The birthrate in Europe has been in a steady decrease since the 1960s. European countries, realizing crisis is at hand, are providing great encouragement for parents to create more babies in the 21st century.

Affairs Ministry concluded last year that,    11    cash encouragement, some women just don’t want to be    12    holding the baby. “What we know is that it’s good for the    13___ if men and women share the burden of having children,” says Soren Kindlund, family policy adviser at the Swedish ministry.    14    Swedish parents can take their paid leave as they wish, men use a mere 12% of it; 60% of fathers do not take even a(n)    15 _   day off work.

Experts fear that the tendency for women to use most of the parental leave could make employers    16    to give young women the permanent jobs they need to qualify for paid maternity leave (产假). In January, Sweden decided to allow new fathers two months’ paid leave, with a warming: use it or    17    it.

Kindlund admits that men are under   18    to stay at work, even though parental pay comes out of the public purse. “It’s not popular among bosses and perhaps with other men in the workplace,” he says. “But it’s good for the father and for the child if they can    19    a relationship.”

In Norway, a(n)   20    policy has worked wonders. 70% of dads in Norway now take parental leave, and the birthrate of 1.85 children per woman is one of the highest in Europe.

11. A. is spite of   B. at the cost of 

 C. in addition to         D. due to

12. A. sent    B. left      C. caught    D. seen

13. A. birthrate   B. income      C. health    D. spirit

14. A. Just as   B. Only if     C. Even though      D. Now that

15. A. one   B. mere     C. only   D. single

16. A. willing   B. reluctant    C. likely   D. unable

17. A. reserve     B. misuse     C. ignore    D. lose

18. A. discussion  B. attack     C. control     D. pressure

19. A. make out    B. add up    C. build up     D. set aside

20. A. impersonal   B. similar     C. severe     D. global

For the last couple of weeks, I had been stuck in front of my computer working on a project that was very important to me. My every waking hour was consumed by the project and although I imagined that I would feel happy after completing parts of the project, I was confused to find that instead, I was feeling rather depressed. I tried a range of methods to help cheer myself up. I had a relaxing bath, cooked a delicious meal to enjoy with my family and even watched a lighthearted movie, but to no avail. It was only when I turned to meditation(沉思)for a solution that the answer came to me: turn to nature!

The very next day, I grabbed my camera and a bottle of water and set off to spend a few hours walking in a nature reserve, even though it was pouring with rain. Within a couple of minutes I felt alive again. To be honest, I felt like a young school girl again and had to stop myself from hopping along the path singing, "I'm singing in the rain", a song I used to sing when I was a child. I think as adults we often try too hard to control our inner children and as a result we restrain(限制) our own spirits, which only leads to depression and stress.

Interestingly, it has been shown that people who spend 40 minutes walking in a nature reserve have a drop in their blood pressure levels, but this does not happen when they spend a similar amount of time walking in a busy city centre.

If you feel a little low in spirit and know that you have spent too much time indoors, relax completely, remove your shoes and let your inner child come out and play.

1.The author felt depressed because she __________.

A．couldn't consume her waking hour

B．had not seen a film for a long time.

C．had not finished her work on time

D．had worked on a hard job for too long

2.The author walked in a nature reserve in the rain in order to__________.

A．take photos                            B．find a solution to the project

C．hop along the path                      D．cheer herself up

3.The underlined part "to no avail" in Paragraph 1 probably means " __________.".

A．unsuccessful       B．unrelated         C．uninteresting       D．unexpected

4.In the author's opinion, __________.

A．a bath can make people relaxed

B．depression is usually caused by hard work

C．walking in a busy city centre harms people's health

D．adults should express their inner feelings freely

5.The last paragraph mainly serves as a(n) __________.

A．explanation        B．suggestion         C．introduction       D．reminder

For the last couple of weeks , I had been stuck in front of my computer working on a project that was very important to me . My every waking hour was consumed by the project and although I imagined that I would feel happy after completing parts of the project, I was confused to find that instead , I was feeling rather depressed . I tried a range of methods to help cheer myself up. I had a relaxing bath, cooked a delicious meal to enjoy with my family and even watched a lighthearted movie,but to no avail. It was only when I turned to meditation(沉思) for a solution that the answer came to me : turn to nature!

The very next day , I grabbed my camera and a bottle of water and set off to spend a few hours walking in a nature reserve , even though it was pouring with rain . Within a couple of minutes I felt alive again.To be honest . I felt like a young school girl again and had to stop myself from hopping along the path singing , “I’m singing in the rain.”a song I used to sing when I was a child . I think as adults we often try too hard to control our inner children and as a result we restrain(限制)our own spirits , which only leads to depression and stress.

Interestingly,it has been shown that people who spend 40 minutes walking  in a nature reserve have a drop in their blood pressure levels. But this does not happen when they spend a similar amount of time walking in a busy city centre .

If you feel a little low in spirit and know that you have spent too much time indoors , relax completely , remove your shoes and let your inner child come out and play.

1.The author felt depressed because she          .

A.couldn’t consume her waking hour

B.had not seen a film for a long time.

C.had not finished her work on time

D.had worked on a hard job for too long

2.The author walked in a nature reserve in the rain in order to       .

A.take photos           B.find a solution to the project

C.hop along the path    D.cheer herself up

3.The underlined part“to no avail” in Paragraph 1 probably means“           ”.

A.unsuccessful      B.unrelated     C.uninteresting     D.unexpected

4.In the author’s opinion,      .

A.a bath can make people relaxed

B.depression is usually caused by hard work

C.walking in a busy city centre harms people’s health

D.adults should express their inner feelings freely

5.The last paragraph mainly serves as a(n)       .

A.explanation           B.suggestion        C.introduction          D.reminder