30.We lose our boyfriends, 31.we become depressed,
32.we eat, we gain weight (which, in turn, depresses us), 33.we struggle to regain our self-respect,
34.we enter into another relationship, and the cycle goes on. 35.Food is not the only recourse for a sad lover.
36.One friend of mine soothes her broken heart by going shopping — 37.buying new clothes and new shoes, maybe a piece of jewelry — 38.to make herself feel better. 39.Whether it’s food or shopping,
40.self-indulgence is often good medicine for the blues, 41.if it is not carried to excess.
42.The worst response is turning to alcohol or drugs.
Passage 13 Leisure and Boredom
2.Technology and the division of labour have done two things: 3.by eliminating in many fields the need for special strength or skill, 4.they have made a very large number of paid occupations 5.which formerly were enjoyable work into boring labour, 6.and by increasing productivity
7.they have reduced the number of necessary labouring of the population, 8.that is to say, its labourers,
9.will have almost as much leisure as in earlier times was enjoyed by the aristocracy.
10.It seems interesting and relaxing good news at the first sight, 11.but when one recalls how aristocracies in the past actually behaved, 12.the prospect is not cheerful.
13.The past aristocracies invented a lot of activities to make fun out of boredom,
14.however, the problem of dealing with boredom may be even more difficult
15.for such a future mass society than it was for aristocracies. 16.The latter, for example, ritualized their time; 17.there was a season to shoot grouse,
18.a season to spend in town, a season to hold a lot of parties, etc. 19.The masses are more likely to replace an unchanging ritual by fashion 20.which it will be in the economic interest of certain people to change as often as possible.
21.Again, the masses cannot go in for hunting, 22.for very soon there would be no animals left to hunt.
23.For other aristocratic amusements like gambling, dueling, and warfare, 24.it may be only too easy to find equivalents in dangerous driving, 25.drug-taking, and senseless acts of violence. 26.Workers seldom commit acts of violence,
27.because they can put their aggression into their work, 28.be it physical like the work of a smith,
29.or mental like the work of a scientist or an artist. 30.The role of aggression in mental work
31.is aptly expressed by the phrase “getting one’s teeth into a problem
Passage14 To Do or Not to Do? The Answer Is a Click-Away
2.Can’t decide whether to dump your boyfriend, move house or sell your car?
3.The answer may be just a click-away.
4.Two British men and three women will let the Internet play God for 15 days
5.by handing over their daily, 6.sometimes life-changing decisions, 7.to a potential jury of 12.7 million people, 8.Internet news portal MSN said in a statement.
9.The five people were chosen as part of a project to give the Internet a chance
10.to help ordinary people make important daily decisions. 11.This latest venture comes three decades
12.after the publication of Luke Rhinehart’s best-selling book “The Dice Man”,
13.the story of a man who gives up his control of life to the dice,
14.and follows the worldwide success of reality TV show “Big Brother”. 15.Each of the five will put a decision a day to the Internet community 16.and will have to act on the outcome of the decision, 17.although they will be given a “joker”— 18.meaning they can back out of one decision — 19.during the period, MSN said.
20.Internet users around the world will be able to vote on the decisions each day
21.by visiting www.liveyourlife.msn.co.uk.
22.A dedicated site has been created around each participant, 23.giving information about their backgrounds, 24.their loves, hates, hopes and daily diary updates. 25.At the end of the 15 days,
26.web users will decide which of the five has let the Internet 27.live their life to the maximum 28.and he or she will win 10,000 pounds. 29.In the past people tended to rely on dice 30.or some fortune books to decide their next action.
31.Nowadays it seems a popular trend to express their problems on the Internet to seek help.
32.But is it really beneficial to make decisions based on the Internet?
33.Or we’d better depend on ourselves and be responsible for our own lives.
Passage15 About Streaking
2.In America, we value individuality and like to think that everyone is different.
3.It is expected that most youth will be somewhat rebellious sometime around college age.
4.Youthful rebellion is often seen as a healthy and normal groping toward individuality,
5.especially as needed to become distinct from one’s parents. 6.The rebelliousness may be related to major social issues — 7.peace, or racial justice, as we had in the late 1960s.
8.On the other hand, normal, healthy rebelliousness may be an individual test
9.of the line between foolishness and trouble.
10.Early teens may try to shock and worry their parents. 11.Tattoos, pierced noses, and brightly colored hair are examples. 12.By college age, students may be expected to be testing broader social norms.
13.Of particular delight are actions that point out the hypocrisy of older generations.
14.Streaking, or “running naked through a public place”,