六、阅读理解

　　The bus screamed to a stop in Nazareth, Israel. Five Australian backpackers boarded and struck up a conversation with me. They asked typical travelers’ questions—where was I going and why was I traveling alone My plan was to travel with a friend of a friend, I explained, but when I called her that morning, she didn’t pick up and I had no other way to reach her. My stomach was in knots, but I decided to head out anyway, thinking I might run into her if I traveled to Tiberius, where we had planned to go together.

　　“Why don’t you travel with us” one of the backpackers offered. They were experienced adventurers who would work for a few months, save, then travel for as long as they could. Their current plan was to explore the Middle East and Europe in three months while working in London.

　　It seemed risky to travel with strangers, but my instinct said yes. For the next two weeks, I explored Israel with the backpackers and learned to trust my instincts in all types of new and interesting situations. When they hook a ride, I took the bus, but when they wanted to steal into the King David Hotel’s swimming pool, I led the way. The world opened up to me because I chose to travel alone. I joined complete strangers, who become close friends. Years later, one couple from the backpacking group even flew from Sydney to Phoenix to be in my wedding. The trip was such a special experience that it gave me confidence in all areas of my life. Since then, I’ve backpacked alone across South Africa, sky-dived from 12,000 feet in New Zealand and even moved across the U.S. with no job lined up.

　　On my third day wandering in Israel with my new friends, I bumped into the woman I was supposed to meet. Though I was happy she was all right, I was grateful she hadn’t picked up the phone.

　　1.By “My stomach was in knots” (in paragraph 1), the author most likely means that she was ______.

　　A. sick of riding on a bumpy busB. nervous of meeting strangers

　　C. upset about the sudden changeD. sorry about the impractical plan

　　2.Which of the following best describes the backpackers the author met.

　　A. Courageous but disrespectful.B. Jobless and poorly educated.

　　C. Warmhearted and trustworthy.D. Homeless but lighthearted.

　　3.The author’s sixth sense told her that ______.

　　A. she would get along with the backpackersB. it might cause trouble to have a swim

　　C. she ought to stay away from the backpackersD. it could add excitement to get a free ride

　　4.What can be inferred from the passage.

　　A. Most of the backpackers became the author’s lifelong friends.

　　B. The author gathered the courage to be a fulltime backpack traveler.

　　C. The woman missed the phone call with the purpose of traveling alone.

　　D. The author considered it the best decision of her life to travel on her own.

　　Is it wrong—either grammatically or in terms of style—to mix the simple past tense with the past perfect in one sentence To give an example, the following seems a bit heavy and awkward to me: “There had been a time when she had been happier.’ I prefer: ‘There had been a time when she was happier.’ Any thoughts—ALEX

　　I think the second version is the correct one—it’s shorter and clearer. Rather than focusing on tenses, focus on the clean, short sentence. If something seems heavy and awkward to you, the writer—then it probably is. Always short sentences.—DIANA

　　I have constructed texts for a range of children’s picture books all based on working profession: bus driver, postman, footballer, cleaner, teacher, policeman to list a few. I’ve listed about thirty professions so far. I thought of titling them as Mr Bus Driver, Mr Postman and so on. Would I be infringing (侵权) the Mr Men titles if I did or should I think of something else.—RAJIV

　　The Mr Men stories are based on characteristics, not on jobs—Mr Lazy, Mr Noisy, etc—so they bear no relation to your projects. However, you will come under fire from gender equality supporters—every job you list could equally be done by a woman. No teacher and few parents would find work useful if it implies that all professions are open only to men. I advise you to look at modern children’s books in a library or bookshop.—DIANA

　　1.Alex wants to know how to ______.

　　A. avoid uncertain terms in writingB. use tenses properly in one sentence

　　C. improve grammatical skillsD. focus on clear and short sentences

　　2.Diana reminds Rajiv that he will be severely criticized for ______.

　　A. tending to hold gender prejudiceB. breaking the law using Mr Men titles

　　C. not characterizing enough professionsD. not running a project related to education

　　3.Which of the following questions is not supposed to be asked if you email Diana.

　　A. Is there a good market for traditional poems these days

　　B. Can you possibly evaluate my recently written novel enclosed

　　C. Where can I get some instructive books on writing for my son

　　D. How can I write an appropriate acknowledgement for my book

　　Studies show that older people tend to remember the positive things in life rather than the negative things, while younger people remember the positive and negative equally well. The dominant psychological theory to explain this is that older people are aware of their limited time left, so they prioritize positive emotional experiences. But about a decade ago, I worked with biologist Robert Trivers on his idea that there was an evolutionary basis for older people’s increased positive outlook. Our research took us in the fascinating direction of exploring how the body uses its energy.

　　When our ancestors needed more energy than usual, perhaps while being chased by a tiger, they had to get that energy from somewhere in the body. Could they borrow it from the brain That organ uses 20 percent of our metabolic (新陈代谢) output, whether we are solving math problems or watching television reruns. Due to this constant energy requirement, borrowing energy from the brain when our need surpasses the available supply is not an option. Perhaps we could borrow energy from our muscles. Because we use far more muscle energy when we are active than when at rest, in principle, we could borrow energy when we are sitting. But the problem is that most of the energy-demanding emergencies of our ancestors required a muscular response. There was no way to borrow energy from our muscles during an emergency because relaxing when a tiger showed up was not an effective response. This brings us to our immune system, which, when strong, protects us from many illnesses and diseases. Like the brain, the immune system works at great metabolic cost, but largely in the service of keeping us healthy in the future. We have an enormous number of immune cells coursing through our body, a momentary break from production is fine. So, when our body needs extra energy, one of the places it goes is our immune function. When you’re being chased by a tiger, you don’t need to waste energy making immune cells to fight off tomorrow’s cold. What you need is to shift all available energy resources to your legs, with the hope that you will live to experience another cough or sneeze.

　　As a result, our immune system evolved to run in maximum amounts when we’re happy, but to slow down dramatically when we’re not. With this background in mind, Trivers supposed that older people evolved a strategy of turning this relationship on its head, becoming more focused on the positive things in life in an effort to enhance their immune functioning. This was helped along by their knowing much more about the world than younger adults, so they can deal with some of the unpleasant things in life more easily.

　　1.According to Robert Trivers, when our body needs extra energy, ______.

　　A. muscles will respond to it by relaxing a little bit

　　B. organs will speed up metabolic processes to answer it

　　C. immune system will temporarily shut down to fulfill it

　　D. brain will satisfy it by sharing optional metabolic output

　　2.In paragraph 3 “this relationship” most probably refers to the one between ______.

　　A. experiences and related knowledgeB. happiness and biological evolution

　　C. immune function and healthD. optimism and length of life

　　3.What can be concluded from Robert Trivers’ study.

　　A. Younger people adopt strategies of handling tense situations from everyday life.

　　B. Our ancestors evolved their immune systems in fighting against fierce animals.

　　C. Realizing that their days are numbered, older people prefer being positive.

　　D. Being negative drains energy from our body, lowering resistance to disease.

　　4.Which of the following is the best title of the passage.

　　A. Brain, muscles and immune systemB. Age, health and happiness

　　C. Ancestors, emergency and evolutionD. Energy, effort and response