Coffman and district officials last week agreed on a state emergency plan freeing yp a $9.8 million loan that enabled the payroll (工資單) to be met for 2,700 teachers and staff in time for the holidays.

　　District officials also took $1.7 million from student-activity accounts its 38 schools.

　　At Coffman’s request, the District Attorney has begun investigating the district’s finances. Coffman says he wants to know whether district officials hid the budget shortage until after the November election, when voters approved a $212 million bond issue for schools.

　　In Frederick, students’ parents are buying classroom supplies and offering to pay for groceries and utilities to keep first-year teachers and principals in their jobs.

　　Some $36,000 has been raised in donations from Safeway. A Chevrolet dealership donated $10,000 and forgave the district’s $10,750 bill for renting the driver educating cars. IBM contributed 4,500 packs of paper.

　　“We employ thousands of people in this community,” said Mitch Carson, a hospital chief executive, who helped raise funds. “We have children in the school, and we see how they could be affected.”

　　At Creek High School, three students started a website that displays newspaper articles, district information and an email forum (論壇)。 “Rumors about what’s happening to the district are moving at lighting speed,” said a student. “We wanted to know the truth, and spread that around instead.”

　　26. What has happened to the Vrain School District?

　　A) A huge financial problem has arisen.

　　B) Many schools there are mismanaged.

　　C) Lots of teachers in the district are planning to quit.

　　D) Many administrative personnel have been laid off.

　　27. How did the residents in the Vrain School District respond to the budget shortage?

　　A) They felt somewhat helpless about it.

　　B) They accused those responsible for it.

　　C) They pooled their efforts to help solve it.

　　D) They demanded a through investigation.

　　28. In the view of State Treasurer Mike Coffman, the educational budget shortage is ________.

　　A) unavoidable

　　B) unthinkable

　　C) insolvable

　　D) irreversible

　　29. Why did Coffman request an investigation?

　　A) To see if there was a deliberate cover-up of the problem.

　　B) To find out the extent of the consequences of the case.

　　C) To make sure that the school principals were innocent.

　　D) To stop the voters approving the $212 million bong issue.

　　30. Three high school students started a website in order to ________.

　　A) attract greater public attention to their needs

　　B) appeal to the public for contributions and donations

　　C) expose officials who neglected their duties

　　D) keep people properly informed of the crisis

　　26. A 27. C 28. B 29.A 30. D

　　“Humans should not try to avoid stress any more than they would shun food, love or exercise.” Said Dr. Hans Selye, the first physician to document the effects of stress on the body. While here’s on question that continuous stress is harmful, several studies suggest that challenging situations in which you’re able to rise to the occasion can be good for you.

　　In a 2001 study of 158 hospital nurses, those who faced considerable work demands but coped with the challenge were more likely to say they were in good health than those who felt they stress that you can manage also boost immune (免疫的) function. In a study at the Academic Center for Dentistry in Amsterdam, researchers put volunteers through two stressful experiences. In the first, a timed task that required memorizing a list followed by a short test, subjects through a gory (血淋淋的) video on surgical procedures. Those who did well on the memory test had an increase in levels of immunoglobulin A, an antibody that’s the body’s first line of defense against germs. The video-watchers experienced a downturn in the antibody.

　　Stress prompts the body to produce certain stress hormones. In short bursts these hormones have a positive effect, including improved memory function. “They can help nerve cells handle information and put it into storage,” says Dr. Bruce McEwen of Rockefeller University in New York. But in the long run these hormones can have a harmful effect on the body and brain.

　　“Sustained stress is not good for you,” says Richard Morimoto, a researcher at Northwestern University in Illinois studying the effects of stress on longevity, “It’s the occasional burst of stress or brief exposure to stress that could be protective.”

　　31. The passage is mainly about ________.

　　A) the benefits of manageable stress

　　B) how to cope with stress effectively

　　C) how to avoid stressful

　　D) the effect of stress harmonies on memory

　　32. The word “shun” (Line 1, Para. 1) most probably means ________.

　　A) cut down on

　　B) stay away from

　　C) run out of

　　D) put up with

　　33. We can conclude from the study of the 158 nurses in 2001 that ________.

　　A) people under stress tend to have a poor memory

　　B) people who can’t get their job done experience more stress

　　C) doing challenging work may be good for one’s health

　　D) stress will weaken the body’s defense against germs

　　34. In the experiment described in Paragraph 3, the video-watchers experienced a downturn in the antibody because ________.

　　A) the video was not enjoyable at all

　　B) the outcome was beyond their control

　　C) they knew little about surgical procedures

　　D) they felt no pressure while watching the video

　　35. Dr. Bruce McEwen of Rockefeller University believes that ________.

　　A) a person’s memory is determined by the level of hormones in his body

　　B) stress hormones have lasting positive effects on the brain

　　C) short bursts of stress hormones enhance memory function

　　D) a person’s memory improves with continued experience of stress

　　31. A 32. B 33. C 34.B 35. C