For the last couple of weeks , I had been stuck in front of my computer working on a project that was very important to me . My every waking hour was consumed by the project and although I imagined that I would feel happy after completing parts of the project, I was confused to find that instead , I was feeling rather depressed . I tried a range of methods to help cheer myself up. I had a relaxing bath, cooked a delicious meal to enjoy with my family and even watched a lighthearted movie,but to no avail. It was only when I turned to meditation(沉思) for a solution that the answer came to me : turn to nature!
The very next day , I grabbed my camera and a bottle of water and set off to spend a few hours walking in a nature reserve , even though it was pouring with rain . Within a couple of minutes I felt alive again.To be honest . I felt like a young school girl again and had to stop myself from hopping along the path singing , “I’m singing in the rain.”a song I used to sing when I was a child . I think as adults we often try too hard to control our inner children and as a result we restrain(限制)our own spirits , which only leads to depression and stress.
Interestingly,it has been shown that people who spend 40 minutes walking  in a nature reserve have a drop in their blood pressure levels. But this does not happen when they spend a similar amount of time walking in a busy city centre .
If you feel a little low in spirit and know that you have spent too much time indoors , relax completely , remove your shoes and let your inner child come out and play.
【小题1】The author felt depressed because she         .

A．couldn’t consume her waking hour

B．had not seen a film for a long time.

C．had not finished her work on time

D．had worked on a hard job for too long

【小题2】The author walked in a nature reserve in the rain in order to      .

A．take photos	B．find a solution to the project
C．hop along the path	D．cheer herself up

【小题3】The underlined part“to no avail” in Paragraph 1 probably means“          ”.

A．unsuccessful

B．unrelated

C．uninteresting

D．unexpected

【小题4】In the author’s opinion,     .

A．a bath can make people relaxed

B．depression is usually caused by hard work

C．walking in a busy city centre harms people’s health

D．adults should express their inner feelings freely

【小题5】The last paragraph mainly serves as a(n)      .

A．explanation

B．suggestion

C．introduction

D．reminder

Job sharing refers to the situation in which two people divide the responsibility of one full-time job. The people willingly act as part-time workers, enough hours between them to fulfill the duties of a full-time worker. If they each work half the job, for example, they each receive 50 percent of the job’s wages, its holidays and its other benefits.
Job sharing differs from conventional(常规的) part-time work in that it occurs mainly in the more highly skilled and professional areas, which require higher levels of responsibility and employee commitment.
Job sharing should not be confused with the term work sharing, which refers to increasing the number of jobs by reducing the number of hours of each existing job, thus offering more positions to the growing number of unemployed people. Job sharing by contrast, is not designed to address the growing number of unemployed people. Job sharing, by contrast, is not designed to address unemployment problems; its focus, rather is to provide well-paid work for skilled workers and professionals who want more free time for other activities.
As would be expected, most job sharers are women. A survey carried out in 1988 by Britain’s Equal Opportunities Commission showed that 78 per cent of sharers were female, the majority of whom were between 20 and 40 years of age. Subsequent studies have come up with similar results. Many of these women were re-entering the job market after having had children, but they chose not to seek part-time work because it would have meant lower status. Job sharing also offered an acceptable shift back into full-time work after a long absence.
The necessity of close cooperation when sharing a job with another person makes the actual work quite different from conventional one-position jobs. However, to ensure a greater chance that the partnership will succeed, each person needs to know the strengths, weaknesses and preferences of his or her partner before applying for a position. Moreover, there must be a fair division of both routine tasks and interesting ones. In sum, for a position to be job-shared well, the two individuals must be well matched and must treat each other as equals.
【小题1】In what way is work sharing different from job sharing?

A．Work sharing requires more working hours.

B．Work sharing is aimed at creating more jobs.

C．Work sharing provides a more satisfactory salary.

D．Work sharing depends on the employer’s decision.

【小题2】According to paragraph4, young mothers preferred job sharing to conventional part-time work mainly because______.

A．they sought higher social status

B．they were over ideal working ages

C．they had difficulty finding full-time jobs

D．they had to take care of both work and family

【小题3】In job sharing the partners should ______.

A．enjoy equal social status

B．have similar work experience

C．keep in touch with each other

D．know each other very well

Wind , water, fire and ice-these powerful natural forces have shaped the land of America in the past. They are still changing it today.
The Colorado River slowly cut down through stone to make the Grand Canyon(大峡谷).
Long ago, ice sheets cut Yosemite Valley and the Great Lakes, and glaciers(冰川) are still on the move in Alaska.
Wind and rain storm hit the land from time to time. Fires sometimes burn down forests and destroy the homes of wild animals. This happened in Yellowstone Park in 1988.
Dead volcanic mountains such as Haleakala on Maui and Carter Lakein Oregon are beautiful to look at. But there are several active volcanoes in the US, especially along the Pacific Coast. There are also many earthquakes in this area. Scientists can do nothing to control earthquakes or volcanoes. This was shown clearly on May 18, 1980. At 8:32 that morning, Mount St Helens in Washington state broke out. The top of the mountain was blown off.
Over 60 people –campers, scientists, journalists, forest workers—were killed. Hundreds of square miles of forests were knocked down. In towns over 100 miles away, day suddenly became night. An ash cloud hid the sun for many hours. Towns and fields in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho were covered with dirty gray ash.
Scientists knew that Mt St Helens might erupt(爆发) soon. But no one could say when. And no one expected the terrible strength of the eruption. Many people were surprised and unready. Harry R. Truman, 84, owned a small hotel in Mt St Helens. Scientists had asked people to move away because the volcano was becoming dangerous.
But Harry Truman would not leave his home. Now it is covered with many feet of dirty ash. A small cross stands above the place where Harry probably died. Perhaps it is better that he did not see the destruction of Mt St Helens, the once beautiful lake, and the forests.
But slowly, life is returning to the dead area around the mountain. Grass and small plants are beginning to grow again. Deer and birds have been seen. The land will never be the same as it once was. Perhaps Mt St Helens will erupt again. But this is all part of nature’s pattern of change, and man has little power to control it.
【小题1】Choose the best title for this passage.

A．Wind, water, fire and ice

B．Volcano’s beauty and danger

C．The power of nature

D．Natural force shape beautiful land of America

【小题2】After the eruption of volcano, what makes the sky turn dark?

A．The smoke

B．The clouds.

C．The fog.

D．The ash.

【小题3】The underlined word “it” means______.

A．The body of old Harry

B．The location of Harry’s home

C．The opening on top of Mt St Helens

D．The place where Harry probably died

【小题4】We can infer from this article that ______.

A．Washington and Oregon are neighboring states

B．Colorado River runs through Yosemite Valley

C．The eruption of Mt St Helens also caused trouble with the Yellowstone Park

D．Scientists never knew Mt St Helens was active

Face-to-face communication involves much more than the spoken word．In fact, we often communicate our feelings to others through our body language without realizing we are doing so．We communicate through posture, gesture and facial expression．But the eyes also play an important part in this unspoken language．William Shakespeare called the eyes "a window to the soul," and you can learn to look through that window and better understand a person's body language by reading eye movement．
Begin a conversation and ask a simple question．Watch carefully for eye movement during the response．If the person looks up, he or she is thinking or forming pictures．This is also a sign of a visual thinker．Looking up and to the left shows recalling a memory, while looking up and to the right could show imaginative construction or lying．
If the person looks down, this could be a sign of obedience（服从） or even blame．Looking down and to the left can show a person talking to themselves．Looking down and to the right can show that they are feeling strong emotion．
Looking sideways can indicate distraction or checking out a potential（潜在的） threat, hut a sideways glance can also show anger．In addition, eyes that look side to side often show shiftiness（狡诈） and lying．
A glance usually indicates a desire for something．Glancing at a door could show a desire to leave the room, while a glance, at a person could indicate a desire to talk to them．A glance is also used when it is forbidden to look at something．
A person who is lying to you may hold eye contact longer than normal．In addition, this person might smile with his mouth but not with his eyes．Smiling with the eyes is difficult to do if the emotion is not genuine．
Rapid blinking（眨）of the eyes can occur when a person is thinking, and this can also be another sign of lying．Again, a person who is aware of this sign might overcompensate（矫枉过正） and stare．
【小题1】The writer supported his argument in the first paragraph by __ __．

A．using what William Shakespeare said	B．describing the body language
C．telling a story of William Shakespeare	D．making a comment on eyes

【小题2】Which of the following eye movement shows a dishonest speaker?

A．If he looks up and to the left．	B．If he looks up and to the right．
C．If he looks down and to the left．	D．If he looks down and to the right．

【小题3】Which eye movement cannot hide your feelings?

A．Looking side to side．	B．Blinking the eyes quickly．
C．Smiling with the eyes．	D．Maintaining a prolonged eyes contact．

【小题4】The writer wrote this passage to __ __．

A．introduce the different meanings of the body languages

B．teach us how to use eyes to express ourselves

C．explain the importance of body languages

D．tell us how to read eye movement

Science can’t explain the power of pets, but many studies have shown that the company of pets can help lower blood pressure and raise chances of recovering from a heart attack, reduce loneliness and spread all-round good cheer.
Any owner will tell you how much joy a pet brings. For some, an animal provides more comfort than a husband/wife. A 2002 study by Karen Allen of the State University of New York measured stress (紧张) levels and blood pressure in people ---half of them pet owners ---while they performed 5 minutes of mental arithmetic (算术) or held a hand in ice water. Subjects completed the tasks alone, with a husband/wife, a close friend or with a pet. People with pets did it best. Those tested with their animal friends had smaller change in blood pressure and returned most quickly to baseline heart rates. With pets in the room, people also made fewer math mistakes than when doing in front of other companions. It seems people feel more relaxed (放松)around pets, says Allen, who thinks it may be because pets don’t judge.
A study reported last fall suggests that having a pet dog not only raises your spirits but may also have an effect on your eating habits. Researchers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital spent a year studying 36 fat people and their equally fat dogs on diet-and-exercise programs; a separate group of 56 people without pets were put on a diet program. On average, people lost about I1 pounds, or 5% of their body weight. Their dogs did even better, losing an average of 12 pounds, more than 15% of their body weight. Dog owners didn’t lose any more weight than those without dogs but, say researchers, got more exercise overall---mostly with their dogs --- and found it worth doing.
【小题1】What does the text mainly discuss?

A．What pets bring to their owners.

B．How pets help people calm down.

C．People’s opinions of keeping pets.

D．Pet’s value in medical research.

【小题2】We learn from the text that a person with heart disease has a better chance of getting well if _____.

A．he has a pet companion

B．he has less stress of work

C．he often does mental arithmetic

D．he is taken care of by his family

【小题3】According to Allen, why did the people do better with pets around when facing stressful tasks?

A．They have lower blood pressure.

B．They become more patient.

C．They are less nervous.

D．They are in higher spirits.

Pacing and Pausing
Sara tried to befriend her old friend Steve's new wife, but Betty never seemed to have anything to say. While Sara felt Betty didn't hold up her end of the conversation, Betty complained to Steve that Sara never gave her a chance to talk. The problem had to do with expectations about pacing and pausing.
Conversation is a turn-taking game. When our habits are similar, there's no problem. But if our habits are different, you may start to talk before I'm finished or fail to take your turn when I'm finished. That's what was happening with Betty and Sara.
It may not be coincidental that Betty, who expected relatively longer pauses between turns, is British, and Sara, who expected relatively shorter pauses, is American. Betty often felt interrupted by Sara. But Betty herself became an interrupter and found herself doing most of the talking when she met a visitor from Finland. And Sara had a hard time cutting in on some speakers from Latin America or Israel.
The general phenomenon, then, is that the small conversation techniques, like pacing and pausing, lead people to draw conclusions not about conversational style but about personality and abilities. These habitual differences are often the basis for dangerous stereotyping (思维定式). And these social phenomena can have very personal consequences. For example, a woman from the southwestern part of the US went to live in an eastern city to take up a job in personnel. When the Personnel Department got together for meetings, she kept searching for the right time to break in --- and never found it. Although back home she was considered outgoing and confident, in Washington she was viewed as shy and retiring. When she was evaluated at the end of the year, she was told to take a training course because of her inability to speak up.
That's why slight differences in conversational style --- tiny little things like microseconds of pause --- can have a great effect on one's life. The result in this case was a judgment of psychological problems --- even in the mind of the woman herself, who really wondered what was wrong with her and registered for assertiveness training.
【小题1】What did Sara think of Betty when talking with her?

A．Betty was talkative.	B．Betty was an interrupter.
C．Betty did not take her turn.	D．Betty paid no attention to Sara.

【小题2】According to the passage, who are likely to expect the shortest pauses between turns?

A．Americans.

B．Israelis.

C．The British.

D．The Finns.

【小题3】We can learn from the passage that ______.

A．communication breakdown results from short pauses and fast pacing

B．women are unfavorably stereotyped in eastern cities of the US

C．one's inability to speak up is culturally determined sometimes

D．one should receive training to build up one's confidence

【小题4】The underlined word "assertiveness" in the last paragraph probably means ______.

A．being willing to speak one's mind	B．being able to increase one's power
C．being ready to make one's own judgment	D．being quick to express one's ideas confidently

Open Letter to an Editor
I had an interesting conversation with a reporter recently --- one who works for you. In fact, he’s one of your best reporters. He wants to leave.
Your reporter gave me a copy of his resume(简历) and photocopies of six stories that he wrote for you. The headlines showed you played them proudly. With great enthusiasm, he talked about how he finds issues(问题), approaches them, and writes about them, which tells me he is one of your best. I’m sure you would hate to lose him. Surprisingly, your reporter is not unhappy. In fact, he told me he really likes his job. He has a great assignment (分工), and said you run a great paper. It would be easy for you to keep him, he said. He knows that the paper values him. He appreciates the responsibility you’ve given him, takes ownership of his profession, and enjoys his freedom.
So why is he looking for a way out?
He talked to me because he wants his editors to demand so much more of him. He wants to be pushed, challenged, coached to new heights.
The reporter believes that good stories spring from good questions, but his editors usually ask how long the story will be, when it will be in, where it can play, and what the budget is.
He longs for conversations with an editor who will help him turn his good ideas into great ones. He wants someone to get excited about what he’s doing and to help him turn his story idea upside down and inside out, exploring the best ways to report it. He wants to be more valuable for your paper. That’s what you want for him, too, isn’t it?
So your reporter has set me thinking.
Our best hope in keeping our best reporters, copy editors, photographers, artists --- everyone --- is to work harder to make sure they get the help they are demanding to reach their potential. If we can’t do it, they’ll find someone who can.
【小题1】What does the writer think of the reporter?

A．Optimistic.

B．Imaginative.

C．Ambitious.

D．Proud.

【小题2】What does the reporter want most from his editors in their talks?

A．Finding the news value of his stories.	B．Giving him financial support.
C．Helping him to find issues.	D．Improving his good ideas.

【小题3】Who probably wrote the letter?

A．An editor.

B．An artist.

C．A reporter.

D．A reader.

【小题4】The letter aims to remind editors that they should ______.

A．keep their best reporters at all costs

B．give more freedom to their reporters

C．be aware of their reporters’ professional development

D．appreciate their reporters’ working styles and attitudes

For years my husband, John, and I had dreamed of taking our three kids to Disney World．We'd planned our trip down to the last detail and dollar．But in Georgia, halfway there, our car broke down．
At a garage, the mechanic promised our Mercury Sable would be repaired by the next week．Meanwhile, John tried to find us a rental car．After many phone calls, John finally found a car．Luckily, our auto club would pick up the tab．We ended up arriving there three hours behind schedule．We tried every ride and met Mickey．
At the end of the long weekend we called the garage to check on our car．It turned out that the mechanic hadn't even looked at it yet! John got on the phone again．He found it would cost more than $ l, 100 to rent a car to drive home．That plus a plane ticket for him to go pick up our own car and we'd be out over $2,000!
I wailed（痛哭） and asked John, "What are we going to do?"  He said, "It'll work out．" John encouraged me not to lose heart and he insisted on trying to find a way out．Amazingly, John found a car transport company that had a car we could drive home, paying only for gas! But all the way home I couldn't stop thinking about the money we'd still need for John's trip back to the garage and another long driving home．
When we got home, the high school student who had fed our cats asked how our trip was．I gave him the rundown, "Things worked out okay except that our car's still stuck in Georgia．" "No problem," he said．"I'm heading to Florida for a spring break with my parents．We'll be glad to stop in Georgia on the way back and pick up your car．"
We ended up spending only $50 more than we'd budgeted．The next week, our car was back, and I had a new understanding of dealing with trouble．Whatever happens, if you never give up, a good solution will come out at last．
【小题1】From the passage we can learn that                 ．

A．Disney World is located in Georgia

B．Mercury Sable is the name of the mechanic

C．the couple budgeted for their trip carefully

D．repairing their car needed a lot of money

【小题2】The underlined phrase "pick up the tab" probably means “___________”．

A．pay the expense of renting a car

B．find a taxi for the club members

C．give somebody a lift on the way

D．take someone home free of charge

【小题3】Why was the author unhappy at the end of the weekend?

A．They didn't have enough money to rent a car to go home．

B．They spent $2,000 more than they had budgeted．

C．They didn't enjoy themselves in Disney World．

D．They found their car hadn't been repaired at all．

【小题4】We can infer from the passage that _______________________．

A．the car transport company usually had its cars rented

B．the couple had to drive the company's car to an appointed place

C．the car transport company charged the couple some money

D．a student helped the couple return the car to the company ．

The first English week at our school started on May 4th, 2009. The whole school was filled with an English learning atmosphere. A series of activities was held. There were handwriting activities, story writing, English songs, role playing in English, and so on, all the teachers and students were very happy. They spoke English, sang English songs and enjoyed all the activities.
Handwriting was for the students in lower grades. Although most of them couldn’t write so well, they were all very careful about it. In the show window, there were a lot of colorful handwritten papers. They copied some articles from books or newspapers. And then they decorated them with pictures in different colors, and some even put their own photos on them. How cute and lovely they looked!
Story writing was for students in Grade 7 and Grade 8. These students are always fond of cartoons, so they got interested in this activity. Reading the stories they made up, all the visitors couldn’t help speaking highly of them.
The most important event was the English show on the last day. The students and teachers presented(上演) a lot of English songs and English operas. Each program won storms of applause.
One week is not very long, but all the students and teachers learned a lot. Just as the headmaster said, “It is a helpful week. It will certainly lead us to enjoy and learn more from our English studies.”
【小题1】In this passage, the English week is described as__________.

A．surprising

B．boring

C．enjoyable

D．serious

【小题2】Which of the following is Not true?

A．All the students took part in the handwriting contest.

B．The story writing contest was for students in Grade 7 and Grade 8.

C．The English show was the most important event.

D．Teachers also took part in the English week.

【小题3】 What does the underlined word “applause” probably mean?

A．Noise

B．Cheer

C．Sound

D．Music

【小题4】What does the writer probably want to tell us at the end of the passage?

A．The activities are a good way to learn English.

B．Students usually don’t like English.

C．The activities last longer.[来源:Z&xx&k.Com]

D．Learning English in the classroom is invaluable.

People playing computer games to train their brains might as well be playing Super Mario, a new research suggests. In a six-week study, experts found people who played online games designed to improve their cognitive skills didn’t get any smarter．

Researchers recruited（招募） participants from views of the BBC’s science show Bang Goes the Theory．More than 8,600 people aged 18 to 60 were asked to play online brain games designed by the researchers to improve their memory, reasoning and other skills, for at least 10 minutes a day, three times a week．
【小题1】What’s the purpose of online brain games according to the designers?

A．To take part in the study.

B．To draw public attention to computer.

C．To provide free service to teenagers.

D．To improve players’ IQ.

【小题2】How many people were inveolved in the study made by the researchers?

A．About 60.

B．Only 2700.

C．8600 or so.

D．Around 11,300.

【小题3】．What’s the result of the study about online games?

A．Those who didn’t play online games felt disappointed.

B．Those who played online games proved smarter.

C．Online games don’t improve the players’ skills at all.

D．Online games will be more popular than before.

【小题4】The best title for the passage may probably be         .

A．Don’t Play Games Any More	B．New Study of IQ
C．Brain Games Don’t Raise IQ	D．Brain Games and Super Mario