We all need friends and we always have. Our ancestors found that gaining the basic necessities of life was easier in a group. It’s estimated that the maximum number of people who lived in early communities of hunter-gatherers was 150.
Friends aren’t bound（受……限制）by blood or family bonds, employment contracts or legal obligations. Our circle of associates includes work colleagues and people we meet at parties, in the pub or on the train to work. Some associates are much more important than our family. We are capable of exchanging an email with these associates, and may have mutual acquaintances with a good number of them, providing common ground. We do things for one another because we want to. Whether writing an answer to a photo put on Facebook, sending a birthday card by post, or making a hospital visit, the efforts we have made for our friends are out of kindness. It is this nature of friendship which requires nothing in return that makes it beneficial and valuable.
Friendships take work, and they need to be nurtured, nourished and maintained. We feel good about helping our friends because we are friends. However, we often lose touch with our friends because of a lack of time and energy. When we are carrying a heavy load at work, involved in a serious relationship or raising children, it’s hard to spare time for friends. In these situations, we need to remind ourselves of what friends are for and why they can be so important in our lives.
In a survey of more than 2,000 married couples aged 55 or older, for both men and women, having friends was the best predictor of being satisfied in marriage — possibly because they were more satisfied with their lives as a result of having friends.
Researchers suggest social relationships are the reason why women live longer than men, Social bonds reduce the risk of disease by reducing blood pressure, cholesterol（胆固醇）and heart rate. A lack of good friends is as harmful to your health as smoking or being overweight. Indeed, people without friends are more likely to die younger. Not only do friendships prolong（延长）our lives, they make us happier too. People who are socially active don’t feel so stressed or feel they can not enjoy anything easily — they also tend to feel better about their lives and who they are.What makes friendship beneficial and valuable?
| A．Its being not bound by blood or family bonds. |
| B．Its being easy to maintain. |
| C．The good we have done to our friends. |
| D．That we make efforts for friends out of kindness. |
What should we do when we have no time for friends?
| A．Quit our jobs. |
| B．Give our friends calls. |
| C．Remind ourselves of what friends are for. |
| D．Turn to our friends for help. |
What can we infer from the survey in the fourth paragraph?
| A．Having friends makes people satisfied in marriage. |
| B．The older people are, the more satisfied they are in marriage. |
| C．Married couples are more satisfied with their lives. |
| D．Married couples are easier to have friends. |
What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
| A．Friendships prolong our lives and make us happy. |
| B．Men should learn to be socially active. |
| C．Women live longer than men. |
| D．Women tend to be less stressed. |
Exercise seems to be good for the human brain，with many recent studies suggesting that regular exercise improves memory and thinking skills．But an interesting new study asks whether the apparent cognitive benefits from exercise are real or just a placebo effect — that is，if we think we will be “smarter” after exercise，do our brains respond accordingly？The answer has significant implications for any of us hoping to use exercise to keep our minds sharp throughout our lives．
While many studies suggest that exercise may have cognitive benefits，recently some scientists have begun to question whether the apparently beneficial effects of exercise on thinking might be a placebo effect．So researchers at Florida State University in Tallahassee and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign decided to focus on expectations，on what people anticipate that exercise will do for thinking．If people’s expectations jibe (吻合) closely with the actual benefits，then at least some of those improvements are probably a result of the placebo effect and not of exercise．
For the new study，which was published last month in PLOS One，the researchers recruited 171 people through an online survey system，they asked half of these volunteers to estimate by how much a stretching and toning regimens (拉伸运动) performed three times a week might improve various measures of thinking．The other volunteers were asked the same questions，but about a regular walking program．
In actual experiments，stretching and toning program generally have little if any impact on people’s cognitive skills．Walking，on the other hand，seems to substantially improve thinking ability．
But the survey respondents believed the opposite，estimating that the stretching and toning program would be more beneficial for the mind than walking．The estimates of benefits from walking were lower．
These data，while they do not involve any actual exercise，are good news for people who do exercise．“The results from our study suggest that the benefits of aerobic exercise are not a placebo effect,” said Cary Stothart，a graduate student in cognitive psychology at Florida State University，who led the study．
If expectations had been driving the improvements in cognition seen in studies after exercise，Mr．Stothart said，then people should have expected walking to be more beneficial for thinking than stretching．They didn’t，implying that the changes in the brain and thinking after exercise are physiologically genuine．
The findings are strong enough to suggest that exercise really does change the brain and may，in the process，improve thinking，Mr．Stothart said．That conclusion should encourage scientists to look even more closely into how，at a molecular level，exercise remodels the human brain，he said．It also should encourage the rest of us to move，since the benefits are，it seems，not imaginary，even if they are in our head．
Which of the following about the placebo effect is TRUE according to the passage？
| A．It occurs during exercise． |
| B．It has cognitive benefits． |
| C．It is just a mental reaction． |
| D．It is a physiological response． |
Why did the researchers at the two universities conduct the research？
| A．To discover the placebo effect in the exercise． |
| B．To prove the previous studies have a big drawback． |
| C．To test whether exercise can really improve cognition． |
| D．To encourage more scientists to get involved in the research． |
What can we know about the research Cary Stothart and his team carried out？
| A．They employed 171 people to take part in the actual exercise． |
| B．The result of the research removed the recent doubt of some scientists． |
| C．The participants thought walking had a greater impact on thinking ability． |
| D．Their conclusion drives scientists to do research on the placebo effect． |
What might be the best title for the passage？
| A．Is it necessary for us to take exercise？ |
| B．How should people exercise properly？ |
| C．What makes us smarter during exercise？ |
| D．Does exercise really make us smarter？ |
According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS)，the U．K．has about 7．7 million families with dependent children，of which 3．7 million have just one child，compared to 3 million with two and 1．1 million with three children or more．The number of families today with just one dependent child is now 47 percent and will likely rise to more than 50 percent in a decade．As the ONS confirms，“It appears that families are getting smaller．”
One obvious reason for this could be that women are putting off having children until they have established careers when they are bound to be less fertile．But it could just as well be a matter of choice．Parents must consider the rising cost of living，combined with economic uncertainty and an increasingly difficult job market．And this trend may continue growing as having an only child becomes more normal，which seems to be the mood on the mothers’ online forum Mumsnet，where one member announced that she “just wanted to start a positive thread about how fab it is to have an only child”．
She had received 231 replies，overwhelmingly in the same upbeat spirit．Parents of only children insist there are plenty of benefits．Nicola Kelly，a writer and lecturer who grew up as an only child and is now a married mother of one，says her 15 year old son seems more grown up in many ways than his contemporaries．
Not all products of single child families are as keen to repeat the experience．In a moving recent account journalist Janice Turner wrote about her own keenness to “squeeze out two sons just 22 months apart”as a reaction to her only child upbringing．
She was placed on a pedestal by her doting parents，whom she punished with a “brattish，wilful” rejection of everything they stood for．Desperate for a close friend she was repeatedly shattered by rejection and refers to her childhood as being “misery”．
Writer and clinician Dr．Dorothy Rowe，a member of the British Psychological Society，says that we all interpret events in our own individual way and there are some children who no matter what their circumstances feel slighted，while other children see the advantages of their situation．
However，the one part of life that is unlikely to get any easier for only children is when they grow up and find themselves looking after their own parents as they become older．
The passage is written with the purpose of ________．
| A．illustrating the strength and weakness of having an only child |
| B．analyzing the reasons why having an only child becomes popular |
| C．presenting us with different opinions about having an only child |
| D．guiding people to look at the same issue from different perspectives |
What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 mean？
| A．Nearly half of families intend to have just one child． |
| B．All people don’t stand for the idea of having an only child． |
| C．Some people fail to recognize the advantage of having an only child． |
| D．People brought up in an only child family resist downsizing the family． |
From what Dr．Dorothy Rowe said，we know that ________．
| A．journalist Janice Turner experienced a miserable childhood |
| B．she has a positive attitude towards Janice Turner’s reaction |
| C．it’s necessary for us to look at the event from our own angle |
| D．some are unable to make an objective assessment of their conditions |
What can be inferred from the passage？
| A．It’s normal to see the imperfection in character in only children． |
| B．Mumsnet is an online forum which promotes having an only child． |
| C．Economic development plays a determining role in the family size． |
| D．Only children will have difficulty in attending to their parents． |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？
| A．The voyage through the wormhole is a considerable challenge． |
| B．A team of crime fighters uncovers a criminal plot in Big Hero． |
| C．President Coin pushes Katniss to protest Peeta． |
| D．Penguins have to wrestle with problems in District 13． |
The similarity that exists in the four films is that ________．
| A．each of them is a branch of film series |
| B．all of them are concerned with positive energy |
| C．they all have the best actors and actresses in the world |
| D．the four films all have something to do with exploration |
A glass a day keeps obesity at bay．Alcohol has always been thought to cause weight gain because of its high sugar content, but new research suggests a glass a day could form part of a diet．Looking at past studies they found that, while heavy drinkers do put on weight, those who drink in moderation can actually lose weight．
A spokesman for the research team at Navarro University in Spain says, “Light to moderate alcohol intake, especially of wine, may be more likely to protect against, rather than promote, weight gain”．The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research reviewed the findings and agreed with most of the conclusions, particularly that current data do not clearly indicate if moderate drinking increases weight．
Boston University’s Dr．Harvey Finkel found that the biologic mechanisms (生物学机制) relating alcohol to changes in body weight are not properly understood．His team pointed out the strong protective effects of moderate drinking on the risk of getting conditions like diabetes(糖尿病)，which relate to increasing obesity．Some studies suggest that even very obese people may be at lower risk of diabetes if they are moderate drinkers．
The group says alcohol provides calories that are quickly absorbed into the body and are not stored in fat, and that this process could explain the differences in its effects from those of other foods．They agree that future research should be directed towards assessing the roles of different types of alcoholic drinks, taking into consideration drinking patterns and including the past tendency of participants to gain weight．
For now there is little evidence that consuming small to moderate amounts of alcohol on a regular basis increases one’s risk of becoming obese．What’s more, a study three years ago suggested that reveratrol, a compound present in grapes and red wine, destroys fat cells．
The passage is mainly for those ______．
| A．who produce wine |
| B．who are eager to lose weight |
| C．who go on a diet |
| D．who have a drinking habit |
The underlined phrase “in moderation” in the first paragraph means ______．
| A．properly | B．carefully |
| C．excitedly | D．frequently |
Why has alcohol been thought to cause weight gain?
| A．Because its calories are stored in fat． |
| B．Because it is rich in sugar． |
| C．Because it changes drinking patterns． |
| D．Because it increases the risk of diabetes． |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The specific roles of different types of alcoholic drinks are very clear． |
| B．Resveratrol is proved to increase the risk of becoming fat． |
| C．The research found moderate drinking has a strong protective effect． |
| D．Current data clearly show that moderate drinking increases weight． |
What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?
| A．How to do some easy experiments． |
| B．How to prove the finding mentioned above． |
| C．How to make wine in a healthy way． |
| D．How to reduce the calories contained in wine． |
In my first week as a graduate student at Cambridge University in 1964 I met with a fellow student, two years ahead of me in his studies; he was unsteady on his feet and spoke with great difficulty．This was Stephen Hawking．I learned that he had a bad disease and might not live long enough even to finish his PhD degree．
But, amazingly, he has reached the age of 73．Even mere survival would have been a medical miracle, but of course, he didn’t merely survive．He has become arguably the most famous scientist in the world for his brilliant research, for his bestselling books, and, above all, for his astonishing victory over hardship．
Stephen received his “death sentence” in 1964, when I thought it was hard for him to go on with his study．Stephen went from Albans School to Oxford University．He was said to be a “lazy” undergraduate, but his brilliance earned him a first class degree, an “entry ticket” to a research career in Cambridge and a uniquely inspiring achievement．Within a few years of the burst of his disease he was wheelchair bound, and his speech was so unclear that it could only be understood by those who knew him well．But his scientific career went from strength to strength: he quickly came up with a series of insights into the nature of black holes (then a very new idea) and how the universe began．In 1974 he was elected to the Royal Society at the exceptionally early age of 32．
The great advances in science generally involve discovering a link between phenomena that were previously conceptually unconnected — for instance, Isaac Newton realized that the force making an apple fall to earth was the same as the force that holds the moon and planets in their orbits．Stephen’s revolutionary idea about a link between gravity and quantum(量子) theory has still not been tested．However, it has been hugely influential; indeed, one of the main achievements of string theory(弦理论) has been to confirm and build on his idea．He has undoubtedly done more than anyone else since Einstein to improve our knowledge of gravity and he is one of the top ten living theoretical physicists．
What impressed the author most about Stephen Hawking?
| A．His brilliant research． |
| B．His bestselling books． |
| C．His serious disease． |
| D．His defeating hardship． |
What made Stephen Hawking start his research career at Cambridge?
| A．His death sentence． |
| B．His “lazy” attitude． |
| C．His above average talent and ability． |
| D．His rich experience． |
It can be inferred that Stephen Hawking was born ________．
| A．in the early 1940s |
| B．in the late 1940s |
| C．in the early 1930s |
| D．in the late 1930s |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Hawking’s theory was proved years ago． |
| B．Hawking was not as successful as Newton． |
| C．String theory built on Hawking’s idea． |
| D．Hawking’s theory has had little influence on others． |
Which of the following is Not True according the passage?
| A．He achieved one success after another in his career despite his disease． |
| B．He couldn’t walk when the author first met him at Cambridge． |
| C．He not only survived his disease but contributed greatly to science． |
| D．He is among the greatest scientists to improve the knowledge of gravity． |
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