How clean are the nation’s homes?
According to a survey by CIF, there’s room for improvement all over Britain.
Love or hate it — cleaning your home is one job you simply can’t ignore（忽视）. But that’s not to say everyone spends the same amount of time or effort on making their places spotless. A new survey by CIF— experts on making tough cleaning jobs easier—— shows that when it comes to washing windows or cleaning the oven（烤箱）,where you live in the UK it may show how much effort you put into the task.
BATHROOM
25% of men have never cleaned the toilet — but those in Wales are the worst. Nearly four in 10 Welsh men said they never cleaned anywhere in the house. Hate cleaning the shower head? You’re not alone — a quarter of a million Brits say the same. 20% of Scots regard window-cleaning as their most hated job.
KITCHEN
36% of people in the south-east say cleaning the cooker is their hated task. 68% of those in the north-east spend more than six hours a week cleaning their homes — especially the kitchen — in sharp contrast to the 49% of Welsh and West Country folk, who put their hands up to cleaning for under an hour.
BEDROOM
18% believe cleaning starts here: that’s the percentage of women who clean wearing their dressing gowns. 51% of women in the north-west may be staying in bed and giving their husband a cuddle（拥抱）—as a thank-you for helping them clean. In other places, there are far fewer helpful men.
LIVING ROOM
32% of women in the north-east turn up the stereo to help make the dusting more fun. Almost six in 10 women agree, however, that cleaning is seriously energetic exercise.
SHIFT THE DIRT WITH CIF
It’s no secret that the right cleaning products will cut cleaning time and effort in half— and no one knows that better than How Clean Is Your house? Presenters Aggie Mackenzie and Kim Woodburn. For solutions（解决办法）to all your cleaning needs, here are some of CIF’s top tips:
·Stop a lot of build-up on your shower head—give it a quick squirt（喷洒）with CIF bathroom spray once a week.
·Stainless steel（不锈钢）tools seem to need endless cleaning. The CIF Wild Qrchid Qxy-Gel-it lifts dirt easily and leaves the kitchen smelling fresh and clean.
·Cooking outside? CIF cream will get your barbecue （烤架）spotlessly clean, ready for those long, lazy summer evenings. Perfect!The main purpose of this passage is to ______.
| A．tell us the results of a certain survey |
| B．advertise a certain product |
| C．advise men to do more cleaning housework |
| D．tell us which is the hardest job at home |
It can be concluded from the survey that people in different parts of Britain______.
| A．have different views on house cleaning |
| B．spend different amounts of time and effort on house cleaning |
| C．like to do different kinds of housework |
| D．have different ways to do housework |
According to the survey,______ spend the most time cleaning their homes.
| A．the Welsh | B．people in the north-west |
| C．people in the south-east | D．people in the north-east |
CIF in the passage probably refers to ______.
| A．an organization doing research on housework |
| B．a group of experts who give advice on doing housework |
| C．a company providing advice and products on cleaning |
| D．a company providing cleaning services |
Two students started quarreling at school. One student shouted dirty words at the other, and a fight began. What can be done to stop fights like this at school? In some schools, the disputants sit down with peer mediators(同龄调解者). Peer mediators are students with special training in this kind of problems.
Peer mediators help the disputants to talk in a friendly way. Here are some of the ways they use:
1) Put what you think clearly but don’t say anything to hurt the other. Begin with “I feel…” instead of “You always…”
2) Listen carefully to what the other person is saying. Don’t stop the other person’s words.
3) Keep looking at the other person’s eyes when he or she talks.
4) Try to see the other person’s side of the problem.
5) Never put anyone down. Saying things like “You are foolish” makes the talk difficult.
6) Try to find a result that makes both people happy.
Peer mediators never decide the result or the winner. They don’t decide who is right and who is wrong. Instead, the disputants sit down with peer mediators(同龄调解者) The underlined word “disputants” refers to the students ________.
| A．who make peace | B．who give in |
| C．who are lazy | D．who quarrel |
When there is a fight at school ________.
| A．the peer mediators decide who the winner is |
| B．the peer mediators and the disputants talk together |
| C．the students who quarrel decide who the winner is |
| D．the two students sit down and listen to the peer mediators |
Peer mediators’ work is ________.
| A．to give lessons to disputants |
| B．to find out who starts a quarrel |
| C．to give students some special training |
| D．to help find a way to make both sides happy |
Which of the following ways is not used by Peer mediators in finding a “win-win” result?
| A．Listen carefully to what the other person is saying. |
| B．Try to see the other person’s side of the problem. |
| C．Never say things like “You are foolish” |
| D．Never keep looking at the other person’s eyes when he or she talks. |
In the past ten years, many scientists have studied the differences between men and women. And they all got the same answer: The sexes(性别) are different, because their brains are different. And this, the scientists say, makes men and women see the world in different ways.
Boys, for example, generally are better than girls at mathematical ideas. Boys also generally are better than girls at the kind of hand and eye movements necessary for ball sports. Girls, on the other hand generally start speaking earlier than boys. And they generally(通常) see better in the dark than boys and are better at learning foreign languages.
What makes men and women better at one thing or another? The answer is the brain. The brain has two sides connected by nerve(神经) tracks. The left side generally is used for mathematics, speech and writing. The right side is used for artistic creation(创造) and the expression for emotions(情感). In men and women, different areas in each side of the brain develop differently. In boys, for example, it’s the area used for mathematics. In girls, it is the area used for language skills. Another interesting difference is that the two sides of a man’s brain are connected by a smaller nerves than the two sides of a woman’s brain are. Which of the following is best to outline(概括) the article?
| A．Research on the brain. |
| B．Differences between men and women |
| C．People’s different brains. |
| D．Who Are Better, Boys or Girls |
________men and women think differently.
| A．Sex makes. |
| B．The different brains make |
| C．The different experiences make. |
| D．The influences of society make. |
According to the article, girls are generally better than boys at __ in your school.
| A．mathematics | B．physics |
| C．English | D．Chemistry |
Which of the following is true?
| A．The right side of brain in boys generally develops better than that in girls. |
| B．The left side of brain in girls generally develops better than that in boys. |
| C．Men are better than women in all things. |
| D．The area in girls’ brain used for language skills develops better. |
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. The “standard” retirement age varies from country to country, but it is generally between 50 and 70. However, for a long time, people have got into an argument about whether the age of retirement should be increased or reduced in their own countries.
There are several arguments for allowing older people to continue working as long as they are able. Many people think that older employees have a large amount of knowledge and experience which can be lost to a business if they are made to retire. Besides, older employees are often extremely devoted employees and are more willing to implement company rules than the young. A more important point is regarding the attitudes in society to old people. To force someone to resign or retire at 60 or 65 indicates that the society does not value the input of these people and that their useful life is over.
Allowing older people to work indefinitely (无限地), however, is not always a good policy. Some people took the strong view that age alone is no guarantee of ability. Many young employees have more experience or skills than older staff, who may have been stuck in one area for most of their working lives. On the other hand, older people should be rewarded by society for their life’s labor by being given generous pensions and the freedom to enjoy leisure. They can have time to do whatever they like, that is, they can have their own plans and achieve their retirement goals.
With many young people unemployed or frustrated in low-level positions, there are often calls to compulsorily retire older workers. However, this can affect the older individual’s freedom and right to work. In my opinion, giving workers more choices over their retirement age will benefit society and the individual.What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．How to set a standard of the retirement age. |
| B．More opportunities should be given to young people. |
| C．Companies should make full use of old people’s wisdom. |
| D．Opinions about retirement age are different among people. |
Some people think older people should go on with work because ______.
| A．they have a sense of achievement |
| B．they want to learn more knowledge |
| C．they have grasped much practical experience |
| D．they will help the business not to fail quickly |
The underlined word “implement” in Paragraph 2 probably means “______.”
| A．take over | B．carry out |
| C．get rid of | D．set aside |
Which point of view may the author agree to?
| A．Older people are encouraged to retire on time. |
| B．Older people would like to do something else. |
| C．Older people’s experience should be valued. |
| D．Older people can choose whether to work on or not. |
Werewolves (狼人) aren’t the only creatures(生物) affected by the moon’s cycles. A full moon slightly affects people’s sleep, reports a Swiss team of scientists. Even people’s sleep in a lab without windows experienced a small shortfall in sleep once a month.
To test the moon’s effect, 33 adult volunteers of both sexes and various ages spent several nights in a sleep lab. As they slept, researchers recorded their brain activity, eye movements and hormone (荷尔蒙) levels. On nights closer to a full moon, the subjects took an average of five minutes longer to fall asleep, and slept for 20 minutes less. In addition, brain activity decreased by 30 percent during the sleep stage that the brain normally uses to recover from its daylight work. And levels of hormone that help control sleep cycles dropped. On these nights, the sleepers complained of poor sleep quality even though they were unaware of the moon’s cycle. On the bright side, not a single participant turned into a werewolf.
The Swiss team doesn’t know how the moon affects sleep. The gravity (重力) of the moon causes ocean tides to rise and fall. But that force is too weak to affect sleep, Gajochen says. He believed some body’s biological clock may be tied to the moon cycles. There may be another explanation, says David Dinges. This sleep researcher at the University Of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia says that the body clock is very sensitive to light at night. Volunteer’s sleep could have been affected by exposure to extra moonlight before arriving at the lab.The writer mentioned “werewolves” in the first paragraph to ______.
| A．prove that the moon’s cycles exist |
| B．draw people’s attention to the report |
| C．introduce a similar creature to readers |
| D．warn people not to sleep alone in the lab |
What happened to the volunteers during the experiment on a full moon?
| A．They slept for about five minutes longer. |
| B．Their brains never recovered from their work. |
| C．They complained they were too tired to sleep. |
| D．Their brains were not so active as they were |
The last paragraph is developed mainly by ______.
| A．analyzing causes | B．explaining differences |
| C．making comparisons | D．following the time order |
The passage is mainly about ______.
| A．the sleeping problems caused by the moon’s cycles |
| B．the influence of the moon on human sleeping habits |
| C．the moon’s effect on sleeping and its possible reasons |
| D．the ways to improve sleep quality on a full moon night |
His youth was nothing like yours, unless your name happens to be Justin Bieber or Emma Watson. At 14, Kirk Cameron was receiving 10,000 letters a month while acting as Mike Seaver in the sitcom (情景喜剧) Growing Pains. For children of the 1980s, every boy dreamt of having his brown leather coat, the modern parents, and the humor of Mike Seaver.
Kirk was making $ 50,000 a week but had to deal with various things resulting from increasing popularity. “Kirk had a couple of ardent fans who followed and shadowed him. They kind of crossed the line and frightened all of us to some degree,” says another star of the sitcom.
In 1986, the kid described his life to a magazine: “I’m just going to have to get used to the uncomfortable parts, like not having a lot of privacy. Interviewer wants to know if being famous is making me breathless and I answer no, it isn’t—it is a lot, but I can handle (处理) it.” However, people considered him the happiest guy on the planet. He was driving around the city in his favorite car. He flew to foreign countries for vacations. He tasted various foods in different restaurants on streets.
In a recent interview, Kirk admitted that he once viewed the world as though he were the centre of it and began expecting things to be done for him. “Anything I wanted was given to me. That was what I expected because that was my reality,” he says. Though it was not easy for Kirk, he managed to treat himself as an ordinary person, with years of life experience.The underlined word “ardent” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______.
| A．crazy | B．patient |
| C．angry | D．lost |
Kirt Cameron was thought to be the happiest guy because of ______.
| A．his high income | B．his popularity |
| C．his life style | D．his great dreams |
What does Kirt Cameron think of the early himself?
| A．Humorous. | B．Self-centered. |
| C．Ordinary. | D．Happy. |
What might be the best title for this passage?
| A．Live a Free Life as You Wish |
| B．A Hard Life Lacking in Privacy |
| C．To Be Ordinary Though Famous |
| D．Annoying Popularity with Troubles |
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