In Greek mythology（神话）, the gods punished Sisyphus by forcing him to roll a rock up a steep hill for eternity（来世）. But he was probably better off than if they’d forced him to sit and stare into space until the end of time, conclude the authors of a new study on keeping busy. They found that people who have something to do, even something pointless, are happier than people who sit around.
“The general phenomenon I’m interested in is why people are too busy doing what they are doing in modern society,” says Christopher K. Hsee, of the University of Chicago. “People are running around, working hard, the way beyond the basic level.” Sure, there are reasons, like making a living, earning money, and so on. But, Hsee says, “I think there’s something deeper: We have extra energy and we want to avoid idleness.”
In a study 98 students were asked to complete two surveys. After they had completed the first they were made to wait 15 minutes to receive the next one. They were given a choice of either handing in the first survey nearby or at a more distant location they had to walk to. Whichever option they chose, they received a chocolate bar. Not everyone chose to go to the faraway location. Two-thirds chose the lazy option. Yet those who chose to stay busy by going to the faraway location were found to be happier than those who had stayed put.
But if the chocolate bars offered at the  two locations were different, they were more likely to choose the far location—because they could make up a good and acceptable reason for the trip, Hsee and his colleagues say.
Hsee thinks it may be possible to use this principle—people like being busy, and they like being able to show being busy right or reasonable—to benefit society. “If we can find a way for idle people to engage in activity that is at least not harmful, I think it is better than destructive business,” he says. Hsee himself has been known to  give a research assistant a useless task when he doesn’t have anything to do, so he isn’t sitting around the office getting bored and depressed.

1. 1.

   The author starts the passage with the Greek mythology story to ________.

   1. A.
      make it easier to understand the passage
   2. B.
      draw readers’ attention to Greek culture
   3. C.
      show Greek people enjoyed being busy
   4. D.
      bring about the subject of the passage
2. 2.

   According to Hsee, people are busy in modern society because they want to _________.

   1. A.
      make others think they are not lazy
   2. B.
      keep their energy at the basic level
   3. C.
      earn more money to support their family
   4. D.
      avoid the state of having nothing to do
3. 3.

   The underlined phrase “stayed put” in Paragraph 3 probably means __________.

   1. A.
      remained there
   2. B.
      kept occupied
   3. C.
      got around
   4. D.
      stayed awake
4. 4.

   How does Hsee’s assistant probably feel while performing a task?

   1. A.
      Blue.
   2. B.
      Empty.
   3. C.
      Contented.
   4. D.
      Trapped.

In a book called Magnificent Obsession, by Lloyd C. Douglas, a description is given of people helping others but doing it secretly. When difficult problems worried an individual, friends nearby would meet to discuss possible solutions without the individual knowing their actions. When a solution was agreed upon, one or two of the friends would carry out the plan and solve the problem secretly, to the great delight of the worried individual. The helpers would stand by privately, content with their success. No reward was given to the problem solvers, not even a sincere “thank you”, because they were never known.

This concept is popular today but in a different way. The phrase “pay it forward” is now used when one person helps another. However, the person helped may not be able to repay the person or group that helped them. So rather than return the favor to their helpers, they are supposed to help someone else in the future, which means they pay it forward. It is a sense of responsibility which makes us want to give back in equal measure to the one who has helped us. But, in this case, the responsibility turns to helping someone in the future.

Suppose your elderly grandmother pays part of your schooling. She may tell you there is no need to repay her because it is a gift from someone who loves you very much. Nothing would please her more than to have you use her money to get a good education.

You may never be able to repay her for such a gift. However, she not only gave you some money, but she provided you with an example that you should also help other people who need it.

People with serious needs are everywhere. Many are children who need better clothes, more books and even better schools. Some are elderly people who can’t afford their medicine or a doctor’s care. Consider how you can “pay it forward” rather than pay money back to your grandmother.

The helpers in the book “Magnificent Obsession” were not rewarded because ________.

A. they hadn’t solved the problems thoroughly

B. they had solved the problems secretly

C. they were friends of the worried individual

D. they expected to be paid back in the future

The underlined word “pay it forward” means ________.                    

A. to repay someone who has helped you  

B. to pay someone else who needs help

C. to help someone who has helped you

D. to help someone else who needs help

What does the writer suggest with the example of “your elderly grandmother”?

A. We should learn to respect our grandparents.

B. We should work hard to get a good education.

C. We should also lend a hand to other people in need of help.

D. We should never forget to repay people for their help.

From the passage we know ________.

A. everybody needs help

B. more children need help than elderly people

C. it costs a lot of money to “pay it forward”

D. nowadays many people help others without being repaid

By writing the passage, the author wishes people in the world to be ________.

A. unselfish                  B. mysterious                C. honest               D. unforgettable  

In a book called Magnificent Obsession, by Lloyd C. Douglas, a description is given of people helping others but doing it secretly. When difficult problems worried an individual, friends nearby would meet to discuss possible solutions without the individual knowing their actions. When a solution was agreed upon, one or two of the friends would carry out the plan and solve the problem secretly, to the great delight of the worried individual. The helpers would stand by privately, content with their success. No reward was given to the problem solvers, not even a sincere “thank you”, because they were never known.

This concept is popular today but in a different way. The phrase “pay it forward” is now used when one person helps another. However, the person helped may not be able to repay the person or group that helped them. So rather than return the favor to their helpers, they are supposed to help someone else in the future, which means they pay it forward. It is a sense of responsibility which makes us want to give back in equal measure to the one who has helped us. But, in this case, the responsibility turns to helping someone in the future.

Suppose your elderly grandmother pays part of your schooling. She may tell you there is no need to repay her because it is a gift from someone who loves you very much. Nothing would please her more than to have you use her money to get a good education.

You may never be able to repay her for such a gift. However, she not only gave you some money, but she provided you with an example that you should also help other people who need it.

People with serious needs are everywhere. Many are children who need better clothes, more books and even better schools. Some are elderly people who can’t afford their medicine or a doctor’s care. Consider how you can “pay it forward” rather than pay money back to your grandmother.

The helpers in the book “Magnificent Obsession” were not rewarded because ________.

they hadn’t solved the problems thoroughly

they expected to be paid back in the future.

they were friends of the worried individual

they had solved the problems secretly

The underlined word “pay it forward” means ________.                    

to repay someone who has helped you

to help someone else who needs help

to help someone who has helped you

to pay someone else who needs help

What does the writer suggest with the example of “your elderly grandmother”?

We should also lend a hand to other people in need of help.

We should work hard to get a good education.

We should learn to respect our grandparents.

We should never forget to repay people for their help.

By writing the passage, the author wishes people in the world to be ________.

A. honest       B. mysterious           C.  unselfish       D. unforgettable

We know the westerners like to plan for their time carefully in order to do all the things that are important to them. So if your American or English friend asks you to dinner, he usually invites you a week ahead. But if you really have no time and can’t go to the dinner, you can ring him to say sorry. The dinner is usually served at home, sometimes at a restaurant. You should get there on time, and don’t forget to put on your fine clothes. It is also a good idea to take some little presents to your friend, such as flowers, chocolates and so on. When you are at dinner, you should also observe (遵守) some other customs. Here I’ll give you some dos and don’ts about them in the following:

      ●Don’t leave bones on the table or the floor. (You should put them on your plate with fingers.)

      ●Don’t use your bowl to drink soup, but use your spoon to help you instead.

       ●Don’t talk with much food in your mouth.

       ●Don’t ask others to have more wine. (This is quite different from that in China.)

       ●After dinner, use your napkin(餐巾) to clean your mouth and hands.

       ●Make sure small pieces of food are not left on your face.

Then after dinner, you can stay there a little time. And your friend will be pleased if you leave in half an hour or so. Next day, you had better ring him up to thank him for the good dinner.

If your American or English friend wants to invite you to dinner, he will invite you _____.

     A. on the night before the dinner           B. on the day before the dinner

     C. at the last moment                    D. a week before the dinner 

It would be impolite to______.

A. put bones on your plates with fingers  B. drink soup with your spoon

C. persuade others to drink more 

D. make sure that there is nothing left on your face after dinner

Which of the following is not true?

 A. You'd better ring your friend the next day to show your thanks。

 B. After dinner, you'd better stay and talk with your friends for a long time to show your thanks.

 C. After dinner, you'd better leave in half an hour.

 D. After dinner, use napkin to clean your mouth.

We redheads are well known for our bad tempers. Now it seems there is scientific backing for our particular complaining as well.

Scientists in the United States studied a group of 144 dental patients almost half of whom had red hair. They found that the red-haired group were more sensitive to pain and as a result were twice as likely to avoid visiting the dentist.

Previous research had shown that redheads were more resistant to the effects of local anaesthesia(局部麻醉) than people with other hair colours.

The scientists say that this red-haired sensitivity to pain stems from the actions of a gene called MC1R. This is responsible for the production of melanin which gives skin and hair its colour. In about five percent of white people the gene is mutated(突变) leading to fair skin and red hair.

Researchers say there are some people with the gene in the brain and that this could affect pain sensitivity.

Professor Daniel Sessler from the Cleveland Clinic in the United States is one of the authors of the study. He says the research is a considerable scientific breakthrough.

"Red hair is the first phenotype(表现某一显性特征之生物个体或群体) of anaesthetic requirement in humans. And what I mean by phenotype is an external(外部的) characteristiC．

"So suppuse you are walking down the street and you see someone who's a little older and a little younger - that tells you nothing about their anaesthetic requirement. You see a man and a woman - that tells you nothing about their anaesthetic requirement. But you see a redhead - aha! You know that person is going to require 20 percent more general anaesthesia."

From my own personal experience I would say that there is some merit to this ideA．I have found that I have had to ask dentists for extra anaesthetic in the middle of procedures.

Some dentists argue that a greater sensitivity to pain might actually benefit redheads and drive them to see the dentist more quickly. In my own case I can prove that is definitely not true.

We learn from the text that red- haired group are _______________.

A．easily influenced by the sense of pain and need more anthaethetic reqiurement

B．usually more sensitive to some painful things

C．just well-known for their good temper and strong pain sensitivity

D．good-looking with fair skin and red hair

What do the scientists think this red-haired sensitivity to pain results from?

A．melanin which is responsible for the production which gives skin and hair its colour.

B．the mutated gene leading to fair skin and red hair基因

C．some persons with this gene in the brain

D．an external characteristic of a person.

According to Professor Daniel Sessler, the most amazing thing about the anaesthetic requirement in humans which can be judged by ______.

A．someone’s age and hair  

B．someome’s gender and figure

C．someone’s teeth and the skills of the dentist

D．someone’s external charateristic

We can infer from the last two paragraphs that _____.

A．redheads need less anaesthetic in the operation

B．the results of this red-haired sensitivity to pain will be the same

C．the writer is a red-haired person

D．redheads have many benefits of being red-haired