题目内容
Definition of Happiness
A proverb from ancient China was widely spread in the West: “If you want to be happy for a few hours, go to get drunk; if you want the happiness to last three years, get married; if you want lifetime happiness, take up gardening.” The reason for the last is this: Gardening is not only useful, but it helps you to identify(与……一致) yourself with nature, and thus brings you new joy each day besides improving your health.
A research of a US university that I’ve read gives a definition of happiness as what makes a person feel comfortably pleased. To put it specially, happiness is an active state of mind where one thinks one’s life is meaningful, satisfactory and comfortable. This should be something lasting rather than transitory (短暂的).
Lots of people regard it the happiest to be at leisure (空闲). But according to a study, it is not a person with plenty of leisure but one at work that feels happy, especially those busy with work having little time for leisure. Happiness does not mean gains one is after but a desire to harvest what one is seeking for. People often do not treasure what they already have but desire what they cannot get. That is somewhat like a man with fond dreams of numerous lovers while unwilling to settle down with the woman beside him.
Happiness is a game balancing between two ends — what one has and what one wishes for, i.e. one’s dream and the possibility to realize it. The study comes to this conclusion: A happy man is one who aims high but never forget his actual situation; one who meets challenges that develop his ability and potentiality; one who’s proud of his achievements and the recognition given to him. He has self-respect and self-confidence; treasures his own identity and loves freedom. He is sociable and enjoys wide range communication with others; he’s helpful and ready to accept assistance. He knows he is able to bear sufferings and failures; he is sensible enough to get fun from daily work. He is a man capable of love and passion.
1. According to the passage, gardening can bring lifetime happiness because _______.
A. it is a business that brings money
B. it can strengthen gardeners’ ability to remake nature
C. it can make gardeners enjoy very happy marriage
D. gardeners can build good relationship with nature
2. It can be concluded from the research of the university that most people feel happy when _______.
A. they are at leisure
B. they are engaged in working
C. they are gardening
D. they have numerous lovers
3. The writer mentioned a man with fond dreams of numerous lovers in order to _______.
A. give an example of a person who doesn’t value what he already owns
B. show that this kind of person has plenty of leisure time to do what he wants
C. make it clear that only this kind of person can enjoy happiness
D. show the serious problem in marriage in modern society
4. From the passage we can know that happiness is _______.
A. getting everything one longs for
B. just dreams made by those confident people
C. taking up gardening
D. a balance between what one owns and what one dreams of
D
B
A
D
【解析】略
We’ve heard about radiation from the damaged nuclear reactors in Japan reaching American shores. Experts say so far there is no reason to worry, and point out that we meet radiation every day. Where and how? NPR’s Renee Montagne posed that question to Peter Caracappa, a radiation safety officer and professor of nuclear engineering.
MONTAGNE: How many things emit radiation?
Dr CARACAPPA: Well, radiation and radioactive material is a part of nature. So everything that’s living has some amount of radiation coming from it—a very small amout. Plus there’s radiation in the ground and the air.
So the extremes are uranium in the soil to bananas?
Yes.
By the way, why do bananas have radiation?
Bananas have a lot of potassium(钾). And a small amount of potassium naturally is called potassium 40, which is radioactive
What’s the difference between radiation that’s harmful and not harmful?
Well, the term radiation can apply to a lot of different things. But the harmful radiation is ionizing(离子)radiation. It has enough energy that it can make chemical changes in material. We could get ionizing radiation from an X-ray, for example. It’s the kind of radiation that causes cancer.
The broader definition of radiation includes a lot of things that we call non-ionizing radiation. That includes everything like radio waves and visible light and your microwave.
So what then is the largest contributor of ionizing radiation?
For the natural sources of ionizing radiation, actually the biggest chunk of that tends to come from radon(氡), which is a radioactive material that is present in the air. It can become a concern when it builds up in low-lying areas of homes like basements.
Would it be fair to say that most people do not need to worry about the danger of being exposed to radiation?
I would say that the everyday exposure to radioation that we meet contributes an extremely tiny risk to our life or to our health compared to all of the other risks that we meet in our day-to-day life.
1.We can infer from the first paragraph that radiation is______.
A.rare |
B.powerful |
C.dangerous |
D.common |
2.The passage may be _______.
A.an interview |
B.an argument |
C.a talk show program |
D.a science report |
3.Whether radiation is harmful or not depends on______.
A.whether it has a small amount of potassium |
B.whether it changes chemical in materials. |
C.whether it has energy to change materials |
D.whether it is visible in life |
4.The purpose of writing this passage is to _______.
A.advise on how to protect us from radiation |
B.analyze what causes radiation in daily life |
C.warn people of the danger of radiation |
D.expect people not to fear everyday radiation |
阅读下面短文,根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。注意:每个空格只填一个单词。
Time, a faithful company of our life, is a universal topic. People are always curious about what it is, how it travels and who it meets.
Stephen Hawking, one of the world’s smartest physicists, once said. “I’m fascinated by time.”
Many of us are, and the popularity of time travel novels, movies and TV series has proved that. After Palace and Startling by Each Step achieved astonishing ratings last year, Palace 2 aired on January 20, attracting time travel fans back to TV.
Woody Allen’s movie Midnight in Paris achieved great success. It was nominated for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Art Direction for the 2012 Academy Awards.
Dream of heroism
Time travel TV series and movies connect both today and the past, thus offering room for imagination. Imagination creates a chance for the young to fulfill a dream that is hard to achieve in reality.
Chinese writer Xi Juan is a pioneer of time-travel stories in China. In 1993 she published a love story about a young woman time traveling to ancient times. The leading role’s modern personality and perception of love help her win the heart of a cool, handsome martial art master. Such a plot satisfies female fans’ love fantasy.
Starting from the late 1990s, novels about men traveling back to the past prevailed (盛行), with a Step into the Past as the most popular example. In these stories, the male leading roles accomplish great things with their modern skills and wisdom.
It is usually “a dream of heroism come true”, along with enviable romances.
Eye candy
“I’m hooked by the shows because they are characterized by dramatic and poetic love and have eye-pleasing actors,” Xia Xiaoyan, who works for a foreign-owned enterprise in Shanghai, explained her love for time travel TV series.
Her comment echoes a 2011 survey by Creat Marketing Research Co Ltd in China. When asked about what is so appealing about time travel TV series, 21 percent of respondents answered, “These attractive characters.”
A bigger reason behind the popularity of time travel stories, however, is the relaxation they offer, according to the survey.
Cai Yinong agrees. “Many people are facing tremendous pressure in their fast-paced lives, so this genre is more relaxing than other shows as it provides people with a terrific outlet to escape reality,” Cai told China Daily.
Cultural homesickness
“Which dynasty would you like to live in if you could travel to the past?” asked a survey launched by Shanghai University and Shanghai Social Sciences Association last December.
About 60 percent of the 2,543 respondents chose Tang Dynasty, while Qing Dynasty, and the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were the other top two destinations.
The survey results reflects people’s definition of the good days: prosperous economy and culture, steady society, fair and uncorrupted politics, and opening up to the outside world.
As for the movie Midnight in Paris, it features modernity versus cultural homesickness. The New York Times commented, “The past seems so much more vivid, more substantial, than the present. The good old days are so attractive because we were not around, however much we wish we were.”
Time travel wins fans |
|
Phenomenon |
l Stephen Hawking shows great interest in 1. _. l People prefer 2.____ time travel movies and TV series. l Woody Allen was 3._______ in his time travel movie. |
Reasons for its 4.___ |
Supporting details |
Dream of heroism |
l Chances are offered for the young to fulfill 5.__________ hard to l achieve in reality. l Xi Juan’s 1993 love story6._______ a young woman traveling to l ancient times, which satisfies females fans. l From the late 1990s, novels about 7.________ traveling back to l the past became increasingly popular. l The male leading role in A Step Into the Past travels back to the past l to fulfill great things by using his 8._______ skills and wisdom. |
Eye candy |
Attractive actors and travel stories make viewers under pressure 9._________. |
Cultural homesickness |
Most respondents chose to live in a certain dynasty for: l Prosperous economy and10.________; l Steady society; l Fair and uncorrupted politics; l Opening up to the outside world. |