In some cities , workaholism（废寝忘食工作）is so common that people don’t consider it unusual . They accept the lifestyle as      36     . Government workers in Washington , D. C. , 37      , frequently work sixty to seventy hours a week . They don’t do this because they have to ; they do it because they       38    to . Workaholism can be a     39      problem . Because true workaholics would rather work than do anything else , they      40     have no idea of how to relax ; that is , they might not     41      movies , sports , or other types of entertainment . Most of all , they     42      to sit and do nothing . The lives of workaholics are usually stressful , and this tension（紧张）and worry can cause      43     problems such as heart attacks and stomach diseases .     44     , typical workaholics don’t pay much attention to their families . Their marriages may end in      45     as they spend little time with their families .

Is workaholism      46     dangerous ? Perhaps not . There are , certainly , people who work      47     under stress . Some studies show that many workaholics have great energy and interest in work . They feel     48      is so pleasurable that they are actually very happy . For most workaholics , work and entertainment are the same thing . Their jobs      49     them with a challenge ; this keeps them busy and creative .

     50     do workaholics enjoy their jobs so much ? There are several      51     to work . Of course , it provides people with paychecks , and this is important . But it offers     52      financial security . It provides people with self-confidence（自信心）; they have a feeling of satisfaction       53    they have produced a challenging piece of work and are able to say “I      54     it” . Psychologists （心理学家）claim that their work gives people an identity （自身价值）. After they take part in work , they     55      a sense of self and individualism .

36．A．strange                  B．boring                   C．pleasant                 D．normal

37．A．for example           B．on the other hand    C．what’s more           D．after all

38．A．agree                     B．promise                 C．dare                      D．want

39．A．slight                     B．serious                   C．obvious                  D．difficult

40．A．still                        B．probably               C．certainly               D．mostly

41．A．afford                    B．enjoy                     C．watch                    D．allow

42．A．dream                    B．decide                    C．intend                    D．hate

43．A．physical                 B．cultural                  C．social                     D．mental

44．A．Therefore               B．However               C．Anyway                 D．Besides

45．A．happiness               B．silence                   C．failure                   D．surprise

46．A．sometimes              B．always                   C．seldom                   D．hardly

47．A．sadly                     B．differently              C．efficiently              D．slowly

48．A．study                     B．family                   C．life                        D．work

49．A．equip                     B．pack                      C．provide                  D．fill

50．A．When                    B．Why                      C．How                      D．Where

51．A．factors                   B．advantages             C．steps                      D．ways

52．A．no more                 B．more or less            C．no more than          D．more than

53．A．when                     B．before                    C．unless                    D．until

54．A．valued                   B．failed                     C．caught                   D．made

55．A．give                             B．lose                      C．get                        D．need

　Many people believe the glare（炫目的光）from snow causes snowblindness. Yet, with dark glasses or not, they find themselves suffering from headaches and watering eyes, and even snowblindness ,when exposed to several hours of“snow light”.

　　The United States army has now determined that glare from snow does not cause snowblindness in troops in a snow-covered country. Rather, a man’s eyes frequently find nothing to focus on（聚集）in a broad space of snow-covered without-grass land. So his gaze continually moves and jumps back and forth over the entire landscape in search of something to look at. Finding something, hour after hour, the eyes never stop searching and the eyeballs become tired and the eye muscles ache. Nature makes up for this discomfort by producing more and more fluid（流体）which covers the eyeball. The fluid covers the eyeball in increasing quantity until it makes eyes difficult to see dearly, and the result is total, even though for a short time, snowblindness.

　　Experiments led the Army to a simple method of overcoming this problem. Scouts（侦察兵）ahead of the troops are trained to shake snow from evergreen bushes, creating a dotted line as they cross completely snow-covered landscape. Even the scouts themselves throw lightweight, dark-colored objects ahead on which they can focus too. The men following can then see something. Their gaze is arrested. Their eyes focus on a bush and having found something to see, stop searching the snow-blanketed landscape. By focusing their attention on one object at a time, the men can cross the snow without becoming hopelessly snowblind or lost. In this way the problem of crossing a continuous white land is overcome.

To prevent snowblindness caused by the strong light from snow, wearing glasses or not _____.

　　A. depends on whether the snow is white enough    　B. makes no difference

　　C. makes much difference        　　            D. depends on whether the snow is thick

When the eyes are tired, tears flow out ______.

　　A. to clear the vision                             B. to make the eyes stop searching

　　C. to make the vision unclear                      D. to produce more and more liquid

Snowblindness can be avoided ________.

　　A. by moving one’s gaze back and forth

　　B. by walking ahead and keeping looking around

　　C. by making up for the discomfort of one’s eyes

　　D. by providing the eyes with something to focus on

Batteries can power anything from small sensors to large systems. While scientists are finding ways to make them smaller but even more powerful, problems can arise when these batteries are much larger and heavier than the devices themselves. University of Missouri(MU) researchers are developing a nuclear energy source that is smaller, lighter and more efficient.

“To provide enough power, we need certain methods with high energy density(密度)”，said Jae Kwon, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at MU. “The radioisotope(放射性同位素) battery can provide power density that is much higher than chemical batteries.”

Kwon and his research team have been working on building a small nuclear battery, presently the size and thickness of a penny, intended to power various micro / nanoelectromechanical systems (M/NEMS). Although nuclear batteries can cause concerns, Kwon said they are safe.

“People hear the word ‘nuclear’ and think of something very dangerous,” he said, “However, nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pace-makers, space satellites and underwater systems.”

His new idea is not only in the battery’s size, but also in its semiconductor(半导体). Kwon’s battery uses a liquid semiconductor rather than a solid semiconductor.

“The key part of using a radioactive battery is that when you harvest the energy, part of the radiation energy can damage the lattice structure(晶体结构) of the solid semiconductor,” Kwon said, “By using a liquid semiconductor, we believe we can minimize that problem.”

Together with J. David Robertson, chemistry professor and associate director of the MU Research Reactor, Kwon is working to build and test the battery. In the future, they hope to increase the battery’s power, shrink its size and try with various other materials. Kwon said that battery could be thinner than the thickness of human hair.

1. Which of the following is true of Jae Kwon?

A. He teaches chemistry at MU. 

B. He developed a chemical battery.

C. He is working on a nuclear energy source.

D. He made a breakthrough in computer engineering.

2. Jae Kwon gave examples in Paragraph 4_________.

A. to show chemical batteries are widely applied.

B. to introduce nuclear batteries can be safely used.

C. to describe a nuclear-powered system.

D. to introduce various energy sources.

3. Liquid semiconductor is used to _________.

A. get rid of the radioactive waste  

B. test the power of nuclear batteries.

C. decrease the size of nuclear batteries

D. reduce the damage to lattice structure.

4. According to Jae Kwon, his nuclear battery _______.

A. uses a solid semiconductor       

B. will soon replace the present ones.

C. could be extremely thin          

D. has passed the final test.

5. The text is most probably a ________.

A. science news report        B. book review   

C. newspaper ad               D. science fiction story

When people want to know about the weather,they usually go to their radios,TVs, newspapers,or to the Internet.However,you can also find many weather signs among wildlife, because of their highly developed senses.Drops in air pressure(压力) produce an effect on small animals in many ways.Mice and deer are good weather indicators.People who spend a lot of time outdoors have observed that,before a storm,field mice come out of their holes and run around.Deer leave high ground and come down from the mountains.

Birds are especially good weather indicators because they also show the effect of a pressure drop in many ways.For example,some birds become irritable(急躁的) and quarrelsome and will fight over a piece of bread.Other birds chirp(叽叽喳喳) and sing just before a storm.It seems they know they won’t get another chance for an hour or two.Birds also seek safe places before a storm.You will sometimes see birds settling in trees or gathering together on a wire close to a building.Pre-storm low pressure makes the air so thin that birds have difficulty flying.

It is unusual to see many birds flying overhead in the summertime,rather than during the periods in the spring or autumn.Watch for other weather signs if you see this.If they fly in the wrong direction,they may be flying ahead of a storm.

By paying closer attention to some important signs in nature,we can become better prepared for any kind of weather.

The word “indicators” in Paragraph 1 probably means ______.

A.maps                                                           B.services

C.signs                                                            D.stations

There will be a storm if birds ______.

A.make more noise than usual

B.fly in different directions

C.come down from tall trees

D.share a piece of bread

How can birds sense the coming of a storm?

A.By feeling a drop in air temperature.

B.By noticing the change of wind directions.

C.By feeling a drop in air pressure.

D.By noticing the movements of other animals.

The best title for the text would be ______.

A.Signs of a Storm

B.Drops in Air Pressure

C.Animals’ Sharp Senses

D.Nature’s Weather Signs

According to the message board,Orinon Books_______.

A.opposes the reading of original classics

B.is embarrassed for cutting down classics

C.thinks cut-down classics have a bright future

D.is cautious in its decision to cut down classics

In Mr.Edwards’ opinion,Orion Group is shortening classics to_______.

A.make them easier to read

B.meet a large demand in the market

C.increase the sales of literary books

D.compete with their original versions

By describing the shortened classics as “a breath of fresh air”,Ms.Weir_______.

A.speaks highly of the cut-down classics

B.shows gailty of the original classics

C.feels guilty of not reading the classics

D.disapproves of shortening the classics

Mr.Crockatt seems to imply that_______.

A.reading the classic works is a confusing attempt

B.shortening the classics does harm to the original

C.publishing the cub-down classics is a difficult job

D.editing the classic works satisfies children’s needs