Vacation is a time for refreshment. In work, we are often called to think. Sometimes, it’s good to give our brains a rest. Without a break, we may not be able to perform up to our potential. This can be a problem, not only for the employee, but for the employer as well.

“The main benefit of vacation is for the worker to come back energized,” says Weaver. “If they haven’t had a break, then they’re not coming back with new energy. They haven’t had a chance to step back and get perspective（远景）, and come back with renewed enthusiasm.”

Long working hours without a break, insecurity about one’s job, and other work-related worries can lead to burnout and stress. Humans can usually adapt to pressure, but not for a limitless amount of time.

“It is a problem of relating good workers and having them loyal to the firm while they’re there,” says David Maume, PhD, professor of sociology at the University of Cincinnati. He says burnout can also affect employees’ productivity, creativity, and effectiveness.

In addition, high levels of stress are likely to be precursors (前兆) to depression, which can hit both the employer and employee’s pocketbook. Even people who manager to remain productive at work can have problems. If they’re always at work, then they’re not with their family and friends. If they’re working while on vacation, for the time that they’re on the job, they’re not really present.

An unbalanced emphasis on work can strain family and social life. When you come up for air, you may see that you’re alone, or that your relationships have gone on without you.

21. What’s the main benefit of a vacation

A. The manager can be more creative.

B. The worker can step back and get more excited

C. The worker can come back with new energy.

D. The worker can adapt to pressure much better.

22. The underlined word “there” in the fourth paragraph probably refers to______.

   A. on vacation     B. at home    C. at the university    D. in the company

23. When a worker is always at work, he is likely to get more and more__________ .

A. absent-minded   B. energetic   C. skillful D. active 

A tiny lizard(蜥蜴)has been clinging to the wall behind me for TWO HOURS. I want to change the TV channel, but I feel I ought to at ask him. I know I’m a lot bigger than the lizard but I can’t help myself.

It’s not just me. This morning, a female neighbor ran screaming out of her room after finding a terrifying creature waiting inside. An ant. But she wanted to be alone.

Humans, I believe, should never kill bugs. Not for religious reasons. Mostly because they get back at us horribly. They have cosmic justice on their side, you see.

I’ve come across several news stories about guys who try to kill bugs and end up destroying their homes instead. Have you noticed it’s always guys? On the day I wrote this, the Man vs Bug news of the day involved an America guy from Seattle who tried to kill a spider using a can of spray paint and a cigarette lighter. He ended up torching his rental home, causing US $ 60,000 worth of damages.

In another Man vs Bug incident, this time in Japan, a man was so annoyed by a mosquito that was disturbing his hap that he emptied a can of bug spray trying to get it. Then he decided o light his cigarette. The resulting explosion caused his parents’ house to go up in flames. These two stories could also serve as effective anti-smoking ads. Let’s hope that in both cases, the men at least successfully managed to get rid of the offending insects. If not, it would be an EPIC FALL.

What do these tales teach us? The lesson is clear. If you offend against. The Universe, such as the attempted murder of an innocent bug, then cosmic justice will ensure that you pay the price.

I like cosmic justice. I think it makes life fair. So I am going to wait until this show ends before changing the TV channel, just in case I annoy the lizard.

24. According to the writer, what was the major cause of the loss of those guys’ homes in the news stories?

   A. Their not obeying the law of cosmic justice.

   B. The offending spider and annoying mosquito

   C. Their bad habits of smoking cigarettes.

   D. Their careless using spray paint and lighter.

25. What is the meaning of the underlined words “EPICFALL”?

   A. An unforgettable and embarrassing incident

   B. A hard and challenging task.

   C. A very great and impressive defeat.

   D. An impractical and useless method.

26. Which of the following proverbs conveys the message of the passage?

   A. Love me, love my dog.      B. Kill two birds with one stone.

   C. Nature is the true law.       D. Seeing is believing

Three years ago Bob Dougherty had some bad luck at a Home Depot in Louisville, Colorado. Dougherty sat down on a toilet in the store’s bathroom ----and couldn’t get up. Someone had left glue(胶水)on the seat, and Dougherty was glued to the toilet. As he was rushed to the hospital, the toilet seat came free---but not without leaving some skin behind. Ouch!

Sounds like Dougherty had a horrible day? Not necessarily. Dougherty is hoping to turn that really bad day into a really big payday. About two years after the incident, he wrote to Home Depot demanding $3 million in damages. When the company offered him just $2000, he sued(起诉). Dougherty argued that the store was slow to help him and paper seat cover should have been available. Was he laughed at out of court? Hardly. The case is slowly moving forward. Meanwhile, the person who actually put glue on the toilet was never caught.

Three million dollars over toilet-seat covers? That’s what passes for a legal case these days. People think the courtroom is the proper place to take any beef, no matter how embarrassing or ridiculous. “This is a country where it’s hard to laugh at what people sue over, because it tends to be overtaken by the reality,” says Walter Olson, a Manhattan Institute fellow and the editor of Overlawyered. com. “And the message some of these lawsuits send is if something bad has happened to you, it must be someone’s fault, and you must obtain payment.”

It’s not just ridiculous---it affects all of us. Our society has become so sue-happy that the average district judge handles 400 new cases a year. It can take years for a case to wind its way through the courts. All of these stupid lawsuits hit our wallets too. With court costs rising, insurance has increased greatly as everyone struggles to cover his behind. Meanwhile, the personal-injury lawyers, whose smiling faces are seen everywhere on ads encouraging us to join the lawsuit parade, are laughing all the way to the bank.

These days, even people behaving illegally want to blame someone when their own stupidity burns them. Take Juan Alejandro Soto, who, after a night of drink, arrived with his friend at a closed New Your City subway platform. Rather than return to street level, the man decided to walk to the next station along a nonpublic catwalk. Sure enough, a train came along. But instead of standing as far from the tracks as possible, Soto tried to outrun it and, tragically, was struck, losing both his legs.

Soto didn’t reflect on his foolishness and give thanks he wasn’t killed, however. He sued. Soto argued that the conductor should have been able to stop before hitting him. Unbelievably, last March, a jury(陪审团)awarded Soto $ 1.4 million, despite a judge disagreeing that Soto’s injuries were “entirely his own fault”.

27. In Bob Dougherty’s opinion, the cause of his incident was that_____.

   A. he had really bad luck that day.

   B. the store’s bathroom was not cleaned

   C. a staff member of Home Depot put glue on the toilet

   D. Home Depot failed to equip the toilet with seat covers

28. Which of the following words would Walter Olson most probably agree with?

   A. “You can sue over whatever you want to in the USA

   B. “There must be someone responsible for you bad luck”

   C. “You can get almost anything you want through suing”.

   D. “It’s improper to laugh at others for what they sue over”

29. According to the passage, who might take the most advantages of lawsuits?

   A. Judges.     B. Lawyers.     C. The insurance company.     D. The jury

30. What is the main idea of the passage?

   A. social justice is quite hard to achieve

   B. Judges carry more burdens nowadays

   C. People are blindly taking legal action

   D. Everyone has to pay for their own faults.

How do actors and actresses memorize hundreds of lines? Memorizing lines takes practice and constant repetition. However, there are a few ways to make the memorization process run smoothly and quickly．

　　   31  

　　 For most performers, there is no quicker way of memorizing lines．To learn lines, an actor must recite the play loud over and over again．Most rehearsals (彩排) encourage this by running through the lines or having a “read through”. By the time opening night arrives, most actors have spoken their lines hundreds of times.

　　Listen to your cast members.

　　Sometimes inexperienced actors spend rehearsals looking at fellow performers, waiting patiently to say their next line. 32    This will help the actor learn his lines better because the context of the dialogue is absorbed.

　　___33 

　　Because there is often not enough rehearsal time, many performers find ways to listen to the play’s dialogue during everyday activities. They use a tape recorder or an MP3 player to listen to the lines from each relevant scene (剧情). Some actors prefer to record the lines of all the characters, including their own.  34    Others like recording the lines of fellow cast members(参演人员), and they leave a blank space so that they can insert their dialogue while listening to the recording.

　　Think positively and don’t panic.

　　Most actors will experience stage fright before the opening night. Actors forget lines now and then. When it happens, however, most of the time the audience never notice. If you forget a line in the middle of your performance, don’t freeze. Stay in character. Keep the scene going to the best of your ability. If unfortunately you forget a line once, you will probably never forget that line ever again.  35 

A. Record your lines.

B. Practice makes perfect.

C. Read lines loud and repeat them.

D. Read lines loud and remember them in a short time.

E. Sometimes embarrassment is the toughest method of memorization.

F. Then, they not only listen carefully, but they also speak all of the lines.

G. Instead, they should be listening carefully, responding in character at all times.

   Aljeleni Igwe, an 18-year-old from Camden, New Jersey, 56. ________(graduate) from Leap Academy Charter School last month. His mother, Ovella O’Neal, was excited over his achievement, so she decided to buy a billboard showing her pride for her son 57.__________a graduation present.” A mother can’t raise a man but I raised a gentleman,” reads the billboard, 58___________costs $725 and also has a picture of Igwe.

   Needless 59___________(say), the billboard surprised the 18-year-old. “When he turned around, he said, Oh my God. How did you make that up there?” O’Neal told CBS Philly. “He was 60________________(total) surprised.

   The single mother of six said her happiness was partly from the fact that Igwe had been able to succeed 61__________his surroundings. According to the report, Camden has the 62____________(high) crime rate in the United States. It also has the lowest graduation rate, with two in five high school seniors 63________(fail) to graduate in 2014.

   O’Neal created strict rules in her household like preventing Igwe from having 64.__________girlfriend. She also limited his cell phone use to keep him from getting distracted. Her guidelines seemed to 65_____________(work)and she said her son stayed on the right track.

   While the loving gesture is bold one, the recent graduate says his hard-working mother deserves a big gift as well. He hopes to make that happen in the future.