题目内容
Recent studies have shown that most US graduates receive cash as gifts, though the amount received ______ from person to person．
| A．prefers | B．promotes | C．varies | D．suffers |
C
解析
阅读快车系列答案That “Monday morning feeling” could be a crushing pain in the chest which leaves you sweating and gasping for breath. Recent research from Germany and Italy shows that heart attacks are more common on Monday mornings and doctors blame the stress of returning to work after the weekend break.
The risk of having a heart attack on any given day should be one in seven, but a six-year study helped by researchers at the Free University of Berlin of more than 2,600 Germans showed that the average person had a 20 percent higher chance of having a heart attack on a Monday than on any other day.
Working Germans are particularly not protected against attack, with a 33 percent higher risk at the beginning of the working week. Non-workers, by comparison, appear to be no more at risk on a Monday than any other day.
A study of 11,000 Italians proved 8 am on a Monday morning as the most stressful time for the heart, and both studies showed that Sunday is the least stressful day, with fewer heart attacks in both countries.
The findings could lead to a better understanding of what is the immediate cause of heart attacks, according to Dr Stefan Willich of the Free University. “We know a lot about long-term risk factors such as smoking and cholesterol（胆固醇）but we don’t know what actually causes heart attacks, so we can’t give clear advice on how to prevent them,” he said.
Monday mornings have a double helping of stress for the working body as it makes a rapid change from sleep to activity, and from the relaxing weekend to the pressures of work.
“When people get up, their blood pressure and heart rate go up and there are hormonal（内分泌）changes in their bodies,” Willich explained. “All these things can have an unfavourable effect in the blood system and increase the risk of a clot（血凝块）in the arteries（动脉）which will cause a heart attack.”
“When people return to work after a weekend off, the pace of their life changes. They have a higher workload, more stress, more anger and more physical activity,” said Willich.
【小题1】．Monday morning feeling, as this passage shows, .
| A．is not so serious as people thought |
| B．is harmful to working people in Germany and Italy |
| C．is the first killer in Germany and Italy. |
| D．is created by researchers in Germany and Italy |
| A．people’s working time | B．people’s living place |
| C．people’s diet and lifestyle | D．people’s nationalities |
| A．blood pressure | B．heart rate | C．hormonal changes | D．blood group |
| A．Stop working on Monday | B．Create a pleasant working environment |
| C．Get up late on Monday morning | D．Go to work with a doctor |
| A．The risk of having heart attacks on Monday mornings is the same as on any other day of the week to non-workers |
| B．33% of the Germans have heart diseases, therefore heart attacks are more common in Germany than in any other country. |
| C．20%of the Italians appear to have higher possibility of having heart attacks. |
| D．Non-smokers are more likely to have heart attacks on Sundays. |
Scientists have long understood the key role that oceans play in controlling the Earth’s climate. Oceans cover 70 per cent of the surface of the globe and store a thousand times more heat than the atmosphere does. What’s newer is the understanding of how this key component(组成部分) of our climate system responds to global warming.
A brake on global warming—for now
One of the oceans’ most important climate functions is absorbing heat and carbon dioxide(CO2), one of the gases that causes global warming. Acting as something absorbing heat, the oceans have absorbed huge amounts of heat and CO2 in the last forty years.
Fujita explains, “the oceans are saving us from faster climate change—they are putting a brake on the climate system.”
“That’s the good news,” he adds. “The bad news is that the oceans only slow the atmospheric warming. Once the oceans come to balance with a greenhouse-gas warmed earth, the extreme heat will remain in the atmosphere and things will get much hotter.” But where and how the oceans release this slowly increased heat is uncertain. And as the ocean stores heat, fragile(脆弱的) underwater ecosystems are struggling.
The most recent scientific report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) also notes with concern that the ocean is acidifying(酸化) because of increased absorption of atmospheric CO2. and thus causing a threat to shell-forming species. Sharp increase in CO2 levels will cause further acidification of the ocean.
Currents distributing heat
Another important role the oceans play is that of distributor(散布者). Oceans deliver heat and life-sustaining nutrition around the globe. Just as blood tube bring oxygen and nutrition to cells in the human body, the ocean’s currents carry oxygen, nutrients and heat throughout the Earth. The ocean distributes 25 to 50 per cent of energy the planet receives from the sun. For example, the Gulf Stream carries heat across the Atlantic. This warm current gives northwestern European a milder climate that it would normally have so far north. A change to the ocean’s circulation patterns could throw Europe into a colder period, even as the rest of the world is experiencing warmer temperatures.
【小题1】 We can infer from the passage that _______.
| A．the oceans cause global warming | B．the oceans stop global warming |
| C．the oceans release nutrients and heat | D．the ocean ecosystems face more dangers |
- produce oxygen and nutrients around
- absorb 25-50% of the energy from the sun
- distribute the atmosphere hotter
【小题3】 Which of the following are the results of the ocean absorbing heat and CO2?
a. It causes further acidification.
b. It makes the atmosphere hotter.
c. It balances the oceans with a green-house gas.
d. It affects shell-forming species.
e. It makes the oceans act as a heat sponge.
f. It controls the Earth’s climate.
| A．a-c-f | B．a-d-f | C．b-d-e | D．b-c-e |
| A．Asia would suffer a hotter climate. |
| B．Europe would become hotter |
| C．the rest of the world would become warmer. |
| D．the climate of Europe would become colder. |
A newly-published study has shown that loneliness can spread from one person to another, like a disease.
Researchers used information from the Framingham Study, which began in 1948. The Framingham Study gathers information about physical and mental health, personal behavior and diet. At first, the study involved about 5,000 people in the American state of Massachusetts. Now, more than 12,000 individuals are taking part.
Information from the Framingham Study showed earlier that happiness can spread from person to person. So can behaviors like littering and the ability to stop smoking.
University of Chicago psychologist John Cacioppo led the recent study. He and other researchers attempted to show how often people felt lonely. They found that the feeling of loneliness spread through social groups.
Having a social connection with a lonely person increased the chances that another individual would feel lonely. In fact, a friend of a lonely person was 52% more likely to develop feelings of loneliness. A friend of that person was 25% more likely. The researchers say this shows that a person could indirectly be affected by someone’s loneliness.
The effect was strongest among friends. Neighbors were the second most affected group. The effect was weaker on husbands and wives, and brothers and sisters. The researchers also found that loneliness spread more easily among women than men.
The New York Times newspaper reports that, on average, people experience feelings of loneliness about 48 days a year. It also found that every additional friend can decrease loneliness by about five percent, or two and a half fewer lonely days.
Loneliness has been linked to health problems like depression and sleeping difficulties. The researchers believe that knowing the causes of loneliness could help in reducing it.
The study suggests that people can take steps to stop the spread of loneliness. They can do this by helping individuals they know who may be experiencing loneliness. The result can be helpful to the whole social group.
【小题1】From the passage, we can learn that .
| A．the habit of littering doesn’t spread |
| B．a lonely person won’t have friends |
| C．everyone may be affected by others’ loneliness |
D．lonely people don’t know the cause of their lone liness |
| A．The spreading effect was the second strongest among friends. |
| B．No spreading effect was found on husbands and wives. |
| C．Women are more likely to be affected than men. |
| D．Brothers are more easily affected than neighbors. |
| A．48 days | B．25 days | C．20 days | D．15 days |
A．Actions should be taken t o help lonely people. | B．People feel lonely for many reasons. |
| C．Ways to fight against loneliness. | D．Lonely people can affect others. |
Gauri Nanda sees a wearable computer as a handbag — one that’s built out of four-inch squares and triangles of fiber, with tiny computer chips embedded (嵌入) in it. It looks, feels and weighs like your typical leather purse.
That’s where similarities end: This bag can wirelessly keep track of your belongings and remind you, just as you’re about to leave the house, to take your wallet. It can review the weather report and suggest that you grab an umbrella. This purse can even upload your favorite songs onto your scarf.
Sure, a computing purse and scarf set may seem like the stuff of science fiction. But these devices, part of next generation of wearable computers, could become commonplace within a few years. DuPont created new super strong fibers that can conduct electricity and can be woven into ordinary-looking clothes. And the chipmaker developed chip packaging allowing wearable computers to be washed, even in the heavy-duty cycle.
As a result, these new wearable devices are different from the heavy and downright silly versions of the recent past, which often required users to be wrapped in wires and type on their stomachs. Unlike their predecessors, these new wearable computers also make economic sense. When her bag becomes commercially available in two to three years, Nanda expects it will cost around $150, which is the price of an average leather purse.
Here’s how the bag works: You place a special radio-signal-transmitting chip on to your wallet. A similar radio in your purse picks up the signal and notifies you that you’ve forgotten to take your wallet. In turn, sensors on your purse’s handles will notify the computer that you’ve picked up the purse and are ready to go.
Already, these new kinds of wearable devices are being adopted for use in markets like auto repair, emergency services, medical monitoring — and even, increasingly, for consumers at large. Indeed, more people will want to cross that bridge in the coming years — making for a booming market for wearable computers that don’t like something out of science fiction.
【小题1】Which of the following describes a wearable computer?
| A．It can be washed in a washing machine. |
| B．It is much heavier than a leather purse. |
| C．It can download songs from the Internet. |
| D．It is made of clothes conducting electricity. |
| A．require users to operate on the stomach |
| B．pick up the signals through wires and chip |
| C．are being applied in some different areas now |
| D．are smarter but more expensive than the old ones |
| A．These new wearable computers have become fashionable. |
| B．People would like to learn more about these new computers. |
| C．These new wearable computers promise to sell well in the future. |
| D．The idea of these purse-like computers comes from science fiction. |
| A．to introduce a new kind of computer | B．to explain the function of computers |
| C．to compare different types of computers | D．to show how high technology affects our life |