A survey by an international temporary service agency found that U．S．managers believe that people with a sense of humour do better at their jobs, compared with those who have little or no sense of humour．In fact, about 96 percent of those surveyed said people with a sense of humour do better.

The survey went on to point out that the results suggest that a sense of humour may help light-hearted employees keep their jobs during tough times． And, what's more, it may push them up the corporate ladder past their humourless colleagues．Why? It seems that those with a sense of humour are better communicators and better team players.

Studies have shown that happy workers are more productive． In fact, a researcher at California State University found that humour could help the employees to release tension.

Research done by psychologist Dr．Ashton Trice at Mary Baldwin College in Virginia showed that humour helps us think．When people feel stuck on important projects, they tend to feel angry or depressed． According to Dr．Trice's research, taking time out to laugh can help us to get rid of negative feelings and allow us to return to a task or move on to another project unaffected by past defeat.

If humour is really this important, then why don't we use it more often on the job? Most likely, the main reason is that many people are unaware of the positive effects of humour in the workplace． However, it is important to realize that some humour is not suitable for the workplace, and that it is often used at wrong times.

1.Most people think a sense of humour can ________.

       A．help you to do your work better            B．make you have a rich life

       C．make you pleased with your work       D．help you to make more friends

 

2.Many people don't use humour more in the workplace because __________.

       A．they like keeping silent when working

       B．they don't know the positive effects of humour

       C．they think they should obey the rules

       D．they don't like joking or laughing

3.A person without a sense of humour is easier __________.

       A．to feel surprised                                  B．to get along with

       C．to be worried                                      D．to be successful

4.What is probably the best title for the article?

       A．People with a Sense of Humour.           B．Humour Is Important in the Workplace．

         C．Humour and Humourless.          D．Everyone Likes Humour.

 

    Most people think a person’s taste in food is so unique and random that it couldn’t possibly reveal anything about his/her character.

    But other subtle(奇妙的) things that people do can help us make up our mind about a person’s character. Should we really be so quick to dismiss what a person eats?

    Dr. Alan Hirsch is a US neurologist (神经科医生) who specializes in the treatment of people who lose their sense of smell or taste.

    In order to investigate the possible link between people’s choices of snack food and personality, Hirsch quizzed a sample of 19, 400 people. He made all participants undergo two well-known personality tests.

    These tests define each of the volunteers according to widely accepted personality categories. Hirsch could then check his own results against these in order to find interrelation between their choice of snack food and personality type.

    Hirsch also tested the volunteers on questionnaires designed to assess depression, because depressive illnesses are known to coincide with losses of sensation and preferences for certain foods.

    The volunteers were then tested on their preference for snack foods and the pleasure value they assigned to each food. Hirsch also quizzed married partners on their choices to find out how people with different food choices differed in their compatibility (兼容性) for each other.

    The study revealed surprising links between perfectionism and the urges to chew tortilla (玉米饼) chips and even a connection between introversion (内向) and the consumption of cream crackers.

    Dr. Hirsch used the same technique of testing for associations between different personality types and the flavors of ice cream people prefer.

    Finally, while some will feel this test provides a good assessment of their personality, others will disagree with the assessment.

56. The underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 means ________.

A. the author agrees with the opinion of most people

B. we should dismiss what a person eats

C. the author doesn’t agree with what most people said

D. everyone’s character is so unique and random

57. Dr. Alan Hirsch drew his conclusion by _______.

A. giving his participants tests

B. following his participants

C. offering his participants special food

D. treating his participants as patients

58. Dr. Alan Hirsch’s research proves that _______.

A. there are two well-known personality tests on earth

B. depressive illnesses coincide with losses of sensation

C. volunteers are eager to know their own characters

D. what one eats connects with one’s personality

59. The best title for the text should be _______.

A. Dr. Alan Hirsch

B. Flavor and Personality

C. An Interesting Research

D. Believe It or Not

Rare birds in the UK have been living far better than the more common birds over the last decade due to the efforts of conservation organisations, according to a new assessment.
The research shows almost 60% of the 63 rare birds that live in the UK have increased over the last 10 years.
By contrast, only about one third of common species have increased over the same period. Just 28% of rare birds have decreased over the same period, compared with four out of every 10 common birds. The rare birds described in the assessment with increasing populations include the osprey (鹗) and corncrake (秧鸡). All of these birds are subject to conservation action.
The declining common birds include the nightingale, swift (雨燕), house sparrow and red grouse (苏格兰雷鸟). These are suffering declines for a variety of reasons, including changes in farming practices.
Dr David Noble, from the British Trust for Ornithology, said: “That some of our rarer birds have responded to targeted conservation action is great news. It shows just what can be achieved. What we need to do now is to continue the good work and use some of the lessons we have learned to help our more common birds.”
Dr Mark Avery, the conservation director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), said: “Over the last decade we've enjoyed some great conservation successes, including removing some threatened species from the World Conservation Union's Red List of Thratened Animals and increasing the populations of red kite, osprey, etc. However, these successes are countered (抵消) by continued declines of some widespread species.”
The overview of 210 native birds has been produced by a group of conservation organisations, to mark the publication of The State of the UK's Birds report, which is in its l0th year. The report was published by the RSPB for a group of conservation organisations.
【小题1】 Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The decline of widespread birds is not worrying for the UK.

B．The UK has got some practical experience of bird conservation.

C．Changes in farming practices contribute to the increase of rare birds.

D．Half of common birds have decreased in the past ten years in the UK.

【小题2】We can learn from the passage that Dr David Noble      .

A．hopes that conservation organisations will change the way they work

B．is quite disappointed with the result of the new assessment

C．is losing confidence in conservation organizations’ action

D．has high hopes for the increase in bird population in Britain

【小题3】 Which of the following can best explain Dr Mark Avery's words?

A．The UK should not be satisfied with what they have achieved.

B．The UK should share their experience with other countries.

C．What conservation organisations do is far from satisfactory.

D．The RSPB is responsible for the decrease of common birds.

【小题4】The passage is most likely to be found in a book about      .

A．popular science	B．historical events
C．nature	D．society

【小题5】 The author's purpose of writing this article is to tell people      .

A．some good ways to protect rare birds

B．the differences between rare birds and common birds

C．the number of rare birds has increased over the last decade

D．some widespread birds in the UK are in great need of help

One in five American families will move every year. Moving is one of the most stress-producing events a family has to go through. Experts say it can be harder for children. How do you help your child adjust to the changes?
The Ricardos moved from their old house to a new home. Same family, same dog-but it was harder for 9-year-old Elena. She hated the room, the house and everything. She hated leaving her friends the most.
“ I was so emotional. I mean, saying goodbye to all my friends…..my very close friends, who was my neighbor, made me so sad,” says Elena.
For some children, the emotional stress of moving is not much more different from the emotions when someone has died.
“There’s that sense that, ‘I’ve lost my friends, my friends, my base, my school, my teachers-everything I knew that made me feel safe is all gone now. I have to start over,” says Dr. Tim Jordan.
Starting over is exactly Dr. Tim Jordan’s advice. Make new friends, enter the new school and enter the new neighborhood. And here are some other pieces of advice.
● Explain clearly to the children why the move is necessary.
● Familiarize(使熟悉) the children as much as possible with the new area with maps, photographs or the daily newspaper.
● After the move, got the children to join in activities in the place.
● Help the children keep in touch with friends from the neighborhood before through telephone, letters, e-mail, and personal visits.
【小题1】
Which of the following is useful to reduce the children’s stress before the move?

A．Let doctors give children some advice.

B．Try letting children accept the fact of moving.

C．Let children keep in touch with their former friends.

D．Copy the new environment in the old home.

【小题2】
What can we know from the passage?

A．Most American children can get used to the changes in moving.

B．Dr. Tim Jordan lost his family, friends, teachers after moving.

C．The emotional stress of moving is the same in some way as that of knowing someone’s death.

D．the Ricardos lost their dogs after moving to their new house.

【小题3】
The passage mainly wants to _____

A．tell parents the reasons of moving.	B．explain the reasons of stress.
C．give parents some advice on moving.	D．teach parents how to move.