NEW YORK - People who keep doing some work in their field after they retire may enjoy better physical and mental health than those who stop work completely or switch to another area of work, according to a U.S. study.

Researchers from the University of Maryland said the findings suggest that prospective retirees should consider moving into so-called "bridge employment" as a transition to full retirement.

"In essence, if someone is in a field where part-time work or self-employment is possible, he or she should consider it as they plan for retirement," researcher Dr. Mo Wang, an assistant professor of psychology, told Reuters Health.

For their study, Wang and his colleagues used data on more than 12,000 workers in a U.S. health study begun in 1992. Participants, who were between the ages of 51 and 61 at the outset, were surveyed every two years over a six-year period.

Overall, Wang's team found, people who went into some form of bridge employment reported lower rates of major diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and arthritis during the study period than their counterparts who went straight into full retirement.

The findings were not explained by older age or worse initial health among people who opted for full retirement, the investigators report in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.

On top of their better physical health, "bridge" workers also tended to report fewer mental health problems, such as depression.

The same mental health benefits were not seen, however, when retirees took part-time work in other fields -- possibly, Wang said, because many of these people may have taken those jobs out of financial need rather than choice.

He noted that the lack of benefit could also stem from the fact that these retirees had to adjust to an unfamiliar job position or had to make lifestyle changes.

Bridge work, particularly in one's accustomed field, may benefit physical and mental health for a number of reasons, according to Wang.

In general, he explained, such work may help older adults maintain the active lifestyles they had during their careers and decrease any stress they might feel from the transition into retirement.   wwwWang said when it comes to mental health, for instance, bridge work may help by allowing people to keep some of the "role identity" that they have formed over their careers.

Staying active in general, not only through work, can also benefit retirees' physical health, Wang noted. He added, however, that any mental health benefits are likely to depend on the type of activity -- whether it is something that the person truly enjoys, and that helps ease any stress of moving into retirement.

"These findings," Wang said, "suggest that for retirees and prospective retirees, carefully considering whether to engage in bridge employment -- and if so, what types of bridge employment -- is quite important."

What does the underlined phrase “at the outset” mean?__________

A. at least  B. at least  C. at the beginning  D. at last

People who went into some form of bridge employment have less chances to get the following diseases, EXCEPT___________.

A. arthritis      B. heart disease      C. diabetes      D. low blood pressure

Which of the following statement is WRONG?_________

A. As long as retirees move into “bridge employment”, they must be healthier than those who do not.

B. The participants in the study were between 51 and 61 years old.

C. The bridge workers are also less likely to get depression.

D. Staying active is beneficial to the retirees’ physical health.

What can we infer from the passage?________

A. The study was begun in 1992 and lasts for two 6-year periods

B. If a bridge worker is older than 61 years old, it does not mean that he will get a better health than others who enjoy full retirement.

C. Only by moving into “bridge employment” can the retirees enjoy better health both physically and psychologically.

D. Any activity can benefit the retirees’ mental health.

Which is the best title of the passage?

A. A US study

B. Bridge Work

C. Working after retiring can be good for your health

D. Stay active

I hope ____ the little ____ I have been able to do has been of some use.

   A. that; that       B. 不填；by which   C. what; what   D. 不填；with which

It was not until the 18th century that man realized that the whole of the brain was involved in the working of the mind，　　　　？

A.was it               B.wasn’t it            C.did they                        D.didn’t they

We hope to finish our experiment________.

A. long before    B. fast     C. before long     D. fastly

--- Ought we _____ clean the class room today?

--- Yes, you _____.

A. to; ought to          B.  /; ought            C. ought; ought          D. /; ought to

选词填空 (共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分)

Three years ago, he was  ________ as a salesman by a supermarket.

The workers ran out in __________ when the fire broke out.

The ball __________ down the road and fell into a deep hole.

She took a few deep breaths to __________ herself down.

         expectation, he didn't win in the contest.

        the message to its leg, he set the bird loose.

The little boy held his mother’s hand ______ when crossing the street.

You must _________ Mr White for his great help.

A school mainly ____________teachers and students.

___________some old tables, his house was almost empty.

In this age of cell phones, text messages and computer keyboards, one Scottish school has returned to basics. It’ s teaching I children the ignored art of writing with a fountain pen. There is no   clicking of keyboards in most classrooms at the Mary Erskine and Stewart ’s Melville Junior School，although there is a full range of facilities(设施）for computer lessons and technology isn ' t being ignored. The school' s headmaster believes the old -fashioned pens have helped strengthen the academic performance and self-respect of his 1，200 pupils.

"The pens improve the quality of work because they force the children to take care, and better work improves self-respect" , headmaster Bryan Lewis said. “ Proper handwriting is as relevant today as it ever has been. “ Students as young as 7 have been instructed to give up their ballpoint pens and begin to deal with its more artful predecessor. By the time they reach grade five, at age 9，they are expected to write mainly with fountain pens. Lewis said the school’s 7-and 8 -year-olds use fountain pens for 80-90 percent of their work, returning to pencils for such subjects as math. “I don’ t see fountain pens as old -fashioned or out of date. Modern fountain

pens are beautiful to use. It’ s not like in the old days of broken metal points and dirtying writing paper，” Lewis said. ‘We have a particular writing style and we have developed it very carefully and found a way that allows left-and right-handed people to write without dirtying paper. ”

Some people argue that handwriting is becoming less important because of the growing use of cell phone text messaging and typing on computers, but the school disagrees. ‘We talk of the paperless office and the paperless world, but this is not true, ” Lewis said. “You still need to have proper handwriting skills. ”

. The Scottish school in the passage   _____.

A.  does not think highly of modern technology

B.  values fountain pens more than anything else

C.  pays special attention to the use of fountain pens

D.  takes an action which is considered stupid by many people

The underlined word “predecessor” in Paragraph 2 refers to_____.

A. the pencil   B. the keyboard

C. the ballpoint pen    D. the fountain pen

The headmaster Bryan Lewis holds the view that_____.

A.  children should be required to use fountain pens when they are five

B.  handwriting skills are more important than typing skills nowadays

C.  using fountain pens may slow down students ’ speed of writing

D.  fountain pens have helped to build up students' self-respect

Which is the best title for this passage?

A.  Handwriting Not Useless Now

B.  Old-fashioned Pen Coming Back

C.  Stay Away from Tech and Teach Fountain Pen

D.  Fountain Pen Strengthens Academic Performance

Can people change their skin colour without suffering like pop king Michael Jackson? Perhaps yes. Scientists have found the gene that determines skin colour.

The gene comes in two versions, one of which is found in 99 per cent of Europeans. The other is found in 93 to 100 per cent of Africans, researchers at Pennsylvania State University report in the latest issue of Science.

Scientists have changed the colour of a dark-striped zebrafish to uniform gold by inserting a version of the pigment(色素) gene into a young fish. As with humans, zebrafish skin colour is determined by pigment cells, which contain melanosomes(黑色素). The number, size and darkness of melanosomes per pigment cell determines skin colour.

It appears that, like the golden zebrafish, light-skinned Europeans also have a mutation(变异) in the gene for melanosome production. This results in less pigmented skin.

However, Keith Cheng, leader of the research team, points out that the mutation is different in human and zebrafish genes.

Humans acquired dark skin in Africa about 1.5 million years ago to protect bodies from ultra-violet rays of the sun(太阳光紫外线), which can cause skin cancer.

But when modern humans leave Africa to live in northern latitudes, they need more sunlight on their skin to produce vitamin D. So the related gene changes, according to Cheng.

Asians have the same version of the gene as Africans, so they probably acquired their light skin through the action of some other gene that affects skin colour, said Cheng.

The new discovery could lead to medical treatments for skin cancer. It also could lead to research into ways to change skin colour without damaging it like chemical treatment did on Michael Jackson.

The passage mainly tells us that ________.

    A. scientists have found out that people’s skin colour is determined by the gene

    B. the new discovery could lead to search into ways to change skin colour safely

    C. pop king Michael Jackson often changed his skin colour as he liked

    D. people can not change their skin colour without any pain

The reason why Europeans are light-skinned is probably that ________.

    A. they are born light-skinned people

    B. light-skinned Europeans have mutation in the gen for melanosome production

    C. they have fewer activities outside

    D. they pay much attention to protecting their skin

It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

    A. nowadays people who want to change their skin colour have to suffer a lot from the damage caused by the chemical treatment

    B. Europeans and Africans have the same gene

    C. the new discovery has helped to find medical treatments for skin cancer

    D. there are two kinds of genes

The writer’s attitude towards the discovery is ________.

A. neutral                          B. negative                   C. positive                    D. indifferent

书面表达（满分25分）

在日常生活中，每个人都会误解或被别人误解，失去与得到都很正常。但如何重新赢得友谊却是个仁者见仁，智者见智的问题。请就How to win friends back为话题，写一篇100字到120字左右的文章。题材不限。

注意：如果是议论文，请注意议论的条理与层次性。如果是记叙文，请注意叙事的完整与连续性。

If it were not the fact ______ she can’t sing, I would invite her to the party.

A. which             B. that               C. \              D. of which