Dear Earthmen,
I have enjoyed my stay on your interesting unusual planet. I think I understand the life on earth now and I would like to give you my impressions.
First of all you live in boxes. Every morning you leave your big boxes and get into smaller boxes on wheels. All these small boxes race around and around, and finally stop to rest. You then leave these boxes on wheels and go to very large tall boxes.
After testing all days you get back in your little boxes and return to your big boxes. There you sit and stare at tiny glowing boxes with moving pictures on the front.
Only one thing puzzles me. One day, I went to a football game. A bunch of angry boys fought over a little round ball. Everyone yelled for them to stop but they kept on fighting. They were angry, I suppose, about being cooped up（被关起来）in boxes all day.
Thank you earthmen for this chance to get to know you.
Gratefully,
The man from the Mars（火星）
1. The small boxes on wheels are ________.

We’re surrounded by chemistry in everyday life. Sometimes it is easy to see, like when your science teacher does a big experiment in class. At other times, it can be pretty hard to see everyday chemistry at work, but nearly everything you touch or use has some element of chemistry in it.
Something as simple as toothpaste contains at least three chemicals, if not more. It is the mixture of them and its chemical reaction that keeps your teeth clean. Other things you use every day are created by chemistry, such as hair products, shampoo and soap. Adding detergent (洗涤剂) to water involves chemistry. Without chemistry, we would never have known that we need soap to get the oil out of clothes or skin. Chemistry not only helps us make products for use, but it also helps us understand the world around us. Chemistry helps us understand what the ozone layer (臭氧层) is and how it protects us. Chemistry also gives us sunscreen to protect us from the sun. Thanks to chemistry, we know bleach (漂白剂) can’t be mixed with vinegar(醋), because it can produce poisonous gas.Without chemistry, we wouldn’t have fireworks displays on important days.
Chemistry plays a big role in food preparation. Cooking food causes it to go through a chemical change. That is why cooked food often tastes different from raw food. Baking is a great example of chemistry. Too much or too little of any ingredient（成分，尤指烹饪） makes a difference to the result of baking, for example, the dough (面团) won’t rise or the cake will be flat.
Chemistry isn’t something that just lives in a lab; it’s something that you meet hundreds of times every day. Knowing how chemistry works will give you a greater understanding of the science behind some of the simplest-looking things.
【小题1】What’s the main idea of Paragraph 1?

完形填空（共20小题；每小题2分，共40分）
There was a woman in Detroit, who has two sons．She was worried  36  them, especially the younger one, Ben, 37  he was not doing well in school． Boys in his class 38  fun of him because he seemed so   39 ．
The mother  40  that she herself, would have to get her sons to do better in school．She  41   them to go to the Detroit Public Library to read a  42  a week and do a report about it for her．
One day, in Ben’s  43 , the teacher held up a rock and asked if anyone knew it. Ben  44  up his hand and the teacher let him  45 ．“Why did Ben raise his hand?” they wondered． He   46 said anything; what could he possibly want to say?
Well, Ben not only  47 the rock; he said a lot about it． He named other rocks in its group and even knew  48 the teacher had found it． The teacher and the students were  49 ． Ben had learned all this from doing one of his book   50 ．
Ben later went on to the   51 of his class．When he finished high school, he went to Yale University   52 at last became one of the best doctors in the United States．
After Ben had grown up, he   53  something about his mother that he did not know as a   54 ．She, herself, had never learned how to   55  ．

【小题4】

A．clever B．hard C．slow D．quick

There is nothing else but economy that occupies the minds of Americans at present times of economic crisis（危机）. The statistics on unemployment，housing costs and consumer confidence keep coming and coming，leaving people not just scared to spend money but also very stressed and emotionally exhausted. This stress has an effect on everything，starting with our sleep，mood，physical health，relationships and eating habits.
“Time of economic stress leads to increase rates of depression(忧郁)，”says Dr. Christopher Palmer，director of continuing education at McLean Hospital in Belmont，Massachusetts. “It worsens illness in people who have been constantly depressed. But it also causes new cases of depression. Just the fear of losing one’s job can put people over the edge. ”
And，without any doubt，just depression alone can create a variety of bad health effects.
●Sleep
33 percent of Americans reported that they have lost sleep due to the economic crisis. 26 percent say they are sleeping less than 6 hours per night，which is considered to be at least one hour less than the most favorable 7 to 8 hours recommended by sleep experts.
●Mental health，stress and heart attack
80 percent of Americans reported that last year the economy is a huge source of stress; 49 percent said the situation makes them feel nervous or anxious; 48 percent reported that they feel very sad and have developed depression.
Nearly twice the risk of heart attack or death was found in patients with the highest levels of depression or anxiety. Among those individuals，a 10 percent higher rise of heart attack or death was found in those whose anxiety rose over time.
●Relationships
The chances of violent behavior are nearly 6 times higher for individuals who are left without a job. Workplace stress can lead to domestic violence.
1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Now Americans don’t dare to spend money.
B. Now all Americans have problems in sleeping.
C. Economy is the most troubling problem for Americans now.
D. Economic crisis has destroyed many American families.
2. How does the economic crisis affect most Americans according to the passage?
A. They sleep fewer than six hours.                  B. They sleep less than the proper amount.
C. Diseases caused by economy make them sleepless.  D. They lose sleep at night.
3. If a person is out of work，he might   __________.        .
A. become more violent   B. get divorced    C. get rid of workplace stress   D. go mad
4. The best title of this passage is probably______________  .        .
A. The World Economic Crisis Is Getting Worse
B. Economic Crisis Affects Our Health
C. Economic Crisis Causes Trouble to Sleep
D. Ordinary People Suffer Greatly in Economic Crisis
5.What does the underlined word “favorable” mean?
A. proper    B. perfect    C. useful     D. fashionable

Having one of those days—or weeks—when everything seems to annoy you? Even if you do nothing about it, your bad mood(心情) will probably go away after some time. But with a little effort, you can forget it much faster—often within a day or two.
Walk it off
Exercise is the most popular bad­mood buster. A person who's in a bad mood has low energy and high tension. Taking a fast ten­minute walk, or doing some quick  exercises can do wonders towards changing the bad mood.
Tune it out
Listening to your favorite music for a while can also make tension go away quickly, because music starts connection with past positive experiences we've had.
Give yourself a pep talk
Stop and listen to what's on your mind. Bad moods are often started by too many negative thoughts. Write them all down on paper, the pessimistic(悲观的) messages you've been giving yourself, and then give optimistic answers. (“I still don't have a job.” vs “I have two interviews next week.”)
Reduce your stress
Relaxation techniques are wonderful mood­lifters. These include deep breathing, stretching and visualizing, all of which sound complicated(复杂的) but aren't. One easy way to visualize: close your eyes and picture a favorite place, such as the beach. Another simple way to distress is to make a to­do list. One reason for being in a bad mood is feeling you have no options. By taking control over certain areas,  you realize you're not helpless. You can make changes in your mood and life.
Avoid things that won't improve your mood
TV may not help much: you need to increase your energy level and stimulate(刺激) your mind—something that the TV show “Neighbors” won't do. And before you reach for that piece of cake and coffee, think about how mood and food are linked. Sugar and caffeine contribute to depressed moods. The better choice? Research shows that carbohydrates, such as potatoes and pasta(面食), produce calming effects in people who have a desire for them.
【小题1】Which of the following may help us stop a bad mood?