Passage Four

If you’ve ever been pranked on April Fools’ Day, you may wonder how this tradition started. Well, you’re not alone. No one knows for sure how April Fools’ Day began. But the most likely explanation has to do with the calendar.

No, that’s not an April Fools’ Day joke. People used to celebrate New Year’s Day on April lst. Just like today, people would have big parties to celebrate. Over time, the calendar changed and so did the date for New Year’s. In the 1500s, the new calendar marked New Year’s Day as January lst. But because there was no Internet or other means to spread the word, the news traveled slowly by word of mouth. It took a while for everyone to hear about the change, and even then some people resisted it. They continued to celebrate New Year’s on April lst. These people were given the nickname“April fools”.

People following; the new calendar played tricks on the “April fools” by sending them on“ fool’s [errands]”. They had the “April fools” deliver invitations to big New Year’s celebrations that weren’t really going to happen. In France, “April fools” were called “Poisson d’Avril”, which is French for “April Fish”. This began because people thought fish were easy to catch since they could be fooled into taking the bait on a hook. Children would tag a paper fish on a person’s back to mark them as an “April Fish”. When the person discovered the fish, the prankster would yell “Poisson d’Avril”.

Not everyone is convinced that this is actually how the tradition of April Fools’Day began. People have tried to pinpoint the exact date of the first April Fools’ Day, but this only led to more pranks. A professor from Boston University pranked a reporter by making up a story about a court jester who said he could run the empire better than the king. The jester was made king for a day on April lst. This turned out to be a big April Fools’ Day trick because the reporter thought the story was real.

Even though we aren’t sure how this tradition began, people still celebrate April Fools’ Day by playing tricks on each other. So the next time you prank someone and yell “April Fools!” remember that the day may actually be about the people who didn’t want to change their traditions when the new calendar was adopted. Or maybe it’s just a day to celebrate the joker in all of us.

Questions 16-20 are based on Passage Four.

 If you prank somebody, it means you______.

The over-sixty population is growing faster than any other age group. Between 1950 and 2050 it is expected to increase from 200 million to 2 billion. As the number of older persons increases, so will the need to ensure their social inclusion, based on an income from decent work or retirement and a chance to participate in community life through employment, volunteer work or other activities. (46. According to the International Labor Organization, “decent work” is work that meets people’s basic aspirations, not only for income, but also for security for themselves and their families, in a working environment that is safe. ) Decent work treats men and women equally, without discrimination or harassment. Finally, decent work provides social security and is carned out in conditions of freedom and human dignity.

But there are over 1.2 billion people in the world who live on an income of less than $1 a day, and another billion who live on less than $2 a day. (47. They live hand to mouth, day to day, and do not have enough income to support their daily existence — much less put something aside for retirement. ) In most developing countries retirement is a luxury few older people can afford. Even in developed countries some hard working people will not have enough to live on retirement. Many women — paid less than men, working more at home than men, and working more informally than men — may not be ready or able to rest at 65.

By tradition, at least in developed countries, there is a change to roles as one moves from active middle years into “gentle” and “enjoyable” retirement. This change in roles has been viewed by the public, by government and by business, as a transition from a productive time of life to one that is unproductive and dependent. But today more than ever, this is not true. (48. Most older people do not withdraw from society. Instead, they continue to contribute to their households, to their descendants and to their communities, although their contribution may not be paid employment. )

Instead of producing goods or services — the traditional economic model “products” - older persons may contribute a “product” that has value to society, such as caring for children, caring for other older persons, caring for the oldest old, providing community leadership, mentoring or being an effective role model. (49. But in spite of their significant human and economic benefits, such contributions have not been figured into an economy’s gross national product. And they have not been appropriately valued. )

Over the past several decades, most industrialized countries have experienced a substantial drop in the average age at which individuals retire from the labor market. (50. Longer life expectancy and better health have not been accompanied by longer working lives. As a consequence, these countries are facing serious concerns about the viability of social security systems. ) A key challenge for these countries is to mitigate the effects of a drop in the working age population by increasing and prolonging the participation of older people in the labor market.

Passage Nine

Thirty-six years ago, when the grizzly was first listed as threatened, there were no bears along the Rocky Mountain Front, the plains at the base of the Rockies. If one was spied, it was routinely killed by ranchers. Now there are over a hundred, perhaps many more.

A______ of bears in their former habitat.

Passage Ten

Scientists have been finding evidence of life inside meteorites for well over 100 years — that, or the building blocks of life. The claims of life have proved false every time. It always turns out to be a wishful interpretation of chemicals, minerals and tiny structures inside the meteorite that could be the fossilized long-dead bacteria — but almost certainly aren’t.

Scientists f______ to find valid evidence of life inside meteorites.

Passage Eight

Orbiting only about three million miles out from its star, the Jupiter-size gas giant planet, dubbed TrES-2b, is heated to 980 degrees Celsius. Yet the apparently inky world appears to reflect almost none of the starlight that shines on it.

A d______ planet that reflects almost no light.

Passage Seven

When it comes to money, it often pays to ignore financial news. The media is in the business of selling news, and to do that, they sensationalize it. Fueled by the over-eager reporting, irrational exuberance can quickly turn to pervasive gloom. Neither state of mind makes sense. They’re both extremes that lead investors to make poor decisions.

Financial news may m______ investors.

Passage Six

An average of just one 85-gram serving of unprocessed red meat — such as a medium hamburger or a small pork chop — per day increased by 12 percent the chances a person would get type 2 diabetes over the course of a decade or two.

C______ of red meat increases risk of diabetes.

Passage Five

Rising carbon dioxide levels leads to global warming. The industrialized world has been the main protagonist given that carbon dioxide lasts about 100 years in the atmosphere, but as the developing nations become increasingly mechanized and urbanized, the balance is shifting. Indeed, the carbon emissions of Asia more than doubled from 1990 onwards.

Developing countries p______ more carbon emissions than before.

Passage Four

Most mammals can sprint faster than humans— having four legs gives them the advantage. But when it comes to long distances, humans can outrun almost any animal. Because we cool by sweating rather than panting, we can stay cool at speeds and distances that would overheat other animals.

Human’s efficient c______ system.

Passage Three

Emotions and values play an enormous role in how we process information and make choices. We are beset by cognitive biases that throw what would be sound decision-making off-balance. Take loss aversion: psychologists have found that human beings tend to be more concerned about avoiding losses than achieving gains, holding onto what they have even when this is not in their best interests.

Emotions and values greatly a______ decision-making.

Britain’s most prestigious scientific institution, the Royal Society, will host a meeting for some of the world’s top psychologists. Their aim is to find out why it is that some people’s lives go so right. What is it that makes them happy and fulfilled, while others seem doomed to founder in misery, dissatisfaction and dejection?

Psychologists have known for some time that optimism is a good defense against unhappiness.“If you are optimistic and you think life is going to get better, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy,” says Baylis. “You will involve yourself more, you will take more care of yourself. You will figure that if you do more exercise and not booze as much, life will be better.”

Positive psychologists believe optimism can be learned, and we can teach ourselves to see a half-empty glass as half-full.“Research on depression shows that one of the biggest causes of depression is ruminating about something that went wrong in the past,” says Baylis.“What happens is you look into the past and think about some event and keep turning it over, saying, ‘I messed up, I messed up,’ and you let it hurt you.”

But just as dwelling on negative events can lead to depression, dwelling on things that have gone well can help pick you up.“You have to thank your lucky stars about what goes right on a daily basis. Whenever you get the feeling of being negative about things, just take a moment out and remind yourself of the stuff that has gone well. It could be anything from a conversation to your garden looking nice, or that it didn’t rain on you when you were out on your bike. It’s an extremely powerful technique.”

By reminding ourselves what went well instead of what went wrong, positive psychologists believe we can build a buffer against unhappiness, making us better able to take life's knocks when they come.

26. having high status (Para. 1)

27. satisfied because of fully developing one’s abilities (Par a. 1)

28. a sad and depressed state (Par a. 1)

29. a prediction of what will happen in the future (Par a. 2)

30. to drink alcohol, especially in large quantities (Par a. 2)

31. a mental state of gloomy feelings (Par a. 3)

32. to think deeply about something (Par a. 3)

33. not optimistic (Par a. 4)

34. a cushion-like device that reduces shock (Para.5)

35.a discouraging experience (Par a. 5)