Since we are social beings, the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal relationships. One strength of the human condition is our possibility to give and receive support from one another under stressful conditions. Social support makes up of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties. Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to deal with major life changes and daily problems. People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties. Studies over types of illnesses, from depression(沮丧) to heart disease, show that the presence of social support helps people defend themselves against illness, and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely.
Social support cushions stress in a number of ways. First, friends, relatives and co-workers may let us know that they value us. Our self-respect is strengthened when we feel accepted by others in spite of our faults and difficulties. Second, other people often provide us with informational support. They help us to define and understand our problems and find solutions to them. Third, we typically find social companionship supportive. Taking part in free-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting (转移注意力) us from our worries and troubles. Finally, other people may give us instrumental support money aid, material resources, and needed services - that reduces stress by helping us resolve and deal with our problems.
1. Interpersonal relationships are important because they can ________
A. make people live more easily B. smooth away daily problems
C. deal with life changes D. cure types of illnesses
2.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word "cushions"?
A. takes place of B. makes up of
C. lessens the effect of D. gets rid of
3.What is the subject discussed in the text?
A. Interpersonal relationships. B. Kinds of social support.
C. Ways to deal with stress. D. Effects of stressful condition.
What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question, you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology(生物技术). With the help of new medicine, the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents, murder and war. Today's leading killers, such as heart diseases, cancer, and aging itself, will become distant memory.
In discussion of technological changes, the Internet gets most of the attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live? Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells(细胞) are the basic units of all living things, and until recently, scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells, such as those of brain cells, would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100, medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so, people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs(器官). The medicine, made up of the basic building materials of life, will build new brain cells, heart cells, and so on---in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.
It is exciting to imagine that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic conditional human existence, but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future.
1. According to the passage, human death is now mainly caused by _______.
A. diseases and aging B. accidents and war
C. accidents and aging D. heart diseases and war
2. In the author's opinion, today's most important advance in technology lies in _____.
A. medicine B. the internet C. brain cells D. human organs
3.Humans may live longer in the future because ______.
A. heart disease will be far away from us
B. human brains can decide the final death
C. the basic materials of cells will last forever
D. human organs can be repaired by new medicine
All of my childhood and early, adult life, my mom weighed over 220 pounds (one pound = 0.454 kilograms). I could feel the pain that my mom experienced with her fatness.
I was never uncomfortable about my mother, but I think she was uncomfortable about herself, and that feeling was painful for all of us. And she began to lose weight.
After more than twenty years of battling obesity（肥胖）, my mother completed a forceful eighteen-month diet that left her ninety pounds lighter than before. A new woman was born! At age twenty-eight, I got a new mom! For the first time, I met the woman my mother truly was, the beautiful little lady under the fatness. It wasn’t so much her new body that was the surprise, but rather her new spirit.
To celebrate her new size and to devote herself to dancing again, my mother joined a “Mrs. Forty-Plus” competition, where she would have to model, give a speech and provide a dance performance. She told our family that she did not care if she won — she simply had always wanted to perform on stage.
She told each one of us, “I’m not doing it to win; I’m doing it to dance!”
The competition was exciting! I prayed(祈祷) that my mom would win, but while watching her on stage I was simply overjoyed just by her effort. To me, she had already won. She posed to perfection, her speech brought tears to everyone’s eyes, and her performance was wonderful.
That night, at age fifty-three, my mother was crowned (为......加冕) “Mrs. Forty-Plus”. She was the first person in our family to ever win such a title.
1. The first two paragraphs mainly show that the author’s mom was __________.
A. experienced B. painful C. comfortable D. fat
2. After the author’s mom completed a forceful eighteen-month diet, she was about ______.
A. 85 kilograms B. 41 kilograms
C. 130 pounds D. 90 pounds
3. In order to join in the “Mrs. Forty-Plus” Competition, the author’s mom has to do the following EXCEPT __________.
A. providing a dance performance
B. telling a funny story about herself
C. giving a speech to a large number of people
D. wearing special clothes to show to people
4.The underlined part in Paragraph 6 means that __________.
A. the author’s mom succeeded in modeling and speaking
B. the author’s mom’s performance was very wonderful
C. the author’s mom was not successful in modeling
D. the author’s mom succeeded in making a speech
The deserts of the world are not all covered with sand. Many of them have surfaces of rock or clay or small stones. They are not flat, either. They often have high hills and deep valleys. There is some plants’ life in many parts of the desert. There is little rain in the desert, but it does fall often enough for most plants.
The deserts of the world are not uninhabited(not lived by people). People also live outside oases(绿洲), but these people are not farmers. They have camels, goats, donkeys, sheep, etc. These animals can live on the desert plants and do not need much water.
The people of the desert have to move constantly from place to place, they must always look for grass or desert plants for their animals. They usually live in tents. When there is no more food for their animals, they fold up their tents, pat them on their camels and donkeys, and move to another place. In good years, when there is enough food for their animals, they trade their skins and their goats and camel hairs with the people of oases for wheat and fruit. But in bad years, when there is not enough food for their animals, the people of the desert would attack the oases people. But they are also hospitable, no man in the desert would ever refuse to give a stranger food and water.
1. According to the passage, deserts are mostly made up of _______.
A. clay B. rock C. sand D. stones
2. The underlined word “hospitable” has the meaning of being _______.
A. brave B. cruel C. strange D. kind
3. In the desert _______.
A. it rains in spring only
B. it rains for a short time every month
C. there is some rain, but far from enough
D. the rainfall is just enough for the plants
4. People live _______.
A. only inside the oases B. only outside the oases
C. both inside and outside the oases D. in places with regular rainfalls
5. From the passage we know that life _______.
A. is hard in deserts B. is happy in deserts
C. is impossible in deserts D. in deserts is much better now
完形填空（共20小题;每小题1.5分,满分30分）
阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并标在答题卷的相应位置。用答题卡的考生，先把选出的最佳选项标在试卷的相应位置，再转涂到答题卡上。
There are about fifteen hundred languages in the world.
But ___36___ a few of them are very ___37___. English is one of these. Many, many people use it, not only in England and the U. S. A, but in other parts of the world. about 200, 000, 000 speak it as their own language. It is difficult to say how many people are learning it as a ___38___ language. Many millions are ___39__ to do so.
Is it easy or difficult to learn English? Different people may have different ___40___. Have you ever __41___ the ads of this kind in the newspapers or magazines?
“Learn English in six month, or your __42___ back ...” “Easy and funny? Our records and tapes __43___ you master your English in a month. __44___ the first day your ___45___ will be excellent. Just send ...” Of course, it never ___46___ quite like this.
The only language that seems easy to learn is the mother tongue. We should ___47___ that we all learned our own language well when we were ___48___. If we could learn English in the same way, it would not seem so difficult. ___49___ what a small child does. He listens to what people say. He tries what he hears. When he is using the language, talking in it, and ___50___ in it all the time, just imagine how much ___51___ that gets!
So it is ___52___ to say that learning English is easy, because a good command of English ___53___ upon a lot of practice. And practice needs great effort and ___54___ much time. Good teachers, records, tapes, books, and dictionaries will ___55___. But they cannot do the student’s work for him.
1.A. not B. quite C. only D. very
2. A. difficult B. important C. necessary D. easy
3. A. native B. foreign C. useful D. mother
4. A. learning B. enjoying C. trying D. liking
5. A. questions B. problems C. ideas D. answers
6. A. found B. watched C. noticed D. known
7. A. knowledge B. time C. money D. English
8. A. make B. help C. let D. allow
9. A. From B. On C. Since D. After
10. A. spelling B. grammar C. English D. pronunciation
11. A. happened B. know C. seemed D. felt
12.A. know B. remember C. understand D. think
13. A. students B. children C. babies D. grown-ups
14. A. Imagine B. Mind C. Do D. Think of
15. A. using B. thinking C. trying D. practicing
16. A. time B. money C. language D. practice
17. A. hard B. easy C. funny D. silly
18. A. depends B. tries C. has D. takes
19.A. uses B. takes C. gets D. costs
20. A. do B. work C. help D. master
Word has come _____some American guests will come for a visit.
A. what B. whether C. when D. that
