At the age of 29, Dave was a worker, ________ in a small apartment near Boston and ________ what to do about his future. (2009湖南卷)

A. living; wondering     B. lived; wondering  C. lived; wondered    D. living; wondered

Do you want to live a happier, less stressful (有压力的) life?
Try laughing for no reason at all. That’s how thousands of people start their day at Laughter Clubs around the world – and many doctors now think that having a good laugh might be one of the best ways to stay healthy.
The first Laughter Club was started in Mumbai, India, in 1995 by Dr Madan Kataria. “Young children laugh about 300 times a day. Adults laugh between 7 and 15 times a day,” says Dr Kataria. “Everyone’s naturally good at laughing – it’s the universal language. We want people to feel happy with their lives.” There are now more than 500 Laughter Clubs in India and over 1,300 worldwide.
Many doctors are also interested in the effects (效果) of laughter on our health. According to a 5 – year study in the body. Laughter improves our health against illness by about 40%.
So, what happens at a Laughter Club? I went along to my nearest club in South London to find out. I was quite nervous at the beginning of the class, to be honest – I wasn’t interested in laughing with a group of strangers, and I was worried about looking stupid. Our laughter teacher told us to clap our hands and say “ho ho ho, ha ha ha,” while looking at each other. However, our bodies can’t tell the difference between fake laughter and real laughter, so they still produce the same healthy effects.
Surprisingly, it works! After ten minutes everybody in the room was laughing for real – and some people just couldn’t stop! At the end of the class I was surprised by how relaxed and comfortable I felt. So if you’re under stress, then start laughing. You might be very pleased with the results!

1. 1.

   In which country was the first Laughter Club started?

   1. A.
      Britain.
   2. B.
      America.
   3. C.
      Australia.
   4. D.
      India.
2. 2.

   How did the writer feel at the beginning of the class?

   1. A.
      Surprised.
   2. B.
      Pleased.
   3. C.
      Nervous.
   4. D.
      Stressful.
3. 3.

   When did the people in the club begin to laugh for real?

   1. A.
      After a few minutes.
   2. B.
      After a few hours.
   3. C.
      After a few seconds.
   4. D.
      After a few days.
4. 4.

   Which of the following is true according to the passage?

   1. A.
      Fake laughter and real laughter are both good for health.
   2. B.
      40% of the people in Laughter Clubs are good friends.
   3. C.
      Adults laugh more often than children in a day.
   4. D.
      Laughing is the best way to prevent illness.

At the age of 29, Dave was a worker, ________ in a small apartment near Boston and ________ what to do about his future.

A. living; wondering     B. lived; wondering

C. lived; wondered D. living; wondered

A “blogger” is a person who writes on an Internet website called a “blog”. The word “blog” is a short way of saying “web log”, or “personal website”. Anyone can start a blog, and they can write about anything they like.

There are millions of blogs on the Internet today. They provide news, information and ideas to the people who read them. They contain links to other websites. And they provide a place for people to write their ideas and react to the ideas of others.

A research company called Perseus has studied more than 3,000 web logs. It says that blogs are most popular with teenage girls. They use them to let their friends know what is happening in their lives. The study also says that more than 100,000 bloggers stopped taking part in the activity after a year.

However, some people develop serious blogs to present political and other ideas. For example, the Republican and Democratic parties in the southern state of Kentucky recently started their own blogs. And American companies are beginning to use blogs to advertise their products.

At the same time, some long-standing blogs have ended. Last week, blogging leader Dave Winer closed his free blog service “weblogs.com”. He said the site became too costly to continue. He started the blog four years ago, and thousands of people had written on it. They are now upset because they did not know that the site was closed

One blog that is still going strong is called Rebecca’s Pocket. Rebecca Blood created the website in 1999. She wrote about the history of blogs on the site. That article led to a book called The Weblog Handbook. It has been translated into four languages so far.

Miss Blood says Rebecca’s Pocket get about thirty thousand visitors a month. She writes about anything and everything — politics, culture and movies. She recently provided medical advice. And she wrote about how to prevent being stolen from online bank accounts.

The text is mainly written to _______.

A. introduce an Internet website called “blog”  B. introduce a short way of saying “web log”

C. tell readers about blogs                   D. tell readers how to write blogs

From the text we can learn that blogs cover almost everything except _______.

A. different ideas     B. medical advice   C. advertisements      D. account passwords

Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the text?

A. Politicians don’t use blogs at all.        B. A lot of bloggers no longer write or read blogs.

C. Those who like to use blogs are mostly teenage girls.

D. Dave Winer closed his “weblogs.com” because of the money shortage.

The reason why Rebecca’s Pocket is still going strong is that _______.

A. it was created by a woman             B. it is about the history of blogs

C. it provides useful information and advice

D. it has editions in at least four different languages

NEW YORK— Picking a Christmas tree takes most people a few minutes, or a couple of hours if they head for the woods. Dave Murbach needs 11 months.

Almost every day of every year, Murbach’s thoughts turn to vision of a perfectly shaped evergreen tree that will take everyone's breath away.

     Murbach is the man responsible for finding the towering tree that makes more attractive Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center each Christmas season.

     “I'm always looking for a tree,” the center's chief gardener says. “I look for it even when I go to the beach in the summer. It' s like a homework assignment hanging over your head.”

     And if he gets it wrong, there's nothing hiding it.

     “Every day it's up, 400,000 people go by, and 2.5 million people watch the lighting celebration on television,”he says.

    This year’s tree, a 74-foot Nomy spruce (云杉) from Richfield, Ohio, flown to New York on the world's largest cargo plane, was lighted on December 2.

    The arrival of the tree leads in the Christmas season in New York — a tradition dating back to 1931, when the workers building Rockefeller Center put up a small tree with ornaments (装饰品). 

     The search for the next year's tree starts soon after the old tree is chopped up for wood chips and horse-jumping logs.

    Murbach has three standards: The tree must be at least 65 feet high, at least 35 feet across and leaves dense (密集的) enough not to see through.

    That's not as simple as it sounds. Though forests are full of evergreens, few get enough sunlight or space to fill out. And branches in snow regions often break under the weight, making trees unbalanced.

    Back at the office, he sorts through hundreds of letters from people offering their trees, many addressed simply to “Mr. Christmas Tree Man.”

Though there was occasional anxiety attack and sleepless night, Murbach knows the effect the tree has on people: “It's for bringing people together, attempting to bring together people you love. That's what I hope it sets off.”  But Murbach says he's always too worn out to celebrate Christmas.

51． Which is the correct order of the events in the passage?

a. Murbach’s thoughts turn to a perfectly shaped tree.

b. 2.5 million people watch the Christmas tree.

c. The tree is flown to New York.

d. It was lighted on December 2.

e. The tree is chopped up.

f. Murbach searches for the tree.

A. a, b, c, d, e, f                                B. c, d, b, f, e, a

C. c, d, e, b, a, f                                D. a, f, c, d, b, e

52． Murbach spends a lot of time         that are exhibited in Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center each Christmas season.

A. taking care of Christmas trees

B. deciding on the perfect evergreens

C. sorting the letters from people

D. deciding the TV programs

53． Why does Murbach take his job seriously?

A. Because he wants everyone to be happy with his choice.

B. Because he hopes to make everybody unable to breathe.

C. Because he enjoys showing off.

D. Because he wishes to attract people's attention to himself.

54． According to Murbach' s standard of trees, the best tree must_______ .

A. be evergreen

B. have lots of space between their branches

C. be tall enough not to see through

D. be equally balanced

55． What kind of person do you think Murbach is?

A. A person always ignoring his family.

B. A person full of love.

C. A person devoted to his work.

D. A person with great anxiety.