out on quite a few free trips to Europe.
A year ago, I was tired of missing out so much on life, so I decided I would fix my problem. A friend introduced me to Tom, an experienced airline captain and licensed doctor. He specialized in treating the fear of flying. I ended up asking him every single question floating around in my head. He helped me get over some of my ridiculous fears.
Actually, if you have a specific motivation, it helps to overcome fear. For me, that motivation came when I landed a girlfriend who moved to Wisconsin shortly after we started dating. Every time I went to visit her, I had to take a 22-hour train ride, lying wide awake all the way. Fed up with it, I decided I would have to take the 2-hour plane ride to Wisconsin instead.
I watched hours of YouTube videos of planes taking off to picture how my coming trip would be before I finally booked my first plane ticket. The moment I got to the airport, I took medicine to keep myself from feeling sick. As the minutes ticked down before boarding, I spent some time watching some more YouTube videos. I also turned on music on my earphones to drown out the sounds of the airplane, and breathed deeply whenever I felt any signs of fear.
I was proud that I made it. Yes, courage is the key that will open many doors of opportunity, while moving you through seemingly impossible obstacles that are standing in your way.
21. What did Tony fear?
A. Job offers. B. Train journeys. Plane rides.
C. Free trips. D.
22. How did Tony find his meeting with Tom?
A. Fruitless. B. Helpful.
23. Why did Tony watch YouTube videos at the airport?
A. His pilot friend asked him to. B. He had too much time to kill. C. He wanted to ease his panic. D. They could drown out noises.
24. What does Tony think matters most when overcoming fear?
A. Courage.
B
Singing in groups can help people recover from mental illness, making them feel valued and increasing their confidence, according to research. A University of East Anglia study of singers involved in free weekly workshops in Norfolk found benefits to mood and social skills. Researchers said the Sing Your Heart Out project had stopped some people from relapsing (病情复发). They urged other areas to consider running community singing groups.
The Sing Your Heart Out (SYHO) project started in 2005 at a hospital in Norwich before branching
B. Opportunity. C. Experience.
D. Medicine.
C. Ridiculous.
D. Astonishing.
out into the community. It is aimed at people with mental health conditions as well as the general public, and regularly attracts hundreds of people to four weekly sing-alongs. One of them is Penny Holden, 67, who has lived with mental health all her life. She credits the singing group with turning her life around 13 years ago when she was at her lowest. She claimed it was the best thing she’d ever done.
Researchers from UEA’s Norwich Medical School said a study of 20 members of the group over six months found singing and mixing socially had helped those who had had serious mental health issues to function better in day-to-day life. Lead researcher Professor Tom Shakespeare said it was a low-commitment, low-cost tool for mental health recovery within the community because it gave participants a feeling of belonging and well-being. He said the breathing involved in singing had also been shown to be good for the body. “The participants are not practicing for a performance,” he added, “and this means the singing groups are very relaxed and fun.”
25. What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Sing Your Heart Out beats hospitals. B. Group singing benefits mental health.
C. Community projects make a difference. D. Mental health worries the general public.
26. What’s Penny Holden’s attitude towards the project?
A. Reserved. B. Ambiguous.
27. The underlined sentence suggests that group singing is .
A. popular and costs little B. short of financial support
C. full of excitement and fun D. easy and practical to conduct
C
Do you have a summer firefly( 萤火虫) memory? I have many. I knew it was finally summer when I would be outside playing after dinner and those little flying lights appeared. I imagined each light was a fairy with long hair. But fireflies are disappearing. While the exact reason isn’t known, several factors are suspected: habitat (栖息地) loss, light pollution and harmful chemicals.
As the human population continues to grow, more and more wild habitats will be developed for our use. The more we destroy forest land, the fewer fireflies there will be — unless we start living in some totally different ways.
Another part of the problem is light pollution. Both female and male fireflies use their glowing lights to communicate with one another to find mates. Research has shown that lights — both streetlights or lights from a house, and temporary, like car headlights — make it harder for
C. Disapproving. D. Favorable.
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