Imagine the following scenario(情景): A woman buys her lunch every day from a fast food outlet near her job. After some years, she finds herself 30 pounds overweight, and feeling unhealthy. So what does she do? She chooses to bring a lawsuit against the fast food outlet, claiming that the food served there was the cause of her being overweight and in poor health.
Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t? The only thing more absurd than the story itself is the fact that is not fiction. There are people who have sued（控告）fast food chains for causing their weight problems.
This is an example of one of the ways in which many of us spend enormous amounts of energy trying to deny the undeniable and universal fact that we are all ultimately responsible for our own choices and our own lives.
How much easier would we make it for ourselves if we could accept this fact rather than resist it? But how can we embrace the truth, that we are living the lives we choose to live, that we are enjoying or suffering the consequences(結(jié)果) of our own choices, and that blaming others for our problems and shortcomings is nothing more than a comfortable fantasy?
We must acknowledge the truth of our lives, however unpleasant this may be. If we are overweight, in a bad relationship, in a dead end, we need to accept that this is where we are, at this moment in time.
Imagine that woman decided that she was unhappy with the extra pounds she’d gained after many years of eating fast food on a regular basis. Imagine that this woman took the time to really understand and accept that she and no one else was responsible for her eating choices. Having acknowledged this fact, she then decides to make the changes in her lifestyle to become the healthier, slimmer person she wants to be.
【小題1】What would be the best title for the passage?

Perhaps the most famous theory, the study of body movement, was suggested by Professor Ray Birdwhistell. He believes that physical appearance is often culturally programmed. In other words, we learn our looks—we are not born with them. A baby has generally informed face features. A baby, according to Birdwhistell, learns where to set the eyebrows by looking at those around-family and friends. This helps explain why the people of some areas of the United States look so much alike, new Englanders or Southerners have certain common face features that cannot be explained by genetics(遺傳學(xué)). The exact shape of the mouth is not set at birth, it is learned after. In fact, the final mouth shape is not formed until well after new teeth are set. For many, this can be well into grown-ups. A husband and wife together for a long time often come to look alike. We learn our looks from those around us. This is perhaps why in a single country area where people smile more than those in other areas. In the United States, for example, the South is the part of the country where the people smile most frequently. In New England they smile less, and in the western part of New York State still less. Many southerners find cities such as New York cold and unfriendly, partly because people on Madison Avenue smile less than people on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. Georgia. People in Atlanta, Georgia. People in largely populated areas also smile and greet each other in public less than people in small towns do.
【小題1】 Ray Birdwhistell believes that physical appearance ____.

C

Perhaps you have a big test coming up and you are feeling nervous. You know you have got to do well. The pressure is on, so you may be losing sleep and the ability to concentrate. How can you deal with the stress, study effectively, and take the test with confidence? Maybe you should try meditation（沉思）.

When people think about meditation, many pictures of old men’s sitting cross-legged on remote mountaintops will appear in mind. People describing meditation frequently mention elements such as relaxation and “thinking about nothing”.

It is not necessary to travel to a mountaintop to enjoy the benefits of meditation because it is actually more about awareness than just relaxation. The secret of meditation is breathing.

To star meditating, find a place where you can sit or stand comfortably for a little while and concentrate. Close your eyes and start taking slow breaths. Focus on the air moving in and out of your body. If your mind starts to wander and you begin to think about something else, refocus your attention on your breathing.

Meditation has little to do with escaping problems or thinking about nothing. Instead, the breathing techniques help you calm down and think more clearly about your feelings. The issues on your mind unfold clearly, as if they were in slow motion.

This clarity（清晰）is called “mindfulness”. Being mindful means that you are aware of what you are thinking without becoming caught up in your thoughts. It takes practice, but with time, that big test will not scare you anymore. You will realize through meditation that fear is just a product of not being mindful.

64． What is the best way to reduce the pressure if one faces a big test?

A. To climb up to the top of a mountain for a rest.

B. To sit on the top of a mountain without thinking anything.

C. To sit or stand comfortable and begin to meditate.

D. To sit quietly with one’s legs crossed.

65． What should a person do if his mind begins to wander while meditating?

A. Stop meditating.

B. Concentrate on breathing again.

C. Involve himself in his thoughts.

D. Close eyes immediately.

66． From the passage we can learn that by practicing meditation we’ll__________.

A. not be stuck in our thoughts

B. pass the examinations easily

C. realize fear is a product of too much thought

D. never be afraid of big tests

67． From the passage we can know the writer’s purpose is to let the readers know__________

A. how to deal with the stress before a big test

B. what is meditation

C. how a big test scares the students

D. where is the best place to relax

Today about 70 countries use Daylight Saving Time (DST). Daylight Saving was first introduced during World War I in Australia. During the world wars, DST was used for the late summers beginning January 1917 and 1942, and the full summers beginning September 1942 and 1943.
In 1967, Tasmania experienced a drought（干旱）. The State Government introduced one hour of daylight saving that summer as a way of saving power and water. Tasmanians liked the idea of daylight saving and the Tasmanian Government has declared daylight saving each summer since 1968. Persuaded by the Tasmanian Government, all states except two passed a law in 1971, for a test use of daylight saving. In 1972, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria joined Tasmania for regular daylight saving, but Queensland did not do so until 1989.
Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia have had irregular plans, often changing their dates due to politics or festivals（節(jié)日）. For example, in 1992, Tasmania extended（延長）daylight saving by an extra month while South Australia began extending daylight saving by two weeks for the Adelaide Festival. Special daylight saving plans were made during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
The differences in daylight saving in Australia continue to cause serious problems in transport and many other social activities. It also reduces the number of hours in the working day that are common to all centers in the country. In particular, time differences along the east coast cause major differences, especially for the broadcasters of national radio and television.
【小題1】. Daylight Saving Time was introduced in Tasmania _______________.

C
What is it that makes people happy? Youth, health, a good job, good looks, a flash car? None of these things, Spanish experts say.
The concept（概念） of happiness is thought to be determined by genetics, while the rest depends on childhood environment and the process（過程） of growing up. Perhaps the most surprising thing about happiness is coming under increasingly close examination in Spain.
As the nation rises to the club of the world's wealthiest countries, people are discovering that material（物質(zhì)的） things do not bring happiness.
"Most people use money as a measure of human value," says Jesus Ynfante, author of a book on Spain's 300 biggest fortunes.  "Expensive products are regarded as the best. The rich are admired simply for being rich," Ynfante said.
Yet psychologists（心理學(xué)家） warn that happiness as a moment of ecstatic pleasure(狂喜)--something that, by definition（定義） ,cannot last--while others speak of it as peace and acceptance of oneself. Polls(問卷調(diào)查) in different countries indicate that between 65 and 85 percent of the world's population regard themselves as reasonably happy.
Around 40 percent of a person's happiness is that it has little to do with age, health, wealth, or other values thought to be important in Western society. For most Spaniards, happiness is linked with feeling close to other people. Happy people accept their limitations and set themselves reachable goals, experts say.
There are life-style choices that favour happiness, such as exercise, eating carbohydrates and exposing oneself to sunlight. But the main secret of happiness is to take pleasure in small things.
“If you are given a choice between eternal（永久的)happiness and a cheese sandwich, take the sandwich,” advises musician Julian Hernandez.
58. Spain, as this passage tells us, __________.
A. has built more clubs than the other countries
B. has owned the largest group of experts
C. has become one of the richest countries in the world
D. has produced the most wealth in the world
59. It can be concluded that Jesus Ynfante is__________.
A. a famous expert            B. a famous psychologist
C. one of the richest Spaniards   D. familiar with the richest Spaniards
60. As psychologists warn in this passage, people can't feel happy even if they_________.
A. have too much money       B. only care about themselves
C. don't do any homework      D. have a few relations
61 Happy people, as we can find in this passage, __________.
A. are always full of feelings                  B. are always born in rich families
C. always enjoy every achievement they get       D. always look down upon themselves