Read the passage carefully．Then answer the questions or complete the statements
题型：不详难度：来源：
Read the passage carefully．Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words.
Most people look forward to retirement as a time when they can finally take up activities that they never had the time or energy to pursue before．But some recent studies on people in their golden years are disturbing: they suggest that retirees are more likely to suffer from depression and possibly higher rates of other diseases such as heart disease and high blood pressure．That’s why a new study of French workers is welcome news.
Led by Hugo Westland, a professor of psychology at Stockholm University, the study of more than 14,000 workers found lower rates of depression and fatigue (疲劳) in people after they got tired while they were still employed.
The scientists followed the employees of the French national gas and electric company for 14 years．They found in the year immediately after retirement, the volunteers reported 40% fewer depressive symptoms than they had in the year before their retirement．The researchers also found an 81% drop in reports of both mental and physical fatigue over the same time period.
Clearly, said Westerlund, much of these decrease in physical and mental fatigue can be traced back to relief from the stresses of work．The decline in depressive symptoms suggests that retirement may be having a positive mental effect, too, which may have a lot to do with the generous pensions (养老金) that French workers enjoy．Most retirees in that country still benefit from about 80% of their yearly salaries.
“The economic or financial situation in retirement is very important,” Westerlund says．“We don’t know if the decrease in fatigue and depressive symptoms is because of the removal of something bad while in work or the addition of something good while in retirement．But no matter the reason, if life in retirement is not comfortable, then we won’t see the improvements we did.”
However, in European nations like France, governments are considering changes to pension plans, which may affect retirees’ health after they leave their jobs－with less of a financial safety net, workers may no longer seem so mentally and physically happy to be out of work．
(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN EIGHT WORDS.)
小题1:According to some recent studies, retired people may have depression and higher rates of other diseases like __________.
小题2:Westerlund’s group found that in the year just after the retirement most retired French workers felt much less tired both __________.
小题3:What does the word “improvements” in paragraph 5 refer to?
小题4:Retirement may make people happier with __________. |
答案
小题1:heart disease and high blood pressure
小题2:mentally and physically
小题3:The decrease in fatigue and depressive symptoms.
小题4:more of a financial safety net |
解析
1. 根据they suggest that retirees are more likely to suffer from depression and possibly higher rates of other diseases such as heart disease and high blood pressure可得出答案，such as就相当于ike比如，故为heart disease and high blood pressure（心脏病和高血压）。
2. 根据The researchers also found an 81% drop in reports of both mental and physical fatigue over the same time period可知法国人在精神和身体的疲劳上都有很大的下降，故用副词形式mentally and physically。
3. improvement原来指的是提高改善，此题要结合上文来答。根据We don’t know if the decrease in fatigue and depressive symptoms is because of ….可知此处指的就是上文提到的疲劳和抑郁症状的减少，故为：The decrease in fatigue and depressive symptoms。
4. 根据文章最后一段可知，如果一些像法国那样的欧洲国家政府决定改变养老金计划，削减退休人员的养老金的话，就会造成以下后果：with less of a financial safety net, workers may no longer seem so mentally and physically happy to be out of work. 即退休工人在减少财政安全感的情况下，可能在退休没有工作后再也不会身心愉悦了。也就意味着，只有带着more of a financial safety net，退休才可能让人更加幸福。本题答题的关键在于读懂最后一段，并进行逆向思维，将原文中的less改成more。 |
举一反三
It was a cold winter morning. Half asleep at the train station, I stared into the distance, 36 for the train to take me to my 37 in Boston. The word was quiet. The very few people on the street kept to themselves, 38 their steaming cups of coffee.
Reaching into my pocket as the 39 was approaching, my numb hand searched for the $ 20 bill to pay my fare. The pocket was 40 ! I searched through my bag and then I felt 41 . Unless the money dropped from the sky, I’d be 42 there.
“What’s the matter?” A short, elderly man stood before me.
“Oh, nothing…. Well, I 43 my money and now I can’t pay for the ticket. I’m going to 44 my match class, and the train is leaving.”
“Here, use this.”
The man held a $ 20 bill. I looked up, 45 . People just didn’t do that anymore. Everyone worried about their own 46 , rarely stopping to think about others, especially teenage strangers.
“Thank you, but no, I can’t.”
“ 47 it – go!” The man pushed me 48 the train. I bought a round – trip ticket, and he refused the change I 49 to give him back. I did not know what to say – a million thoughts raced through my mind, yet I stood 50 .
For the train ride I was silent. I began to see the world through 51 eyes. That man made a difference with such a simple 52 .
A week later I was at the train station again, with an extra $ 20 53 I saw the man. And there he was.
“excuse me, sir, I believe I owe you this.” I 54 the money into his hand.
Failing to refuse, he said, “Just remember to do the same for someone in your shoes someday.” I smiled, content.
The elderly man is my hero. For many, heroes are famous, but my hero is a 55 stranger who taught me a lesson in life. I will never forget his kindness.
| 小题1: | | A．watching | B．looking | C．reaching | D．arranging |
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| 小题2: | | A．home | B．class | C．office | D．factory |
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| 小题3: | | A．serving | B．carrying | C．minding | D．making |
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| 小题4: | | A．chance | B．crowd | C．driver | D．train |
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| 小题5: | | A．deep | B．empty | C．messy | D．tight |
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| 小题6: | | A．hopeless | B．useless | C．relieved | D．dissatisfied |
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| 小题7: | | A．blocked | B．drawn | C．stuck | D．tied |
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| 小题8: | | A．wasted | B．counted | C．spent | D．lost |
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| 小题10: | | A．frightened | B．disturbed | C．surprised | D．concerned |
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| 小题11: | | A．problems | B．complaints | C．positions | D．challenges |
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| 小题12: | | A．Seize | B．Get | C．Catch | D．Take |
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| 小题14: | | A．offered | B．managed | C．happened | D．attempted |
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| 小题15: | | A．unconsciously | B．silently | C．seriously | D．uncomfortably |
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| 小题16: | | A．curious | B．changed | C．bright | D．widened |
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| 小题17: | | A．task | B．act | C．example | D．performance |
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| 小题18: | | A．so that | B．even if | C．now that | D．in case |
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| 小题19: | | A．dropped | B．pushed | C．pressed | D．placed |
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| 小题20: | | A．giving | B．encouraging | C．promising | D．respecting |
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Has anyone noticed how, with the passage of time, one’s relationship with one’s grown-up daughters and sons becomes changed? I’ve been aware of this for some time but I’m not quite sure how to deal with it.
Take the kitchen sink for example.
Following a family get-together at my place, I walked into the kitchen to find Kate, my daughter carefully cleaning the sink.
“Don’t do that; what are you doing that for?” I said, unhappy about the hidden criticism.
“Mum,” she said, “you really ought to put your glasses on when you clean the sink. Behind the tap here was black!”
But it’s not just things like kitchen sinks. Another time Kate arrived to pick me up to lunch. She looked at me and then asked, “Mum, why do you use brown eyebrow pencil when your hair is grey?”
A sudden memory of her, aged 14, going to her first mixed party flooded back. She had come in to say goodbye. For a moment I thought she’d been an accident. Both eyes were black. I remember suggesting that perhaps a little less eye make-up might be more effective.
Now I told her, “My hair used to be brown.”
“It looks absurd.”
“Mrs. Menzies had dark eyebrows with grey hair.”
“Yes, but you’re not Mrs. Menzies, are you?” she said triumphantly, as if that proved her point.
But a recent event made me realize that something really must be done.
She had returned some for a few weeks before getting married. One evening I went out on a dinner date. By the time my companion left me at the front door, it was about 2am. As I stepped in, an angry figure in a white nightgown stopped me.
“Well, what time of night is this to be coming home?” she shouted. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick!”
Shades of the past come back to disturb me. But what should I do about all this? Nothing, probably. Maybe, after all, it’s only a stage young people are going through.
小题1:The daughter thought her mother didn’t clean the kitchen sink well because of her .| A．laziness | B．carelessness | C．unhappiness | D．poor-quality glasses |
小题2:From the passage we know the daughter .| A．didn’t want to help with the sink | | B．didn’t like brown eyebrow pencils | | C．had an accident when she went to her first party | | D．shouted at her mum because she came home late |
小题3:How does the mother feel after all these have happened?| A．Shocked. | B．Proud. | C．Envious. | D．Confused. |
小题4:The author writes the stories to prove that .| A．their relationship became stronger | | B．their roles changed as time passed | | C．her daughter very much cared about her | | D．her daughter got upset as she grew up |
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I recently heard a story about a famous research scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs. What set him so far apart from others?
He小题1:that, in his opinion, it all came from an小题2:from his mother that happened when he was about 2 years old. He had been trying to小题3:a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his 小题4:on the slippery(光滑的) bottle and it 小题5:, making its contents pouring all over the kitchen floor.
When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of小题6:at him, giving him a lecture, or punishing him, she said: “Robert, what an(a)小题7:and wonderful mess you have made! I have小题8:seen such a huge pool of milk. Well, the damage has already been done. Would you like to小题9:down and play in the milk for a few小题10:before we clean it up?”
Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said: “You know, Robert,小题11:you make a mess like this, you have to clean it up at last and restore everything to its proper小题12:. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which do you小题13:?” He chose the sponge and together they小题14:up the milk.
His mother then said: “You know, what happened just now is a小题15:experiment in how effectively to carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let’s小题16:out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can小题17:a way to carry it without dropping it.” The little boy小题18:that if he held the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it.
This scientist then小题19:that it was at that moment that he knew he didn’t need to be afraid to make小题20:.
Wouldn’t it be great if all parents would respond the way Robert’s mother responded to him?
| 小题21: | | A．added | B．advised | C．responded | D．commented |
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| 小题22: | | A．experience | B．accident | C．experiment | D．inspiration |
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| 小题23: | | A．send | B．heat | C．bring | D．remove |
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| 小题24: | | A．hold | B．control | C．balance | D．way |
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| 小题25: | | A．fell | B．rolled | C．turned | D．burst |
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| 小题26: | | A．crying | B．staring | C．shouting | D．laughing |
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| 小题27: | | A．terrible | B．great | C．unbelievable | D．alarming |
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| 小题28: | | A．shortly | B．always | C．already | D．rarely |
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| 小题30: | | A．hours | B．quarters | C．minutes | D．seconds |
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| 小题31: | | A．however | B．whatever | C．wherever | D．whenever |
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| 小题32: | | A．place | B．order | C．style | D．state |
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| 小题33: | | A．like | B．prefer | C．take | D．decide |
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| 小题34: | | A．cleaned | B．drank | C．picked | D．packed |
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| 小题35: | | A．finished | B．shared | C．failed | D．valued |
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| 小题37: | | A．invent | B．discover | C．imagine | D．make |
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| 小题38: | | A．knew | B．thought | C．convinced | D．learned |
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| 小题39: | | A．concluded | B．sensed | C．remarked | D．experienced |
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| 小题40: | | A．mistakes | B．assumptions | C．decisions | D．differences |
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Dec. 24, 1848
Dear Johnston,
Your request for eighty dollars, I do not think it best to satisfy now. At the various times when I have helped you a little, you have said to me, “We can get along very well again,” but in a very short time I find you in the same difficulty again. Now this can only happen by some fault in your behavior. What that fault is, I think I know. You are not lazy, and still you are an idler(游手好闲). I doubt whether since I saw you, you have done a good whole day’s work, in any other day. You do not very much dislike to work, and still you do not work much, merely because it does not seem to you that you could get much for it.
This habit of uselessly wasting time is the whole difficulty; it is vastly important to you, and still more so to your children, that you should break this habit. It is more important to them, because they have longer to live, and can keep out of an idle habit before they are in it, easier than they can get out after they are in.
You are now in need of some ready money; and what I suggest is, that you shall go to work hard, for somebody who will give you money for it.
Let father and your boys take charge of your things at home-prepare for a crop, and make the crop, and you go to work for the best money wages, or to pay back any debt you owe. And to secure you a fair reward for your labor, I now promise you that for every dollar you will, between this and the first of May, get for your own labor, I will then give you one other dollar. By this, if you hire yourself at ten dollars a month, from me you will get ten more, making twenty dollars a month for your work.
Now if you will do this, you will soon be out of debt, and what is better, you will have a habit that will keep you from getting in debt again. But if I should now clear you out, next year you will be just as deep in as ever. You say you would almost give your place in Heaven for $ 70 or $80. Then you value your place in Heaven cheaply, for I am sure you can with the offer I make you get the seventy or eighty dollars for four or five months’ work. You say if I furnish you the money you will deed(抵押) me the land, and if you don’t pay the money back, you will deliver possession-Nonsense! If you can’t now live with the land, how will you then live without it? You have always been kind to me, and I do not now mean to be unkind to you. On the contrary, if you will but follow my advice, you will find it worth more than eight time eighty dollars to you.
Affectionately
Your brother
A. Lincoln
小题1:Abraham Lincoln wrote the letter to Johnston mainly to ________.| A．show his concern for him | B．recommend him to save money | | C．decline his request and motivate him | D．introduce him a new job |
小题2:What’s the problem with Johnston, according to Lincoln?| A．He was very lazy. | B．He wasted time a lot. | | C．He couldn’t get much from work. | D．He disliked working. |
小题3:In the letter Lincoln suggested that Johnston should ________. | A．keep himself from getting into trouble | B．go to work hard for somebody | | C．manage well the things at home | D．keep the children out of the idle habit |
小题4:If Johnston got one dollar for his work, Lincoln promised to _________.| A．reward him with labor | B．pay off his debt | | C．hire him at 10 dollars a month | D．give him another dollar |
小题5:In order to get 80 dollars from Lincoln, Johnston promised to ________.| A．take away his place in Heaven | B．deed Lincoln the land | | C．live without the land | D．do good work every day |
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Do you sometimes argue about what seems to you to be simple fact? Do you argue whether it’s cold outdoors or whether the car in front of you is going faster than the speed limit?
If you get into such arguments, try to think about the story about the six blind men and the elephant. The first blind man who felt the elephant’s trunk said it was like a snake. The second who felt the elephant’s side said it was like a wall, while the third said it was like a spear as he touched the animal’s tusk. The fourth, who got hold of the elephant’s tail insisted that it was like a rope. The fifth man said it looked like a tree as he put his arms around one of the elephant’s legs. The sixth, who was tall and got hold of the elephant’s ears, said it was like a huge fan.
Each man’s idea of the animal came from his own experience. So if someone disagrees with you about a “simple fact”, it’s often because his experience in the matter is different from yours.
To see how hard it is for even one person to make up his mind about a “simple fact”, try this simple experiment. Get three large bowls. Put ice water in one. Put hot water in the second. Put lukewarm water in the third. Now put your left hand in the ice water. Put your right hand in the hot water. After thirty seconds, put both hands in the lukewarm water. Your right hand will tell you the water is cold. Your left hand will tell you it’s hot!
小题1: What makes people think about simple facts differently?| A．The fact that simple facts differ from one another. | | B．The fact that people have different experience in the same simple fact. | | C．The fact that people often disagree with one another. | | D．The fact that it’s hard to make up one’s mind about simple facts. |
小题2:Which of the following temperatures can the word “lukewarm” be applied to?| A．Around 1℃ | B．Above 60℃ | C．Around 25℃ | D．Below 0℃ |
小题3:After reading the last paragraph, we may think of .| A．Newton’s law | B．Gallileo’s theory of falling objects | | C．Einstein’s theory of relativity | D．Marx’s On Capital |
小题4:The main idea of this passage is .| A．people often judge something according to his own experience | | B．people often agree about simple facts | | C．it’s hard for a person to make up his mind about a simple fact | | D．don’t care too much about simple facts |
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