A subject which seems to have been insufficiently studied by doctors and psychologists is the influence of geography and climate on the psychological and physical health of mankind. There seems no doubt that the general character of the landscape, the relative length of day and night, and the climate must all play a big part in determining what kind of people we are.
It is true that a few studies have been made. Where all the inhabitants of a particular area enjoy exceptionally good or bad health, scientists have identified contributory factors such as the presence or absence of substances like iodine, fluoride, calcium, or iron in the water supply, or perhaps types of land that provide breeding places for pests like mosquitoes or rats.
Moreover, we can all generalize about types of people we have met. Those living in countries with long dark winters are apt to be less talkative and less vivacious than inhabitants of countries where the climate is more equable. And where the olive and the orange grow, there the inhabitants are cheerful, talkative, and spontaneous.
But these commonplace generalizations are inadequate: the influence of climate and geography should be studied in depth. Do all mountain dwellers live to a ripe old age? Does the drinking of wine, rather than beer, result in a sunny and open temperament? Is the strength and height of one of the Kenyan tribes due to their habitual drinking of the blood of cows?
We are not yet sure of the answers to such questions, but let us hope that something of benefit to mankind may eventually result from such studies._____ might serve as a suitable title for this selection.
| A．The Importance of Geographical Environment |
| B．The Influence of Geographical Environment on Man |
| C．Generalization of Types of People |
| D．Geographical Environment, a Mysterious Subject |
Using context clues we may infer that " iodine, fluoride and calcium" are _____.
| A．substances which act positively or negatively on man's health |
| B．harmful substances in the water supply |
| C．substances which help provide breeding places for pests |
| D．substances contributory to good health |
We may infer from the third paragraph that geography and climate play an important role in determining the inhabitants' _____.
| A．health condition | B．personality |
| C．life-span | D．all of the above |
According to the author, research into the influence of geography and climate should_____.
| A．focus on some unknown aspects |
| B．be pursued on a larger scale |
| C．be carried out within a larger scope |
| D．go much deeper |
The author hopes that studies on the influence of geographical environment will enable us to
| A．generalize better about types of people |
| B．find better water supplies |
| C．gain an insight into its influence on mankind |
| D．live to a ripe old age |
One day last September, as Britney Spears was about to board a flight to Los Angeles from London,a blue bottle fell out of her purse. She quickly put it back in，but not before the paparazzi recorded the event. Neither Spears nor her spokesman was willing to comment on the contents of the bottle, but the next morning London's Daily Express published a page of pictures under the headline "EXCLUSIVE：POP PRINCESS SPOTTED AT AIRPORT WITH POT OF SLIMMING TABLETS. ” Spears was apparently carrying Zantrex-3, one of the most popular weight-loss pills now sold in the United States. The pill，which is sold at about fifty dollars for a month's supply, contains a huge amount of caffeine, some green tea，and three common South American herbs that also act as stimulants (兴奋剂） It hit the U. S. market last March and has had a success that would be hard to overstate. Millions of bottles have been sold, and during the Christmas season it was dis-played in the windows of the nation's largest chain of vitamin shops, G. N. C. (It is so highly sought after that many of the stores keep it in locked counters. )Zantrex-3 is also sold at CVS, Rite Aid, Wal-Mart,and other chains, and over the telephone and on the Internet. If you type “ Zantrex ” into Google, more than a hundred thousand pieces of information about it will appear. At any moment, there are scores of people sell the stuff on eBay.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the success story of Zantrex-3, however, is that it is far from unique. There are hundreds of similar products on the market today，and they are bought by millions of Americans. And though Zantrex 's producer makes some exciting statements (“ the most advanced weight control compound period "), so do the people who sell Stacker 2 and Anorex along with those who sell Carb Eliminator and Fat Eliminator. Almost all of these compounds suggest that they can help people lose weight and regain lost energy, and often without diet, exercise, or any other effort. Which of the following is also a kind of weight-loss pill?
| A．CVS. |
| B．Rite Aid. |
| C．Wal-Mart. |
| D．Anorex. |
The underlined part of the sentence in the first paragraph is most likely similar in meaning to __________
| A．it is difficult to say how successful Zantrex-3 is |
| B．you can't overstate the success of Zantrex-3 |
| C．you can't think too highly of the success of Zantrex-3 |
| D．Zantrex-3 is not very successful |
The text mainly tells us __________.
| A．when Britney Spears was found taking weight-loss pills with her |
| B．how Zantrex-3 became successful in the USA |
| C．weight-loss pills are very popular in the USA |
| D．Zantrex-3 is forbidden to be sold on the US market |
Most mornings, the line begins to form at dawn：scores of silent women with babies on their backs,buckets balanced on their heads, and in each hand a bright-blue plastic jug. On good days, they will wait less than an hour before a water tanker goes across the dirt path that serves as a road in KesumPurbahari, a slum on the southern edge of New Delhi. On bad days, when there is no electricity for the pumps, the tankers don't come at all. “That water kills people, w a young mother named Shoba said one recent Saturday morning, pointing to a row of pails filled with thick, caramel-colored liquid. "Whoever drinks it will die. ” The water was from a pipe shared by thousands of people in the poor neighbourhood.
Women often use it to wash clothes and bathe their children, but nobody is desperate enough to drink it.
There is no standard for how much water a per-son needs each day, but experts usually put the mini-mum at fifty litres. The government of India promises (but rarely provides) forty. Most people drink two or three litres—less than it takes to flush a toilet. The rest is typically used for cooking and bathing. Americans consume between four hundred and six hundred litres of water each day, more than any other people on earth. Most Europeans use less than half that. The women of KesumPurbahari each hoped to drag away a hundred litres that day—two or three buckets' worth. Shoba has a husband and five children, and that much water doesn't go far in a family of seven, particularly when the temperature reaches a hundred and ten degrees before noon. She often makes up the difference with bottled water, which costs more than water delivered any other way. Sometimes she just buys milk； it's cheaper. Like the poorest people everywhere, the people of New Delhi's slums spend a far greater percentage of their incomes on water than anyone lucky enough to live in a house connected to a municipal system of pipes. The underlined word “slum” most likely means __________
| A．a village |
| B．a small town |
| C．an area of a town with badly-built, over-crowded buildings |
| D．the part of a town that lacks water badly |
Sometimes the water tanker doesn't come because __________.
| A．the weather is bad |
| B．there is no electricity |
| C．there is no water |
| D．people don't want the dirty water |
Which of the following statements is wrong?
| A．A hundred litres of water a day is enough for Shoba's family. |
| B．Americans uses the largest amount of water each day. |
| C．InKesumPurbahari milk is cheaper than bottled water. |
| D．Shoba has a family of seven people. |
The passage mainly tells us __________.
| A．how women in KesumPurbahari gets their water |
| B．how much water a day a person needs |
| C．that India lacks water badly |
| D．how India government manages to solve the problem of water |
A Southampton University team found that people who were vegetarians by 30 had recorded five IQ points higher on average at the age of 10. Researchers said it could explain why people with a higher IQ were healthier as a vegetarian diet was linked to lower heart disease and obesity rates. The study of 8，179 people was reported in the British Medical Journal.
Twenty years after the IQ tests were carried out in 1970，366 of the participants said they were vegetarians — although more than 100 reported eating either fish or chicken.
Men who were vegetarians had an IQ score of106，compared with 101 for non-vegetarians； while female vegetarians averaged 104, compared with 99for non-vegetarians. There was no difference in the IQ scores between strict vegetarians and those who said they were vegetarians but reported eating fish or chicken.
Researchers said the findings were partly related to better education and higher class, but it remained statistically significant after adjusting for these factors.
Vegetarians were more likely to be female, to be of higher social class and to have higher academic or vocational qualifications than non-vegetarians. How-ever, these differences were not reflected in their annual income, which was similar to that of non-vegetarians.
Lead researcher Catharine Gale said，"The findings that children with greater intelligence are more likely to report being vegetarians as adults, together with the evidence on the potential benefits of a vegetarian diet on heart health, may help to explain why a higher IQ in childhood or adolescence is linked with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease in adult life. ”
But Dr. Frankie Phillips of the British Dietetic Association said，“ It is like the chicken and the egg . Do people become vegetarians because they have a very high IQ or is it just that they are clever enough to be more aware of health issues?" What's the result of the research mentioned in the text?
| A．Intelligent children are more likely to become vegetarians later in life. |
| B．Children with a higher IQ are less likely to have heart disease later in life. |
| C．Intelligent children tend to belong to higher social class later in life. |
| D．Children with a healthier heart tend to have a higher IQ later in life. |
It was found in the research that __________.
| A．most of the participants became vegetarians 20years after the IQ tests were carried out |
| B．vegetarians who ate fish or chicken were of similar intelligence with strict vegetarians |
| C．female vegetarians were more likely to have higher annual income than non-vegetarians |
| D．vegetarians were more likely to have higher annual income than non-vegetarians |
What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?
| A．Intelligence is linked to not just being a vegetarian but to many factors. |
| B．The rate of getting heart disease is linked to your lifestyle. |
| C．The link between a high IQ and being a vegetarian is still uncertain. |
| D．The link between a healthy heart and diet remains to be proved. |
What's the best title for the text?
| A．Get more IQ points! |
| B．Be a vegetarian, please! |
| C．Vegetarian diet cuts heart risk. |
| D．A high IQ is linked to being a vegetarian. |
Do American children still learn handwriting in school? In the age of the keyboard, some people seem to think handwriting lessons are on the way out. 90% of teachers say they are required to teach handwriting. But studies have yet to answer the question of how well they are teaching it. One studypublished this year found that about three out of every four teachers say they are not prepared to teach handwriting. Some teachers are teaching handwriting by providing instruction for 10 to 15 minutes a day,and then other teachers who basically teach it for 60to 70 minutes a day — which really is pretty much for handwriting.
Many adults remember learning that way — by copying letters over and over again. Today's thinking is that short periods of practice are better. Many experts also think handwriting should not be taught by itself. Instead, they say it should be used as a way to get students to express ideas. After all，that is why we write.
Handwriting involves two skills. One is legibility, which means forming the letters so they can be read. The other is fluency — writing without having to think about it. Fluency continues to develop up until high school.
But not everyone masters these skills.Teachers commonly report that about one fourth of their kids have poor handwriting.Some people might think handwriting is not important any more because of computers and voice recognition programs.
But Steve Graham at Vanderbilt says word processing is rarely done in elementary school, especially in the early years. American children traditionally first learn to print, and then to write in cursive,which connects the letters. But guess what we learned from a spokeswoman for the College Board,which administers the SAT college admission test. More than 75 percent of students choose to print their essay on the test rather than write in cursive. Which of the following is WRONG for traditional handwriting in the USA?
| A．The students are taught by practicing a long period. |
| B．The letters are repeated many times. |
| C．Handwriting includes two skills. |
| D．To write in cursive is taught first. |
The underlined word “legibility” in Paragraph 3 means “ __________ ”
| A．easy to read |
| B．complex |
| C．unexpected |
| D．unreadable |
The best title for the passage is __________.
| A．How to improve handwriting in school |
| B．Right or wrong ： the death of handwriting |
| C．Handwriting involves two skills |
| D．Handwriting lessons are on the way out |
The author's attitude towards whether still to learn handwriting in school is __________.
| A．negative |
| B．objective |
| C．critical |
| D．optimistic |
Cell phones with cameras are really a popular way to capture a moment in time, but some “clever” students found another use—capturing tests as a way to cheat.
The Magnolia Independent School District in Montgomery County has added camera phones to a list of electronic devices (器具) students are banned from having at school.
School officials said the move was made as a preventative measure to stop potential (潜在的) test cheaters, since students could use the phones to snap pictures of test questions. Another concern was that students might take inappropriate (不合适的) pictures of classmates to later share or post on a website. Cell phones without cameras are allowed on campus, but must be turned off. Camera cell phones will be taken away from students if found on campus, and disciplinary action will be taken, officials said.
Some students were unhappy to hear about the ban. “I’d be lost without my phone,” said Kendall Paul, a Magnolia High School student. “All my numbers are in it. I’ve never used it to cheat and I don’t know anyone who has at our school, so I think it’s kind of stupid. ” But other students said they saw it all the time at their school.
“You would take a picture of the test and then send it to the next person taking the test,” said Melissa Sparks, a student.
“They would send the question and the answer, or just the number of the question and the answer. It’s quicker that way,” another student said.
Parents often provide their children with cell phones for use in emergencies（紧急情况）and to keep in better touch with them. “My Mom wants me to have my phone with me all the time for emergency purpose. So, it goes with me wherever I go,” Paul said.Which of the following can probably replace the words “banned from having” in the second paragraph?
| A．Forbidden to have. | B．Allowed to have. |
| C．Ordered to have. | D．Kept having. |
According to this passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Cell phones can’t be taken into the school. |
| B．Students’ parents are in favor of the ban. |
| C．Students have different opinions about the ban. |
| D．Students can use cell phones without camera freely at school. |
What does the writer think of the ban?
| A．The writer thinks every coin has two sides. |
| B．The writer thinks that the ban is right. |
| C．The writer thinks schools shouldn’t invade (侵犯) students’ rights. |
| D．The writer’s opinion is not mentioned in the passage. |
The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refers to the fact that _________.
| A．some students cheat in exams |
| B．some students get lost without their camera cell phones |
| C．the School District’s ban is stupid |
| D．some students cheat in exams with camera cell phones |
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