When I was small and my grandmother died I couldn’t understand why I had no tears. But that night when my dad tried to cheer me up, my laugh turned into crying.　　

   So it came as no surprise to learn that researchers believe crying and laughing come from the same part of the brain. Just as laughing has many health advantages, scientists are discovering that crying does so, too.　　

Whatever it takes for us to reduce pressure is important to our emotional (情感的) health, and crying seems to be helpful. Study found that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men report feeling better after crying.　　

Besides, tears attract help from other people. Researchers agree that when we cry, people around us become kinder and more friendly and they are more ready to provide support and comfort. Tears also enable us to understand our emotions better; sometimes we don’t even know we’re very sad until we cry. We learn about our emotions through crying, and then we can deal with them.　　

Just as crying can be healthy, not crying — holding back tears of anger, pain or suffering — can be bad for physical health. Studies have shown that too much control of emotions can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and some other illnesses. If you have a health problem, doctors will certainly not ask you to cry. But when you feel like crying, don’t fight it. It’s a natural — and healthy — emotional response (反应).　　

1.Why didn’t the author cry when her grandmother died?　　

A. Because her father did not want her to feel too sad.　　

B. Because she did not love her grandmother.　　

C. Because she was too shy to cry at that time.　　

D. The author doesn’t give the explanation.　　

2.  It can be inferred from the text that ______.　　

A. there are two ways to keep healthy　　

B. crying does more good to health than laughing　　

C. crying and laughing play the same roles　　

D. emotional health has a close relationship to physical health　　

3.According to the author, which of the following statements is TRUE?　　

A. Crying is the best way to get help from others.　　

B. Fighting back tears may cause some health problems.　　

C. We will never know our deep feelings unless we cry.　　

D. We must cry if we want to reduce pressure.　　

4.What might be the most suitable title for the text?　　

A. Power of Tears                    B. How to Keep Healthy　　

C. Why Do We Cry                     D. A New Scientific Discovery

Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage and the required words limit. Write your answers on your answer sheet.

The worst US economic recession (萧条) in 70 years is forcing senior citizens out of retirement, leaving them fighting for jobs in a weak labor market or risking homelessness.

A study by Experience Works, released on Tuesday, showed 46 percent of the 2,000 low income people over 55 years who participated needed to find work to keep their homes. Nearly half of them had been searching for work for more than a year.

“These people are at the age where they understandably thought their job-searching years were behind them,” said Cynthia Metzler, president and CEO of Experience Works.

“But here they are, many in their 60s, 70s and beyond, desperate to find work so they can keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.”

According to the study, many of the participants had no intention of working past their 60th birthday, but had to change plans after being dismissed or following the death of the partner. Over a third of the participants had retired.

Ninety percent of respondents 76 years and older planned to continue working for the next five years.

Huge medical bills due to a personal illness or that of a spouse(配偶) were also reasons for coming out of retirement, the survey found. The longest and deepest economic slump since the 1930s is making finding a job for the low-income elderly workers a difficult challenge.

The Experience Works study found that 46 percent of the elderly jobseekers were sometimes forced to choose between paying rent, buying food or medication. Almost three-quarters believed their age made it harder to compete for jobs with younger workers.

“This study underscores calls for the need to create policies that remove barriers to employment for older workers and provide additional programs and services specifically aimed at helping older people re-enter the work force or remain working,” said Metzler.

1. What has caused the American retired senior citizens back to work?  (No more than 8 words)

2. Why is it hard for the elderly job seekers to find a job?  (No more than 13 words)

3. Use several words to describe the possible feelings of the elderly job seekers? (No more than 4 words)

4. What might be the solution to the problem according to the study?  (No more than 15 words)

BEIJING — China’s education authority will tighten the widely criticized policy of “extra credits” for the national college entrance examination to ensure a fairer chance for all exam-takers.
Under the policy, high school students who win awards in national Olympic competitions could get ‘‘extra credits’ up to 20 points for the national college entrance exam. Students with talent in sports and students who are from ethnic groups can also benefit from this policy. The extra credits have increased these students’ chances of being admitted by famous universities. Some parents were found to have helped their children fabricate(伪造)award experiences or falsify qualifications to get extra credits.
“It has harmed education equality，” the ministry said.
Xiong Bingqi, vice-chief of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said the policy is designed to help students who have special talents but may be weak in academic performance to have a chance to receive higher education. uIt will still be needed but it is time to make the rules fairer," he said.
The ministry said it will reduce the range of competitions whose winners can get extra credits, and limit the winners, privileges(优先权).
The new policy will apply to students who begin high school in 2011, it said.
Chen Lei, a mother of a 10-year-old girl, said she welcomed the ministry's policy adjustment as she does not want her daughter to become an Olympic competition geek.
But not all the Chinese parents welcomed the new policy. “It is like a thunderbolt for me. My - 13-year-old son has spent so much time studying Olympic math，and participated in so many technological competitions during vacations. It is useless now,” said Dong Wen, a 43-year-old mother.
A student said, “Many students have changed the current study plan, and they can abandon the competition. I will be interested in learning the courses which can improve my abilities.”   
Yuan Guiren, minister of education, told China Daily that the reform is an attempt to consider  the overall quality of an applicant. “But the country will not stop the national college entrance  examination as it is still the most objective way to evaluate talent in China，” lie said.
【小题1】It can be inferred from the passage that_____.

What would you do if you were lost in the dark forest at night? The first sensible lesson is that you shouldn’t bother trying to find your way in the dark at all, but just stay where you are until dawn. Because then you won’t trip over things? No, mainly because you’ll have an idea of direction. The sun rises in the east. But you will be amazed at how many people forget they know that. Apparently, the area underneath a holly bush provides a good makeshift shelter — they are thick, and evergreen. The next thing to do — or rather not to do — is panic, for the obvious reason that unless there is someone there to hear you scream, it will get you nowhere. Just try to think of nice, happy things.

There is always a point in films when a person who is lost in the desert or the snow, dehydrated (脱水的) and exhausted, comes across a set of their own footprints and realizes they have just walked in a huge, round circle. It is wrong to owe it to the unequal strengths or different lengths of your legs. Experiments prove that, without the sun or the moon (or landmarks) as a fixed guide, lots of small errors add up over time so the brain can’t correctly identify the “straight ahead” direction. To just get out of somewhere, pick a spot on the horizon and just head for it.

There are several ways to find directions in the dark, and by far the best is to establish north using the stars. Most people can identify the Plough, which is part of Ursa Major. It looks a lot like a saucepan. The Plough rotates（旋转）through the sky, but let’s imagine the saucepan lying horizontally (水平地), with its handle on the left. You need to trace a line from the star at the right-hand base of the pan, through the star at the right-hand rim (边沿), and follow it upwards; the north star is roughly five times the distance between those two “pointer” stars. Then drop a vertical line from the North Star to the horizon and that’s north.

“Tonight is very cloudy and I can’t see the Plough.” Maybe luckily, it is quite windy. Keep in mind that almost all of our weather comes from a south-westerly direction. (This only works if you are in the British Isles). To find the direction, you can throw light bits of dried-out grass in the air and see which way they blow; or, if there are clouds and patches of clear sky, see which way they blow across the stars. You can also get an idea of direction from leggy plants. If they look as if they have been blown over, they will probably be pointing north-east. If they are simply leaning in one direction as they grow, there’s a good chance that is south (they will be reaching towards the sun). The last thing to do is to judge your direction and off you go.

 What might be the best title of the passage?

A. How to survive in the forest

B. How to protect yourself in the forest

C. How to direct your way out of the wild

D. What to do if you are lost

【小题２】Which of the following pictures matches the description of the position of the north star?

【小题３】Why will people often walk in a circle if they are lost in the desert or the snow?

A. Because without anything to refer to for directions, the brain will be confused by errors.

B. Because one of the legs is longer and stronger than the other.

C. Because the desert or the snow usually covers a large area for people to get across.

D. Because people usually feel dehydrated and exhausted in the desert or the snow.

【小题４】If you were lost in Taklimakan Desert in China, _________ would NOT be dependable for you to identify the directions.

A. the sun           B. the North Star        C. wind         D. the moon

At Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, the lights are controlled by sensors that measure sunlight. They dim immediately when it’s sunny and brighten when a passing cloud blocks the sun.

A wall of windows at a University of Pennsylvania engineering building has built-in blinds (百叶窗) controlled by a computer program that follows the sun’s path. Buildings are getting smarter and the next generation of building materials is expected to do even more.

Windows could catch the sun’s energy to heat water. Sensors that measure the carbon dioxide breathed out by people in a room could determine whether the air conditioning needs to be turned up.

Many new materials and technology have been designed in the last 15 years. They are now being used in a wave of buildings designed to save as much energy as possible. They include old ideas, like “green roofs”, where a belt of plants on a roof helps the building keep heat in winter and stay cool in summer, and new ideas, like special coating for windows that lets light in, but keeps heat out.

As technologies such as sensors become cheaper, their uses spread.

The elevators at Seven World Trade Center, which is under construction in New York, use a system that groups people traveling to nearby floors into the same elevator, thus saving elevator stops. People who work in the building will enter it by swiping (刷) ID cards that will tell the elevators their floor, readouts will then tell them which elevator to use. The building also has windows with a coating that blocks heat while letting in light.

More new building materials and technology are in development. A Philadelphia building firm is now working on “smart wrap” that uses tiny solar collectors to catch the sun’s energy and transmitters (传输器) as wide as a human hair to move it. They are expected to change the face of the construction industry in the next ten years or so.

1.________ will be developed and used in the construction industry.

A．“Green roofs” that cool or heat buildings

B．“Smart wrap” that catches the sun’s energy

C．Sunlight-measuring sensors that control lights

D．Window coating that lets light in, but keeps heat out

2.The elevators at Seven World Trade Center are special because they can ________.

A．send people to floors with fewer stops

B．teach people how to use their ID cards

C．make people stay very cool in summer

D．help people go traveling in the building

3.The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to ________.

A．a human hair       B．smart wrap         C．the sun’s energy   D．a transmitter

4.What might be the most suitable title for the text?

A．Buildings Are Becoming Smarter

B．Buildings Are Getting More Sunlight

C．Buildings Are Lacking in Much Energy

D．Buildings Are Using Cheaper Materials