A couple had a son eleven years after they married. They were a loving couple and the boy was the apple of their eye. When the boy was around four years old, one day the father was very tired after work so he asked his wife to pick up their son. The mother, who was very busy in the kitchen, totally forgot about it.
Later the boy lost his way on the street. When the son was found missing, the mother hurried to look for him, but she didn’t find him. The mother felt very sad and didn’t know how to face her husband.
When the father went to the police station after hearing that the son was missing, he looked at his wife and said just four words. What do you think the four words were? The husband just said "I love you, darling."
The son was missing. If he had picked him up earlier, this would not have happened. There is no point in blaming (责备) anyone. His wife had also lost her only child. What his wife needed at that moment was comfort and understanding from her husband. That is what the husband gave his wife. Several weeks later, with the help of the police, the couple finally found their lost son. The family’s relationship became stronger over that time.
Sometimes we spend lots of time asking who is to blame. We miss many chances to give each other support and let each other feel the warmth of human relationships. Get rid of all your unwillingness to forgive, selfishness, and fears and you will find the world is much more wonderful.What is the meaning of the underlined phrase "the apple of their eye”?
| A．A person who always has a sweet smile. |
| B．A person who is as pretty as an apple. |
| C．A person who is loved more than anyone else. |
| D．A person who looks like an apple. |
Why didn’t the father pick the boy up himself?
| A．He was very lazy. |
| B．He thought the mother had picked him up. |
| C．He forgot to pick him up. |
| D．He was too tired to do it. |
What can we learn from this passage?
| A．Be careful in everything you do. |
| B．Love is the most important thing. |
| C．Learn to forgive others |
| D．Everyone can make mistakes. |
what do you think of the husband?
| A．Warm-hearted. | B．Careful. |
| C．Hard-working. | D．Broad-minded |
It is estimated that some seven hundred million people, about half the world’s adult population, are unable to read or write, and there are probably two hundred and fifty million more whose level is so slight that it is hardly called literacy(有文化).
Recently the attack on illiteracy had been stepped up. A world plan has been drawn up by a committee of UNESCO experts in Paris, as part of the United Nations Development Decade（十年计划）,and an international conference of the subject has also been held. UNESCO stresses that functional literacy is the aim. People must learn the basic skills of responsible citizenship, the ability of reading notices, newspapers, timetables, letters, price-lists to keep simple records and accounts, to select the importance of the information gathered, and to fill in the forms.
The major areas of illiteracy are in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. In Africa there are at least one hundred million illiterate people, which is eighty to eighty-five percent of the total population. In Europe the figure is about twenty-four million; most of them are in Sothern Europe, with Spain, Italy, Portugal, Yugoslavia heading the list (the United Kingdom has about seven hundred thousand).
UNESGO is eager for each country in the world, poor or rich, to wipe out illiteracy.The author implies that this world plan is to______.
| A．be carried out in the major areas of illiteracy like Africa. |
| B．be realized in the years |
| C．be drawn up by Parisian experts |
| D．be discussed at an international conference |
The world plan mentioned in the passage aims at____.
| A．asking African countries to take the lead in attacking illiteracy |
| B．strengthening the function of the UNESCO |
| C．helping illiterate people learn functional reading and writing |
| D．training responsible citizens |
According to the passage, which of the following countries has the most illiterate people?
| A．England | B．France | C．Sweden | D．Spain |
Which of the statements is true?
| A．The major areas of illiteracy are in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. |
| B．In the USA there are at least one hundred million illiterate people, |
| C．the United Kingdom has about seven hundred million illiterate people |
| D．In Europe the figure is about twenty-four million; most of them are in Northern Europe. |
A small piece of fish each day may keep the heart doctor away. That’s the finding of a study of Dutch men in which deaths from heart disease were more than 50 percent lower among those who consumed（消费） at least an ounce of salt water fish per day compared to those who never ate fish.
The Dutch research is one of three human studies that give strong scientific support to the long held belief that eating fish can provide health benefits, particularly to the heart.
Heart disease is the number-one killer in the United States, with more than 550,000deaths occurring from heart attacks each year. But previous research has shown that the level of heart disease is lower in cultures that consume more fish than Americans do. There are fewer heart disease deaths, for example, among the Eskimos of Greenland, who consume about 14 ounces of fish a day, and among the Japanese, whose daily fish consumption averages more than 3 ounces.
For 20 years, the Dutch study followed 852 middle-aged men, 20 percent of whom ate no fish.
At the start of the study, average fish consumption was about two-thirds of an ounce each day, with more men eating lean fish than fatty fish.
During the next two decades, 78of the men died from heart disease , The fewest deaths were among the group who regularly ate fish, even at levels far lower than those of the Japanese of Eskimos, This relationship was true regardless of other factors such as age, high blood pressure, or blood cholesterol(胆固醇)levels.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The Dutch research has proved that eating fish can help to prevent heart disease. |
| B．People who regularly eat fish never suffer from heart disease. |
| C．Heart disease causes more deaths in America than any other disease. |
| D．There is a low level of heart disease in such countries as Japan and Greenland. |
The passage is mainly about______.
| A．the changes in people’s diet |
| B．the daily fish consumption of people in different cultures. |
| C．the high death rate of disease in some countries. |
| D．the effect of fish eating on people’s health |
We can infer from the passage that there are fewer heart disease deaths____.
| A．in Dutch |
| B．in America |
| C．in countries with high consumption of fish |
| D．in countries with good production of fish |
The phrase“this relationship (paragraph 6) refers to the connection between ____ and the level of heart disease.”
| A．the amount of fish eaten |
| B．regular fish-eating |
| C．the kind of fish eaten |
| D．people of different areas |
I was 230 pounds this spring and I decided to get down to a healthier 200.In a house full of food，including snacks bought for my 7yearold sons，I had a hard time cutting calories. Then I noticed my neighbors were having diet meals (减肥餐)．I decided to do the same，knowing I would never be able to stick to a diet if I had to do the buying and cooking myself. I was looking for food that I could afford but I might take a diet more seriously if it hurt me in the wallet.
After online searches，I decided to compare the offerings of four companies：Zone Manhattan，Chefs Diet，NuKitchen and eDiets. All four would send the meals to my door. Three send food daily，while eDiets sends a large package once a week. There were dozens of companies I could have chosen.Research suggests that the economic crisis has made diet programs less tempting.Consumers prefer doityourself diets with foods bought from the supermarket.
NuKitchen regards itself as the “personal chef”．I ordered the fiveday plan ($230.53) and the taste was disappointing. I neither lost nor gained weight on the food.
eDiets promises “healthy，delicious meals sent to your door”．I ordered five breakfasts，five lunches and five dinners. My total cost was $119.70，or less than $25 a day. Overall，the food from eDiets was better than that from NuKitchen.
Chefs Diet charged $380.99 for seven days，making it the most expensive of the four services.I never tasted anything terrible，but I never tasted anything that made me want to renew for a second week.
Zone Manhattan charged $349.80，with tax，for a week’s supply of food，or about $50 a day.I liked the food so much that I lost six pounds in the first four days on the diet.When the author began to have diet meals，she________.
| A．was 200 pounds |
| B．didn’t have any children |
| C．worked as a cook in a company offering diet meals |
| D．didn’t believe she could stick to a diet if she had to cook herself |
What does the underlined word “tempting” in Paragraph 2 mean?
| A．Attractive. | B．Expensive. | C．Delicious. | D．Useful. |
Which of the four companies’ food cost the least daily?
| A．Zone Manhattan’s. | B．Chefs Diet’s. |
| C．NuKitchen’s. | D．eDiets’． |
We can learn from the passage that________.
| A．the author gained weight on the food from Nukitchen |
| B．the author would choose the food of Zone Manhattan |
| C．the food from eDiets was the worst of the four |
| D．Zone Manhattan sends food once a week |
Many parents watch the news or other shows as children play nearby. But new research shows that even when the television is just background noise，it may be disruptive to a child’s normal development.
It’s estimated that 75 percent of very young children in the United States live in homes where the television is on most of the time，even though the kids often aren’t watching it. The University of Massachusetts researchers recently studied how TV background noise might affect young children. The study looked at 50 1，2and 3yearolds. Each child came to a lab with a parent and was allowed to play for an hour with various toys. For half the time，a television was on in the room，showing the adult game show as well as advertisements. During the other half hour，the TV was turned off.
As expected，the children paid little attention to the adult television show，glancing at it for less than a few seconds at a time，and less than once a minute. Even so，the distraction (分心) of the background noise had a significant effect on how children at every age played. When the television was on，the children played with each toy for far shorter periods of time，and focused attention during play was also shorter compared to how they played when the TV was off.
Researchers said that even though the children aren’t interested in the show，background TV affects their ability to do various types of play. The finding is important because many wellmeaning parents who wouldn’t let their young children watch television may not realize that even adult programs that don’t interest children still can have an effect.
“Background TV is potentially a chronic (长期的) environmental risk factor affecting most American children，” said the lead author of the study. “Parents should limit their young children’s exposure (接触)．”We know from the passage that________.
| A．background TV noise has little effect on adults |
| B．most young children in America live in homes exposed to TV noise |
| C．the effect of background TV noise on children is immediate |
| D．most parents in America wouldn’t let their children watch TV |
The underlined word “disruptive” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to________.
| A．harmful | B．important | C．similar | D．related |
In the study，the children________.
| A．were all 3yearolds | B．were asked to watch adult TV shows |
| C．played for an hour while the TV was on | D．played with more than one toy |
What does the study show?
| A．Children pay much attention to adult TV shows. |
| B．Children should be allowed to watch TV for kids only. |
| C．The background TV noise affects children’s ability to focus. |
| D．The more toys a child has，the shorter time he plays with each one. |
London Underground
The world’s first subway was built in London in 1863. At the time，the government was looking for a way to reduce traffic problems in the city of London. The poor areas of the city were so crowded with people that it was almost impossible for horse carriages to get through. The city officials were interested in trying to make it possible for workers to live outside of London and travel easily to work each day. If people had a cheap and convenient way that they could depend on to go to and from work， they would relocate their homes outside of the city. This would help ease(减轻) the pressure of too many people living in the poor parts of London. From these problems，the idea of the London Underground，the first subway system，was born.
The plans for building the Underground met with several problems and delays，but the fast track was finally opened in January 1863. A steam train pulled the cars along the fast underground track which was 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) long. About 30，000 people got on the subway the first day. Riders were treated to comfortable seats (standing up while the train was moving was not allowed)， and pleasant decorations inside each of the cars. However， the smoke from the engine soon filled the air in the tunnels with ash and soot(煤灰)， as well as chemical gases. Fans had to be put in the tunnels later to keep the air clean enough for people to breathe. Even with its problems，riding in the Underground did catch on. It carried 9 million riders in its first year.How did the London Underground solve the smoke problem？
| A．It made the tunnels larger. |
| B．It put fans in the tunnels. |
| C．It cleaned the chemical gases in the tunnels. |
| D．It reduced the number of passengers riding in the train. |
What led the British government to build the London Underground？
| A．Traffic jams and pollution. |
| B．Population and pollution. |
| C．Overcrowding and traffic jams. |
| D．The poverty and subway problems. |
Which of the following is TRUE？
| A．To relocate the workers’ homes outside London，the government built the subway. |
| B．There were so many problems and delays that in 18th century the first subway opened. |
| C．The subway greatly eased the pressure of traffic. |
| D．There were not enough seats for the passengers the first day the subway opened. |
The underlined phrase “catch on” most probably means “______”.
| A．be troublesome | B．become popular and fashionable |
| C．keep up with | D．seize |
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