My parents were in a huge argument, and I was really upset about it . I didn’t know who I should talk with about how I was feeling . So I asked Mom to allow me to stay the night at my best friend’s house . Though I knew I wouldn’t tell her about my parents’ situation, I was looking forward to getting out of the house . I was in the middle of packing up my things when suddenly the power went out in the neighborhood . Mom came to tell me that I should stay with my grandpa until the power came back on .

I was really disappointed because I felt that we did not have much to talk about . But I knew he would be frightened alone in the dark . I went to his room and told him that I’d stay with him until the power was restored . He was quite happy and said . “Great opportunity.”

“What is ?” I asked .

“To talk , you and I ,” he said .” To hold a private little meeting about what we’re going to do with your mom and dad , and what we’re going to do with ourselves now that we’re in the situation we are in .”

“But we can’t do anything about it , Grandpa,” I said , surprised that here was someone with whom I could share my feelings and someone who was in the same “boat” as I was .

And that’s how the most unbelievable friendship between my grandfather and me started . Sitting there in the dark , we talked about our feelings and fears of life―from how fast things change , to how they sometimes don’t change fast enough . That night , because the power went out , I found a new friend , with whom I could safely talk about all my fears and pains , whatever they may be .

Suddenly , the lights all came back on . “Well,” he said , “I guess that means you’ll to go now .I really like our talk . I hope the power will go out every few nights!”

56．I wished to get out of the house because         .

    A．I was angry about my parents’ quarrel

    B．I found nobody to share my feelings with

    C．I wanted to escape from the dark house

    D．I planned to tell my friend about my trouble

57．Grandpa was happy to see me because         .

    A．he could discuss the problem with me              

    B．he had not seen me for a long time

    C．he was afraid of darkness       

    D．he felt quite lonely

58．What can be inferred from the passage ?

    A．The grandchild was eager to leave                 

    B．They would have more chats

    C．The lights would go out again .

    D．It would no longer be dark .

For years and years people have been saying that the railways are dead．“We can do without railways” people say，as if motorcars and planes made the railways unnecessary．We all keep hearing that trains are slow，that they lose money，that they’re dying．But this is far from the truth．In these days of expensive oil，the railways have become highly competitive with motorcars and planes．If you want to carry people or goods from place to place，they’re cheaper than planes．And they have much in common with planes．A plane goes in a strange line and so does a railway．What is more，it takes you from the heart of a city into the heart of another．It doesn’t 1eave you as a plane does，miles and miles from the city center．It doesn’t hold you up as a car does，in endless traffic jams．And a single train can carry goods which no plane or motorcar could ever do．Far from being dead，the railways are very much alive．Modern railway lines give you a smooth，untroubled journey．Where else can you eat well，sleep in comfort，feel safe and enjoy the scene while you are traveling at speed at the same time? And we are only at the beginning．For we have just entered the age of super-fast trains, traveling at 1 50 miles an hour and more．Soon we will be wondering why we spent so much on motorways we can't use because we have not enough money to buy the oil and planes we can't fly in for the same reason.

Some people think the railways are dead for many reasons except that ______   ．

  A．planes and motorcars will take the place of trains  B．oil is expensive today

  C．trains are slow                              D．railways lose money

The writer’s idea seems to be that ______   ．

  A. we can do without railways    B．trains have much in common with motorcars and planes

  C．motorcars and planes are not as good as trains D．trains are as good as motorcars and planes

According to the writer，which of the following is NOT true?

  A．It is cheaper to travel by train than by plane．

  B．The railway station is usually at the center of a city．

  C．When you get off the plane you will find yourself right in the city center．

  D．No motorcar or plane can carry as many goods as a train does．

From the underlined sentence at the end of the passage，we can infer that    ．

  A．1ess and less people will take planes and motorways in the future

  B．the people have known that the train is better than planes and motorways

  C．trains will be more popular in the future

  D．nobody likes spending much money on motorways

认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文后图标中的空格里填入最恰当的一个单词。

 White-collar workers going to great lengths for stress relief

A soldier of the South Korean special attack corps paints his eyes during a friendly Taekwondo match at a South Korean Army Base in Pochon, north of Seoul.

Stressed out white-collar workers are scaling（攀登） skyscrapers, camping out on rooftops, smashing up restaurants, pretending to be children and even visiting cemeteries in a bid to relieve the pressure of modern life.

As the country's economy continues to steam ahead, once popular forms of entertainment, such as karaoke, card games and even boxing bars, appear to be losing their appeal.

Consider the members of Shanghai's Cat Rain club. By day, this group of young women works executive jobs, but by night they climb buildings so they can spend the night on the roof. "It's a good way to release our pressure. You feel relaxed when you're sitting on the roof, looking up to the sky and chatting with intimate（亲密的）friends," said Gong Ying, 25.

The stress of work is not just limited to people in Shanghai. A recently-opened restaurant in Beijing encourages customers to smash plates - as long as they are willing to pay to replace them.

Though there has been some debate about the extravagance（奢侈）of such services, some psychologists say the activity reflects the desire of some white-collar workers to vent their angst.

Some workers even appear eager to return to their childhoods. This May, hundreds of people took part in a festival in which adults pretended to be children. It was an adults-only event, and participants could read comics and eat sweets all day.

Scenic places such as parks and rivers can also help people relax and put things in perspective. But a cemetery? Cemetery companies in Shanghai organized visits to local graveyards for stressed-out workers in March. The participants were taken to quiet spots in the cemetery where they could contemplate （考虑 ）life and their futures.

Roof-camper Chen Bin, an IT marketing professional, said she had camped out on a rooftop about 30 times. When she's not sleeping out under the stars, she also has several other adrenalin-fueled interests, such as downhill racing and paragliding.

 "Pressure may bring us distress, but it doesn't mean we can't find ways out," Chen says. "Life should be imaginative."

New research suggests that cutting daily sitting time to less than three hours might extend your life by two years.

   “Humans were designed to move. But modern lifestyles and office jobs rarely encourage us to walk around,” says Peter Katzmarzyk, an expert at the University of Louisiana.

   “Sitting is common in our lives today. We sit while we’re driving, eating and watching TV. And many of us sit for many hours at work.” Katzmarzyk said.

   “We can’t throw away physical activity. It’s extremely important. We have 60 years of researchers showing us that.” Katzmarzyk said.

   Katzmarzyk and other researchers are trying to discover how sitting all day affext our lifespans（寿命）.

   “This is a relatively new area of study…Studies that have assessed the relationship between sitting and death or television viewing and death have been very rare in the last four or five years,” said Katzmarzyk.

   Katzmarzyk and his colleagues analyzed data from these studies, which involved almost 167,000 adults. Then they turned to a government-run survey of Americans to find out exactly how much time people spend sitting and watching.

   Not only did the team find that U.S. citizens could live longer by sitting less, they found that cutting TV time to less than two hours a day could add an extra 1.4 years to their lives.

People who’ve spent half their waking lives sitting down might well ask, “Is it ever too late to make a change?”

“We would say ‘No. It’s never too late.’ Physical activity is good for you at every age.” Katzmarzyk said.

Katzmarzyk says studying this problem has inspired his team to make a few changes in their own lives. They recommend a few simple changes: frequently getting up from your desk, taking walks at lunch time, and instead of e-mailing colleagues, walking over to their offices and talking face-to-face——all activities that can be enjoyable as well as life-extending.

1.Peter Katzmarzyk seems to believe that _____.

A. we should not sit for a long time   

B. most people like to sit most of the time

C. office jobs encourage us to walk a lot  

D. modern lifestyles are good for our health

2.The underlined word “that” in paragraph 4 probably refers to _____.

A. taking physical exercise is important  

B. many researches should be carried out

C. we should exercise during working hours

D. people should focus on their health at work

3.Why did Katzmarzyk and his colleagues turn to a government-run survey?

A. To collect information for the government

B. To know how long people sit and watch TV

C. To find what citizens do in their spare time’

D. To discover how sitting for long affects their lives

4.The best title of the text would be _____.

A. What Is the Healthiest Lifestyle？

B. Sitting for a Long Time Is Bad for Us

C. Study Suggests Sitting Less Can Extend Life

D. It Is Never Too Late to Change Our Way of Life

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