The Happiest Cities On Earth

If you’re looking for a cheery destination for your next vacation, consider these four spots and get ready to take notes on how to really live the good life.

Singapore

    With one of the highest population densities（密度）in the world and residents known for being workaholics, it’s hard to imagine the city-state of Singapore having one of the happiest populations on earth. And yet in a recent survey, 95% of them said they were either very happy or quite happy.

They give their city high marks for cleanliness and safety—subways are pristine (洁净的) and unfailingly arrive on time, and police are seen as helpful and good at their jobs. What’s more, they feel they can count on their neighbours—all 5.1 million of them.

Arhus, Denmark

The residents of Arhus cheerfully part with 68% of their income in taxes, knowing that in return they will be guaranteed free healthcare, free daycare, and a top-notch (第一流的) education for their children.

An energetic city of 300,000 with a lively cultural scene and a diverse number of religions represented, the sense of equality (the range in incomes is narrow), as well as easy access to the nearby sea and surrounding countryside, make Arhus seem more like a small town.

San Luis Obispo, CA

According to a 2008 Gallup-Healthways study, people who live in San Luis Obispo are more likely than residents of other U.S. cities to smile and experience joy and are less likely to experience pain or depression. About 64,000 of the 260,000 people in the greater metropolitan area (都市区), located halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, volunteer at over 11,000 non-profit organizations.

Few journeys to work are longer than 10 minutes (one reason its members rank in the upper third for job satisfaction), so “it’s easy to be involved,” resident Pierre Rademaker said. Business signs are unobtrusive (不显眼的) by law, fewer than 11% of residents smoke—the lower rate in the U.S.—there are lots of bike lanes, and the city’s plaza draws crowds of people for free concerts on summer Fridays. What’s not to love?

Monterrey, Mexico

The people of Monterrey don’t enjoy high household incomes or access to good healthcare. Instead, there’s a profound sense of gratitude for the new political freedom enjoyed since the oppressive Institutional Revolutionary Party lost power in 2000—the first time in nearly a century—as well as an emphasis on social life over work.

Another reason Monterrey residents may be so happy is their faith in God and family, and their ability to tough it out through bad times.

“We laugh at sickness, poverty and even death,” says Basanez, a political scientist who lives in Monterrey. “We even have a holiday to celebrate death. November 2, the Day of the Dead, is one of the biggest holidays of the year.”

1.According to the passage, what do the residents in the four cities have in common?

A. All the residents can make great fortunes by working hard.

B. The residents there are mostly educators. 

C. All the residents enjoy enough material wealth.

D. The majority of the residents are satisfied with their current life.

2.According to the passage, we can infer that _______.

A. the people of Singapore expect their neighbours to come to their help when necessary

B. the people of Monterrey even observe one’s death on a special day of a year

C. the residents of Arhus happily pay 68% of their income for their children’s education fee

D. the people who live in San Luis Obispo have job satisfaction because they can enjoy good working conditions

3.According to the passage which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

A. The people of Monterrey didn’t enjoy political freedom until 2000.

B. The residents in Singapore feel happy because of its low population density.

C. The people of San Luis Obispo can enjoy free concerts in summer.

D. Arhus is handy to the seaside and countryside.

4.What can we learn from the underlined part “the sense of equality”?

A. The residents of Arhus have no racial discrimination.

B. Arhus is considered as a family sharing everything with each other.

C. There is no wide gap between the rich and the poor in Arhus.

D. The residents of Arhus can depend on their neighbours to help.

C
A blow-fly was looking for an ideal place like rotting meat to lay her eggs so that when her little babies were born, they could feed on the meat.
As she turned a corner in the grassland, she smelt something that smells like rotten meat in the air! With a great joy she landed on it and laid her eggs. She was happy that her children would have enough food to eat.
But the fly did not know she had made a great mistake. What she had sat upon was not meat but a flower, which smells badly. It is called a carrion flower. So, when the blow-fly’s eggs hatched and the little maggots（蛆）came out, they had nothing to eat. They died of starvation.
The carrion flower is one of the many flowers which send out dirty smells to attract flies. The Rafflesia stinks like rotting meat, while the tropical Lords and Ladies flower gives out a smell like rotting fish.
They do it for a special reason. These plants cannot move from their place. But it is important for the male cell of one plant to get in touch with the female cell of another plant. Once that is done, the seed of the plant will bloom and give birth to another plant.
The plant uses its stink to attract flies. As soon as the blow-fly sits on the follower, it is captured by the flower with strong hair. When the hair falls, the fly is free to fly- but it takes some pollen（花粉） with it. And goes and sits on another plant. The male cell of one plant meets the female cell of the other. The seed gets new life.
64. Why did the fly land on something smelly?
A. She was too careless before her bearing.       B. She liked the particular smell very much
C. She hoped to find some food for her babies.    D. She couldn’t find a better place for delivery.
65. The little maggots finally died because_________.
A. they were born too weak             B. they lacked food available
C. carrion flower were poisonous         D. their mother didn’t take care of them
66. Flowers like carrion flower and Rafflesia naturally smell terrible so that_________.
A. they need insects to spread their pollen     B. they succeed in producing more seeds
C. their seeds can be carried to other places    D. they can manage to absorb more nutrients
67. What is the best title of the text?
A. Dirty Tricks        B. Smelly Plants   C. A strange Flower   D. Secrets of Nature.

Douglas Adams was born in Cambridge in March 1952, educated at Brentwood School, Essex and St John's College, Cambridge where, in 1974 he gained a BA (and later an MA) in English literature.
He was the creator of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy(《银河系漫游指南》), which started life as a BBC Radio 4 series in March 1978. Since then it has been transformed into a series of best-selling novels, a TV series, a record album, a computer game and several stage adaptations.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's success sent the book straight to Number One in the UK Bestseller List and in 1984 Douglas Adams became the youngest author to be awarded a Golden Pan. He won a further two (a rare feat), and was nominated—though not selected - for the first Best of Young British Novelists awards.
He followed this success with The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980); Life, The Universe and Everything (1982); So Long and Thanks for all the Fish (1984); and Mostly Harmless (1992). The first two books in the Hitchhiker series were adapted into a 6-part television series, which was an immediate success when first showed in 1982. Other publications include Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (1987) and Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul (1988). In 1984 Douglas teamed up with John Lloyd and wrote The Meaning of Life and their second huge success, The Deeper Meaning of Life followed in 1990. One of Douglas’s personal favorites was written in 1990 when he teamed up with zoologist Mark Carwardine and wrote Last Chance to See an account of a world-wide search for rare and endangered species of animals.
Douglas sold over 15 million books in the UK, the US and Australia. He was also a best seller in German, Swedish and many other languages.
Douglas Adams died on Friday, May 11, 2001, in Santa Barbara, CA. He will be greatly missed by fans worldwide.
【小题1】The main idea of this passage is           .

C
A 17-year-old boy, caught sending text messages in class, was recently sent to the vice principal's office．The vice principal, Steve Gallagher, told the boy he needed to focus on the teach- er, not his cellphone．The boy listened politely and nodded, and that's when Mr．Gallagher noticed the student's fingers moving on his lap．He was texting while being scolded for texting．"It was a subconscious act," says Mr．Gallagher, who took the phone away．"Young people today are con-nected socially from the moment they open their eyes in the moming until they close their eyes at night． It's compulsive．"
A study this year by psychology students at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Ga．, found that the more time young people spend on Facebook, the more likely they are to have lower grades and weaker study habits． Heavy Facebook users show signs of being more sociable, but they are alsomore likely to be anxious, hostile or depressed．
Almost a quarter of today's teens check Facebook more than 10 times a day, according to a2009 survey by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit group that monitors media's impact on families．Will these young people get rid of this habit once they enter the work force, or will employers cometo see texting and 'social-network checking' as accepted parts of the workday? Think bac．k．Whentoday's older workers were in their 20s, they might have taken a break on the job to call friends andmake after-work plans．In those earlier eras, companies discouraged non-business-related calls, and someone who made personal calls all day risked being fired． It was impossible to imagine the con-stant back-and-forth texting that defines interactions among young people today．Educators are alsobeing asked by parents, students and educational strategists to reconsider their rules．"In past gen-erations, students got in trouble for passing notes in class．Now students are good at texting withtheir phones stiU in their pockets," says 40-year-old Mr．Gallagher, the vice principal,  ”and they're able to communicate with someone one floor down and three rows over．Students are just fun-amentally different today．They will take suspensions rather than give up their phones．"
66．The underlined word“a subconscious act" in the first paragraph refers to an act______
A．on purpose                      B．without realization
C．in secret                       D．with care
67．Young people addicted to the use of Facebook______．
A．are good at dealing with the social relationships and concentrate on their study
B．have high spirits and positive attitudes towards their life and work
C．have been influenced mentally in the aspects of behaviors and habits
D．are always in bad mood and have poor performance in every respect
68．Through the situation of today's older workers in their 20s, it can be inferred that______．
A．the employers will not accept young people's sending text messages
B．a cellphone is a must for today's older workers instead of young people
C．the employers prefer older workers to young people
D．the employers will find it hard to control the interaction among young people
69． Mr． Gallagher reminds us that the students in the past and those today______．
A．like to break rules and have the same means of sending messages
B．are alwa)-s the big problem for the educators and their parents
C．like sending text messages but those today do it in a more secret and skillful way  
D．cannot live without a ceUphone
70．What's the best title of the passage?
A．Teenagers and CeLl．phones         B．Teenagers' Texting Addiction
C．Employers and Teenagers              D．Teenagers' Education    

When you cough or sneeze, you’d better turn your head away from others and cover your mouth with the full part of your hand. And then, you should say, “Excuse me.”
This seems so simple, but it is surprising how many kids have never been told to do this. Actually, I notice adults all the time who cough and sneeze in public without placing a hand over the mouth. One important thing I point out to the kids is that after they sneeze or cough on their hands, they should wash their hands as soon as possible. If not, they will be passing those germs (细菌) along to everything and everyone they touch.
If you come to a door and someone is following you, hold the door. If the door opens by pulling, pull it open, stand to the side, and allow the other person to pass through first, then you can walk through. If the door opens by pushing, hold the door after you pass through.
After a few weeks of seeing kids try to get through doors in the school and watching them enter restaurants as the door hit other people, I knew I had to discuss the problem with my students. Teaching them small acts of kindness, such as letting someone else go through a door first as they hold it open, may seem unimportant, but it can go along way toward helping students realize hot to be polite and thank others. Once they’ve been told, they’re halfway there.
When we have to go up moving stairs, we will stand to the right. That will give others who are in a hurry a choice of walking up the left-hand side of the moving stairs. When we are going to enter a lift, the underground, or a doorway, we will wait for others to exit before we enter.
After college when I moved to London, I was surprised at how polite everyone was in the subways. I was even more touched when I traveled to Japan. In both places, people made efforts to make way for others. On moving stairs, everyone stood to the right and walked to the left. On lifts, everyone would stand over to the side and allow others to exit before they would begin to enter.
【小题1】When you cough or sneeze, you should ________.

A． doctor

B．traveler

C．parent

D．teacher