It was Friedrich Nietzsche who wrote "Against boredom the gods themselves fight in vain". Although the words of the German philosopher will certainly have no effect on the millions of schoolchildren over the Easter holiday, their parents can find comfort in his words as they struggle to keep their kids entertained for a fortnight.

An academic has set out to prove that boredom-far from being a bad things-is a naturally occurring emotion that should not be suppressed （压抑）. Dr Richard Ralley, a psychology lecturer at Edge Hill College in Ormskirk, Lancashire, has conducted a study of boredom.

He said, "Boredom can be a good thing. In psychology we think of emotions as being functional. Fear, anger and jealousy all serve a purpose but they’re painted in a bad light even though they exist for a reason. It’s the same with boredom, which also has a bad name. We get bored because we get fed up when we have nothing to do and feel the need to be productive. We ,feel bad when we’re not productive and that’s what boredom is associated with. Boredom is something, it’s not just switching off. It can be useful. When there’s nothing rewarding going on we keep energy, so that when we want to do it again we can. It may be better to leave children to their own devices and let them recover from their last term at school."

Dr Ralley, 35, thought of the study, titled Boredom, in 1999 but has only recently started collecting ease studies. To date, he has received information from more than 300 young adults who have written about boredom. He hopes to present his findings in the summer.

"Come the holidays, parents needn’t sacrifice kids’ free time on activities. Instead get them involved with something you’re doing. You can handle boredom in a way that can get them to do something challenging. Boredom is natural, so let’s deal with it."

1. The text is probably taken from ______

A. a newspaper report              B. a research essay

C. an advertisement                D. a philosophy textbook

2. In Dr Richard Ralley’s opinion, boredom is ______

A. harmful       B. useful         C. reliable       D. changeable

3. Which of the following is true according to the text?

A. Boredom as well as fear, anger and jealousy ever has a good name.

B. We get excited when we have nothing to do and we are not productive.

C. Dr Ralley’s findings about boredom have been presented to the public.

D. Kids should be encouraged to spend free time doing something challenging.

4. The underlined phrase "leave children to their own devices" in Paragraph 3 most probably means______

A. let them design a tool            B. let them repair a machine

C. leave them as they are           D. leave them playing with a toy

5. What’s the main idea of the text?

A. Boredom could be good for children.

B. Keep the kids entertained over holiday.

C. Dr Ralley conducted a study of boredom.

D. Don’t sacrifice kids’ free time.

“This one’s for you,” Sergeant (警官) Barstow shouted and left quickly through the back door. I was a little puzzled. I looked out a window of the Ashfordly Police Station and saw an elderly woman come into the building.

“Good morning, Madam,” I said.

“Good morning,” she said pleasantly. “You’re new, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Madam.”

“It’s about that man who’s been annoying me,” she said. “I’ve been here about him before.”

“Could I have your name and address, please?”  

“Miss Fraser. Josephine Fraser. I live at 43 Prince Terrace. Now, can you please do something about Jackson?”

“What’s he done, Miss Fraser?”

“Done? He’s thrown garbage all over my stairs again. He must be stopped.”

“Where does he live?”

“Next door, Number 41,” she said.  

“I’ll go and see later and warn him off, Miss Fraser.”

“I would be most grateful.” With that she left.

Half an hour later, I reached Prince Terrace. NO. 41 was in a bad state of repair. I knocked. No reply. I entered. The place was deserted. I wondered if the Jackson was a tramp (流浪者). Anyway, it seemed he had left, possibly because of Miss Fraser’s threatening police action. I decided to visit her.

I knocked on her door and it was opened almost immediately. “Ah!” she said gladly. “You’re just in time for coffee.” I followed her inside. Miss Fraser told me more about her battle with Jackson. But when I asked specific questions, it clearly showed that she had never seen Jackson. Finally, I managed to leave.

Sergeant Barstow smiled kindly as I returned. “Nick, did you kick(踢出) Jackson out of that house?”

“Jackson!” I cried. “Who is he?”

“There is no Jackson,” he said. “Miss Fraser is lonely and she likes company. We always let the new young men deal with Miss Fraser. It gives her deep satisfaction. That’s what we are here for, isn’t it — to satisfy the public?”

1.Why did Sergeant Barstow leave quickly when Miss Fraser came?

A．Because he wanted to let Nick deal with her alone.

B．Because he had to go and catch Jackson at once.

C．Because he was tired of the elderly woman.

D．Because he knew she would tell a lie.

2.Miss Fraser told Nick that _____.

A．her neighbor had often caused her trouble

B．it was her first visit to the police station

C．she was looking for Sergeant Barstow

D．someone had broken into her house

3.Miss Fraser made up the story of Jackson because _____.

A．she liked to play jokes on the policemen

B．she wanted to have someone to talk with

C．she loved to show others her nice coffee

D．she hated Jackson very much

 

We show an amazing tolerance for a form of pollution that is a growing problem: noise. Airplane traffic is increasing by five percent a year. Urban noise is doubling every ten years. By air, land and sea, we are facing an onslaught of noise that is threatening our ability to live in this world. We have granted ourselves the right to make noise. But what about our responsibilities? Have we developed a sense of acoustic responsibility?

The evidence suggests that we have not. Many people seem to believe they have an unlimited right to make noise with cars and motorbikes, and with loud music at home and in the street. In some countries measures have been taken to force people to make less noise. In Britain, for example, a law has been passed preventing people from disturbing their neighbors with music at night.

It is widely accepted that we should deal with our rubbish in a responsible way Noise is in reality a particularly insidious form of rubbish. It destroys community life, pursues us into our homes, keeps us from sleeping and is the cause of many stress-related illnesses, as well as hearing loss. Our acoustic environment belongs to all of us. Everyone has the right to use it, but no one has the right to abuse it. Let’s start using it responsibly.

The underlined word “acoustic” in the first paragraph probably means ________.

A. environment          B. pollution              C. sound             D. rubbish

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

A. Nowadays everyone thinks it’s all right to make noise.

B. British law protects people from their neighbors’ music at night.

C. The level of noise produced in cities is twice as high now as ten years ago.

D. Noise can sometimes cause hearing loss.

The passage is probably written to _______.

A. introduce acoustic responsibility             B. call for people to make less noise

C. compare rubbish and noise                            D. describe people’s attitude to noise

Handshaking, though a European practice, is now often seen in big cities of China. Nobody knows exactly when the practice started in Europe.  It is said that long long ago in Europe when people met, they showed their unarmed (无武器的) hands to each other as a sign of goodwill. As time went on and trade in cities grew rapidly, people in cities began to clap each other's hands to make a deal or to reach an agreement. This practice wax later changed into shaking hands among friends on meeting or leaving each other. "Let's shake (hands) on it' sometimes means agreement reached.

     Do the Europeans shake hands wherever they go and with whomever they meet? No. Some-times the Chinese abroad reach out their hands too often to be polite, it is really very impolite to give your hand when the other party, especially when it is a woman, shows little interest in shaking hands with you and when the meeting does not mean anything to him or her. Even if', for politeness, lie holds out his unwilling hand in answer to your uninvited hand, just touch it slightly. There is generally a misunderstanding (误解) among the Chinese that westerners are usually open and straightforward, while the Chinese are rather reserved (保守的) in manner. But in fact some people in western countries are more reserved than some Chinese today.  So it is a good idea to shake hands with a westerner only when he shows interest in further relations with you.

In the old days in Europe, people put out their unarmed hands to each other        .

   A. to make a deal              B. to greet each other

   C. to show friendliness          D. to reach an agreement

The first paragraph mainly tells us        .

   A. where handshaking was first practised

   B. how handshaking came about

   C. about the relationship between handshaking and trade

   D. about the practice of handshaking both in Europe and in China

According to the text, which of the following statements is true?

   A. Westerners are more reserved than the Chinese.

   B. Westerners are unwilling to shake hands.

   C. We should make a judgment before shaking hands.

   D. We shouldn't shake hands with European women.

The main purpose of the text is        

   A. to tell us some differences between the East and the West

   B. to offer us some important facts about handshaking

   C. to introduce us to some different customs in the West

   D. to give us some advice before we travel abroad

A round of applause, please, for the Indian man who recently sang for 80 hours straight, setting a new Guinness world record. It’s an impressive feat, to be sure, but let’s just hope he still has a voice. According to Indian newspapers, Rajesh Burbure has been told to keep silent for several days so his vocal cords (声带) can heal.

It was reported that Burbure and his family are in a celebratory mood. “It’s a proud moment for all of us,” his wife told DNAIndia.com.

I, on the other hand, am unable to share their enthusiasm. Don’t get me wrong: I hope the 35-year-old Burbure lives forever, sells a million records and becomes an international celebrity. But his record–singing for 80 hours straight–is about as meaningful as most of the other curious but crazy feats listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Granted , I’m not qualified to speak on the subject. I’ve got no world records to my name– and I never expect to have any. Then again, maybe I am qualified to speak for those of us who have better things to do than train for years to sing an 80-hour medley (混合曲) of pop songs.

But let’s not just pick on poor Burbure. He’s not the only person chasing meaningless accolades. The Guinness Book of World Records is full of the names of people who at one time grew the longest hair, or built the biggest bicycle, or baked the largest cheesecake.

To all of these enterprising (有进取心的) souls I ask, simply, “What was it all for?”

Congratulations! For all of your painstaking effort, you became a footnote in a thick book that no one reads, except for you and the person who will eventually surpass you–with one more hour of singing, a few more centimeters of steel or a few more pounds of cheese.

After all, records are made to be broken.

From the text, we can learn that the author         .

      A．has no Guinness records, so he admires Burbures’ feat

       B．feels it is a pity he was not invited to share the happiness with the Burbures

       C．thinks singing for 80 hours straight is completely meaningless

       D．is quite worried about Burbure’s vocal cords

Before someone wins a Guinness record, he or she has to         .

       A．become an international celebrity

       B．know all about Guinness record

       C．practice a great deal

       D．bear great stress for fear of injury

We can infer from the article that        .

       A．after the 80 hours of singing, Burbure could no longer speak

       B．Burbure’ wife didn’t support his attempt to make a Guinness record

       C．many have criticized Burbure for his stupid behavior

       D．challenging a Guinness record may be harmful to the health

The author’s attitude to the Guinness world records mentioned in the passage is         .

       A．positive           B．impressed

       C．negative           D．touched

What is the best title for the passage?

       A．What Was the Point?

       B．Records Are Made to be Broken

       C．A New Indian Guinness Record

       D．The Guinness Book Is Boring