Dennis Sinar, 51, a doctor from Washington, N. C., is quick to explain why he took a yearlong break from his job. “I was pretty burned out after practicing medicine for 26 years. I needed a recharge.” So he took a “gap year”, from July 2011 to June 2012, to explore things like ancient buildings, antique restoration, and traditional Eastern medicine, in locations including Alaska, Nepal and Romania.

“Taking a break from work is an excellent way for adults to go into a new career or refresh an old one,” said Holly Bull, president of the Center for Interim（過渡時期）Programs in Princeton, N, J., which sets up gap-year programs. The group works mainly with college-age students, but it has also served older adults since it was formed 28 years ago. “In recent years, mid-career breaks have been gaining more interest,” she said. A report on adult gap years published this year by a market research company also described the potential（潛在的）American market for gap years as a “sleeping giant.”

“A gap year is a challenge for the older individual to step out of a comfort zone and take a risk. I enjoyed that side most.” said Dr. Sinar, who kept a daily blog about his experience. His time studying Eastern medicine “reaffirmed（再次肯定）the reasons I went into health care,” said Dr. Sinar, who returned to practice medicine at his old job, although he works fewer days. “I use those experiences to provide my patients with more care,” he added. “And I listen better than I did before.”

George Garritan, chairman of the Department of Leadership and Human Capital Management at New York University, certainly agrees with Dr. Sinar. He said a gap-year experience could be worthwhile for employees and companies. For employees, investing in themselves and improving skill sets is a move that will benefit throughout their career. He added that returning employees feel refreshed and have given more thought to their career. For companies, offering unpaid leaves makes good sense for attracting and keeping talented employees.

“My hope is that this takes off,” Dr. Garritan said. “We’re all thinking, ‘What’s my next act?’ ”

59. Dr. Sinar took a gap year because he _________.

A. gave up his old job

B. felt exhausted after 26 years’ work

C. wanted to travel very much

D. became interested in historical research

60. After his gap year, Dr. Sinar _________.

A. became more considerate in his job       B. regretted taking a “gap year”

C. was eager to explore ancient buildings     D. Improved his speaking ability

61. What’s George Garritan’s attitude toward the “gap year”?

A. Unhappy..        B. Positive                   C. Uninterested.          D. Negative.

62. What’s the passage mainly about?

A. Whether a gap year is popular with adults.

B. How an adult plans a mid-career gap year.

C. Why a gap year is worthwhile for adults.

D. Why a gap year is challenging for individuals.

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

       Millions of people visit Yosemite National Park every year to see the tall waterfalls and mountains. These mountains are a splendid sight when viewed form the valley floor. Lots of stores, hotels, and restaurants are needed to handle the crowds. Also, water, roads, and other service systems are part of the infrastructure (基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施) that must be maintained.

       Unfortunately, these systems are starting to break down. It’s not just in Yosemite but in national parks around the nation.

       Yosemite is thirty years old according to Dennis Galvin, a National Park Service worker. The Park is not only old but worn out. Two or three times as many visitors come every year. That is too many visitors for the park to deal with.

       Four years ago a storm washed out a water pipeline in the Grand Canyon. The National Park Service had to send water trucks to provide water for the visitors. Last month pipes almost broke again and roads had to be closed for a while.

       Why hasn’t the National Park Service kept up the park repairs? There is a lack of money. The United States has 378 monuments, parks, and wilderness areas. Between three and four billion dollars are needed for repairs.

       Yosemite is one national park that does have money for repairs. It has two hundred million dollars but cannot spend it any way it chooses. When the park workers started widening the road, they were forced to stop by the Sierra Club. The club claimed that the road work was damaging the Merced River that runs through the park.

       A sierra Club lawyer, Julia Olson, feels that the infrastructure needs to be moved out of Yosemite. That way less pressure will be put on the already crowded park.

65. According to the text, the mountains in Yosemite look most splendid when they are appreciated from ______.

A. the bottom of the valleys                               B. the top of the mountains

C. the side of the mountains                              D. the edge of the valleys

66.National parks like Yosemite in the U.S. find it increasingly difficult to meet the need of

visitors because ______.

A. their transport management needs improving

B. they spend too much on their service systems

C. their service systems frequently go out of order

D. they need help from environmental organizations

67.The main problem of Yosemite National Park is its ______.

A. rundown water pipes                                    B. overcrowdedness

C. lack of money                                              D. narrow roads

68.   According to the text, the Sierra Club is most likely to be ______.

A. an environmental group                                 B. an information center

C. a travel service                                               D. a law firm

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

   Millions of people visit Yosemite National Park every year to see the tall waterfalls and mountains. Thee mountains are a splendid sight when viewed from the valley floor. Lots of stores, hotels, and restaurants are needed to handle the crowds. Also, water, roads, and other service systems are part of the infrastructure(基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施)that must be maintained。

Unfortunately，these systems are starting to break down. It’s not just in Yosemite but in national parks around the nation.

Yosemite is thirty years old according to Dennis Galvin, a National Park Service worker. The park is not only old but worn out. Two or three times as many visitors come every year. That is too many visitors for the parks to deal with.

Four years ago a storm washed out a water pipeline in the Grand Canyon. The National Park service had to send water trucks to provide water for the visitors. Last month pipes almost broke again and roads had to be closed for a while.

Why hasn’t the National Park Service kept up the park repairs? There is a lack of money. The United States has 378 monuments, parks, and wilderness areas. Between three and four billion dollars are needs for repairs.

Yosemite is one national park that does have money for repairs. It has two hundred million dollars but cannot spend it any way it chooses. When the park workers started widening the road, they were forced to stop by the Sierra Club. The club claimed that the road work was damaging the Merced River that runs through the park.

A sierra Club lawyer, Julia Olson, feels that the infrastructure needs to be moved out of Yosemite. That way less pressure will be put on the already crowded park.

65. According to the text, the mountains in Yosemite look most splendid when they are appreciated from _______

A. the bottom of the valleys   B. the top of the mountains

C. the side of the mountains    D. the edge of the valleys

66. National parks like Yosemite in the U.S. find it increasingly difficult to meet the need of visitors because ________

A that transport management needs improving 

B. they spend too much on their service systems

C. their service systems frequently go out of order

D. they need help from environmental organizations

67. The main problem of Yosemite National Park is its _______

A. rundown water pipes   B. overcrowdedness   C. lack of money   D. narrow roads

68. According to the text, the Sierra Club is most likely to be ______

A. an environmental group  B. an information center  C. a travel service  D. a law firm

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科目：高中英語 來源：2012-2013學(xué)年江西贛州市十一縣（市）高一上學(xué)期期中聯(lián)考英語試卷（帶解析） 題型：閱讀理解

What is the connection between violence and sports? Psychologists（心理學(xué)家） say that there are many reasons for violence at sports events. One is alcohol（酒精）. Many fans drink a lot at games. When people drink, they are more likely to do abnormal things. Psychologist Dennis Brock says, “Quiet people become loud. Normally nonviolent people become destructive.”
David Sampson, a sports sociologist, agrees, “These are often celebratory riots(暴亂)— a large number of very happy people mixed in with large amounts of alcohol. They don’t often seem dangerous in the beginning, but things get violent quickly.”
Another reason for violence at sports events is the crowd itself. When individuals are in a large group of people, they can lose their sense of personal responsibility. Edward Hirt, a social Psychologist, says that research shows that people do things in crowds that they would never do alone. People in crowds feel that no one knows who they are. Crowds also make people feel powerful. They stop making personal decisions. They just follow the crowd. Social psychologists call this a “mob mentality.”
Dave Zarifis, head of public safety at Northern Iowa University says, “Some people don’t even come to celebrate. They want to drink hard and make trouble. Someone does something stupid, and it grows from there. You get a mob mentality. People think it’s OK to do almost anything. They think, ‘There are so many of us and not enough of them.’ ”
Social psychologist Dr. Sharon Kennedy says that there are a few things officials can do to prevent violence. Making sure that an area is not overcrowded is very important. Officials should also think of games as “big parties.” Then they will prepare differently. Kennedy says that in Great Britain they are controlling the problem with cameras in all the stadiums. “When you know someone is watching, you are much less likely to behave badly.”
【小題1】Which of the following best gives the main idea of the first two paragraphs? 

A．There’s a connection between violence and sports
B．There are many reasons for violence at sports events.
C．One cause of violence at sports events is alcohol.
D．David Sampson and Dennis Brock have the same opinion.
【小題2】Which of the following does NOT belong to a “mob mentality”?
A．“ No one knows I’m doing this.”
B．“ It’s safe to do what many people are doing.”
C．“There are so many of us and not enough of them.”
D．“I must drink some alcohol to stop myself feeling shy.”
【小題3】How many experts are quoted by the writer of this passage?
A．Five. B．Four.C．Three.D．Two.
【小題4】The last paragraph is mainly about ______.
A．how to turn games into big parties
B．how to prevent violence at sports events
C．why to fix cameras in stadiums
D．how to avoid oneself behaving badly
【小題5】What lesson can we learn from this passage?
A．Never drink any alcohol no matter where you are.
B．Whenever you are watching a game, you should keep quiet.
C．Never follow blindly no matter how many people are doing something.
D．Be careful when you are at a stadium because there are cameras there.

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科目：高中英語 來源：2010屆福建省龍巖市高三上學(xué)期期末聯(lián)考 題型：閱讀理解

 

第三部分：閱讀理解（共20小題；每小題2分，滿分40分）

Most children, even the youngest of children, are delighted to be around cats and dogs. But these pets carry plenty of germs and allergens(過敏原), prompting researchers to ask: Are cats and dogs really safe for children?

A study finds that, contrary to many parents’ fears, owning cats or dogs does not increase a child’s risk of developing allergies, and in fact, may actually protect them. The study’s lead author, Dr. Dennis Ownby of the Medical College of Georgia, said that even he was “very surprised” by the results. Ownby and colleagues followed more than 470 children from birth to age 6 or 7, comparing those exposed to cats and dogs during their first years of life to those who were not.

By using skin-prick tests for detecting common allergies, the researchers found that, contrary to what many doctors had been taught for years, children who had lived with a pet were not at greater risk.

Even more remarkable, children who had two or more dogs or cats had an even greater reduction, up to 77 percent, in risk of allergies. Researchers suggest this protective effect may be the result of early exposure to lots of bacteria that are carried by dogs and cats. Exposing young children to these bacteria helps “exercise” their immune（免疫的） systems early in life so that they’re better able to resist allergic diseases later.

“There’s something very important in the first years of life when the immune system is developing that we can retrain it away from an allergic response,” said Dr. William Davis.

And while researchers are not encouraging parents to buy dogs or cats just to reduce a child’s allergy risk, they say if a family already has one or more animals, there’s no need to get rid of them.

56．Why do the researchers feel “very surprised” by the results of the study?

A. Because the results are contrary to what they have expected.

B. Because so many families are going to get rid of their cats and dogs.

C. Because parents are so much worried about their children.

D. Because children with animals may develop allergies easily.

57．Compared with children who have pets, those who haven’t ________.

A. will lose the chance to develop immune system

B. may suffer allergic diseases more often

C. will reduce the harm from bacteria

D. are more likely to resist allergic diseases

58.．It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A. pets are ill-treated by their owners

B. fewer families would like to own cats and dogs

C. keeping pets is a good way to keep children healthy

D. the results of the study can make families with pets feel at ease

59．The underlined word “it” in the fifth paragraph refers to ________.

A. the early life                       B. an allergic disease

C. immune system                     D. something important

60．What may be the best title of the passage?

A. How to protect your kids from allergies.  B. Your pets may be helping your kids.

C. Bacteria do good to your kids.          D. Advantages of owning pets.

 

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