_____, everyone present was amused by his adventure story in Africa.
A. Absurd as might it sound B. As it might sound absurd
C. As absurd it might sound D. Absurd as it might sound
_____ they are fit, I see no reason why they shouldn't go on playing basketball for another four or five years.
A. In case B. Provided that C. Unless D. As if
It was not until dark ______ he found ______ he thought was the correct way to solve the problem.
A. that; what B. that; that C. when; what D. when; that
What a great weight she felt ________ off her mind the moment she heard she had passed the College Entrance Examination!
A. take B. to take C. taking D. taken
– What a terrible collision accident!
– Judging from the scene, personally, it is one or two car drivers, rather than the truck driver, who _____.
A. is to blame B. are blamed C. are to blame D. is blamed
Retail therapy（购物疗法）has long been considered as a good way to let off stress. Now, US scientists have discovered not only does retail therapy exist，but that it could be caused by an individual's fear of sudden death.
Researchers found materialistic people thought terrorism and war more stressful than others.
Psychologists believe the rise of materialism around the world and its treatment effect on extreme stress might be a response to fear of death caused by acts of terrorism, disease and natural disasters.
The scientists from Michigan State University said people with possession obsessions（妄想）often have lower self-esteem than others so are more likely to shop as the result of severe psychological suffering.
Ayalla Ruvio，a business professor studying people's shopping habits while rockets fell in Israel, said, "When the going gets tough, the materialistic people go shopping. This stress spending is likely to produce even greater stress and lower well-being. Essentially, materialism appears to make bad events even worse.
Dr Ruvio led a two-part study of Israeli citizens living in a town that came under extreme rocket attacks for about six months in 2007. She compared 139 residents of the southern town with 170 from another town that was not under attack to see how their symptoms of post-traumatic stress and shopping habits varied. Dr Ruvio found that, when faced with a deadly threat, those who are highly materialistic suffered much higher levels of stress，while their tendency to shop was increased.
Dr Ruvio said, "The relationship between materialism and stress may be more harmful than commonly thought.”
The second stage of their research surveyed 855 Americans about their materialistic nature and fear of death. They found shopping was used to relieve feelings of stress and anxiety about death but this was in response to fear of a variety of life-threatening events like car accidents, criminal attacks and natural disasters.
1.Which of the following opinion is NOT right according to the text?
A. Terrorism is believed to easily cause the rise of materialism.
B. The materialistic find terrorism and war more stressful than others.
C. The scientists think possession obsessions help people get self-respect.
D. The scientists think people with possession obsessions suffer a lot mentally.
2.Why did Dr Ruvio choose to study the two groups of Israeli citizens mentioned in the passage?
A. They enjoy the special shopping culture.
B. The stresses they face are usually deadly.
C. They are in different situation in terms of war.
D. They are usually active participants for researchers.
3.What's the result about Dr Ruvio's research?
A. Impulsive spending does good to people's health.
B. Shopping can't lower one's stress as it is expected.
C. Faced with great stress, people feel hopeless for life.
D. Faced with threat，people's wish to shop will decrease.
4.Which of the following events threaten people's life?
①Greater stress; ②Car accidents; ③Criminal attacks；. ④Natural disasters;
A.①②③ B.②③④ C.①②④ D.①③④
5.What's the main idea of the passage?
A. Greater stress can lead to shopping.
B. Greater stress can cause a lot of diseases
C. Shopping is very important in people's life.
D. Can shopping reduce the stress and relieve the fear of death?
