Our children feel stressed out by an educational system that actually uses stress as an educational technique. It's a constant pressure of homework deadlines，essays and exams. And our children are told at a young age that failing a test means that they are failures in life. They'll end up nowhere if they don't pass this or that exam. Our educational system is based on a very Western idea that life is a struggle and you'd better measure up. It's survival of the fittest. While there is some truth to this，not as much as people think.
Our ancestors didn't develop a constant stress environment. Back then，stress came quickly and was over quickly，it wasn't like the stress of modern education. Stress was originally just a shortterm biological response to danger；however，the constant stress of modern education rarely stops. It's long term，at least ten years and usually more.
Recent research has shown that the neurological(神经系统的)response to stress is the same response that is found in depression. So，what's the solution? A number have been proposed，including but not limited to the following.
________.Exercise consumes energy that would otherwise build up in the stress response and could cause physical and mental problems.
Teach relaxation exercises. Allowing the mind and body to relax cuts off the stress response and reduces the neurological fatigue(疲惫)，enabling the individual to recover at least somewhat.
Pay attention to thinking. Training the stressed student to pay attention to his or her own mind to a point where he or she is sufficiently aware to shut off the stress response when necessary.
Of course，there's a logical answer to the problem. Just rearrange our teaching methods to encourage，rather than prevent，the natural curiosity and joy in learning that we are all born with. This would remove the stress and probably cut learning time in half.What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Getting rid of the modern education. |
| B．Helping children live a happy life. |
| C．Dealing with stress in modern education. |
| D．Taking measures to learn at school. |
How did our ancestors treat education?
| A．They believed education could bring the best out. |
| B．They felt education could bring shortterm stress. |
| C．They thought education was the only way to success. |
| D．They knew the importance of good education. |
Which of the following is the best for the blank?
| A．Try to save energy as much as possible. |
| B．Quite a few children avoid exercise. |
| C．Make sure that kids get exercise. |
| D．Set a few limits to your physical activities. |
If you are a teacher in a high school, ______.
| A．you should leave students in a good mood |
| B．you should ignore the stressed student |
| C．you should relax yourself as far as possible |
| D．you should stick to your teaching methods |
IV. 阅读理解：
Farris Hassan, a 16-year-old high school student from Florida, decided to visit Iraq and left for
the country on December 11th, 2005 alone, without having informed his parents.
After catching a connecting flight in Amsterdam, he arrived in Kuwait City on December 13th. He called his parents on the telephone and informed them of where he was and his intention to visit Iraq. This was the first time his parents learned of his plans. He then attempted to cross the Kuwait –Iraq border by taxi, because of tight security for the upcoming elections he was unable to pass though and spent a week in Beirut, Lebanon. Then on December 25th, he flew to Baghadad International Airport. Relatives picked him up from the airport and put him at a hotel known to frequently house American citizens.
He paid for the trip and made all the arrangements himself with money that he had saved up. The inspiration for his journey was the result of attending a class on “step into journalism” at his school. He was working on an assignment on the war in Iraq and he wished to experience his subject matter first-hand.
Hassan’s parents were born in Iraq, but he does not speak any Arabic, making him easily stand out as a foreigner in Iraq, where kidnappings(绑架)of Americans and violence are an everyday occurrence. His parents planned to take him to see Iraq once the war was over.
He turned in his assignment via e-mail and was due to be back home over the New Year’s Day weekend.
56. From the passage, we can know _____.
A. Farris Hassan can speak only a little Arabic
B. Farris Hassan’s parents have learned of his plan before
C. Farris Hassan successfully finished his assignment
D. Farris Hassan made arrangements for his trip with the help of his teacher
57. The underlined word “house” in the second paragraph probably means “_____”
A. a building for people to live in B. all the visitors living together
C. provide a place for people to live in D. provide a place for people to visit
58. Why did Farris Hassan travel to Iraq?
A. Because his parents wanted him to do so
B. Because he wanted to experience the war in Iraq
C. Because he wanted to get some information for his assignment
D. Because he had saved enough money for his journey to Iraq.
59. What’s the passage mainly about?
A. An American teenager’s life in Iraq
B. A brave American teenager in Iraq
C. The best way to complete an assignment is to experience it
D. An American teenager’s experience about trying to go to Iraq
An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her little brother. All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money. Only a very expensive operation could save him now and there was no one to lend them the money.
When she heard her daddy say to her tearful mother, “Only a miracle can save him now,” the little girl went to her bedroom and pulled her money from its hiding place and counted it carefully.
She hurried to a drugstore with the money in her hand.
“And what do you want?” asked the salesman. “It’s for my little brother,” the girl answered. “He’s really, really sick and I want to buy a miracle.” “Pardon?” said the salesman.
“My brother Andrew has something bad growing inside his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him. So how much does a miracle cost?” “We don’t sell a miracle here, child. I’m sorry,” the salesman said with a smile.
“Listen, if it isn’t enough, I can try and get some more. Just tell me how much it costs.”
A well-dressed man heard it and asked, “What kind of a miracle does your brother need?”
“I don’t know,” she answered with her eyes full of tears. “He’s really sick and mum says he needs an operation. But my daddy can’t pay for it, so I have brought all my money.”
“How much do you have?” asked the man. “$ 1.11, but I can try and get some more,” she answered.
“Well, what luck,” smiled the man. “$ 1.11, the price of a miracle for little brothers.”
He took up the girl’s hand and said, “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”
That well-dressed man was Dr Carlton Armstrong, a famous doctor. The operation was successful and it wasn’t long before Andrew was home again.
How much did the miracle cost?
What was the trouble in the little girl’s family?
A．Her brother was seriously ill. B．They had no money.
C．Nothing could save her brother. D．Both A and B.
In the eye of the little girl, a miracle might be .
| A．something interesting | B．something beautiful |
| C．some wonderful medicine | D．some good food |
The little girl said again and again “...I can try and get some more.” That shows .
| A．she had still kept some money |
| B．she hoped not to be refused |
| C．There was no need to worry about money |
| D．she thought money was easy to get |
What made the miracle happen?
| A．The girl’s love for her brother． | B．The girl’s money. |
| C．The medicine from the drugstore. | D．Nobody can tell. |
From the passage we can infer(推断) that .
| A．the doctor didn’t ask for any pay |
| B．a miracle is sure to happen if you keep on |
| C．the little girl is lovely but not so clever |
| D．the doctor had great sympathy for the girl’s little brother |
Nothing is more pleasing and romantic as flowers in the bedroom. Now, a new study says that the sweet smells of flowers in the bedroom can also lead to sweet dreams.
Researchers in Germany have carried out the study and have found that sleeping with flowers in the bedroom may encourage sweet dreams, a major finding they claim could help nightmare sufferers to and extent.
They came to the conclusion after an analysis of the sleep patterns of 15 female volunteers for a period of nearly 30 nights, a leading British newspaper reported on Monday.
The researchers pumped scents of rotten eggs, roses or no scent under their noses for nearly ten seconds while the women were in the Rapid Eye Movement period of sleep when a dream occurs.
The subjects were then woken up and asked to record their dreams. The smells had an effect on the emotions of the dreams but did not become part of the dream in that the women exposed to roses did not dream about roses the study found.
There was a correlation between the negative smells and negative emotional scores the sleepers reported from their dream.
According to the researchers, it’ll be interesting to study nightmare sufferers and if positive smells can actually influence the mood of their dreams as a form of treatment in the future.
The study has been presented at the 2008 American Academy of Otoblaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation Annual Meeting in Chicago.
What is the best title for the text?
| A．A recent study on dreaming | B．Smells influence one’s dreams |
C．Do you want to have a good dream? | D．Flowers in the bedroom lead to sweet dreams. |
What is the right order of the events related to the experiment?
a. The female volunteers get to sleep. b. The researchers wake up the sleeping women.
c. A particular smell is pumped under dreamers’ noses d. The dreamers are asked to describe their dreams.
A. a, c, b, d B. d, c, b, a C. a, c, d, b D, d, b, c, a
The underlined word “correlation” in paragraph 6 can be replaced by _______
| A．combination | B．coincidence | C．connection | D．cooperation |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．People are very sensitive to smells at night. |
B．The subjects were tested on when they dreamed |
C．Pleasant smells get sleepers to dream of roses. |
D．The experiment is designed to treat sleeplessness. |
What is the future perspective（前景）of the study?
| A．Sleeplessness can be cured in the near future. |
B．Nightmare sufferers are likely to recover soon. |
C．The finding can give hope to nightmare sufferers. |
D．Roses will become more popular among patients. |
When my family moved to America from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment in the United States.
I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive(敏感) Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.
In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.
However, in the United States, people think “growing old” is a problem since “old” shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises or jogging, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect the elderly, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn’t want to hear.
After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don’t respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don’t show my feelings through words.
Jack brought the couple their food very fast because .
| A．the manager asked him to do so |
| B．he respected the elderly |
| C．the couple wanted him to do so |
| D．he wanted more pay |
When Jack called the couple “elderly”, they became .
| A．nervous | B．satisfied |
| C．unhappy | D．excited |
In Jack’s hometown, .
| A．people dislike being called “old” |
| B．people are proud of being old |
| C．many people reach the age of seventy or eighty |
| D．the elderly are the first to get food in restaurants |
After this experience, Jack .
| A．lost his job in the restaurant |
| B．made friends with the couple |
| C．no longer respected the elderly |
| D．changed his way with older people |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The more Jack explained, the angrier the couple got. |
| B．Jack wanted to show his feelings through words after his experience. |
| C．The manager went back to the table and apologized to the couple. |
| D．From this experience, Jack learned more about American culture. |
Premier Win Jiabao continued his second trip around the quake disaster zone on May 23, 2008, visiting surviving students in Mianyang, one of the worst-hit cities.
In a tent school, where more than 500 students from the destroyed Beichuan Middle School were studying, Premier Wen encouraged them to study harder following the disaster. “let us not forget the earthquake,” he told the students. “Then you will know what life is all about—it is bumpy, as the roads are. Today, people save us and take good care of us. In the future, we will help them in return.” He wrote on the blackboard to encourage them, “Hardships make a country stronger.”
His first trip to the area was on May 12, just hours after the powerful quake rocked Sichuan at 2:28 pm. During the next four days, Premier Wen set foot in almost all of the worst-hit counties, walking over rocks and tiles, comforting weeping children and encouraging rescuers.
The Chinese Premier says saving lives is the top priority. “We must try all means to get into those areas. The earlier, the better. One person can be saved one second earlier. As long as there is a gleam of hope, we will make efforts 100 times greater than that.’
Chinese are deeply moved by what the Premier has said and done. A mother sent a message to her son in Beijing, saying “The 66-year-old Premier Wen has worked really hard for quake relief. He has comforted and moved us. Pass this on to your friends, pray for him.”
67. What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Hardships make a country stronger.
B. Premier Wen jiabao went on his first trip around the quake disaster zone.
C. Life is difficult.
D. The Chinese are deeply moved by Premier Wen.
68. By saying “Then you will know what life is all about—it is bumpy, as the
roads are.”, Premier Wen want to tell the students that _______________.
A. Life is filled with various difficulties , we must overcome them
B. roads of the area are rough, we should repair them
C. they should forget the earthquake and study harder
D. earthquakes are common on Sichuan, we shouldn’t be afraid
69. What did Premier Wen do when he first set foot in almost all of the worst-hit
counties EXPECT________________________________.
A. walking over rocks and tiles
B. comforting weeping children
C. encouraging rescuers
D. asking them not to forget the earthquake
70. What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A. The Chinese are grateful for what the Premier has said and done.
B. Chinese are deeply moved by what the Premier has said and done
C. What the Premier has said and done comforted the mother.
D. The mother’s message is moving.
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