B
In today's fast paced, high stress world people are working longer hours than ever, and often exhaust themselves at．day's end in front, of the television to relax enough to begin again in the morning．However, television watching, for most people, does not really lower stress．Studies show that TV viewing more than an hour or so actually creates stress and, especially in women, may lead to the blues．Most individuals are unaware that doing some exercise after work makes them more energetic since it increases energy levels．
Wise use of free time does not mean getting an advanced degree, although the mental encouragement gained through education is unbeatable in keeping your mind active．Learning new things nearly always adds a spark to your daily life, especially if it is a favorite topic, such as sport, fashion, or art．Also, look through your bookstore or library to find books on your interests．Try to replace a half hour TV watching with reading．
Itis reported that in the United States recently, many individuals have as few as two good friends．Long work hours and car commute act to separate people from each other．This separation is deadly．Find ways to meet people at the end of the day and on weekends．Often this can be best done by combining activities, such as by joining a walking group to get both exercise and companionship．Taking a class will lift your spirits and allow you to meet others with similar interests．Hobbies are great for reducing stress and provide another opportunity for social interaction．
Using your free time to aid your health may include these elements and many more, such as going to concerts and spending time with family．Overall, the key is to spend less free time being passive．The best ways to use free time are to be mentally and physically active, spend some time outdoors, and interact with other people on a regular basis．
60．What can we learn from the passage?
A．Watching television may cause women to feel depressed．
B．Finding interests and hobbies in common means taking a class．
C．Going to concerts is the best way to make you mentally active．
D．Getting an advanced degree in education always lights up your life．
61．What does the underlined word "commute" in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A．The arrangement to work every day．   B．The journey to work every day
C．The communication between people．   D．The separation between people
62．Which would be the best title for the passage?
A．Live a Happy and Healthy Life    B．Relax Yourself in Various Ways
C．Spend Your Free Time Wisely       D．Interact With Others Outdoors

B
In this age of cell phones, text messages and computer keyboards, one Scottish school has returned to basics．It's teaching youngsters the ignored art of writing with a fountain pen．There is no clicking of keyboards in most classrooms at the Mary Erskine and Stewart's Melville Junior School, although there is a full range of facilities （设施）for computer lessons and technology isn' t being ignored．The private school' s headmaster believes the old-fashioned pens have helped strengthen the academic （学术的） performance and self-esteem （自尊）of his 1,200 pupils．
"The pens improve the quality of work because they force the children to take care, and better work improves self-esteem", headmaster Bryan Lewis said．" Proper handwriting is as relevant today as it ever has been．" Students as young as 7 have been instructed to give up their ball point pens and begin to deal with its more artful predecessor．By the time they reach grade five, at age 9, they are expected to write mainly with fountain pens．Lewis said the school's 7- and 8-year-olds use fountain pens for 80 percent to 90 percent of their work, returning to pencils for such subjects as math．"I don't see fountain pens as old-fashioned or out of date．Modern fountain pens are beautiful to use? it's not like in the old days of broken metal points and dirtying writing paper," Lewis said．"We have a particular writing style and we have developed it very carefully and found a way that allows left-and right-handed people to write without dirtying paper．"
Some people in wealthy nations argue that handwriting is becoming less important because of the growing use of cell phone text messaging and typing on computers, but the school disagrees．"We talk of the paperless office and the paperless world, but this is not true," Lewis said．"You still need to have proper handwriting skills．"
60．The Scottish school in the passage _____．
A．does not think highly of modern technology
B．values fountain pens more than anything else
C．pays special attention to the use of fountain pens
D．takes an action which is considered to be stupid by a great many people
61．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A．Schools in Scotland all encourage using pens．
B．Fountain pens today are much more expensive．
C．Lewis thinks the idea of the paperless world impractical．
D．The left-handed can't benefit from the new fountain pens．
62．The underlined word "predecessor" in Paragraph 2 refers to _____．
A．the pencil     B．the fountain pen      C．the keyboard  D．the ball point pen
63．The headmaster Bryan Lewis holds the view that _____．
A．children should be required to use pens when they are five
B．using pens may slow down students' speed of writing
C．pens have helped to build up students' self-respect
D．handwriting skills are more important than typing skills

B

In 1605 some Englishmen planned to kill their king, James I, because they thought he was a bad man. They knew that on November 5th the King would go to the House of Lords(上议院)to talk with his nobles.

The men rented(租赁)a building next to the House of Lords. They dug through a wall and put many barrels of gunpowder in a cellar(地下室) of the House of Lords. They chose a man called Guy Fawkes to set fire to the gunpowder but something went wrong with their plan. One of the men had a relative who was coming to the House of Lords to meet the King. He warned his relative to stay at home. The relative spoke to other nobles and soon the King heard about the danger. Soldiers searched the cellars and found the gunpowder on November 4th ,Guy Fawkes was caught and killed.

Every year, on November 5th, English children remember Guy Fawkes. They collect old boxes, newspapers and rubbish so that they can make a big fire, which they call a bonfire. They put a pole in the middle of the fire and tie a “guy” to it. “The guy” is the figure of Guy Fawkes and is made of old clothes and paper. Sometimes they push their “guy” round the streets in a cart and ask for money so that they can buy fireworks.

In the evening they light the bonfire and let off many fireworks: crackers, rockets, bangers and many other kinds. November 5th is an exciting day for children in England. It is always a busy day for firemen and for hospitals. Sparks from the bonfires sometimes set fire to fences,  trees or houses. Every year children are injured when fireworks exploded unexpectedly.

60. Some Englishmen planned to kill their king because___________.

A. they thought highly of him

B. they thought poorly of him

C. they thought much of him

D. they thought well of him

61.Something went wrong with their plan because one of the men_________.

A. told the King about it

B. told other nobles about it

C. told his relative about it

D. Guy Fawkes was killed

62.The phrase “let off many fireworks” in the passage means ________.

A. allow the fireworks to leave

B. cause the fireworks to explode

C. keep the fireworks off the bonfire

D. put the fireworks into the bonfire

63.November 5th is a busy day for firemen because _________.

A. fireworks are in great need

B. quite a few houses catch fire when fireworks explode

C. many children are injured by the unexpected explosion of fireworks

D. both B and C                 

C

At one time it was the dream of many little girls to become a nurse. Today, however, America is facing its worst nurse shortage since World War I. Recently about 2,000,000 nurses are needed and 60 percent of all hospitals in the US have shortages large enough to threaten(="say" that you will hurt somebody if they don’t do what you want) the quality of care provided. The demand for nurses spreads widely throughout the nursing field.

What has become of these women in white? The answer lies in not one but several causes. One possibility is the fact that women have greater career options(职业选择). In the past, women who chose to work outside the home had two basic choices: nursing or teaching. Today, more women than ever are in the work force, but their choices have greatly increased. There are women doctors, lawyers, firefighters and police officers. In fact, women today are found in nearly every field of work. Nursing has been left behind, as women move on to jobs with higher pay and greater status(地位). A woman or man in the nursing field is often looked down upon as “just a nurse”. Teachers may be also at fault. Many high school students are actually being steered(劝导) away from nursing, told by teachers that they are “too bright to be a nurse”.

Americans are living longer than ever and requiring more medical attention. In fact, the number of elderly patients has almost doubled in the past twenty years. Obviously a larger population requires more nurses. AIDS and other diseases have caused more and more people to need nursing care. Usually fatal diseases mean long hospital stay, that is to say, more nurses are needed to care for these patients. It is estimated that the demand for nurses will be doubled the supply in the coming ten years.

63. Why is America facing its worst nurse shortage?

A. Because American health conditions are becoming worse and worse.

B. Because more and more women prefer to be teachers and doctors.

C. Because women have been provided with many different jobs.

D. Because women no longer choose to be nurses.

64. The passage tells us that high school teachers are at fault for ___________.

A. not mentioning the worst nurse shortage in the US

B. introducing jobs with higher pay and greater status to their students

C. not asking the government to raise the nurses’ payment

D. persuading the students not to be nurses

65. The author wrote this passage in order to __________.

A. describe the unequal treatment of women in the US

B. warn people to pay more attention to the nursing problem

C. tell us women’s free choice of jobs today

D. call on women not to be nurses

66. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. High school students think themselves too bright to be nurses.

B. Women in the US have greater career choice than those in other countries.

C. Of all the hospitals in the world 60 percent more nurses are badly needed.

D. Nursing used to be a popular job among women.

C

At dawn on Friday, May 19, 1780, farmers in New England stopped to wonder at the pink color of the sun. By noon the sky had darkened to midnight blackness, causing Americans, still in the painful struggle of a prolonged war of independence, to light candles and tremble at thoughts of the Last Judgment. As the birds quieted and no storm accompanied the darkness, men and women crowded into churches, where one minister commented that “The people were very attentive.” John Greenleaf Whittier later wrote that “Men prayed, and women wept; all ears grew sharp . . .”

A recent study of researchers, led by Richard Guyette from the University of Missouri’s Tree Ring Laboratory, has shown that vast forest fires in the Algonquin Highlands of southern Ontario and elsewhere in Canada brought this event upon New England. The scientists have discovered “fire scars” on the rings for that year, left when the heat of a wildfire has killed a part of a tree’s cambium (形成层). Evidence collected also points to a drought that year. An easterly wind and low barometric pressure (低气压) helped force smoke into the upper atmosphere. “The record fits pretty close,” says Guyette. “We had the right fuel, the drought. The conditions were all there.”

Lacking the ability to communicate quickly over long distances, Americans in 1780 remained in the dark about the event, which had disappeared by the next day. Over the next several months, the papers carried heated debates about what brought the darkness. Some were the voices of angry prediction, such as one Massachusetts farmer who wrote, “Oh! Backsliding New-England, attend now to the things which belong to your peace before they are forever hid from your eyes.” Others gave different answers. One stated that a “flaming star” had passed between the earth and the sun. Ash, argued another commentator. The debate, carried on throughout New England, where there were no scientific journals or academies yet, reflected an unfolding culture of scientific enquiry already sweeping the Western world, a revolution nearly as influential as the war for independence from the English.

New Englanders would not soon forget that dark day; it lived on in folklore, poems, and sermons for generations.

66. New Englanders crowded into churches because they were frightened by_____.

   A. the pink color of the sun        B. the darkened sky at daytime

   C. the Last Judgment on Friday     D. the American War of Independence

67. What can we infer about the event in New England on May 19, 1780?

   A. Prayers remained silent and attentive.     B. Night birds no longer came out to sing.

   C. People’s ears became sharper than usual.  D. Midday meals were served by candlelight.

68. According to the researchers, the origin of the event was_________.

   A. an east wind    B. a severe drought   C. some burning fuel   D. low barometric pressure

69. What can we know about the debates after the dark day?

   A. They focused on causes of the event.

   B. They swept throughout the Western world.

   C. They were organized by scientific institutions.

   D. They improved Americans’ ability to communicate.

70. What can be the best title for the text?

   A. New England’s dark day.       B. Voices of angry prediction.

   C. There is no smoke without fire.  D. Tree rings and scientific discovery.