How long can human beings live? Most scientists who study old age think that the human body is ___ to live no longer than 120 years. However, 110 years is probably the longest that anyone could hope to live — if he or she is ___ healthy and lucky. Some scientists even say we can live as long as 130 years! Yet, our cells simply cannot continue to reproduce ___. They wear out, and as a result, we get old and ___ die.
Even though we can’t live forever, we are living a ___ life than ever before. In 1900, the average American life span(寿命)was only 47 years, but today it is 75 years!
When does old age begin then? Sixty-five may be out-of-date as the ___ line between middle age and old age. After all, many older people don’t begin to experience physical and mental ___ until after age 75.
People are living longer because more people ___ childhood. Before modern medicine changed the laws of nature, many children died of common childhood ___. Now that the chances of dying ____ are much lower, the chances of living long are much higher due to better diets and health care.
On the whole, our population is getting older. The ____ in our population will have lasting effects on our social development and our way of life. Some people fear such changes will be for the worse, while some see ____, not disaster. Today, many men and women in their "golden years" are healthy, still active, and young in ____ if not in age.
As our society grows old, we need the ____ of our older citizens. With long lives ahead of them, they need to ____ active and be devoted.
1.A. designed B. selected C. improved D. discovered
2.A. completely B. generally C. apparently D. extremely
3.A. rapidly B. harmlessly C. endlessly D. separately
4.A. eventually B. hopelessly C. automatically D. desperately
5.A. busier B. longer C. richer D. happier
6.A. finishing B. guiding C. waiting D. dividing
7.A. stress B. damage C. decline D. failure
8.A. survive B. enjoy C. remember D. value
9.A. problems B. fears C. worries D. diseases
10.A. poor B. young C. sick D. quiet
11.A. changes B. recovery C. safety D. increases
12.A. dreams B. chances C. strengths D. choices
13.A. mind B. appearance C. voice D. movement
14.A. protection B. suggestions C. contributions D. permission
15.A. sound B. appear C. turn D. stay
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A, B, C, D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
As a general rule, all forms of activity lead to boredom when they are performed on a routine basis. As a matter of fact, we can see this ________at work in people of all _________. For example, on Christmas morning, children are excited about _______with their new toys. But their ________soon wear off and by January those_________toys can be found put away in the basement. The world is full of_________stamp albums and unfinished models, each standing as a monument to someone’s _________interest. When parents bring home a pet, their child________bathes it and brushes its fur. Within a short time, however, the_______of caring the animal is handed over to the parents. Adolescent enter high school with great_______but soon looking forward to________. The same is true of the young adults going to the college. And then, how many_________, who complain about the long drives to work, _________drove for hours at a time when they first_________ their drivers licenses? Before people retire, they usually _______to do a lot of_____things, which never had _____while working. But ________after retirement, the golfing, the fishing , the reading and all of the other pastimes become as boring as the jobs they _______. And, like the child in January, they go searching for new_________.
1.A. principle B. habit C. way D. power
2.A. parties B. races C. countries D. ages
3.A. working B. living C. playing D. going
4.A. confidence B. interest C. anxiety D. sorrow
5.A. same B. extra C. funny D. expensive
6.A. well-organized B. colorfully-printed C. newly-collected D. half-filled
7.A. broad B. passing C. different D. main
8.A. silently B. impatiently C. gladly D. worriedly
9.A. promise B. burden C. right D. game
10.A. courage B. calmness C. confusion D. excitement
11.A. graduation B. independence C. responsibility D. success
12.A. children B. students C. adults D. retirees
13.A. carefully B. eagerly C. nervously D. bravely
14.A. required B. obtained C. noticed D. discovered
15.A. need B. learn C. start D. plan
16.A. great B. strange C. difficult D. correct
17.A. time B. money C. skills D. knowledge
18.A. only B. well C. even D. soon
19.A. lost B. choose C. left D. quit
20.A. pets B. toys C. friends D. colleagues
One of the easiest things in the world is to become a fault-finder. However, life can be _______ when you are not busy finding fault with it.
Several years ago I _______ a letter from seventeen-year-old Kerry, who described herself as a world-class fault-finder, almost always _______ by things. People were always doing things that annoyed her, and _______ was ever good enough. She was highly self-critical and also found fault with her friends. She became a really _______ person.
Unfortunately, it took a horrible accident to change her _______. Her best friend was seriously hurt in a car crash. What made it almost _______ to deal with was that the day before the _______, Kerry had visited her friend and had spent the whole time criticizing her _______ of boyfriends, the way she was living, the way she related to her mother, and various other things she felt she needed to ________. It wasn’t until her friend was badly hurt that Kerry became ________ her habit of finding fault. Very quickly, she learned to appreciate life rather than to ________ everything so harshly(刻薄). She was able to transfer her new wisdom to other parts of her ________ as well.
Perhaps most of us aren’t as extreme at fault-finding, ________ when we’re honest, we can be sharply ________ of the world. I’m not suggesting you ________ problems, or that you pretend things are ________ than they are, but simply that you learn to allow things to be as they are — ________ most of the time, and especially when it’s not a really big ________.
Train yourself to ＂bite your tongue＂, and with a little ________, you’ll get really good at letting things go. And when you do, you’ll get back your enthusiasm and love for life.
1.A.lonely B.great C.quiet D.uneasy
2.A.received B.answered C.expected D.rejected
3.A.threatened B.interrupted C.bothered D.spoiled
4.A.anything B.everything C.something D.nothing
5.A.caring B.boring C.interesting D.surprising
6.A.attitude B.plan C.measure D.explanation
7.A.urgent B.unnecessary C.certain D.impossible
8.A.occasion B.event C.accident D.adventure
9.A.memory B.notice C.evidence D.choice
10.A.hear B.contribute C.express D.admit
11.A.aware of B.afraid of C.curious about D.confused about
12.A.discuss B.realize C.judge D.settle
13.A.family B.life C.career D.education
14.A.so B.or C.but D.for
15.A.proud B.sure C.hopeful D.critical
16.A.face B.create C.solve D.ignore
17.A.rarer B.better C.stranger D.worse
18.A.at least B.at last C.by far D.so far
19.A.task B.deal C.result D.duty
20.A.practice B.speech C.rest D.pity
In our modern world, when something wears out, we throw it away and buy a new one. The ___ is that countries around the world have growing mountains of ___ because people are throwing out more rubbish than ever before.
How did we ___ a throwaway society? First of all, it is now easier to ___ an object than to spend time and money to repair it. ___ modern manufacturing(制造业)and technology, companies are able to produce products quickly and inexpensively. Products are plentiful and ___.
Another cause is our ___of disposable(一次性的)products. As ___ people, we are always looking for ___ to save time and make our lives easier. Companies ____ thousands of different kinds of disposable products:paper plates, plastic cups, and cameras, to name a few.
Our appetite for new products also ____ to the problem. We are ____ buying new things. Advertisements persuade us that ____ is better and that we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we ____ useful possessions to make room for new ones.
All around the world, we can see the ____ of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To ____ the amount of rubbish and to protect the ____, more governments are requiring people to recycle materials. ____, this is not enough to solve(解决)our problem.
Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions ____ throwing them away. We also need to rethink our attitudes about ____. Repairing our possessions and changing our spending habits may be the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish and take care of our environment.
1.A. key B. reason C. project D. problem
2.A. gifts B. rubbish C. debt D. products
3.A. face B. become C. observe D. change
4.A. hide B. control C. replace D. withdraw
5.A. Thanks to B. As to C. Except for D. Regardless of
6.A. safe B. funny C. cheap D. powerful
7.A. love B. lack C. prevention D. division
8.A. sensitive B. kind C. brave D. busy
9.A. ways B. places C. jobs D. friends
10.A. donate B. receive C. produce D. preserve
11.A. adapts B. returns C. responds D. contributes
12.A. tired of B. addicted to C. worried about D. ashamed for
13.A. newer B. stronger C. higher D. larger
14.A. pick up B. pay for C. hold onto D. throw away
15.A. advantages B. purposes C. functions D. consequences
16.A. show B. record C. decrease D. measure
17.A. technology B. environment C. consumers D. brands
18.A. However B. Otherwise C. Therefore D. Meanwhile
19.A. by B. in favour of C. after D. instead of
20.A. spending B. collecting C. repairing D. advertising
In the 1960s, Douglas McGregor, one of the key thinkers in the art of management, developed the now famous Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X is the idea that people instinctively _____ work and will do anything to avoid it. Theory Y is the view that everyone has the potential to find satisfaction in work.
In any case, despite so much evidence to the _____, many managers still agree to Theory X. They believe, ___________, that their employees need constant supervision if they are to work effectively, or that decisions must be imposed from _____ without consultation. This, of course, makes for authoritarian (专制的) managers.
Different cultures have different ways of _____ people. Unlike authoritarian management, some cultures, particularly in Asia, are well known for the consultative nature of decision-making — all members of the department or work group are asked to _____ to this process. This is management by the collective opinion. Many western companies have tried to imitate such Asian ways of doing things, which are based on general _____. Some experts say that women will become more effective managers than men because they have the power to reach common goals in a way that traditional _____ managers cannot.
A recent trend has been to encourage employees to use their own initiative, to make decisions on their own without _____ managers first. This empowerment (授权) has been part of the trend towards downsizing:_____ the number of management layers in companies. After de-layering in this way, a company may be ______ with just a top level of senior managers, front-line managers and employees with direct contact with the public. Empowerment takes the idea of delegation (委托) much further than has ______ been the case. Empowerment and delegation mean new forms of management control to ______ that the overall business plan is being followed, and that operations become more profitable under the new organization, rather than less.
Another trend is off-site or ______ management, where teams of people linked by e-mail and the Internet work on projects from their own houses. Project managers evaluate the ______ of the team members in terms of what they produce for projects, rather than the amount of time they spend on them.
1.A. desire B. seek C. lose D. dislike
2.A. contrary B. expectation C. degree D. extreme
3.A. vice versa B. for example C. however D. otherwise
4.A. outside B. inside C. below D. above
5.A. replacing B. assessing C. managing D. encouraging
6.A. refer B. contribute C. object D. apply
7.A. agreement B. practice C. election D. impression
8.A. bossy B. experienced C. western D. male
9.A. asking B. training C. warning D. firing
10.A. doubling B. maintaining C. reducing D. estimating
11.A. honored B. left C. crowded D. compared
12.A. economically B. traditionally C. inadequately D. occasionally
13.A. deny B. admit C. assume D. ensure
14.A. virtual B. ineffective C. day-to-day D. on-the-scene
15.A. opinion B. risk C. performance D. attractiveness
The small town of Rjukan in Norway is situated between several mountains and does not get direct sunlight from late September to mid-March- _______ six months out of the year.
“Of course, we _______ it when the sun is shining,” says Karin Ro, who works for the town’s tourism office. “We see the sky is _______, but down in the valley it’s darker — it’s like on a _______ day.”
But that _______ when a system of high-tech _______ was introduced to reflect sunlight from neighboring peaks(山峰) into the valley below. Wednesday, residents(居民) of Rjukan _______ their very first ray of winter sunshine: A row of reflective boards on a nearby mountainside were put to _______. The mirrors are controlled by a computer that _______ them to turn along with the sun throughout the ________ and to close during windy weather. They reflect a concentrated beam(束) of light onto the town’s central ________, creating an area of sunlight roughly 600 square meters. When the light ________, Rjukan residents gathered together.
“People have been ________ there and standing there and taking ________ of each other,” Ro says. “The town square was totally ________. I think almost all the people in the town were there.” The 3,500 residents cannot all ________ the sunshine at the same time. ________, the new light feels like more than enough for the town’s ________ residents.
“It’s not very ________,” she says, “but it is enough when we are ________.”
1.A.only B.obviously C.nearly D.precisely
2.A.fear B.believe C.hear D.notice
3.A.empty B.blue C.high D.wide
4.A.cloudy B.normal C.different D.warm
5.A.helped B.changed C.happened D.mattered
6.A.computers B.telescopes C.mirrors D.cameras
7.A.remembered B.forecasted C.received D.imagined
8.A.repair B.risk C.rest D.use
9.A.forbids B.directs C.predicts D.follows
10.A.day B.night C.month D.year
11.A.library B.hall C.square D.street
12.A.appeared B.returned C.faded D.stopped
13.A.driving B.hiding C.camping D.sitting
14.A.pictures B.notes C.care D.hold
15.A.new B.full C.flat D.silent
16.A.block B.avoid C.enjoy D.store
17.A.Instead B.However C.Gradually D.Similarly
18.A.nature-loving B.energy-saving C.weather-beaten D.sun-starved
19.A.big B.clear C.cold D.easy
20.A.trying B.waiting C.watching D.sharing
