Why do Americans struggle with watching their weight, while the French, who consume rich food, continue to stay thin? Now a research by Cornell University suggests how life style and decisions about eating may affect weight. Researchers concluded that the French tend to stop eating when they feel full. However, Americans tend to stop when their plate is empty or their favorite TV show is over.
According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, a health expert, the French see eating as an important part of their life style. They enjoy food and therefore spend a fairly long time at the table, while Americans see eating as something to be squeezed between the other daily activities. Mercola believes Americans lose the ability to sense when they are actually full. So they keep eating long after the French would have stopped. In addition, he points out that Americans drive to huge supermarkets to buy canned and frozen foods for the week. The French, instead, tend to shop daily, walking to small shops and farmers’ markets where they have a choice of fresh fruits, vegetables, and eggs as well as high-quality meats for each meal.
After a visit to the United States, Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don’t Get Fat, decided to write about the importance of knowing when to stop rather than suggesting how to avoid food. Today she continues to stay slim and rarely goes to the gym.
In spite of all these differences, evidence shows that recent life style changes may be affecting French eating habits. Today the rate of obesity — or extreme overweight — among adults is only 6%. However, as American fast food gains acceptance and the young reject older traditions, the obesity rate among French children has reached 17% — and is growing. In what way are the French different from Americans according to Dr. Joseph Mercola?
| A．They go shopping at supermarkets more frequently. |
| B．They squeeze eating between the other daily activities. |
| C．They regard eating as a key part of their lifestyles. |
| D．They usually eat too much canned and frozen food. |
This text is mainly the relationship between _________.
| A．Americans and the French |
| B．life style and obesity |
| C．children and adults |
| D．fast food and overweight |
The text is mainly developed __________.
| A．by contrast |
| B．by space |
| C．by process |
| D．by classification |
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．A TV interview |
| B．A food advertisement |
| C．A health report |
| D．A book review |
Parents have widely different views on the problem of pocket money. Four new fathers were asked this question and this is how they answered.
Ashish Khanna: Although many argue that pocket money helps develop children’s sense of value, I don’t agree. I wouldn’t give my child any pocket money. First of all, I never got pocket money and I seem to have a good value for money. If my child ever needed something and I felt it was a reasonable (合理的) request, I would buy it for him.
Sharad Sanghi: No, I wouldn’t give my child pocket money because I don’t want to create the perception (观念) of “her” money and “my” money. Besides, if I refuse to buy her something that I think is bad for her, she may buy it with her pocket money on the sly. In this way, I would lose control over my child’s requests. I feel it also encourages children to care more about money than anything else. I don’t want my child to start judging other children by the amount of money or pocket money they have.
Rakesh Shah: Yes, I would give my child pocket money because I feel that children should learn to spend money properly. I will give him a fixed amount every month and if he spends the money before the month is over, he will learn a lesson and not spend money so freely. He will learn what his limitations (限制) are and feel the difficulty when he has to pay for something that is over his own pocket.
Rajiv Patel: Yes, I would give my child pocket money because it is important that he learns to manage money. But I would not give it to him on a weekly or monthly basis. He would have to earn it. If he helped me finish some of my jobs or helped his mother with housework, I would reward him. This helps him realize that “money does not grow on trees” and it requires hard work to earn money.Ashish Khanna may agree that _____.
| A．he was given too much pocket money when young |
| B．he can take much control of his child by money |
| C．he will buy anything he thinks his child really needs |
| D．pocket money helps children develop a good value for money |
The underlined phrase “on the sly” in Paragraph 3 is the closest in meaning to “_____”.
| A．for free | B．at a lower price |
| C．happily | D．secretly |
Who would give his child pocket money every month?
| A．Ashish Khanna. | B．Sharad Sanghi. |
| C．Rakesh Shah. | D．Rajiv Patel. |
What do Rakesh Shah and Rajiv Patel have in common?
| A．They want their children to learn to manage money from an early age. |
| B．They ask their children to get pocket money by working. |
| C．They teach their children the difficulty of making money. |
| D．They allow their children to spend money freely. |
People often use gestures to express our feelings, but the problem is that the gestures can be understood in different ways.
It is true that a smile means the same thing in any language. So does laughter or crying. Fear is another emotion(情感) that is shown in much the same way all over the world. In Chinese and in English literature, a phrase like “he went pale and began to tremble” suggests that the man is either very afraid or he has just got a very big shock.
However, “he opened his eyes wide” is used to suggest anger in Chinese whereas in English it means surprise. In Chinese, surprise can be described in a phrase like “they stretched out their tongues!” “Stretching out your tongue” in English is an insulting(侮辱的, 无礼的)gesture or expresses strong dislike.
Even in the same culture, people differ in their ability to understand and express feelings. Experiments in America have shown that women are usually better than men at recognizing fear, anger, love and happiness on people’s faces. Other studies show that older people usually find it easier to understand body language than younger people do. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
| A．We can easily understand what people’s gestures mean. |
| B．It is difficult to tell what people’s gestures really mean sometimes. |
| C．Gestures can be understood by most people but words are not. |
| D．Words can be better understood by older people. |
People’s facial expressions may be misunderstood in different cultures because ______ .
| A．people from different cultures have different meanings about some facial expressions |
| B．people speaking different languages have different facial expressions |
| C．people of different ages may have different interpretations (解释) |
| D．people of different sexes may understand a gesture differently |
From the passage, we can conclude(得出结论) that ______ .
| A．words are often more difficult to understand than gestures |
| B．gestures can be more effectively used than words to express feelings |
| C．gestures can be used to express feelings |
| D．gestures are used as frequently as words to express feelings |
The best title for this passage can be ______ .
| A．Gestures | B．Feelings |
| C．Culture and Understanding | D．Gestures and Feelings |
Thomas Edison was one of ten said to be the greatest genius（天才） of his age. There are only a few men in all of the history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light. But Edison could never be happy only because someone said he was a genius.“ There is no such thing as genius,” Edison said. He said that what people called genius was mostly hard work.
But Edison was a dreamer as well as a worker. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature. Nature, he often said, is full of secrets. He tried to understand them; then, he tried to learn what could usefully be done with them.
Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people will do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking can give men enjoyment and pleasure.
Edison could not understand how anyone could be uninterested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what ideas he had about life. “Work,” he answered. “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Edison invented the electric light. |
| B．Many other people have changed Edison’s life. |
| C．Edison has changed the life of many other people. |
| D．Few men in history can change other people’s life. |
Edison thought ____________.
| A．he could be happy if he was a genius |
| B．genius plays the most important part in one’s success |
| C．hard work could do better than genius |
| D．genius could do better than hard work |
In Edison’s opinion, ____________.
| A．thinking can supply people with enjoyment and pleasure as well as help |
| B．people’s successs lies mostly in genius |
| C．hard work is the second important thing in making people successful |
| D．there are few secrets for him to discover later |
The last sentence in the passage most probably implies(暗示） ____________.
| A．life is too short for Edison to invent more for human beings |
| B．Edison made 100 inventions in his life |
| C．Edison was able to live and work for 100 years |
| D．People of his time were ready to give Edison another 100 years’ work |
Derrius Quarles, 19, had an unhappy childhood. But the Chicago teen didn’t give up. He tried his best and won $1 million in college scholarships (奖学金)! Now Derrius is a successful college student with a bright future.
When Derrius was 4, his father was killed. His mother couldn’t take care of him because of taking drugs. Derrius and his 9-year-old brother sometimes had to steal food to eat. Derrius felt different from other kids. In seventh grade, Derrius went to live in a foster home (寄养家庭). His foster parents weren’t nice to him. They told him that he’d never be anything in life.
Derrius didn’t do his best in school. The summer after ninth grade, that changed. Derrius had signed up for a biology class. He didn’t go to class the first day. On the second day, he showed up late. His teacher took him outside. She told him he was smart, but that he was wasting his potential (潜力). The talk inspired him and he planned to prove that he could be anything if he worked hard enough.
Adults at a summer program helped Derrius find out about scholarships he could earn to pay for college. In his senior year, Derrius filled out lots of applications. He told his friends, “You’re not going to see me for a long time.” Derrius’s hard work paid off. He won more than $1 million in scholarships! He has a lot to be proud of. But he’s most proud of helping others. Derrius gives speeches to teens, telling them how to find scholarships. In high school, Derrius got help buying a computer. He wanted to help others who needed them. Last year, he gave two laptops to high schoolstudents. There’s a lot of work in his future. Derrius doesn’t mind — hard work has got him where he is today. He knows it can take him anywhere. From Paragraphs 2 and 3, we can learn that Derrius _____.
| A．always studied hard in school |
| B．lived in the same foster home with his brother |
| C．hated his parents very much |
| D．was encouraged a lot by his biology teacher |
The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to _____.
| A．great success | B．a scholarship |
| C．hard work | D．a computer |
What kind of person do you think Derrius is?
| A．Lazy but kind-hearted. |
| B．Selfish and naughty. |
| C．Confident but troublesome（带来麻烦的）. |
| D．Determined and generous（慷慨的）. |
What does the author want to tell us?
| A．The way to win a scholarship to a college. |
| B．The importance of family background. |
| C．Never forget people who have helped you. |
| D．Hard work pays off sooner or later. |
A mum saved her daughter’s life with her newly learned first aid skills. Sonya Hall, 33, of Denny Avenue, Lancaster, had only just attended one first aid class the day before when she found herself needing to use the skills on her three year old daughter Tilly.
Sonya, who also has son Emmen, six, attended the first aid course at Lune Park Children’s Centre in Lancaster. Then she was faced with every parent’s worst nightmare when Tilly went blue in the face and stopped breathing. But thanks to her newly acquired skills, Sonya saved Tilly’s life.
Sonya said: “Tilly was playing with her brother and they were fighting over a toy. Emmen won the fight. Tilly fell backwards and her head was hit. She was face down and shaking and at first I thought she was upset. But then I saw she was blue in the face and had stopped breathing. I reacted without thinking and immediately started using the first aid skills I had learned the day before which were so fresh in my mind. I began doing mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions (胸外按压). It probably took about a minute before Tilly started breathing again, but to me it felt like a lifetime.”
After getting Tilly breathing again, Sonya called an ambulance and the doctors came. Since then, Tilly has been diagnosed (诊断) with Reflex Anoxic Seizure (反射缺氧发作). Sonya said: “The seizure can happen when there’s any unexpected pain, fear or fright. It is just so lucky that the day before it happened, I had been practising first aid.”
The Empowering Parents First Aid course is run by Lancashire Adult Learning. Sonya said: “I am just so glad I did the course and learnt the first aid skills. I always feared I would not know what to do in a crisis situation, but luckily I had the knowledge and skills to deal with it.” What happened to Tilly?
| A．She was knocked down by her brother. |
| B．She fell on the floor and hit her head. |
| C．She was hit by a toy on the head and felt upset. |
| D．She was hit by her brother and stopped breathing. |
When Sonya found Tilly’s shaking, she thought her daughter must ______.
| A．be crying | B．be very angry |
| C．pretend to be hurt | D．recognize her failure |
When Sonya goes to the first aid class next time, she will feel ______.
| A．enjoyable | B．excited |
| C．grateful | D．confident |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．The importance of first aid |
| B．How to practise first aid |
| C．Mum saves girl with first aid |
| D．Mums should attend first aid courses |
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