Your youngest son or daughter has just graduated from high school, and soon he or she will trade his or her bedroom in your home for a college residence hall. You’re starting to worry about the coming silence in your home and are wondering how you will fill the hours that you previously spent with your son or daughter attending his or her school and sporting events.
Take heart — the empty nest “is often worse in anticipation (预料) than in day-to-day practice”, says psychologist Bert Hayslip Jr.
Hayslip, who has studied retirement adjustment (调整) and other aging problems, such as aging sleeplessness, for many years, points out that, more often than not, children who leave do not completely cut off contact with their parents. He advises parents to think of it as a series of life events, instead of a sudden change. He also says an empty nest can cause bigger problems to surface “if a couple hasn’t looked after their marriage while raising their children”. According to Hayslip, some couples may find they no longer have anything in common once the children are out of the house.
Thinking of an empty nest as the loss of children makes the adjustment more difficult. “With the empty-nest syndrome (综合症), parents actually need to deal with the loss of the parenting control over children, not with having really lost their children,” Hayslip says. “They just have to find a new way to get along with their children.”
“Relating to their college-age children in this new way will come easily to parents as the months pass. As with many things, the passage of time heals the pain of loss,” Hayslip says.
1.What does the “empty nest” mean?
A. Children’s cutting off contact with their parents.
B. Children’s not liking spending time with their parents.
C. Children’s growing up and leaving home.
D. Children’s not accepting parents’ care and love.
2.What does the underlined word “it” in the third paragraph refer to?
A. Retirement adjustment. B. Aging problem.
C. Sleeplessness. D. The reality of empty nest.
3.Why do many parents find it hard to adjust to the empty-nest life？
A. Because they think they have actually lost their children.
B. Because they often disagree with their children on many things.
C. Because their children completely cut off contact with them.
D. Because these parents don’t have anything in common.
4.According to Hayslip, what parents actually lose in an “empty nest” is _______.
A. their children’s love for them
B. their control over children
C. their interest in life
D. their contact with children
When the Farnsworth family moved to their new farm in 1919, eleven-year-old Philo was surprised to find it wired for electricity. This unusual circumstance contributed to his fate — to become an important inventor of the twentieth century.
By thirteen, Farnsworth had become a self-taught electrical engineer. He was able to fix the farm’s generator（发电机）when none of the adults could. In 1922, he read an article about a new idea of John Baird, a Scottish scientist, who had been working with the cathode ray tube (阴极射线管) for the transmission of electronic pictures and wanted to attempt it himself.
Farnsworth studied everything he could find on the subject. Although many older engineers with money backers were already developing television, Farnsworth made a bold decision — he was going to perfect a working model of it before anybody else.
In college, Farnsworth continued his research with cathode ray and vacuum tubes, but the death of his father, the only money maker in the family, forced him to give up this research and find a job. His first job was for George Everson, with whom Farnsworth discussed his dream of television. While acknowledging the achievements of those who came before, Farnsworth thought that he could get closer. Everson agreed to risk $6,000 for the research.
Backers came in 1927 to see the first American television, one year after Baird’s. They were astonished to see the image of a single white line resolve itself on the screen before them, and agreed that this new invention was worth putting money into.
In 1930, Farnsworth won a patent (专利权) for his all-electronic TV. By the time he died, he had earned over 300 American and foreign patents for electronic and mechanical devices.
1.When Farnsworth was at a young age, he _______
A. had to drop out of school to help on the family farm
B. was sent to school to study electrical engineering
C. wanted to be the first person to invent the television
D. had shown a surprising ability in the electrical field
2.What difficulty did Farnsworth meet when he first began his research on the television?
A. His parents didn’t support his work.
B. He didn’t have enough knowledge in this field.
C. He didn’t have enough money for his research.
D. No one was interested in this research.
3.How old was Philo Farnsworth when he invented the first American television?
A. 11. B. 13. C. 19. D. 22.
4.From the passage, we can learn that Farnsworth is ______.
A. the first person who worked for the transmission of electronic pictures
B. an inventor who improved on somebody else’s idea
C. an inventor who always came up with an original idea
D. a person who earned over 300 American patents for electronic devices
What makes a person a scientist？Does he have ways or tools of learning that are different from those of others？The answer is “no”. It isn’t the tools a scientist uses but how he uses these tools which make him a scientist. You will probably agree that knowing how to use a power is important to a carpenter(木匠).You will probably agree，too，that knowing how to investigate(调查)，how to discover information，is important to everyone. The scientist，however，goes one step further；he must be sure that he has a reasonable answer to his questions and that his answer he gets to many questions is into a large set of ideas about how the world works.
The scientist’s knowledge must be exact. There’s no room for half right or right just half the time. He must be as nearly right as the conditions permit. What works under one set of conditions at one time must work under the same conditions at other times. If the conditions are different，any changes the scientist observes in a demonstration(实证)must be explained by the changes in the conditions. This is one reason why investigations are important in science. Albert Einstein，who developed the Theory of Relativity，arrived at this theory through mathematics. The accuracy(正确性)of his mathematics was later tested through investigation. Einstein’s ideas were proved to be correct. A scientist uses many tools for measurements. Then the measurements are used to make mathematical calculations(计算)that may test his investigations.
1.What makes a scientist according to the passage？
A. The tools he uses. B. His ways of learning.
C. The way he uses his tools. D. The various tools he uses.
2.“...knowing how to investigate，how to discover information，is important to everyone.” The writer says this to show_______.
A. the importance of information
B. the difference between scientists and ordinary people
C. the importance of thinking
D. the difference between carpenters and ordinary people
3. A sound（合理的） scientific theory should be one that_______.
A. works under one set of conditions at one time and also works under the same conditions at other times
B. doesn’t allow any change even under different conditions
C. leave no room for improvement.
D. can be used for many purposes
4.What is the main idea of the passage？
A. Scientists are different from ordinary people.
B. The Theory of Relativity.
C. Exactness is the core(核心)of science.
D. Exactness and way of using tools are the keys to making of a scientist.
Newspapers in Great Britain vary greatly in their ways of carrying the news. There are serious papers for those who want to know about important happenings everywhere, both at home and abroad. There are popular newspapers for those who prefer entertainment to information.
The London newspaper that is best known outside Great Britain is probably the Times. It began in 1785, and is well accepted for believable news and serious opinions on the news. It calls itself an independent paper, which means that it does not give its support to a particular political party. Its leading articles give the opinions of the editors, not those of the owners of the paper.
Letters to the editor are printed in the newspaper. These parts of the Times are always interesting. Most of the letters are serious subjects. But from time to time there will be long letters on the subject which is not at all serious, perhaps on a new fashion of dress, or the bad manners of the young people, compared with manners of thirty years ago.
1. If you want to get pleasure, please buy yourself .
A. a serious newspaper B. foreign newspaper
C. any independent paper D. a popular newspaper
2.The Times is an independent paper because .
A. it supports no political parties zxxk
B. it is not controlled by the British Government
C. it gives special support to all the political parties.
D. the editor’s opinions are not examined by the owners of the paper
3. The underlined word “vary” in the passage probably means “ ”.
A. improve B. compete with each other
C. are different D. keep in touch with each other
Recently，I flew to Las Vegas to attend a meeting. As we were about to arrive，the pilot announced with apology that there would be a slight before setting down. High desert winds had the airport to close all but one runway. He said that we would be the city for a few minutes waiting to . We were also told to remain in our seats meanwhile（同时） with our seat belts fastened there might be a few bumps(颠簸)．Well，that few minutes turned into about four—five minutes，including a ride that would make a roller coaster(过山车) by comparison（比较起来）.
The movement was so fierce(猛烈的) that several passengers felt and
had to use airsickness（晕机） bags. As you might guess，that’s not good thing to have happen in a(n) space
because it only to increase the discomfort
of the situation. 
About twenty minutes into the adventure，the entire airplane became very .
There was now a sense of anxiety and fear that could be noticed．Every passenger simply held on for dear life …except one. A was having a good time! With each bump of the__ ___he would let out a giggle(咯咯的笑)of delight. As I observed this，I that he didn’t know he was supposed to be afraid and worried about his .He neither thought about the past nor about the future .Those are what we grown—ups have learned from .He was the ride because had not yet been taught to fear it. Having understood this，I took a deep breath and back into my seat，pretending（假装） I was on a roller coaster. I smiled for the rest of the flight. I even to giggle once or twice ,much to the chagrin(懊恼)of the man sitting next to me holding the airsickness bag.
1.A. mistake B. delay(延期) C. change D. wind
2.A. forced B. warned C. swept D. reminded
3.A. watching B. visiting C. circling D. crossing
4.A. arrive B. enter C. stop D. land
5.A. if B. though C. because D. while
6.A. light B. pale C. difficult D. quick
7.A. sick B. nervous C. a ngry D. afraid
8.A. empty B. narrow C. secret D. open
9.A. happens B. continues C. fails D. serves
10.A. quiet B. hot C. dirty D. crowded
11.A. partly B. gradually C. shortly(立刻) D. clearly
12.A. pilot B. baby C. guard D. man
13.A. seats B. passengers C. flight D. airplane
14.A. realized B. hoped C. agreed D. insisted
15.A. health B. safety C. joy D. wealth
16.A. teachers B. books C. experience D. friends
17.A. learning B. taking C. missing D. enjoying
18.A. sat B. jumped C. went D. rode
19.A. nearly B. finally C. really D. suddenly
20.A. attempted B. managed C. wanted D. decided
You did not let me drive. If we ____in turn, you wouldn’t be so tired now.
A. drive B. drove C. were driving D. had driven
