Not everyone is excited about birthdays. There are many people out there who never feel excited about it. They find the day as normal as any other day. Nothing in their routine changes in the name of celebration. After all, what makes them be so indifferent? Are they devoid of the enthusiasm for life? Do they want to avoid the “feel special” feel? What exactly is it that makes them feel nothing special on the day of their birth?

This may be common in those who are in their 50’s or late 50’s, 60’s, the 70’s… For some people in this age, life becomes a journey that is going on and on and on at a faster pace. They feel like losing control of their time and every passing year increases the fear of dying soon. Their birthday is nothing more than bad news for them.

Some people do not like to come to the notice of others due to any possible reason on this earth. They just don’t like it. You may feel stunned about this nature but they like to remain as part of the crowd. Birthdays are contrary to this feeling as they bring people in sudden attention. Everyone wants to wish the birthday boy or girl, all are eager to know the plans of the day. But those who do not like all this celebration thing find it nothing but chaos. They prefer to remain silent and follow the normal routine of daily life.

Here comes another part of the population that thinks it is a waste of money. Their logic is: Why lose hard-earned money for the pleasure of three to four hours? They do not understand the logic behind spending on those who do not help you earn. This also includes people who are in debt and have multiple obligations.

Instead of aiming for a perfect day, set realistic expectations for your birthday.

1.What does the underlined part “devoid of” mean?

A Afraid of.

B Ashamed of.

C Lacking in.

D Proud of.

解析：选C。C 词义猜测题。根据连续的几个问句可知，并非所有人都热爱过生日，很多人甚至从未因此激动过，生日对他们而言就如同往常一样，并没有任何稀奇之处。是什么让他们表现得如此冷漠？他们是不是缺乏生活热情？是因为他们不想被特殊对待吗？究竟是什么让他们在生日那天感觉没有什么特别的？故选C。

2.What caused people to experience no excitement about their birthday? ①Unwilling to work or be active. ② Fear of aging and death. ③Fear of being noticed in social situations. ④ Insufficient budget.

A ①②③

B ①③④

C ①②④

D ②③④

解析：选D。D 段落大意题。根据第二段内容可知，恐惧衰老是很多人不想过生日的一个重要原因；根据第三段内容可知，对于一些人来说，不喜欢庆祝生日的原因可能非常直接：他们害怕社交；根据第四段内容可知，庆祝生日通常需要一定的开销，对于一些人而言，这些开销可能成为压力的来源。故选D。

3.If there were one more paragraph, the author would talk about __________.

A proper gifts for shy people

B ways to relieve birthday stress

C the reason for birthday blues

D the disadvantages of short-term debts

解析：选B。B 推理判断题。根据文章最后一句“ Instead of aiming for a perfect day, set realistic expectations for your birthday.”与其把目标定在完美的一天，不如为你的生日设定现实的期望，可知，作者认为，如果你为过生日感到焦虑，不如试试来缓解生日的压力，因此接下来作者最有可能会谈论缓解生日压力的方法。故选B。

4.Where can the text be found?

A In a history book.

B In a biography.

C In a life magazine.

D In a scientific study.

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。本文主要描述了“生日回避型人格”的相关情况，属于生活类的文章，因此我们最有可能在生活杂志上读到本文。故选C。