“Mind your own business．” we’re told．“Don’t talk about others behind their backs．”The problem with this advice is that，not only is it unrealistic，it’s also counterproductive(起反作用的)．

??? Common sense holds that gossip(流言蜚語)hurts people’s feelings and damages relationships．But recent research shows the opposite—that strong communities and relationships between people would be impossible without gossip．

??? Gossip is a way for people to let you know the limits of social behavior．“If you move into a community and your neighbor tells you how the former homeowner never dealt with his rubbish properly，his gossip is letting you in on something，”says Dr．Ralph Rosnow of Temple University．“Gossip says：these are the boundaries and you are crossing them．You’re not abiding by the rules and you’d better get back in line．” Seen this way，gossip is a way to communicate criticism(批評)without conflict(沖突)，giving you a chance to change your behavior without losing face．

??? On the other hand，what about ill-willed gossip，the kind that puts other people down? Gossip is hearing something we like about someone we don’t and，in nearly every country in the world，gossip magazines have huge numbers of readers．According to researchers，however，this kind of gossip also has a good side because it helps us put our own problems in perspective(正確地)．“If we read bad news about well-known people，or get the frightful details of our neighbors’ bad situation over a cup of coffee，our own problems begin to pale in comparison(對比)，”says Dr．Jack Levin of Northeastern University．

??? However，that doesn’t mean that gossip is necessarily a good thing，either．Researchers found that people who gossip a lot tend to feel like they’re under a lot of stress．This might be because while they’re busy talking about other people，they’re also busy thinking what other people are saying about them．
1.What is the purpose of the text?

A．To encourage us to spread gossip about others．

B．To prevent us from spreading gossip about others。

C．To make a comparison between good gossip and bad gossip．

D．To recognize certain positive functions of gossip．

2.According to the passage，people in general think that__________．

A．it’s a bad habit to gossip

B．nobody pays attention to gossip

C．not all the gossip you hear is worth believing

D．it’s necessary to have a nice gossip with a friend or neighbor

3.The underlined phrase “abiding by” in Paragraph 3 most probably means“________”．

A．making??? ????????????? ????????????? B．breaking??? ????????????? ????????????? C．obeying??? ????????????? D．changing

4.It could be learned from the passage that__________.

A. people under much stress enjoy gossiping about others.

B. in a way gossip helps us deal with our own problems.

C. in fact most people tend to believe gossip.

D. the more there is gossip, the stronger relationships become between people.

One Sunday morning the Whites went to the park．They got home very late．Father opened the front door and they all went into the house．It was very dark, so mother turned on（打開）the light．On the way to their bedroom, mother said, “Listen, John! I can hear someone in the bedroom．”They all stood quietly outside the bedroom door．They could hear the voice in the room．

“You’re right,” father said．“There are two men in it．They are talking．”Then he shouted, “Who is there?” But no one answered．Father opened the door quickly and turned on the light．The room was empty．Then father found something and laughed．The radio was on! “I forgot to turn it off this morning,” father said．

（  ） 1．The Whites got home__________．

       A．in the morning     B．in the evening    C．a(chǎn)t noon   D．in the afternoon

（  ） 2．They stood quietly outside the bedroom because____________．

       A．they didn’t want to walk into the bedroom．

       B．they were afraid to go into the bedroom．

       C．they were listening to the music．

       D．they heard someone talking in the bedroom．

（  ） 3．Father shouted but no one answered because_________．

       A．there was no one in the bedroom      B．the men in the room couldn’t hear

       C．his voice wasn’t loud               D．father stood too far away

（  ） 4．The radio worked__________．

       A．a(chǎn) day     B．a(chǎn) night       C．two days       D．many days

（  ） 5．They went into the room and found the voice came from________．

       A．the radio  B．two men      C．themselves     D．the TV

A terrible earthquake happened in Wenchuan on May 12th, 2008    1 ．During those days, a lot of stories about love could be heard．   2 ．After the earthquake, under a fallen building, some soldiers found that a woman died in a very strange way．  3   , they were surprised to find that baby in her arms was still alive．4   Between the dead mother and the living baby, there was a mobile phone with a short message on the screen．

     "My dear baby, if you can survive（幸存）, remember that I love you．"Everybody cried when they read these words．

     Besides this story,  5  , from these stories, we know more about love．

     You're lucky if you're loved by others． You're great　if you love others when you　are in danger．