Since we are social beings, the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal relationships. One strength of the human condition is our possibility to give and receive support from one another under stressful conditions. Social support makes up of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties. Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to deal with major life changes and daily problems. People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties. Studies over types of illnesses, from depression(沮丧) to heart disease, show that the presence of social support helps people defend themselves against illness, and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely.

    Social support cushions stress in a number of ways. First, friends, relatives and co-workers may let us know that they value us. Our self-respect is strengthened when we feel accepted by others in spite of our faults and difficulties. Second, other people often provide us with informational support. They help us to define and understand our problems and find solutions to them. Third, we typically find social companionship supportive. Taking part in free-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting (转移注意力) us from our worries and troubles. Finally, other people may give us instrumental support money aid, material resources, and needed services - that reduces stress by helping us resolve and deal with our problems.

Interpersonal relationships are important because they can ________

    A. make people live more easily        

    B. smooth away daily problems

    C. deal with life changes                  

    D. cure types of illnesses

Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word "cushions"?

　  A. takes place of                       B. makes up of

　  C. lessens the effect of                    D. gets rid of

What is the subject discussed in the text?

    A. Interpersonal relationships.            

    B. Kinds of social support.

    C. Ways to deal with stress.               

    D. Effects of stressful condition.

Are you a problem shopper? The answer is “Yes”, if you or someone else thinks that you sometimes get carried away with shopping. In other words, do you or does someone else think you are occupied in extreme shopping? If people have regrets later about their shopping, or have an “out-of-control” feeling about the quantities of what they buy or the amount of credit they use, they may be considered to be problem shoppers. 
Extreme shopping can lead to a more serious problem — addictive shopping. Addictive shoppers feel driven by the desire to shop and spend money. They experience great tension which drives them to shop and spend money and they feel a “rush” during the time they are occupied with the shopping activity.
Extreme or addictive shopping may result from long-time unpleasant feelings, of which anxiety, pain and shame are common ones. When we feel bad inside, we often do something to make ourselves feel better. In this case, we often go shopping.
A few people shop to relieve their boredom or emptiness. For some people, the motivation is a desire for status, power, beauty or success. Some love to shop as it makes them feel valued in the eyes of the shop assistants. Others shop simply because it makes them forget, at least temporarily, tension, fear or unhappiness in their life.
Besides, shopping malls are designed to encourage continual shopping. For instance, there are some malls where you can’t see clocks displaying the time because they don’t want you to become too aware of the time you spend there. What’s more, food courts, coffee shops and restrooms are provided, so you don’t have to leave the mall because of your physical needs.
Therefore, once you become aware of how market forces work, you will certainly come to control your shopping behavior. For example, how much time you will spend and what areas you will visit can be decided before you enter the mall. Keep a written account of what items you will buy and how much money you will spend. Make a plan for what you are going to buy before you feel the urge to shop and then stick to it. That is vital for gaining self-control.
【小题1】Which of the following people may not be problem shoppers?

A．The awareness of how market forces work.
B．The desire for status, power, beauty or success.
C．Boredom, emptiness, tension, fear or unhappiness in people’s life.	D．Long-time bad feelings of anxiety, pain and shame.

Fear can be a wonderful feeling in our lives, protecting us from dangerous situations and keeping us safe. But fear can also limit our lives significantly. While it may not be conscious, fear may make us think we are unacceptable or that what we have to offer isn’t valuable. Fear may make us feel that we are not safe being ourselves.

To avoid feeling fear, we may limit our lives greatly, living in tiny boxes. Living this way gives us the illusion(假象) of safety but leaves us with an unfulfilling life of no passion. If we shine a light on many of our fears, we see they have a very limited view of what is “safe” and how to “protect” us. Many of our fears are concerned only with protecting us from humiliation(羞辱) and failure. While these fears are doing their jobs incredibly well, they are doing so with faulty and outdated programming. Many fears we have as adults are trying to protect us as they protected us when we were children. Indeed, many of our current, automatic reactions to fear were actually formed when we were children.

Even so, it’s important not to judge ourselves for feeling these types of fears. If we judge ourselves, we will bury our fears or disguise them. By denying our fears, however, we also deny our energy, creativity and passion.

So what do we do with fear? We recognize the fear for what it is--- a feeling we’ve experienced many times in the past and a feeling we will experience many times in the future. We become very familiar with our own particular brand of fears and how we allow them to control our lives. It is especially beneficial for each of us to become aware of the particular behavior patterns we’ve adopted when we feel fear, so we can look at our reactions with a sense of humor and compassion. Then, if we wish, we can choose a different response, which can be a scary yet very exciting experience.

1.According to the first paragraph, fear sometimes      .

2.It can be inferred from the passage that the author   .

3.According to the author, the ways we react to fear      .

4.The last paragraph mainly tells us      .

5.What would be the best title for the passage?

Fear can be a wonderful feeling in our lives, protecting us from dangerous situations and keeping us safe. But fear can also limit our lives significantly. While it may not be conscious, fear may make us think we are unacceptable or that what we have to offer isn’t valuable. Fear may make us feel that we are not safe being ourselves.
To avoid feeling fear, we may limit our lives greatly, living in tiny boxes. Living this way gives us the illusion(假象) of safety but leaves us with an unfulfilling life of no passion. If we shine a light on many of our fears, we see they have a very limited view of what is “safe” and how to “protect” us. Many of our fears are concerned only with protecting us from humiliation(羞辱) and failure. While these fears are doing their jobs incredibly well, they are doing so with faulty and outdated programming. Many fears we have as adults are trying to protect us as they protected us when we were children. Indeed, many of our current, automatic reactions to fear were actually formed when we were children.
Even so, it’s important not to judge ourselves for feeling these types of fears. If we judge ourselves, we will bury our fears or disguise them. By denying our fears, however, we also deny our energy, creativity and passion.
So what do we do with fear? We recognize the fear for what it is--- a feeling we’ve experienced many times in the past and a feeling we will experience many times in the future. We become very familiar with our own particular brand of fears and how we allow them to control our lives. It is especially beneficial for each of us to become aware of the particular behavior patterns we’ve adopted when we feel fear, so we can look at our reactions with a sense of humor and compassion. Then, if we wish, we can choose a different response, which can be a scary yet very exciting experience.
【小题1】According to the first paragraph, fear sometimes      .

III . 阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。（共10小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
Happiness is associated with smiling . But do we always smile when we are happy?
During the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992, Spanish researchers were surprised to see that these medal winners didn’t smile very much. In fact, throughout the different medal ceremonies, they only smiled about 10 percent of the time. But during the brief moment when the gold medal was put around their neck, the medal winners grinned (露齿笑) about 70% of the time.
The researchers interviewed winners they had watched to find out how they felt. All the winners interviewed said that they felt intensely happy throughout the ceremony.
Though they were profoundly happy , they didn’t smile a great deal .The researchers concluded that smiling was not the automatic expression of happiness. The fact that the gold medal winners smiled much more when they were actually being given their medals could be explained because, according to the Spanish researchers, smiling was a form of communication between individuals. The happy athletes were smiling at the people who were giving them gold medals.
Perhaps we can support the findings of Spanish researchers by making some observations of our own behaviors. When we are all alone, for example, do we smile at ourselves when we are happy? Probably not very often. If someone greets us with a friendly smile, do we respond with a smile? Yes , we probably do.  When a friend gives us a beautiful present, will we show our appreciation with a smile? Yes , of course . But if we are sitting alone watching television, do we smile at a commentator (讲解员)  who smiles at us?
56. How much of the time did the gold medal winners smile during the medal ceremonies?
A.10%              B.70%         C.22%            D.92%
57. According to the passage , when did the athletes smile quite a lot ?
A. Throughout the medal ceremony.
B. When they were informed of their success
C. When the gold medal was put around their neck
D. When their national flag was raised
58. According to the passage, on which of the following occasions would we most probably Not smile?
A. When we are sitting alone watching TV
B. When someone greets us with a friendly smile.
C. When a friend gives us a beautiful present.
D. When we feel intensely happy
59. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.The gold medal winners were too nervous that they would hardly smile at the medal ceremonies
B. People will always smile automatically when they feel happy
C. Smiling is a way of communication
D. When the gold medal was put around their neck, the gold medal winners were smiling at the audience but not at all those who gave medal.