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. |
There were smiling children all the way. Clearly they knew at what time the train passed their homes and they made it their business to stand along the railway, wave to complete strangers and cheer them up as they rushed towards Penang. Often whole families stood outside their homes and waved and smiled as if those on the trains were their favorite relatives. This is the simple village people of Maiaysia. I was moved.
I had always traveled to Malaysia by plane or car, so this was the first time I was on a train. I did not particularly relish the long train journey and had brought along a dozen magazines to read and reread. I looked about the train. There was not one familiar face. I sighed and sat down to read my Economics.
It was not long before the train was across the Causeway and in Malaysia. Johore Baru was just another city like Singapore, so I was tired of looking at the crowds of people as they hurried past. As we went beyond the city, I watched the straight rows of rubber trees and miles and miles of green. Then the first village came into sight. Immediately I came alive. I decided to wave back.
From then on my journey became interesting. I threw my magazines into the waste basket and decided to join in Malaysian life. Then everything came alive. The mountains seemed to speak to me. Even the trees were smiling. I stared at everything as if I was looking at it for the first time.
The day passed fast and I even forgot to have my lunch until I felt hungry. I looked at my watch and was surprised that it was 3:00 pm. Soon the train pulled up at Butterworth. I looked at the people all around me. They all looked beautiful. When my uncle arrived with a smile, I threw my arms around him to give him a warm hug （拥抱）. I had never done this before. He seemed surprised and then his weather-beaten face warmed up with a huge smile. We walked arm in arm to his car.
I looked forward to the return journey.The author expected the train trip to be ________.
| A．adventurous | B．pleasant | C．exciting | D．dull |
What did the author remember most fondly of her train trip________?
| A．The friendly country people. |
| B．The mountains along the way. |
| C．The crowds of people in the streets. |
| D．The simple lunch served on the train. |
Which of the following words can best take the place of the word “relish” in the second paragraph_____?
| A．choose | B．enjoy | C．prepare for | D．carry on |
Where was the writer going________?
| A．Johore Baru. | B．The Causeway. | C．Butterworth. | D．Singapore. |
What can we learn from the story________?
| A．Comfort in traveling by t rain. |
| B．Pleasure of living in the country. |
| C．Reading gives people delight. |
| D．Smiles brighten people up. |
Short and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team. "Football, tennis, Cricket—anything with a round ball, I was useless." he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the object of jokes in school gym classes in England's rural Devonshire.
It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him. At first the teen went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to cycle along with a runner friend. Gradually, Saunders set his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed, strength and endurance. At age 18, he ran his first marathon.
The following year, he met John Ridgway, who became famous in the 1960s for rowing an open boat across the Atlantic Ocean. Saunders was hired as an instructor at Ridgway's school of Adventure in Scotland, where he learned about the older man's cold-water exploits（成就）. Intrigued, Saunders read all he could about Arctic explorers and North Pole expeditions, then decided that this would be his future.
Journeys to the Pole aren't the usual holidays for British country boys, and many people dismissed his dream as fantasy." John Ridgway was one of the few who didn't say, 'You are completely crazy,'" Saunders says.
In 2001, after becoming a skilled skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition toward the North Pole. He suffered frostbite, had a closer encounter（遭遇）with a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit.
Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he's skied more of the Arctic by himself than any other Briton. His old playmates would not believe the transformation.
This October, Saunders, 27, heads south to explore from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, an 1800-mile journey that has never been completed on skis.The turning point in Saunders' life came when _________.
| A．he started to play ball games |
| B．he got a mountain bike at age 15 |
| C．he ran his first marathon at age 18 |
| D．he started to receive Ridgway's training |
We can learn from the text that Ridgway __________.
| A．dismissed Saunders' dream as fantasy |
| B．built up his body together with Saunders |
| C．hired Saunders for his cold-water experience |
| D．won his fame for his voyage across the Atlantic |
What do we know about Saunders_________?
| A．He once worked at a school in Scotland. |
| B．He followed Ridgway to explore the North Pole. |
| C．He was the first Briton to ski alone to the North Pole. |
| D．He was chosen for the school sports team as a kid. |
The underlined word "Intrigued" in the third paragraph probably means_________.
| A．Excited | B．Convinced |
| C．Delighted | D．Fascinated |
It can be inferred tat Saunders' journey to the North Pole __________.
| A．was accompanied by his old playmates |
| B．set a record in the North Pole expedition |
| C．was supported by other Arctic explorers |
| D．made him well-known in the 1960s |
Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here’s what happened. I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car’s back end by just inches!
The driver of the other car, who almost caused a big accident, started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he was friendly. So, I said, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call “The Law of the Garbage Truck. ”
Many people are like garbage （rubbish） trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You’ll be happy with what you did.
I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets? It was that day I said, “I’m not going to do anymore.”
Successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day. What about you? If you let more garbage trucks pass you by, you’ll be happier. Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, Love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don’t. What happened one day when the author was taking a taxi?
| A．The taxi almost hit another car. |
| B．The taxi driver was injured. |
| C．The author scolded the driver of the other car. |
| D．The author learned a lesson from the driver of the garbage truck. |
How did the taxi driver respond to the behavior of the driver of the black car?
| A．He yelled back at the driver. |
| B．He sent the driver to the hospital. |
| C．He was friendly towards the driver. |
| D．He dumped some garbage in front of his car. |
What does the taxi driver think of people according to Paragraph 3?
| A．Many people like to drive garbage trucks. |
| B．Many people dump garbage wherever they like. |
| C．Many people are warm-hearted to make others happy. |
| D．Many people tend to be very much depressed. |
What can we infer from Paragraph 4?
| A．The author used to have a lot of garbage trucks. |
| B．The author used to complain a lot. |
| C．The author used to have a lot of money. |
| D．The author used to be a good manager. |
According to the passage, what should you do if people “dump garbage” on you?
| A．Ignore them and go on with our own work. |
| B．Try our best to persuade them not to do that again. |
| C．Tell them to dump the garbage in the right place. |
| D．Take over their work and carry the garbage to somewhere else. |
Why do we laugh and get amusement from so many different things，from puns (双关语) to pratfalls? Why are some things funny to some people and not to others? How is that while a successful joke can cause pleasure，a sick one can cause serious harm?
Over the centuries，various scholars have attempted to produce a universally agreed-upon theory of humor．Plato and Aristotle introduced the superiority(优越感) theory，the idea that people laugh at the misfortune of others．Their theory seems to explain teasing，but it doesn’t work well for knock-knock jokes．Sigmund Freud argued for his relief theory，the concept that humor is a way for people to release psychological tension and reveal their inner fears and desires．His theory works well for dirty jokes，less well for most puns．
The majority of humor expels today agree with the incongruity theory，the idea that humor arises when there’s a gap between what people expect to happen and what actually happens．Incongruity has a lot going for it — jokes with unexpected funny lines，for example，fit well．But scientists have found that in comedy，unexpectedness is overvalued．
With the goal of developing a new，more satisfactory explanation，I produced “the gentle violation(违背)theory”，the idea that humor arises when something seems wrong or threatening，but is actually OK or safe．A dirty joke，for example，trades on moral or social violations，but it’s only going to get a laugh if the person listening is open enough to consider the subject OK to talk about．Similarly，puns can be seen as linguistic violations that still make grammatical sense．
And while most humor theories have struggled to account for tickling (挠痒痒)，or just avoided the phenomenon altogether，my theory accounts for even this kind of laughter．Tickling involves violating someone’s physical space in a gentle way．People can’t tickle themselves — because it isn’t a violation．What is the author’s attitude towards Plato and Aristotle’s theory?
| A．Critical． | B．Approving | C．uncaring | D．Unclear |
According to Sigmund Freud’s theory，we can infer that __________ .
| A．people will laugh when they see others suffer |
| B．telling dirty jokes is a relief of one’s nervous feelings ’ |
| C．unexpectedness can explain how humor works |
| D．tickling doesn’t involve psychological tension |
According to the author，why are some things funny to some people but not to others?
| A．Because the sense of humor varies greatly from person to person． |
| B．Because people have different expectations for the same thing． |
| C．Because some people lack the sense of safety deep in their heart． |
| D．Because people’s understanding of violation is different． |
What is the author’s main purpose of writing this passage?
| A．To draw people’s attention to the research of humor． |
| B．To criticize people’s misconceptions about humor． |
| C．To explain what exactly causes people to laugh． |
| D．To prove the sense of humor can be developed． |
Coffee is a powerful beverage．On a personal level，it helps keep US awake and active．On a much broader level，it has helped shape our history and continues to shape our culture．
Coffee didn’t take off until the l400s when people figured out they could roast its seeds．By the l500s，the drink had spread to coffeehouses across the Arab world．Within another l50 years，it took Europe by storm．
“It actually had a major impact on the rise of business，” historian Mark Pendergrast says．Coffeehouses became a spot not just to enjoy a cup but to exchange ideas．The insurer Lloyd’s of London was founded hundreds of years ago in one of London’s 2,000 coffeehouses．Literature，newspapers and even the works of great composers like Bach and Beethoven were also spawned(涌现)in coffeehouses．
It is often said that after the Boston Tea Party of l773，when American colonists attacked British tea ships and threw boxes of tea into the harbor，Americans universally switched over to drinking coffee．In a letter John Adams wrote to his wife，Abigail，the Founding Father claims his love of tea but says he will have to learn to embrace coffee instead，because drinking tea had become a symbol of not loving the country．
For all the upsides coffee has brought the modern world，it also led to its fair share of downsides，too．Europeans carried coffee with them as they colonized various parts of the world，and this frequently meant they enslaved people in order to grow it．In Brazil — where slavery was legal until l888 — coffee plantations would use slash-and-burn agriculture，tearing down rain forests and planting coffee trees．Once the soil had been exhausted，growers would move on to another place．
And yet，coffee，as Pendergrast says，”had a very good impact in many ways on our civilization，even though it was，for a long time，grown by slaves．”Why did people enjoy going to coffeehouses?
| A．Because it was a fashion to drink coffee． |
| B．Because coffeehouses provided a better flavor． |
| C．Because they could stay awake and active there． |
| D．Because they could exchange ideas there． |
What can we learn from the fourth paragraph?
| A．American colonists made great profits by trading in coffee． |
| B．Tea was regarded as a symbol of loving one’s country． |
| C．Coffee became very popular after the incident in Boston． |
| D．John Adams was the Founding Father of the Tea Party． |
In the fifth paragraph．the writer points out that __________ .
| A．Coffee plantation was closely connected with slavery |
| B．coffee plantation led to outdated agriculture in Brazil |
| C．slavery in Brazil had been against the law until l888 |
| D．slavery was responsible for the damage to rainforests |
What is mainly talked about in this passage?
| A．Some interesting stories about coffee culture． |
| B．Important Roles that coffee played in history． |
| C．How coffee became the most popular beverage． |
| D．How coffee affected America’s independence． |
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