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Most people look forward to retirement as a time when they can finally take up activities that they never had the time or energy to pursue before. Bust some recent studies on people in their golden years are disturbing: they suggest that retirees are more likely to suffer from depression and possibly higher rates of other diseases such as heart disease and high blood pressure. That’s why a new study of French workers is welcome news.

Led by Hugo Westerlund, a professor of psychology at Stockholm University, the study of more than 14,000 workers found lower rates of depression and fatigue(疲劳) in people after they got tired while they were still employed.

The scientists followed the employees of the French national gas and electric company for 14 years. They found in the year immediately after retirement, the volunteers reported 40% fewer depressive symptoms than they had in the year before their retirement. The researchers also found an 81% drop in reports of both mental and physical fatigue over the same time period.

Clearly, said Westerlund, much of these decrease in physical and mental fatigue can be traced back to relief from the stresses of work. The decline in depressive symptoms suggests that retirement may be having a positive mental effect, too, which may have a lot to do with the generous pensions(养老金) that French workers enjoy. Most retirees in that country still benefit from about 80% of their yearly salaries.

“The economic or financial situation in retirement is very important,” Westerlund says. “We don’t know if the decrease in fatigue and depressive symptoms is because of the removal of something bad while in work or the addition of something good while in retirement. But no matter the reason, if life in retirement is not comfortable, then we won’t see the improvements we did.”

However, in European nations like France, governments are considering changes to pension plans, which may affect retirees’ health after they leave their jobs—with less of a financial safety net, workers may no longer seem so mentally and physically happy to be out of work.

(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS)

1.According to some recent studies, retired people may have depression and higher rates of other disease like ____________________________________.

2.Westerlund’s group found that in the year just after the retirement most retired French workers felt much less tired both __________________________________.

3.What dies the word “improvements” in paragraph 5 refer to?

_______________________________________________________________

4.Retirement may make people happier with ___________________________________

ABCD请按实际情况填写。其他请参照下表填写。

A, B, C, D, E(AB), F(AC)

1.

While everybody enjoys fresh cut flowers around his house, few people know how to keep them for as long as possible. This may be done by keeping in mind a few simple facts. The key to keeping fresh cut flowers for a week or more without floral preservatives(which contain biocides that kill bacteria and fungus) is to keep the water fresh and the stems free of air pockets so they can continue to draw up water.

2.

An important thing to remember about cut flowers is that they are sensitive to temperature. For example, studies have shown that cut carnations(康乃馨) retain their freshness eight times longer when kept at 12℃ than when kept at 26℃. Keeping freshly harvested flowers at the right temperatures is probably the most important aspect of flower care.

3.

Flowers are not intended by nature to live very long. Their biological purpose is simply to attract birds or insects, such as bees, for pollination (授粉). After that, they quickly dry up and die. The process by which flowers consume oxygen and produce carbon dioxide, called respiration (呼吸), generates the energy the flower needs to give the flower its shape and colour. The making of seeds also depends on this energy. While all living things respire, flowers have a high level of respiration. A result of all this respiration is heat, and for flowers the level of heat relative to the mass of the flower is very high. Respiration also brings about the eventual death of the flower. Thus the greater the level of respiration, the sooner the flower dies.

4.

How, then, to control the rate at which flowers die? By controlling respiration. How is respiration controlled? By controlling temperature. We know that respiration produces heat, but the reverse is also true. Thus by maintaining low temperatures, respiration is reduced and the cut flower will age more slowly.

5.

Another vital factor in keeping cut flowers is the quality of the water in which they are placed. Flowers find it difficult to “drink” water that is dirty or otherwise polluted. Even when water looks and smells clean, it almost certainly contains harmful substances that can endanger the flowers. To rid the water of these unwanted substances, household chlorine bleach (含氯漂白剂) can be used in small quantities. It is recommended that 15 drops of chlorine bleach(at 4% solution) be added to each litre of water. The water and solution should also be replaced each day.

LONDON—Life for Cathy Hagner and her three children is set to permanent(永久的) fast-forward.

Their full school day and her job as a lawyer's assistant are busy enough. But Hagner also has to take the two boys to soccer or hockey or basketball while dropping off her daughter at piano lessons or Girl Scout Club.

Often, the exhausted family doesn't get home until 7 pm. There is just time for a quick supper before homework. In today's world, middle-class American and British parents treat their children as if they are competitors racing for some finishing line.

Parents take their children from activity to activity in order to make their future bright. It seems that raising a genius has become a more important goal than raising a happy and well-balanced child.

"Doctors across the country are reporting a growing number of children suffering from stomachaches and headaches due to exhaustion and stress," says child expert William Doherty of the University of Minnesota.

Teachers are dealing with exhausted kids in the classroom. It's a very serious problem. Many children attend after-school clubs by necessity. But competitive pressures also create an explosion of activities. They include sports, language, music and math classes for children as young as four.

"There is a new parenting trend under way which says that you have to tap all your child's potential at a young age; otherwise you will let him down,” says Terry Alter, a Cambridge-based child and adolescent psychiatrist （青少年精神病专家）

"It isn't entirely new: there have always been pushy parents. But what was previously seen as strange behaviour is now well accepted."

1.From the second paragraph of this passage we can find that ______.

2.British parents, as the writer described in this passage, _____.

3.The writer's opinion about after-school clubs is that ______.

4.The last paragraph tells us that in Britain ______.

Have you ever wondered why the roots of the plants always know which way to grow—into the soil but not above it? Some British scientists have recently solved this mystery.

It turns out that roots have special hairs that tie them into the soil and help them grow their way past obstacles, a team at the John Inners Center in Norwich reports in the February 29 issue of Journal Science.

“The key is in the fuzzy(有绒毛的)coat of hairs on the roots of plants,” says professor Liam Dolan. “We have found a growth control system that enables these hairs to find their way and to become longer when their path is clear.”

Root hairs explore the soil in much the same way a person would feel their way in the dark. If they come across an obstacle, they make their way around until they can continue growing in an opening. In the meantime, the plant is held in place as the hairs grip(紧紧抓住)the soil.

The hairs are guided by a clever chemical trick. A protein(蛋白质) at the tip of the root hairs called RHD2 helps them to take calcium(钙) from the soil. Calcium makes the hairs grow, and produce more RHD2, and take more calcium.

But when an obstacle blocks the hair’s path, or the hair reaches the surface of the soil, the cycle is broken and growth starts in another direction.

This system gives plants the flexibility to explore a complex environment and to live in even the most unpromising soils, says Dolan.

In poor soils such as in parts of Australia and Africa, native plants have adapted by producing enormous numbers of root hairs. A better understanding of this adaptation will allow scientists to develop hairy rooted crops that can grow in unfriendly environments.

According to Dolan, “Research in the John Inners Center is taking a breeding approach to increase hair length in wheat but it will be some time before new cultivars(栽培变种) are developed.”

1.The passage is mainly about _______.

2.How does the circle work?

3.We can infer from the last paragraph that ________.

Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. “I was a clothes addict,” jokes. “I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled.” Today David wears casual clothes---khaki pants and sports shirt---to the office. He hardly ever wears necktie. “I’m working harder than ever,” David says, “and I need to feel comfortable.”

More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work in the United States. The change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday (but only on Friday). This became known as “dress-down Friday” or “casual Friday.” “What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing,” said business consultant Maisly Jones.

Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. “A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code.” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative impact on productive. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. “Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said. “For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes.”

1.David Smith refers to himself as having been “a clothes addict” because_______.

2.David Smith wears casual clothes now, because________

3.According to this passage, which of the following statements is FALSE?

4.In this passage, the following advantages of casual office wear are mentioned EXCEPT_______.