“Old wives tales” are beliefs passed down from one generation to another, For example, most of us remember our parents’ telling us to eat more of certain foods or not to do certain things. Is there any truth in these teachings? Some of them agree with present medical thinking, but others have not passed the test of time
Did your mother ever tell you to eat your carrots because they are good for your eyes? Scientists now report that eating carrots can help prevent a serious eye disease called macular degeneration. Eating just one carrot a day can reduce the possibility of getting this disease by 40%. Garlic(蒜)is good for you, too. It can kill the type of virus that causes colds.
Unfortunately, not all of Mom’s advice passed the test of medical studies. For example, generations of children have been told not to go swimming within an hour after eating. But research suggests that there is no danger in doing so. Do sweets cause tooth problems? Well, yes and no. Sticky sweets made with grains tend to cause more problems than sweets made with simple sugars.
Even though science can tell us that some of our traditional beliefs don’t hold water, there is still a lot of truth in the old wives’ tales , After all, much of this knowledge has been accumulated (积累) from thousands of years of experience in family health care. We should respect this body of knowledge even as we search for clear scientific support to prove it true or false.
73. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
A. Eating garlic is good for our eyes
B. Sticky sweets are damaging to our teeth.
C. Swimming after a meal is dangerous
D. Carrots prevent people from catching colds
74. The author develops the third paragraph mainly_______.
A. by cause and effect B. by order in space
C. by order in time D. by examples
75. The phrase “ hold water” in the last paragraph most probably means “_______”.
A. to be believable B. to be valuable
C. to be admirable D. to be suitable
76. What is the author’s attitude toward “ old wives’ tale” in the text?
A. Subjective(主观的) B. Objective（客观的） C. Dissatisfied D. Curious
When 47-year-old volunteer Susan Boyle stepped onto the stage of Britain’s Got Talent and announced she was unemployed, had never been married and “never been kissed, actually”, few in the audience would have wondered why. This Ms Boyle, looking unfashionable, from a village in Scotland, shocked the three judges and the audience with the song I dreamed a dream from the musical Les Miserables on a show of Britain’s Got Talent, one of the hottest reality shows in Britain.
She couldn’t hide the awkwardness when walking to the center of the stage in a housedress, and everyone — including the judges — seemed laughing at her when she said she wanted to be as successful as Elaine Paige. As soon as she began singing, however, everyone in the auditorium fell silent, then rose within seconds to applaud her incredible voice as the celebrity judges sat open-mouthed, and remained standing to the end.
After her performance, one of the judges Piers Morgan said, “Without doubt that was the biggest surprise I’ve had in three years of this show. When you stood there everyone was laughing at you. No one is laughing no
w. That was amazing.” Actress Amanda Holden followed, “I’m so thrilled because I know that we everybody were against you. I honestly think that we were all being very cynical (愤世嫉俗的) and I think that’s the biggest wake up call ever.”
Susan obviously won over the hearts of millions around the world with sensation spreading across the Atlantic. Hollywood actors Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore — who between them have nearly 1.5 million followers — speak highly of her. Kutcher posted a link to the video clip (片段). The Scottish talent made her live American debut via satellite connection on CBS’s The Early Show, doing an interview and singing live from her room. And she already accepted an invitation from talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
Now Boyle has become one of the world’s hottest celebrities. The video clip of her performance has been viewed more than 50 million times on Youtube, becoming a hit on the Internet. We learn from the passage that Susan Boyle ______.
| A．rose from a low social class |
| B．had an unhappy marriage |
| C．lived with a dog alone on a farm |
| D．won the championship in the Britain’s Got Talent show |
At the beginning of the show, almost everybody ______.
| A．looked forward to her wonderful performance |
| B．was attracted by her beautiful dress |
| C．looked down upon her |
| D．placed great hope on her |
We can infer that ______ contributed most to her global popularity.
| A．the judges | B．the Internet | C．the newspaper | D．the advertisement |
The 4th paragraph intends to tell us ______.
| A．how Susan Boyle achieved her success |
| B．the comment made by American actor Ashton Kutcher |
| C．Susan Boyle’s influence in the USA |
| D．Oprah Winfrey’s invitation to Susan Boyle |
On a Friday night, a poor young artist stood at the gate of the New York railway station, playing his violin. The music was so great that many people stopped to put some money into the hat of the young man.
The next day, the young artist came to the same place, and put his hat on the ground gracefully. Different from the day before, he took out a large piece of paper and laid it under his hat. Then he began to play the violin. It sounded more pleasant than ever.
Soon he was surrounded with people who were attracted by the words on that paper. It said, “Last night, a gentleman named George Sang put an important thing into my hat by mistake. Please come to claim (认领) it soon.”
After about half an hour, a middle-aged man rushed through the crowd to the violinist and said, “Yes, it’s you. I knew that you were an honest man and would certainly come here.” The young violinist asked calmly, “Are you Mr George Sang?” The man nodded. The violinist asked, “Did you lose something?” “It’s a lottery ticket,” said the man. The violinist took out a lottery ticket on which George Sang’s name was seen. “Is it?” he asked. George nodded and took the lottery ticket and kissed it, then danced with the violinist.
The violinist was a student at an arts college and had planned to attend advanced studies in Vienna. Later his classmate asked the violinist, “At that time you needed money to pay the tuition （学费）and you had to play the violin in the railway station every day to make money. Why didn’t you keep the lottery ticket for yourself?”
The violinist said, “Although I don’t have much money, I live happily. But if I lose honesty I won’t be happy forever.” Through our lives, we can gain a lot and lose so much. But being honest should always be with us. What did the young artist do at the railway station on Friday?
| A．He played the violin to make some money. |
| B．He waited for the train to Vienna. |
| C．He came to buy a train ticket to Vienna. |
| D．He walked around the New York railway station. |
According to the words on the paper, which sentence below is TRUE?
| A．It asked a gentleman named George Sang to claim his hat. |
| B．It asked a gentleman named George Sang to claim his important thing. |
| C．It was a lottery ticket and he needed to find the owner. |
| D．It was a lottery ticket and the owner is unknown. |
From this article, we can learn that ____.
| A．we should share with others if we find something valuable |
| B．we should know the importance of honesty and lead a happy life |
| C．keep the lottery if you find one |
| D．playing the violin could make you feel happy |
“Hey, Jenna, do you think we’ ll still be friends when we’re eighty-two?” I asked my friend.
Losing Jenna would be like losing a very close sister.
“Of course, we’ll still be friends when we’re eighty-two,” Jenna announced loudly
The next year, in Grade Four, we met Jamie. The three of us soon became close friends. We played together almost every day. I thought even time couldn’t pull us apart, but I was sadly mistaken.
The three of us started fighting a lot. Before Christmas, We had a really big fight, and Jamie and Jenna were against me, both saying I was bossy (专横的). I felt helpless and lonely. I thought Christmas would be horrible!
I was surprised when Jenna came to my house and gave me a terrible Christmas card she had made for me. I was so sure that she was still disappointed with me.
“Wow,” I said, breaking the silence as we stood on either side of my front door. “Thanks.”
“Okay…well… I have to go,” she said softly.
“Okay. See you later then…” and I closed the door.
“Who was that at the door?” my mom asked.
“It was Jenna, my classmate.” I said.
The card started off with “Merry Christmas”, but then it said, “I am so glad we’re friends. I am sorry about what I said when we were fighting. A fight won’t stop us from being friends. Besides, we said we were going to be friends even when we’re eighty-two.”
I stopped reading and started laughing. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten what she said that day in the backyard. I couldn’t believe I had been so selfish in trying to make my friends feel sorry for me.The best title for this passage would be______________.
| A．Jenna and I |
| B．Friends Forever |
| C．Friendship is very important. |
| D．Friendship is very necessary. |
How would the author and Jenna get along with each other after Christmas?
| A．They would be close friends again. |
| B．They would not speak to each other. |
| C．They would lose touch with each other. |
| D．They would go on fighting with each other. |
What can we learn from the underlined sentences?
| A．The author was sure Jenna felt sorry for her. |
| B．The author didn’t think Jenna was still angry with her. |
| C．The author hadn’t thought Jenna would send her a Christmas card. |
| D．The author knew Jenna would come to see her and said sorry to her. |
Which of the following is the right time order according to the passage?
a. Jamie became the author’s friend.
b. The author felt lonely and unhappy.
c. Jenna, Jamie and the author fought.
d. Jenna brought the author a Christmas card.
e. The author was sorry for what she did.
f. Jenna and the author promised to be lifelong friends.
| A．f-a-b-c-e-d | B．a-c-f-b-d-e |
| C．a-b-c-f-e-d | D．f-a-c-b-d-e |
Gossip moves so quickly that few people have time to cover their ears, even if they want to.
“I hate it when others gossip about me,” said Mandy Miraglia, 16, a high school student from California, “but to be honest, gossip about my friends makes me feel I am trusted and belong to the group.” Miraglia is not the only person feeling like that.
Gossip has long been looked down on as little more than nonsense and bad manners. But recent research has shown that gossip has many positive effects on your social life.
“There has been a trend among people to dislike gossip,” said David Sloan Wilson, Professor from the State University of New York in Binghamton, US, “but gossip appears to be a very important form of behavior in a group of friends, defining their group membership.”
For 18 months, Kevin Kniffin, from the University of Wisconsin, US, researched the behavior of 50 people. He found that gossip levels peaked when a sports team included a slacker, someone who regularly missed practices or showed up late. Other members of the team would soon start to joke about the slacker’s shortcomings behind his back, because they thought they were bad for the whole team.
Gossip about the mistakes of senior members helps newcomers rebuild their confidence after a failure.
It also helps relieve social and professional anxiety. Long-term studies show that people around the world devote from a fifth to two-thirds or more of their daily conversation to gossip, and men appear to be just as eager for gossip as women.
It is hard to judge gossip, but it is more powerful than you think. The author would probably agree that______________.
| A．gossip is bad manners |
| B．gossip has many good effects |
| C．gossip is somewhat like nonsense |
| D．gossip is more powerful than advice |
What does the underlined word “slacker” mean according to the context?
| A．Someone who values the team benefit much. |
| B．Someone who does not do what they should well. |
| C．Someone who is active in sports. |
| D．Someone who shows no much interest in sports. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Gossip is a useful way of building group membership. |
| B．Gossip can possibly make someone confident. |
| C．Generally, women are fonder of gossip than men. |
| D．Actually, everyone gossips to some degree in their daily conversation. |
| Opening week specials at Munchies Food Hall. At the corner of Green and Brown Streets in the city Monday 7th of January until Sunday.13rd of January 2008 Feast until you’re full! Come down to Monetizes time week to enjoy the special dishes on offer at all of our food outlets. Order from the following: ● Succulent chicken rice ● spicy satay beef ● Delicious noodle dishes ● plump pork chips ● seafood specialties ● crunchy vegetables
● sweet tropical fruit Halal food is available at the stall Malay Mood Heaven Win Prizes and Gifts! ● Spend $20.00 or more and win instant prizes from our lucky draw box. ● Collect a free party balloon and whistle for each young diner. ● Enjoy a free meal if you are the first customer of the day at any of our stalls. ● Win a holiday to Western Australia. A free raffle ticket is given with every receipt. Just fill in your information and place your entry in the box provided. Winner to be announced in The strait Times on the 15th of January. Join in the Fun! Between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm each evening until the 15th of January, your favorite Channel 3 television actors and singers will entertain you: ● May Lee ● Jackie Chen ● Kim Yap ● Kamal Autograph sessions will follow each performance! And who will be our extra special mystery star? Come down on Saturday at noon to find out. |
The prices at Munchies are ______.
| A．lower than usual | B．bargain prices for the opening |
| C．lower for two people | D．lower if you spend $21.00 |
Everyone who eats at Munchies well receive a ______.
| A．free raffle ticket | B．lucky draw coupon |
| C．free meal | D．balloon and whistle |
I will find out who has won the top to Western Australia when I ______.
| A．watch Channel 3 television |
| B．come down to Munchies at moon |
| C．read The Straits Times on the 15th of January |
| D．attend the lucky draw at Munchies Food Hall |
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