vb考试
vb考试
Warm People Likely to Keep Cold at Bay1
Staying positive2 through the cold season could be your best defense against getting ill，new study findings suggest. In an experiment that.exposed healthy volunteers to a cold or flu virus3, researchers found that people with a generally sunny disposition4 were less likely to fall ill.
The findings, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, build on evidence that a "positive emotional style”5 can help ward off the common cold and other illnesses. Researchers believe the reasons may be both objective as in happiness boosting immune function and subjective as in happy people being less troubled by a scratchy throat6 or runny nose.
"People with a positive emotional style may have different immune responses to the virus，，’ explained lead study author Dr Sheldon Cohen of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. “ And when they do get a cold, they may interpret their illness as being less severe. ”
Cohen and his colleagues had found in a previous study that happier people seemed less Susceptible to7 catching a cold, but some questions remained as to8 whether the emotional trait itself had the effect.
For the new study, the researchers had 193 healthy adults complete standard measures of personality traits, self-perceived health and emotional "style". Those who tended to be happy, energetic and easy-going were judged as having a positive emotional style, while those who were often unhappy，tense and hostile had a negative style.
The researchers gave them nasal drops containing either a cold virus or a particular flu virus. Over the next six days，the volunteers reported on any aches，pains，sneezing or congestion they had, while the researchers collected objective data, like daily mucus production. Cohen and his colleagues found that based on objective measures of nasal woes, happy people were less likely to develop a cold.
词汇：
bay /bei/ n.绝境，穷途末路
flu /flu:/ (influenza 的简称）n.流（行性）感（冒）
virus /"vaiarss/ n.病毒
disposition /jdisps"zijsn/ n.本性，性情
psychosomatic /jsaiksuso"maetik/ adj.心身的，身心的
boost /buist/ vt. 提高，举起
scratchy /"skraetji/ adj.刺痛的，使人发痒的
runny /"rAni/ adj.流黏液的
Pittsburgh /"pitsbaig/ n.匹兹堡（美国城 市）
colleague /"kDliig/ n.同事
susceptible /so"septobl/ adj.易感的，敏感的
catch / kaetJ/ vt.感染到
trait /trei，treit/ n.特质；特性
perceive /po"siiv/ vt.发觉，觉察；理解
energetic /ensd3etik/ adj.精力充沛的，精神饱满的
easy-going /iizi"gsuig/ adj.随和的
tense /tens/ adj.紧张的
hostile /"hDstail/ adj.敌意的
nasal / 丨neizl/ adj.鼻的
ache /eik/ n.(长时间连续的）疼痛，酸痛
sneeze /sniiz/ vi.打喷噴
congestion /kon"dsestpn/ n.充血
mucus /"mjuikss/ n.點液
woe /wou/ n.痛苦，苦恼；（复）灾难，苦头
注释：
1.Warm People Likely to Keep Cold at Bay:情绪乐观的人不易患感冒。warm people 原意是 “热心肠的人，情绪高昂的人” ,keep/hold.. at bay是“使……走投无路，不使……接近”的意 思，因此本题目如果直译则是“情绪高昂的人可能让感冒不能得逞”或“情绪高昂的人可能 远离感冒”或“情绪高昂的人可能拒感冒于千里之外”。
2.staying positive:保持积极向上（的情绪）
3.exposed healthy volunteers to a cold or flu virus:使健康的志愿者接触感冒（病毒）或流感病 毒。expose原意是“使暴露，使面临”，这里expose sb. to sth.是“使……接触……”的意思。
4.sunny disposition:乐观开朗的个性
5.positive emotional style:乐观情绪型，情绪积极型
6.scratchy throat ：嗓子痛
7.susceptible to:对……敏感的，容易受到……影响的
8.as to:关于，至于
People with a positive emotional style may have all of the following characteristics EXCEPT____
A:happy B:selfish C:easy-going D:energetic
Warm People Likely to Keep Cold at Bay1
Staying positive2 through the cold season could be your best defense against getting ill，new study findings suggest. In an experiment that.exposed healthy volunteers to a cold or flu virus3, researchers found that people with a generally sunny disposition4 were less likely to fall ill.
The findings, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, build on evidence that a "positive emotional style”5 can help ward off the common cold and other illnesses. Researchers believe the reasons may be both objective as in happiness boosting immune function and subjective as in happy people being less troubled by a scratchy throat6 or runny nose.
"People with a positive emotional style may have different immune responses to the virus，，’ explained lead study author Dr Sheldon Cohen of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. “ And when they do get a cold, they may interpret their illness as being less severe. ”
Cohen and his colleagues had found in a previous study that happier people seemed less Susceptible to7 catching a cold, but some questions remained as to8 whether the emotional trait itself had the effect.
For the new study, the researchers had 193 healthy adults complete standard measures of personality traits, self-perceived health and emotional "style". Those who tended to be happy, energetic and easy-going were judged as having a positive emotional style, while those who were often unhappy，tense and hostile had a negative style.
The researchers gave them nasal drops containing either a cold virus or a particular flu virus. Over the next six days，the volunteers reported on any aches，pains，sneezing or congestion they had, while the researchers collected objective data, like daily mucus production. Cohen and his colleagues found that based on objective measures of nasal woes, happy people were less likely to develop a cold.
词汇：
bay /bei/ n.绝境，穷途末路
flu /flu:/ (influenza 的简称）n.流（行性）感（冒）
virus /"vaiarss/ n.病毒
disposition /jdisps"zijsn/ n.本性，性情
psychosomatic /jsaiksuso"maetik/ adj.心身的，身心的
boost /buist/ vt. 提高，举起
scratchy /"skraetji/ adj.刺痛的，使人发痒的
runny /"rAni/ adj.流黏液的
Pittsburgh /"pitsbaig/ n.匹兹堡（美国城 市）
colleague /"kDliig/ n.同事
susceptible /so"septobl/ adj.易感的，敏感的
catch / kaetJ/ vt.感染到
trait /trei，treit/ n.特质；特性
perceive /po"siiv/ vt.发觉，觉察；理解
energetic /ensd3etik/ adj.精力充沛的，精神饱满的
easy-going /iizi"gsuig/ adj.随和的
tense /tens/ adj.紧张的
hostile /"hDstail/ adj.敌意的
nasal / 丨neizl/ adj.鼻的
ache /eik/ n.(长时间连续的）疼痛，酸痛
sneeze /sniiz/ vi.打喷噴
congestion /kon"dsestpn/ n.充血
mucus /"mjuikss/ n.點液
woe /wou/ n.痛苦，苦恼；（复）灾难，苦头
注释：
1.Warm People Likely to Keep Cold at Bay:情绪乐观的人不易患感冒。warm people 原意是 “热心肠的人，情绪高昂的人” ,keep/hold.. at bay是“使……走投无路，不使……接近”的意 思，因此本题目如果直译则是“情绪高昂的人可能让感冒不能得逞”或“情绪高昂的人可能 远离感冒”或“情绪高昂的人可能拒感冒于千里之外”。
2.staying positive:保持积极向上（的情绪）
3.exposed healthy volunteers to a cold or flu virus:使健康的志愿者接触感冒（病毒）或流感病 毒。expose原意是“使暴露，使面临”，这里expose sb. to sth.是“使……接触……”的意思。
4.sunny disposition:乐观开朗的个性
5.positive emotional style:乐观情绪型，情绪积极型
6.scratchy throat ：嗓子痛
7.susceptible to:对……敏感的，容易受到……影响的
8.as to:关于，至于
Which of the following is NOT one of the characteristics that people with a negative emotional style may have?
A:Hostile B:Unhappy C:Warm-blooded D:Tense
The Sahara
The nameSaharaderives from the Arabic word for "desert" or "steppe". At 3. 5 million square miles，an area roughly the size of the United States，the Sahara Desert in northern Africa is the largest desert in the world. lt spans the continent from theAtlantic Oceanto theRed Sea. Daytime temperatures can reach as high as 130°F. The humidity sometimes gets into the teens. But it can also be as low as 2. 5 percent，the lowest in the world. Most of the Sahara receives less than five inches of rain per year，while large areas sometimes have no rainfall at all for years.
At the heart of the Sahara is the landlocked north African country ofNiger. Here the sand dunes can be 100 feet tall and several miles long. Here sand plains stretch over an area larger thanGermanywhere there is neither water nor towns. Yet sitting in the midst of the surrounding desert is the town ofBilma. Suddenly there are pools of cIear water. Surprisingly，there are groves of date palms. Underground water resources，or oases，sufficient to support irrigated agriculture are found in dry stream beds and depressions. 1Irrigation ditches run off a creek to water fields. 2 Corn，cassava，tea，peanuts，hot peppers，and orange，lime，and grapefruit trees grow in these fields. Donkeys and goats graze on green grass. 3
The Sahara of Niger is still a region where you can see a camel caravan of 500 camels tied together in loose lines as long as a mile，traveling toward such oasis towns. There a caravan will collect life-sustaining salt，which is mined from watery basins，and transport it up to 400 miles back to settlements on the edges of the desert. The round trip across the vast sands takes one month.
词汇:
Humidity / hju:ˈmɪdəti / n. 湿度
irrigate / " lrlgelt/ v. 灌溉
stretch / stretʃ / v. 伸展
camel / "kæml / n. 骆驼
date palms n. 椰枣树
注释:
1. Underground water resources，or oases，sufficient to support irrigated agriculture are found in dry stream beds and depressions. 在干河床和洼地处可找到充足的地下水资源或者绿洲来支持灌溉农业。
2. Irrigation ditches run off a creek to water fields. 灌溉沟渠通过一条小溪到达水田中。
3. Donkeys and goats graze on green grass. 青草上放养着驴和山羊。
In this passage caravan means _______.
A:traveling circus B:group traveling together through difficult country C:railroad train D:a small，fast sailing ship
Defending the Theory of Evolution 1 Still Seems Needed
Judith S. Weis, a biology professor who serves as 2 president of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is leading a nationwide effort to “defend，，the theory of evolution. Weis leads the effort in the face of what the institute views as opposition and indifference from school boards and government entities 3.
The Institute believes that the teaching of evolution in Americais being diminished by the teaching of creationism as well as by an overall lack of teachingDarwin"s 4 theory in high school. "There"s nothing that requires schools to teach evolution. Sometimes teachers in high schools just leave it out 5 . However, from the point of view of biologists, evolution is the central theory of biology upon which everything is based," said Weis. "Unfortunately, teaching evolution has become a political issue in many parts of the country and AIBS, as a representative of biologists, wanted to be a major force speaking out in favor of its teaching." 6
Weis said the institute is working together with the American Geological Institute and the National Association of Biology Teachers and its 80-plus member organizations 7 to address 8 the political and legislative threats to teaching evolution. In states challenging its teaching, the institute responds by sending letters to school boards and state legislatures, by providing testimony at public meetings and by notifying members and affiliated organizations. AIBS, with more than 80 member societies and 250,000 members, has established an e-mail system enabling scientists and teachers in each state, and member societies, to keep each other informed about threats to the teaching of evolution.
Darwin"s theory of evolution holds that living things change and adapt to their environment and that present-day species (including human beings) are descended from earlier species through modification by natural selection. The theory has been accepted by scientists for nearly 100 years, Weis said, and has been refined, extended and strengthened over the years by findings in paleontology and developmental biology.
Discoveries in genetics, molecular biology 9 and genomics — all of which provide significant benefits for human health — would not be possible without the underlying 10 knowledge of evolution. And, Weis adds, "modern molecular biology and genomics have increased our understanding of how evolution works." Nonetheless, evolution remains a politically, if not scientifically, controversial issue.
Weis said that this year alone, seven states have had either local or statewide efforts to water down 11 the teaching of evolution, or "balance" it with the teaching of creationism 一 a religious belief that different species were created separately by a higher power, such as God. "Rarely does anyone now use the word ‘creationism，，because that"s too obvious," Weis said. "The current terminology is ‘intelligent design.
词汇：
creationism /krii"eijenizam/ n.神仓论
legislature /"ledgisleitja/ n.立法机关
affiliated organization 附属机构
refine/n"fain/v.精炼，提纯;改进
paleontology [ˌpælɪɒn"tɒlədʒɪ] n.古生物学
genetics /dji"netiks/ n.遗传
genomics [dʒə"nəʊmɪks] n.基因学 terminology [ˌtɜ:mɪ"nɒlədʒɪ] n.术语
注释：
1.the theory of evolution:进化论
2.serve as:担任
3. Weis leads the effort in the face of what the institute views as opposition and indifference fromschool boards and govemment entities.研究所看到了来自学校董事会和政府部门的反对和冷漠，尽管如此，Weis仍然带领大家为捍卫进化论而努力。in the face of:意为“despite the opposition of”（不管，不顾）。
entity：实体。business entity:企业单位，营业单位。
4.Darwin:达尔文(1809-1882)，英国博物学家，进化论创始人。
5. leave it out:忽略，遗漏
6.speak out in favor of its teaching:为进化论教育而疾呼speak out:大胆地说，大声地说in favor of:in support of支持；赞同
7. 80-plus member organizations:80多个会员组织。plus:超过的，略大的，例如：All the children here are 10 plus.这些孩子年龄都在10岁或10岁以上。Her mark was B plus。她的分数是B+。
8.address:意为“to deal with”（处理，解决，对付）。例如：to address the issue of terrorist attack:对付__的问题
9.molecular biology:分子生物学
10. underlying:意为“basic；fundamental”（基础的；基本的）。
11. water down:冲淡，掺水，打折扣
AIBS is composed of____.
A:more than 80 societies and 250,000 members B:250.000 biologists C:80 member organizations D:more than 250,000 members and 80 member societies
The Barbie Dolls
In the mid一1940"s, the young ambitious duo Ruth and Elliot Handler, owned a company that made wooden pictures frames. It was in 1945 that Ruth and Elliot Handler joined with their close friend Harold Mattson to form a company that would be known for the most famous and successful doll ever created. This company would be named MATTEL, MATT for Mattson ,and EL for Elliot 1.
In the mid—1950"s, while visiting Switzerland, Ruth Handler purchased a German Lilli doll. Lulll was a shapely 2, pretty fashion doll first made in 1955.She was originally fashioned after a famous cartoon character in the West German Newsletter, Build.
Lilli is the doll that would inspire Ruth Handler to design the Barbie doll. With the help of her technicians and engineers at Mattel, Barbie was born. Ruth then hired Charlotte Johnson, a fashion designer, to create Barbie"s wardrobe. It was in 1958 that the patent for Barbie was obtained. This would be a fashion doll unlike any of her time. She would be long limbed ,shapely , beautiful ,and only 11.5 inches tall. Ruth and Elliot would name their new fashion doll after their own daughter, Barbie 3.
In 1959 ,the Barbie doll would make her way to the New York Toy Show and receive a cool reception from the toy buyers.
Barbie has undergone a lot of changes over the years and has managed to keep up with current trends in hairstyles, makeup and clothing. She is a reflection of the history of fashion since her introduction to the toy market.
Barbie has a universal appeal and collectors both young and old enjoy time spent and memories made with their dolls.
词汇：
duo /"dju:əu/n．一对艺人；一对
shapely /ʃeipli/adj．样子好的，形状美好的
fashion/"fæʃən/ vt．把……塑造成n．新式样，时尚
newsletter/"nju: z,letə(r)/n．时事通讯;业务通讯
makeup/"meikʌp/n．化妆；化妆品；组成；构造
appeal/ə"pi: l/n．恳求，吸引力vt．呼吁，恳求
注释：
1.This company would be named MATTEL, MATF for Mattson ,and EL for Elliot．这家公司命名为MATTEL（麦特尔）, MATT代表麦特森（Mattson), EL代表埃利奥特（Elliot)。
2.shapely：是形容词，这一点特别提请注意。She has shapely legs．她大腿的线条很美。
3.Ruth and Elliot would name their new fashion doll after their own daughter, Barbie. Ruth和Elliot以自己女儿的名字芭比为他们新型的娃娃命名。name alter：用……的名字做名字。
Who owned MATTEL?
A:Mattson. B:Elliot. C:Harold Mattson. and Elliot Handler. D:Harold Mattson, Ruth and Elliot Handler.
The Sahara
The nameSaharaderives from the Arabic word for "desert" or "steppe". At 3. 5 million square miles，an area roughly the size of the United States，the Sahara Desert in northern Africa is the largest desert in the world. lt spans the continent from theAtlantic Oceanto theRed Sea. Daytime temperatures can reach as high as 130°F. The humidity sometimes gets into the teens. But it can also be as low as 2. 5 percent，the lowest in the world. Most of the Sahara receives less than five inches of rain per year，while large areas sometimes have no rainfall at all for years.
At the heart of the Sahara is the landlocked north African country ofNiger. Here the sand dunes can be 100 feet tall and several miles long. Here sand plains stretch over an area larger thanGermanywhere there is neither water nor towns. Yet sitting in the midst of the surrounding desert is the town ofBilma. Suddenly there are pools of cIear water. Surprisingly，there are groves of date palms. Underground water resources，or oases，sufficient to support irrigated agriculture are found in dry stream beds and depressions. 1Irrigation ditches run off a creek to water fields. 2 Corn，cassava，tea，peanuts，hot peppers，and orange，lime，and grapefruit trees grow in these fields. Donkeys and goats graze on green grass. 3
The Sahara of Niger is still a region where you can see a camel caravan of 500 camels tied together in loose lines as long as a mile，traveling toward such oasis towns. There a caravan will collect life-sustaining salt，which is mined from watery basins，and transport it up to 400 miles back to settlements on the edges of the desert. The round trip across the vast sands takes one month.
词汇:
Humidity / hju:ˈmɪdəti / n. 湿度
irrigate / " lrlgelt/ v. 灌溉
stretch / stretʃ / v. 伸展
camel / "kæml / n. 骆驼
date palms n. 椰枣树
注释:
1. Underground water resources，or oases，sufficient to support irrigated agriculture are found in dry stream beds and depressions. 在干河床和洼地处可找到充足的地下水资源或者绿洲来支持灌溉农业。
2. Irrigation ditches run off a creek to water fields. 灌溉沟渠通过一条小溪到达水田中。
3. Donkeys and goats graze on green grass. 青草上放养着驴和山羊。
In this passage caravan means _______.
A:traveling circus B:group traveling together through difficult country C:railroad train D:a small，fast sailing ship
