Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty. In fact, they say by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old.
The findings came from a survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States. The Gallup(民意调查) Organization questioned them by telephone in 2010. At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five.
The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry. They also asked about mental or emotional stress.
Arthur Stone at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five. The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties. Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies. The people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties.
Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older. One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world, or maybe even changes in brain chemistry.
The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.
The study also showed that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.
【小题1】
What can be the best title of the text?

A．Happiness Varies with Ages	B．Experience More, Worry Less
C．The Older, the Wiser	D．Being Young, Being Happy

【小题2】
We can learn from the research that _________.

A．only when people get older will they feel happier

B．stress levels among the youngest are the highest

C．older people tend to be grateful

D．older people usually have no worries

【小题3】
According to the research, when people get older, _________.

A．they miss the old days	B．they are physically weak
C．they have better self-control	D．they are more emotional

【小题4】
What would the author probably talk about next?

A．What influences happiness.	B．How to live better.
C．How to keep happier.	D．Why women are less happier.

【小题5】
The purpose of the passage is to _________.

A．advise how to reduce stress	B．introduce a scientific finding
C．describe how to do research	D．talk about human emotions

A woman renewing her driver’s license at the County Clerk’s office was asked to state her occupation．She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself．
“What I mean is,” explained the recorder, “do you have a job, or are you just a …”
“Of course I have a job,” said Emily．“I’m a mother.”
“We don’t list ‘mother’ as an occupation… ‘housewife’ covers it,” said the recorder.
One day I found myself in the same situation．The clerk was obviously a career woman, confident and possessed of a high sounding title．“What is your occupation?” she asked．
The words simply popped out．“I’m a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”
The clerk paused, ballpoint pen frozen in midair.
I repeated the title slowly, and then I stared with wonder as my statement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.
“Might I ask, ”  said the clerk with new interest, “Just what you do in this field?”
Coolly, without any trace of panic in my voice, I heard myself reply, “I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn’t）, in the lab and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out)．Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?), and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it)．But the job is more challenging than most careers and rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.”
There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up, and showed me out．
As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up (依托) by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants---ages 13, 7, and 3.
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (a 6 month old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern．
I felt proud! I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable (不可缺少的) to mankind than “just another mother.”
Motherhood…What a glorious career!  Especially when there’s a title on the door.
【小题1】
What can we infer from the conversation between the woman and the recorder at the beginning of the passage?

A．The woman felt ashamed to admit what her job was.

B．The recorder was impatient and rude.

C．The author was upset about the situation that mothers faced.

D．Motherhood was not recognized and respected as a job by society.

【小题2】
How did the female clerk feel at first when the author told her occupation?

A．curious

B．indifferent

C．puzzled

D．interested

【小题3】
How did the author feel when describing her job to the clerk?

A．calm

B．panic-stricken

C．confident

D．cool

【小题4】
Why did the woman clerk show more respect for the author?

A．Because the author cared little about rewards.

B．Because she admired the author’s research work in the lab.

C．Because she thought the author did admirable work.

D．Because the writer did something she had little knowledge of.

【小题5】
What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?

A．To show how you describe your job affects your feelings toward it.

B．To argue that motherhood is a worthy career and deserves respect.

C．To show that the author had a grander job than Emily.

D．To show that being a mother is hard and boring work．

Dublin has the benefit of being a home to unequaled beaches．They can be especially attractive during the summer season．Experience this scenery for yourself and see what these beaches have to offer you．
Finding yourself at Dollymont makes you a fortunate tourist especially if you find beaches irresistible． Here you can swim away your worries through the Dollymont Blue Flag Beach．The beach provides a wonderful view which is perfect for some relaxing moments．Its shoreline is well recommended for a few quiet and unworried walks along the beach．
For some beach adventure, you can drive your way down the M50 and M 1 motorways to Donabate． This village in North County Dublin offers an attractive Blue Flag beach which is perfect for your swimming addictions．Lifeguards are on call during bathing period．The water is as overpowering as the surrounding．
For a double purpose beach, check out Killiney．This beach is a top off destination for a swimming adventure and it is equally grand for relaxing walks. The shoreline is covered with pebbles and rocks．This may seem averred with ordinary stony beach for some but for those who have strong interest in geological processes, Killiney is a best spot to discover part of．Dublin's history and Killiney's formation．
Another accessible Blue Flag Beach lies on Malahide in Fingal．You can enjoy the distinctive attraction of the water while still getting yourself amazed with the wonderful sights around Malahide．Beach is sandy and holds a harbor designed for pleasure boats at the Northern end．
For a bit of challenge and thrill, consider a swim at Seapoint Beach in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown．You can have the pleasure of an exciting surf adventure here apart from the usual swimming activity．This is often visited by tourists due to its various appeals: swimming on the north part of the beach while surfing, boating and jet skiing at the south．
Need to beat the heat off your summer vacation? There is nothing as satisfying as a visit to some of these outstanding beaches.
【小题1】How many beaches are mentioned in this article?

A．Five

B．Four

C．Three

D．Two

【小题2】If you are visiting Killiney, which of the following activities can't you do?

A．Having a swimming adventure．	B．Having some relaxing walks．
C．Discovering some Dublin's history．	D．Practising operating boats for pleasure．

【小题3】Some tourists choose a swim at Seapoint Beach probably because they can _____．

A．get themselves interested in the sights around

B．have a wonderful surf on the north of the beach

C．enjoy several unusual and exciting activities

D．call the lifeguards during bathing period

【小题4】If you want to be quiet and have same relaxing walks, you may pay a visit to _____．

A．Dollymont and Donabate	B．Donabate and Malahide
C．Dollymont and Killiney	D．Killinev and Malahide

【小题5】The best title of this article should be _____．

A．Where to go swimming in summer	B．Beating off the heat in Dublin
C．Benifits of staying at beaches	D．Geological researches in vacation

When people hear that I’m the youngest person to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, they all have the same question: How did a 22-year old woman row a 19-foot boat for 70 days through high winds and crashing waves? Well, the biggest  difficulty for me wasn’t physical. By the time I decided to do the ocean row, I had already biked 3,300 miles cross-country, run across the Mojave Desert, and swum the 325-mile length of the Allegheny River. No, the tough part would be mental: How would I handle the loneliness, the boredom of the vast sea?
I set off on January 3, 2010. I set my sights on getting past the quarter-way mark, which would take about 20 days.
Day 20, January 22, was gray and cloudy. I could have done something to celebrate, such as treating myself to a chocolate bar. But I didn’t.
I was suffering from terrible loneliness. I hadn’t seen landing over two weeks. Every day was beginning to feel the same. Eating, rowing, sleeping, watch the sky, watch the ocean.
Then, around sunset, I saw something move on the horizon. They were dolphins! They circled my boat. Suddenly I felt so grateful. They had come to help me celebrate, just when I needed them. I rowed at full strength for the next 20 minutes with the dolphins around. By the time we went our separate ways, I was no longer lonely. Better yet, I knew I would be okay.
I did make it, all 2,817 miles. I hit the coast of Guyana, South America, on March 14, after 70 days and five hours at sea. My ocean row raised $70,000 for the Blue Planet Run Foundation, which funds drinking water programs around the world. I know some athletes spend the entire journey imagining the end, and that helps them get through. But for me, the secret is to focus on the moment, where you experience the personal growth—those moments of awareness of being connected to the sun, the weather, and the waves. And, on the best day of my life, those dolphins, which freed myself from terrible loneliness.
【小题1】
Which is the step taken as part of preparation for the tough row?

A．swimming the 325-mile length of the river

B．answering the same question raised by people

C．running 3,300 miles cross-country

D．biking across the Mojave Desert

【小题2】
What does the underlined part mean?

A．I didn’t have any chocolate bar for energy.

B．I wasn’t in the mood to celebrate my first goal.

C．It’s a pity not to celebrate my passing the quarter of the way

D．It’s a pity not to treat myself to a chocolate bar on Day 20.

【小题3】
What can be implied from the last two paragraphs?

A．Imagination was an effective way to help me get through.

B．The Blue Planet Run Foundation helped me a lot.

C．The dolphins accompanied me to reach my destination

D．The unexpected dolphins swept away my loneliness

【小题4】
Which can be the best title of the passage?

A．The day I stopped being lonely

B．The only challenge for a 22-year old

C．How to overcome loneliness at sea.

D．How to row alone across the Atlantic

One Sunday a few of us decided to take advantage of the first sunny day we’d have for ages to take a trip down to the coast to visit the penguins again. Last time I went down there was a couple of months ago and it was a dull cold day. Sunday couldn’t have been more different — clear skies and sunshine made it feel like summer, although it was still -25°C.
Six of us drove to the coast. It was the first time we’d been off the base on our own without our field assistant, so it had a slightly different feeling — more like a few friends going to the seaside than an Antarctic field trip! When we reached Windy Creek, we luckily caught sight of quite a few small flying seabirds, which are seldom seen there.
Once on the sea ice we found that some of the more curious penguins had wandered over from the main group to come and check us out. We’d been told that then they were nursing their chicks (刚孵出的幼雏) and they would be more careful and nervous than last time, but that didn’t seem to be the case. We walked across to the main group which were stretched for a couple of miles along the coast. We sat down for some sandwiches and soon found ourselves surrounded by many curious observers. Without any attackers on land, they were very brave and came within a meter of us to pose (摆姿势) for photos.
Before heading back, we spent a few hours on the sea ice watching the penguins and their chicks, which had grown dramatically (明显地) since our last visit. It was such a nice day.
【小题1】
When did the trip most probably happen?

A．On a dull Sunday.	B．On a warm Sunday.
C．On a summer Sunday.	D．On a winter Sunday.

【小题2】
It can be inferred from the second paragraph that the six people _____.

A．felt a little nervous

B．felt a little excited

C．were left all by themselves on their Antarctic base

D．got bored with staying with their field assistant

【小题3】
What does the writer mean by saying “but that didn’t seem to be the case”?

A．They were told a lie.

B．A wrong decision was made.

C．The truth was the opposite.

D．They didn’t believe what they were told.

【小题4】
The six people did the following during the trip EXCEPT _____.

A．feed the penguins

B．take pictures of the penguins

C．enjoy watching flying seabirds

D．watch the young penguins

The next morning Alex was waiting in the FMA president’s suite when Jerome Patterton arrived. Alex filled him in quickly on the Jax report. Then he said, “I want you to give an order to the trust department to sell every share of Supranational we’re holding.”
“I won’t!” Patterton’s voice rose. “Who do you think you are, giving orders-----“ “I’ll tell you who I am, Jerome. I’m the guy who warned the board against in-depth involvement with SuNatCo. I fought against heavy trust department buying of the stock, but no one-----including you -----would listen. Now Supranational is caving in.” Alex leaned across the desk and slammed a fist down hard. “Don’t you understand? Supranational can bring this bank down with it.”
Patterton was shaken. “But is SuNatCo in real trouble? Are you sure?”
“If I weren’t, do you think I’d be here? I’m giving you a chance to salvage something at least.” He pointed to his wristwatch. “It’s an hour since the New York  stock market opened. Jerome, get on the phone and give that order!”
Muscles around the bank president’s mouth twitched nervously. Never decisive, strong influence often swayed him. He hesitated, then picked up the telephone.
“Get me Mitchell in the trust department… Mitch? This is Jerome. Listen carefully. I want you to give a sell order immediately on all the Supranational stock we hold… Yes, sell every share.” Patterton listened, then said impatiently, “Yes, I know what it’ll do to the market. And I know it’s irregular.” His eyes sought Alex’s for reassurance. The hand holding the telephone trembled as he said, “There’s no time to hold meetings. So do it! Yes, I accept responsibility.”
He hung up and reached for a glass of water. “The stock is already down. Our selling will depress it more. We’ll be taking a big beating.”
“It’s our clients-----people who trusted us-----who will take the beating. And they’d have taken a bigger one still, if we’d waited. Even now we’re not out of the woods. A week from now the SEC may disallow those sales. They may rule we had inside knowledge that Supranational was about to be bankrupt, which we should have reported and which would have halted trading in the stock.
【小题1】 Alex filled him in quickly on the Jax report. The sentence means:

A．He filled his name on the Jax report quickly.

B．Alex signed his name to the Jax report quickly.

C．He offered the FMA president the Jax report smartly.

D．He prepared the Jax report for Patterton to sign smartly.

【小题2】 From the context we can infer that ________.

A．SuNatCo would bring the stock market down if it sold all the Supranational stock they held.

B．The president was stubborn and would never listen to others.

C．Alex will take the place of Patterton in the future.

D．the clients would take a bigger beating than the bank

【小题3】 The New York stock market is the place where_____.

A．the old stock can be bought and sold

B．shares can be bought and sold

C．paper stock can be bought and sold

D．some of the stock can be taken without being paid for

【小题4】 In the sentence “Even now we’re not out the woods.” The phrase “out of the woods”       means     _____.

A．free from danger	B．short of wood
C．running out of wood	D．set free

【小题5】In the writer’s opinion, the president is _____.

A．good leader of the U.S.A	B．a good manager of a company
C．headmaster	D．banker, an indecisive sort of person

The disaster at the Chernobyl(former USSR前苏联) power station happened quickly and without warning. It was in the early hours of April 26, 1986 when the cooling system of the reactor(反应堆) failed. Minutes later, a violent (猛烈地) explosion blew the top off the reactor and blasted(爆炸生成) a huge cloud of radioactive gas high into atmosphere. Two people were killed immediately. Hundreds received powerful radiation overdose (过量). And more than 25,000 had to be taken away from their homes.
Days later, the radioactive cloud had spread as far as Scotland. Its radiation was weak, but all over Europe radioactive rain was falling. In some areas people were advised not to eat fresh vegetables, or drink fresh milk, and the sale of meat was forbidden.
The accident at Chernobyl was the world’s worst nuclear accident. In Britain, it convinced (使……相信) many people that all nuclear power stations should be shut down for good. But the Central Electricity Generating Board didn’t agree. They claimed that ·similar disasters could not happen in Britain because of safer designs, fewer deaths are caused using nuclear fuel (燃料) than by mining for coal or drilling for oil and gas. Nuclear accidents are unusually fewer compared with other types of accidents-such as air crashes, fires or dam break-down more nuclear power stations are necessary because the world’s supplies of oil, coal and natural gas are running out.
In 1957 in Cumbria (Britain) a nuclear reactor overheated and caught fire. No one was killed but fourteen workers received radiation overdose. Small amounts of gas and dust were let out over the local countryside.
An official report said the accident was nearly a full-scale disaster. The Nuclear Authority wanted the report published but the Prime Minister at the time refused. He thought that it would make people less confident in Britain’s nuclear industry. Thirty years later, the cabinet(内阁) records of 1957 were published. Only then did the public discover what had really happened in Cumbria.
【小题1】. One result of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster was that ______.

A．25,000 people were killed

B．fresh foods were polluted

C．people in Scotland were taken away from their homes

D．hundreds of houses in Chernobyl were destroyed

【小题2】.According to the passage, nuclear accidents______.

A．are most unlikely to cause death	B．are always kept secret from the public
C．can only happen in underdeveloped countries	D．may happen in any country that has nuclear power station.

【小题3】. After the nuclear accident at Chernobyl many people in Britain _______.

A．still believed it could not happen in their country.

B．were not convinced that nuclear power stations could be safe

C．accepted that there would be fewer deaths than in drilling for oil

D．supported nuclear power stations because world fuel supplies were low

【小题4】.. The British Government refused to publish the report on the Cumbria accident because _______.

A．Britain’s supplies of oil, coal and gas were running out

B．it takes thirty years for the effects of radiation to appear

C．fewer people died in that accident than in other types of accidents

D．it was concerned that the British people would doubt their country’s nuclear expertise (核技术)

A Battery’s Worst Nightmare(噩梦)
Portable electronics that can be carried about easily are only as good as their batteries and, let’s face it, batteries aren’t very good, especially when compared with, say, petrol, which packs 100 times a battery’s energy into an equal space. That’s why a large group of mechanical engineers (centered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but with partners at other universities and companies) are hard at work in an effort to replace batteries with a tiny engine that runs on fuel. Imagine a battery-free life!When the fuel runs out in your laptop or mobile phone, you just fill up and go.
The engine, about the size of a ten-cent coin, starts with a combustion chamber (燃烧室) that burns hydrogen (氢). Its tiny parts are etched onto silicon wafers (硅片) in the same manner that computer parts are imprinted onto integrated circuits (集成电路). The first engine is made up of five wafers. And since these wafers could be produced in much the same way as computer chips, they could probably be produced quite cheaply.
But the devil in all this nice detail is efficiency(效率). Tiny engine parts don’t always behave like their scaled-up parts of the first engine. Something between the parts can slow down the work, according to Columbia University professor Luc Frechette, one of the engine’s designers. Extreme heat from the combustion chamber is also a problem, often leaking to other parts of the engine.
The scientists’ goal is to create an engine that will operate 10 times better than batteries do. Frechette says that a complete system, with all parts in place and working, will be set up in the next couple of years, but commercial models aren’t available until at least the end of the next ten years. 
【小题1】.
. According to the passage, the title suggests that ________.

A．batteries should be greatly improved	B．petrol will be used instead of batteries
C．the time of batteries will be gone forever	D．pollution caused by batteries must be prevented

【小题2】.
What’s the meaning of the underlined word “devil” (In Paragraph 3)?

A．Problem.

B．Advantage.

C．Invention.

D．Technique.

【小题3】.
What can we infer from the passage?

A．The new invention doesn’t need any fuel.

B．The new engine has been produced in quantity.

C．The new invention is much cheaper than the battery.

D．The new engine needs to be improved before it’s on sale.

【小题4】.
. What is the main purpose of this passage?

A．To introduce a new invention to readers.	B．To persuade readers not to use batteries.
C．To show us how the new invention works.	D．To declare when the engine will be on sale.

Of all the areas of learning the most important is the development of attitudes. Emotional reactions as well as logical thought processes affect the behavior of most people. “The burnt child fears the fire” is one example. Another  is  the  rise  of despots(独裁者) like Hitler. Both these examples also point out the fact that attitudes come from experiences. In the one case the experience was direct and impressive; in the other it was  indirect  and  cumulative(累积的). The Nazis got certain ideas largely by the speeches they heard and the books they read.
　 The classroom teacher in the elementary school is in a key position to influence(影响) attitudes. This is true partly because children obtain attitudes from those adults who they respect.
　 Another reason is that pupils are often curious about a subject in school that has only been touched upon at home or has possibly never occurred to them before. To a child who has previously got little knowledge of Mexico, his teacher’s method of dealing with such a unit will greatly affect his attitude toward Mexicans.
　　However, when children go to school with undesirable attitudes, it is unwise for the teacher to change their feelings by praising or scolding them. She can achieve the proper effect by helping them obtain good experiences.
For example, first-grade pupils afraid of policemen will probably change their attitudes after a classroom chat with the neighborhood officer in which he explains how he protects them. In the same way a class of older children can develop attitudes through discussion, research outside reading and all-day trips.
　　Finally a teacher must not constantly show her own attitudes because her influence can be no good if she has personal prejudices(偏见). This is especially true in respect to controversial(引起争议的) questions  on  which  children should be encouraged to reach their own decision as a result of objective analysis(分析) of all the facts.
【小题1】. The passage mainly tells us _____.

A．attitudes affect our actions

B．teachers play an important role in developing children’s attitudes

C．attitudes can be changed by some classroom experiences

D．teachers gradually affect pupils’ attitudes by their attitudes

【小题2】. In the first paragraph the writer gives us two examples to _____.

A．show that attitudes come from experiences	B．compare with each other
C．show all experiences are direct and impressive	D．tell experiences from attitudes

【小题3】.When children in school have unpleasant attitudes, teachers should _____.

A．change their feelings by scolding them	B．think highly of their good attitudes
C．help them by giving them good experiences	D．take no notice of their feelings

【小题4】.The passage specially states in the last paragraph that _____.

A．direct experiences are more valuable than indirect ones

B．what a child learns in school has already been introduced at home

C．teachers can sometimes have a bad influence on children

D．teachers should always cover up their own attitudes

During my many contacts with people in China, I have been asked by two different people what I would recommend to them so that they could be happy. One of these people was my student and friend who began her question by saying I always appeared happy to her. She then asked how I could be this way and if I could teach her how to be happy all the time. The other inquiry was basically the same and came from the secretary of a company for which I was doing some work.
The first one to ask was my student and in thinking about an answer I even explored in class the idea of optimism and pessimism, of people who feel the glass is always half full and those who think it is half empty. It was easy to show that different people react differently to the same situations and conditions but that didn’t bring me much closer to understanding why.
About two months later I was riding to the airport in a taxi with the company secretary who asked me the same question and it made me think. Why did both these ladies feel they needed help to become happy? Indeed, why did either of them think they were not happy? Why did they choose to ask this question of me? Why are some people generally happy while others are not?
Certainly if someone is healthy, it might be expected that they are happy, and this is probably true. However, some people have money and health but have a miserable disposition that makes it difficult for them to have friends and meaningful relationships. Similarly, one would expect those who have little to complain about their fate and many do, but others are able to enjoy what they have and enjoy life. It seems the difference must lie within the people. What we may be looking at is acceptance of a personal set of circumstances and the contentment which flows from that. It should not mean, however, that those people cannot wish for something better.
If the difference between people who are happy and those who are not lies within the people themselves, can happiness be learned? I think there are things we can do, such as dreaming of the future, which can give us the sort of positive outlook which will generally make us happy people.
【小题1】 According to the passage, which of the following is true?

A．The author was once asked how to be healthy and wealthy by two people.

B．The author came to realize why people responded differently to happiness.

C．Those who think the glass is always half empty are optimistic.

D．Those who feel the glass is always half full are pessimistic.

【小题2】. The underlined word “disposition” in the fourth paragraph means         .

A．character

B．habit

C．reputation

D．fate

【小题3】 The underlined word “it” in the fourth paragraph refers to         .

A．the idea of pessimism	B．the attitude towards happiness
C．the satisfaction within	D．the appearance of happiness

【小题4】. What will the author most probably talk about after the last paragraph?  

A．Learning how to be happy.	B．Accepting the present situation.
C．Developing meaningful relationships.	D．Going after the dream.