Marriages improve after children grow up and move out，according to an academic study, which suggests an “empty nest” is not always a bad thing.

Popular wisdom has it that parents’ relationships may suffer once their young fly the coop, because they feel they have lost their purpose in life.However, a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that many couples actually feel happier when their children leave home because they are able to enjoy spending time together.

In total,123 American mothers born in the 1930s were tracked for 18 years and asked to rate their satisfaction levels shortly after marrying, when they were bringing up babies, once their children reached their teenage years and finally at age 61, when almost all had “empty nests”．

Although not all said they were happier in general, most claimed their marriages had improved since their children had left home. Researchers believe this is not just because the spouses were spending more time together, but because they were able to enjoy each other’s company more.

One of the participants in the study，which is published in the journal Psychological Science，said：“Once the kids grow up...there’s some of that stress removed...that responsibility removed，so things are a little more relaxed.”

Psychologist Sara Gorchoff，who carried out the investigation，said: “The take­home message for couples with young children is ‘hang in there’．” Her co­author Oliver John added：“Don’t wait until your kids leave home to schedule quality time with your partner.”

However, Dr Dorothy Rowe，from the British Psychological Society，said the effects of living in an “empty nest” will depend on the parents’ relationship with their children.“If you’re just waiting for them to leave home so you can get on with your life，then of course you’ll be pleased to see them go,” she said, “But if you’ve built your life around your children you’ll be terribly lonely.For some parents，their world falls apart when their children leave.”

1.It is commonly believed that___________.

A．marriages improve after children leave home

B．an “empty nest” is always a happy thing

C．parents’ relationships may suffer once their young grow up and move out

D．parents will be pleased after their children leave home

2.When did many couples feel happier according to the study?

A．At age 61, when almost all had “empty nests”.

B．Shortly after marrying.

C．Once their children reached their teenage years.

D．When they were bringing up babies.

3.Marriages improve after children fly the coop not because___________.

A．many couples are able to spend time together

B．many couples are able to enjoy each other’s company

C．things are a little more relaxed

D．many couples needn’t work at all

4.The author of the passage tends to agree that____________.

A．parents should build their life around their kids

B．parents should schedule quality time with each other before kids leave home

C．parents’ relationship with their kids has no effect on marriages at all

D．parents should be pleased to see their kids leave home

A controversial new study has claimed that men really are more intelligent than women．The study concluded that men’s IQs are almost four points higher than women’s.
British-born researcher John Philippe Ruston says the finding could explain why so few women make it to the top in the workplace.
He claims the “glass ceiling” phenomenon is probably due to inferior intelligence，rather than lack of opportunity.
The University of Western Ontario psychologist reached his conclusion after scrutinizing the results of university ability tests taken by 1 00,000 students aged 17 and 18 of both sexes.
A focus on the factors such as the ability to quickly grasp a complex concept，verbal reasoning skills and creativity― some of the key factors of intelligence ―showed the male teenagers had IQs that were an average of 3.63 points higher. The average person has an IQ around 100.The findings，which held true for all classes and levels of education, overturn 100 year opinion that men and women average the same in general mental ability. They also conflict with evidence that girls do better in school exams than boys.
But Professor Ruston argues that the faster maturing of girls leads to them outshining boy in the classroom.
【小题1】 The report is mainly about ______.

Why not an island get-away?

Newfoundland

Price

From ??1080 per person in June 2005

We went with:

Frontier Canada frontier-travel. Co. uk/Canada

About this trip

John Cabot had set sail looking for a new trade route for Asia, when he landed in Cape Bonavista. Clearly he felt this barren desolate landscape could provide this, so he claimed it for its potential and so began the rise of the British Empire.

Newfoundland is the most easterly point in North America and was Britain’s first overseas colony until 1949, when it became part of Canada. It’s roughly the size of England and Craig’s journey by camper van or RV (recreational vehicle) took in just a small part of the island called the Bonavista Peninsula.

First stop was the tiny fishing port of Keels to stock up for the journey ahead. There’s a long standing love affair between Newfoundlanders and cod. The seas off the Newfoundland coast were once the richest cod fishing grounds in the world, attracting fishermen from all over Europe. Many settled, establishing these coastal villages known locally as outports.

An hour’s drive down the coast is the town of Bonavista, where Craig met up with retired fisherman, Wilson Hayward. He told Craig how the landscape used to lie, and described the peculiarities of the language and accents in the area. There’s a different language in every bay.

The title “Why not an island get-away?” _________.

A. invites people to take a holiday trip to Newfoundland

B. informs people that the island is moving away from where it used to be

C. tells people that they can buy the island at the price of ??1080.

D. asks people to visit the website frontier-travel. co.uk/Canada

From the context we can conclude that “Frontier Canada” is the name of _________.

A. a tourist guide

B. a kind of fish found around the island

C. a tourist agency

D. someone who has already booked the trip

When John Cabot first discovered Cape Bonavista he was actually on a voyage to find ____.

A. North America        B. Asia

C. South America        D. the British Empire

According to the passage Newfoundland is now part of _________.

A. UK   B. Canada   C. Europe   D. Bonavista

In the past the Newfoundlanders mainly lived by _________.

A. teaching languages       B. making camper vans

C. looking after retired fishermen  D. fishing cod

Why not an island get-away?

Newfoundland

Price

From £1080 per person in June 2005

We went with:

Frontier Canada frontier-travel. Co. uk/Canada

About this trip

John Cabot had set sail looking for a new trade route for Asia, when he landed in Cape Bonavista. Clearly he felt this barren desolate landscape could provide this, so he claimed it for its potential and so began the rise of the British Empire.

Newfoundland is the most easterly point in North America and was Britain’s first overseas colony until 1949, when it became part of Canada. It’s roughly the size of England and Craig’s journey by camper van or RV (recreational vehicle) took in just a small part of the island called the Bonavista Peninsula.

First stop was the tiny fishing port of Keels to stock up for the journey ahead. There’s a long standing love affair between Newfoundlanders and cod. The seas off the Newfoundland coast were once the richest cod fishing grounds in the world, attracting fishermen from all over Europe. Many settled, establishing these coastal villages known locally as outports.

An hour’s drive down the coast is the town of Bonavista, where Craig met up with retired fisherman, Wilson Hayward. He told Craig how the landscape used to lie, and described the peculiarities of the language and accents in the area. There’s a different language in every bay.

1.The title “Why not an island get-away?” _________.

2.From the context we can conclude that “Frontier Canada” is the name of _________.

3.When John Cabot first discovered Cape Bonavista he was actually on a voyage to find ____.

4.According to the passage Newfoundland is now part of _________.

5.In the past the Newfoundlanders mainly lived by _________.

A classic series of experiments to determine the effects of overpopulation on communities of rats was conducted by a psychologist，John Calhoun．In each experiment，an equal number of male and female adult rats were placed in an enclosure（场地）．The rat populations were allowed to increase．Calhoun knew from experience approximately how many rats could live in the enclosures without experiencing stress due to overcrowding．He allowed the population to increase to approximately twice this number Then he fixed the population by removing the children that were not dependent on their mothers．At the end of the experiments，Calhoun was able to conclude that overcrowding causes a breakdown in the normal social relationships among rats，a kind of social disease．The rats in the experiments did not follow the same patterns of behavior as rats would in a community without overcrowding．

       The females in the rat population were the most seriously affected by the high population density（密度）．For example，mothers sometimes deserted their children，and，without their mothers’care，the children died．The experiments showed that in overpopulated communities，mother rats do not behave normally．Their behavior may be considered diseased and pathological（病理学的）．

       The leading males in the rat population were the least affected by over population．Each of these strong males claimed an area of the enclosure as his own．Therefore，these individuals did not  experience the overcrowding in the same way as the other rats did．．However leading males did behave pathologically at times．Their antisocial（反社会）behavior consisted of attacks on weaker male，female，and immature rats．This unusual behavior showed that even though the leading males had enough living space，they too were affected by the general overcrowding．

       Non-leading males in the experimental rat communities also exhibited unusual social behavior．Some withdrew（缩回） completely ,avoiding contact with other rats．Other non-leading males were too active，chasing other rats and fighting each other．

       The behavior of the rat population has similarity in human behavior．People in densely（密） populated areas exhibit unusual behavior similar to that of the rats in Calhoun’s experiments．In large urban areas，such as New York City，London，and Cairo，there are deserted children．There are cruel，powerful individuals，both men and women．There are also people who withdraw and people who become too active．Is the major cause of these disorders（混乱）overpopulation?

       Calhoun’s experiments suggest that it might be．In any case，social scientists and city planners have been influenced by the results of this series of experiments．

Which of the following inferences（推断）can NOT be made from the first paragraph?

       A．Overpopulation causes pathological behavior in rat populations．

       B．Calhoun had experimented with rats before．

       C．Calhoun’s experiment is still considered important today

       D．Stress does not occur in rat communities unless there is overcrowding．

The author implies that the behavior of the leading male rats is sometimes similar to that of

       A．people who would like to keep to themselves 

       B．people who abandon their children

       C．too active people

       D．cruel，powerful people

The main point of this passage is that _______________．

       A．although rats are affected by overcrowding，people are not

       B．overcrowding may be an important cause of social pathology

       C．the social behavior of rats is seriously affected by overcrowding

       D．Calhoun's experiments have influenced many people