题目内容
The meeting ________ a song.
- A.started by
- B.ended up with
- C.stops with
- D.begin with
A Book Review — The Snake-Stone by Berlie Doherty
The setting: Urban England (the cities), but also rural England (the countryside) including remote English villages.
The theme: The main theme is a teenage search of self-discovery, in this case the search for a mother from whom the hero was separated at an early age. Its other concerns are love, getting on with others, being persistent and courageous and trying to deal with doubts, troubles and worries. As the book moves to a close, James' swimming coach says to him: "You are not like a kid obeying instructions any more. You are diving like a young man who knows where he is going."
The characters: James is the hero of the story. He is a championship diver, and has a comfortable life with his foster parents (养父母). Yet he also has the qualities to take him on a long journey to find his birth mother. The other characters in The Snake-Stone, James' parents, his diving instructor, best friend, the villagers, people he meets on his journey, are pictured realistically.
The turning point: The turning point in the story comes while James' foster parents are away in London, and he wonders about the identity of his birth mother. The only clue he has is a fossil, "the snake stone" which she left behind along with a note on which she had written: "Take good care of Sammie. It was written on a torn envelope with parts of an address still there.
The journey: Instead of going to London, James decides to find his birth mother. With help from his geography teacher, James sets out for the remote country village where his mother might be found. James has painful, challenging, but also humorous and happy travels. The mother he finally meets, Anne, has a minor yet powerful voice in the novel. He comes to understand why she left him at a stranger's door fifteen years before. Although the meeting is not long, it leaves him with a feeling of completeness. As a journey of self-discovery The Snake-Stone also provides its readers with a happy ending. Its hero says, on returning to his foster parents, "I was home."
【小题1】What is the main theme of the novel?
| A．Life with foster parents. | B．Life in the world of diving. |
| C．A journey of self-discovery. | D．A travel around the country. |
| A．James is a successful diver. | B．James is a hopeful swimmer. |
| C．James is an outgoing young man. | D．James is an independent young man. |
| A．a stone with an address on it | B．a clue left by the birth mother |
| C．a gift from the swimming coach | D．a fossil left by the foster parents |
| A．The story has a sad ending. |
| B．The story takes place in the city of London. |
| C．The characters are vividly described. |
| D．The turning point comes after the hero meets his birth mother. |
Not all think laughter is the best medicine, but it seems to help．So scientists carried on a new study of diabetes （糖尿病） patients who were given a good dose of humor for a year to prove it．
Researchers divide 20 high-risk diabetic patients into two groups．Both groups were given standard diabetes medicine．Group L viewed 30 minutes of humor of their choice, while Group C, the control group, did not．This went on for a year of treatments．
By two months into the study, the patients in the laughter group had lower level of the hormones epinephrine （肾上腺素）, considered to cause stress, which is known to be deadly．After the 12 months, HDL cholesterol rises 26 percent in Group L but only 3 percent in Group C．In another measure, C-reactive proteins, a maker of heart disease, drop 66 percent in the laughter group but only 26 percent in the control group．
“The best doctors believe that there is a physical good brought about by the positive emotion, happy laughter,” said study leader Lee Berk of Loma Linda University．And other research has found that humor makes us more hopeful．Still, more study is needed, Berk said．The research by Berk found that humor can bring about similar changes in body chemistry, which was proved in the new study．The research result will be presented this month at the meeting in the US．Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine shows that laughter causes the inner lining of blood vessels to expand, increasing blood flow in a way thought to be healthy．
“Lifestyle choices have an important effect on health and these are choices which we and patients should pay attention to, rather than prevention and treatment,” Berk said in a statement this week．
【小题1】Why did the scientists carry on the new research?
| A．To find out if laughter was good to health． |
| B．To discover the best medicine to cure diabetes． |
| C．Because the number of diabetic patients is the largest in the world． |
| D．Because diabetic patients need more laughter than other patients． |
| A．C-reactive proteins increase 66 percent in Group C |
| B．the level of the hormones epinephrine stays the same in both groups |
| C．the level of the hormones epinephrine has dropped |
| D．C-reactive proteins reduced 66 percent in Group L |
| A．something bad to our health | B．something good to our health |
| C．a kind of wonderful medicine | D．a kind of dangerous disease |
| A．Blood is made thick by laughter． | B．Laughter makes blood vessels thin． |
| C．Laughter increases blood pressure． | D．Laughter makes blood flow fast． |
| A．choose lifestyles carefully | B．change our lifestyles |
| C．prevent our lifestyles in advance | D．pay less attention to the positive emotion |