Expensive:The cost of finding love is,on average,two inner circle friends,scientists have found.

Ever found yourself dumped (度弃的) by a friend embarking (着手,开始做) on a romance? Don't worry,you're probably not the only one. For according to Oxford University scientists,every time we start a relationship we jettison (抛弃,丢弃) two of our closest friends.

Most of us simply don't have enough time for intimate (密切的) friendships with more than four or five people,their research shows.

And a new love interest leads to two friends being pushed out of the inner circle.

Professor Robin Dunbar,one of Britain's leading experts in evolutionary biology,ex?plained:"If you go into a romantic relationship it actually costs you two friends in that inner core of relationships."

"Instead of having the typical five friends,they only have four in that inner circle. And bearing in mind that one of those is the new person that has come into your life,it means you have to give up two others."

Men tend to have four or five intimate friends,women five or six,he said.

However,men were just as likely to jettison friends at the start of a new romantic attach?ment (情感) as women,found the study of those aged 18 to 60.

"Your attention is so wholly focused on the romantic partners,you just don't get to see the other folks you had a lot to do with before”,the professor told the British Science Festival in Birmingham. " Those relationships start to deteriorate."

But it's not just romance that can push out close friends,he explained. Children or buying a dog can have the same effect.

"You can only have five slots (位置) for deeply intense and meaningful relations. Those in?dividuals don't have to be human. They can be your dog or your favourite chrysanthemum (菊花) plant. They can be people in an entirely fictional world,they can be soap opera characters. They can be God or they can be saints."

(   ) 5. Which of these behaviors can't we jettison our cldse friends?

   A. Giving a birth to a baby. B. Planting some flowers.

   C. Raising a puppy. D. Living the normal life.

(   ) 6. What does the underlined sentence really mean?

   A. Men,as well as women,are likely to push out close friends when starting a new romance.

   B. Men but not women are likely to push out close friends at very beginning of a new romance.

   C. Women don't do like man to push out close friends when starting a new romance.

   D. Both men and women are not likely to behave the same.

(   ) 7. According to the context,guess the meaning of the underlined word "deteriorate".

   A. Grow worse. B. Become better. C. Go upward. D. Turn down.

(   ) 8. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

   A. Only with humans can one maintain deeply intense and meaningful relations.

   B. Dogs and planting some chrysanthemum can't make one push out close friends.

   C. Limited slots for deep relations and easy to be occupied.

   D. The more slots you have,the more intense and meaningful relations you get.

S Older people like reading negative news stories about their younger counterparts because it boosts their own selfesteem,according to a new study.

German researchers said older people tend to be portrayed (描绘成) negatively in society. Although they are often described as wise,they are also be shown as being slow and forgetful. "Living in a youth centered culture,they may appreciate a boost (增进) in selfesteem. That's why they prefer the negative stories about younger people,who are seen as having a higher sta?tus in our society," said Dr. Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick,of Ohio State University.

Knobloch-Westerwick and her coauthor Matthias Hastall,of Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen,Germany,studied 276 German adults,including 178 aged 18 to 30 and 98 be?tween 55 and 60. Their findings are published in the Journal of Communication.

All the adults in the study were shown what they were led to believe was a test version of a new online news magazine. They were also given a limited time to look over either a negative or positive version of 10 preselected articles.

Each story was also paired with a photograph depicting someone of either the younger or the older age group.

The researchers found that older people were more likely to choose to read negative articles about those younger than themselves. They also tended to show less interest in articles about older people,whether negative or positive.

But younger people preferred to read positive articles about other young people.

According to Knobloch-Westerwick,older people's preference for negative news about their younger counterparts can be explained by their place in society.

"Everybody likes a selfesteem boost. For young people though,it's almost automatic. Youth is considered important in society”,she said.

After perusing the articles,the participants completed a questionnaire designed to measure levels of selfesteem. Unlike their younger counterparts,the selfesteem of older people rose after they read a negative article about younger people.

(   ) 1. What is the social trend towards older people?

   A. They are often described as wise.

   B. They are also be shown as being slow and forgetful.

   C. They tend to be portrayed negatively in society.

   D. They often tend to be described wise as well as being slow and forgetful.

(   ) 2. What does the underlined word preselected mean?

   A. Choose with care. B. Choose seriously beforehand.

   C. Choose at random. D. Choose deliberately.

(   ) 3. What does the passage imply?

   A. To boot their own selfesteem,older people like reading negative news stories about their younger counterparts.

   B. Older people were more likely to choose to read negative articles about those younger than themselves.

   C. Younger people preferred to read positive articles about other young people.

   D. Everybody likes a selfesteem boost.

(   ) 4. The questionnaire is designed to         .

   A. measure levels of selfesteem

   B. identify both older and younger people's reading interest

   C. strengthen understanding between older and younger people

   D. check whether older people are slow and forgetful

On his first visit to China,Barack Obama has won hearts and minds with a simple ges?ture―by carrying his own umbrella.

He 1       it clasped (扣紧,紧握) firmly in his left hand,a large black umbrella protecting him from a downpour 2        he stepped off Air Force One on arrival in Shanghai on Sunday evening. In a country where officials often have flunkeys ((穿制服的) 仆役,谄媚者) to hold their umbrellas,the image of a U. S. president keeping his own head 3        was poignant (醒目有力的) .Xinhua and other prominent Chinese media all 4        the moment.

"I felt 5        to this―Obama holding the umbrella 6        his own”,said a commentator in Wuhanbased Changjiang Daily." There was nobody crowding 7       . The Chinese public puts up with a culture in which government officials have their umbrellas 8        for them. Officials enjoying themselves under an umbrella,don't even 9        they are doing anything wrong."

The "umbrella performance" of Chinese officials has long attracted 10        from the Chi?nese public,and invited unfavorable 11        with official custom in the 12        In one set of photos widely circulated (传播) on the Internet,a Chinese girl student is shown 13        an um?brella for an official as he 14       a speech on Children's Day. Others show the U. K. Queen holding an umbrella aloft (在高处) ;former U. S. President George W. Bush and formerRussiaPresident Putin 15        their First Ladies;and Bush struggling with his umbrella on a 16       day. " Being a government official in our country is truly 17        and glorious," says an online commenter.

To his credit,Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao bucks the umbrella 18        in China. Wen,who cultivates (培养,陶冶) a man-of-the-people 19      ,often carries his own umbrella when he shows up to 20        victims of natural'disasters.

(   ) 1. A. took   B. had   C. grasped   D. seized

(   ) 2. A. before   B. as   C. until   D. since

(   ) 3. A. dry   B. wet   C. smart   D. sweet

(   ) 4. A. caught   B. had   C. took   D. captured

(   ) 5. A. unusual   B. unfamiliar   C. unaccustomed   D. strange

(   ) 6. A. of   B. on   C. by   D. in

(   ) 7. A. next   B. besides   C. throughout   D. round

(   ) 8. A. grasped   B. kept   C. held   D. clasped

(   ) 9. A. think   B. consider   C. believe   D. regard

(   ) 10. A. criticism   B. attack   C. disapproval   D. condemnation

(   ) 11. A. similarity   B. resemblance   C. comparison   D. judgment

(   ) 12. A. East   B. USA   C. UN   D. West

(   ) 13. A. catching   B. holding   C. seizing   D. possessing

(   ) 14. A. delivers   B. conveys   C. talks   D. speaks

(   ) 15. A. defending   B. protecting   C. shielding   D. guarding

(   ) 16. A. windy   B. cloudy   C. sunny   D. snowy

(   ) 17. A. fearful   B. frightful   C. amazing   D. awesome

(   ) 18. A. fashion   B. current   C. style   D. trend

(   ) 19. A. appearance   B. vision   C. image   D. picture

(   ) 20. A. encourage   B. comfort   C. reassure   D. sympathize

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