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 essential 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 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 performance and ill health．

The amount of stress a person can withstand depends very much on the individual. Some people are not afraid of stress, and such characters are obviously prime material for managerial responsibilities, others lose heart at the first sign of unusual difficulties. When exposed to stress, in whatever form, we react both chemically and physically. In fact we make choice between “flight or fight” and in more primitive days the choices made the difference between life or death. The crises we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme, but however little the stress, it involves the same response. It is when such a reaction lasts long, through continued exposure to stress, that health becomes endangered. 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．

44.     People are finding less and less time for relaxing themselves because ________.

       A. they regard working as their greatest enjoyment
       B. they believe that work is superior to relaxation
       C. they are traveling fast all the time
       D. they are becoming busier with their work than ever before

45.     According to the author, the most important character for a good manager is his    

________.

       A. strong will to hold out stress                        

       B. knowing the art of relaxation

       C. high sense of responsibility                           

       D. having control over performance

46.     Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the passage?

       A. We can find quite a few ways to avoid stress．

       B. Stress is always harmful to people's health

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

       D. Different people can bear different amount of stress．

47.     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. “establish links between diseases and stress”

A few months before I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special position. My parents were complementary instructors：Mom taught me the words, and Dad taught me to obey them. But the stranger... He was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies(喜剧).

If I wanted to know anything about politics，history or science，he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.

I now know that my early concepts about relationship were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom blamed...and NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended(融合) right in but is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you were to walk into my parent's room today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?

We just call him...“TV”.

He has a younger sister now. We call her “Computer”.

56．When the stranger came to live with our family, he was ________.

A. ignored by the children                     B. driven away for no reason

C. abandoned because it was too noisy         D. accepted by every family member

57．The stranger can do all the following things EXCEPT that he can ________.

A. tell us some funny stories                  B. reject our proposals(提议)

C. influence the children's character                 D. predict the future

58．The underlined word “spellbound” in Paragraph 2 most probably means ________.

A. concentrated                                          B. puzzled

C. fascinated                                            D. astonished

59．What can we learn from the last three paragraphs of the passage?

A. The computer is more advanced and has gained greater popularity.

B. Old as he is，we like the stranger best.

C. The TV set is out of fashion and often breaks down.

D. We decide to throw the TV set away immediately.

 (10·安徽D篇)

My father was 44 and knew he  wasn’t going to make it to 45. He wrote me a letter and hoped that something in it would help me for the rest of my life.

   Since the day I was 12 and first read his letter , some of his words have lived in my heart. One part always stands out . “Right now ,you are pretending to be a time killer. But I know that one day, you will do something great that will set you among the very best.” Knowing that my dad believed in me gave me permission to believe in myself . “You will do something great .” He didn’t know  what would be, and neither did I ,but at times in my life when I’ve felt proud of myself , I remember his words and wish he were here so I could ask , “Is this what you were talking about , Dad ? Should I keep going ?”

     A long way from 12 now , I realize he would have been proud when I made any progress. Lately, though , I’ve come to belvieve he would want me to move on to what comes next : to be pround of , and believe in , somebody else . Tt’s time to start writing my own letters to my children . Our children look to us with the same unanswered question we had . Our kids don’t hold back because they’re  afraid to fail. They’re only afraid of failing us . They’re only afraid of failing us . They don’t worry about being disappointed . Their fear as mine was until my father’s letter is of being a disappointment .

     Give your children permission to succeed. They’re waiting for you to believe in them . I always knew my parents loved me . But trust me ：That belief will be more complete , that love will be more real , and their belief in themselves will be greater if you write the words on their hearts ：“Don’t worry ; you’ll do something great .”Not having that blessing from their parents may be the only thing holding them back.

68.We learn from the text that the author （    ）

A. lost his father when he was young

B. worked hard before he read his father’s letter

C. asked his father’s permission to believe in himself

D. knew exactly what great thing his father wanted him to do 

69. What does the author tell us in the 3^rd  paragragh ?

A. Children need their parents’ letters.

B. Children are afraid to be disappointed .

C. His children’s fear of failure held them back.

D. His father’s letter removed his fear of failing his parents.

70. Which of the following is true of the author ?

A. He got no access to success.

B. He wrote back to his father at 12.

C. He was sure his parents loved him.

D. He once asked his father about the letter.

71．The main purpose of the text is to        .

A. describe children’s thinking

B. answer some questions children have

C. stress the importance of communication

D. advise parents to encourage their children

When I was seven, my parents gave me a doll, a doll’s house and a book. The Arabian Nights, came wrapped in red paper. I was just ready to read when my mother walked into my room．

“Isn’t your doll just beautiful?” my mother asked. I looked at the doll, with fair hair in a pink dress----I’ll have to call her “she” because I never gave her a name. I folded my lips and raised my eyebrows, not really knowing how to let my mother down easily.

“This doll is different.” My mother explained, trying to talk me into playing with it.

Thinking the doll needed love, I hugged her tightly for a long time. Useless, I said to myself. Finally, I decided to play with the doll’s house. But since rearranging the tiny furniture seemed to be the only active possible, I lost interest. I caught sight again of the third of my gifts The Arabian Nights, and I began to read it. From that moment, the book was my constant companion.

Every day I climbed our garden tree, nestled among its branches, I read the stories in The Arabian Nights to my heart’s content. My mother became concerned as she noticed I wasn’t playing with either the doll or the little house. She insisted that I take the doll up the tree with me.

Trying to read on a branch 15 feet off the ground while holding on to the silly doll was not easy. After nearly falling off twice, I tied one end of a long vine around the doll’s neck and the opposite one around the branch, letting the doll hang in mid air while I read. I always looked out for my mother, though. I sensed that my playing with the doll was of great importance to her. So every time I heard her coming, I lifted the doll up and hugged her. The smile in my mother’s eyes told me my plan worked.

The inevitable(不可避免的) happened one afternoon. Totally absorbed in the reading, I didn’t hear my mother calling me. When I looked down, I saw my mother staring at the hanging doll. Fearing the worst of scolding, I climbed down in a flash, reaching the ground just as my mother was untying the doll. To my surprise, she didn’t scold. She kept on staring at the doll．

The next day, my father came home early and suggested he and I play with the doll’s house. Soon I was bored, but my father seemed to be having so much fun, I didn’t have the heart to tell him. Quietly I slipped out, picking up my book on my way to the yard. So absorbed was he in arranging and rearranging the tiny furniture that he didn’t notice my quick exit.

Almost 20 years passed before I found out why the hanging-doll incident had been so significant for my parents. By then I was a parent myself. After recalling the incident, my mother said all those years she had been afraid whether I would turn out to be a most loving and understanding mother to my son．

My mother often thanks God aloud for making me a good parent, pointing out that with education I might have been a rich dentist instead of a poor poet. I look back on that same childhood incident, recalling my third gift, the book in red-paper, and I take advantage of the experiences that have made me who and what I am. Sometimes I pause to wonder at life’s wonderful ironies （讽刺）.

1.Why didn’t the author give the doll a name?

A. Because the gift was given by her parents.

B. Because the girl didn’t care much for the doll.

C. Because her parents would give the doll a name.

D. Because the doll had little in common with her.

2.The author’s account of a childhood incident shows that, as a young girl, she viewed her parents as people who         .

A. hoped to shape their children’s future  

B. were unconcerned about their behavior

C. ruined their children’s dreams completely

D. might withdraw their love at any moment

3. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A. The mother is now satisfied with her daughter’s career.

B. The daughter now regrets what she did when she was a girl.

C. The mother thinks the daughter’s achievements are unsatisfactory.

D. The daughter wishes that she had been allowed more freedom as a child.

 

A well-dressed man came into a famous jeweler shop．He explained that he wished to buy a pearl （珍珠） for his wife's birthday and that the price didn't matter since business had been very good for him that year．After examining a number of beautiful and valuable pearls, he chose a nice black one that cost $ 5,000．He paid for the pearl, shook hands with the jeweler and left．

       A few days later the man returned and said his wife had liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it．It had to be exactly the same size and quality（质地） as she wanted a pair of earrings （耳环） made．"Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?" said the man．The jeweler replied,   "I would say it's nearly impossible to find an exact one like that pearl．”

       The rich man asked the jeweler to advertise（登广告） in the newspapers, and offered $25,000 for the  matching pearl．Many people answered the ad（广告）, but nobody had a pearl that was just right．Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came in．To his surprise, she pulled the wonderful pearl from her handbag．"I don't like to sell it," she said sadly．"I inherited（继承） it from my mother, and my mother inherited from hers．But now I really need the money．"

       The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind．Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news．The rich man, however, was nowhere to be found．

1．From the first paragraph we can guess that the jeweler considered the well-dressed man as_____________．

       A．an honest jeweler to make friends with 

       B．a clever cheat （骗子） with a 1ol

       C．a rich businessman and good husband  

       D．a poor gentleman who spent mc

2．He paid$ 5,000 for the pearl without bargaining（讨价还价）______________．

       A．because he loved his wife very much

       B．in order to get it as quickly as possible

       C．since his business had been successful

       D．so as to make the jeweler believe him

3．Which of the following is true?

       A．The people who answered the ad wanted to sell their pearls at a high price．

       B．The woman was the well-dressed man's wife．

       C．The jeweler was lucky enough to buy the little old lady's pearl．

       D．The rich man didn't know the little old lady．

4．The jeweler could not find the rich man anywhere because he__________．

       A．had moved to another hotel                B．was busy doing business with others

       C．had escaped with $ 20,000                D．had told the wrong telephone number