Happiness is U-shaped, for we are happier at the start and end of our lives but hit a slump when we are middle-aged, British and US researchers say.

Economists from the University of Warwick, central England, and from Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, looked at data on the mental health of two million people from 80 countries.

In Britain, the probability of depression for men and women peaks at around 44 years of age, Warwick University said in a press release.

In the United States, though, ________________________between men and women. Among women, unhappiness peaked at around the age of 40, whereas among men, it was about 50.

But the U-shape of happiness is constant around the world, and mid-life depression occurs regardless of marital status（婚姻状况）, changes in job or income.

The study appears in Social Science & Medicine, published by the Dutch publishing house Elsevier.

"It happens to men and women, to single and married people, to rich and poor, and to those with and without children.” said co-author Andrew Oswald.

One possibility may be that people realize they won't achieve many of their ambitions at middle age. The researchers said.

Another reason could be that after seeing their fellow middle-aged peers begin to die, people begin to value their own remaining years and embrace life once more.

But the good news is that if people make it to aged 70 and are still physically fit, they are on average as happy and mentally healthy as a 20-year old.

"For the average persons in the modern world, the dip in mental health and happiness comes on slowly, not suddenly in a single year," Oswald said. "Only in their fifties do people emerge from this low period.”

1. Which sentence in the passage is the closest in meaning to the following one?

There are chances that the middle-aged people will realize their ideal is likely to be unattainable.

__________________________________________________________________________

2. Fill in the blank in Paragraph 3 with a proper sentence．（within 10 words）

__________________________________________________________________________

3. How do you understand the sentence that “Happiness is U-shaped”? （within 20 words）

__________________________________________________________________________

4. Is mid-life depression a common Phenomenon in the world? How do you know? （within 15 words）

__________________________________________________________________________

5. Translate the underlined sentence in the last paragraph into Chinese

__________________________________________________________________________

The bicycle is the common sight in our daily life, as a great many Chinese use one every day. But you may not know its role in strengthening international relations, as it did in the case of US President George W. Bush’s visit to China .

President Bush arrived in Beijing on November 19, 2005 after he finished the APEC meeting in South Korea.He met with Chinese top leaders and achieved agreements on trade, Taiwan issue and more.

Although Bush’s trip was short as 40 hours, he managed to spare a moment to do some cycling. On November 20, he rode up and down a steep path at Laoshan Olympic Mountain Bike Course in Beijing’s suburbs.

Six young Chinese cyclists accompanied the president, who was dressed in a Chinese training uniform with the “Beijing 2008” logo (标志). He did not go along the arranged route and chose a more zigzag(曲折的) hiking path.

“How do you say, ‘take it easy on the old man’?” Bush joked to his partners before setting out.

“Compared with my bike path on the Crawford ranch (农场) , this one is greater and really difficult,” said Bush when his 45-minute ride ended. He said he will come to Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games.

This is not Bush’s first cycle ride in Beijing. In 1975 at the age of 29, he visited the Chinese capital for the first time, when his father was head of the US liaison office (联络处) in Beijing, which Bush described as “fantastic”.

However, observers said Bush’s ride is much more than just his favorite pastime. It expressed friendliness with people in China, where the bicycle is an important part of life and culture.

According to the Washington Post, one of the major newspapers in the US, this was a specially arranged activity by the US Government, for they want to send the Chinese a sign of friendship. “The president is by no means hostile (有敌意的) to China,” it said.

1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A. Every Chinese has at least one bicycle

B. The bicycle is the common sight in our daily life

C. Bicycle can play a role in improving relationship between nations

D. President George W. Bush is fond of cycling

2. President George W. Bush went cycling ______.

A. wearing a T-shirt with the “Beijing 2008” logo

B. up and down a path on Laoshan Mountain

C. accompanied by six young Chinese policemen

D. along a more challenging way without arrangement

3. Bush said “take it easy on the old man” to his partners probably because ______.

A. he wanted to make them easy

B. he wanted to make a joke about them

C. he wanted to tell them it would be a more zigzag hiking path

D. he wanted to show them it would be a easy task for an old man

4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Bush’s first cycle ride was in 1975.

B. Bush’s ride was specially arranged by the Washington Post.

C. Bush’s ride is more a sign of friendship than just his favorite pastime.

D. Bush will come to Beijing to take part in the Olympic cycling games in 2008.

When he took office, George W. Bush, son of former president George Herbert Walker Bush, became the first son to follow his father into the White House since John Quiney Adams followed John Adams in the early 19th century.

    Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, the first child of George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Pierce Bush. Although George Herbert Walker Bush began his career in the oil industry, he finally served as a congressman(国会议员), and vice(副) president and president of the United States.

    At the age of two,Bush moved with his parents from Connecticut to Odessa, Texas, where his father took up the oil business. After a year in Texas, the family moved to California for business reasons. A year later, the family returned to Texas and settled in Midland, where Bush lived from 1950 to 1959.

    In 1959, again for business reasons, the family moved to Houston, Texas. In 1961 Bush left Texas and went to Andover, Massachusetts, to attend Phillips Academy, aboarding school(寄宿学校) that his father had also attended.

    At Phillips, Bush played basketball, baseball, and football. He was best known for being head cheerleader. In 1964 he enrolled at Yale University in Connecticut.His father and grandfather had also attended Yale. At Yale, Bush was considered an average student, but he was popular with his classmates.

    Bush graduated from Yale with a bachelor’s degree in history in 1968. Then he joined the Air National Guard and remained in the Guard until 1973. After earning his MBA from Harvard in 1975, Bush returned to Midland. Like his father, he first entered the oil industry as a “landsman(新手)”. However, Bush’s oil companies never enjoyed great success. He took more interest in politics. He helped his father to become president and in 1994 he himself was elected governor of Texas.

    In the summer of 1999, Bush began to run for the president of the USA and on January 20, 2001, George W. Bush, hand raised, took the oath(宣誓) of office to become the 43rd president of the US.

1.What does the writer intend to tell us in the first paragraph?

    A. George W. Bush is the first son in American history to follow his father into the White House.

    B. George W. Bush is the first son of former president George Herbert Walker Bush.

    C. John Quincy Adams and his father were both former American presidents.

    D. George W. Bush is the second one in American history to follow his father into the White House.

2.We may learn from the text that young Bush ______.

A. got on very well at the universities

B. was very good at basketball, baseball and football

C. did everything as his father had done   

D. was a very successful politician like his father

3.Which of the following is NOT true about George W. Bush?

A. Young Bush lived with his family in Texas from 1948 to 1961.

B. He once studied at a university that his father and grandfather had also attended.

C. He once ruled over an American state before he entered the White House.

D. He once served at the Air National Guard for about five years.

对话填空（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

认真阅读下面对话，并根据各题所给首字母的提示，在答题卡上标有题号的横线上，写出一个英语单词的完整、正确形式、使对话通顺。

(J=Joyce; T=Tom)

J: Tom, I am going to the UK for my further study. Could you give me some a         about living there?

T: Yes, of course. I will tell you all that I know to help you a              to the new life easily. Is your English good?

J: I think it’s not bad. I can speak it f        .

T: OK. Then you shouldn’t have a problem finding a p         job.

J: What kind of job?

T: I used to work in a bar in the evening when I was at university but the pay is

u         not very high.

J: But it can improve your English, right?

T: Yes. You’re expected to talk to the c         all night because they may ask you a lot of questions or ask you to give them different kinds of wines. But there are also some problems         in a bar. It’s a bit noisy and quite smoky.

J: Er. I don’t think I would like such a job.

T: Well, in that case, you can work in a restaurant as a waitress, taking people’s o        . That’s another way to use your English to c         with different people.

J: OK, that sounds good. I will c         it.

T: And if you’re struggling a bit, you can work in the back of a restaurant.

J: Yeah, I used to wash dishes, and I remembered my legs were hurt after s         up all day. It was a terrible job.

T: I wouldn’t refuse that one. It is not suitable for a girl.

United States President George W. Bush is expected to issue a directive in the next few weeks. It will give the US Air Force a green light for the development of space weapons, US media reported last week.
This would potentially start a new global arms race, some experts have warned.
To keep that from happening, last Wednesday the White House explained that it was not considering putting weapons in space. It said it was making a shift in US space policy to allow for protection of satellites.
But some defense analysts and arms control advocates argue that the policy will pave the way for the US to put both defensive and offensive  weapons in space.
“No one should be fooled,” said Theresa Hitchens, an American weapons expert.
The US is now restricted by a 1996 directive  signed by President Bill Clinton. Plans for space weapons were vetoed by the Clinton cabinet. The directive emphasized the peaceful use of space , in agreement with almost unanimous global opinion.
The US military has placed importance on space and has sent up numberous satellites for troop communications and to provide intelligence and data to guide bombs to their targets.
The US Air Force wants to develop space- based weapons that could strike targets anywhere in the world within 90 minutes of receiving the order to open fire.
These new weapons under development cover a wide range. They include hunter- killer satellites and orbiting weapons. And they use lasers, radio waves, or even dense metal tubes, known as “ Rods from God”, dropped from space to do the damage.
There are many barriers to the setting up of this kind of program, experts say.
First is the coast. It is estimated that the budget may be US1 trillion .
The technical difficulties of developing reliable space weapons are also a problem.
And, the program will draw strong criticism from around the world. Experts worry about starting a space arms race

1. 1.

   Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

   1. A.
      US Military Plans
   2. B.
      The Global Arms Race
   3. C.
      A Comparison between Two Presidents
   4. D.
      President George W. Bush and the World Peace
2. 2.

   According to this passage, which of the following is NOT true?

   1. A.
      President George W. Bush supports space weapon development
   2. B.
      The space weapon program will threaten world peace
   3. C.
      Clinton government was poorer than Bush government
   4. D.
      The US space weapon project is very expensive
3. 3.

   After reading this passage, it can be inferred that “___________ “

   1. A.
      George W. Bush’s directive to be issued will be against global opinions
   2. B.
      The White House is right in explaining that US new space policy aims to protect satellites
   3. C.
      US government has little difficulty in developing new space weapons
   4. D.
      President George W. Bush and Bill Clinton share a lot in common
4. 4.

   The author’s attitude towards the coming space weapon development is _______

   1. A.
      optimistic
   2. B.
      critical
   3. C.
      excited
   4. D.
      indifferent