阅读理解

  Modcm inventions have speeded up people's lives amazingly.Motor-cars cover a bundred miles in little more than an hour.Aireraft cross the world a day, while computers operate at lightning speed.Indeed, this love of speed seems never-ending.Every ycar motor-cars are produced which go even faster each new computer boasts(吹嘘)of saving preeious seconds in handling tasks.

  All this saves timc, but at a prick.When we lose or gain half a day in speeding aeross the world in an airplane, our bodies tell us so.We get the uncomfoerable feeling known as jet-lag; our bodies feel tlru they have been left bebind in anot ar nine zoors Again pending too long at compulers resul's in painti ninrts and fingers.Mobile phones also to dange according to some seientists; too much uss may thesmit h bul radiation into our brains, a we do not like to think about.

  Howave, what do we do with the time we have saved?Certainly not or so it seems.We are so accustomed to constant activity that we find it difficult to sit and do nothing, or even just one thing at a time.Pcrhaps the days are long gone when we might listen quietly to a story on the radio, letting imavination take us into another world.

  There was a time when some people's lives were devotcd simply to the cultivation of the land or the eare of eattle.No multi-tasking there; their lives wenl on at a much gentler pace, and in a familiar pattern.There is much that we might envy about a way of life like this.Yet before we do so, we must think of the hard tasks our ancestors faeed;:they farmed with bare hands, often lived close to hunger, and had to fashion tools from wood and stone.Modem machinery has freed peope fre that primitive existcnee.

(1)

The new rooucts opcome more and more time-saving beeause.

[  ]

A.

our lose e u speed uts never-ending

B.

mo is liwhcd

C.

shi pnces are increasingly high

D.

the manufacturers boast a lot

(2)

What does“the days”in Paragraph 3 refer to?

[  ]

A.

I maginary life

B.

Simple life in the past

C.

Times of inventions

D.

Time for constant activity

(3)

What is the author's attitude towards the modem teehnology?

[  ]

A.

Critical

B.

Objective

C.

Optimistic

D.

Negative

(4)

What does the pa mge mainly diseuss?

[  ]

A.

The present and pad times

B.

Machin and human beings

C.

Imaginations and inventions

D.

Modem teehnology and its influenec

阅读理解

  We have met the enemy and he i s our s.We bought him at a pet shop.When monkey-pox, a di sea se u sually found in the African rain fore st suddenly turn s up in children in the American Midwe st, it' s hard not to wonder of the di sea se that come s from foreign animal s i s homing in on human being s.“Mo st of the infection s we think of a s human infection s started in other animal s, ” say s Stephen Mor se, director of the Center for Public Health Preparedne s s at Columbia Univer sity.

  It' s not ju st that we're going to where the animal s are; we're al so bringing them clo ser to u s.Popular foreign pet s have brought a whole new di sea se to thi s country.A strange illne s s killed I sak sen' s pet s and she now think s that keeping foreign pet s i s a bad idea, “I don't think it' s fair to have them a s pet s when we have such alimited knowledge of them.” say s I sak sen.

  “Law s allowing the se animal s to be brought in from deep fore st area s without stricter control need changing.” say s Peter Schantz.Monkey-pox may be the wake-up call.Re searcher s believe infected animal s may infect their owner s.We know very little about the se new di sea se s.A new bug(病毒)may be kind at fir st.But it may develop into something harmful.Monkey-pox doe sn't look a major infectiou s di sea se.But it i s not impo s sible to pa s s the di sea se from per son to per son.

(1)

We learn from Paragraph 1 that the pet sold at the shop may ________.

[  ]

A.

come from Columbia

B.

prevent u s from being infected

C.

enjoy being with children

D.

suffer from monkey-pox

(2)

Why did I sak sen advi se people not to have foreign pet s?

[  ]

A.

Becau se they attack human being s.

B.

Becau se we need to study native animal s.

C.

Becau se they can't live out of the rain fore st.

D.

Becau se we do not know much about them yet.

(3)

What doe s the phra se “the wake-up call” in Paragraph 3 mo st probably mean?

[  ]

A.

A new di sea se.

B.

A clear warning.

C.

A dangerou s animal.

D.

A morning call.

       How to beat a bad mood

Having one of those days or weeks when everything seems to annoy you? Even if you do nothing about it, your bad mood will probably go awary after some time. But with a little effort, you can forget it much faster, often within a day or two.

??Walk it off

Exercise is the most popular bad-mood buster.A person who’s in a bad mood has low energy and high tension.Taking a fast ten-minute walk, or taking some quick exercise can do wonders towards changing that bad mood.

??Tune it out

Listening to your favorite music for a while can also make tensions go away quickly, because music starts associations with past positive experiences we’ve had.

??Give yourself a pep talk

Stop and listen to what's on your mind.Bad moods are often started by too many negative thoughts.Write them all down on paper; the pessimistic(悲观的)messages you’ve been giving yourself and then give optimistic answers.

??Reduce your stress

Relaxation techniques are wonderful mood-lifters.These include deep breathing,stretching and visualizing(想象), all of which sound complicated but aren't.One easy way to visualize;

close your eyes and picture a favorite place, such as the beach..Another simple way to distress is to make a to-do list.One reason for being in a bad mood is feeling you have mo options(选择权).

By taking control over certain areas,You realize you're not helpless.You can make change in your mood and life.

??Avoid thing that won’t improve your mood

TV may not help much: You need to increase your energy level and stimulate your mind—something that the tv show “neighbors” won’t do. And before you reach for that piece of cake and coffee, think about how mood and food are linked. Sugar and caffeine contribute to depressed moods. The better choice? Research shows that carbohydrates, such as potatoes and pasta,produce a calming effect in people who have a desire for them.

5.We learn from the text that it might help rid us of a bad mood _______.

       A. to do nothing about it                                   B. to take a long walk on the beach

       C. to do some exercises with light music      D. to talk it to neighbours

6.Why it is suggested that you close your eyes and picture the beach?

       A. It is not complicated to do so                 B. It is an area to be easily controlled

       C. It helps beat a bad mood                        D. It brings us a new technique

7.TV may not improve your mood because _______.

       A. it sometimes shows what happens around you

       B. it keeps you stay unmoved

       C. it reminds you of eating and drinking

       D. it produces a calming effect.

8.This text most probably appears in _______.

       A. a book on physical exercises                   B. a doctor’s handbook

       C. a notice                                                D. a magazine

Last year, CCTV journalists approached pedestrians with their cameras, held a microphone to their mouth and asked a simple question, “Are you happy?”

The question has caught many interviewees off guard. Even Mo Yan, who just won a Nobel Prize, responded by saying, “I don’t know”.

While the question has become a buzz phrase and the Internet plays host to heated discussions, we ask: What exactly is happiness? And how do you measure it?

In the 1776 US Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson set in writing the people’s unalienable right to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. 235 years on, Wen Jiabao told the nation, “Everything we do is aimed at letting people live more happily.” At National People’s Congress, officials agreed that increasing happiness would be a top target for the 12th five-year plan.

US psychologist Ed Diener, author of Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth, describes happiness as “ a combination of life satisfaction and having more positive than negative emotions”, according to US broadcasting network PBS. This may sound straightforward enough, but it still doesn’t explain what determines people’s happiness.

Many argue that happiness is elusive and that there is no single source. It also means different things to different people. For some, happiness can be as simple as having enough cash.

Researchers believe happiness can be separated into two types: daily experiences of hedonic (享乐的) well-being; and evaluative well-being, the way people think about their lives as a whole. The former refers to the quality of living, whereas the latter is about overall happiness, including life goals and achievements. Happiness can cross both dimensions.

Li Jun, a psychologist and mental therapy practitioner at a Beijing clinic, says, “Happiness can mean both the most basic human satisfaction or the highest level of spiritual pursuit. It’s a simple yet profound topic.”

Chen Shangyuan, 21, a junior English major at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, said his idea of happiness always evolves. “At present it relates to how productive I am in a day,” he said. “It might be linked to job security or leisure time after I graduate.”

Then there is the question of measuring happiness. Does it depend on how many friends we have, or whether we own the latest smart phone? Is it even quantifiable?

Economists are trying to measure happiness in people’s lives. Since 1972, Bhutan’s GDP measurement has been replaced by a Gross National Happiness index. It is calculated according to the peoples’ sense of being well-governed, their relationship with the environment, their satisfaction with economic development, and their sense of national belonging.

In 2009, US economist Joseph Stiglitz proposed “to shift emphasis from measuring economic production to measuring people’s well-being”. But is well-being more easily measured?

1. In the second paragraph, the writer gave an example to ________.

A. support his idea that being famous is the reason to be happy

B. introduce his topic to be discussed

C. tell people winning a Nobel Prize is a great honor

D. show that the question was quite difficult

2.From what Thomas Jefferson and Wen Jiabao mentioned in the passage, we know ________.

A. people’s happiness is determined by great people

B. people’s happiness is an important target for the development of a country

C. people in all countries have the right to ask the government for a happy life

D. people both in China and America are living a happy life

3.According to the passage, the writer may most likely agree that ________.

A. CCTV journalists are concerned about people’s happiness out of sympathy

B. the question has led to heated discussions about who are the happiest people in China

C. Bhutan’s new index shows that people there are the happiest in the world

D. it is not easy for us to decide what determines people’s happiness

4.What does the underlined word “elusive” in the sixth paragraph mean?

A. available.                B. easy to get.                      C. hard to describe.            D. unimaginable.

5.The best title of the passage is ________.

A. Are you happy?                                                   B. The Measurement of Happiness

C. GDP and Happiness                                             D. The Secret of Happiness

 

Everyone knows how a fishing calendar(日历) works: it tells you when you have the best chance of catching the most fish. This year, though, Kelson Poepoe, a conservationist on Hawaii’s Molokai Island, helped publish an unusual version on this model. Poepoe and his colleagues decided to print a calendar telling people when not to fish.

Many of the Homestead’s residents still follow an existence lifestyle, gathering roughly one-third of their food by fishing in nearby Mo’omomi Bay. But, even though overfishing has exhausted fish populations throughout Hawaii, Mo’omomi Bay’s fishery is booming, with a higher fish density(密度) than nearly anywhere else in the main islands.

The new calendar is based on the ancient fishing practices that have helped keep those populations strong. Hawaiians have long known that carefully tended resources will renew themselves. To make this process easier, fishermen traditionally worked hard to understand and adapt to fish behavior. For example, they closely monitored where and when key species gathered to reproduce, and they prevented fishing during those times. By contrast, most of today’s fishermen see spawning(产卵) periods as a chance to get large numbers of fish, which can cause population break down.

While these traditional methods have largely died out, they are still practiced by Poepoe and his fellow men at Mo’omomi Bay. “We have a rule of conduct that basically says, take only what you can eat fresh, don’t stock your fridge, and don’t take the fish when they spawn,” Poepoe said.

In 1993, Poepoe helped found the conservation group Hui Malama Mo’omomi to teach those practices to new generations, and publishing the calendar is a key part of this move. It follows the lunar cycle, declaring when certain species are not available or “taboo.” It also includes helpful hints about fish lifecycles, detailing exactly where in the bay certain kinds of fish like to gather, how to tell males from females, and which fishing methods are least likely to harm fish populations long-term.

So far, these methods have helped keep Mo’omomi Bay’s fish number totals far higher than elsewhere in the surrounding islands.

With hopes of copying this success, a number of local groups are interested in creating similar calendars for other coastal areas. But that’s a difficult project, partly because fish habits are highly local, meaning that the information in the calendar applies mainly to Mo’omomi Bay. Still, these groups believe the basic methods are transferable.

 

51. What does the passage mainly tell us?

  A. New lunar calendar tells Hawaiians when not to fish.

  B. Traditional methods prevent fishermen from fishing.

  C. A conservation group was founded in Hawaii.

  D. Less fish will be caught in Hawaii Mo’omomi Bay in future.

52. According to the passage, Poepoe’s new calendar ________.

  A. decides the best time for fishing

  B. makes Mo’omomi Bay’s fishery booming

  C. is based on the regular fishing calendar

  D. helps to take care of fishing resources

53. The underlined words “those practices” in Paragraph 5 refer to ________.

  A. the foundation of the conservation group

  B. understanding of fish behaviours

  C. Hawaiian traditional methods of fishing

  D. modern fishermen’s fishing behaviours

54. To use a similar new calendar for other coastal areas, people have to ________.

  A. fish only when key species gather to reproduce

  B. understand and adapt to fish behavior there

  C. learn how to tell males from females

  D. keep fish number totals high

55. It seems that most modern fishermen ________.

  A. may use the new fishing calendar soon

  B. are likely to catch fish during spawning periods

  C. fish much more than what they can eat fresh

  D. try their best not to harm fish populations long-term

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