In today's Internet age, the demand for online games continues to grow. Online computer game centers exist in many cities and towns throughout Asia. Facing the pressures of school and life, people tend to the virtual world, expecting a diversion from these problems. Too often, however, they can lead to problems and unhealthy addictions.
This is most clearly seen in the example of South Korea. The country has the world's highest percentage of high­speed Internet services. It also has a high number of online game players and related problems. It was once reported that a young man collapsed (突然暈倒) and died while playing online games. He had been playing almost nonstop for 86 hours at an Internet cafe. Another young man killed his sister after becoming confused between the online world and real life. A 12­year­old boy stole US $ 16000 from his father and ran away from home. He did this to continue his obsession  (著迷) with online game. Such problems, however, don't just happen in South Korea. They are spreading to other parts of Asia, as well.
What kinds of people develop online game addiction? What does the problem look like? Dr SueHuei Chen, a clinical psychologist, researches Internet addiction. She discovered some signs of at­risk individuals such as lack friendship and good social skills. Those problem individuals feel it so compulsive to play online games that they could sacrifice things such as school and family. They feel the need to spend more and more time online. And they become upset if anyone tries to limit their online game playing.
How many problem game players are there? In mainland China, the potential number of problem online gamers is alarming. Just in 2004, China has had 13.8 million online game players according to China Daily. Furthermore, it stated that 80 percent of these were under 25 and had signs of addiction. Such numbers point toward a growing problem among Chinese youth.
Make sure to keep control over your online game playing. If you don't control it, it can get control of you.
【小題1】The underlined word “diversion” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to _____.

C

Since we are social beings, the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal relationships. One strength of the human condition is our possibility to give and receive support from one another under stressful (有壓力的) conditions. Social support makes up of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties. Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to deal with major life changes and daily problems. People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties. Studies over types of illnesses, from depression to heart disease, show that the presence of social support helps people defend themselves against illness, and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely.

Social support cushions stress in a number of ways. First, friends, relatives and co-workers may let us know that they value us. Our self-respect is strengthened when we feel accepted by others in spite of our faults and difficulties. Second, other people often provide us with informational support. They help us to define and understand our problems and find solutions to them. Third, we typically find social companionship supportive. Taking part in free-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting (轉(zhuǎn)移注意力) us from our worries and troubles. Finally, other people may give us instrumental support money aid, material resources, and needed services - that reduces stress by helping us resolve and deal with our problems.

66. Interpersonal relationships are important because they can ________

A.    make people live more easily                      B.  smooth away daily problems

C.    deal with life changes                             D.    cure types of illnesses

67. The researches show that people's physical and mental health _______

A. lies in the social medical care systems which support them

B. has much to do with the amount of support they get from others

C. depends on their ability to deal with daily worries and troubles

D. is related to their courage for dealing with major life changes

68. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word "cushions"?

A.    takes place of         B. makes up of      

C.    lessens the effect of    D. gets rid of

69. Helping a sick neighbor with some repair work in spare time is an example of ________

A. instrumental support              B. informational support

C. social companionship             D. the strengthening of self-respect

70. What is the subject discussed in the text?

A. Interpersonal relationships.                  B. Kinds of social support.

C. Ways to deal with stress.                D. Effects of stressful condition.

.

Birds in cities are damaging their health by trying to sing above the noise of urban life．

New research shows that male birds are trying to compete against traffic and city sounds．They are now singing louder and at higher frequencies，which could harm their vocal cords．Some birds are choosing to sing at night instead of dudng the day．This makes them more open to attack and also creates stress and exhanstion．

“The difference between urban and rural birdsong is becoming so big that the two groups could now be unable to communicate．This could lead to inbreeding and a weak gene pool．”said Dr Sue Anne Zollinger of the University of St Andrews．

According to Zollingar,a bird group with a small geae pool might adapt less quickly to new diseases and could be wiped out．

A study of the dawn chorus found that birds in Berlin sang up to 14 decibels(分貝)louder than those in the forest．The birds sang loudest on weekday momings．

“By trying to sing over the sound of the city,birds are rising vocal injury,”said Zollinger．“All this puts the sarne strain on a bird’s vocal cords as when  ahuman need to shout to be heard—except the birds are doing it all day,every day,”she said．

“Singing under such pressure means birds have less control over the sound they produce． Their songs may lose quality and become more rough—sounding．”said Zollinger．This could make them appear less attractive to female birds．

Mark Constantine，author of The Sound Approach to Birding，said：“Birdsong is important for our quality of life and has been proved to reduce our blood pressure．When we live in the centre of large，urban areas，we get stressed and it's extremely good to have birdsong around us．The impact on humans of birdsong is massive．It harms us，as well as the birds，if their songs become louder and simpler

53．Some birds in cities now choose to sing at night time because_______．

A．they want to attract more birds of opposite sex

B．they are more likely to be discovered by their family

C．they can’t adapt to the loud noises during the daytime

D．they have to frighten their enemy away

54．According to the passage，urban and rural birds might not be able to_______．

A．recognize each other

B  communicate with each other

C  live with each other

D．compete against each other

55．It requires greatest efforts for birds in cities to sing o_______．

A．Monday nights            B．Wednesday afternoons

C．Saturday Evenings         D．Friday momings

56．According to Dr Sue Anne Zollinger,birds singing louder might eventually lead to_______．

A．the harm done to man’s health

B  the dying out of a species

C．the serious damage to the bird’s vocal cords

D．the decrease ofthe birth rate ofa bird group

What a strange world this would be if everyone told the truth! Even though all world religions caution(告誡) people against lying, it seems that lying is a universal communication style. Most of us get angry at big lies—especially those in government, business, and the social world. But how about truth-telling in our private life? Should we always tell the truth to husbands, wives, mothers, fathers and children? Do we?
We all lie. National public opinion polls find that only about one in ten Americans say they never tell a lie. One study of college students found that each student told about two lies a day. Half of all adults interviewed in a CBS New Poll last year admitted they had told a lie they regretted, and nearly as many said they had been deeply hurt by a lie someone told them.
We all lie about lies. Researchers asked subjects to describe the lies they told over a period of weeks. Subjects over-reported “white lies”(harmless lies—I really like your dress) and under-reported serious lies( I graduated with honors).
We lie differently to different types of people. We tell more lies to men than to women. Men and women tell more lies about themselves when talking to men, but more lies about others when talking to women. Men are particularly likely to lie about themselves. Women tell more lies than men, but only because women tell white lies in order to flatter or avoid confrontation (對(duì)抗).
Lies are hard to detect(察覺(jué)). Surveys show that nearly everyone believes most people are truthful. That’s why people are so bad at detecting lies.

1. 1.

   Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
   

   1. A.
      When asked, the subjects admitted they told more serious lies.
   2. B.
      People are not good at detecting lies.
   3. C.
      White lies are harmless.
   4. D.
      Men tell fewer lies than women.
2. 2.

   The underlined word “flatter (in Paragraph 4)” probably means “_______”.
   

   1. A.
      to anger somebody by telling a lie
   2. B.
      to praise somebody in order to win his favor
   3. C.
      to avoid somebody so as to escape payment
   4. D.
      to warn somebody by shouting
3. 3.

   Lies are not easy to detect because _______.
   

   1. A.
      most people get angry at big lies   
   2. B.
      people tell more lies about themselves
   3. C.
      nearly everyone believes most people are truthful
   4. D.
      everyone tells the truth

.

    Birds in cities are damaging their health by trying to sing above the noise of urban life．

    New research shows that male birds are trying to compete against traffic and city sounds．They are now singing louder and at higher frequencies，which could harm their vocal cords．Some birds are choosing to sing at night instead of dudng the day．This makes them more open to attack and also creates stress and exhanstion．

    “The difference between urban and rural birdsong is becoming so big that the two groups could now be unable to communicate．This could lead to inbreeding and a weak gene pool．”said Dr Sue Anne Zollinger of the University of St Andrews．

    According to Zollingar,a bird group with a small geae pool might adapt less quickly to new diseases and could be wiped out．

    A study of the dawn chorus found that birds in Berlin sang up to 14 decibels(分貝)louder than those in the forest．The birds sang loudest on weekday momings．

    “By trying to sing over the sound of the city,birds are rising vocal injury,”said Zollinger．“All this puts the sarne strain on a bird’s vocal cords as when  ahuman need to shout to be heard—except the birds are doing it all day,every day,”she said．

    “Singing under such pressure means birds have less control over the sound they produce． Their songs may lose quality and become more rough—sounding．”said Zollinger．This could make them appear less attractive to female birds．

    Mark Constantine，author of The Sound Approach to Birding，said：“Birdsong is important for our quality of life and has been proved to reduce our blood pressure．When we live in the centre of large，urban areas，we get stressed and it's extremely good to have birdsong around us．The impact on humans of birdsong is massive．It harms us，as well as the birds，if their songs become louder and simpler

53．Some birds in cities now choose to sing at night time because_______．

    A．they want to attract more birds of opposite sex

    B．they are more likely to be discovered by their family

    C．they can’t adapt to the loud noises during the daytime

    D．they have to frighten their enemy away

54．According to the passage，urban and rural birds might not be able to_______．

    A．recognize each other

    B  communicate with each other

    C  live with each other

    D．compete against each other

55．It requires greatest efforts for birds in cities to sing o_______．

    A．Monday nights            B．Wednesday afternoons

    C．Saturday Evenings         D．Friday momings

56．According to Dr Sue Anne Zollinger,birds singing louder might eventually lead to_______．

    A．the harm done to man’s health

    B  the dying out of a species

    C．the serious damage to the bird’s vocal cords

    D．the decrease ofthe birth rate ofa bird group