英语

　　passage 2

　　stress is a common factor in life. children experience stress from school, new social situations and simply growing up. adults feel the stress of working, paying bills, raising kids and maintaining households. seminars also feel stress, even though some may have retired, raised their children and paid off their homes. certain amounts of stress are a part of life for people of all ages.

　　for seniors, stress has the potential to be especially overwhelming. this type of tension in older adults has unique contributing factors, such as the loss of an elderly spouse or friends. living alone can increase the sense of isolation. sometimes the simple tasks of everyday life can cause stress in those who experience physical or medical limitations. the effects of stress can sometimes exacerbate health conditions from which some seniors suffer, causing additional worry.

　　stress can be detected in various ways. you may follow the five most common ways to find out if a loved one’s stress is caused for concern:

　　1.changes in eating habits, such as over-eating or loss of appetite, can be caused by overwhelming stress.

　　2.mood swings due to stress may present in increased irritability, general sadness or depression.

　　3.memory issues may arise in the form of increased forgetfulness of names, places or other things that normally come naturally. lack of concentration may become a problem. some seniors may exercise poor judgement, such as excessive spending when they are already on a limited budget.

　　4.physical signs of stress can include body aches and pains or increased episode of illness. changes in sleeping patterns-either trouble falling asleep or interrupted nighttime sleep-can signal significant stress.

　　5.seniors experiencing overwhelming stress often isolate themselves from others, refusing to socialize or participate in activities they used to enjoy.

　　1.which of the following is not true about stress according to the passage?

　　a. changing schools may cause children’s stress

　　b. seniors would feel stress of paying mortgage

　　c. grown-ups would get stress from raising kids

　　d. loss of a friend may be the source of stress for seniors

　　【答案】b。是非题。原文说到，即使把孩子抚养成人、还清了贷款……”，老年人也会有压力，老年人并不会为还贷而忧愁，因为他们已经还清了，因此答案选b。根据原文第一段children experience stress from school, new social situations and simply growing up，可知新的社会环境也会增加孩子的压力，因此a项符合原文;c项根据原文第一段的adults feel the stress of working, paying bills, raising kids and maintaining households，可知符合原文;d项通过原文第二段可推出符合原文;只有b项不符合原文，故答案选b。

　　2.the sense of isolation may come from ( ).

　　a. living alone

　　b. the loss of spouse

　　c. friends’ death

　　d. all of the above

　　【答案】d。细节题。题干问的是导致isolation的原因有哪些，abc在原文第二段都提到过，this type of tension in older adults has unique contributing factors, such as the loss of an elderly spouse or friends. living alone can increase the sense of isolation，因此答案选d。

　　3.what does the word “exacerbate” (line 4, paragraph 2) probably mean?

　　a. affect

　　b. improve

　　c. intensify

　　d. worsen

　　【答案】d。猜词题。根据原文的语境，the stress sometimes may exacerbate health conditions，这种压力带来的应该是不好结果，d项worsen(使……变得更糟糕)符合原文语境，因此答案选d。a项：影响;b项：改善、提升;c项：增强。abc均不符合原文前后语境，排除;故答案选d。

　　4.if you find your friend ( ), that means he/she may be under great stress.

　　a. becomes irritable and sleepless

　　b. doesn’t want to go shopping anymore

　　c. begins to favor drinks of a new brand

　　d. hates socializing with others

　　【答案】a。根据原文后半部分的第2点和第4点可知a项正确，因此答案选a。b项：“不再想去逛街”，原文并没有提到“逛街”，排除;c项：“开始喜欢新品牌的饮料”，无中生有，排除;d项：“讨厌和别人社交”，原文最后提到 refusing to socialize or participate in activities they used to enjoy，是完完全全拒绝，而不是简单的“讨厌”，“讨厌社交”也可能会因为迫于压力而参加社交活动，因此d项表述有误，排除;故答案选a。

　　5.what’s the main theme of the passage? ( )

　　a.stress is experienced by everyone

　　b.stress is common and can be detected

　　c. stress cannot be prevented

　　d.stress is everywhere and hard to deal with

　　【答案】b。主旨题。通读全文，首先作者阐述了不同的年龄段存在着不同压力，即压力普遍存在;接着谈到了判断人们有无压力的几种方式，b项概括最全面，因此答案选b。a项：“每个人都会经历压力”，只是原文一部分内容，不能概括后文“探测压力”方法的内容，排除;c项：“压力不能阻止”，与原文不符，排除;d项：“压力无处不在，且非常难应对”，无中生有，排除;故答案选b。