Most young architects—particularly those in big cities—can only dream about working in a building of their own. And making that dream come true often means finding a building no one else seems to want, which is exactly what happened to David Yocum and his partner, Brain Bell. Their building is a former automobile electrical—parts firm in Atlanta. From the outside, it looks too old, even something horrible, but open the door and you are in a wide, open courtyard, lined on three sides with rusting (生锈的) walls.
In 2000, Yocum and Bell found this building in the city’s West End. Built in 1947, the structure had been abandoned (放弃) years earlier and the roof of the main building had fallen down. But the price was right, so Yocum bought it. He spent eight months of his off-hours on demolition (拆除), pulling rubbish out through the roof, because it was too dangerous to go inside the building, The demolition was hard work, but it gave him time to think about what he wanted to do, and “to treasure what was there—the walls, the rust, the light,” Yocum said. “Every season, more paint falls off the walls and more rust develops. It’s like an art installation (装置) in there—a slow-motion show.”
Since the back building had been constructed without windows, an all-glass front was added to the building to give it a view of the courtyard, and skylights were installed in the roof. The back of the building is a working area and a living room for Yocum and his wife. A sort of buffer (缓冲) zone between the front and the back contains a bathroom, a kitchen and a mechanical (机械的) room, and the walls that separate these zones have openings that allow views through to the front of the studio and the courtyard beyond.
Yocum and Bell, who have just completed an art gallery for the city, feel that the experience from the decoration of their building, focusing on the inside rather than the outside, has influenced their work. It has also given these architects a chance to show how they can make more out of less.According to the passage, it is for most young architects in big cities to work in a building of their own.
| A．easy | B．unnecessary |
| C．unrealistic | D．common |
Working on the old building, Yocum and Bell .
| A．pulled rubbish out through the roof |
| B．removed the skylights from the bathroom |
| C．presented a slow–motion show in an art gallery |
| D．built a kitchen at the back part of the old building |
It can be inferred from the passage that Yocum and Bell .
| A．benefited a lot from pulling down the roof |
| B．turned more old buildings into art galleries |
| C．got inspiration from decorating their old building |
| D．paid more attention to the outside of the gallery |
The main idea of the passage is that .
| A．people can learn a lot from their failures |
| B．it is worthwhile to spend money on an old building |
| C．people should not judge things by their appearance |
| D．creative people can make the best of what they have |
Staying positive through the cold season could be your best defense against getting ill, new study findings suggest.
In an experiment that exposed healthy volunteers to a cold or flu virus, researchers found that people with a generally sunny character were less likely to fall ill. The findings, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, build on evidence that a “positive emotional style” can help to protect us from suffering the common cold and other illnesses.
Researchers believe the reasons may be both objective — as in happiness improving immune function — and subjective — as in happy people being less troubled by a sore throat or runny nose. “People with a positive emotional style may have different immune responses to the virus,” explained lead study author Dr Sheldon Cohen of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. “And when they do get a cold, they may interpret their illness as being less severe.”
Cohen and his colleagues had found in a previous study that happier people seemed less likely to catch a cold, but some questions remained as to whether the emotional style itself had the effect.
For the new study, the researchers had 193 healthy adults complete standard measures of personality characteristics, self-felt health and emotional style. Those who had a tendency to be happy, energetic and easy-going were judged as having a positive emotional style, while those who were often unhappy, tense and aggressive had a negative style.
The researchers gave them nasal (鼻腔的) drops containing either a cold virus or a particular flu virus. Over the next six days, the volunteers reported on any aches, pains or sneezing they had, while the researchers collected objective data. Cohen and his colleagues found that based on objective measures of nasal troubles, happy people were less likely to develop a cold. Which is the best title for the passage? ______
| A．Stay Away from Being Negative |
| B．Positive or Negative？It’s Up to You. |
| C．Emotional Style and Flu. |
| D．Optimistic People Likely to Keep Diseases Away. |
According to Dr Cohen’s research, the reason why some people are unlikely to catch a cold may be that ______.
| A．their cheerful mood benefits the immune system |
| B．they have developed a certain way against flu virus |
| C．they are less likely to have a sore throat and runny nose |
| D．they have got a stronger self-confidence in their health |
The research is done by ______.
| A．getting volunteers in one emotional group and analyzing them |
| B．conducting a medical experiment on volunteers of different emotional styles |
| C．collecting and analyzing volunteers’ objective nasal production data |
| D．having volunteers answer questions on personality, health and emotions |
In Washington D.C., 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is a very special address. It is the address of the White House, the home of the president of the United States.
Originally the White House was gray and was called the presidential Palace. It was built from 1792 to 1800. At this time, the city of Washington itself was being built. It was to be the nation’s new capital city. George Washington, the first president, and Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French engineer, chose the place for the new city. L'Enfant then planned the city. The president's home was an important part of the plan.
A contest was held to pick a design for the president's home. An architect named James Hoban won. He designed a large three-story house of gray stone.
President Washington never lived in the Presidential Palace. The first president to live there was John Adams, the second president of the United States, and his wife Mrs.Adams did not really like her new house. In her letters, she often complained about the cold. Fifty fireplaces were not enough to keep the house warm.
In 1812 the United States and Britain went to war. In 1814 the British invaded Washington. They burned many buildings, including the Presidential Palace.
After the war James Hoban, the original architect, partially rebuilt the president’s home. To cover the marks of the fire, the building was painted white. Before long it became known as the White House.
The White House is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the United States. Every year more than 1.5 million visitors go through the five rooms that are open to the public.The White House was built in Washington_____.
| A．because a French engineer was invited to design it |
| B．because President George Washington liked to live in it |
| C．because the British invaders lived in it in1812-1814 |
| D．because it was to be the nation’s capital city |
The president’s home and the city of Washington were______.
| A．built by the American army | B．built by the British troops |
| C．planed by George Washington | D．planned by the French |
The original home of the president needed to be rebuilt______.
| A．because John Adams’ wife did not like it |
| B．because it was cold in winter even with 50 fireplace |
| C．because it had been burned down during the war |
| D．because George Washington was not willing to live in it |
The new presidential home was painted white to ______.
A. cover the marks of fire B. attract tourist from France
D. to please Mrs. John Adams D. keep it warm in winter
In the 1960s, medical researchers Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe developed a checklist of stressful events. They appreciated the tricky point that any major change can be stressful. Bad events like "serious illness of a family member" were high on the list, but so were some helpful life-changing events like marriage.
When you take the Holmes-Rahe test you must remember that the score does not show how you deal with stress －it only shows how much you have to deal with. And we now know that the way you deal with these events dramatically (戏剧性的) affects your chances of staying healthy. By the early 1970s, hundreds of similar studies had followed Holmes and Rahe. And millions of Americans who work and live under stress worried over the reports. Somehow the research got boiled down to a memorable message. Women's magazines ran titles like "Stress causes illness".
If you want to stay physically and mentally healthy the articles said avoid stressful events. But such simplistic advice is impossible to follow. Even if stressful events are dangerous , many — like the death of a loved one — are impossible to avoid. Moreover, any warning to avoid all stressful events is a prescription (处方) for staying away from chances as well as trouble. Since any change can be stressful, a person who wanted to be completely free of stress would never marry, have a child, take a new job or move. The idea that all stress makes you sick also takes no notice of a lot of what we know about people. It supposes we' re all vulnerable and not active in the face of the difficult situation. But what about human ability and creativity? Many come through periods of stress with more physical and mental strength than they had before. We also know that a long time without change or challenge can lead to boredom and physical and mental pressure.
41. The result of Holmes-Rahe’s medical research tells us _________________.
A. the way you deal with major events may cause stress
B. what should be done to avoid stress
C. what kind of event would cause stress
D. how to deal with sudden changes in life
42. The studies on stress in the early 1970s led to ___________________.
A. popular avoidance of stressful jobs
B. great fear over the mental disorder
C. a careful research into stress-related illnesses
D. widespread worry about its harmful effects
43. The score of the Holmes-Rahe test shows ________________.
A. how you can deal with life-changing events
B. how helpful events can change your life
C. how stressful a major event can be
D. how much pressure you are under
44. Why is “such simplistic advice” (Line 1, Paragraph 3) impossible to follow?
A. No one can stay on the same job for long.
B. No prescription is effective in reducing stress.
C. People have to get married someday.
D. You could be missing chances as well.
45. According to the passage people who have experienced ups and downs may become _______.
A. nervous when faced with difficulties B. physically and mentally tired
C. more able to deal with difficulties D. cold toward what happens to them
In bringing up children, every parent watches eagerly the child's acquisition (学会) of each new skill m the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing. It is often tempting to hurry the child beyond his natural learning rate, but this can set up dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in the child. This might happen at any stage. A baby might be forced to use a toilet too early, a young child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads. On the other hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses his natural enthusiasm for life and his desire to find out new things for himself.
Parents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children. Some may be especially strict in money matters. Others are severe (严格的) over time of coming home at night or punctuality for meals. In general, the controls represent the needs of the parents and the values of the community as much as the child's own happiness.
As regards the development of moral standards in the growing child, consistency is very important in parental teaching. To forbid a thing one day and excuse it the next is no foundation for morality (道德). Also, parents should realize that "example is better than precept". If they are not sincere and do not practice what they preach (说教), their children may grow confused when they grow old enough to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent fooled.
A sudden awareness of a marked difference between their parents' principles and their morals can be a dangerous disappointment.
36. Eagerly watching the child’s acquisition of new skills, _________________.
A. should be avoided
B. is universal among parents
C. sets up dangerous states of worry in the child
D. will make the child lose interest in learning new things
37. In the process of children’s learning new skills, parents _________________.
A. should encourage them to read before they know the meaning of the words they read
B. should expect a lot of the children
C. should achieve a balance between pushing them too hard and leaving them on their own
D. should create as many learning opportunities as possible
38. The second paragraph mainly tells us that _________________.
A. parents should be strict with their children
B. parental controls reflect only the values of the community
C. parental restrictions vary, and are not always for the benefit of the children alone
D. it’s parents’ and society’s duty to control the children
39. The word “precept” in Paragraph 3 probably means “_________________”.
A. opinion B. punishment C. behavior D. instruction
40. In terms of moral matters, parents should _____________________.
A. follow the rules themselves
B. be aware of the huge difference between adults and children
C. forbid their children to follow hook teachings
D. always ensure the security of their children
In the past ten years, America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) has grown increasingly dependent on the rest of the world to supply players.
When Michael Jordan and Larry Bird won gold in Barcelona in 1992, the Americans were praised for teaching the world how to play basketball. This season, however, 20 percent of NBA rosters（花名册） will be filled by non-Americans. NBA commissioner David Stem happily embraces the trend. On a visit to Paris in October, Stern outlined his vision for the future, which is likely to see Europe hosting NBA games by 2010.
The NBA is now planning to take China by storm.
“Our experience in China has been that it is going to be explosive in its growth,” said Stern. The strategy（战略，策略） in China is television. “We’ve made 14 deals in China with local and national networks on cable and satellite.” The success of Chinese centre Yao Ming has paved the way for the NBA marketing blitz in China. The NBA, which is broadcasted in more than 200 countries in 42 languages, will put that to the test in October 2004 when the Houston Rockets play two pre-season games against the Sacramento Kings in Beijing and Shanghai. The NBA knows that it needs a global market to compensate for tough times on home soil.
“It doesn’t matter where the players come from, all the NBA teams now know that they have to scout（寻找，觅得） internationally,” said Terry Lyons, the NBA’s vice-president of international public relations. “It has increased the level of competition here.” As Frenchman Tony Parker and Argentine Emanuel Ginobili showed in winning championship rings with the San Antonio Spurs last season, many people can earn the respect of their American peers. Others, such as the Houston Rockets’ Chinese centre Yao Ming — number one draft pick in 2002 — and the Detroit Pistons’ 18-year-old Serb Darko Milicic — number two overall in this year’s draft — are icons（偶像）in-waiting. It is the ultimate（最后的，根本的） revolution — the rest of the world teaching the US how to play basketball.
31. According to the report, .
A. Michael Jordan is still playing a very important role in NBA
B. the part played by the foreign players in NBA will be great
C. Yao Ming is to play two pre-season games in NBA
D. European countries will host the 2004 NBA games
32. The underlined phrase “take China by storm” has the meaning of _______ ___.
A. NBA intends to make China its “marketing center”
B. NBA is planning to set up some training centers in China
C. there’ll be a big storm when NBA comes to China to play against the Sacramento Kings
D. the NBA’s live basket games will be broadcasted on all the TVs in China
33. What seems to be the biggest change that is happening to NBA?
A. NBA is expecting more foreign players to join the league.
B. China’s rapid development in sports affects NBA.
C. Yao Ming has taken the place of Michael Jordan.
D. The NBA will stop teaching the world how to play basketball.
34. When the writer talked of “home soil”, he was referring to _ _.
A. farms in the States
B. native Americans
C. the NBA training center
D. the USA
35. Which of the following can be used as the best title for the passage?
A. The Non-American Basketball Players
B. NBA Is Coming to China
C. The Foreign Ties That Bind the NBA
D. NBA Is Making Big Progress
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