泽熙美文Reading Comprehension
Losing a job or not being able to find one almost always brings unwelcome changes. If you’ve lost a job, the first feeling is often one of shock. On top of the loss of income, many people find the whole routine of their life is shattered, their contact with other people reduced, their ambitions halted and their identity as a worker removed.
There may be good feelings too—it’s nice to be able to lie in bed in the morning, to spend more time with children, or to have more time to think—a better job may be just around the corner. But, unless a better job does turn up, chances are the days start getting longer and the time becomes harder to fill. Many people pass through periods of difficulty in sleeping and eating. They feel irritable and depressed, often isolated and lonely.
Despite all these problems, unemployment can be a chance for a fresh start. You can discover that it provides an opportunity to sort out or rethink what you want from life and how best you can get it. You can use the time to plan how to find a new job, learn a new skill, develop your hobbies, see if you can run your own business, do some voluntary work in your community or meet new people. It’s up to you.
1. Unemployment almost always brings changes that are ______.
A.unpleasant
B.unsuitable
C.untenable
D.unworthy
正确答案：A
[解析] 本题考查细节理解。将解题点定位在第一段第一句“Losing a job or not being able to find one almost always brings unwelcome changes”。unwelcome“不受欢迎的”；unpleasant“令人不愉快的”，unsuitable“不合适的”，untenable“不能维持的”，unworthy“不值得的”。
2. According to the passage, when a person has first lost a job, more often than not, he feels ______.
A.excited
B.isolated
C.shocked
D.depressed
正确答案：C
[解析] 本题考查细节理解。根据文章第一段第二句“If you’ve lost a job, the first feeling is often one of shock.”C选项相符，所以答案为C。more often than not…意为“往往，多半”，相当于often。
3. According to the passage, possible good feelings include the following EXCEPT being able to ______.
A.have more time to think
B.have a new and better job
C.have more time to visit friends
D.spend more time with children
正确答案：C
[解析] 本题考查细节理解。根据文章第二段第一句“There may be good feelings too it’s nice to be able to lie in bed in the morning, to spend more time with children, or to have more time to think-a better job may be just around the comer.”可知，A、B、D三项均是失业后的好的感受。
4. According to this passage, unemployment may ______.
A.cause people to lose touch with reality
B.completely destroy people’s life patterns
C.lessen interaction with people
D.reduce people’s chances of promotion
正确答案：B
[解析] 本题考查细节理解。根据第一段最后一句“On top of the loss of income, many people find the whole routine of their life is shattered, their contact with other people reduced, their ambitions halted and their identity as a worker removed.”及第二段最后一句“They feel irritable and depressed, often isolated and lonely.”可知，失业使人们的正常生活方式完全被打乱了。
5. The unemployed become finally disillusioned when they ______.
A.have nothing more to think about
B.are unable to improve their position
C.get tired of playing with their children
D.can no longer lie in bed in the morning
正确答案：B
[解析] 本题考查推理判断。“But, unless a better job does turn up…They feel irritable and depressed, often isolated and lonely.”可知，除非找到好的工作，否则他们将刚到沮丧，尝尝感到孤立和孤独。
6. According to the passage, continuing unemployment may cause ______.
A.absence of humot
B.lack of interest
C.waste of time
D.loss of appetite
正确答案：B
[解析] 本题考查细节理解。根据第二段第二句及第三句“But, unless a better job does turn up, chances are the days start getting longer and the time becomes harder to fill. Many people pass through periods of difficulty in sleeping and eating.”可知，除非找到好的工作，不然日子都会变长，时间变得很难打发。很多人都是通常睡觉和暴饮暴食来打发。
7. By “a chance for a fresh start” the author means ______.
A.one should learn to seize chances
B.one should often change his jobs
C.unemployment can be of benefit
D.unemployment does not last long
正确答案：C
[解析] 本题考查词义理解。根据文章第三段的第一句“Despite all these problems, unemployment can be a chance for a flesh start.”可知，尽管失业会带来很多问题，但是这也是一个可以让你重新开始的机会。紧接着介绍失业会让人们得到什么。所以，失业也是有利的。
8. Unemployment provides a chance for you to rethink ______.
A.what you find and how to keep it
B.what you want and how to get it
C.how best you can do the new job
D.how best you can sort out a new job
正确答案：B
[解析] 本题考查细节理解。根据文章第三段的第二句“You can discover that it provides an opportunity to sort out or rethink what you want from life and how best you can get it.”可知，失业会给你提供一个重新考虑：你想从生活中得到什么，和怎么样最好地得到这些东西。
9. The sentence “it’s up to you” means “you are the person who ______”.
A.makes the decision
B.is responsible
C.has the right
D.is confident
正确答案：A
[解析] 本题考查词义理解。文章提到人们能做或可做之事；但究竟做什么还要“取决于你自己”。be up to“由……决定”。
10. The author’s purpose is to ______.
A.give the basic facts of unemployment
B.explain the reasons of unemployment
C.introduce new jobs to the unemployed
D.offer encouragement to the unemployed
正确答案：D
[解析] 本题考查主旨大意。本文开头先列举了失业的坏处和好处，并对此提出一些建议，使他们不再度日如年而是整理思路、认真思索、充电，做有意义的事，这一切无非是为了鼓励他们。
When you first drift off into slumber, your eyes will roll about a bit, your temperature will drop slightly, your muscles will relax, and your breathing will become quite regular. Your brain waves slowdown a bit, with the alpha rhythm predominating for the first few minutes. This is the first stage of sleep. For the next 30 minutes or so, you will drift down through Stage 2 and Stage 3. The lower your stage of sleep, the slower your brain waves will be. About 40 — 60 minutes after you lose consciousness, you will reach the last stage. Your brain waves will show the delta rhythm.
You may think that you stay at this deep stage all the rest of the night, but that turns out not to be the case. About 80 minutes after you fall into slumber, your activity cycle will increase slightly. The delta rhythm will disappear, to be replaced by the activity pattern of brain waves. Your eyes will begin to dart around under your closed eyelids. This period of Rapid Eye Movements lasts for 8 — 15 minutes and is called REM sleep. During both light and deep sleep, the muscles in your body are relaxed but capable of movement. As you slip into REM sleep, a very odd thing occurs — most
