第4部分:阅读理解(第31~45题,每题3分,共45分) 下面有3篇短文,每篇短文后有5道题。请根据短文内容,为每题确定1个最佳选项。
31、回答31-45题:
Happiness
A proverb allegedly (据说) from ancient China was widely spread in the West:“If you want to be happy for a few hours,go to get drunk;if you want the happiness to last three years,get married:if you want a lifetime happiness,take up gardening.”The reason for the last option is this:Gardening is not only useful;it helps you to identify yourself with nature,and thus brings you new joy each day besides improving your health.
A research of a US university that I've read gives a definition of happiness as what makes a person feel comfortably pleased.To put it specifically, happiness is an active state of mind where one thinks one's life is meaningful, satisfactory and comfortable.This should be something lasting rather than transitory.
Lots of people regard it the happiest to be at leisure.But according to the study, it is not a person with plenty of leisure but one at work that feels happy, especially those busy with work having little time for leisure.Happiness does not spell gains one is after but a desire to harvest what one is seeking for.People often do not cherish what they already have but yearn for what they cannot get.That is somewhat like a man indulging in dreams of numerous lovers while reluctant to settle down with the woman beside him.
Happiness is a game balancing between two ends -- what one has and what one wishes for, i.e.one's dream and the possibility to realize it. The study comes to this conclusion: A happy man is one who aims high but never forgets his actual situation; one who meets challenges that tap his ability and potentiality; one who is proud of his achievements and the recognition given to him.He has self-respect and self-confidence; treasures his own identity and loves freedom.He is sociable and enjoys wide-range communication with others; he is helpful and ready to accept assistance.He knows he is able to endure sufferings and frustrations; he is sensible enough to get fun from daily chores. He is a man capable of love and passion.
Gardening can bring lifelong happiness because
A.it is a profitable business.
B.it can improve a gardener's ability to remake nature.
C.a gardener can enjoy a very happy relationship in marriage.
D.nature is an unexhausted source of joy
32、 The research of the US university found that most people feel happy when they
A.are at leisure.
B.take the job of gardening.
C.are after their goals.
D.own great properties.
33、 Why does the writer mention "a man indulging in dreams of numerous lovers" (Lines 5 --6, Para.3)?
A.To demonstrate the problem in marriage in modern society.
B.To illustrate a radical way to achieve happiness.
C.To criticize those who do not value what they already have.
D.To indicate that happiness covers something besides the desire to gain
34、 What kind of person is more likely to be unhappy according to the study?
A.The one who has self-respect and confidence.
B.The one who is ambitious without consideration of his actual situation.
C.The one who can take pleasure in communicating with others.
D.The one who are ready to render help and accept help from others.
35、 What is happiness?
A.A transitory state of mind.
B.Getting everything what one desires.
C.An all-working and no-leisure life.
D.A desire based on our actual situation.
36、回答36-50题:
The Best Way to Reduce Your Weight
You hear this:“No wonder you are fat.All you ever do is eat.”You feel sad:“I skip my breakfast and supper.I run every morning and evening.What else can I do?”Basically you can do nothing.Your genes,not your life habits,determine your weight and your body constantly tries to maintain it.
Albert Stunkard of the University of Pennsylvania found from experiments that,“80 percent of the children of two obese parents become obese,as compared with no more than 14 percent of the offspring of two parents of normal weight.”
How can obese people become normal or even thin through dieting?Well,dieting can be effective,but the health costs are tremendous.Jules Hirsch,a research physician at Rockefeller University,did a study of eight fat people.They were given a liquid formula providing 600 calories a day1.After more than 10 weeks,the subjects lost 45kg on average.But after leaving the hospital,they all regained.The results were surprising:by metabolic measurement,fat people who lost large amounts of weight seemed like they were starving.They had psychiatric problems.They dreamed of food or breaking their diet2.They were anxious and depressed;some were suicidal.They hid food in their rooms.Researchers warn that it is possible that weight reduction doesn’t result in normal weight,but in an abnormal state resembling that of starved non-obese people.
Thin people,however,suffer from the opposite:They have to make a great effort to gain weight.Ethan Sims,of the University of Vermont,got prisoners to volunteer to gain weight.In four to six months,they ate as much as they could.They succeeded in increasing their weight by 20 to 25 percent.But months after the study ended,they were back to normal weight and stayed there.
This did not mean that people are completely without hope in controlling their weight.It means that those who tend to be fat will have to constantly battle their genetic inheritance if they want to significantly lower their weight.
The findings also provide evidence for something scientists thought was true-each person has a comfortable weight range3.The range might be as much as 9kg.Someone might weigh 60-69kg without too much effort.But going above or below the natural weight range is difficult.The body resists by feeling hungry or full and changing the metabolism to push the weight back to the range it seeks.
What determines your weight?
A.Your working manner.
B.Your eating habit.
C.Your life style.
D.Your genes.
37、 What did Jules Hirsch do in his study?
A.He let the eight fat people skip supper.
B.He let the eight fat people skip breakfast.
C.He let the eight fat people run every morning and evening.
D.He gave the eight fat people a liquid formula providing 600 calories a day.
38、 What happened to the eight fat people after they left the hospital?
A.They went mad.
B.They killed themselves.
C.They were back to normal weight.
D.They attempted suicide.
39、 What did Ethan Sims make his subjects do?
A.Battle their genetic inheritance.
B.Increase their weight.
C.Stay at home.
D.Lower their weight.
40、 What did scientists think was true?
A.Each person has a fixed weight range.
B.Each person has a weight range of 9 kg.
C.Each person wants to control his weight.
D.Each person wants to eat to his heart’s content.
41、回答41-55题:
Evidence of Ancient Hunters
Russian and Norwegian scientists have reported finding stone objects and animal bones in the far north of European Russia.The scientists say the objects provide the first evidence that ancient hunters lived in the area more than 30 thousand years ago.They say this is at least 15 thousand years earlier than experts had thought.
The Russian and Norwegian team worked at a camp along the Usa River and the Arctic Circle.The scientists say they found several ancient stone tools.They also found 123 bones from animals such as horses, reindeer(驯鹿)and wolves.
The scientists say their most important discovery was a tusk from an ancient elephant called a mammoth(猛犸).The huge, curved tooth was more than l meter long.The tusk is covered with small cuts.The scientists believe humans made the marks with sharp-edged stone tools.
The scientists used a process known as radiocarbon(放射性碳)dating to measure the age of the tusk.Radiocarbon dating shows the level of a radioactive form of carbon in a substance.The tests showed the tusk is about 36 thousand years old.
The scientists say they are not sure what kind of humans left the stone objects and bones along the river.They said the people were either early humans called Neanderthals(穴居人,尼安德特人) or modern humans. Modern humans spread through Europe and Asia 30 thousand years ago.The scientists say the ancient people needed a high level of social development to survive in the extremely cold environment.
The objects were discovered about 300 kilometers northeast of another area where scientists say humans once lived.That area has objects more closely linked to modern humans.Those objects are believed to be about 28 thousand years old.
Nature magazine also published a report by John Gowlett of the University of Liverpool in England.He said the discovery shows the ability of early humans to do the unexpected.He also said the discovery should renew debate about the effects of the climate on the movements of early human population.
Before people found stone objects and animal bones in the north of European Russia, some experts thought human beings lived in that area about
A.30 thousand years ago
B.20 thousand years ago
C.28 thousand years ago
D.15 thousand years ago
42、 The following statements are true concerning the significance of the finding EXCEPT that
A.it brings forwards the time in which ancient hunters lived in that area
B.it provides the evidence of a high level of ancient human society
C.it showed the unexpected ability of the early humans
D.it indicates the effect of climate on the movement of early human population
43、 Which is the most important discovery among the findings
A.A long elephant tusk.
B.Ancient stone tools.
C.123 bones from animals.
D.mammoth tusk covered with small cuts
44、 How old is the tusk? About years old
A.25 thousand
B.28 thousand
C.36 thousand
D.40 thousand
45、 What did the ancient people need to survive in the extremely cold environment
A.the ability to do the unexpected
B.a high level of social development
C.thick clothes
D.small animals to feed on