Spending a lot of time watching TV, playing video games and surfing the Web causes a lot of healthy problems to children such as overweight and smoking, US researchers said yesterday.

U.S. experts analyzed 173 studies on how media sources influence the physical health of children and adolescents (青少年). The studies, mostly carried out in the United States, largely focused on television, but some looked at video games, films, music, computer and Internet use. Three quarters of them found that increased media viewing was connected with poor health.

The studies offered strong evidence that children who get more media exposure are more likely to become overweight, start smoking and begin earlier sexual activity than those who spend less time in front of a screen, the researchers said. Studies also showed more media exposure is linked to drug and alcohol use and poorer school performance. “We were pretty surprised by the number of studies that showed these negative health results,” said one of the researchers in the report.

For decades, experts have worried about the effect on young viewers of the violence and sexual content in some TV programs, movies and video games. Another issue is that kids are spending time sitting on a couch（長沙發(fā)) watching TV or playing computer games when they could be running around outside.

One study found that children who spend more than eight hours watching TV per week at age 3 are more likely to be overweight at 7. And research showed that many US children watch far more. Another study showed TV and other media content can have a deep influence on children’s attitudes and beliefs, particularly among teens. A US study published in November showed that adolescents who watched more programs with sexual themes had a higher risk of becoming pregnant (懷孕的) or causing a pregnancy. Thirteen of 14 studies that evaluated (評估）sexual behavior found a connection between media exposure and earlier sexual behavior, the researchers said.

57. How did the experts carry out their research?

A. By examining health problems including overweight and smoking.

B. By analyzing 173 studies on influences of media sources.

C. By watching TV, playing video games and surfing the Web.

D. By offering strong evidence that children become overweight.

58. According to the passage, too much media exposure may cause the following EXCEPT _______.

A. drug and alcohol use                                    B. overweight, smoking, sexual problem

C. progress in school subjects                           D. poor health results and violence

59. By mentioning adolescent pregnancy, the author tries to tell us that _______.

A. we’d better get rid of TV, movies, and the Internet

B. the present generation of youths is hopeless

C. sexual themes are as bad as violent themes

D. some media contents have a bad effect on teens

60. What’s the best title for this passage?

A. What’s the Cause of Children’s Overweight?    

B. Violence and Sexual content in TV programs.

C. Lots of TV, Video, Web Harms Kids’ Health.

D. Media Exposure and Adolescent Pregnancy.

Happiness is infectious, researchers reported on Thursday. The more happy people you know, the more likely you are yourself to be happy. And getting connected to happy people improves a person’s own happiness. Researchers have been analyzing a collection of facts from tracking sheets（跟蹤調(diào)查卷）dating back to 1971, following births, marriages, deaths, and divorces. Volunteers also listed the information of their closest friends, co-workers, and neighbors.

They assessed (評估) happiness with a simple, four-question test. “People are asked how often during the past week, one, I enjoyed life, two, I was happy, three, I felt hopeful about the future, and four, I felt that I was just as good as other people,” Fowler said. The 60 percent of people who scored highly on all four questions were regarded as happy, while the rest were considered unhappy.

People with the most social connections ― friends, spouses (配偶), neighbors, relatives ― were also the happiest, the data showed. “Each additional happy person makes you happier,” Christakis said.

And happiness is more infectious than unhappiness, they discovered. If a social contact is happy, it increases the possibility that you are happy by 15 percent. A friend of a friend, or the friend of a spouse or a sibling (兄弟姐妹), if they are happy, increases your chances by 10 percent. A happy third-degree friend ― the friend of a friend of a friend ― increases a person’s chances of being happy by 6 percent. But every extra unhappy friend increases the possibility that you’ll be unhappy by only 7 percent.

The finding is interesting and useful. Among other benefits, happiness has been shown to have an important effect on reduced death rate, pain reduction, and improved heart function. So better understanding of how happiness spreads can help us learn how to promote a healthier society. Other data suggested having extra $5,000 increases a person’s chances of becoming happier by about 2 percent. A happy friend is worth about $40,000.

53. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “infectious”?

A. Bringing trouble to society.                B. Spreading from one to another.

C. Passing diseases to others.                D. Affecting one’s own family. 

54. According to the research, if you want to be happy, you’d better have more _______.

A. neighbor communication                  B. social connections    

C. siblings’ support                           D. relatives’ relations

55. Which of the following contributes most to your happiness?

A. A happy third-degree friend.                

B. A complaining close friend of yours.

C. A happy friend of your brother’s.                

D. A happy colleague you see every day.

56. The finding of the research mainly shows _______.

A. happiness can always be bought with money.      

B. a happy friend is worth more than a happy spouse

C. the spread of happiness can lead to a healthier society 

D. happiness can cure most of the terrible diseases

Has anyone been prepared for the possibility that unexpected poor visibility (能見度) will stop the pilot from landing? If your pilot is forced to turn back only for his lack of passing a certain test, you will be certainly shocked. This very thing happened to the passengers on Flight BE1431 on Thursday. Just minutes before landing on Charles de Gaulle Airport (戴高樂機場), Paris, the pilot, a very experienced one, told his passengers, “Unfortunately I’m not qualified to land in Paris for the poor visibility. To do so a level II qualification（資格）is required, which I have not gained. We’ll have to fly back.” Then, you may guess how the passengers felt about their flight back to the starting airport.

    A spokeswoman said the pilot was really experienced with more than 30 years flying a number of different passenger aircraft types. “But he has recently transferred from flying a BQ300 to a BQ400, so he has to regain his qualification for landing in such conditions as the thick fog he experienced this time,” she said. “The pilot, therefore, quite correctly turned the aircraft back, a decision 100 percent accepted by the aviation (航空) officials in the company.”

One passenger said she had missed an appointment for an interview in Paris. “I might have had a nice chance to work in Paris,” she told the local newspaper. “The whole thing sounds hard to believe. If I had not been on the plane, I would take it as a funny story!”

The British Civil Aviation Authority described the incident as one that was “quite unusual but probably not unheard of,” because there are different classifications (等級) of aircraft with different qualifications for landing in different climatic conditions and when an aircraft is updated, the pilots have to get retrained, even though they have enough skills to do the job successfully.

Poor pilot, it’s not really his fault...    

49. According to the passage, it was _______ that mainly caused the aircraft to fly back.

     A. the unusual thick fog                               B. the pilot’s qualification

C. the air traffic controller                           D. the airline company

50. The spokeswoman thought _______.

   A. the pilot did a funny thing                        B. the pilot lacked the ability

   C. the pilot should not fly the new plane        D. the pilot did what he should

51. Without her own experience, the passenger would consider the incident to be quite _______.

   A. unsafe               B. normal              C. unbelievable      D. acceptable

52. Which of the following is true?

   A. It was the airline’s fault to require pilots to update qualification.、

   B. The announcement made by the pilot seemed quite interesting.

   C. Actually, the pilot had the ability of landing the plane safe.

   D. The weather above the Airport was within the pilot’s expectation.

When hunting for a job in a weak economy, every detail counts. It’s no longer good enough to be a qualified applicant, so job clubs can be of much help.

What is a Job Club?  Job connection clubs are small groups of people across America who meet regularly to talk about job searching and career. These clubs support the success of all members. Looking for work chances is made easier when you’re not alone. Job clubs are rooted in the belief that each member has something valuable to contribute and that everyone will benefit from the advice and encouragement. http://www.ks5u.com/

Why start or join a job club?  Job searching can possibly be a lonely and discouraging process, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Becoming part of a local job club can offer valuable help. It may also bring a strong sense of confidence that gets you going in the right direction. When you know that your fellow members expect to hear regularly about your progress, you’re more likely to have a positive attitude towards the club meeting. To support your success, the club will provide practical suggestions, including specific (特定的) discussion topics to get you started and keep you encouraged along the way of overcoming the difficulties in a job hunt.

What are the topics of a job club?  While the form of club activities may be the same, the varied topics of discussion mean that no two meetings are exactly alike. You’ll deal with a number of matters ― where to find proper job directions and how to get your calls returned; preparing for interviews; effectively applying for the right opportunities to satisfy your desire; facing rejections bravely and turning failure into success.

Each member will update the group on his or her progress, and you’ll end each meeting with a suggestion from each member to carry out specific tasks during the week that follows. There’s no shortage of topics to talk about.       

45. The reason to start the job clubs is that they can _______.

   A. offer useful suggestions to job hunters

   B. meet their needs to get together freely

   C. attract many people with various topics

   D. provide a suitable job for every member

46. The advantage of job clubs is to make job hunters more _______.

   A. confident              B. qualified               C. local          D. valuable

47. Which of the following can be used to replace “facing rejections” in the passage?

     A. Defeating difficulties.                              B. Achieving success.                  

C. Accepting failures.                                  D. Losing face.

48. We can find this passage in the following EXCEPT in _______.

   A. a newspaper      B. a magazine             C. a news report           D. a guide book

It is well known that the Japanese people’s love of fish is almost as strong as a bee’s interest in honey. As fish populations were decreasing, fishing companies were forced to fish further and further away from the shore. Then they had a big challenge ― how to keep the fish fresh for longer. So they decided to keep the fish stored in freezers on the boats. But the public did not like frozen fish. So again the fishing companies had a new bigger challenge. What they decided to do was to have fish tanks on their boats. After catching fishes, they would put them in the tanks and keep them living there until they got back to shore. But in this protected environment, lacking predators (掠食者), the fish stopped moving around. The Japanese public felt these dull fish did not taste fresh, which had an unpleasant effect upon sales. Once again the fishing companies had an even bigger challenge …
    Stop for a minute! Before we go any further, I would like to ask “What are your challenges? How do you handle an unexpected challenge? ” May I think it this way that you should try to attack your challenges? Conquer them with a Swiss Army knife. Take the most proper and simple tool that you can adopt to deal with your situation.
    Now back to our story. How did the Japanese finally figure out the fresh fish problem? Sharks! You might think the same. Sharks were caught and put into the tanks with other fishes. Don’t sharks EAT fish? Well, they do eat a few fish, but they did also keep more fish active and alert (警覺的). The fish stay fresh because they are challenged.
   Now, try to keep yourself fresh by finding your own shark to offer yourself a challenge in your own business and career.

41. The main reason for the fishing company to fish in the far sea is that _______.

   A. the fish resource near the shore was decreasing

   B. the fishes farther away from the sea tasted fresher

   C. people would prefer eating fresh fishes to less fresh ones

   D. it was getting harder and harder to keep fishes fresh

42. Which was the best way for the fishing company to keep fishes fresh? 

   A. Getting the fishes frozen.              B. Storing the fishes with salt.

   C. Putting the fishes in tanks.             D. Keeping the fishes with sharks.

43. The relationship between fishes and sharks is similar to that between _______ in nature.

   A. dogs and cats                                       B. monkeys and mosquitoes

   C. wolves and antelopes                             D. tigers and lions   

44. The underlined part of the last paragraph means “_______.”

A. If you went fishing, you might do as the fishing companies did

B. Try to find a big shark, and you will meet your challenge  

C. To succeed in life, you should always be ready to meet challenges

D. Sharks are usually compared to the challenges in people’s life

Once there was a little girl who came to live in an orphanage (孤兒院). As Christmas time was 21  near, all of the other children  22  telling the little girl about the beautiful Christmas  23  that would appear in the hall downstairs on Christmas morning. After their usual  24 , each child would be given their only Christmas gift, a small orange.

    The headmaster of the orphanage was very  25  with the kids. So on Christmas Eve, when he26  the little girl slipping down the stairs to peek（偷看）at the much-heard-of Christmas tree, he27  that the little girl would not receive her Christmas orange  28  she had been so curious as to disobey the rules. The little girl ran back to her room  29 , crying at her terrible fate.

   The next morning as the other children were going  30  for breakfast, the little girl stayed in her bed. She couldn’t  31  the thought of seeing the others receive their gift while there would be  32  for her. Later, as the children came back upstairs, the little girl was surprised to be  33  a napkin (餐巾). As she carefully opened it, there, to her  34 , was an orange all peeled and sectioned (分瓣). “ How  35  this be? ” she asked. Then, she  36  how each child had taken one section from their orange for her so that she,  37 , would have a Christmas orange.
    What an example of the  38  meaning of Christmas those orphan children showed that morning! How I  39  the world would show the same kind of concern for others, not only at Christmas,  40 throughout the year!

--- How about going to hear the pop singer tonight？

--- _______, but I already have other plans.

A. I’d rather not         B. Thanks for asking  C. I’ll try my best      D. No, thanks

If the whole project _______ in advance, a great deal of time would have been lost.
A. had not been planned                       B. has not been planned

C. was not planned                              D. were not planned

We arrived at the stadium just in time _______ the beginning of the fashion show.

A. caught                     B. catching           C. to catch               D. for catching

It’s usually easy to find a room for renting in places _______ universities are located.

A. what                       B. when             C. which                D. where