题目内容
Take a ride on Berlin's clean city trains, and you'll notice one thing: the German capital seems to be disappearing under a tide of graffiti.
These are almost impossible to read or are fashionable names and fantastic pictures on walls, bridges, subway trains－almost any urban surface. To some people, they're an art form with an edge. They're rebellious (叛逆的), daring and even beautiful. To others, graffiti is nothing but a disease that slowly moves into neighborhoods.
For most officials, the root of the problem is that German law does not treat graffiti as a crime and low-cost airlines have made Berlin a center for graffiti sprayers from all over Europe.
In Berlin, annual damage caused by graffiti is estimated at 500 million euros.50 million euros are spent on cleaning up graffiti.
Neighboring countries have far severer graffiti laws, according to a report in the Berliner Kurier newspaper. In Sweden and Norway, repeat offenders(冒犯者) can be given prison terms of up to four years and in Denmark up to six years. And US states put repeat offenders in serious cases in prison for longer terms.
Under current German law, graffiti is only punishable if it can be proven that the spraying itself or the removal of the graffiti resulted in damages to the surface under it.
"We have to clearly show most young people who do this that illegal spraying is punishable," said Karin Schubert, Berlin's social democratic justice minister. If so, it could make life more difficult for Germany's estimated 8,000 active graffiti artists.
Graffiti used to be admired, especially when it appeared on the western side of the Berlin Wall.
1．Many sprayers come to Berlin to make graffiti because________.
A. Berlin is a center for graffiti sprayers
B. the people there like the art of graffiti very much
C. they will not be punished severely there for their graffiti
D. Berlin is the birthplace of graffiti
2．Graffiti sprayers will get the severest punishment in_____.
A. Germany B. US C. Norway D. Denmark
3．In the second paragraph the writer mainly wants to tell us _______.
A. colorful graffiti is everywhere in Berlin
B. graffiti is always hard to understand
C. graffiti is a popular street art
D. people's different opinions about graffiti
4．It's clear that graffiti ________.
A. attracted many foreign tourists to Berlin
B. brings great loss to Berlin
C. is liked by all the young people in Berlin
D. is ugly and unpleasant to old people
5．The best title for the passage would be_______.
A. A Pop Art－Graffiti B. Berlin－the Center of Graffiti
C. Graffiti, Art or Disease? D. Anti-graffiti Movement
CBDBC
Trying to make a big decision while you’re also preparing for a scary presentation? You might want to hold off on that. Feeling stressed changes how people weigh risk and reward. However, an article published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests stressed people pay more attention to the positive sides of a possible outcome.
It’s a bit surprising that stress makes people focus on the way things could go right, says Mara Mather of the University of Southern California. She co-wrote the review paper with Nichole R.Lighthall. “This is sort of not what people would think, ” Mather says. “Stress is usually associated with negative experiences, so you’d think, maybe I’m going to be more focused on the negative outcomes.”
But researchers have found that when people are under stress, they start paying more attention to positive information and discounting negative information. “Stress seems to help people learn from positive feedback and impairs（削弱）their learning from negative feedback, ” Mather says.
When people under stress are making a difficult decision, they may pay more attention to the good sides of the alternatives they’re considering and less to the problems. So someone who’s deciding whether to take a new job and is feeling stressed by the decision might focus on the increase in salary more than the longer commute（上下班往返）.
The increased focus on the positives also helps explain why stress plays a role in addictions. People under stress have a harder time controlling their urges. “The compulsion to get that reward comes stronger and they’re less able to resist it,” Mather says. A person who’s under stress might think only about the good feelings they’ll get from a drug, while the downsides shrink into the distance.
Stress also increases the differences in how men and women think about risk. When men are under stress, they become even more willing to take risks; when women are stressed, they get more conservative(保守的). Previous research backs this up — men usually react to difficulties while trying to fight them or escape them; women try to find friends and improve their relationships.
【小题1】By saying “You might want to hold off on that” in the first paragraph, the writer suggests that .
| A．you might want to delay making your big decision |
| B．you should save the presentation for later |
| C．you should avoid taking risks |
| D．you might benefit from the stress |
| A．often leads people to take more risks |
| B．often leads people to make balanced decisions |
| C．makes people think more of negative results |
| D．makes people ignore the negative side of problems |
| A．Stress is helpful in getting rid of addictions. |
| B．People who are addicted to drugs are easily stressed. |
| C．When women are stressed, they do not tend to take risks. |
| D．When men are stressed, they are more likely to develop an addiction. |
| A．Stress can affect decision-making. |
| B．Stress increases our desire to get rewards. |
| C．We should think more about the upside of problems. |
| D．There is a link between stress and negative experiences. |
根据短文内容，从下框的A-F选项中选出能概括每一段主题的最佳选项。选项中有一项为多余项。
| A．Focus on your relationships． B．Think about what to do next step． C．Take good care of your body． D．Try to avoid over thinking． E．Set up a proper goal for yourself． F．Practice acts of kindness． |
Sonja Lyubomirsky, an author, has researched the science of happiness for years．
Here are her tips to help you cope with a bad economy, and increase your bursts of happiness throughout the day．
【小题1】________
“You could spend a lot of time thinking deeply,” says Lyubomirsky．“But that just makes you feel even more pessimistic, more out of control, and affects your self esteem．Your relationships will suffer and your job performance will suffer．”
Get rid of pessimism．One of the most effective ways to cope when things are difficult is to adopt a positive thinking strategy．“What can I learn from this? Times are tough, I’ve been furloughed at work, but I can spend more time with the kids, adopt a new hobby, or learn a new set of skills．”
【小题2】________
Now more than ever we need each other to survive．Lyubomirsky found that doing good things for friends, family, or strangers can make you happier．Think of practical, everyday gestures that can make someone’s life a little bit easier．For example, Lyubomirsky says, “Maybe now many of us can’t afford to take a cab to the airport, so offer to give a friend a ride．”
【小题3】________
You don’t need an expert to tell you that relationships are critical to happiness．
Not being the bread-winner anymore or not being able to fulfill your kid’s needs can weigh down hard on your family life．But the trick is to stop feeling guilty and focus on caring for your loved ones．
“I was at a psychology conference where an expert was talking about the effects of this economy on families and how parents can’t afford to buy their kids luxuries like toys anymore,” says Lyubomirsky．“But what they don’t realize is that kids don’t care about toys — what they care about is parents being grumpy and taking it out on them．”
【小题4】________
“If you find a happy person you will find a project,” says Lyubomirsky．“Happy people all have goals they care about．”
Commit yourself to a project – whether it is a business you want to start or a dance you want to learn．But it’s also important to remember to be flexible in these times．
Don’t get frustrated if circumstances are stopping you from meeting your goals．Adopt and change!
“If your spouse has lost their job you might have to change your goal,” says Lyubomirsky．“Or you might have to learn a whole new skill for a new job．”
【小题5】________
When times are tough, it’s easy to get skip your regular workouts in favor of moping in front of the TV and eating a bag of chips．Your thinking is “I have more important things to worry about right now than looking good．”
But carve out a small part of your day to give your body some TLC．It will go a long way in boosting your happiness．“Even if you can’t afford to go to the gym,”
Lyubomirsky says, “take time out to exercise at home．”