a sunny winter day. I had gone down the tower when a blind man came toward me. He kept close to the wall, touching it lightly with his arm. I stood still and looked at him walking toward the tower.
"What does a blind man want to climb up the tower for?" I wondered, "Not the view (景色) certainly, perhaps he wants to jump. "Thinking of this terrible reason, I thought I should follow him.
He went up slowly and stopped from time to time. I followed him a few steps behind. When he got to the first corner of the bell tower, I came close to him. "Excuse me," I said as politely as I could, "but I wonder why you came up."
"You'd never guess." he said.
"Not the view or the fresh air on this winter day?"
"No." he said.
"Tell me, then."
He smiled, "Perhaps climbing up the tower. You have noticed - and yet, not being blind, perhaps you won't - how the sun shines into the tower through the windows here and there, so that one can feel the cool steps suddenly become quite warm, even in winter. But behind the wall there is shade (阴影). There is no place so good as this for feeling the difference between light and darkness. Though I'm blind, I also want to feel the happiness brought by the sunlight. In fact, it isn't my first time to be here." He said and seemed as pleased as a child.
I had never thought that even a blind man could have his way to enjoy the beautiful life. But we often paid no attention to its value because we never lost it.
We went down the tower together and I left him. From then on, I began to treasure what life has given me.The winter met the blind man on .
| A．a sunny winter day | B．a rainy winter day |
| C．a sunny summer day | D．a rainy summer day |
The writer thought the blind man wanted to .
| A．see the view | B．breathe the fresh air |
| C．warm himself | D．jump off the tower |
What did the writer learn from the blind man?
| A．To take exercise | B．To feel happiness |
| C．To enjoy sunlight | D．To treasure life |
Going green seems to be fad(时尚)for a lot of people these days. Whether that is good or bad, we can’t really say, but for the two of us, going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.
On April22, 2011, we decided to go green every single day for an entire year. This meant doing 365 different green things, and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond easy things. Rather than recycle and reduce our energy, we had to think of 365 different green things to do and this was no easy task.
With the idea of going green every single day for a year, Our Green Year started. My life and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all the green things that could be done to help the environment. We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.
Over the course of Our Green Year, we completely changed our lifestyle. We now shop at organic(有机的)stores. We consume less meat, choosing green food. We have greatly reduced our buying we don’t need. We have given away half of what we owned through websites. Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice, with no chemical cleaners. We make our own butter, enjoying the smell of home-made fresh bread. In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.
Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year. We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others. We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planet.What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Going Green. | B．Protecting the Planet. |
| C．Keeping Open-Minded | D．Celebrating Our Green Year. |
It was difficult for the couple to live a green life for the whole year because_________.
| A．they were expected to follow the green fad |
| B．they didn’t know how to educate other people |
| C．they were unwilling to reduce their energy |
| D．they needed to perform unusual green tasks |
What did the couple do over the course of Our Green Year?
| A．They tried to get out of their ungreen habits. |
| B．They ignore others’ ungreen behavior. |
| C．They chose better chemical cleaners. |
| D．They sold their home-made food. |
What can we infer form the last paragraph?
| A．The government will give support to the green people. |
| B．The couple may continue their project in the future. |
| C．Some people disagree with the couple’s green ideas. |
| D．Our Green Year is becoming a national campaign. |
Christmas has never looked as beautiful as it is now, when this one-foot-tall mini tree grew from a pothole(坑洼)in the streets of London.
London pothole gardener Steve Wheen , 34 , has created over 150 little gardens so far the smallest one of which is just one-inch-square.
“I really enjoy the reactions of people who come across my work and love them .”said Steve. "London can be so grey, especially at this time of year. When l was thinking about how to brighten it up, gardening came to my mind."
Steve has been pothole gardening for four years, mainly around the streets of London His pothole gardens are made with some plants he chooses from his local garden centre. Each of them usually costs between five and ten pounds. Although they are often temporary to the streets, Steve is sure that they can be in people's mind for a long time, if they are lucky enough to come across these small gardens while they go about their daily lives.
“I'm always surprised when I ask people what they think the message is behind my Work .”he said. "Often they think I'm against or in honor of something. One person even considered that l was marking the places where people had died in car accidents."
“I think in a city like London, where it's easy to feel short of green space, my message can be seen as a green one and that's fine with me. ”he said. "The environment is something we all need to be thinking about more and more. But most importantly, it's all about making people smile and giving them an unexpected moment of happiness.”Which of the following pictures can describe "a pothole garden" best?
Steve thinks the main color of London around Christmas is
| A．white | B．blue | C．grey | D．green |
What does the underlined word "temporary" probably mean?
| A．lasting for a short time. |
| B．beautiful but dangerous |
| C．strange to passers-by |
| D．very expensive |
Steve Wheen makes pothole gardens in London mainly to _____.
| A．be against or in honor of something |
| B．mark the places where car accidents happen |
| C．protect the environment |
| D．make people enjoy more greens |
When asked about happiness, we usually think of something extraordinary, an absolute delight, which seems to get rarer the older we get.
For kids, happiness has a magical quality. Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved (毫无掩饰的).
In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it’s conditional on such things as excitement, love and popularity. I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party.
In adulthood the things that bring deep joy — love, marriage, birth — also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. For adults, happiness is complicated.
My definition of happiness is “the capacity for enjoyment”. The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It’s easy to overlook the pleasure we get from the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, and even good health.
I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch-box and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which I love. When the kids and my husband came home, I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.
Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work. I don’t think that my grandmother, who raised 14 children, had much of either. She did have a network of close friends and family, and maybe this is what satisfied her.
We, however, with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area, have turned happiness into one more thing we’ve got to have. We’re so self-conscious about our “right” to it that it’s making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren’t necessarily happier.
Happiness isn’t about what happens to us — it’s about how we see what happens to us. It’s the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. It’s not wishing for what we don’t have, but enjoying what we do possess.As people grow older, they ___________________.
| A．feel it harder to experience happiness |
| B．associate their happiness less with others |
| C．will take fewer risks in pursuing happiness |
| D．tend to believe responsibility means happiness |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 5 and 6?
| A．She cares little about her own health. |
| B．She enjoys the freedom of traveling. |
| C．She is easily pleased by things in daily life. |
| D．She prefers getting pleasure from housework. |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 7?
| A．Psychologists think satisfying work is key to happiness. |
| B．Psychologist’ opinion is well proved by Grandma’s case. |
| C．Grandma often found time for social gatherings. |
| D．Grandma’s happiness came from modest expectations of life. |
People who equal happiness with wealth and success______.
| A．consider pressure something blocking their way. |
| B．stress their right to happiness too much. |
| C．are at a loss to make correct choices. |
| D．are more likely to be happy. |
What can be concluded from the passage?
| A．Happiness lies between the positive and the negative. |
| B．Each man is the master of his own fate. |
| C．Success leads to happiness. |
| D．Happy is he who is content. |
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