About ten men in every hundred suffer from color blindness in some way. Women are luckier; only about one in two hundred is affected in this matter. Perhaps, after all, it is safer to be driven by a woman!
There are different forms of color blindness. In some cases a man may not be able to see deep red. He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shadows of green. Sometimes a person cannot tell the difference between blue and green. In rare cases an unlucky man may see everything in shades of green － a strange world indeed.
Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain. In a single eye there are millions of very small things called “cones”. These help us to see in a bright light and to tell difference between colors. There are also millions of “rods”, but these are used for seeing when it is near dark. They show us shape but no color.
Some insects have favorite colors. Mosquitoes prefer blue to yellow. A red light will not attract insects, but a blue lamp will. In a similar way human beings also have favorite colors. Yet we are lucky. With the aid of the cones in our eyes we can see many beautiful colors by day, and with the aid of the rods we can see shapes at night. One day we may even learn more about the invisible colors around us.The passage is mainly about _____________.
| A．color and its surprising effects. |
| B．women being luckier than men |
| C．danger caused by color blindness |
| D．color blindness |
According to the passage, with the help of the “cones”, we can_______________.
| A．tell different shapes | B．see in a weak light |
| C．kill mosquitoes | D．tell orange from yellow |
Why do some people say it is safer to be driven by women?
| A．Women are more careful. |
| B．There are fewer color-blind women |
| C．Women are fonder of driving than men. |
| D．Women are weaker but quicker in thinking. |
Which of the statements about the color- blind is true?
| A．Not all of them have the same problem in recognizing color. |
| B．None of them can see deep red. |
| C．None of them can tell the difference between blue and green. |
| D．All of them see everything in shades of green. |
We can attract and kill mosquitoes by using a _____________.
| A．red light | B．yellow light | C．blue light | D．green light |
As a high school athletics coach, I gave a speech about football to students and parents, aiming at getting new team members :I talked about how"everyone can benefit from football. This year, a worried-looking couple approached me. Their son, who had a sickly childhood, really wanted to play football. They'd tried to talk him out of it, but he had his heart set on joining the team.
When they told me his name , my heart sank. Michael was short and thin. He was a lonely kid and the constant target of other kids' jokes. I knew Michael would never make it. But so close to my "football is for everyone" speech, I told them we could give it a try.
On the opening day of practice, Michael was the first player on the field. We started a one-mile jog around the track. Repeatedly he fell, each time picking himself up. The same thing happened for weeks. But Michael put his whole heart into the training. Cradually, Michael gained strength both socially and physically. He began to laugh and most of the teammates became friendly. By the last week of practice Michael could run the mile without falling. He asked me to add a few more exercises he could work on his own. Soon , Michael ran the opening mile faster than anyone.
One day after practice, the team captain, Steve, came up to me. He was talented but lazy.He was popular with students even though he could be heartless. Steve pointed to the field where Michael was jogging all alone and asked me why he was still out there. I told Steve to ask him. The next night, I was surprised to see Steve exercising right next to Michael.
Finally our big game came-at first we were losing by twelve points. I could see that some kids had already lost heart. But Michael was playing as hard as he could , begging the team to keep trying. Finally we won the game by one point in the final ten seconds.
At our celebration dinner, we always gave a big award to the most productive player. Steve had scored the most points that season, and everyone cheered as he received his award. " There's someone who deserves it more than I do," Steve said, " Everything I accomplished, and everything the team accomplished this season, is thanks to one person-Michael. " The entire team cheered as Steve turned the prize over to the player who had inspired them all. The author gave a speech to the students and parents in order to ____.
| A．bring in new team members |
| B．teach them how to play football |
| C．tell them about the benefits of playing football |
| D．help those parents who are worried about their children |
How did the author react after the couple told him their son's name?
| A．He was very excited about accepting Michael on the team. |
| B．He refused to accept Michael because he had no talent for sports. |
| C．He decided to accept Michael though he was unwilling to do so. |
| D．He agreed to accept Michael because he was moved by his determination. |
What happened to Michael after a few weeks' training?
| A．He gave up training. |
| B．He began to laugh at others. |
| C．He often protected others in the football field. |
| D．He became strong both in friendly relations and in body. |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．The Road to Success | B．Heart of a Champion |
| C．Steve, the Real Winner | D．A Player of Patience |
Online Degrees
Today, you can earn a degree from a major university without ever having sat in one of their classrooms. Many colleges and universities are offering online courses and degree programs now.
Online Learning Programs
With a computer and an Internet connection, you can earn a degree from home, work, or anywhere else for that matter. Online degree programs follow much the same routines as traditional learning, with a few twists. There are lectures, but they won't be in person. There are assignments (作业) , but you won't hand them to your instructor. In most situations, you are free to "go to class" when it fits your"schedule. If you get a phone call during class, you don't have to miss anything. If you get sick, you don't have to ask for someone's notes, and you just visit the lecture later.
You'll communicate with your instructor by e-mail, chat room and instant messaging. Your classroom will live in a special software program. Contrary to popular belief, you will have close contact with other students and the instructor.
Evaluating the Program
There are a lot of questions to ask before you make your selection, such as:
How do students interact with each other?
★Online programs can use chat rooms, instant messaging, teleconferencing, and video conferencing to communicate. The key is to find a program that has this interaction built into it and even requires it.
★What kind of reputation does the school have?
It may seem simple-a good school will have a good online program. This reputation,however, may not be as straightforward as you think. It's not uncommon for a great school to have a weak program or two. So you'd better look at the overall quality of the school and make a judgment.
The Employers' View
As more and more employees get online degrees and use them in the workforce(职场) , hiring managers will begin to feel more secure about the quality of education these people have.In which way is online education special?
| A．If you get sick, you'll miss the lecture. |
| B．There are lectures, but you don't need to meet the lecturers. |
| C．If you get a phone call during class, you will miss something. |
| D．There are assignments, and you must hand them to your instructor. |
What is the most important part of online communication?
| A．To use e-mails. |
| B．To look for a program with interaction. |
| C．To use chat rooms and instant messaging. |
| D．To use teleconferencing and video conferencing. |
For whom is the passage probably written?
| A．College students. | B．Hiring managers. |
| C．Adult students. | D．High school students. |
American and British use different greetings. In the USA the commonest greeting is “Hi”. In Britain it is “Hello！” or “How are you？”. “Hi！” is creeping(不知不觉的)into British, too. When they are introduced to someone, the Americans say, “Glad to know you.” The British say, “How do you do？” or “Pleased to meet you.” When Americans say “Goodbye”， they nearly always add, “Have a good day，” or “Have a good trip，” etc. to friends and strangers alike. Britons are already beginning to use “Have a good day”。
The British usually use “got”in the sense of “have”. The Americans hardly ever do.
Am.E: Do you have a car, room，etc.？Yes, I do.
Br.E: Have you got a car, room, etc.? Yes, I have.
Finally, there are a number of differences between American and British English in the spelling of words, e．g.check(US)/cheque(UK); center(US)/centre(UK). Many American words ending in “or”， e．g. honor, vigor, labor are spelt in British English with an “our”， e．g. honour, vigour, labour. Many verbs in American English with “ize”or “izing” forms, e．g. organize, realizing are spelt in Br.E “ise”or “ising”，e.g.organise，realising.In American English, “practice”is used both for the verb and noun.In Br.E, the verb is spelt “practise”， and the noun “practice”. In the main, American English avoids the doubling up of consonants(辅音字母)in nouns and verbs while British English does not.In American English, for example, one writes “travel, traveled, traveling, traveler，” while in British English, one writes “travel, travelled, travelling, traveller”．
It was once predicted that British and American English would became separate languages finally. But the opposite has happened. The links(连接)between the two countries are so strong that linguistically(语言上的), and probably culturally(文化上的)too, they are closer together than ever.The Americans hardly say________.
| A．Goodbye.Have a good day! | B．Glad to know you! |
| C．Hi! | D．Have you got a car? |
A British writes________.
| A．cheque；center | B．honor；organise |
| C．traveled；practice | D．labour；traveller |
What does the fifth paragraph talk about?
| A．There are lots of differences in spelling between Am.E.and Br.E. |
| B．Why do the Americans and the British use different spellings? |
| C．There are few differences in spelling between Am.E.and Br.E. |
| D．The different usages of words in Am.E and Br.E |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The two languages will become separate languages. |
| B．American English will be used more and more. |
| C．The two languages will be closer and closer. |
| D．British English will be used more and more. |
Body and Food
Your body, which has close relations with the food you eat, is the most important thing you own, so it needs proper treatment and proper nourishment (营养).The old saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”is not as silly as some people think. The body needs fruit and vegetables because they contain vitamin C. Many people take extra vitamins in pill form, believing that these will make them healthy.
But a good diet is made up of nourishing food and this gives all the vitamins you need. The body doesn’t need or use extra vitamins, so why waste money on them?
In the modern western world, many people are too busy to bother about eating properly. They throw anything into their stomachs, eating hurriedly and carelessly. The list of illnesses caused or made worse by bad eating habits is frightening,“Your body has close relations with the food you eat.” It really means that ______.
| A．all kinds of food you eat can be made into your body |
| B．your body is made up of the food you eat |
| C．what you eat has great effect on your health |
| D．the more you eat, the fitter you will feel |
The old saying referred to in the passage tells us that ______.
| A．eating apples regularly does lots of good to our health |
| B．the apple is the best among all kinds of fruits |
| C．apples can take the place of doctors |
| D．an apple is a sure cure for illness |
In the modern western countries ______.
| A．people don‘t want to pay more attention to their eating |
| B．lots of people’s illnesses are caused or made worse by bad eating habits |
| C．people throw everything into their stomachs without chewing |
| D．people are only too busy to cook meals for themselves |
From the passage we can draw a conclusion that if we want to keep healthy,we should ______.
| A．only eat an apple a day |
| B．eat properly |
| C．take as many vitamin pills as possible |
| D．throw something into our stomachs slowly and carefully |
Popeye the Sailor first became a popular cartoon in the 1930s.The sailor in that cartoon ate lots of spinach to make him strong. People watched him, and they began to buy and eat a lot more spinach. Popeye helped sell 33 percent more spinach than before! Spinach became a necessary part of many people’s diets. Even some children who hated the taste began to eat the vegetable.
Many people thought that the iron in spinach made Popeye strong, but this is not true. Spinach does not have any more iron than any other green vegetable.
People only thought spinach had a lot of iron because the people who studied the food made a mistake. In the 1890s, a group of people studied what was inside vegetables. This group said that spinach had ten times more iron than it did. The group wrote the number wrong, and everyone accepted it.
Today, we know that the little iron there is in spinach cannot make a difference in how strong a person is. However, spinach does have something else which the body needs—folic acid.
It is interesting to point out that folic acid can help make a person strong. Maybe it was really the folic acid that made Popeye strong all along. Why did many people eat spinach after they saw Popeye the Sailor?
| A．They thought spinach made them strong. |
| B．They thought Popeye was funny. |
| C．Spinach had a lot of iron. |
| D．People liked folic acid. |
A research group told people that spinach______.
| A．made Popeye strong |
| B．was a green vegetable |
| C．had less iron than other green vegetables |
| D．had more iron than other green vegetables |
The reading passage says that perhaps Popeye got his strength from______.
| A．iron | B．folic acid | C．spinach | D．exercise |
Folic acid is ______.
| A．something in food | B．a vegetable | C．dangerous | D．a certain kind of spinach |
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