Moving should be an exciting time — you’re off to a new home, maybe moving up to a larger home. But for many people, moving turns into a stressful experience. It doesn’t have to be that way. Some planning and a little research can make your next move the best one ever.

Organization is the key to a successful move, so lists are your friends. Write down all the details that you need, especially things that might be lost during the move.

Once you decide to move, start packing things immediately. You can find all the supplies you need, such as boxes, packing tape and more at truck rental outlets (租赁经销店) like Budget Truck Rental. The experts there can help you figure out how many and what types of boxes you’ll need.

About a month before your moving date, reserve (预定) your moving truck. The company you choose makes a big difference. Budget Truck Rental has 30,000 trucks nationwide for you to choose.

Take care of your mail. Stop by your local post office and write the new address where your mail should be sent. You’ll also want to change the address on any magazine subscriptions (订购) or other services you receive by mail.

Make sure you have a group of friends to help you move. If you still have some boxes to pack, your friends can help you put the boxes into the truck while you finish up.

48. The passage is mainly written for those who ______.

A. help others move to a new home

B. offer rental services to others

C. prepare to move to a new home

D. like outside activities

49. How many suggestions does the passage offer for your move?

A. Three.               B. Four.            C. Five.                 D. Six.

50. According to the passage, which of the following is necessary before the moving?

A. Plan your move well in advance.

B. Make sure everything is clean.

C. Pay your friends enough money.

D. Buy lots of magazines on moving.

51. According to the passage, Budget Truck Rental is a company that ______.

A. offers some free services

B. sends your magazines to your home

C. provides jobs for the people who want to move

D. helps to make your move easier

 

NEW YORK - People who keep doing some work in their field after they retire may enjoy better physical and mental health than those who stop work completely or switch to another area of work, according to a U.S. study.
Researchers from the University of Maryland said the findings suggest that prospective retirees should consider moving into so-called "bridge employment" as a transition to full retirement.
"In essence, if someone is in a field where part-time work or self-employment is possible, he or she should consider it as they plan for retirement," researcher Dr. Mo Wang, an assistant professor of psychology, told Reuters Health.
For their study, Wang and his colleagues used data on more than 12,000 workers in a U.S. health study begun in 1992. Participants, who were between the ages of 51 and 61 at the outset, were surveyed every two years over a six-year period.
Overall, Wang's team found, people who went into some form of bridge employment reported lower rates of major diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and arthritis during the study period than their counterparts who went straight into full retirement.
The findings were not explained by older age or worse initial health among people who opted for full retirement, the investigators report in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.
On top of their better physical health, "bridge" workers also tended to report fewer mental health problems, such as depression.
The same mental health benefits were not seen, however, when retirees took part-time work in other fields -- possibly, Wang said, because many of these people may have taken those jobs out of financial need rather than choice.
He noted that the lack of benefit could also stem from the fact that these retirees had to adjust to an unfamiliar job position or had to make lifestyle changes.
Bridge work, particularly in one's accustomed field, may benefit physical and mental health for a number of reasons, according to Wang.
In general, he explained, such work may help older adults maintain the active lifestyles they had during their careers and decrease any stress they might feel from the transition into retirement.  wwwWang said when it comes to mental health, for instance, bridge work may help by allowing people to keep some of the "role identity" that they have formed over their careers.
Staying active in general, not only through work, can also benefit retirees' physical health, Wang noted. He added, however, that any mental health benefits are likely to depend on the type of activity -- whether it is something that the person truly enjoys, and that helps ease any stress of moving into retirement.
"These findings," Wang said, "suggest that for retirees and prospective retirees, carefully considering whether to engage in bridge employment -- and if so, what types of bridge employment -- is quite important."
【小题1】 What does the underlined phrase “at the outset” mean?__________

A．at least

B．at least

C．at the beginning

D．at last

【小题2】 People who went into some form of bridge employment have less chances to get the following diseases, EXCEPT___________.

A．arthritis

B．heart disease

C．diabetes

D．low blood pressure

【小题3】Which of the following statement is WRONG?_________

A．As long as retirees move into “bridge employment”, they must be healthier than those who do not.

B．The participants in the study were between 51 and 61 years old.

C．The bridge workers are also less likely to get depression.

D．Staying active is beneficial to the retirees’ physical health.

【小题4】What can we infer from the passage?________

A．The study was begun in 1992 and lasts for two 6-year periods

B．If a bridge worker is older than 61 years old, it does not mean that he will get a better health than others who enjoy full retirement.

C．Only by moving into “bridge employment” can the retirees enjoy better health both physically and psychologically.

D．Any activity can benefit the retirees’ mental health.

【小题5】Which is the best title of the passage?

A．A US study

B．Bridge Work

C．Working after retiring can be good for your health

D．Stay active

Volunteering can help you deal with stress and problems, have more confidence, and introduce you to exciting new ideas and people. But what kind of volunteering should you do?

Firstly, think about what you enjoy. What are you interested in? What do you want to be when you grow up? For example, if you love animals, you can volunteer to care for abandoned(被遗弃的) pets or injured wildlife. If you want to grow up to be a doctor or a nurse, you can look for a youth volunteer program at a local hospital.

Secondly, think about what you’re good at. What skills do you have? What kinds of jobs do you do best? Try to find a volunteer position that will let you make the most of your strengths and talents. For example, if you’re a great speaker, then you could try educating others about a problem you care about. If you’re a cook, you might find a way to help feed hungry people in your area.

Thirdly, look for what your own community needs. What should be improved in your town, city, or school? What types of volunteer projects would do the most good? For example, if there are a lot of homeless people in your area, you could raise money to help them. If your town has empty areas filled with dirt or rubbish, you could organize or join a group to plant trees and flowers to make these areas more attractive.

The problems of the world, or even just of your community, might seem gigantic. Some people might even feel like there’s no point trying to do anything, since what they can contribute seems so small. But every person is important, and can do some good and make a difference. Like you!

1.What is the text mainly about?

A．How to be a good volunteer.

B．What we can do when we grow up.

C．What kind of volunteering one can do.

D．How to improve society by volunteering.

2.The text does NOT mention _____ as a basis for volunteering. 

A．interests

B．abilities

C．people’s needs

D．what one gets in return

3.The word “gigantic” in the last paragraph can be replaced by “_____”.

A. huge     B. serious    C. meaningless   d. different

4.How is the text mainly developed?

A．Through reasoning.	B．Through similarities.
C．Through examples.	D．Through explanations.

 

 

Computerised trading agents may help humans build better markets

THANKS to declining markets, investment banks are getting rid of many of their highly-paid traders. When markets recover, the banks might be tempted to replace them with rather cheaper talent. One alternative has been around for a while but has yet to catch on: autonomous trading agents-computers programmed to act like the human version without such annoying costs as holidays, lunch breaks or bonuses. Program trading has, of course, been done before; some blamed the 1987 stock market crash on computers instructed with simple decision-making rules. But robots can be smarter than that.

Dave Cliff, a researcher at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories in Bristol, England, has been creating trading robots for seven years. In computer simulations he lets them evolve "genetically", and so allows them to adapt and fit models of real-world financial markets. His experiments have suggested that a redesign of some markets could lead to greater efficiency. Last year, a research group at IBM showed that Mr Cliff's artificial traders could consistently beat the human variety, in various kinds of market. Nearly all take the shape of an auction(拍卖). One well-known type is the English auction, familiar to customers of the salesrooms(拍卖场)of Christie's and Sotheby's, where sellers keep mum on their offer price, and buyers increase their bids by stages until only one remains.

At the other extreme is the Dutch auction, familiar to 17th-century tulip-traders in the Netherlands as well as to bidders for American Treasury bonds. Here, buyers remain silent, and a seller reduces his price until it is accepted. Most markets for shares, commodities, foreign exchange and derivatives are a mixture of these two types: buyers and sellers can announce their bid or offer prices at any time, and deals are constantly being closed, a so-called "continuous double auction".

Mr Cliff's novel idea was to apply his evolutionary computer programs to marketplaces themselves. Why not, he thought, try and see what types of auction would let traders converge(趋同) most quickly towards a balance price? The results were surprising. In his models, auctions that let buyers and sellers bid at any time like most of today's financial exchanges were less efficient than ones that required relatively more bids from either buyers or sellers. These "evolved auctions" also withstood big market shocks, such as crashes and panics, better than today's real-world versions. Mr Cliff's most recent results, which will be presented in Sydney, Australia, on December 10th, show that the best type of auction for any market depends crucially on even slight differences in the number of buyers and sellers.

Bank of America has been investigating these new auctions, along with robotic traders, for possible use in electronic exchanges. The hope is that today's financial auctions and online marketplaces might work better by becoming more like their English and Dutch ancestors.

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A. A review of two kinds of auctions.         B. An introduction of trading robots.

C. A survey of the trading market.          D. About trading alternatives.

2.Which of the following is true according to the text?

A. Mr Cliff’s robot traders have now been used in real-world markets.

B. Robot traders can evolve like creatures.

C. There is room for improvement in efficiency in trading markets.

D. The English auction is the most popular trading form.

3.What can we infer from the text?

A. Existing auctions cannot withstand market shocks

B. The Dutch auction is better than the continuous double auction

C. It’s hard for traders to reach a balanced price

D. The best type of auction takes place when the number of the buyers is equal to that of sellers

4.What’s the author’s attitude toward robot traders?

A. Prejudiced           B. Objective      C. Critical                       D. Optimistic