A Charlotte, N.C., man was charged with first-degree murder of a 79-year-old woman whom police said he scared to death. In an attempt to evade policemen after a bank robbery, the Associated Press reports that 20-year-old Larry Whitfield broke into the home of Mary Parnell. Police say he didn’t touch Parnell but that she died after suffering a heart attack that was caused by terror. Can the guy be held responsible for the woman’s death? Prosecutors(公诉人) said that he can under the state’s murder rule, which allows someone to be charged with murder if he or she causes another person’s death while committing or fleeing from a severe crime like robbery—even if he or she doesn’t kill someone on purpose.

But, medically speaking, can someone actually be frightened to death? We asked Martin Samuels, chairman of the neurology department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Absolutely, no question about it.

The body has a natural protective method called the fight-or-flight response(战或逃反应), which was originally described by Walter Cannon，the chairman of Harvard University’s physiology department from 1906 to 1942. If, in the wild, an animal is faced with a life-threatening situation, the autonomic nervous system responds by increasing heart rate, increasing blood flow to the muscles, and slowing digestion, among other things. All of this increases the chances of succeeding in a fight or running away from an aggressive beast. This process certainly would be of help to primitive humans. However, in the modern world there is obvious decline of the fight-or-flight response.

The autonomic nervous system uses the chemical messenger to send signals to various parts of the body to activate the fight-or-flight response. This chemical is toxic in large amounts; it damages the organs such as the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. It is believed that almost all sudden deaths are caused by damage to the heart. There is almost no other organ that would fail so fast as to cause sudden death. Kidney failure, liver failure, those things don’t kill you suddenly.

By the way, any strong positive or negative emotions such as happiness or sadness can cause the same result. There are people who have died in intercourse or in religious passion. There was a case of a golfer who hit a hole in one, turned to his partner and said, “I can die now”, and then he dropped dead. For about seven days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon there was an increase of sudden cardiac death among New Yorkers.

1.Why the Charlotte, N.C., man was charged?

A. Because he threatened the policemen to kill an old woman.

B. Because he caused an old woman’s terror and she died.

C. Because he beat an old woman and caused her heart attack

D. Because he murdered an old woman while robbing a bank.

2. What is Martin Samuels’ attitude to the possibility of being frightened to death?

A. Approval.              B. Disapproval.                  C. Doubtful.          D. Indifferent.

3.Which of the following about the fight-or-flight response is true?

A. The fight-or-flight response was raised and proved by Martin A. Samuels.

B. It is a natural protective method that can’t be found in all creatures but humans.

C. The ancient humans had a superior fight-or-flight response than modern ones.

D. The fight-or-flight response is beneficial to both our actions and organs.

4. What activity can we infer is less likely to damage the organs?

A. Winning a big lottery.                               B. Missing a dead family.

C. Watching a horror movie.                            D. Listening to a sweet song.

5.The purpose of the passage is_________.

A. to explain why people will die of a heart attack

B. to offer some advice on protecting us from heart failure

C. to compare different kinds of feelings to cause a death

D. to show strong emotions can cause a sudden death

 

阅读理解

　　Hong Kong pop star Zhang Guorong, 46, jumped out of a window of Mandarin Oriental Hotel at the start of April, 2003, leaving behind sorrowful fans and suicide (自杀)note which newspapers said was caused by emotional (情感的)problems. His death shocked the public and the incident again brought a serious topic to light—suicide.

　　Zhang was best known globally for his part in the blockbuster film “Farewell My Concubine, ”where he played a homosexual (同性恋的)Chinese opera singer. The popular 1993 film won a lot of awards including the world-famous Palmed' Or at the Cannes Film Festival. However, such achievements could not make Zhang content with his life. It was reported that long before his death, Zhang had been suffering from depression (意志消沉). His tragedy shows we need to learn how to reduce the pressure from our society by happily and naturally facing life. Depression, a mental illness, and suicide have often been highlighted in the past as serious social problems—and for good reason.

　　According to experts, about 5 to 10 percent of people are suffering from depression, some of whom are not even aware of the illness. And alarmingly, 10 to 15 percent of people suffering from depression will be likely to commit suicide.

　　Statisticians (统计学家)also show suicide is the leading cause of death among young adults. It leads to 3. 6 percent of all deaths each year in China, a survey said. Last year, 287,000 Chinese died after committing suicide. The female rate is 25 percent higher than the male rate. For this reason, the media must highlight the negative (负面的)influence of Zhang's tragedy in its reporting. It is shameful to talk too much about his death. Although his achievements in the arts were great, his final choice cannot be praised, let alone calling his death a “perfect end” to a shining life.

　　The media should guide people—especially Zhang's fans—to shake off their sorrow quickly, learn a lesson from their idol's tragedy, find a release from the pressure of their lives and value their priceless lives.

1．Why on earth did Zhang choose to kill himself in such a way?

[　　]

A．Because he was not as popular as he was before.

B．Because he was disappointed at his life.

C．Because he suffered from high pressure from his fans.

D．Because he dropped out of the hotel accidently.

2．What does the word “blockbuster” in the second paragraph probably mean?

[　　]

A．Most popular.

B．Very interesting.

C．Ordinary.

D．Boring.

3．From the passage we can know

[　　]

A．more men commit suicide than women in our country

B．suicide only takes a small part in the deaths of young adults

C．is not right for the media to report the “perfect end” of Zhang widely

D．people never content with their achievements and life will often commit suicide easily

70．Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

[　　]

A．It made little difference whether Zhang died or not among his fans.

B．It was something happening suddenly- that caused Zhang's suicide.

C．Not all the people who suffer from depression know their case clearly .

D．Zhang called on people to make a choice to value their lives.

请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。注意：每空格1个单词。

I used to be the messiest person alive. Over the years, through watching others and by trial and error, I have finally found ways to come up with plans, organize them and follow through with them.

Make an outline of everything you need to have and do to make your plan happen. Make a list of all of the steps that need to be accomplished and think about what needs to be done.

Detail everything thoroughly and read over it so you can start coming up with some mental solutions of how to carry out your plans.

You should ensure that if for some reason way one doesn’t work, you have way two and way three to lean back on. Therefore, different ways are needed at hand. It’s just a matter of being organized. Chances are that there is always more than one way of doing things, and chances are that if one of those ways doesn’t work, one of the other ones will.

Committing yourself to finishing at least part if not all of your plan at once is also necessary. It will show that you not only have initiative to get things rolling, but that you are interested in the results obtained with making the move to get everything done.

If you make a commitment to finish before a specific time, make sure that you carry that out, and be sure to do everything in the way you said you would, within the time-frame you set for yourself.

Don’t try to tackle more things all at a time. All that does is delay your progress, distract you and make you lose your interest, motivation and energy.

Carrying out an effective plan requires being as organized as possible. You will only achieve this by sticking to the order of the plan and not deviating or trying to do more at a time.

Last but not the least, you should never abandon things mid-project. It will only annoy everyone around you including yourself. Unfinished plans are a waste of time, energy and, in some cases, even money. 

So, don’t be afraid of organization. The older we get, the more necessary it becomes to have the skills necessary to follow through with confidence and to be able to carry through plans in an organized and manageable way. It pays to be organized, after all.

 

Title: Tips on how to be 1._________ in your life
Tips	Details	2._______
3.______down your plan	◆List everything you need ◆List 4.________you will follow	To make your plan happen
Prepare three 5.________ ways to carry out your plan		To 6.________ that you can have some other choices when one way doesn’t work
7.__________ to finish at least part of your plan if not all	Do everything 8.________ your own time-frame	To show yourself you are determined to get things started and caring about the results
Do one thing at once	Stick to the order of your plan	To save your interest, motivation and energy
Finish what you have started		To get your plan 9. ________out thoroughly.
10.______________
You shouldn’t be afraid of organization because it’s really worthwhile.

 

There was a boy who was sent by his parents to a boarding school (寄宿学校).   36   being sent away, this boy was the   37   student in his class. He was at the top in every   38   always with high marks.

But the boy changed after   39   home and attending the boarding school. His grades started   40  . He hated being in a   41  . He was lonely all the time. And there were especially dark times when he   42   committing suicide (自杀). All of this was because he felt   43   and no one loved him.

His parents started   44   about the boy. But they even did not know what was   45   with him. So his dad decided to travel to the boarding school and   46   him.

They sat on the bank of the lake near the school. The father started asking him some casual questions about his classes, teachers and   47  . After some time his dad said, “Do you know, son, why I am here today?”

The boy answered back, “To   48   my grades?”

“No, no,” his dad replied. “I am here to tell you that you are the most   49   person for me. I want to see you   50  . I don’t care about grades. I care about you. I care about your happiness. YOU ARE MY LIFE.”

These words   51   the boy’s eyes to be filled with tears. He   52   his dad. They didn’t say anything to each other for a long time.

Now the boy had   53   he wanted. He knew there was someone on this earth who cared for him deeply. He   54   the world to someone. And today this young man is in college at the top of his class and no one has ever seen him   55  !

1.	A．After B．Before C．When D．While

 

2.	A．hardest B．naughtiest C．brightest D．dullest

 

3.	A．exam B．activity C．game D．class

 

4.	A．coming B．returning C．leaving D．reaching

 

5.	A．rising B．increasing C．reducing D．dropping

 

6.	A．group B．term C．company D．party

 

7.	A．led to B．felt like C．thought back D．looked for

 

8.	A．worthless B．careless C．concerned D．annoyed

 

9.	A．caring B．turning C．worrying D．speaking

 

10.	A．crazy B．true C．possible D．wrong

 

11.	A．talk with B．listen to C．tell to D．care about

 

12.	A．family B．friends C．study D．grades

 

13.	A．realize B．analyze C．check D．test

 

14.	A．outstanding B．important C．famous D．familiar

 

15.	A．happy B．excellent C．interested D．satisfied

 

16.	A．caused B．wanted C．encouraged D．forced

 

17.	A．answered B．ignored C．hated D．hugged

 

18.	A．nothing B．something C．everything D．anything

 

19.	A．showed B．meant C．intended D．expressed

 

20.	A．sad B．angry C．pleasant D．joyful

 

阅读下列各小题，根据括号内的汉语提示，用句末括号内的英语单词完成句子。

1.           （使我高兴）, my son passed the examination. (delight)

2.New Zealand                (由……组成) two large islands: North Island and South Island. (consist)

3.           （建于 1910年）, the museum is almost 100 years old. (build)

4.John              (被指控) committing a crime yesterday. (accuse)

5.Mr Johnson demanded that the problem              (讨论) at the meeting. (discuss)

6.Hardly             (他到达) at his office when he realized he had left his report at home.(arrive)

7.If I              (听了我老师的建议), I would have passed the exam.(take)

8.Please don’t hurry me. I           (将已完成) my homework by the time you are ready.(finish)

9.           (全神贯注于他的工作), Jim simply forgot food and sleep.(absorb)

10.The plan             (约翰提出的) last week has been approved.(put)