Why do you think people who live in some hot countries eat very spicy(辛辣的)food? Is it because the spices make the food taste better? Is it just because their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents liked hot food，or is there some connection between spices and healthy food?
Researchers from Cornell University think that it is because spice plants have some important chemicals. These chemicals can kill bacteria(细菌)which spoil food．“Most common spices can kill 75 to 100 percent of the bacteria in food，”explains one of the scientists．The bacteria grow more easily and spoil food more quickly at higher temperatures．For this reason，it is more difficult to keep food from spoiling in hot climates.
Do you like your food spicy? Your answer probably tells something about the country you come from．If you like spicy food，it is possible that hundreds of years ago，when there were no fridges，people in your country started using spices to keep the food from spoiling．The traditional spicy dishes helped those people to live longer，healthier lives．Today，in a time of fridges，the spices just make the food taste good．The chemicals in spices keep food from spoiling by_________．
| A．making food taste better |
| B．making food hotter |
| C．preventing bacteria getting into food |
| D．killing bacteria in food |
Food goes bad more quickly in hot climates because_______．
| A．cold temperature makes bacteria |
| B．bacteria get used to hot food |
| C．high temperature helps bacteria grow faster |
| D．bacteria spoil food only at high temperature |
According to the passage，spices are useful in the following things except_____．
| A．helping you to live longer |
| B．helping to keep you healthier |
| C．making your food taste better |
| D．replacing fridges |
How words came into being is unknown. All we assume（推测）is that some early men invented certain sounds, in one way or another, to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could talk with each other. Later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which could be put together to show those sounds, and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken or written in letters, are called words.
The power of words, then, lies in their associations-the things they bring up to our minds. Words become filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live, the more certain words bring back to us the happy and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases.
Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which have powerful effects on our minds and feelings. This clever use of words is what we call literary style（文体）.Above all, the real poet is a master of words. He can express his meaning in words which sing like music , and which by their position and association can move men to tears. We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use then correctly, or they will make our speech silly and common. We learn from the text that language might have begun with( ).
| A．expressions |
| B．actions |
| C．signs |
| D．sounds |
In the last paragraph, what does the author suggest that we should do?
| A．Use words skillfully . |
| B．Make musical speeches . |
| C．Learn poems by heart . |
| D．Associate with listeners |
When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called “Brownie”. My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. Ore of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games, Brownie, in return. loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them we always felt better when she was around.
One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up(咬破)one of Dad’s shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said, “Bad girl！” she looked down at the ground and then went and hid. I saw a tear in her eyes.
Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet, she went everywhere with us .People would stop and ask if they could pet her. Of course she’d let anyone pet her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we’d be out walking and a small child would come over and pull pm her hair. she never barked(吠) or tried to get away. Funny thing is she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she loved everyone.
Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss days when she was with us. What would Brownie do when someone was ill in the family?
| A．Look at them sadly. |
| B．Keep them company. |
| C．Play games with them. |
| D．Touch them gently. |
We can infer from Paragraph 2 that Brownie__________.
| A．world eat anything when hungry |
| B．felt sorry for her mistake |
| C．loved playing hide-and-seek |
| D．disliked the author’s dad |
Why does the author say that Brownie was more than just a family pet?
| A．She was treated as a member of the family. |
| B．She played games with anyone she liked. |
| C．She was loved by everybody she met. |
| D．She went everywhere with the family. |
Some people got frightened by Brownie when she__________.
| A．smiled |
| B．barked |
| C．rushed to them |
| D．tried to be funny |
Which of the following best describes Brownie?
| A．Shy |
| B．Polite |
| C．Brave |
| D．Caring |
I used to live selfishly, I should admit. But one moment changed me.
I was on my lunch break and had the office to get something to eat . On the way, I
a busker(街头艺人)，with a hat in front of him. I had some
in my pocket, but I would not give them to him, thinking to myself he would
use the money to feed his addiction to drugs or alcohol. He
like that type-young and ragged.
what was I going to spend the money on? Only to feed my addiction to Coca-Cola or chocolate! I then
I had no right to place myself above
just because he was busking.
I and dropped all the coins into his
, and he smiled at me, I watched for a while. As
as it sounds, I expected something more to come from that moment—a feeling of
or satisfaction, for example. But nothing happened
, I walked off. “It proved to be a waste of
,”I thought.
On my way home at the end of the , I saw the busker again and he was
. I watched him pick up the hat and walk
a cafe counter. There he poured the
contents into a tin collecting
an earthquake fund-raising(募捐) event. He was busking for charity(慈善)！
Now I donate any I have to charity tins and enjoy the feeling of giving.
A. left B. cleaned
C. prepared D. searched
A. led B. chose
C. saw D. fooled
A. chocolates B. coins
C. tins D. drugs
A. almost B. only
C. rather D. still
A. acted B. looked
C. sounded D. smelt
A. Though B. For
C. Therefore D. But
A. declared B. realized
C. expected D. guessed
A. it B. all
C. him D. them
A. waited B. followed
C. stopped D. arrived
A. rag B. hat
C. pocket D. counter
A. selfish B. awkward
C. innocent D. special
A. happiness B. sadness
C. love D. hate
A. Disappointedly B. Unfortunately
C. Coincidentally D. Comfortably
A. words B. effort
C. space D. money
A. moment B. day
C. break D. event
A. walking around B. passing by
C. packing up D. running off
A. around B. in
C. behind D. to
A. chief B. basic
C. actual D. total
A. by B. for
C. on D. with
A. work B. time
C. energy D. change
Easy Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp
Everyone is forgetful, but as we age, we start to feel like our brains are slowing down a bit—and that can be a very annoying thing. Read on for some techniques worth trying.
1.
People who regularly made plans and looked forward to upcoming events had a 50 percent reduced chance of Alzheimer's disease (早老性痴呆症), according to a recent study. Something as simple as setting a goal to have a weekly coffee date with a friend will do. There's evidence that people who have a purpose in life or who are working on long or short-term goals appear to do better. In other words, keep your brain looking forward.
2. Go for a walk.
Mildly raised glucose (葡萄糖) levels can harm the area of the brain that helps you form memories and physical activity can help get blood glucose down to normal levels. In fact, exercise produces chemicals that are good for your brain.
3. Learn something new.
Take a Spanish class online, join a drawing club, or learn to play cards. A study found that mental stimulation (刺激) limits the weakening effects of aging on memory and the mind. But the best thing for your brain is when you learn something new and are physically active at the same time. Or go dancing with your friends.
| A．Focus on the future. |
| B．This can be especially harmful to the aged. |
| C．It should be something like learning gardening. |
| D．So take a few minutes each day to do some reading. |
E. But don't worry if your schedule isn't filled with life-changing events.
F. Luckily, research shows there is a lot you can do to avoid those moments.
G. In other words, when you take care of your body, you take care of your brain.
Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue , encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But is also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realise just how much unnecessary material are collecting. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.What does the underlined phrase “over-consumption” refer to?
| A．Using too much packaging. |
| B．Recycling too many wastes. |
| C．Making more products than necessary. |
| D．Having more material than is needed. |
According to the text, recycling ______.
| A．helps control the greenhouse effect |
| B．means burning packaging for energy |
| C．is the solution to gas shortage |
| D．leads to a waste of land |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Fighting wastefulness is difficult. |
| B．Needless material is mostly recycled. |
| C．People like collecting recyclable waste. |
| D．The author is proud of their consumer culture. |
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