They looked at you a little strangely. 查看更多

 

题目列表(包括答案和解析)

Most of us spend our lives seeking the natural world. To this end, we walk the dog, play golf, go fishing, sit in the garden, drink outside rather than inside the pub, have a picnic, live in the suburbs, go to the seaside, buy a weekend place in the country. The most popular free time activity in Britain is going for a walk. And when joggers (慢跑者) jog, they don’t run the streets. Every one of them automatically heads to the park or the river. It is my firm belief that not only do we all need nature, but we all seek nature, whether we know we are doing so or not.

But despite this, our children are growing up nature-deprived (丧失). I spent my boyhood climbing trees. These days, children are robbed of these ancient freedoms, due to problems like crime, traffic, the loss of the open spaces and strange new ideas about what is best for children, that is to say, things that can be bought, rather than things that can be found.

The truth is to be found elsewhere. A study in the US: families had moved to better housing and the children were assessed for ADHD (多动症). Those whose housing had more natural views showed an improvement of 19%; those who had the same improvement in material surroundings but no nice view improved just 4%.

A study in Sweden indicated that kindergarten children who could play in a natural environment had less illness and greater physical ability than children used only to a normal playground. A US study suggested that when a school gave children access to a natural environment, the entire school would do better in studies.

Another study found that children play differently in a natural environment. In playgrounds, children create a hierarchy (等级) based on physical abilities, with the tough ones taking the lead. But when a grassy area was planted with bushes, the children got much more into fantasy play, and the social hierarchy was now based on imagination and creativity.

Most bullying (恃强凌弱) is found in schools where there is a tarmac (柏油碎石) playground; the least bullying is in a natural area that the children are encouraged to explore. This reminds me unpleasantly of Sunnyhill School, with its hard tarmac, where I used to hang about in corners dreaming about wildlife.

But children are frequently discouraged from involvement with natural spaces, for health and safety reasons, for fear that they might get dirty or that they might cause damage. So, instead, the damage is done to the children themselves: not to their bodies but to their souls.

One of the great problems of modern childhood is ADHD, now increasingly and expensively treated with drugs. Yet one study after another indicates that contact with nature gives huge benefits to ADHD children. However, we spend money on drugs rather than on green places.

The life of old people is much better when they have access to nature. The most important for the growing population of old people is in quality rather than quantity of years. And study after study finds that a garden is the single most important thing in finding that quality.

In wider and more difficult areas of life, there is evidence to indicate that natural surroundings improve all kinds of things. Even problems with crime and aggressive behaviour are reduced when there is contact with the natural world.

Dr William Bird, researcher from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, states in his study, “A natural environment can reduce violent behaviour because its process helps reduce anger and behavior that people might regret later.” Wild places need encouraging for this reason, no matter how small their contribution.

We tend to think human beings are doing nature some kind of favor when we are protecting nature. The error here is far too deep: not only do humans need nature for themselves, but the very idea that humanity and the natural world are separable things is damaging.

Human beings are a species of animals. For seven million years we lived on the planet as part of nature. So we miss the natural world and long for contact with non-human life. Anyone who has patted a dog, stroked a cat, sat under a tree with a glass of beer, given or received a bunch of flowers or chosen to walk through the park on a nice day, understands that.

We need the wild world. It is necessary to our well-being, our health, our happiness. Without other living things around us we are less than human.

1.What is the author’s firm belief?

  A. People seek nature in different ways.

  B. People should spend most of their lives in the wild.

  C. People have quite different ideas of nature.

  D. People must make more efforts to study nature.

2.What does the author say people prefer for their children nowadays?

  A. Personal freedom.              B. Things that are natural.

  C. Urban surroundings.            D. Things that are purchased.

3.What does a study in Sweden show?

  A. The natural environment can help children learn better.

  B. More access to nature makes children less likely to fall ill.

  C. A good playground helps kids develop their physical abilities.

  D. Natural views can prevent children from developing ADHD.

4.Children who have chances to explore natural areas ________.

   A. tend to develop a strong love for science     

B. are more likely to dream about wildlife

   C. tend to be physically tougher in adulthood    

D. are less likely to be involved in bullying

5.What does the author suggest we do to help children with ADHD?

  A. Find more effective drugs for them.     

B. Provide more green spaces for them.

  C. Place them under more personal care.  

D. Engage them in more meaningful activities

6. In what way do elderly people benefit from their contact with nature?

  A. They look on life optimistically.      B. They enjoy a life of better quality.

C. They are able to live longer.            D. They become good-humored

 

查看答案和解析>>

A major source of teen stress is school exams, and test anxiety is not uncommon. When you recognize your teen is under stress, how can parents help your teen stay calm before an exam?
  Be involved (介入,参与). Parents need to be involved in their teen’s work.  【小题1】 What they look for is your patience—to talk, to cry, or simply to sit with them quietly. Communicate openly with your teen. Encourage your teen to express her worries and fears, but don’t let them focus on those fears.
  Help them get organized.  【小题2】 Together, you and your teen can work out a timetable in which she can study for what she knows will be on the test.
  Provide a calm setting. Help your teen set up a quiet place to study and protect her privacy. Give them a nutritious diet. It is important for your teen to eat a healthy, balanced diet during exam times to focus and do her best.  【小题3】 If this happens, encourage your teen to eat light meals or sandwiches.
   【小题4】 Persuade your teenager to get some sleep and/or do something active when she needs a real break from studying. Help your teen balance her time so that she will feel comfortable taking time out from studying to spend time with friends or rest.
  Show a positive attitude.  【小题5】 Your panic, anxiety and blame contribute to your teen’s pressure. Make your teen feel accepted and valued for her efforts. Most importantly, reassure your teen that things will be all right, no matter what the results are.

A.Exam stress can make some teens lose their appetite.
B.Help your teen think about what she has to study and plan accordingly.
C.They will only make the situation worse.
D.Encourage your teen to relax
E. Your teen may also make negative comments about themselves.
F. A parent’s attitude will affect their teen’s emotions.
G. The best thing is simply to be there.

查看答案和解析>>

A major source of teen stress is school exams, and test anxiety is not uncommon. When you recognize your teen is under stress, how can parents help your teen stay calm before an exam?

  Be involved (介入,参与). Parents need to be involved in their teen’s work.  1. What they look for is your patience—to talk, to cry, or simply to sit with them quietly. Communicate openly with your teen. Encourage your teen to express her worries and fears, but don’t let them focus on those fears.

  Help them get organized.  2. Together, you and your teen can work out a timetable in which she can study for what she knows will be on the test.

  Provide a calm setting. Help your teen set up a quiet place to study and protect her privacy. Give them a nutritious diet. It is important for your teen to eat a healthy, balanced diet during exam times to focus and do her best.  3. If this happens, encourage your teen to eat light meals or sandwiches.

   4. Persuade your teenager to get some sleep and/or do something active when she needs a real break from studying. Help your teen balance her time so that she will feel comfortable taking time out from studying to spend time with friends or rest.

  Show a positive attitude.  5. Your panic, anxiety and blame contribute to your teen’s pressure. Make your teen feel accepted and valued for her efforts. Most importantly, reassure your teen that things will be all right, no matter what the results are.

A.Exam stress can make some teens lose their appetite.

B.Help your teen think about what she has to study and plan accordingly.

C.They will only make the situation worse.

D.Encourage your teen to relax

E. Your teen may also make negative comments about themselves.

F. A parent’s attitude will affect their teen’s emotions.

G. The best thing is simply to be there.

 

查看答案和解析>>

If you have ever gone through a toll booth(收费所), you know that your relationship to the person in the booth is not the most intimate you'll ever have. It is one of life's frequent affairs: You hand over some money; you might get change; you drive off.

  Late one morning in 1984, headed for lunch in San Francisco, I drove toward a booth. I heard loud music. It sounded like a party. I looked around. No other cars with their windows open. No sound trucks. I looked at the toll booth. Inside it, the man was dancing.

  "What are you doing?" I asked.

  "I'm having a party," he said.

  "What about the rest of the people?" I looked at the other toll booths.

  He said, "What do those look like to you?" He pointed down the row of toll booths.

  "They look like……toll booths. What do they look like to you?"

  He said, "Vertical coffins. At 8:30 every morning, live people get in. Then they die for eight hours. At 4:30, like Lazarus from the dead, they reemerge and go home. For eight hours, brain is on hold, dead on the job. Going through the motions."

  I was amazed. This guy had developed a philosophy, a mythology about his job. Sixteen people dead on the job, and the seventeenth, in precisely the same situation, figures out a way to live. I could not help asking the next question: "Why is it different for you? You're having a good time."

He looked at me. "I knew you were going to ask that. I don't understand why anybody would think my job is boring. I have a corner office, glass on all sides. I can see the Golden Gate, San Francisco, and the Berkeley hills. Half the Western world vacations here……and I just stroll in every day and practice dancing."

1.According to the first paragraph, in most cases, how do you describe the relationship between drivers and toll booth?

A.most intimate      B.very tense         C.pretty ordinary     D.extremely hostile

2.Why did the author go to San Francisco?

A. To attend a party

B. B. To have a meal

C. To dance with the worker in the toll booth

D. To hand in the repair fee of his car

3.The underlined name “Lazarus” mentioned in the eighth paragraph probably refers to a person___________.

A. who was very active in his life

B. B. who was dead and revived from death

C. who was going to San Francisco

D. who liked dancing at work

4.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A.The author passed by the toll booth every day.

B.The worker enjoyed his work very much.

C.Only western people like to spend their holidays in the Berkeley hills.

D.The dancing worker was getting badly along with his colleagues.

5.After hearing what the worker said, the author would probably_________.

A.go to the worker’s senior to complain about his bad attitude towards job.

B.go climbing the Golden Gate and the Berkeley hills to have a vacation.

C.learn to take a positive attitude to job and appreciate valuable things in life.

D.go back home instead of wasting time traveling to San Francisco.

 

查看答案和解析>>

It’s easy to see how to help some people, but what about those whose needs are not so obvious? This story may have happened a while back ---but it was a  36 

which has stayed with me and helped me ever since.

It was Thanksgiving Day and I was 37  with my parents at a shelter centre for the needy. Standing behind the counter, we 38  hot food to whoever came in. Most of the people who came here looked like they had been  39  hard times. Their clothes were so worn-out, and they were so dirty. In short, they looked needy!

Then, a man came in , who looked 40 but needy. He was well dressed, for he wore an expensive suit. I wondered what he was doing there and my jaw dropped in 41  when he joined the line for food. The closer he came to my service station, the more I  42  in a low voice. I wanted to know what this man was doing. 43 

he wasn’t going to take food 44  for those who were really in need!

  Then my mother 45   took me to one side. She said, “You have  46  

that the needs of the people who come here must be purely physical: hunger, lack of

47  , clothing and so on. And this gentleman doesn’t seem to have any of those

48  . But what if his needs are 49  ? What if he needs comfort, friends, or just to be among other human beings?” Her words 50  me like a ton of bricks! I felt like I should  51  to the man ---but I didn’t .

About a week later the shelter centre received a large  52  from an anonymous(匿名)source. I can’t help but  53  if it came from that man.

Now, whenever I meet someone I remember my mother’s lesson and try to send

kindness and blessings  54  what they look like. Needs aren’t always  55  .  But kindness always makes a difference.

36.

A. situation

B. secret

C. lesson

D. comment

37.

A. volunteering

B. practising

C. training

D. performing

38.

A. recommended

B. collected

C. delivered

D. distributed

39.

A. looking for

B. going through

C. learning from

D. preparing for

40.

A. something

B. everything

C. anything

D. nothing

41.

A. peace

B. respect

C. delight

D. amazement

42.

A. declared

B. remarked

C. complained

D. argued

43.

A. Generally

B. Surely

C. Largely

D. Probably

44.

A. meant

B. applied

C. watched

D. answered

45.

A. rudely

B. excitedly

C. slowly

D. quietly

46.

A. assumed

B. ignored

C. announced

D. confirmed

47.

A. food

B. shelter

C. water

D. coats

48.

A. problems

B. choices

C. satisfactions

D. feelings

49.

A. natural

B. practical

C. valuable

D. emotional

50.

A. encouraged

B. struck

C. wounded

D. disappointed

51.

A. respond

B. suggest

C. describe

D. apologize

52.

A. order

B. baggage

C. donation

D. bill

53.

A. imagine

B. wonder

C. realize

D. admit

54.

A. in honor of

B. for fear of

C. regardless of

D. in spite of

55.

A. visible

B. reasonable

C. ridiculous

D. mysterious

查看答案和解析>>


同步练习册答案