Last winter, when I was heavily pregnant, I was visiting my sister and brother-in-law's house and had to park in a nearby parking lot because they didn't have accessible parking. The snow was extremely heavy and there was lots of ice on the ground --- not many people had ventured out that evening!

When I returned to my car around 11pm, I noticed that I was the only car left. Nervously, I hopped into the car and let it warm up a bit. When I finally tried to drive away, my wheels began to spin. I was stuck! I spun and spun and wondered what to do.

All of a sudden, in my rear view mirror, I saw four teen-aged boys approaching my car. They were walking side by side in a line and dressed a bit like gang members --- at least I thought that's what they looked like. My car was in a very isolated area and I began to panic. I was certain they were coming to my car to harm me. Terrified, I just froze. One of the young men tapped on my window and said "Excuse me, Ma'am, can we help you? You seem stuck." Still afraid and fearing the worst, I said "I am stuck." And the young man said "It's okay, stay in your car and we'll push you out of the snow." And they did!

When they finally got me out of the snow, they smiled and waved. I rolled down my window and thanked them, embarrassed to have judged them so poorly.

1.Why did the author just freeze when the four young men walking toward her car?

A. Because she was afraid of being harmed.

B. Because she sat in her car for too long a time.

C. Because she was cold indeed in that freezing evening.

D. Because she knew they would rob her of the car.

2.Which of the following words can best describe the four young men?

A. Impolite.                       B. Ill-mannered.

C. Unfriendly                              D. Warm-hearted.

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A. One of the four teenagers was a gang member.

B. The kids wanted to help the author out of trouble.

C. The author would have a baby in her car.

D. The young men enjoyed pushing cars out of the snow.

4.The best title for the text would be___________

A. Every man has his faults

B. Fortune favors those who use their judgment

C. Don't judge a book by its cover

D. Think twice before you do.

Michael Fish may soon be replaced as a weather forecaster by something truly fishier---the shark(鲨鱼).

Research by a British biology student suggests that sharks could be used to predict storms.

Lauren Smith, 24, is close to completing her study on shark’s ability to sense pressure.

If her studies prove the theory, scientists may be able to monitor the behaviour of sharks to predict bad weather.

Miss Smith had previously studied the behaviour of lemon sharks in the Bahamas.

She then used their close relatives, lesser spotted dogfish, for further research at Aberdeen University.

Her work---thought to be the first of its kind to test the pressure theory ---- resulted from the observation that juvenile blacktip sharks off Florida moved into deeper water ahead of a violent storm in 2001.

Miss Smith said: “I’ve always been crazy about traveling and diving and this led me to an interest in sharks.”

“I was delighted to have been able to research in the area for my degree. I know there’s so much more we need to understand ---- but it certainly opens the way to more research.”

It has been discovered that a shark senses pressure using hair cells in its balance system.

At the Bimini Shark Lab in the Bahamas, Miss Smith fixed hi-tech sensors to sharks to record pressure and temperature, while also tracking them using GPS (Global Positioning System) technology.

In Aberdeen, she was able to study the effects of tidal(潮汐的) and temperature changes on dogfish----none of which were harmed. She also used a special lab which can mimic(模拟) oceanic pressure changes caused by weather fronts.

She is due to complete her study and graduate later this year. She says she will be looking for a job which will give her the chance to enrich her experience of shark research.

1.The passage is most probably taken from _____.

A. a short-story collection

B. a popular science magazine

C. a research paper

D. a personal diary

2.What do we learn from the first four paragraph of the passage?

A. Sharks may be used to predict bad weather.

B. Sharks’ behaviour can be controlled.

C. Michael Fish is not qualified for his job.

D. Lauren Smith will become a weather forecaster.

3.Lauren Smith conducted her research by _______.

A. removing hair cells from a shark’s balance system

B. measuring the air pressure of weather fronts

C. recording sharks’ body temperature

D. monitoring sharks’ reaction to weather changes

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A. A popular way of forecasting weather.

B. A new research effort in predicting storms.

C. Biologists’ interest in the secrets of sharks.

D. Lauren Smith’s devotion to scientific research.

The precious paintings were hopelessly______ by long exposure in the cold, damp garage.

A. harmed        B. ruined       C. damaged       D. injured

Exhausted and unhappy, you still have to squeeze a smile to your friends, or teachers. That’s just life, you may think. But new research suggests that putting on a fake smile can worsen people’s mood and even lower work efficiency.

Lead researcher Brent Scott with other researchers studied a group of bus drivers for two weeks. They tried to find out what happened when the drivers were involved in “surface acting” or fake smiling, and the opposite, “deep acting” which means people put on real smiles by recalling pleasant memories or thinking about their current situation more positively.

The results showed that on days when drivers were forced to smile, they felt depressed and didn’t want to work. On days when they smiled due to positive thoughts, their mood improved a lot as well as their work efficiency.

The research goes against the popular belief among companies that employees should be cheerful to customers at all times. They include employees of shops, banks, call center workers and others who have face-to-face contact with members of the public. “Smiling for the sake of(为了) smiling can lead to emotional exhaustion and coldness, and that’s bad for the organization,” Scott told the Daily Mail.

The study also showed that women were harmed more by fake smiling than men. Their mood and work performance both worsened more. But they were helped more by deep acting — their mood became better and they worked more efficiently.

However, while deep acting seemed to improve mood in the short term, Scott says it’s not a long-term solution for unhappiness.

“There have been some suggestions that if you do this over a long period that you start to feel inauthentic(不真实的),” Scott said. “You may be trying to cultivate positive emotions, but at the end of the day you may not feel like yourself anymore.”

1.Brent Scott and others’ experiments on bus drivers suggest that ______.

A. depression among bus drivers is common

B. thinking in a positive way helps with work efficiency

C. bus drivers with pleasant memories tend to be less efficient

D. the bus drivers’ work efficiency is determined by their mood

2.According to the article, which of the following statements about “fake smiling” is TRUE?

A. It is good for the business but bad for the employees.

B. It doesn’t work on people who are emotionally expressive.

C. It is a widely accepted cultural practice in the US.

D. It causes more harm to women than men.

3.We can conclude from the article that the researchers think that ______.

A. people should be true to their feelings

B. smiling helps to put people in a good mood and become more efficient

C. it is unnecessary to cultivate positive emotions

D. deep acting can improve mood in the long run

4.The article is mainly about ______.

A. the importance of smiling during face-to-face contact

B. a new study on fake smiling and its influence on people

C. suggestions on improving work efficiency

D. how to cheer up when you are exhausted

Iodine (碘）– rich salt was the hottest item on Chinese shelves Thursday, being snapped up (抢购) by shoppers after rumors spread that iodine intake could help protect one’s body from radiation damage, although the authorities have confirmed that the nuclear crisis in Japan had not affected China.
Rumors also spread about radioactive substances being leaked into ocean water that could pollute Chinese coasts.
The crazy buying has occurred nationwide, from the supposedly easily – harmed eastern coastal provinces to regions far – inland such as Xinjiang.
Supermarkets and convenience stores began reporting the lack of salt stocks from early Wednesday, with all salt sold out at many Carrefour and Wal – Mart stores. Some online clothes stores have begun offering salt as a bonus to customers.
Relevant government departments were trying hard to stop this round of panic – buying.
The Ministry of Health deniedthe rumor that eating more iodine – rich salt could repair damage from radiation, saying that it is technically impossible to absorb enough iodine for radiation prevention from eating salt.
The government urges the local market authorities to keep all salt sellers in check and to prevent storing and overpricing.
Also the spokesman of the government said that China’s seawater, as a source of salt, would not be affected by the nuclear crisis, as it would be impossible for radioactive substances to reach Chinese waters via the eastward ocean current.
“Reasons behind the salt rush include unclear information on the development of the nuclear crisis and terrifying media reports of the severity of a possible complete meltdown. If the fear of a Chernobyl – like catastrophe cannot be ended, the crazy buying will likely continue,” said a professor from Beijing University.
Beijing urged Tokyo Thursday to better release information at the Fukushima plant.
【小题1】What caused the crazy buying of iodine – rich salt?