C
Toronto---A pleasant attitude can do wonders for patients’recovery, according to researchers who reviewed 16 studies that looked at patients’ attitudes toward health. The studies lasted 30 years and looked at patients’ attitudes after operation.
“In each case the better a patient’s expectations about how they would do after operation or some health procedure, the better they did,” said the author  Donald Cole,
of the Institute for Work and Health in Toronto.
“This mind-body connection that we have been toying with for the past couple of decades really does have hard science behind it. The result shows that the power of positive thinking is real,” Cole said.
New York-A Pable Picasso painting sold at Christie’s auction house in New York Wednesday for 55-million dollars. The price  set a new auction record for a Picasso,and is the fifth-highest price ever paid for any work of art at auction.
The painting---Woman with her arms crossed---was purchased by an telephone bidder(投標(biāo)者).Painted in 1902 in Barcelona, the portrait is one of the best-known works from what is called Picasso’s blue period.
Christie’s says the painting by the famous Spanish artist is of a quality not seen on the market in more than 10 years.It sold for more than twice its pre-sale estimate.
Xinhua Agency---It had not come up until the very last minute in Premier Wen Jiabao’s two-hour press conference that concludes the annual sessions of the national legislature and political advisory body. But when it did it, it became an immediate catch phrase at home.
“I think fairness and justice are more glorious than the sun.” said Wen, responding to the laast question in yesterday’s press session. Which turned out to be the most-quoted lines in domestic media.
49.News Item 1 intends to make us believe that______.
A.    positive thinking can make people healthy
B.     a better attitude results in a better operation
C.     researchers have observed 16 patients’ recovery during the past 30 years
D.    great attention has been paid to how attitudes affect health
50.Which of the following is NOT true about the painting Woman with her arms crossed?
A.    The painting was once thought to be worth around $25 million.
B.     The painting is one of the most expensive pictures ever sold at auction.
C.     The painting was purchased through telephone.
D.    The painting has not been seen on the market for more than 10 years.
51. “I think fairness and justice are more glorious than the sun.” where does Wen say this?
A.   At an online interview
B.    At a press conference
C.    At a meeting to all the leaders
D.   At a speech in Beijing University

When a dirty and untidy orange cat showed up in the prison yard，I was one of the first to go out there and pet it．I hadn’t touched a cat or a dog in over 20 years．I spent at least 20 minutes，knelt down behind the kitchen as the cat rolled around，relaxed．What he was expressing outwardly, I was feeling inwardly．It was an amazing bit of grace to feel him under my hand and note that I was reaching a life or another creature with something as simple as my care．

Over the next few days，there were other prisoners responding to the cat．Every yard period，a group of prisoners gathered there．They stood around talking and taking turns petting the cat．These were guys you wouldn’t usually find talking to each other．Several times I saw an officer in the group，not chasing people away, but just watching and seeming to enjoy along with the prisoners．Bowls of milk and water appeared along with bread, wisely placed under the edge of the dustbin to keep the birds from getting it．

The cat was obviously homeless and in pretty bad shape．People said that the cat came to the right place．He's getting treated like a king．This was true．but as 1 watched 1 was also thinking about what the cat was doing for us．There was a lot of talk about what's wrong with prisons in America．We need more programs．We need more psychologists or treatment of various kinds．Some may even talk about making prisons more kind．But I think what we really need is a chance to practise our own kindness．Not receive it，but give it．After more than two decades here，I know kindness is not a value that's encouraged．It's often seen as a weakness．

Instead，the culture encourages keeping your head down，minding your own business，and never letting yourself be weak．

The cat did my heart good to see the effect he had on me and the men here．By simply saying，”I need some help here”，he did something important for us．He needed us．And we needed to be needed．I believe we all do．

1.From the passage，we can learn that the author was        ．

A．a(chǎn)n animal protector                     B．the cat owner

C．a(chǎn) prison officer                         D．a(chǎn) prisoner

2.Which of the following statements is true?

A．The cat was dirty because it was kept in prison．

B．The officer in the prison enjoyed petting the cat．

C．The prisoners prepared food for both the cat and birds．

D．The author realized the importance of practising kindness．

3.We can infer from the third paragraph that              ．

A．showing love to others can make prisoners strong

B．the American prison culture will be improved

C．the author is not content with the prison culture

D．caring for others is encouraged in American prisons

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A．Caring Makes Us Human．                B．Prison Culture is Important．

C．Animals Need Care．                    D．Everyone Needs to be Cared for．

Anne Whitney, a sophomore(二年級(jí)學(xué)生) at Colorado State University, first had a problem taking tests when she began college. "I was always well prepared for my tests. Sometimes I studied for weeks before a test. Yet I would go in to take the test, only to find I could not answer the questions correctly. I would blank out because of nervousness and fear. I couldn't think of the answer. My low grades on the tests did not show what I knew to the teacher ."  Another student in microbiology and similar experiences. He said ,"My first chemistry test was very difficult. Then, on the second test, I sat down to take it, and I was so nervous that I was shaking. My hands were moving up and down so quickly that it was hard to hold my pencil. I knew the material and I knew the answers. Yet I couldn't even write them down!"

 These two young students were experiencing something called test anxiety. Because a student worries and it uneasy about a test, his or her mind does not work as well as it usually does. The student can't write or think clearly because of the extreme tension and nervousness. Although poor grades are often a result of poor study habits, sometimes test anxiety causes the low grades. Recently, test anxiety had been recognized as a real problem, not just an excuse or a false explanation of lazy students.

  Special university counseling courses try to help students. In these courses, counselors try to help students by teaching them how to manage test anxiety .At some universities, students take tests to measure their anxiety. If the tests show their anxiety is high, the students can take short courses to help them deal with their tension. These courses teach students how to relax their bodies .Students are trained to become calm in very tense situations. By controlling their nervousness, they can let their minds work at ease .Learned information then comes out without difficulty on a test.

  An expert at the University of California explains. "With almost all students, relaxation and less stress are felt after taking out program .Most of then experience better control during their tests. Almost all have some improvement. With some, the improvement is very great."

1.To "blank out" is probably______.

A. to be like a blanket                      B. to be sure of an answer

C. to be unable to think clearly               D. to show knowledge to the teacher

2.Poor grades are usually the result of _______.

A. poor hygienic(衛(wèi)生的) habits            B. laziness

C. lack of sleep                          D. being unable to form good study habits

3.Test anxiety has been recognized as _______.

A. an excuse for laziness                  B. the result of poor habits

C. a real problem                        D. something that can't be changed

4.To deal with this problem, students say they want to ______.

A .take a short course on anxiety           

B read about anxiety

C. be able to manage or understand their anxiety

  D take test to prove they are not anxiety

5.A University of California counselor said_______.

A. all students could overcome the anxiety after taking a special test anxiety program

B. almost all students felt less stress after taking a University of California counseling course

C. students found it difficult to improve even though they had taken a special test anxiety course

D. students found it easy to relax as soon as they entered a University of California counseling course

The city can seem a cold, mean place. In the middle of so many people hurrying about their own business, a person can feel alone among the millions of others.

    There is a popular view that in cities, strangers are less likely to help an elderly person cross a street or call the police when they see a bike being stolen. Recently, a New Yorker named Casey Neistat did an experiment. He chained up his bike in several public places, then "stole" it in a number of obvious ways, such as using a hacksaw (鋼鋸). He filmed everything to see whether other New Yorkers would try to stop a shameless bike theft. The result? People just walked on by.

    Is this evidence of an immoral, selfish urban society? Not necessarily. According to another recent study, the way city people mind their own business is about other factors besides morality (道德).

This is called the Bystander Effect, the theory that city people do not react because of the urban enviromnent they live in.

Psychologist Dr. Harold explained why people did not involve themselves in Neistat's bike theft experiment with the Bystander Effect.

    First, people who live in cities are surrounded by so much activity that they stop noticing what is going on around them. Second, they are less easy to surprise and assume every activity has a logical explanation.

    "The third is that people notice it, but they don't know what to do," he continued. "And the fourth is fear — they know they should do something, but they're afraid to challenge someone with a hacksaw."

A lack of concern is only a small reason why people don't take action, concludes Dr. Harold.

     Despite the results of Neistat's experiment, there is also evidence of a sense of team spirit that connects people in cities. All it takes is a funny joke or a shared interest to start a conversation with someone at a bus stop. When city folk are in trouble, they come together for support — famously in New York on September 11, 2001.

City society is different, but that doesn't mean it's cold or mean — it just means it's busy!

1.Casey Neistat fihned everything in the experiment with the purpose of        .

    A. proving that he was not the thief

    B. telling people that bike theft was immoral

    C. finding out who had a sense of right and wrong

    D. making his experiment well-known to the public

2.We can infer from the third paragraph that morality       .

    A. can partly explain a selfish urban society

    B. is what our society should pay special attention to

    C. is the only factor that leads to a selfish urban society

    D. is the root of the Bystander Effect mentioned in the passage

3.The underlined part September 11, 2001 in Paragraph 9 serves as       .

    A. a reminder of the sad memories

    B. a way to prove Dr Harold's Bystander effect

    C. evidence that city life can be really dangerous

    D. an example to show team spirit connecting city people

4.As can be inferred from the passage, the writer probably       .

    A. criticizes the loss of morality in urban society

    B. feels sad about the result of Neistat's experiment

    C. thinks city people are too busy to care about others

D. disagrees that city life sometimes can be cold and mean

As the sound of footsteps behind her grew louder, she quickened her pace. She didn’t want to turn around as the memory of that morning’s newspaper headline made her afraid of what she would see: “City Killer Claims Fourth Victim.”

“Why did I stop for a few drinks in the bar after work?” she thought to herself. Now it was dark and the streets deserted. She was alone and a sitting duck.

She felt as if she was walking in the rain. Her clothes were damp from nervous sweat and as each short hot breath hit the night air, it turned to steam, coating her glasses in a thin film so all she saw seemed covered in fog.

The footsteps were closer now. She needed to get off this street. Her eyes began a useless search for an open store or lighted window. Passing a small lane she looked through，for a possible escape route. But the lane was a dead - end and she laughed to herself at the irony.

The sound of a car behind her turning onto the street interrupted her self – pity. Escape was at hand. But as she was about to throw herself onto the road and shout for the car to stop, the car’s headlights cast a shadow that paralyzed （使癱瘓） her with terror.

It was the footsteps’ owner. The figure was huge and in its raised arm it held what looked like a lead-pipe, no doubt the one that was about to claim victim number five.

The shadow dissolved as the car passed by and disappeared into the distance. She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was all happening as if in slow – motion. She was waiting for her life to flash before her eyes like all those novels said it would – but it didn’t. The only thing she thought of was her dear husband. She recalled phoning him from work that very afternoon and joking about, of all things, the city killer. It was a night full of ironies.

There was a voice talking to her now but she was lost in thoughts of her fate and didn’t respond. The hand then began turning her around. It was surprisingly gentle given what was about to come. She allowed it to guide her without resistance. （抵抗；反抗）

She looked up. She recognized the face, but she didn’t know from where. Its mouth was still talking to her but she couldn’t understand. Then she remembered. The face belonged to the foreign looking man who had served her at the bar. She looked down to his hand and saw in it not a lead – pipe but a rolled up copy of a work report she had been correcting in the bar as she drank.

His words suddenly started to register in her brain and she could hear him. “Miss, Miss. Are you OK? You left this in the bar and it looked important so I thought I’d better give it to you.”

1.The woman was feeling nervous because        .

A．she had left her report in the bar

B．there was a killer in the city

C．she was being followed by someone

D．the streets were dark and empty

2.The underlined expression “a sitting duck” (paragraph 2) is closest in meaning to “        ”.

A．a(chǎn)n easy target                          B．a(chǎn) frightened person

C．a(chǎn) foolish animal                         D．a(chǎn) still position

3.What is the correct order of events that happened to the woman on the day of the story?

a. She went for a drink in a bar.   b. She corrected the report.

c. She heard loud footsteps.    d. She read the newspaper.

e. She called her husband.  f. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

A．d,c,a,e,b,f         B．c,d,a,e,f,b          C．d,a,b,e,c,f         D．d,e,a,b,c,f

4.Why did the woman laugh when she looked into the lane?

A．She was excited because she thought it may be a way to escape.

B．She felt bitter because she had no chance to escape.

C．She was becoming more and more nervous.

D．She realized that she was behaving foolishly.

5.Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

A．It was raining when she left the bar.

B．The woman had felt nervous about the city killer for days.

C．The temperature was very low that evening.

D．The woman was behaving unreasonably.