Mark Ramirez, a senior executive at AOL, could work in the comfortable leather chair, if he wanted. No, thanks. He prefers to stand most of the day at a desk raised above stomach level.
“I’ve got my knees bent. I feel totally alive,” he said. “It feels more natural to stand.”
In the past few years, standing has become the new sitting for 10 percent of AOL employees at the firm’s Virginia branch. Part of a standing popularity is among accountants, programmers, telemarketers and other office workers across the nation.
GeekDesk, a California firm that sells desks raised by electric motors, says sales will triple this year.
Standers give various reasons for taking to their feet: It makes them feel more focused, prevents drowsiness(困倦睡意), and makes them feel like a general even if they just push paper. (Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfels works standing up. So does novelist Philip Roth.)
But unknown to them, a debate (辩论) is spreading among ergonomics experts（人类工程学家） and public-health researchers about whether all office workers should be encouraged to stand—to save lives.
Doctors point to surprising new research showing higher rates of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and even mortality among people who sit for long stretches. A study earlier this year in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that among 123,000 adults followed over 14 years, those who sat more than six hours a day were at least 18 percent more likely to die during the time period studied than those who sat less than three hours a day.
“Every rock we turn over when it comes to sitting is astonishing,” said Marc Hamilton, a leading researcher on inactivity physiology at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana. “Sitting is harmful. It’s dangerous. We are on the cusp (尖端) of a major revolution.” He calls sitting “the new smoking”.
Not so fast, other experts say. Standing too much at work will cause more long-term back injuries. Incidences of varicose veins(静脉曲张) among women will increase. The heart will have to pump more.
Hedge, the Cornell professor, isn’t a fan of all this standing. “Making people stand all day is dumb,” he said.
The sensible and most cost-effective strategy（策略）, he said, is to sit in a neutral posture（姿势）, slightly reclined(下弯的), with the keyboard on a tray above the lap. This position promotes positive blood flow. Workers should occasionally walk around, stretch and avoid prolonged periods at the desk. The key, he said, is movement, not standing.
【小题1】Marc Hamilton said “Every rock we turn over when it comes to sitting is astonishing” to show that________.

A．the result of the study about sitting too long is shocking

B．we need to remove many rocks

C．we need to smooth away many difficulties

D．sitting on a rock is necessary

【小题2】 The following are the reasons why some experts are against standing too long except      .

A．It will cause more long-term back injuries

B．it will raise the burden of heart

C．incidences of varicose veins among women will increase

D．standing too much at work per day is too tiring

【小题3】 According to the studies in the passage mentioned,      .

A．it is better not to stand more than 6 hours

B．sitting too long can arouse illnesses easily

C．sitting long is specially harmful to adults

D．standing much is better than sitting long

【小题4】Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A．Standing is not better than sitting

B．Standing more does no harm to people

C．Standing will promote the efficiency

D．More office workers take standing against sitting

 “BANG!” the door caused a reverberation (回声)．It was just standing there, with Father standing on one side, and I on the other side．

We were both in great anger．“Never set foot in this house again!” stormed Father．With tears welling up in my eyes, I rushed out of the flat and ran along the street．

The street lights were shining rather desolately(凄凉的)．I wandered aimlessly．

A young father who held a child in his arms walked past me．I felt as if I saw my childhood from another space: happy and harmonious．

But now… I don’t know whether it is because I have grown up or because dad is getting old．We differ in our ways of thinking．He always imposes his opinions and codes of behavior on me．Whenever I do something wrong, he never admits it．We are just like two people coming from two different worlds．It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened．

I wandered the streets, without a destination in mind．My heart was frozen on this hot summer night．As I walked on there were fewer and fewer people on the streets, until I had only the street lights to keep me company．When I finally reached the high-rise apartment block in which I lived, I saw that the light was still on．

In fact, it was nothing．Perhaps, dad was throwing away some of his old stamps．Perhaps he thought they were useless．I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps．I can’t stand his outrageous(蛮横的) words: “ I can throw you away, let alone these old papers．”

All the lights were off except father’s．

Dad was always like this．Maybe he didn’t know how to express himself．After shouting at me, he never showed any mercy or any moments of regret．After an argument he has the habit of creeping up in my sleep and then tucking me underneath the covers．

This was how he always was．He has been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature．

The light was still on．“Am I wrong?” I whispered, maybe… With the key in hand, I was as nervous as I had ever been．At last, I decided to open the door．As soon as I opened the door, tears ran down my cheeks．I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist at all．Love – is second to none．

1.Decide which is the best order of the following according to what happened in the passage．

a．I opened the door and entered the house．

b．Sadly I ran out into the street．

c．I reached the place where I lived and saw my house still brightly lit．

d．I thought of my father’s kindness towards me．

e．I walked about in the street without any aim．

A．b, e, d, c, a                 B．b, e, c, d, a                 C．b, e, a, c, d                 D．b, e, c, a, d

2.What made the writer think of his childhood?

A．The sight of the desolate street lights．

B．The sight of the empty street．

C．The sight of a father with a child in his arms．

D．The sight of light in his own house．

3.Why do you think the father often shouts at his son?

A．Perhaps the father is getting older and older．

B．Perhaps the son has already grown up．

C．Perhaps they never agree with each other．

D．Perhaps the father has got used to doing that．

4.What conclusion can you draw after reading the passage?

A．The father is actually kind to his son．

B．The father treats his son in an unfair way．

C．The father is neither kind nor cruel to his son．

D．The father is always finding fault with his son．

 

E

The key to happiness is how quickly you can get back your focus on what’s important.

-----Anonymous

Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here's what happened. I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car’s back end by just inches!

The driver of the other car, who almost caused a big accident, started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!" And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call "The Law of the Garbage Truck."

Many people are like garbage (rubbish) trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they'll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You'll be happy you did.

I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets? It was that day I said, "I'm not going to do anymore."

Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting. Good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses. Leaders and parents know that they have to be fully present, and at their best for the people they care about. The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day. What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by? Here's my bet. You'll be happier. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, Love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don't.

57. What happened one day when the author was taking a taxi?

A. The taxi almost hit another car.

B. The taxi driver was injured.

C. The author scolded the driver of the other car.

D. The author learned a lesson from the driver of the garbage truck.

58. How did the taxi driver respond to the behaviour of the driver of the black car?

A. He yelled back at the driver.            B. He sent the driver to the hospital.

C. He was friendly towards the driver.  D. He dumped some garbage in front of his car.

59. What can we infer from Paragraph 4?

A. The author used to have a lot of garbage trucks.

B. The author used to complain a lot.

C. The author used to have a lot of money.

D. The author used to be a good manager.

60. According to the passage, what should you do if people “dump garbage” on you?

A. Ignore them and go on with our own work.

B. Try our best to persuade them not to do that again.

C. Tell them to dump the garbage in the right place.

D. Take over their work and carry the garbage to somewhere else. 

 

Joe Templer should have known better. After all, he works for a large auto insurance company. It won't hurt to leave the key in the truck this once, he thought, as he filled his gas tank at a self service gas station. But moments later, as he was paying the money, he saw the truck being driven away.

In 1987, 1.6 million motor vehicles were stolen in the United States one every 20 seconds. If _________________, experts predict annual vehicle thefts could exceed two million by the end of the decade.

Vehicle theft is a common phenomenon, which has a direct impact on over four million victims a year. The cost is astonishing.      

Many police officials blame professional thieves for the high volume of the thefts. It is a major money maker for organized crime. Typically, stolen cars are taken to pieces and the parts sold to individuals. But as many as 200,000 cars are smuggled out of the country every year. Most go to Latin America, the Middle East and Europe.

Only about 15 percent car thefts result in an arrest, because few police departments routinely conduct in depth auto investigations. When thieves are arrested, judges will often sentence them to probation（缓刑）, not immediately put them in prison because the prisons are overcrowded with violent criminals.

One exception is a Michigan program that assigns 92 police officers to work full time on the state's 65,000 car theft cases a year. Since 1986, when the effort began, the state's auto theft rate has fallen from second in the nation to ninth.

76.  What is the best title of the passage? (Please answer within 10 words.)

___________________________________________________________________________

77  Why do you think Joe Templer should be blamed according to the writer? (Please answer within 10 words.)

___________________________________________________________________________

78  Please fill in the blank with proper words or phrases. (Please answer within 10 words.)

___________________________________________________________________________

79.  Put the underlined sentence in the passage into Chinese.

___________________________________________________________________________

80.       What suggestions would you give the car owners to prevent the car theft? (Please answer within 20 words.)

____________________________________________________________________________

Perhaps the most famous theory, the study of body movement, was suggested by Professor Ray Birdwhistell. He believes that physical appearance is often culturally programmed. In other words, we learn our looks—we are not born with them. A baby has generally informed face features. A baby, according to Birdwhistell, learns where to set the eyebrows by looking at those around-family and friends. This helps explain why the people of some areas of the United States look so much alike, new Englanders or Southerners have certain common face features that cannot be explained by genetics(遗传学). The exact shape of the mouth is not set at birth, it is learned after. In fact, the final mouth shape is not formed until well after new teeth are set. For many, this can be well into grown-ups. A husband and wife together for a long time often come to look alike. We learn our looks from those around us. This is perhaps why in a single country area where people smile more than those in other areas. In the United States, for example, the South is the part of the country where the people smile most frequently. In New England they smile less, and in the western part of New York State still less. Many southerners find cities such as New York cold and unfriendly, partly because people on Madison Avenue smile less than people on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. Georgia. People in Atlanta, Georgia. People in largely populated areas also smile and greet each other in public less than people in small towns do.

Ray Birdwhistell believes that physical appearance ____.