That “Monday morning feeling” could be a crushing pain in the chest which leaves you sweating and gasping for breath. Recent research from Germany and Italy shows that heart attacks are more common on Monday mornings and doctors blame the stress of returning to work after the weekend break.
The risk of having a heart attack on any given day should be one in seven, but a six-year study helped by researchers at the Free University of Berlin of more than 2,600 Germans showed that the average person had a 20 per cent higher chance of having a heart attack on a Monday than on any other day.
Working Germans are particularly not protected against attack, with a 33 per cent higher risk at the beginning of the working week. Non-workers, by comparison, appear to be no more at risk on a Monday than any other day.
A study of 11,000 Italians proved 8 am on a Monday morning as the most stressful time for the heart, and both studies showed that Sunday is the least stressful day, with fewer heart attacks in both countries.
The findings could lead to a better understanding of what is the immediate cause of heart attacks, according to Dr Stefan Willich of the Free University. “We know a lot about long-term risk factors such as smoking and cholesterol（胆固醇）but we don’t know what actually causes heart attacks, so we can’t give clear advice on how to prevent them,” he said.
Monday mornings have a double helping of stress for the working body as it makes a rapid change from sleep to activity, and from the relaxing weekend to the pressures of work.
“When people get up, their blood pressure and heart rate go up and there are hormonal（内分泌）changes in their bodies,” Willich explained. “All these things can have an unfavourable effect in the blood system and increase the risk of a clot（血凝块）in the arteries（动脉）which will cause a heart attack.”
“When people return to work after a weekend off, the pace of their life changes. They have a higher workload, more stress, more anger and more physical activity,” said Willich.
【小题1】Monday morning feeling, as this passage shows,         .

If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?

According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.

The study also found the effect is greater when the younger people learn a second language. A team led by Dr. Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.

Scans showed that grey matter density (密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference.

“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists.

It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.

Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible (灵活的),” he said. “You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”

The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and thirty-four. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,” explained the scientists.

1.The main subject talked about in this passage is ________.

2.The underlined word “bilingual” probably means _______.

3.We may know from the scientific findings that ________.

A. the earlier you start to learn a second language, the higher the grey matter density is

B  there is no difference between a later second language learner and one who doesn’t know a second language

C. the experience of learning a second language has bad effect on people’s brain

D. the ability of learning a second language is changing all the time

4.In the last two paragraphs, the author wants to tell us that _________.

A. learning a second language is the same as studying maths

B. early learning of a second language helps you a great deal in studying other subjects

CItalian is the best choice for you as a second language

D. you’d better choose the ages between 2 and 34 to learn a second language

Section B

Directions：Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

　　The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that over 50,000 people every year sustain some sort of winter-related back injury, and 5,800 of those are holiday decorating-related. These aches and pains can __41__ bring trouble to people’s life. It is said that people’s back could sustain all sorts of strain from carrying heavy __42__ , and from the increased stress of lugging suitcases, decorations and gifts. Dr. Alanna Levine spoke to Debbye Turner Bell on “The Early Show” about how to protect the back for the holiday season.

　　The first tip Dr. Levine gave was about carrying heavy shopping bags. Smaller bags, she said, are better. “You don’t want to load everything up into one bag and lug it around,” Dr. Levine explained. “You want to __43__ the weight on your body.” She also recommended putting heavier items towards the bottom in those bags and lighter items on top. Also, if you can, make    __44__ trips to the car to drop off purchases.

　　Travel can be another pain in the back — from carrying heavy luggage. Again, Dr. Levine    __45__ not to pack everything into one bag. Even though it may cost more, she said that packing two smaller bags is safer than packing one heavy one. Also, choose a light-weight bag, so that the only weight you’re carrying is the __46__ inside the suitcase.

　　When __47__ bags from an airport carousel, Dr. Levine suggests standing close to the carousel and bending your knees to lift it up. “You want to avoid that reach-and-lift. It puts a lot of    __48__ on your lower back,” she said.

　　When it comes to holiday decorating, people can get __49__. Dr. Levine suggests decorating in pairs, so one person can hand the lights and ornaments to the other person to hang, as to avoid reaching or twisting to get what you need.

Dr. Sylvia Earle wants you to stop eating fish. It’s not because fish are endangered, though wild fish stocks in many oceans are very low. It’s not because they’re bad for you, though fish in many areas are exposed to poisonous substances in the water. It’s because they’re smart.

“Fish are sensitive, they have personalities,” says the marine biologist. For Earle, eating a fish would be like eating a dog or a cat. “I would never eat anyone I know personally.”

There’s a lot more to fish than meets the eye: they talk to each other, they like to be touched, and they engage in behavior that can seem very human. They can remember things and learn from experience. Earle and a growing number of animal rights activists see these as strong arguments against eating fish altogether.

The activists also point out that fish feel pain and fish suffer horribly on their way from the sea to the supermarket. “While it may seem obvious that fish are able to feel pain, like every other animal, some people think of fish as swimming vegetables,” says Dr. Lynne Sneddon. “Really, it’s kind of a moral question. Is the enjoyment you get from fishing (or eating fish) more important than the pain of the fish?”

Fishermen and (fried) fish lovers are doubtful. “I’ve never seen a smart fish,” says Marie Swaringen as she finishes off a plate of fish at a Seattle seafood restaurant. “If they were very smart, they wouldn’t get caught.”

“For years, everyone’s been telling us to eat fish because it’s so good for us,” says another diner. “Now I’ve got to feel guilty while I’m eating my fish? What are they going to think of next? Don’t eat salad because cucumbers have feelings?”

1.

Dr. Sylvia Earle discourage people from eating fish because _____________.

   A. there are not that many wild fish in the ocean

   B. fish actually are sensitive and have personalities

C. some ocean fish contain poisonous substances

   D. fish are like dogs or cats that people know personally

2.

We can infer from the passage that _____________.

   A. all people don’t agree with the idea to stop eating fish

   B. people will be persuaded not to eat fish in the future

   C. stopping eating fish will lead to people’s not eating vegetables

   D. we shouldn’t care too much about the feeling of fish

3.

 By saying “There’s a lot more to fish than meets the eye,” the writer means ______.

   A. there are far more fish than other animals in the world

   B. there are more fish in the world than people can see

   C. people can see more fish if they pay more attention

   D. fish are not that simple as they appear to people’s eyes

4.

 What is the writer’s attitude towards people eating fish?

   A. Neutral.                        B. Indifferent.                C. Approving.                 D. Opposed.

Women consistently lie on social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter to make their lives appear more exciting, a survey has found.
Researchers found that at least one in four women exaggerated or distorted what they are doing on social media once a month. The survey of 2000 women found they mostly pretended to be out on the town, when in fact they are home alone, and embellished about an exotic holiday or their job.
The most common reasons for women to write “fibs” included worrying their lives would seem “boring”, jealousy at seeing other people’s more exciting posts and wanting to impress their friends and acquaintances.
Psychologists suggested that as people attempt to “stay connected” on social media, they can in fact “paradoxically” be left “more isolated”. They also said that the “more we try to make our lives seem perfect, the less perfect we feel”.
According to the OnePoll survey, one third of women surveyed admitted to “dishonesty” on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter at some stage.
Almost one in four admitted to lying or exaggerating about key aspects of their life online between one and three times a month while almost one in 10 said they lied more than once a week.
Nearly 30 percent of women lied about “doing something when I am home alone”, almost a quarter overstated their alcohol consumption while one in five were not truthful about their holiday activities or their jobs. Almost one in five women even lied about their “relationship status”.
“We work very hard presenting ourselves to the world online, pretending and attempting to be happy all the time which is exhausting and ultimately unfulfilling,” said Dr Michael Sinclair, a leading British consultant psychologist.
“Omitting the less desirable imperfections of our lives from the conversations with our `friends` online leads to less opportunity to feel empathized with(与…产生共鸣), resulting in a greater sense of disconnection from others.”
The survey was commissioned by Pencourage, a new anonymous “diary-style” social media website.
【小题1】Which of the words below is closest in meaning to the underlined word “fibs” in Para 3?