59. According to the writer, boys appreciate everything in the following except 　　　　　.

A. ice cream　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. comic books

C. Saturday mornings　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Sunday schools

58. Could you figure out the meaning of the underlined sentence?

A. He has altogether five fingers.　　　　　　　　 B. He is slow, foolish and clumsy.

C. He becomes clever and smart.　　　　　　　　 D. He cuts his hand with a knife.

57. The whole passage is in a tone of 　　　　　.

A. humor and affection　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. respect and harmony

C. ambition and expectation　　　　　　　　　　　 D. confidence and imagination

56. The underlined phrase in the last paragraph probably means　　　　　　 ．

A. in the early stage　 B. in a secret state　 C. in the first place　　 D. in good condition

E

What Is a Boy?

Between the innocence of babyhood and the seriousness of manhood we find a delightful creature called a “boy”. Boys come in different sizes, weights, and colors, but all boys have the same belief: to enjoy every second of every minute of every hour of every day and to fill the air with noise until the adult males pack them off to bed at night.

Boys are found everywhere – on top of, under, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around, or jumping to. Mothers spoil them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers love them, and God protects them. A boy is TRUTH with dirt on its face. BEAUTY with a cut on its finger, WISDOM with chocolate in its hair, and the HOPE of the future with a snake in its pocket.

When you are busy, a boy is a trouble – maker and a noise. When you want him to make a good impression, his brain turns to jelly or else he becomes a wild creature bent on destroying the world and himself with it.

A boy is a mixture – he has the stomach of a horse, the digestion of stones and sand, the energy of an atomic bomb, the curiosity of a cat, the imagination of a superman, the shyness of a sweet girl, the brave nature of a bull, the violence of a firecracker, but when you ask him to make something, he has five thumbs on each hand.

He likes ice cream, knives, saws, Christmas, comic books, woods, water(in its natural habitat), large animals, Dad, trains, Saturday mornings, and fire engines. He is not much for Sunday schools, company, schools, books without pictures, music lessons, neckties, barbers, girls, overcoats, adults, or bedtime.

Nobody else is so early to rise, or so late to supper. Nobody else gets so much fun out of trees, dogs, and breezes. Nobody else can put into one pocket a rusty knife, a half eaten apple, a three-feet rope, six cents and some unknown things.

A boy is a magical creature – he is your headache but when you come home at night with only shattered pieces of your hopes and dreams, he can mend them like new with two magic words, “Hi, Dad!”

55. We can learn from the passage that　　　　　　　 ．

A. it may be better to cry alone than with others around

B. some support from others may make crying helpful

C. women who cry more often may have better effects than men

D. the effects will be better if you feel shy while crying

54. How did the researchers carry out the research?

A. They studied crying experiences not only in everyday life but also in labs．

B. They collected the crying experiences of the students at the colleges．

C. They studied the crying experiences of grown-ups from various countries．

D. They noted their own crying experiences and compared with others．

53.Why did the author mention the presidential inauguration in Washington in the first paragraph?

A. Because he was impressed by the laughter, cheers，hugs and tears．

B. Because he wanted to introduce the topic about crying．

C. Because he wanted to show people’s dissatisfaction with the result．

D. Because it was the historic moment that many people cried

52. In The Hunger Games, Katniss faces more challenges because she has to think about _______.

A. who will support her family

B. what is most important in life

C. how she can defeat her opponent

D. why she has to compete in such a violent game

D

Researchers Look Behind the Tears to Study Crying

Many people found themselves unusually moved by the historic presidential inauguration(就职演说)last week in Washington. Watching the huge crowds，we saw laughter，cheers，hugs---but also many tears.

It made us wonder, why do people cry? Surely tears must be good for us-away to calm the mind and cleanse the body．Yet studies show that crying sometimes makes people feel worse．

Three researchers in Florida and the Netherlands recently looked more deeply into the subject. They examined detailed descriptions of crying experiences．Psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg at the University of South Florida says they wanted to study crying as it happens in everyday life，not in a laboratory．

The team analyzed information from the International Study on Adult Crying．As part of that study，three thousand people in different countries，mostly college students，wrote about recent crying experiences．They noted causes，surroundings and any people involved in the event．They also reported how they felt after they cried．

Professor Roaenberg says the research showed that all crying experiences are not created equal. Crying does not always make a person feel better，he says．About ten percent of people reported feeling worse after they cried．

But a third felt better after crying．And a majority reported the experience as helpful．

The research showed that people who cry alone may not do as well as those with others around.People who reached out for emotional support at the time---and received it---reported better results from the crying experience.

But Professor Rottenberg says those who felt shame or embarrassment while crying were less likely to report that crying had been helpful.

Research has shown that women cry more often and more intensely than men．But it may not have better effect，says the psychologist．The new findings，he says，did not show that a person’s sex was an advantage of beneficial crying. In other words，just because women cry more does not mean they are more likely to have a “good” cry.

The paper entitled “Is Crying Beneficial?” appeared in December in Current Directions in Psychological Science And there is more to learn. Jonathan Rottenberg says the science of crying is still in its infancy．

51. The word “complicated” in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to _______.

A. difficult　　　　　　 B. hopeless 　　C. advantageous　　　　 D. impossible