Soaring divorce rates around the globe are affecting the environment, American researchers suggested in a study released Monday.

Michigan State University researcher Jianguo “Jack” Liu and his assistant Eunice Yu said the increasing number of divorces leads to more households with fewer people and greater consumption of water and energy. They said housing units require space, construction materials and fuel to heat and cool, regardless of the number of inhabitants.

For example, in the United States in 2005, divorced households consumed an extra 73 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and 627 billion gallons of water. An additional 38 million extra rooms required heating and lighting that same year due to divorced households.

“A married household actually uses resources more efficiently than a divorced household”, Liu said. He said that in cohabitating households, people will watch the same television, share the air conditioning and heat and use the same refrigerator, all things that use energy at a regularly stable rate regardless of the number of users.

Liu said he was not condemning divorce, “Some people really need to get divorces.” He said that cohabitation was simply a more environmentally friendly option. Additionally, the researchers noted that trends other than divorce are also changing family living structures, such as the end of multiple generations of a family sharing a home and people remaining single longer.

“People’s first reaction to this research is surprise, and then it seems simple.” Liu said in a release, “But a lot of things become simple after research is done. Our challenges were to connect the dots and quantify their relationships. People have been talking about how to protect the environment and refuse climate change, but divorce is an overlooked factor that needs to be considered.”

He said the increasing energy demands caused by divorce should be considered by governments when they are creating environmental policies.

This passage is mainly meant to ____.

A. inform the reader of the increasing divorce in America

B. emphasize the importance of protecting the environment

C. tell people the effect divorce has on the environment

D. appeal to married people to keep their households

According to the passage, what’s the attitude of Mr. Liu towards divorce?

A. Supportive       B. Objective.       C. Indifferent.       D. Unclear.

It can be inferred from the passage that ____.

A. divorced households will promote the sales of products

B. married households are more willing to protect the environment

C. divorced households contribute more to the society’s development

D. divorce is not taken into account when people are protecting the environment

From this passage we can find that ____.

A. divorce rates are quickly rising globally these years

B. cohabiting households will increase consumption of water and energy

C. to divorce is a wise option according to the passage

D. the end of multi-generations of a family will save energy

 

Pets provide an unconditional love that requires very little on the part of the human.

Animals are so special to those of us who love them. We miss them when they are no longer with us. We grieve (哀悼) for them in ways which are just the same as grieving for a human loved one.

Whether the end comes through old age, illness, or sudden death, the death of a pet can cause enormous feelings of sorrow, guilt, and loneliness for children and adults alike, as the animal was considered a family member, a child's favoured playmate, or an older person's loyal and faithful companion.

Some people don't want a pet because they do die! It's understandable to be unwilling to expose yourself to death but, at the same time, we become immeasurably more human because our animals die. When we live with animals we're more in step with the rhythms of the planet from day to night and from season to season because our companions make us more aware of the changes around us. Our companion animals teach us about the simple gifts of a beautiful day, a good meal and a gentle touch.

The death of a pet can make us struggle with our belief structure－a natural part of the grieving period. Whether grieving an animal or human, we question our beliefs and many people find their belief structure becomes stronger when they ask themselves hard questions. Others find a new way of acceptance.

And we learn from our animals. Animals aren't afraid to die; they show us that the end of life can be faced without fear. They can teach us to accept death as an opening for love and wonder.

Allow yourself to grieve in whatever way is appropriate for you. The loss of a pet is real grief and causes us to travel through the stages of grief－denial, anger, depression, guilt, and acceptance. These stages must be lived through for the mourning to allow full healing.

1. According to the passage, the reason why some people don’t want a pet may be that       .

    A. animals may change our belief structure

B. animals are so special for those who love them

C. pets can never escape from death which makes people sad

D. pets only provide people with love but never ask for return

2.The underlined sentence in paragraph 4 probably means                        .

    A. the animals’ death is unacceptable for their owners

    B. the animals’ death may arouse their true feelings inside

    C. the animals’ death may expose people to the changes in life

D. the animals’ death is more understandable than human’s death

3.According to the passage, we can infer that                               .

    A. pets can give us some gifts when they have a good meal

    B. pets are so selfless and brave that all the people love them

    C. people can never accept the death of pets or the one they love

D. people may go through several stages before they can accept the death of a pet

4.What’s the attitude of the author towards grieving a pet?

    A. Neutral.         B. Negative.            C. Positive.            D. Critical.

 

Should e­cigarettes (electronic cigarettes) be a new choice for the smokers trying to get rid of the habit? Reactions from Americans are mixed．More than half of the people questioned in a survey think e­cigarettes should be controlled by the US Food and Drug Administration，but 47 percent believe the e­cigarettes should be available to the smokers who want to quit．

“In the hunt for a safer cigarette，e­cigarettes are becoming a popular choice among those either trying to quit or looking to replace standard tobacco smoke with an alternative that manufacturers claim to be safer，” Zogby International，which conducted the survey，said in a statement．

About half of the 4,611 adults who took part in the survey had heard about e­cigarettes，which are battery­powered，or rechargeable cigarettes that vaporize a liquid nicotine solution．They do not produce smoke but a water vapor without smell．Sold mostly on the Internet，e­cigarettes were first made in China．

Last year the World Health Organization (WHO) warned against using e­cigarettes，saying there was no evidence to prove they were safe or helped smokers break the habit．The WHO said people who smoke e­cigarettes breathe in a fine fog of nicotine into the lungs．

Nearly a third of people questioned in the survey think that e­cigarettes should be allowed in places where smoking is forbidden，because they don’t produce smoke，but 46 percent disagree．Men who were aware of the availability of e­cigarettes were more likely than women to say they should be a choice available to smokers who want to quit．Young people，aged 18－29，and singles were the groups most open to trying e­cigarettes．Smoking is the single largest cause of preventable death worldwide，according to the WHO．

1.What can we learn from Paragraph 1?

A．American smokers ought to try e­cigarettes．

B．Americans have different opinions about e­cigarettes．

C．Every kind of cigarettes should be forbidden in America．

D．Most of the Americans don’t like e­cigarettes．

2.According to Zogby International，e­cigarettes ______．

A．are much safer than common cigarettes

B．are popular among people who want to quit smoking

C．will take the place of traditional cigarettes

D．are produced in a safer way by manufacturers

3.What do we know about e­cigarettes from the passage?

A．Most Americans are familiar with them．

B．They are a good choice as there is no nicotine．

C．They produce a water vapor that can’t be seen．

D．Most people buy them on the Internet．

4.What’s the attitude of the WHO towards e­cigarettes?

A．Negative     B．Supportive       C．Doubtful     D．Indifferent

 

Should e-cigarettes (electronic cigarettes) be a new choice for the smokers trying to get rid of the habit? Reactions from Americans are mixed. More than half of the people questioned in a survey think e-cigarettes should be controlled by the US Food and Drug Administration, but 47 percent believe the e-cigarettes should be available to the smokers who want to quit.

“In the hunt for a safter cigarette, e-cigarettes are becoming a popular choice among those either trying to quit.”or looking to replace standard tobacco smoke with an alternative that manufacturers claim to be safer, ”Zogby International, which conducted the survey, said in a statement.

About half of the 4,611 adults who took part in the survey had heard about e-cigarettes, which are battery-powered, or rechargeable cigarettes that vaporize a liquid nicotine solution. They do not produce smoke but a water vapor without smell. Sold mostly on the Internet, e-cigarettes were first made in China.

Last year the World Health Organization (WHO) warned against using e-cigarettes, saying there was no evidence to prove they were safe or helped smokers break the habit. The WHO said people who smoke e-cigarettes breathe in a fine fog of nicotine into the lungs.

Nearly a third of people questioned in the survey think that e-cigarettes should be allowed in places where smoking is forbidden, because they don’t produce smoke, but 46 percent disagree. Men who were aware of the availability of e-cigarettes were more likely than woman to say they should be a choice available to smokers who want to quit. Young people, aged 18-29, and singles were the groups most open to trying e-cigarettes. Smoking is the single largest cause of preventable death worldwide, according to the WHO.

1.What can we learn from Paragraph 1?

A．American smokers ought to try e-cigarettes.

B．Americans have different opinions about e-cigarettes.

C．Every kind of cigarettes should be forbidden in America.

D．Most of the Americans don’t like e-cigarettes.

2.According to Zogby International, e-cigarettes        .

A．are much safer than common cigarettes

B．are popular among people who want to quit smoking

C．will take the place of traditional cigarettes

D．are produced in a safer way by manufacturers

3.What do we know about e-cigarettes from the passage?

A．Most Americans are familiar with them.

B．They are a good choice as there is no nicotine.

C．They produce a water vapor that can’t be seen.

D．Most people buy them on the Internet.

4.What’s the attitude of the WHO towards e-cigarettes?

A．Negative          B．Supportive         C．Doubtful.          D．Indifferent

 

Does being rich make you happy? Many studies on happiness give negative answers. Here are some points in being happy.

Basic Human Needs Must Be Met

People whose basic needs for shelter, clothing and food are not met will find it very difficult to feel happy. Of course, there are exceptions, but for most of us, we can only be happy once our basic needs are met.

The Joneses Cannot Be Escaped

People’s happiness is not determined by how much they have, but by how much people around them have. So, we tend to feel happy once our basic needs are met and we have more than the people surrounding us.

This means that while keeping up with the Joneses could be destructive if we let it go too far. It is also part of humana nature to want to feel at least on the same level, financially, as those surrounding us.

You Should Escape The Rat Race

We should know the importance of staying out of the rat race. So yes, you need to work hard, get the education you need to land a good job and work long enough and hard enough to get to a place where you can easily meet your basic needs. What are basic needs? For most middle or upper middle class Americans, basic needs are not very basic anymore.

For most of us, once our basic needs have been met, happiness is achieved when we engage in activities we like, spend time with friends and family and stay active. Making money for the sake of making money does not make people happy.

Ideally, these questions should be answered when you’re still young and just starting out. Don’t wait until your midlife crisis to realize that half your life has passed you by and you’re still unhappy.

1.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．The research on happiness.               B．Key points on being happy.

C．What makes people feel unhappy.           D．Being rich makes people happy.

2.In the view of the author, we know that ______.

A．people need to have a place to live first of all

B．human basic needs are not necessary for being happy

C．human basic needs are fundamental for being happy

D．one will be happy if he has enough money

3.What does the underlined phrase”the Joneses” in Paragraph 4 probably stand for?

A．Expensive things.                       B．Neighbors.

C．Money.                               D．Richer people.

4.From the passage, what is the purpose of people probably to do in “the rat race”?

A．To enjoy their life with family.

B．To get high education for better jobs.

C．To work too hard for money only.

D．To work hard for basic needs.

5.What’s the attitude of the author towards the passage?

A．Money is a big problem, but money isn’t everything.

B．The love of money is the root of all evil.

C．Money doesn’t grow on trees.

D．Money is happiness.