Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once.   Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. essential                   B. endangered              C. going                          D. performance           E. crises

F. supposed                   G. consequence           H. material                    I. exposed                     J. involves

As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art of relaxation. Once you are in the habit of rushing through life, being on the   1.   from morning till night, it is hard to slow down. But relaxation is   2.   for a healthy mind and body.

Stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it. In fact, it is not the bad thing as is often   3.   to be. A certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and give purpose to life. It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor   4.  and ill health.

The amount of stress a person can stand depends very much on the individual. Some people are not afraid of stress, and such characters are obviously prime   5.   for managerial responsibilities; others lose heart at the first sign of unusual difficulties. When   6.   to stress, in whatever form, we react both chemically and physically. In fact we make choice between “flight or fight” and in more primitive (远古的) days the choices made the difference between life or death. The   7.   we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme, but however little the stress, it   8.   the same response. It is when such a reaction lasts long, through continued exposure to stress, that health becomes   9.  . Since we can’t remove stress from our lives (it would be unwise to do so even if we could), we need to find ways to deal with it. 

 

Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws (爪) on its wings when young. They build their homes about 4.6m above the river, an important feature (特征) for the safety of the young. It is called the hoatzin.

In appearance, the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside. The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin. Its nearest relatives are the common birds, cuckoos. Its most striking feature, though, is only found in the young.

Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip. Using these four claws, together with the beak (喙), they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive（远古的） birds must have done. When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lose their claws.

During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.

What is the text mainly about?

A．Hoatzins in dry and rainy seasons.

B．The relatives and enemies of hoatzins.

C．Primitive birds and hoatzins of the Amazon.

D．The appearance and living habits of hoatzins.

Young hoatzins are different from their parents in that____ ．

A．they look like young cuckoos

B．they have claws on the wings

C．they eat a lot like a cow

D．they live on river banks

What can we infer about primitive birds from the text?

A．They had claws to help them climb.

B．They could fly long distances.

C．They had four wings like hoatzins.

D．They had a head with long feathers on the top.

Why do hoatzins collect together in smaller groups when the rainy season comes?

A．To find more food.

B．To protect themselves better.

C．To keep themselves warm.

D．To produce their young.

阅读理解

　　The first mammals (哺乳动物) appeared about 150,000,000 years ago, but the evolution (进化) of the main kinds found today has chiefly happened in the last 70,000,000 years. Some of the early mammals rather like the tarsiers (跗猴) of the East Indies today, are believed to have lived in trees and so become good at using their hands and eyes, and their brains developed rapidly. Some became the first monkeys. The others, perhaps, evolved (进化) directly into the first apes (猿) , creatures with brains, keen eyes, and skillful hands. Now fossils (化石) are being found which seem to link these first apes with the most primitive (远古的) human fossils: the “near man”who lived less than 1,000,000 years ago. Human beings are certainly not descended (遗传) from apes such as the chimpanzee (黑猩猩)or gorilla (大猩猩), but scientists believe that these apes and people had ancestors (祖先) in common, which would be described as apes if they still existed.

　　That evolution which has happened is something few scientists can doubt. How it has happened is something that still is discussed. Most biologists now believe that Charles Darwin got very near the truth in his theory of evolution by natural selection. He pointed out that living things vary. They differ in speed, in strength, in all sorts of small ways, and many of these differences are inherited (遗传而得), that is, they are passed on to later generations. He also pointed out that an intense (剧烈) struggle for existence is always going on. In this struggle it is the fittest that survive and the fittest are those that are best adapted (使适应) to the life they lead. So creatures which possess variations (变异) that favour survival live and reproduce their kind and those which do not have these variations die out. In this way the favourable variations will, according to Darwin, gradually appear in all those animals.

　　Darwin first thought of this theory in about 1840, but he went on patiently collecting evidence for nearly twenty years.

1．The apes are good at using hands and eyes because ________.

[　　]

A．they and the human beings had ancestors in common

B．their ancestor were tarsiers

C．they lived on the trees

D．they were the “near man”

2．The ancestor of man is ________.

[　　]

3．Now fossils are being found which seem to link the first apes with ________.

[　　]

4．As for the evolution,________.

[　　]

A．many scientists know how it happened

B．few scientists doubt it

C．it was discovered by Charles Darwin

D．it only happened to human beings

5．Which of the following statements is NOT the essence of Darwin’s theory of evolution?

[　　]

A．Living things vary.

B．The differences between living things are inherited.

C．Living things are in intense struggle with each other.

D．The fittest survive.

       As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art of relaxation．Once you are in the habit of rushing through life, being on the go from morning till night, it is hard to slow down．But relaxation is important for a healthy mind and body．

       Stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it．In fact, it is not the bad thing it is often supposed to be．A certain amount of stress is important to provide motivation and give purpose to life．It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health．

       The amount of stress a person can bear depends very much on the individual．Some people are not afraid of stress, and such characters are obviously important for managerial responsibilities．Others lose heart at the first sight of unusual difficulties．When exposed to stress, in whatever form, we react both chemically and physically．In fact we make choice between "fight" or "flight" and in more primitive(远古的) days the choice made the difference between life or death．The problems we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme, but however little the stress is, it needs the same response．It is when such a reaction lasts long, through continued exposure to stress, that health becomes endangered．Such serious conditions as high blood pressure and heart disease have established links with stress．Since we cannot remove stress from our lives （it would be unwise to do so even if we could）, we need to find ways to deal with it．

59．People are finding less and less time for relaxing themselves because_____．

       A．they do not know how to enjoy themselves

       B．they do not believe that relaxation is important for health

       C．they are travelling fast all the time

       D．they are becoming busier with their work

60．According to the writer, the most important character for a good manager is his ________．

       A．not fearing stress                B．knowing the art of relaxation

       C．high sense of responsibility           D．having control over performance

61．Which of the following statements is true?

       A．We can find some ways to avoid stress．

       B．Stress is always harmful to people．

       C．It is easy to change the habit of keeping oneself busy with work．

       D．Different people can bear different amounts of stress．

62．In the last sentence of the passage, "do so " refers to ______．

       A．"expose ourselves to stress"        B．"find ways to deal with stress"

       C．"remove stress from our lives"      D．"established links between diseases and stress"