Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. “I was a clothes addict,” he jokes. “I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled.” Today David wears casual clothes—khaki pants and sports shirt—to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. “I’m working harder than ever,” David says, “and I need to feel comfortable.”
More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work. In the United States, the change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday, but only on Friday. This became known as “dress-down Friday” or “casual Friday”. “What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing.” said business consultant Maisly Jones.
Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. “A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code.” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale（士气）. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative effect on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. “Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said. “For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes.”
1. David Smith refers to himself as having been “a clothes addict,” because __________.
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A．he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt |
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B．he couldn’t stand a clean appearance |
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C．he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time |
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D．he didn’t want to spend much money on clothes |
2.David Smith wears casual clothes now, because __________.
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A．they make him feel at ease when working |
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B．he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes |
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C．he looks handsome in casual clothes |
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D．he no longer works for any company |
3.According to this passage, which of the following statements is FALSE?
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A．Many employees don’t like a conservative dress code. |
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B．Comfortable clothes make employees more productive. |
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C．A casual clothes code is welcomed by young employees. |
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D．All the employers in the U.S. are for casual office wear. |
4. According to this passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
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A．Company workers started to dress down about twenty years ago. |
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B．Dress-down has become an everyday phenomenon since the early 1990s. |
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C．“Dress-down Friday” was first given as a favor from employers. |
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D．Many workers want to wear casual clothes to impress people. |
5.In this passage, the following advantages of casual office wear are mentioned except
__________.
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A．saving employees’ money |
B．making employees more attractive |
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C．improving employees’ motivation |
D．making employees happier |
Anger is good for you, as long as you control it, according to new psychology research. A new study from Carnegie Mellon University shows anger may help people reduce the negative impacts of stress and help you become healthier.
“Here getting emotional is not bad for you if you look at the case of anger,” said Jennifer Lerner of Carnegie Mellon. “The more people display anger, the lower their stress responses.”
Lerner studied 92 UCLA students by asking them to count back from 6,200. They must say out loud every thirteenth number. Researchers disturbed them by asking them to count faster or ask them other questions. If they made any mistakes, they had to restart from the very beginning. Many students felt depressed about making so many mistakes or got angry.
Lerner used a hidden video camera and recorded all their facial expressions during the test. The researchers describe their reactions as fear, anger and disgust.
Other researchers recorded the students’ blood pressure, pulse and production of a high-stress hormone（荷尔蒙）called cortisol. People whose faces showed more fear during the experiment had higher blood pressure and higher levels of the hormone. Both can have lasting effects such as diabetes（糖尿病）, heart disease, depression and extra weight gain.
When people feel fear, negative impacts increase, but when they get angry, those negatives go down, according to the study.
“Having that sense of anger leads people to actually feel some power in what otherwise is a maddening（令人发狂的）situation,” Lerner said.
Lerner previously studied Americans’ emotional response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks two months after the incident. She found people who reacted with anger were more optimistic. These people are healthier compared with those who were frightened during the event. So in maddening situations, anger is not a bad thing to have. It’s a healthier response than fear.
1.What is the story mainly about?
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A．The findings of new psychology research. |
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B．What you can do with anger in certain cases. |
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C．Different effects produced by anger and fear. |
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D．Healthier responses in maddening situations. |
2.Which statement will Jennifer Lerner agree with?
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A．It’s better to be angry than to be frightened. |
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B．Different reactions reflect different outlooks on life. |
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C．Don’t control your anger and it makes you powerful. |
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D．Pessimistic people are generally healthier than optimistic people. |
3. What does the underlined word “both” refer to according to the passage?
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A．Fear and anger. |
B．Blood pressure and pulse. |
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C．Blood pressure and cortiso1. |
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D．Higher blood pressure and higher levels of the hormone. |
4.In what ways can anger be beneficial to people?
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A．By showing their optimistic side. |
B．By reducing their stress. |
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C．By reducing high blood pressure. |
D．By taking the place of fear. |
5.The researchers irritated（激怒）the students by __________.
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A．recording their performance secretly |
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B．asking them to count to 6, 200 again and again |
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C．disturbing them and making them start all over again |
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D．criticizing them when they made mistakes |
Everybody has one of those days when everything goes wrong. This is what happened to Harry.
He got up one morning very late because he had forgotten to wind up his alarm clock（闹钟）. He tried to shave（刮脸）quickly and cut himself. When he got dressed he got blood all over his clean shirt, so he had to find another one. The only other shirt that was clean needed ironing（熨）, so he ironed it. While he was ironing it, there was a knock at the door. It was the man to read the electricity meter（表）. He showed him where the meter was, said good-bye and found that the iron had burnt a hole in his shirt. So he had to wear the one with the blood on it after all. By this time it was very late, so he decided he couldn’t go to work by bus. He telephoned for a taxi to take him to work. The taxi arrived and Harry got in and began to read the newspaper.
In another part of the town, a man had killed a woman with a knife and was seen to run away in a taxi. When Harry’s taxi stopped outside his office, a policeman happened to be standing there. He saw the blood on Harry’s shirt, and took him to the police station. He was kept till 3 o’clock in the afternoon before the police were sure that he was not the man they wanted. When he finally arrived at the office at about four, his boss took a look at him and told him to go away and find another job.
1.Harry had __________.
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A．a lucky day |
B．an unlucky day |
C．a busy day |
D．a good day |
2.Put the following sentences into correct order according to the passage.
a. The man who read the electricity meter came.
b. Harry ironed his shirt.
c. Harry got blood all over his clean shirt.
d. There was a knock at the door.
e. Harry wore the shirt with blood on it.
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A．a, b, c, d, e |
B．b, a, d, c, e |
C．b, a, c, d, e |
D．c, b, d, a, e |
3.Why did Harry wear the shirt with blood on it?
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A．The iron had burnt a hole in his clean shirt. |
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B．The only other needed ironing. |
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C．He had only one shirt. |
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D．He cut himself and got blood all over his shirt. |
4.Harry was taken to the police station because __________.
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A．his taxi stopped outside his office and a policeman happened to be there |
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B．there was blood on his shirt and he was in a taxi |
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C．a man killed a woman with a knife |
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D．the murderer（杀人犯）was seen to run a away in a taxi |
5. His boss told him to go away and find another job because __________.
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A．he had been kept by the police |
B．there was blood on his shirt |
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C．he was late for work |
D．he had killed a woman |
The Voice of America began during the World WarⅡ, when Germany was broadcasting a radio program to get international 36 . American officials believed they should 37 the German broadcast with words that they thought were the facts of world events. The first VOA news report began with words in 38 . “The 39 may be good or bad, but we shall tell you the truth.” Within a week, other VOA 40 were broadcasting in Italian, French and English.
After the World War Ⅱended in 1945, some Americans felt VOA’s 41 had to be changed, 42 the Soviet Union（苏联）became enemy of America. They wanted to 43 Soviet listeners. Then VOA began broadcasting in Russian.
In the early days VOA began adding something new to its Broadcast that was 44 “Music USA”. Another new idea came along in 1959. VOA knew that many listeners did not know _ 45 English to completely understand its 46 English broadcast. So VOA 47 a simpler kind of English, 48 uses about 1,500 words and is spoken 49 . Of course, it is special English.
In the 50 of most VOA listeners, the most 51 program is the news report. News from around the world 52 into the VOA news room in Washington 24 hours a day. It comes from VOA reporters in 53 cities and also from other 54 like BBC. VOA writers and editors use these materials to 55 news reports, which are being broadcast in 43 languages.
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I have no ________ to the plan, so long as it would not cost too much.
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A．refusal |
B．comment |
C．idea |
D．objection |
Eventually he gave in to the wish of the ________.
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A．most |
B．majority |
C．average |
D．common |
