Sample Three

　　Direction：

　　You are going to read a text about the season for relief， followed by a list of examples.Choose the best example from the list A�睩 for each numbered subheading (41��45).There is one extra example which you do not need to use.Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.(10 points)

　　Winter’s harsh weather， shorter hours of daylight and family demands can all aggravate feelings of stress.According to Dr.Paul Rosch， president of the American Institute of Stress， one Midwestern headache clinic reported that complaints of tension and migraine headaches increased 40 percent from Thanksgiving to Christmas， compared with other six�瞱eek periods during the year.

　　Many physicians are now trained in techniques to relieve tension and stress.But which strategies do they themselves use? Here top health professionals reveal their favorite stressbusters.Six in all， they are：

　　(41) Soothe with food.When nutritional biochemist Judith Wurtman is stressed out， she does what a lot of people do this time of year： she reaches for food.But in her case， it’s a healthy rice cake or two.

　　(42) Run from your problem.Dr.Kenneth H.Cooper handles his own stress with a daily after�瞱ork run.

　　(43) Check your perspective.Driving in for a busy day as a MayoClinic stress�瞞anagement expert， psychologist John Taylor saw the oil�瞞aintenance light pop on in his minivan.He faced a nonstop schedule of patients and had to pick up his three�瞴ear�瞣ld after work.“I felt myself tense up，”recalls Taylor， who then tried his quick stress�瞓usting strategy.He asked himself， Is this a matter of life or death? No.The oil could safely be changed the next week.

　　(44) Look to the light side.On his way to the hospital where his father was to undergo surgery， author and educator Joel Goodman shared a hotel courtesy van with the anxious relatives of several patients.The driver began telling his stressed�瞣ut passengers a few jokes.“Then he did some magic tricks that had my mother and me laughing，”Goodman says.“In that five�瞞inute ride he taught us that humor can relieve our stress.”The surgery was successful.

　　(45) Take a timeout.A major cause of anxiety is an overloaded schedule.It’s one source of stress you can ward off by preparing ahead.

　　Say a little prayer.Psychologist and medical scientist Joan Bprysenko of Boulder， Colo.， maintains that since most people spend too much time agonizing over the past or worrying about the future， the key to lessening stress is learning how to live emotionally in the present.

　　“It helps to have some ritual to do this，”says Borysenko.For her the most relaxing ritual is“each morning when I pray.”Prayer has been shown to reduce the impact of stress hormones such as noradrenaline and adrenaline.

　　But remember， says Borysenko， doctors can’t turn on their patient’“internal healing system”.That inner clam is up to you.So you’re sick of stress，heal thyself.

　　\[A\] Williams counts himself among the 20 percent of adults whose susceptibility to anger is high enough to threaten their health.But everyone can try his approach to handling the stressors that set anger off—and it needn’t be in a work environment.

　　\[B\] “Aerobic exercise is the best way to dissipate stress and make the transition into family time，”says the expert.But， he cautions， don’t let exercise itself become a stress.Even moderate activity—such as a daily 30 minute walk can improve health and mood.“That’s why I tell my patients to be sure to walk their dog every day，”he says with a chuckle，“even if they don’t have one.”

　　\[C\] “My research suggests that carbohydrates raise levels of the mood�瞨egulating brain chemical serotonin， which exerts a calming effect on the entire body，”says the M.I.T research scientist.“So symptoms of stress—such as anger， tension， irritability and inability to concentrate—are eased.”

　　\[D\] He tells patients to do only those tasks that would have serious consequences if left undone.“Will you die if you don’t do the laundry?”he asks.Taking at least half an hour a day to do something you enjoy， he notes， lets you recharge you batteries.Especially around the holidays，skip some routine chores to make time for family and friends.

　　\[E\] When cardiologist Ray Rosenman was associate chief of medicine at San Francisco’s Mount Zion Hospital， he would block off half an hour a day on his schedule.“If an emergency came up， I moved patients into that slot，”says Rosenman， co�瞐uthor of Type A Behavior and Your Heart.“Or used that half�瞙our to return calls or go through my mail.You can’t control everything， but you can control your schedule to create some breathing space for yourself.”

　　\[F\] He was so moved by his experience that he researched laughter’s power.“A good laugh relaxes muscles， lowers blood pressure， suppresses stress�瞨elated hormones and enhances the immune system，”he says.In his workshops he tells clients to ask themselves how their favorite comedian would see this stressful situation.

　　Sample Four

　　Directions：

　　You are going to read a list of headings and a text about explorations into maple lores.Choose the most suitable heading from the list A�睩 for each numbered paragraph (41��45)。 The first and last paragraphs of the text are not numbered.There is one extra heading which you do not need to use.Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.(10 points)

　　\[A\] The influence of maples on the Canadian culture.

　　\[B\] The token of maples in Canada.

　　\[C\] Contemplation of global distribution of maples.

　　\[D\] The triumph of Nokomis over the devils with the help of maples.

　　\[E\] The popularity of the maple in a favorite myth.

　　\[F\] The maple signals the approach of fall.

　　The maple smoke of autumn bonfires is incense to Canadians.Bestowing perfume for the nose， color for the eye， sweetness for the spring tongue， the sugar maple prompts this sharing of a favorite myth and original etymology of the word maple.

　　41��

　　The maple looms large in Ojibwa folk tales.The time of year for sugaring�瞣ff is“in the Maple Moon.”Among Ojibwa， the primordial female figure is Nokomis， a wise grandmother.In one tale about seasonal change， cannibal wendigos�瞔reatures of evil—chased old Nokomis through the autumn countryside.Wendigos throve in icy cold.When they entered the bodies of humans， the human heart froze solid.Here wendigos represent oncoming winter.They were hunting to kill and eat poor Nokomis， the warm embodiment of female fecundity who， like the summer， has grown old.

　　42��

　　Knowing this was a pursuit to the death， Nokomis outsmarted the cold devils.She hid in a stand of maple trees， all red and orange and deep yellow.This maple grove grew beside a waterfall whose mist blurred the trees’outline.As they peered through the mist， slavering wendigos thought they saw a raging fire in which their prey was burning.But it was only old Nokomis being hidden by the bright red leaves of her friends， the maples.And so， drooling ice and huffing frost， the wendigos left her and sought easier prey.For their service in saving the earth mother’s life， these maples were given a special gift： their water of life would be forever sweet， and Canadians would tap it for nourishment.

　　43��

　　Maple and its syrup flow sweetly into Canadian humor.Quebeckers have the standard sirop d’erable for maple syrup， but add a feisty insult to label imitation syrups that are thick with glucose glop.They call this sugary imposter sirop de Poteau“telephone�瞤ole syrup”or dead tree syrup.

　　44��

　　The contention that maple syrup is unique to North America is suspect， I believe.China has close to 10 species of maple， more than any country in the world.Canada has 10 native species.North America does happen to be home to the sugar maple， the species that produces the sweetest sap and the most abundant flow.But are we to believe that in thousands of years of Chinese history， these inventive people never tapped a maple to taste its sap? I speculate that they did.Could Proto�睞mericas who crossed the Bering land bridge to populate the Americas have brought with them a knowledge of maple syrup? Is there a very old Chinese phrase for maple syrup? Is maple syrup mentioned in Chinese literature? For a non�瞨eader of Chinese， such questions are daunting but not impossible to answer.

　　45��

　　What is certain is the maple’s holdfast on our national imagination.Its leaf was adopted as an emblem in New France as early as 1700， and in English Canada by the mid��19th century.In the fall of 1867， a Toronto schoolteacher named Alexander Muir was traipsing a street at the city， all squelchy underfoot from the soft felt of falling leaves， when a maple leaf alighted to his coat sleeve and stuck there.At home that evening， he wrote a poem and set it to music， in celebration of Canada’s Confederation.Muir’s song，“The Maple Leaf Forever，”was wildly popular and helped fasten the symbol firmly to Canada.

　　The word“maple”is from“mapeltreow”， the Old English term for maple tree， with“mapl”—as its Proto�睪ermanic root， a compound in which the first“m”—is， I believe， the nearly worldwide“ma”， one of the first human sounds， the pursing of a baby’s lips as it prepares to suck milk from mother’s breast.The“ma”root gives rise in many world languages to thousands of words like“mama”，“mammary”，“maia”， and“Amazon.”Here it would make“mapl�病眒ean“nourishing mother tree，”that is， tree whose maple sap in nourishing.The second part of the compound，“apl�病�， is a variant of Indo�睧uropean able“fruit of any tree”and the origin of another English fruit word， apple.So the primitive analogy compares the liquid sap with another nourishing liquid， mother’s milk.