There’s something satisfying about volunteering. Studies have shown that volunteering helps people who donate their time feel more socially connected, thus warding off loneliness and depression. But a growing body of evidence suggests that people who give their time to others might also be rewarded with better physical health, including lower blood pressure and a longer lifespan.
Evidence of volunteerism’s physical effects can be found in a recent study from Carnegie Mellon University, published this month in Psychology and Aging. Adults over age 50 who volunteered on a regular basis were less likely to develop high blood pressure than non-volunteers. High blood pressure is an important indicator of health because it contributes to heart disease, stroke, and premature death.
It’s impossible for this study to prove that volunteering was directly responsible for the lower blood pressure. People who volunteer may be more likely to do other things, like eating a healthy diet or exercise, which lower blood pressure. But the results are in line with other findings on the topic.
How might volunteering contribute to lower blood pressure？Performing volunteer work could increase physical activity among people who aren’t otherwise very active, says leading study author Rodlescia Sneed, a doctoral candidate in social and health psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. It may also reduce stress. “Many people find volunteer work helpful with respect to stress reduction, and we know that stress is very strongly linked to health out-comes,” she says.
A 2012 study in the journal Health Psychology found that participants who volunteered with some regularity lived longer, but only if their intentions were truly altruistic. In other words, they had to be volunteering to help others-not to make themselves feel better.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle once guessed that the essence of life is “To serve others and do good.” If recent research is any indication, serving others might also be the essence of good health.
1.Which can replace the underlined phrase “warding off” in paragraph 1？
A.getting rid of. B.keeping up with.
C.running out of. D.putting up with.
2.Why does the author mention the study from Carnegie Mellon University？
A.To prove the benefit of volunteering to health.
B.To find out volunteerism’s physical effects on heart.
C.To explain the connection between exercise and health.
D.To warn readers the danger of volunteering to blood pressure.
3.What can we learn from what Rodlescia Sneed said？
A.Volunteers are supposed to be more outgoing.
B.Volunteer work can make people lack sports.
C.Taking appropriate exercise can strengthen social connection.
D.Performing volunteer work contributes to reducing stress.
4.What’s the text mainly about？
A.Volunteering can lower blood pressure.
B.Volunteering is beneficial to mental health.
C.Volunteering may be good for body and mind.
D.Volunteering can avoid suffering from heart disease.
In space, there is no up or down. Without the gravity that we experience on Earth, as-tronauts and everything else on a spaceship float freely.
Humans can experience the sense of zero gravity without going into space. How？A zero-gravity flight. When an airplane flies in a lot of parabolas（抛物线）, a man-made zero-gravity environment is set up. Everything in the plane floats, even passengers.
Gravity has an effect on everything from the human body and mind to the behavior of plants and the way machines run. Space travel is expensive and dangerous. But zero-gravity flights let scientists conduct experiments in an environment that mimics（模拟） the conditions of space. On each of its research trip, Zero-G flies about 30 parabolas, each of which creates a period of weightlessness that lasts about 30 seconds. Nikolaus Kuhn of the University of Ba-sel, in Switzerland, flew with Zero-G. He was conducting an experiment about soil and the flow of water on Mars. The Red Planet has about one-third of the gravity that Earth has. This means water flows more slowly on Mars. By making the parabolas less steep, zero-gravity flights can make the feeling of Martian gravity. Flying with Zero-G has been necessary for Kuhn’s research. “It is the only chance, other than going to Mars, to mimic movement of water as it would be on Mars,” he told TFK.
For years, NASA used zero-gravity flights to prepare and train astronauts. “I have not been to space,” Peters of Zero-G says, “But I have been told by astronauts that zero-gravity feels exactly the same.” As humans continue to explore the universe beyond Planet Earth, zero-gravity flights will remain an important and fun tool. “It never gets old,” Peters says “I would do it every weekend for the rest of my life if I could.”
1.Why do scientists set up man-made zero-gravity environment？
A.To study the water on the earth.
B.To offer weightlessness as a business.
C.To take scientists to any other planets.
D.To mimic the condition of space for experiments.
2.How much time of weightlessness can a Zero-G light offer？
A.About 30 seconds. B.About 90 seconds.
C.About 15 minutes. D.About 30 minutes.
3.What feature do the parabolas in Zero-G flights have？
A.The gentler parabolas are, the more satisfied the researchers are.
B.The steeper parabolas are, the less weight the passengers feel.
C.The steeper parabolas are, the more successful the experiments are.
D.The gentler parabolas are, the more quickly water on Mars flows.
4.What can be inferred about the Zero-G flight from the text？
A.It is useless for training astronauts.
B.It has no side effect on human body.
C.It creates a substitutable environment of zero gravity in space.
D.It is cheaper but more dangerous than space travel.
Many people don’t have a home because of an illness or because they lost their jobs. They have bad health and can’t start working, and because of that, they can’t pay for a doctor, so it’s a never-ending circle. Homeless people don’t have anywhere to go, so they have to sleep on the streets, covering themselves with newspapers and looking through the rubbish cans to find some food or warmer clothes.
Seeing these horrible living conditions, the Australian charity Beddown decided to help these people in need. They came up with an amazing idea to make shelters in places that are vacant at night-like parking lots! The organization asked one of the largest car park-opera tors, Secure Parking, and they agreed upon it.
“It was great to start with a group of our volunteers to help us and set up some beds. Although as expected we had a few challenges to overcome, it was good to start bringing Bed down to life. Beddown will provide an immediate response for those who can not sleep well to access safe, find shelter-and access to a real bed and a great night’s sleep. We will work with our other partners to provide long-term solutions to providing our guests with accommoda-tion, education and employment opportunities.” The founders of Beddown said in one of their Instagram posts.
The charity also provided other services to the guests, like doctors, nurses, dentists, hairdressers. They gave them new clothing, a place to clean themselves and helped provide social services. “After spending the week here, having a good sleep at night, it reminded me of life and I want to begin my life again,” one homeless man said.
1.What can we learn about the homeless in Australia？
A.They live a hard life. B.They lost their families.
C.They don’t want to work. D.They like to live on the street.
2.What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 2 refer to？
A.Making beds for the homeless. B.Using the parking lot to get money.
C.Using the parking lot to help the homeless. D.Inviting the car park operators to organize the activity.
3.What did the founders of Beddown say about setting up beds for the homeless？
A.It is only a part of their help. B.It helps the volunteers greatly.
C.It makes the Beddown get more reputation. D.It gives the homeless a chance to return to real life.
4.What can be the best title for the text？
A.The Homeless Get Good Diet Now.
B.Beddown Shelters the Homeless in Car Parks.
C.Beddown Helps the Homeless Find Jobs in Car Parks.
D.Australian Charity Beddown and the Homeless in Australian.
It often happens that problems blow into our lives. For some of us it may be a temporary period, but for others, it’s a lifetime change. Here are stories of ordinary people who had to face unpleasant events and managed to overcome them with dignity.
Bill Porter
Even though Bill Porter had a damaged brain, he wanted to work in sales. He achieved his goal, and later he became one of the best salesmen in America. The movie Door to Door is about him, and it’s recommended to those who think something will hold them back from achieving a desired career.
Evgeny Smirnov
There’s nothing worse for a dancer than losing the ability to dance. But Evgeny Smirnov, Russian break dance champion, went on dancing, despite the fact that he had to learn to dance again. His performance became a great example of the fact that someone can dance incredibly cool even without a leg.
Olesya Vladykina
Even though she’s only 20, Olesya Vladykina has suffered a lot; an accident in Thailand took not only her left hand, but also her close friend. The moment changed the girl’s life, but she didn’t give up. After the accident, she took part in the Paralympic Games twice, having won first place and having set a world record.
Andrea Bocelli
Blindness takes away the ability to see the world, but not to feel it. Perhaps this helps Italian Andrea Bocelli, a popular blind classical singer, to share fascinating and inspiring energy with the audience through his songs.
1.Whose story is the movie Door to Door about？
A.A singer’s. B.A dancer’s.
C.A sportsman’s. D.A salesman’s
2.What disadvantage does Evgeny Smirnov have？
A.He has one arm. B.He has only one leg.
C.He has no ability to see. D.He has a damaged brain.
3.Whose performance will you enjoy if you like classical music？
A.Bill Porter’s. B.Andrea Bocelli’s
C.Evgeny Smirnov’s. D.Olesya Vladykina’s
假定你是李华。本周末市博物馆将举办中国结展览，请给你的留学生朋友Lily写封邮件，邀请她和你一起去参观。内容包括：
1.展览的时间和地点；
2.活动:观赏中国结，现场学编中国结。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头和结尾已为你写好，但不计入总词数。
参考词汇：中国结Chinese knot
Dear Lily,
How are you doing?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
假如英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中 共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（^），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
As Grandma gets older, she is getting more and more forgetful. I went to a nearby supermarket with her on last week. I pushed the shopping cart around to load it with what we want to buy. I was looking at some snacks while I realized Grandma was missed. I looked for her everywhere and she was nowhere to be found. So I turned to security guard who was on duty with tear in my eyes. He comforted me patient and told me to wait by the apple stand when she and other guards were searching for Grandma. It was not long before Grandma was found and brought to me. I was very grateful that I decided to put it forward and help others whenever possible.
