With the development of science and technology, most of us will comment:"Life is speeding up.
Everyone is getting unwell."
     This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown citizen who
lived in Rome in 53 AD wrote it.
     We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives. But have
all these developments really improve the quality of our lives?
     Picture this, you're rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings,
a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, and the noise from the television is getting
louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have
to stay up all night to get it done. How calm and happy do you feel?
     Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired.
Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars,
even no electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they lead simpler lives.
     One family in the UK went "back in time" to see what life was like without all the inventions we
have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10, and Thomas, 7,
spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile
phones.
     The grandmother, Lynn said, "It was hard physically, but not mentally." She believed life was less
materialistic. "The more things you have the more difficult life becomes." She said. The boys said they
found less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had
changed from being a "trendy, beer- drinking granny to one who cooked things".
     Here are some simple ways to beat the stress often caused by our inventions!
●Don't be available all the time．Turn off your mobile phone at certain times of the day．Don't
check your emails every day．
●Make sure you spend some time talking to your family．Set aside one evening a week when you
don't turn on the television．Play cards and chat instead．
●Get a low-tech hobby．Every day,do something in the old-fashioned way,such as walking to have
a face-to-face meeting instead of using the email or telephone．
●Don't worry too much about life-laugh more!

1. The passage is mainly about          .

A．the important roles technology plays in our everyday life
B．improvements of our life with technology
C．problems with technology
D．major changes are likely to happen to technology

2. The writer uses the quote at the beginning of the story to        .

A．point out that you experience some big problems and they may be the same
B．tell us what life was like long time ago
C．make us wonder what causes such a thing to happen
D．share a truth about life

3. Why did the family choose to spend some time in a 1940s house?

A．Because they were curious about how people lived without modern inventions.
B．Because they liked to live simple lives.
C．Because they were troubled by modern inventions.
D．Because living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them.

4. What does the underlined word "available" in the first suggestion offered by the writer mean?

A．Busy on line.
B．Free.
C．Be able to move.
D．Be found by others.

5. The writer may support that ______

A. you ring back your boss immediately when you get home and see his message to you.
B. you take your iphone and taptop and power them on all the time while traveling.
C. you find fun in some exercise like hiking and jogging instead of chatting on the Internet.
D. you check your mail account as frequently as you can.

     Two hours from the tall buildings of Manhattan and Philadelphia live some of the world’s largest black bears. They are in northern Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, a home they share with an abundance of other wildlife.
     The streams, lakes, meadows (草地), mountain ridges and forests that make the Poconos an ideal place for black bears have also attracted more people to the region. Open spaces are threatened by plans for housing estates and important habitats are endangered by highway construction. To protect the Poconos natural beauty from irresponsible development, the Nature Conservancy (大自然保护协会) named the area one of America’s “Last Great Places”.
     Operating out of a century-old schoolhouse in the village of Long Pond, Pennsylvania, the conservancy’s bud Cook is working with local people and business leaders to balance economic growth with environmental protection. By developing partnerships with people like Francis Altemose, the Conservancy has been able to protect more than 14,000 acres of environmentally important land in the area.
     Altemose’s family has farmed in the Pocono area for generations. Two years ago Francis worked with the Conservancy to include his farm in a county farmland protection program. As a result, his family’s land can be protected from development and the Altemoses will be better able to provide a secure financial future for their 7-year-old grandson.
     Cook owes the Conservancy’s success in the Poconos to having a local presence and a commitment to working with local residents.
     "The key to protecting these remarkable lands is connecting with the local community,"Cook said. “The people who live there respect the land. They value quiet forests, clear streams and abundant wildlife. They are eager to help with conservation effort.
     For more information on how you can help the Nature Conservancy protect the Poconos and the world’s other “Last Great Places,” please call 1-888-564 6864 or visit us on the World Wide Web at www.tnc.org.
1.The purpose in naming the Poconos as one of America’s “Last Great Places” is to ________.
A. gain support from the local community
B. protect it from irresponsible development
C. make it a better home for black bears
D. provide financial security for future generations
2.We learn from the passage that ________.
A. the population in the Pocono area is growing
B. wildlife in the Pocono area is dying out rapidly
C. the security of the Pocono residents is being threatened
D. farmlands in the Pocono area are shrinking fast
3.What is important in protecting the Poconos according to Cook?
A. The setting up of an environmental protection website
B. Support from organizations like The Nature Conservancy
C. Cooperation with the local residents and business leaders
D. Inclusion of farmlands in the region’s protection program
4.The passage most probably is ________.
A. an official document                  
B. a news story  
C. an advertisement                    
D. a research report

     Every fall, like clockwork, Linda Krentz of Beaverton, Oregon, felt her brain go on strike. “I just couldn’t get going in the morning,” she says. “I’d get depressed and gain 10 pounds every winter and lose them again in the spring.” Then she read about seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression that occurs in
fall and winter, and she saw the light literally. Every morning now she turns on a specially constructed light box for half an hour and sits in front of it to trick her brain into thinking it’s still enjoying those long summer days. It seems to work.
     Krentz is not alone. Scientists estimate that 10 million Americans suffer from seasonal depression and
25 million more develop milder versions. But there’s never been definitive proof that treatment with very
bright lights makes a difference. After all, it’s hard to do a double-blind test when the subjects can see for
themselves whether or not the light is on. That’s why nobody has ever separated the real effects of light
therapy from placebo(安慰剂) effects.
     Until now, in three separate studies published last month, researchers report not only that light therapy works better than a placebo but that treatment is usually more effective in the early morning than in the
evening. In two of the groups, the placebo problem was resolved by telling patients they were comparing
light boxes to a new anti-depressant device that gives off negatively charged ions(离子). The third used the timing of light therapy as the control.
     Why does light therapy work? No one really knows. “Our research suggests it has something to do
with shifting the body’s internal clock,” says psychiatrist Dr. Lewey. The body is programmed to start the day with sunrise, he explains, and this gets later as the days get shorter. But why such subtle shifts make
some people depressed and not others is a mystery.
     That hasn’t stopped thousands of winter depressives from trying to heal themselves. Light boxes for
that purpose are available without a doctor’s prescription. That bothers psychologist Michael Terman of
Columbia University. He is worried that the boxes may be tried by patients who suffer from mental illness
that can’t be treated with light. Terman has developed a questionnaire to help determine whether expert
care is needed.
     In any event, you should choose a reputable manufacturer. Whatever product you use should give off
only visible light, because ultraviolet light damages the eyes. If you are photosensitive(对光敏感的), you
may develop a rash. Otherwise, the main drawback is having to sit in front of the light for 30 to 60 minutes in the morning. That’s an inconvenience many winter depressives can live with.
1. What is the probable cause of Krentz’s problem?
A. An unexpected gain in body weight.
B. Unexplained impairment of her nervous system.
C. Weakening of her eyesight with the setting in of winter.
D. Poor adjustment of her body clock to seasonal changes.
2. What is the CURRENT view concerning the treatment of seasonal depression with bright lights?
A. Its effect remains to be seen.          
B. It serves as a kind of placebo.
C. It proves to be an effective therapy.    
D. It hardly produces any effects.
3. What is psychologist Michael Terman’s major concern?
A. Winter depressives will be addicted to using light boxes.
B. No mental patients would bother to consult psychiatrists.
C. Bad light boxes will give off harmful ultraviolet lights.
D. Light therapy could be misused by certain mental patients.
4. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Winter depressives prefer light therapy in spite of its inconvenience.
B. Light therapy increases the patient’s photosensitivity.
C. Eye damage is a side effect of light therapy.
D. Light boxes can be programmed to correspond to shifts in the body clock.

     Scientists warn today that the Atlantic bluefin tuna(金枪鱼)faces disappearance unless certain
action is taken. They used electronic ways to track the movement of the powerful fish from the
Gulf of Mexico to the Mediterranean, and report today in the journal Nature that meals of sushi
and sandwiches with tuna worldwide are more dangerous than anyone has imagined.
     The bluefin tuna can live for 30 years, grow to three metres in length and weigh as much as
700kg. A good one can fetch as much as ? 52,000 in the Tokyo fish markets. "In my lifetime,
we've brought this big fish to the doorstep of death in the western Atlantic Ocean," said Barbara
Block of Stanford University in California. "The electronic way of tracks provides the best scientific
information we've ever had to manage these tuna and we must, as an international community, start
to act actively to make sure of the future of this fish. "
      Scientists have repeatedly said that the harvest of the seas cannot be as good as before. There
are fewer and fewer fish in around Newfoundland, North Sea and Iceland, so fishermen have
pushed further offshore in search of deep ocean fish. Tuna-in the Mediterranean and Japan-have
been under increasing pressure for years. The International Commission on the Conservation of
Atlantic Tuna has tried to manage the fish since 1969．There are two populations: a western one
that has dropped by 80% in the past 30 years, and a larger, eastern population. Although catches
are controlled by 3,000 tons a year in the western fishery, and 32,000 in the east, no one knew
whether the limits worked.
      So Professor Block and her team placed tracks on hundreds of the fish and tracked them to
depths of more than 900 metres and on journeys of thousands of miles, measuring the movement,
body and water temperatures. "There are two ways to save the Atlantic bluefin tuna-protect them
in their production grounds and in their feeding grounds," Prof. Block said. "This will need immediate
action in both the central Atlantic, to reduce the loss of the big fish while hunting, and in the Gulf of
Mexico and Mediterranean, where tuna produce as separate populations. "

1. The bluefin tuna in this passage mainly refers to the one _______.

A．in the Atlantic
B．in the Pacific  
C．in the Gulf of Mexico  
D．in the Mediterranean

2. Which of the following is NOT true according to this passage?

A．The bluefin tuna is a kind of large and heavy fish.
B．The number of the bluefin tuna in the sea is getting smaller and smaller.
C．Scientists are worried about the future of the tuna.
D．Scientists think that the harvest of the seas will remain good.

3. The purpose of the passage is to ______.

A．tell people a new way has been found to save the bluefin tuna
B．call for action to save the bluefin tuna  
C．warn people not to eat tuna sandwiches anymore
D．help scientists to find a new way to save the bluefin tuna

     While football fans feel strongly angry and shocked about mistakes made by referees (裁判) because
they cannot see clearly what has happened, a small German company is quietly pleased.
     For Cairos Technologies, mistakes made by referees are the kind of advertising that money cannot buy. The company has developed a tiny chip(芯片) that fits inside a football and determines whether the ball
has crossed the goal line, by being able to discover its exact location on the field. The world football
organization, FIFA, has shown interest in the technology. It is very possible that the new technology will
be used in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
     "We've been testing the technology at the main soccer stadium in Nuremberg for some time and more
recently in an under-17 FIFA Cup in Peru," said Gunter Rohmer, a director of the company. "The
technology has performed well, and we're pretty optimistic that it will be used at the games in Germany
next year."
      The chip only weighs 12 grams, and is placed in the center of the football. It sends 2,000 signals a
second to a receiver network of 12 antennas(天线), placed around the field. The receivers then send
information about the ball's location to a central computer, and because it works in real time, it can
immediately tell the referee whether a goal has been scored. The chip even can tell when the ball crosses
the line in mid-air. Oliver Braun, one of the inventors of the chip, says that feedback from German referees was generally positive. Germany sports-wear giant Adidas is also optimistic about using this kind of chip
in other ball sports.
     FIFA aims to test the technology later this year at another game in Japan before deciding whether or
not to introduce it in all 12 stadiums in Germany for next year's World Cup.

1. Carlos Technologies is pleased because ________.

A. football fans are angry with referees
B. their new product can satisfy football fans
C. their new product will have a good market
D. they can sell a lot of football in the future

2. In the first sentence in Paragraph 2,"... mistakes made by referees are the kind of advertising that
money cannot buy" means ___________.

A. Carlos Technologies can't afford the high price for advertising their product
B. Mistakes in production are also a kind of advertisement
C. Carios Technologies has already spent a lot of money on advertising their product
D. Referees' mistakes will be of great help for the sale of Carlos Technologies' new product

3. The underlined word "feedback" probably means ___________.

A. information given back by a user  
B. advice given by someone
C. supplying food to customers      
D. food given back by consumers

4. The new product has drawn attention from some _________.

A. famous people    
B. Adidas    
C. big companies  
D. countries

     The $11 billion self-help industry is built on the idea that you should turn negative thoughts like "I
never do anything right" into positive ones like "I can succeed." But was positive thinking advocate
Norman Vincent Peale right? Is there power in positive thinking?
     Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says trying
to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply highlight how
unhappy they are.
     The study's authors, Joanne Wood and John Lee of the University of Waterloo and Elaine Perunovic
of the University of New Brunswick, begin by citing(引用) older research showing that when people
get feedback which they believe is overly positive, they actually feel worse, not better. If you tell your
depressed friend that he has the potential of an Einstein, you're just underlining his faults. In one 1990s
experiment, a team including psychologist Joel Cooper of Princeton asked participants to write essays
opposing funding for the disabled. When the essayists were later praised for their sympathy, they felt
even worse about what they had written.
     In this experiment, Wood, Lee and Perunovic measured 68 students' self-esteem. The participants
were then asked to write down their thoughts and feelings for four minutes. Every 15 seconds, one
group of students heard a bell. When it rang, they were supposed to tell themselves, "I am lovable."
     Those with low self-esteem didn't feel better after the forced self-approval. In fact, their moods
turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren't urged to think
positive thoughts.
    The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy (心理治疗) that urge people to
accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them. In the fighting, we not only often
fail but can make things worse. Meditation (静思) techniques, in contrast, can teach people to put
their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic perspective. Call it the power of negative thinking.

1. What do we learn from the first paragraph about the self-help industry?

A. It was established by Norman Vincent Peale.
B. It is based on the concept of positive thinking.
C. It is a highly profitable industry.
D. It has brought positive results.

2. What is the finding of the Canadian researchers?

A. Encouraging positive thinking may do more harm than good.
B. The power of positive thinking is limited.
C. Unhappy people cannot think positively.
D. There can be no simple therapy for psychological problems.

3. What does the author mean by "…  you're just underlining his faults"?

A. You are pointing out the errors he has made. ks5u
B. You are not taking his mistakes seriously enough.
C. You are trying to make him feel better about his faults.
D. You are emphasizing the fact that he is not intelligent.

4. What do we learn from the experiment of Wood, Lee and Perunovic?

A. It is important for people to continually increase their self-esteem.
B. Forcing a person to think positive thoughts may lower their self-esteem.
C. Self-approval can bring a positive change to one's mood.
D. People with low self-esteem seldom write down their true feelings