People these days always complain how they suffer stress from their daily life. With drugs widely available in the market today, it is still advisable that we consume the best kind of medicine for our body, that is natural drugs.
One of the natural resources for a relaxation drug is the Valerian Root Extract. Scientifically known as Valeriana Officinalis, this plant is a flowering type with heads of pink and white flowers mostly blooming in the summer months. Native in Europe and in small parts of Asia, the plant became popular worldwide because of its sweet scent and unique health benefits.
Past research suggests that the valerian root has healing characteristics that focus on the neurotransmitter of the brain, which makes the brain cells function well. Other researches about this herb suggest that it can keep a person free of anxiety. Although there are various types of valerian root products in the market today, modern medical studies have concluded that further research has to be taken into consideration before acknowledging the so-called benefits of Valerian Root Extracts.
One sample of the so-called benefits is the treatment for anxiety disorder called “social anxiety disorder” or SAD. The benefit has insufficient evidence to support its claim as an alternative relief for anxiety. However, many patients said that they felt improvements on their nervous conditions, stress and overall mental ability.
Valerian Root Extract can be acquired as a tea, tablet, or liquid extract. It is recommended that you consult your physician about this herbal plant if it can really benefit your health.What does the author intend to do in the passage?
| A．To tell readers how to reduce stress. |
| B．To introduce a natural anxiety treatment. |
| C．To analyze the benefits of plants. |
| D．To advertise for the new product. |
What do we know about Valeriana Officinalis?
| A．It is also called Valerian Root Extract. |
| B．It is blooming all the year around. |
| C．It is only grown in European countries. |
| D．It is well received for its health benefits. |
The underlined word “insufficient” in the passage means ______.
| A．too much | B．pretty plentiful |
| C．not enough | D．well tested |
In this age of cell phones, text messages and computer keyboards, one Scottish school has returned to basics．It's teaching youngsters the ignored art of writing with a fountain pen．There is no clicking of keyboards in most classrooms at the Mary Erskine and Stewart's Melville Junior School, although there is a full range of facilities （设施）for computer lessons and technology isn' t being ignored．The private school' s headmaster believes the old-fashioned pens have helped strengthen the academic （学术的） performance and self-esteem （自尊）of his 1,200 pupils．
"The pens improve the quality of work because they force the children to take care, and better work improves self-esteem", headmaster Bryan Lewis said．" Proper handwriting is as relevant today as it ever has been．" Students as young as 7 have been instructed to give up their ball point pens and begin to deal with its more artful predecessor．By the time they reach grade five, at age 9, they are expected to write mainly with fountain pens．Lewis said the school's 7- and 8-year-olds use fountain pens for 80 percent to 90 percent of their work, returning to pencils for such subjects as math．"I don't see fountain pens as old-fashioned or out of date．Modern fountain pens are beautiful to use? it's not like in the old days of broken metal points and dirtying writing paper," Lewis said．"We have a particular writing style and we have developed it very carefully and found a way that allows left-and right-handed people to write without dirtying paper．"
Some people in wealthy nations argue that handwriting is becoming less important because of the growing use of cell phone text messaging and typing on computers, but the school disagrees．"We talk of the paperless office and the paperless world, but this is not true," Lewis said．"You still need to have proper handwriting skills．"
1．The Scottish school in the passage _____．
A．does not think highly of modern technology
B．values fountain pens more than anything else
C．pays special attention to the use of fountain pens
D．takes an action which is considered to be stupid by a great many people
2．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A．Schools in Scotland all encourage using pens．
B．Fountain pens today are much more expensive．
C．Lewis thinks the idea of the paperless world impractical．
D．The left-handed can't benefit from the new fountain pens．
3．The underlined word "predecessor" in Paragraph 2 refers to _____．
A．the pencil B．the fountain pen C．the keyboard D．the ball point pen
4．The headmaster Bryan Lewis holds the view that _____．
A．children should be required to use pens when they are five
B．using pens may slow down students' speed of writing
C．pens have helped to build up students' self-respect
D．handwriting skills are more important than typing skills
第三部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
第一节：（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
As Christmas approaches, towns and cities around the UK are preparing for a very British celebration．
The switching on of a town' s Christmas lights has become an increasingly competitive event over the years, with some councils （会议） spending lots of money to attract A-list famous persons to do the honors．
The American singer Mariah Carey flew to London in November to switch on the lights at one of the city's biggest shopping centers, while Jim Carrey lighted Oxford Street and promoted his new film at the same time．
Traffic in the historic English city of Bath was brought to a halt as thousands of fans crowded to see the Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage conducted the switching-on ceremony．
Some celebrations do not go according to the plan, as was seen in Birmingham when dozens of people were injured as the famous British boy band JLS took the stage．
Not all towns can afford to bring in an internationally-known star, so many switchon ceremonies are handled by ex-TV talent show competitors．
Pantomime （圣诞童话剧） stars are also much in demand at this time of year, as they aim to promote their Christmas shows．
But if your council hasn't got the budget to bring in a famous face, what are the cheaper alternatives?
A town in the west of England chose to let the public decide by giving their suggestions online．The result: a 21-year-old DIY store worker was given the honor．
"I was amazed and delighted to be asked," said Scott Parker, "it's just a special gift and not something I'd, ever thought about before．"
1．According to the passage, what kind of special celebration can you see at Christmas in UK?
A．People meeting their favorite stars and getting special gifts．
B．Well-known persons invited to make a performance in public．
C．A-list persons lighting Oxford Street and promoting their films．
D．Switching-on ceremonies that are conducted by honored persons．
2．The underlined word "halt" in Paragraph 4 probably means "______" ．
A．start B．stop C．ban D．run
3．Which of the followings can be learned from the passage?
A．Mariah Carey is invited to Bath to switch on the lights．
B．Pantomime stars rarely appear at events like this．
C．Not all those who switch on the Christmas lights can make lots of money．
D．Average persons can not get a chance to switch on the Christmas lights．
4．The following are famous persons EXCEPT _____．
A．Scott Parker B．Mariah Carey
C．Nicolas Cage D．Jim Carrey
Someone asked me, “ what do you think of youth?” I showed him
a can of COKE. See this?
“C” means “courage”. There’s a seed in everyone’s heart. As long as you really keep watering it, it will grow and harvest. Courage gives us the power to follow our dreams. Believe in yourself and be prepared for anything in the future.
“O” stands for “optimism(乐观)”. When in trouble, some
people
feel disappointed but some people still keep their dreams. Be sure to choose the latter. Life is very much like a mirror. If you smile on it, it smiles back on you. If you frown, you will get a similar look in return. Throw away the sadness in your hear while filling it with brightness and hope.
“K” can be understood as “knowledge”. In order to keep up with the times, we should use knowledge to enrich ou
rs
elves. Knowledge is the food of thought and, as long as it is put in our brain, we
will grow wiser.
“E” is short for “enthusiasm(热情)”. Enthusiasm is the sign of youth. We use colorful and paint-brushes in our hands to create the pictures of youth on our own. Let the sky and sea know we’re young. Let our enthusiasm wherever we go.
Drink a can of COKE. You will find your youth as refreshing (有活力的) as a can of coke. Enjoy and value your youth.
1. In the passage, the word “COKE” refers to _______
A. a kind of drink young people enjoy
B. what young people should have
C. basic abilities young people need
D. young people’s confidence and pride
2. The seed in everyone’s heat in fact is __________
A. hope B. knowledge C. courage D. imagination
3. According to the last paragraph, young people are _________
A. confident B. optimistic C. learned D. enthusiastic
In the United States, 30%of the grown-up population has a “weight problem”. To many people, the cause is clear: we eat too much. 
But scientific experiments do little to support this idea. Going back to the America of 1910, we find that people were thinner than today, yet they ate more food. In those days people worked harder physically, walked more, used machines much less, and didn’t watch TV.
Several modern studies, besides, have shown that fatter p
eople do not eat more on average than thinner people. In fact, some research work, such as the 1979 study of 3,545 London office workers, reports that fat people eat less than thinner people on average. Studies show that thin people are more active than fat people. A study by the research group at Standford University School of Medicine found the following fa
ct: the more the ma
n ran, the greater body fat he lost. The more he ran, the greater was his need for food. Thus, those who ran the most ate the most, yet lost the greatest amount of body fat.
1. What kind of physical problem do many grown-up Americans have?
A. They are too thin. B. They work too hard.
C. They are too fat. D. They lose too much body fat.
2. Based on the information given this article, suppose there are 500 gro
wn-up Americans, about how many of them have a weight problem?
A. 30 B. 50 
C. 100 D. 150
3. Are there scientific facts to support that eating too much is the cause of the “weight problem”?
A. Yes, there are plenty of them.
B. Of course, there are facts to show this is true.
C. There are hardly any scientific facts to support this.
D. We don’t know because the inform
ation is not given.
4. Compared with the grown-up Americans today, the Americans of 1910______.
A. ate more food and had more physical activities
B. ate less food but had more activities
C. ate less food and had less physical activities
D. had more weight problems
What makes one person more intelligent than another? What makes one person a genius, like the brilliant Albert Einstein, and another person a fool? Are people born intelligent or stupid, or is intelligence
the result of where and how you live? These are very old questions and the answers to them are still not clear.
We know, however, that just being born with a good mind is not enough. In some ways, the mind is like a leg or an arm muscle. It needs exercise. Mental (done with the mind) exercise is particularly important for young children. Many child psychologists (心理学家) think that parents should play with their children more often and give them problems to think about . The children are then more likely to grow up bright and intelligent. If, on the other hand, children are left alone a great deal with nothing to do, they are more likely to become dull and unintelligent .
Parents should also be careful with what they say to young children. According to some psychologists, if parents are always telling a child that he or she is a fool or an idiot, then the child is more likely to keep doing silly and foolish things. So it is probably better for parents to say very positive (helpful) things to their children, such as “That was a very clever thing you did.” or “You are such a smart child.”
1. According to the context we can guess that a genius is ________ while an idiot is ________ .
A. a normal person; a funny person
B. a strong person; a weak person
C. a highly intelligent person; a foolish or weak-minded person
D. a famous person; an ordinary person
2. It is better for parents ________.
A. to praise and encourage their children more often
B. to be hard on their children
C. to leave the
ir children alone with nothing to do
D. to give their children as much help as possible
3. Which of the following is NOT true according to the article?
A. Parents play an important part in their children’s growth.
B. The less y
ou use your mind the duller you may become.
C. Intelligence is obviously the result of where and how you live.
D. What makes a person bright or stupid is still under discussion.
4. According to the passage,which is the best sentence parents should say?
A. You
are quite wrong .
B. You are such a smart child
C.How many times have you made such a mistake ?
D. I can't agree with you, because you are a fool.
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