It was a cold winter. The day my husband fell to his death, it started to snow, just like any November day. His body, when I found it, was lightly covered with snow. It snowed almost every day for the next four months, while I sat on the couch and watched it pile up. One morning, I shuffled downstairs and was surprised to see a snow remover clearing my driveway and the bent back of a woman shoveling(铲) my walk. I dropped to my knees, crawled through the living room. And back up stairs so those good people would not see me. I was embarrassed. My first thought was, how would I ever repay them? I didn’t have the strength to brush my hair let alone shovel someone’s walk.
Before John’s death, I felt proud that I rarely asked for favors. I identified myself by my competence and independence. So who was I if I was no longer capable and busy? How could I respect myself if I just sat on the couch every day and watched the snow fall?
Learning to receive the love and support from others wasn’t easy. Friends cooked for me and I cried because I couldn’t even help them set the table. Finally, my friend Kathy said, “Mary, cooking for you isn’t a burden for me; it makes me feel good to be able to do something for you.”
Over and over, I heard similar words from the people who supported me during those dark days. One wise man told me, “You aren’t doing nothing because being fully open to your sorrow may be the hardest work you will ever do.”
I am not the person I once was, but in many ways I have changed for the better. I’ve been surprised to learn that there is incredible freedom coming form facing one’s worst fear and walking away whole. I believe there is strength, for sure, in accepting a dark period of our life.
Which of the following is True according to the passage?
| A．The writer’s friend was unwilling to cook for her. |
| B．The writer had been busy with her life before |
| C．The writer recovered from her sorrow quickly with his friend’s help. |
| D．The day her husband died, it was snowing heavily. |
We can describe the writer before her husband died as the following EXCEPT __
| A．hard-working | B．independent |
| C．smart | D．capable |
We can infer from the passage that ____________.
| A．the writer found her husband immediately he fell off the roof |
| B．the writer became strong-willed immediately after John's death |
| C．the people around the writer were friendly and supported her |
| D．before John’s death, the writer never asked others for help |
Since we are social beings, the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal(人与人之间的) relationships. One strength of the human condition is our possibility to give and receive support from one another under stressful conditions. Social support makes up of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties. Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to deal with major life changes and daily problems. People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties. Studies over types of illnesses, from depression to heart disease, show that the presence of social support helps people defend themselves against illness, and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely.
Social support cushions(缓和) stress in a number of ways. First, friends, relatives and co-workers may let us know that they value us. Our self-respect is strengthened when we feel accepted by others in spite of our faults and difficulties. Second, other people often provide us with informational support. They help us to define and understand our problems and find solutions to them. Third, we typically find social companionship supportive. Taking part in free-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting (转移注意力) us from our worries and troubles. Finally, other people may give us instrumental support money aid, material resources, and needed services - that reduces stress by helping us resolve and deal with our problems.Interpersonal relationships are important because they can ________
| A．make people live more easily | B．smooth away daily problems |
| C．deal with life changes | D．cure types of illnesses |
The researches show that people's physical and mental health _______
| A．lies in the social medical care systems which support them |
| B．has much to do with the amount of support they get from others |
| C．depends on their ability to deal with daily worries and troubles |
| D．is related to their courage for dealing with major life changes |
Helping a sick neighbor with some repair work in spare time is an example of ________
| A．instrumental support | B．informational support |
| C．social companionship | D．the strengthening of self-respect |
What is the subject discussed in the text?
| A．Effects of stressful condition. | B．Kinds of social support. |
| C．Ways to deal with stress. | D．Interpersonal relationships. |
As you climb into the hill country, the roads get dustier and rougher, and fewer cars can be seen. Phonxay is one of the poorest districts of Laos, and many of its villages are only accessible by footpath. Our destination this hot morning is a concrete water tank that can be found just off the road. A UK organization helped to build it six years ago, and in the nearby village of Thapho, where clean drinking water is scarce, it has made a big difference. The tank feeds six taps which in turn give water to over 800 people---it has improved things for almost every family, from schoolchildren to grannies.
But lately, we were told, the clean water supply has come under pressure from new arrivals, people who have come down from the hill areas, and there are concerns that there will not be enough clean water to go round.
There are also serious worries about resources in Laos. The Chinese are building a 400km railway link, which could transform the landlocked country. About 150,000 Chinese workers will be involved. What will this do to local clean water supplies? How will the workers be fed?
The vast majority of Laotians live on farms. But with foreign investors wanting to buy up land, local people will have to be moved to make room for them. Heavily dependent on both foreign aid and foreign investment, Laos still falls well behind its neighbours, although its economy has grown at about 6% a year in the last decade. Its biggest economic problem is the lack of locally trained skilled workforce.
But there are reasons to be hopeful for the future. Laos is beautiful, and foreign tourism continues to grow: fortunately so far the fast-food chains and coffee bars common elsewhere are nowhere to be seen. Although all local media are government-run, the Internet is not controlled and the BBC and CNN are available to those with satellite dishes.
The government has also achieved impressive results in rural development, with communities benefiting not just from cleaner water but the construction of new schools and regular visits from medical teams. Poverty will not be history in Laos within the next decade, but with small steps forward and a bit of outside help, the country could find itself out of the UN’s least-developed category by 2020.What is putting pressure on the local supply of clean water?
| A．Dust from the road is making the water dirtier. |
| B．There are too many taps accessing the water. |
| C．The population of the area is growing fast. |
| D．The coming summer will dry up rivers and lakes. |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT a reason for Laos to be hopeful?
| A．There are no fast-food restaurants in the country. |
| B．Laos has a variety of tourist attractions. |
| C．Information on the Internet is freely accessible. |
| D．The government owns all local media. |
What is the most serious limitation on Laos’ economic growth?
| A．The lack of local skilled workers. |
| B．A poor transportation system. |
| C．Too much foreign aid. |
| D．Too many foreign workers. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Laos: slow-developing nations |
| B．Laos: small steps forward |
| C．Laos: least-developed land |
| D．Laos: landlocked country |
The medical world is gradually realizing that the quality of the environment in hospitals may play a significant role in the process of recovery from illness.
As part of a nationwide effort in Britain to bring art out of the galleries and into public places, some of the country's most talented artists have been called in to transform older hospitals and to soften the hard edges of modern buildings. Of the 2,500 National Health Service hospitals in Britain, almost 100 now have significant contemporary art in corridors, waiting areas and treatment rooms.
These recent initiatives(首创) owe a great deal to one artist, Peter Senior who set up his studio at a Manchester hospital in northeastern England during the early 1970s. He felt the artist had lost his place in modern society and that art should be enjoyed by a wider audience.
A typical hospital waiting room might have as many as 5,000 visitors each week. What a better place to hold regular exhibitions of art! Senior held the first exhibition of his own paintings in the outpatients waiting area of the Manchester Hospital in 1975. Believed to be Britain's first hospital artist, Senior was so much in demand that he was soon joined by a team of six young art school graduates.
The effect is striking. Now in the corridors and waiting rooms the visitor experiences a full view of fresh colors, playful images and restful courtyards.
The quality of the environment may reduce the need for expensive drugs when a patient is recovering from an illness. A study has shown that patients who had a view onto a garden needed half the number of strong pain killers compared with patients who had no view at all or only a brick wall to look at. The underlined part "to soften the hard edges of modern buildings" in Paragraph 2 means"________".
| A．to decorate hospitals with art collections |
| B．to make the corners of hospital buildings round |
| C．to change people's attitude toward hospitals |
| D．to replace the old buildings with modern buildings |
Peter Senior is a(n) ________.
| A．doctor interested in arts |
| B．artist who refuses to hold art exhibitions in hospitals |
| C．pioneer in introducing art into hospitals |
| D．artist who owns a great deal of property |
The improvement of the hospital environment seems to be effective in ______.
| A．making it unnecessary to give drugs to patients |
| B．helping the modern artists regain their status in society |
| C．calling in more talented artists to hospitals |
| D．helping patients recovering from illness |
The writer’s attitude towards the effect of art exhibitions in hospitals is ______.
| A．suspicious | B．positive | C．neutral(中立的) | D．unfavorable |
When you travel in South America, you’d better pay attention to the following three kinds of dangerous South American animals.
Piranhas（水虎鱼）
Although only a small number of piranhas are considered to be dangerous to humans, the red-bellied piranha is definitely one of those. Evidence has shown that a large group of piranhas can absolutely eat a herd of large animals crossing the river, leaving only bones. This fish lives in the freshwater streams of South America, and they can smell the blood from far away and launch attacks swiftly. It is said that they are only dangerous to humans if the water volumes are less and lower.
Anacondas（水蟒）
This South American monster of a creature often appears in the films or your nightmares！They have weighed over 230 kilograms. It is often considered to be the biggest snake in the world. You certainly don’t want to get caught alone with this snake due to its method of attacking and killing its victim. It is indeed a remarkably different brand of snake type as it regularly coils（缠绕）around all over its target, increasing the pressure until eventually its victim dies. Its jaws are powered by large muscles that produce enough power for its over 100 sharp teeth to pass through the thick skin of an crocodile. They don’t have poison. Sometimes they prefer to camouflage themselves so they look like their surroundings and swiftly draw back when humans are near.
Golden Poisonous Frogs
The golden poison frog might be the most-deadly of the South American animal, which is protected by means of poison. This very small frog, less than 55 mm in length, packs enough punch（效力）to take down a pair of African bull elephants. This apparently harmless frog has always been known to have killed people who have touched it directly. It’s also been noted that chicken and dogs have died by contacting things on which a golden poison frog had wandered! In intense colors, they normally look attractive to their targets.What can we learn about piranhas from the passage?
| A．Piranhas are the most dangerous animals. |
| B．Piranhas like to live in the deep seabed. |
| C．Piranhas may attack human beings when the water level is low. |
| D．Piranhas only attack human beings when they cross the river in groups. |
How does an anaconda kill its victim according to the passage?
| A．It often uses its poison to kill its victim. |
| B．It often uses its strength to kill its victim. |
| C．It kills its victim mainly using its powerful teeth. |
| D．It kills its victim with the help of other snakes. |
The underlined word “camouflage” in Paragraph 3 means “________”.
| A．hide itself by appearing like the surroundings |
| B．terrify and capture the enemy by making much noise |
| C．move around to search for delicious food |
| D．give off harmful gas to kill the targets |
Chicken and dogs are mentioned in Paragraph 4 to show that ________.
| A．no animals can survive the poison of the golden poison frog |
| B．they like to wander along the path of the golden poison frog |
| C．the golden poison frog likes eating them most |
| D．the poison of the golden poison frog is deadly |
“All I could see was two sets of red eyes below me,” said Dave Gatty, an Australian farmer who spent seven days up a tree in remote bush land to escape crocodiles. Gatty, 52, said he was forced to take such drastic action after he accidentally went into a crocodile-infested area of Queensland. He only had two meat sandwiches to keep him going, as crocodiles moved beneath his tree each night until his rescue. Gatty said he decided it was safer to hold out for a rescue team than try to make a run for it. His problems began after he fell off his horse while out in the northern Australia outback. Dazed and bleeding, he climbed back on his horse and hoped it would lead him home. It was only when he regained his senses he realized that he had been taken into crocodile-infested area. “I had to get off the horse and I fell straight into a crocodile nest,” he told reporters.
“That frightened me. I couldn’t go back, it was too far and too dangerous, so I headed to the nearest high ground and stayed there, hoping someone would come and find me before the crocs did.”
Gatty explained how each night two crocodiles would sit at the bottom of the tree staring at him. Although Gatty’s two sandwiches ran out after three days, he was able to get running water during the day and knew rescuers were looking for him as he could see helicopters in the air above his tree.
“If I hadn’t seen the crocs circling me, and if I hadn’t fallen into the croc nest, I would have made a push for it. But I knew the safest thing was for me to sit and wait,” he said. A chocolate bar, given to him by rescuers after being moved to safety by using a winch(卷扬机), “was like a gourmet (delicious)meal,” he said.Gaddy felt _______ when he found himself trapped in the crocodile- infested area.
| A．panicked but optimistic | B．nervous and hopeless |
| C．upset and regretful | D．frightened but calm |
Which of the following did not help Gatty survive the accident?
| A．Sandwiches | B．Running water |
| C．Chocolates | D．Staying up in a tree |
What’s the right order of the events related to the accident?
a. Gaddy climbed up onto his horse unconscious.
b. Gaddy climbed up a tree and stayed there.
c. Gaddy was moved by a winch to safety.
d. Gaddy fell off his horse accidentally.
e. Gaddy found himself in a crocodile-infested area.
| A．a d e c b | B． d a e b c | C．a d e b c | D．d e a b c |
The article can be classified as _________.
| A．a news story | B．a scientific fiction |
| C．a personal essay | D．a literary report |
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