Keeping a busy social life among lots of friends may keep people thinner than spending hours doing some exercises, according to scientists. They say that socializing and meeting with friends help increase levels of brown fat in the body which burns calories to produce heat.
Living in an exciting social environment was found to reduce fat in mice's belly by half over four weeks, even if they ate more. US researchers say that social excitement aids weight loss by turning white fat into brown. White fat stores calories and makes us fatter, while brown burns energy to produce heat. Turning white fat into brown is extremely difficult, normally requiring long-term stay in cold conditions or exciting part of the body's nervous system.
However, scientists from Ohio State University now think that having a busy social life is an even more effective way of changing white fat into brown. The team came up with their theory by studying the effects of various living environments on mice. Those, who lived alongside a greater number of mice, had more space and toys to excite themselves and then lost far more weight over the course of the study than their “couch potato" fellows.
Study author, Dr Matthew During, whose team’s findings appear in the journal Cell Metabolism, said, “I'm still amazed at the degree of fat loss that occurs.” explaining how new technology had threatened face-to-face socializing, he added, “It's not just a sedentary(久坐的) lifestyle and high calorie foods, but an increasing lack of social activities.” Co-author Dr Lei Cao said，“Loneliness is a potential factor for cancer and death; it's equal to cigarette smoking to a certain extent. Social activities are very vital.”What information can we get from the first two paragraphs?
| A．Brown fat stores calories and makes us fatter. |
| B．It doesn’t take long to turn white fat into brown. |
| C．Social excitement helps gain more weight. |
| D．Brown fat can burn energy to produce heat. |
Which of the following statement does the text support?
| A．Levels of brown fat can be increased by socializing. |
| B．The mice lacking social life lose more weight. |
| C．The research findings haven’t been published so far. |
| D．Dr Matthew During wasn’t convinced of the result. |
We can conclude from the text that_______.
| A．the fat in mice’s belly was reduced because of the relaxing environment |
| B．a sedentary lifestyle and high calories foods influence people’s social life |
| C．surfing the Internet may influence people’s face-to-face communication |
| D．cancer and death are mainly caused for lack of social life |
What’s the main idea of the text?
| A．Brown fat is beneficial to people’s health. |
| B．Socializing is unnecessarily important in people’s daily life. |
| C．White fat can be changed into brown fat. |
| D．Socializing contributes to people’s losing weight. |
Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station(加油站) about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, w
here I was planning to stop and visit a friend. While I was standing in line at the cash register(收款台), I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas.
I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car. I stopped and wondered what I should do. A car pulled up behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said they would take me to my friend’s. We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card.
I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me. Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them. Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays meaningful.
Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery(电池) was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership—a shop selling cars—was right next door. I walked over and found 
two salesmen in the showroom.
“Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?”I asked and explained my trouble. They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it. They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks. I received a letter back from one of the salesmen. No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said.The underlined words“took off”in Paragraph 2 mean .
| A．turned off | B．moved off | C．put up | D．set up |
What happened when the author found smoke coming out of his car?
| A．He had it pulled back to the gas station. |
| B．The couple sent him a business card. |
| C．The couple offered to help him. |
| D．He called his friend for help. |
The battery of the author’s car was dead because .
| A．something went wrong with the lights |
| B．his meeting lasted a whole day |
C．he forgot to turn off  the lights |
| D．he drove too long a distance |
By telling his own experiences, the author tries to show .
| A．how to write a thank-you letter |
| B．how to deal with car problems |
| C．the kind-heartedness of older people |
| D．the importance of expressing thanks |
Saturday, March 24th
We have arrived in the hot, wet city of Bangkok. This is our first trip to Thailand. All the different smells make us want to try the food. We are going to eat something special for dinner tonight. The hotel we are staying in is cheap, and very clean. We plan to stay here for a few days, visit some places in the city, and then travel to Chiang Mai in the North.
Tuesday, March 27th
Bangkok is wonderful and surprising! The places are interesting. We visited the famous market which was on water, and saw a lot of fruits and vegetables. Everything is so colorf
ul, and we have taken hundreds of photos already! Later today we will leave for Chiang Mai. We will take the train north, stay in Chiang Mai for two days, and then catch a bus to Chiang Rai.
Friday, March 30th
Our trip to Chiang Rai was long and boring. We visited a small village in the mountains. The village people here love the quiet life—no computers or phones. They are the kindest people I have ever met.
They always smile and say “hello”. Kathy and I can only speak a few words of Thai, so smiling is the best way to show our kindness. I feel good here and hope to be able to come back next year.It seems that visitors_________ in Bangkok.
| A．often felt hungry | B．could always find cheap things |
| C．couldn’t take any photos | D．enjoyed themselves |
Which of the following is TRUE?
Chiang Mai is a beautiful city in the south of Thailand.
The writer left Chiang Mai for Chiang Rai on a bus.
Chiang Rai is a boring city in the mountains.
The writer traveled alone in Thailand. The people in the village_________.
| A．are friendly to others | B．like to speak English |
| C．are very weak | D．hope to live in the cities |
What can be the best title for the whole diary?
| A．My first Travel | B．The outside World |
| C．Travelling in Thailand | D．A country on the Train |
Never go into a supermarket hungry! This is a good piece of advice. If you go shopping for food before lunchtime, you’ll probably buy more than you plan to. Unfortunately, however, just this advice isn’t enough for consumers these days. Modern shoppers need an education in how and how not to buy things at the store. First, you check the weekly newspaper ads. Find out the items that are on sale and decide if you really need these things. In other words, don’t buy anything just because it’s cheaper than usual! “New and Improved!” or “All Natural” on the front of a package influence you. Instead, read the list of ingredients(contents) on the back. Third, compare prices: that is, you should examine the prices of both different brands and different sizes of the same brand.
Another suggestion for consumers is to buy ordinary items instead of famous brands. Ordinary items in supermarkets come in plain packages. These products are cheaper because producers don’t spend much money on packing or advertising. The quality, however, is usually as good as the quality of well-known name brands. In the same way, in buying clothes, you can often find high quality and low prices in brands th
at are not famous. Shopping in discount clothing stores can help you save a lot of money. Although these stores aren’t very attractive, and they usually do not have individual dressing rooms, not only are the prices low, but you can often find the same famous brands that you find in high-priced department stores.
Wise consumers read magazine ads and watch TV commercials, but they do this with one advantage: knowledge of the psychology behind the ads. In other words, well-informed consumers watch for information and check for misinformation. They ask themselves questions: Is the advertiser hiding something in small print at the bottom of the page? Is there any real information in the commercial, or is the advertiser simply showing an attractive image? With the answers to these questions, consumers can make a wise choice.All the following statements are true about the phrase “ordinary items” in Paragraph 2 EXCEPT __________.
| A．ordinary items never say “New and Improved” or “All Natural” |
| B．ordinary products are usually cheaper than famous brands |
| C．producers spend less money on packaging of ordinary items |
| D．the quality of ordinary items is usually as good as that of famous brands |
What does the writer think about ads? __________
| A．They are believable. | B．They are attractive. |
| C．They are full of misinformation. | D．They are helpful to consumers. |
One of the author’s suggestions to consumers is __________.
| A．to make use of ads |
| B．not to buy items with words like “New and Improved” or “All Natural” |
| C．to buy high quality items such as famous brands after lunch |
| D．to buy any ordinary items instead of famous brands |
The author implies that __________.
| A．going into the supermarket hungry, you may buy more than you plan to |
| B．the quality of ordinary items is usually high and the prices are relatively low |
| C．discount clothing stores are good places to go to |
| D．ads sometimes don’t tell the truth |
John Milton was born in 1606. his father expected him to enter the church of England, but Milton wanted to be a poet. At twenty-nine Milton set off for a travel on the continent. He traveled in France, Switzerland and Italy, winning the friendship of many artists and scientists, including Galileo, the famous Italian scientist who suffered for his discovery in prison. In 1639, he was planning to go on this journey when the news reached him of the break between the king and Parliament(国会). Milton returned to England immediately, and put himself into the struggle against the king, for which he had long been prepared. During the Civil war, Milton worked as the spokesman of the revolution. By the beginning of 1652, Milton had become completely blind, yet he didn’t stop fighting. After the Restoration(复辟), his books were burnt, and he himself avoided being killed because of his blindness.
John Milton was not only a brave revolutionary but also a great poet. His famous poem Paradise Lost(失乐园) was an immediate success. But, for its publication (being published), Milton received only 18 pounds.
He died in 1671.Milton set off for a travel on the continent here “continent” means ________.
| A．Asia | B．Europe | C．America | D．Africa |
It was ______ who was put in prison in Italy.
| A．Milton | B．the king | C．Galileo | D．Milton’s father |
Milton would have been killed if ________________.
| A．he had been the spokesman of the revolution |
| B．his books hadn’t been burnt |
| C．he hadn’t written the poem Paradise Lost |
| D．he hadn’t been completely blind |
Which of the following sentences is TRUE?
| A．John Milton was an ordinary poet, who wasn’t interested in politics. |
| B．John Milton spent many years traveling around the world. |
| C．John Milton wrote the poem Paradise Lost, which was liked by the King. |
| D．John Milton was a fearless revolutionary and a famous poet. |
Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station(加油站) about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, w
here I was planning to stop and visit a friend. While I was standing in line at the cash register(收款台), I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas.
I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car. I stopped and wondered what I should do. A car pulled up behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said they would take me to my friend’s. We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card.
I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me. Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them. Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays meaningful.
Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery(电池) was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership—a shop selling cars—was right next door. I walked over and found 
two salesmen in the showroom.
“Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?”I asked and explained my trouble. They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it. They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks. I received a letter back from one of the salesmen. No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said.The underlined words“took off”in Paragraph 2 mean .
| A．turned off | B．moved off | C．put up | D．set up |
What happened when the author found smoke coming out of his car?
| A．He had it pulled back to the gas station. |
| B．The couple sent him a business card. |
| C．The couple offered to help him. |
| D．He called his friend for help. |
The battery of the author’s car was dead because .
| A．something went wrong with the lights |
| B．his meeting lasted a whole day |
C．he forgot to turn off  the lights |
| D．he drove too long a distance |
By telling his own experiences, the author tries to show .
| A．how to write a thank-you letter |
| B．how to deal with car problems |
| C．the kind-heartedness of older people |
| D．the importance of expressing thanks |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号