We know that cigarette smoking kills. So, producers made electronic cigarettes as a safer smoking choice ---- safer than tobacco. Although e-cigarettes contain the drug nicotine like cigarettes, they do not use tobacco and you do not light them. They are powered by battery.
However, if e-cigarettes are so safe, why has the United States Center for Disease Control（CDC）seen an increase in telephone calls about e-cigarette poisonings?
The answer is children. Most of the calls are from people worried about children who have played with the devices. In the period of one month this year, the Center said 215 people called the Center with e-cigarette concerns. More than half of these calls were for children aged five and younger. The devices had made them sick.
Tim McAfee is director of the Center's Office on Smoking and Health. He says the problem is regulation, meaning, the U. S. federal government does not control e-cigarettes even though they contain liquid nicotine. Mr. McAfee adds that liquid nicotine is a well-known danger. Mr. McAfee explains that nicotine poisoning happens when it gets into the skin, gets into the eyes or is swallowed. It can cause stomach pain or a sense of unbalance. And too much nicotine can kill.
Tim McAfee says e-cigarettes do not create the level of risk to people that tobacco products do. He notes that almost 500,000 Americans die each year from cigarettes. "So, cigarettes are the winner in that contest." E-cigarettes do not contain hundreds of harmful chemicals that are found in real cigarettes. So, the U. S. Surgeon General Boris D. Lushniak has suggested that e-cigarettes may be a useful tool for adults trying to end their tobacco use.
But McAfee worries that teenagers may think electronic cigarettes are harmless. They could become addicted to the nicotine and then start smoking real cigarettes. In other words, he fears that for young people fake e-cigarettes could be a "gateway" to the real thing.
What do the producers think of e-cigarettes?
| A．Dangerous. | B．Expensive. |
| C．Safer. | D．Cheaper. |
Why did the CDC receive so many calls about e-cigarettes?
| A．Parents feared that their children might get poisoned. |
| B．Parents found the device useless in quitting smoking. |
| C．Children swallowed the liquid nicotine from the device. |
| D．Children might get addicted to playing with the device. |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
A. the CDC wants to develop a better type of e-cigarettes
B. the government is in favor of the use of e-cigarettes
C. Surgeon General Boris D. Lushniak is a heavy smoker
D. smokers most probably can't quit smoking using e-cigarettes
What is Tim McAfee's opinion about smoking?
| A．Adults should use harmless e-cigarettes. |
| B．Smoking e-cigarettes can make a person sick. |
| C．He claims that regulations should be made to ban smoking. |
| D．He is concerned about the teens using e-cigarettes. |
It is sometimes reported that strange flying objects have been seen high up in the sky. People call these strange objects Unidentified(不明的)Flying Objects(UFOs). These UFOs caused a lot of interest. Some of the reports about them are difficult to believe.Some have been explained in scientific ways. Others have never been explained.
Here is an account of UFOs from a report.
Dennis Bardens,who wrote an article,tells us that he once saw a UFO himself.He was having dinner one night with a friend near Tripoli(的黎波里),Libya(利比亚),and after dinner the two men walked across a yard to his room to look at some papers.Bardens noticed that the moon looked strange that night.
“It wasn't the moon,”was the reply.
They watched the light and saw that it was moving.It seemed to be an object rather like a big plate.In some ways it looked like smoke with a light on it,but it wasn't smoke because it didn't change its shape.It was moving in a regular way.That is to say,it didn't go suddenly faster or more slowly,and it didn't go higher or lower.So the two men decided that there must be men in it.
When it came nearer to Libya,Bardens said that he felt eyes looking at him.He was being watched in the darkness.
When it was nearer,they noticed that the bottom parts were brighter than the top.The bottom was yellow and the top was red.Then the object suddenly turned away and left Libya,moving very fast.
On a later day Bardens talked to other people about it,and he found some who had seen it.They all described(描述)it in the same way.Could they all the mistaken?
60.The UFOs are______.
A.flying high up in the sky B.strange flying objects
C.difficult to believe D.very interested
61.A UFO was seen one night______.
A.when they were walking across a yard to Bardens' room
B.while they were looking at the light
C.when Bardens noticed the moon appearing strange
D.while they were having dinner
62.The UFO looked like______.
A.smoke B.light
C.a moving object D.a large plate
63.When the UFO came nearer to Libya,______.
A.it disappeared all at once
B.it suddenly turned away and left
C.it was watched in the darkness
D.Bardens was looking at it
Life is difficult.
It is a great truth because once we truly understand and accept it, then life is no longer difficult.
Most do not fully see this truth. Instead they complain about their problems and difficulties as if life should be easy. It seems to them that difficulties represent(代表) a special kind of suffering especially forced upon them or else upon their families, their class, or even their nation.
What makes life difficult is that the process of facing and solving problems is a painful one. Problems, depending on their nature, cause in us sadness or loneliness or regret or anger or fear. These are uncomfortable feelings, often as painful as any kind of physical pain. And since life causes an endless series of problems, life is always difficult and is full of pain as well as joy.
Yet, it is in this whole process of solving problems that life has its meaning.
Problems are the serious test that tells us success from failure. When we desire to encourage the growth of the human spirit, we encourage the human ability(能力) to solve problems, just as in school we set problems for our children to solve. It is through the pain of meeting and working out problems that we learn. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Those things that hurt, instruct.” It is for this reason that wise people learn not to fear but to welcome the pain of problems.
56. From the passage, it can be inferred that ______.
A. everybody has problems
B. we become stronger by facing and solving the problems of life
C. life is difficult because our problems bring us pain
D. people like to complain about their problems
57.The writer probably used just one short sentence in the first paragraph to ______.
A. save space B. persuade readers
C. make readers laugh D. get reader's attention
58. The main idea of paragraph 3 is that ______.
A. most people feel life is easy
B. the writer feels life is easy
C. the writer likes to complain about his problems
D. most people complain about how hard their lives are
59. According to the passage, we give school children difficult problems to solve in order to ______.
A. encourage them to learn
B. teach them to fear the pain of solving problems
C. help them learn to deal with pain
D. teach them how to respect for problems
阅读下面短文，根据第73至第75小题的具体要求，简要回答问题。
Every January， Breckenridge hosts the International Show Sculpture Championships. Fourteen teams travel from all over the world to
Switzerland to compete. Teams sculpt for sixty-five hours over five days. Each team hopes that when the time is up， its sculpture will be judged the best
As the championship begins， the fourteen teams are faced with huge blocks of snow that weigh twenty tons each. The sculptors bring out their
vorite tools that work best on the hard iced snow， but they are not allowed to employ tools that use electricity.
Most teams are inspired by what they have seen in daily life. For example， one team carved a teapot with tea pouring out. Another team sculpted a little cat on its hind feed（后脚） reaching into a fish bowl complete with water ripples（涟漪） and a crab（螃蟹） trying to attack the cat. In 2006， Team USA sculpted a golden dog looking at its image reflected in a mirror. To create the effect that the little dog saw its reflection in the glass， the artists carved two dogs facing each other with their paws （脚爪） touching.
As the final hours of the competition tick by， exhausted team members add last-minute details. They use small brooms to brush off snow caught in tiny holes. One team member counts down the last five minutes while others are busy cleaning up the tools. If they leave any tools behind， they will be out. When the whistle blows， everyone must step away from the sculpture. The judges then vote on creativity， technical skill， and visual impact（视觉效果） of the designs
In 2006， Team USA took firs place for their golden dog sculpture titled “Discovery”。 But the competition is not just about medals and ribbon. “It‘s not about the prize，” said Rob Neyland， Team USA’s captain. “It‘s about touching the audience.”
Every year， as the championship ends， each team is already dreaming of the next masterpiece it will design.What kind of tools are the sculptures NOT permitted to use？（回答词数不超过6个）
What gives the sculptors ideas for their creative work？（回答词数不超过9个）
Why did Team USA win the competition in 2006？（回答词数不超过15个）
In the U.S., people prefer waiting for a table to sitting with people they don’t know. This means a hostess may not seat a small group until a small table is available, even if a large one is. If you are sitting at a table with people you don’t know, it is impolite to light up a cigarette without first asking if it will disturb them.
At American restaurants and coffee shops you are usually served tap water before you order. You may find the bread and butter is free, and if you order coffee, you may get a free refill.
Most cities and towns have no rules about opening and closing time for stores or restaurants, though they usually do make rules for bars. Especially in large cities, stores may be open 24 hours a day.
Serving in restaurants is often large; too large for many people. If you can’t finish your meal but would like to enjoy the food later, ask your waitress or waiter for a “doggie bag”. It may have a picture of a dog on it, but everybody knows you’re taking the food for yourself.
Supper and dinner are both words for the evening meal. Some people have “Sunday dinner”. This is an especially big noon meal.
Tips are not usually added to the check. They are not included in the price of the meal, either. A tip of about 15% is expected and you should leave it on the table when you leave. In some restaurants, a check is brought on a plate and you put your money there. Then the waiter or waitress brings you your change.
1. Which statement is true?
A. American people like sitting with people they don’t know.
B. Tips shouldn’t be given to the waiter or waitress.
C. Orange juice is served before you order
D. American people would not light a cigarette if the people who sit at the same table mind their smoking.
2. What does the underlined word “doggie bag” mean in the article? It means ______.
A. a bag with a picture of a dog on it
B. a bag used to carry dogs
C. a small bag for taking the food left over home to enjoy it later
D. a small bag for taking the food left over home for dogs
3. Sunday dinner is _______.
A. a dinner in the evening B. a big noon meal
C. a big lunch Sunday D. a supper on Sunday
Specialists say that it is not easy to get used to life in a new culture. “Culture shock” is the term these specialists use when talking about the feelings that people have in a new environment. There are three stages of culture shock, say the specialists. In the first stage, the newcomers like their new environment. Then, when the fresh experience dies, they begin to hate the city, the country, the people, and everything else. In the last stage, the newcomers begin to adjust to their surroundings and, as a result, enjoy their life more.
There are some obvious factors in culture shock. The weather may be unpleasant. The customs may be different. The public service systems—the telephone, post office, or transportation—may be difficult to work out. The most simple things seem to be big problems. The language may be difficult.
Who feels culture shock? Everyone does in this way or that. But culture shock surprises most people. Very often the people having the worst culture shock are those who never had any difficulties in their home countries and were successful in their community. Coming to a new country, these people find they do not have the same established positions. They find themselves without a role, almost without an identity. They have to build a new self-image.
Culture shock gives rise to a feeling of disorientation (迷惘). This feeling may be homesickness. When homesick, people feel like staying inside all the time. They want to protect themselves for the strange environment, and create an escape inside their room for a sense of security. This escape does solve the problem of culture shock for the short term, but it does nothing to make the person familiar with the culture. Getting to know the new environment and gaining experience—these are the long-term solutions to the problem of culture shock.
1. According to the passage, factors that give rise to culture shock include all of the following
except _____.
A. language communication B. weather conditions and customs
C. public service systems D. homesickness
2. According to the passage, the more successful you are at home, __________.
A, the fewer difficulties you may have abroad
B. the more difficulties you may have abroad
C. the more money you will earn abroad
D. the less homesick you will feel abroad
3. What is the main idea of the last passage?
A. Escape unfamiliar environment
B. The feeling of homesickness.
C. Homesickness can solve the problem of culture shock.
D. The best way to overcome culture shock: get familiar with the new culture.
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