How long have you been busy, rushing around all day? We are always on, talking, emailing, sending and reading messages. There is just no   1   for stillness.

   And when we are   2   to be still because we’re in line for something, or waiting for a bus or train, we often   3    something to do. Some will play with mobile devices, others will read something. Being still isn’t something we’re   4    .

   This comes at a   5    : we lose time for   6   , for observing and listening. We lose peace. And worse yet: sometimes too much action is worse than no action at all. You can run around crazily, but get   7    done.

   Take a moment to think about how you spend your days. Are you constantly rushing around? Are you constantly reading and answering    8     ？Are you always   9   through your schedule?

   Is this how you want to spend your   10    ? If so, peace is with you. If not, take a moment to be    11    . Then after a minute of doing that, consider your life, and how you’d like it to be. See your life with less movement, more stillness and more    12    .

   Then be that vision.

It’s pretty simple: all you have to do is to sit still for a little bit each day. Breathe when you feel yourself moving too    13   . Slow down; find happiness now, at this moment, instead of   14     for it.

15    the stillness. It’s a treasure, and it’s available to us, always.

　　Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature .However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should be aware that your sport of choice might have great influence on the environment.

Some sports are resource-hungry. Golf, as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also tons of water. Besides, all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses（球场） in good condition. This causes major environmental effects. For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf is often held responsible for serious water shortage in some local areas.

There are many environment-friendly sports. Power walking is one of them that you could take up today. You don’t need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes; and you don’t have to worry about resources and your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit. If you walk regularly, it will be good for your heart and bones. Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and have better weight control.

Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment-friendly equipment and buying products made from recycled materials. But the final goal should be “green gyms”. They are better replacements for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces. There is no special requirement for you to start your membership. And best of all, it’s free.

Which of the following is the author most probably in favor of?

A. Cycling around a lake.         B. Motor racing in the desert.

C. Playing basketball in a gym.    D. Swimming in a sports center.

What do we know about golf from the passage?

A. It is popular in Portugal and Spain.

B. It causes water shortages around the world.

C. It pollutes the earth with chemicals and wastes.

D. It needs water and electricity to keep its courses green.

The author uses power walking as an example mainly because______.

A. it is an outdoor sport     B. it improves our health

C. it uses fewer resources    D. it is recommended by experts

The author writes the passage to_______.

A. show us the function of major sports

B. encourage us to go in for green sports

C. discuss the major influence of popular sports

D. introduce different types of environment-friendly sports

  Moods (心情), say the experts, are feelings that are likely to become fixed, having effects on one’s outlook(way of looking at things) for hours, days or even weeks. That’s great if your mood is a pleasant one, but a problem if you are sad, anxious, angry, or simply lonely.

  Perhaps the best way to deal with such moods is to talk them out; sometimes, though, there is no one to listen. Scientists offers a lot of tranquilizers(镇静剂) and anti-anxiety drugs. What many people don’t realize, however, is that scientists have discovered the effectiveness of several non-drug methods to make you free from an unwanted mood. These can be just as useful as drugs, and have the added benefit of being nonpoisonous(无毒的). So next time you feel out of sorts, don’t head for the drug store―try the following method.

  Of all the mood-changing self-help techniques, aerobic exercises (有氧运动) seem to be the best cure for a bad mood. “If you could keep the exercise, you’d be in high spirits,” says Kathryn Lance, author of Running for Health and Beauty.

  Researchers have explained biochemical and various other changes that make exercises compare favorably to drugs as a mood-raiser. Physical work such as housework, however, does little. The key is aerobic exercises – running, cycling, walking, swimming, or other repetitive and sustained activities that increase the heart rate and circulation(循环), and improve the body’s use of oxygen. Do them for at least 20 minutes a time, three to five times a week.

It can be inferred from the passage that __________.

 A. when one is in a bad mood, he or she must not work very well.

 B. the best way to overcome a bad mood is to talk to oneself

 C. some drugs are more effective than physical exercises

 D. taking drugs is at risk of being poisonous

The phrase "feel out of sorts", as is used in the second paragraph, could be best replaced by ____________.

   A. put things in order                               B. are in a bad mood    

   C. search for tranquilizers                             D. want a mood-raiser

Which of the following best describes the organization of this passage?

 A. An exercise and its importance are explained     

 B. A problem is examined and solutions are given

 C. Two different views of a problem are presented   

 D. Recent developments in medicine are described

Where have all the boys gone？You may be able to find them in the gym, at work or hanging out, but there’s one important place where boys are under??represented, and the problem seems to be getting worse. These days, at high school graduation ceremonies, there are a lot more girls than boys.

In fact, every year, 10 percent more girls graduate from high school than boys. “I think that there’s a tendency to focus on boys as problems at this point, rather than recognize that boys have problems,” says Joanne Max, PhD. Experts say the problems start in grade school, where there’s often an emphasis on sports instead of reading, for example. “I think that with boys there’s some idea that it’s not masculine(男子汉的)to read,” says Rob Jenkins, an English professor.

There’s also a shortage of male teachers as role models. “I think boys need role models, so if you’re a boy and you don’t have a dad in your home and then you have one male teacher and it’s your athletic coach then I don’t think you have a message that education is very important,” says Carol Carter, another expert. In addition, classrooms often have too little activity and too much passive listening, which is not conducive(有益的)to boys’  learning.

Experts say parents can fight back in many ways. Read to your sons early and often; show by your actions that you value their education. Ask them about their schoolwork, offer help, drop by their classroom and finally, appeal to their competitive spirit: challenge them to do better and help them understand that their future depends on it.

The underlined part “one important place” in Paragraph 1 refers to “______”.

A. classrooms                         B. factories

C. high school graduation ceremonies      D. gyms

According to the passage，boys have the problem that they think ______.

A. reading is more important than sports    

B. it is shameful for boys to read

C. boys should not work as a teacher       

D. boys lack the gift for reading

Carol Carter’s words implied that ______.

A. parents play an important role in education

B. athletic coaches contribute a lot to education

C. lack of male teachers affects boys’ attitudes to school work

D. classrooms lack enough activities that are suitable for boys

According to experts，parents should do the following except ______.

A．often read to their sons when they are young

B．keep an eye on their sons’ studies at school

C．encourage their sons to compete with others

D. prevent their sons from taking part in sports

Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn't think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there are a whole lot of antique(古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception(接待). I was quite wrong. The man wouldn't even look at my chair.

The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth—so I decided that my approach must be wrong.

  I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, “Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?”“Twenty pounds,”I said. “OK,”he said. “I'll give you twenty pounds.”“It's got a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that, it's nothing.”

Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.”“I'll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean?” “You've just sold it to me,” he said. “Yes, I know but I've changed my mind. I am sorry. I'll give you twenty?seven pounds for it.” “You must be crazy,”he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “You're right,”I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said,‘Would you mend this chair for me?’”“I wouldn't have agreed to do it,”he said. “We don't do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I'll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused(感到有趣) by the whole thing.

1.We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer_________.

A. was rather impolite

B. was warmly received

C. asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair

D. asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair 

2.The underlined word “approach” in the second paragraph means _________.

A. plan for dealing with things

B. decision to sell things

C. idea of repairing things

D. way of doing things 

3.The expression “the penny dropped” in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper _________.

A. changed his mind

B. accepted the offer

C. saw the writer's purpose

D. decided to help the writer 

4. How much did the writer pay?

A. ￡5.            B. ￡7.              C. ￡20.              D. ￡27.

5. From the text, we can learn that the writer was _________.

A. honest          B. careful           C. smart              D. funny