The 1900 house
The bowler family was one of more than 400 families who applied to 1900 house, a reality TV shout which took a typical family back a hundred years to se how people lived in the days before the internet, computer games and even electricity.
The bowler family spent three months in a London home without a telephone, computers, TV, or fast food. The bowlers wore clothes from 1900, are only food available in English at that time, and cooked their meals on a single stove. Paul bowler still went to work every day in a then uniform. The children changed their clothes on the way to and from school and their classmates didn’t know about then unusural home life. Joyce stayed at home, cooking and cleaning like a typical housewife of the time, though everything took three times as long.
So does Joyce think that people’s lives were better in the old days?
“I think people in the old days had just ad many troubles and worries,” Joyce said.
And I don’t think their life was better or worse, there were lots of things back then that
I’m happy I don’t have to deal with nowadays, but on the other hand life was simpler.” “We had a lot more time with our family, and it was hard being nice to each other all the time,” eleven-year-old Hilary said.
So what did the Bowler family miss most about modern life while living in the 1900 house?
Paul,39:” telephone and a hot shower”
Joyce,44:” a quick cup of tea from a kettle you could just turn on”
Hilary,11:” rock CD”
Joseph,9:” hamburger and computer games”
1.While the Bowler family was living in 1900 house,_____.
A the mother spent more time on housework
B the two children wore the then clothes for school
C they prepared their meals together on a stove
D they ate simple foods they had never seen
2. According to Paragraph 4, what’s Jovce’s opinion about life in 1900?
A There were fewer problems for the family
B Life was simpler but worse than it is now
C There were things she liked and disliked
D The family had more time to stay together
3.What would Hilary expect most from modern life in the three months?
A To play computer games B To make phone calls
C To listen to music D To chat on the Internet
Children are getting so fat that they may be the first generation to die before their parents, an expert says.
Today's young people will be affected by potential (潜在的) killers such as heart disease because of their weight. Fatty fast－food diets combined with the lifestyles with televisions and computers could mean kids will die young, says Professor Andrew Prentice, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. At the same time, the shape of the human body is going through a great change because adults are getting so fat.
Here in Britain, the latest research shows that the average waist size for a man is 36～38 inches and may be 42～44 inches by 2032.This compares with only 32.6 inches in 1972. Women's waists have grown from an average of 22 inches in the 1920s to 24 inches in the 1950s and 30 inches now. One of the major reasons why children now are at greater risk is that we are getting fatter younger. In the UK alone, more than one million under 16 years old are thought
to be overweight or fat—double the number in the 1980s. One in ten of four－year－olds are also medically said to be obese.
The obesity which started in the US, has now spread to Europe, Australia, Central America and the Middle East. Many nations now record more than 20 percent of their population as obese and well over half of the population as overweight.
Professor Prentice says the change in our shape has been caused by high－energy foods combined with a dramatic (急剧的) drop in the energy we use as a result of technology developments.
He is not alone in his concern. Only last week one medical magazine revealed how obesity was fuelling a rise in cancer cases. Obesity also increases the risk factor for heart disease and so on. An averagely obese person's lifespan (寿命) is shortened by around nine years while a seriously obese person by much more.
Professor Prentice says,
“So_will_parents_live_longer_than_their_children,_as_an_American_obesity_expert_said_recently？”
“The answer is yes—and no.” Yes, when most children become obese. No, because this is now becoming an alarmingly serious problem in the US. “Such children will have a greatly reduced quality of life on both body and mind.”
So say “No” to sandwiches and hamburgers.From the second paragraph, we know that ________.
| A．heart disease is caused by people's weight |
| B．bad living habits make children die young |
| C．increasing weight could kill young people |
| D．adults know how to change their shape of body |
According to Professor Prentice, people become fatter because ________.
| A．the energy people take in is more than they need |
| B．high technology makes people use less energy |
| C．food contains too much energy |
| D．people like to eat fast food |
For the underlined question, the answer “no” suggests ________.
| A．children should refuse fast－food diets |
| B．children's obesity is becoming more and more serious |
| C．Americans have realized the bad consequence of the obesity |
| D．the government should call on fat people to lose weight as soon as possible |
Come October and everybody is busy making Christmas plans. The most important thing other than making decisions on buying gifts is decorating your Christmas tree.
Decorating Christmas trees involves every member in the family to contribute and do whatever they can to help with the decorations. Decorating Christmas trees is a fun activity that everyone in the family enjoys doing. Therefore, for innovative (创新的) ideas, it is best to get the whole family together after dinner and have a brain storming
session for new ideas. Children are really innovative and can come up with great suggestions. Well here are some additional ideas that can be beneficial and help you create that new look for your Christmas tree this year.
For decorative purposes it is better that you get an artificial tree. Select a unique theme and look for ideas to create your own decorations. The Internet is a good source for unique ideas and themes. Go in for light decorations that are truly different. Start your shopping early to look for those special lights especially at your local stores. You can even have a personalized Christmas tree theme where you have all your family members' photos hung
from various branches. Hang out of the world decorative pieces that truly stand out. Search for these at your local store or even your attic where you are sure to find some of those long forgotten decorative pieces that have been handed down to you by your grandmother. You can even use dried flowers or make some of your own artificial flowers as decorations.
If you feel you cannot come up with any great ideas, there is no reason to worry. The Internet is full of them. Make a thorough search and you are sure to find a good idea. You can then try innovating on that idea by making your own unique decorations. Enjoy yourself!
44．What is mainly talked about in the passage?
A．Process to celebrate Christmas.
B．Ways to decorate Christmas trees.
C．Places to buy Christmas gifts.
D．Get－together for family members.
45．Why does the author suggest getting children involved in the decoration?
A．Because they like Christmas very much.
B．Because they wish to get more gifts.
C．Because they can come up with new ideas.
D．Because they are more innovative.
46．In order to make Christmas tree theme personalized, you can ________.
A．hang photos of your family members on the branches
B．get an artificial tree from the local shop
C．hang some colored lights on it from home
D．use long forgotten decorative pieces in the attic
47．From the passage we can infer that ________.
A．nothing is more important than decorating the Christmas tree
B．fresh flowers is the best choice to decorate the Christmas tree
C．most of the people shop their Christmas tree on the Internet
D．people begin making preparations for Christmas long before it begins
If you've been joining in chat room conversations, or trading e－mails with net pals (网友), you have become one of the millions who write in a special, short form of English.
Throughout the world, every night children and their elders are “talking” online－many of them are talking at the same time.
It's fast: trying talking to six people once. It's convenient: three or four words per exchange. It takes cleverness, concentration and quick fingers.
And it requires very simple language. There's neither time nor space for explanations. Why waste valuable time telling six friends you have to leave for a moment to take care of your little brother when BRB (be right back) will do?
Want to enter a conversation? Just type PMFJI (pardon me for jumping in)．
Interested in whom you're talking to? Type A/S/L, the nearly universal request to know your pal's age, sex and location. You may get 15/M/NY as a reply from your pal.
If something makes you laugh, say you're OTF (on the floor), or LOL (laughing out loud), or join the two into ROTFL (rolling on the floor laughing)．
And when it's time to get back to work or go to bed, you type GTG (got to go) or TTYL (talk to you later)．
People want to write as fast as possible, and they want to get their ideas across as quickly as they can. Capital letters are left in the dust, except when expressing feeling, as it takes more time to hold down the “Shift” key and use capitals. Punctuation (标点) is going too.When people are online, they talk by ________.
| A．using body language |
| B．drawing some strange pictures |
| C．making phone calls |
| D．making use of an especially short form of English |
The underlined sentence in Para. 4 means that ________.
| A．people should use words properly |
| B．people should know what time it is when they are talking |
| C．people online have to express themselves in a simple way |
| D．people should communicate in a funny way |
If you get 17/F/NY as an answer to your A/S/L, it means________.
| A．the people on the other end is 17 from New York and he is fine |
| B．you are talking to a girl who is 17 and lives in New York |
| C．you are talking to 17 girls who are from New York |
| D．the people you are talking to is a 17－foot tall New York girl |
Which of the following is a way to save online time?
| A．People seldom use capital letters or punctuation marks. |
| B．Many people draw pictures. |
| C．People only use the mouse instead of the keyboard. |
| D．People never use the “Shift” key. |
The lights dimmed，the musical hall grew quiet and out walked the conductor (指挥) shiny and white and 4 feet and 3 inches tall.
ASIMO, a robot designed by Honda Motor Co., met its latest challenge Tuesday evening: Conducting the Detroit Symphony (底特律交响乐团), in a performance of “The Impossible Dream” from “Man of La Mancha”．
“Hello, everyone，” ASIMO said to the audience in a childlike voice, then waved to the orchestra. As it conducted, it perfectly mimicked (模仿) the actions of a conductor,
nodding its head at various sections and gesturing with one or both hands. ASIMO took a final bow to excited shouts from the audience. Later, cellist Yo－Yo Ma joined ASIMO onstage to receive an award for his efforts in music education.
Honda spokeswoman Alicia Jones says it is the first time ASIMO has conducted an orchestra, and it may be the first time any robot has conducted a live performance. But ASIMO has its limits. ASIMO's engineers programmed the robot to mimic Charles Burke, the Detroit Symphony's education director, as he conducted the piece in front of a pianist about six months ago. But it can't respond to the musicians.
“It's not a communicative device. It simply is programmed to do a set of gestures，” said Leonard Slatkin, the orchestra's musical director. “If the orchestra decides to go faster, there's nothing the robot can do about it. Hopefully, I keep that under control.”
But several musicians also said ASIMO was more realistic than they expected. “The movements are still a little stiff (僵硬的), but very humanlike, much better than I thought，” Hutchinson said.What's the audience's response to ASIMO's performance?
| A．Disappointed. | B．Moved. |
| C．Excited. | D．Astonished. |
Whose conducting was ASIMO made to copy?
| A．Yo－Yo Ma's. | B．Charles Burke's. |
| C．Leonard Slatkin's. | D．Alicia Jones's. |
We can learn from the passage that ASIMO ________.
| A．was designed and trained by Yo－Yo Ma |
| B．can communicate with the audience freely |
| C．only performs according to the designed programs |
| D．can change its conducting style freely |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Detroit Symphony gives a good performance |
| B．Honda robot conducts Detroit Symphony |
| C．“The Impossible Dream” from Detroit Symphony |
| D．Cooperation between Honda and Detroit Symphony |
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It is also the most neglect (忽视). Common reasons for not eating breakfast include having no time, not feeling hungry, traditional dislike and dieting.
Breakfast simply means “break the fast’’. Your body spends at least 6 to 12 hours each night in a fasting state. In the morning your body needs energy for the day’s work ahead.
A good breakfast should provide 1/3 of your total calorie(卡路里)needs for the day. On average, we eat 400 less calories for breakfast than for dinner. If breakfast doesn’t appeal (吸引) to you in the morning, try eating a lighter dinner earlier in the evening or save half of your dinner for breakfast in the morning.
If you still aren’t hungry in the morning, start with something small like juice or toast or have a nutritious (有营养的) mid-morning snack (小吃) later when you are hungry.
So, you say you are on a diet. Some people fear that eating breakfast will make them hungrier during the day and they will eat more. It is true that eating breakfast is likely to make you feel hungry throughout the day. That is because your body is working correctly. Although you may feel as if you are eating more all day long, in reality you are probably not.
Not eating breakfast can also cause you overeat, since a fall in blood sugar often makes you feel very hungry later. To make matters worse, since your body is in a slow state, it will not be able to burn those extra calories very efficiently (有效). If you feed your body healthy snacks and meals throughout the day, you are less likely to become hungry and stuff (填饱) yourself as soon as you begin to eat.
Since breakfast is the first and most important meal of the day, choosing the right food is important. The best breakfast foods are fruits, juice, lean meat and grain products such as bread, rice, noodles and cereals. What is the meaning of the word “fast” in the phrase “break the fast”?
| A．movement | B．going without food |
| C．quickness | D．certain kind of food |
If you don’t want to have breakfast in the morning, according to the writer’s suggestion, you should________.
| A．see a doctor to have an examination |
| B．have a little supper |
| C．go to a restaurant to enjoy a good meal |
| D．have a good supper |
Eating breakfast, in fact, makes your body_________.
| A．work out of order | B．produce too much energy |
| C．work well | D．feel hungry quicker |
Not eating breakfast will_________.
| A．save a lot of money | B．do harm to your health |
| C．do good to your health | D．help you keep in shape |
In the last paragraph the writer mainly_________.
A. persuades us to have a good breakfast
B. tell us what food isn’t suitable for breakfast
C describes when and how we should have our breakfast
D .tell us what food we should have for breakfast
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