Very old people do raise moral problems for almost everyone who comes in contact with them. Their values—this can’t be repeated too often—are not necessarily our values. Physical comfort, cleanness and order are not necessarily the most important things. The social services from time to time find themselves faced with a flat with decaying food covered by small worms, and an old person lying alone in bed, taking no notice of the worms. But is it interfering(干涉) with personal freedom to insist that they go to live with some of their relatives so that they might be taken better care of? Some social workers, the ones who clear up the worms, think we are in danger of carrying this concept of personal freedom to the point where serious risks are being taken with the health and safety of the old.

Indeed, the old can be easily hurt or harmed. The body is like a car, it needs more mechanical maintenance(机械维修，保养) as it gets older. You can carry this comparison right through to the provision of spare parts. But never forget that such operations are painful experiences, however good the results will be. And at what point should you stop to treat the old body? Is it morally right to try to push off death by seeking the development of drugs to excite the forgetful old mind and to activate the old body, knowing that it is designed to die? You can’t ask doctors or scientists to decide, because so long as they can see the technical opportunities, they will feel bound to give them a try, on the principle that while there’s life, there’s hope.

When you talk to the old people, however, you are forced to the conclusion that whether age is happy or unpleasant depends less on money or on health than it does on your ability to have fun.

1. What does the passage mainly tell us?

A. The values are different between the old and the young.

B. The moral problems raised by old people.

C. The personal freedom for the old.

D. Old people’s viewpoint on life.

2. We can know from the first paragraph that________.

A. Very old people would like to live alone to have more personal freedom.

B. Very old people are able to keep their room clean.

C. Very old people like to live with their children.

D. Social services have nothing to do with very old people.

3. According to the author, which of the following is right?

A. The older a person, the more care he needs.

B. Too much emphasis has been put on old people’s values.

C. The human body can’t be compared to a car.

D. It is easy to provide spare parts for old people.

4.The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to “________”.

A. their money or their health

B. the conclusion you come to

C. your talk to the old people

D. whether age is happy or unpleasant

阅读下列应用文和相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。

每个人都有烦心事，下面5个人也碰到了自己的问题，根据他们的信息，从A—F中找出合适的建议来对他们进行引导。

A．Find some new friends or colleagues to help you to ease (缓解) the working pressure and loneliness. Making friends is a great pleasure. At the same time, call your family regularly and tell them you are fine here.

B．It is very important to take care of yourself. Caring more about your own body will help you be more energetic to take care of your family members. So treat yourself well.

C．It is a good lifestyle to eat fresh vegetables and fruit. Have a backup plan for the days when you plan to eat well. And sometimes physical exercise will do good to your health, so do regular activities often.

D．Give yourself a reward when you get some small success, which will lead to achieving your overall goals. And celebration takes active part in successful changes. So make a list of some more interesting reasons to keep you go on fighting for your own future.

E. Have a rest or have a trip. Family as well as work is important in people’s life. Just as some sayings go：People who know how to rest know how to work; All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. So stay with your family and enjoy the beautiful life.

F. You should trust yourself and your ability, and have a positive (积极的) attitude to work. Sometimes you can list some past success, which can help you to remind that you are an able man. So self-confidence is very important to you.

阅读下列人物信息，并试为其选择合适的建议。

1.Mike is an engineer of computer, but he doesn’t’ believe in his own working ability. He actually works very hard but he doesn’t get a rise in his company. So he feels very sad.

2. Cedric is alone in this company, and he doesn’t’ t like to stay at the dorm, which he thinks will make him more homesick and miss his family in Sichuan.

3. Vicky doesn’t have outside work. Actually she is a housewife. She uses almost all of her time to cook the meal, clean the house and take care of her babies. She feels very tired and she thinks her health condition is getting worse and worse.

4. Cathy is a busy businesswoman, but her business is not very successful. She cares little about her success and she doesn’t’ have any motivation(动力) to improve her business.

5. Fiona has worked for 4 weeks without having a rest. So she feels very worried about her young daughter, who is only 8 years old. She is very tired now and she misses her family very much.

 

Office workers should know that long periods of sitting at your desk may be a killer. Scientists have shown a new threat from this lifestyle that they call  “muscular inactivity (肌肉迟钝)”．

Sitting still for long periods of time leads to the buildup of substances (物质) in the blood that are harmful to health. And exercise alone won’t drive them away.

Millions of people spend their days between car，office desk and the sofa in front of the TV. While the bad influences are well rocognized，it has been thought that they can be changed by regular trips to the gym or swimming pool.

Now researchers say that is not enough. In addition to regular exercise，office workers need to keep moving while they work，by making regular trips to the printer，coffee machine or to chat with workmates.

Elin Ekblom­Bak，an expert on health，says research shows long periods of sitting and lack (缺乏)  of “whole body muscular movement”  are strongly linked to obesity，heart disease and cancer，and a higher risk of death，regardless of (不管) whether they take enough exercise.

“Everyone knows about the health benefits of regular exercise. But what we haven’t realized before is that long­period sitting down carries an extra risk that cannot be dealt with by taking exercise，” Dr Ekblom­Bak said，adding that sitting still should be recognized as a risk to health.

“It is important to have a five­minute break from desk work every 45 minutes. Don’t email workmates—walk across the office to give them the message. Take a coffee break or put the printer in the next room. I am a desk worker and I try to do it. It is not difficult but sometimes you get lost in your work and you forget about it.”

However，more studies are needed to confirm the ill effects of sitting for too long and ways of fighting them. But at present they conclude that  “keep moving”  should be added to the advice to “keep exercising.”

1.Nowadays，many office workers wrongly think that________.

A．long periods of sitting has bad influences on them

B．regular exercise benefits them after long periods of sitting

C．they are living a lifestyle called “muscular inactivity”

D．it’s unfair for them to sit in the office for too long

2.What does the author suggest office workers should do?

A．Chat with workmates often.

B．Send emails instead of chatting.

C．Keep moving in the office regularly.

D．Take more exercise after work.

3.The last paragraph suggests that the result of the study is________.

A．scientific

B．uncertain

C．unbelievable

D．convincing

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．A new threat ：long­period sitting

B．Office workers should keep exercising

C．Taking exercise benefits a lot

D．Keep moving，it could save your life

 

It was the old lady’s eightieth birthday. She was sure Myra wouldn’t forgot her mother’s birthday, even if she was busy. After all, eighty was a special birthday. Perhaps Myra might come. Even if Myra did not come, she would send a present. The old lady was sure of that. Two spots of colour brightened her cheeks. She was excited like a child.

    Mrs. Morrison had brought a card and a bunch of flowers when she came to do the breakfast. Mrs. Grant downstairs had made a cake. Johnnie, the little boy next door, was now up with her with a packet of sweets.

    “I guess you’ll get lots and lots of presents, ” he said. “I did last week when I was six.”

    What would she like? A pair of slippers, perhaps. A blue new cardigan. Or a table lamp. Or a little clock, with clear black numbers. So many lovely things.

    She stood by the window, watching. The postman turned round the corner on his bicycle. Her heart beat fast. Johnnie had seen him too and ran to the gate.

    “Granny, granny, ” Johnnie returned. “I’ve got your post!”

    He gave her four envelopes. Three were from old friends. The fourth was in Myra’s writing.

    “No parcel(包裹), Johnnie?”

    “No, granny.”

    Almost reluctantly, she tore the fourth envelope open. Folded in the card was a check. Written on the card was a message: Happy Birthday—Buy yourself something nice with the check, Myra and Harold.

    The six-figure check fell to the floor like a bird with a broken wing. Slowly the old lady bent to pick it up. Her present, her lovely present. With trembling fingers she tore it into little bits.

As can be inferred from the passage, _______.

    A. the old lady lived alone in a flat away from her daughter

B. the friends sent the old lady many lovely presents by post

C. Myra was stopped by her husband from seeing her mother

D. the neighbours cared little about the old lady in daily life

The old lady felt _______ when she saw no packet came with her daughter’s card.

    A. excited      B. happy                C. disappointed     D. impatient

Which of the following might serve as the best title for the passage?

    A. The Present      B. The Check            C. The Birthday     D. The Daughter

The reason why the old lady tore the check into small pieces was that _______.

    A. she was sure her daughter would come, not the check

B. she didn’t notice there were six figures on the check

C. she didn’t think the check was large enough for a present

D. she would prefer a present with love from her daughter

For a while, my neighborhood was taken ever by an army of joggers(慢跑者). They were there all the time: early morning, noon, and evening. There were little old ladies in gray sweats, young couples in Adidas shoes, middle-aged men with red faces. “Come on!” My friend Alex encouraged me to join him as he jogged by my house every evening. “You’ll feel great.”

    Well, I had nothing against feeling great and if Alex could jog every day, anyone could. So I took up jogging seriously and gave it a good two months of my life, and not a day more. Based on my experience, jogging is the most overvalued form of exercise around, and judging from the number of the people who left our neighborhood jogging army. I’m not alone in my opinion.

   First of all, jogging is very hard on the body. Your legs and feet a real pounding（追击）ruining down a road for two or three miles. I developed foot, leg, and back problems. Then I read about a nationally famous jogger who died of a heart attack while jogging, and I had something else to worry about. Jogging doesn’t kill hundreds of people, but if you have any physical weaknesses, jogging will surely bring them out, as they did with me.

   Secondly, I got no enjoyment out of jogging. Putting one foot in front of the other for forty-five minutes isn’t my idea of fun. Jogging is also a lonely pastime. Some joggers say, “I love being out there with just my thoughts” Well, my thoughts began to bore me, and most of them were on how much my legs hurt.

    And how could I enjoy something that brought me pain? And that wasn’t just the first week: it was practically every day for two months. I never got past the pain level, and pain isn’t fun. What a cruel way to do it! So many other exercises, including walking, lead to almost the same results painlessly, so why jog?

   I don’t jog any more, and I don’t think I ever will. I’m walking two miles three times a week at a fast pace, and that feels good. I bicycle to work when the weather is good. I’m getting exercise, and I’m enjoying it at the same time. I could never say the same for jogging, and I’ve found a lot of better ways to stay in shape.

From the first paragraph, we learn that in the writer’s neighborhood ______.

A. jogging became very popular

B. people jogged only during the daytime

C. Alex organized an army of joggers

D. jogging provided a chance to get together

The underlined word “them”(Paragraph 3) most probably refers to _____.

A. heart attacks   B. Back problems   C. famous joggers   D. physical weaknesses

What was the writer’s attitude towards jogging in the beginning?

A. He felt it was worth a try.   B. He was very fond of it.

C. He was strongly against it.   D. He thought it must be painful.

Why did the writer give up jogging two months later?

A. He disliked doing exercise outside.  

B. He found it neither healthy nor interesting.

C. He was afraid of having a heart attack.

D. He was worried about being left alone.

From the writer’s experience, we can conclude that______.

A. not everyone enjoys jogging

B. he is the only person who hates jogging

C. nothing other than jogging can help people keep fit

D. jogging makes people feel greater than any other sport.