More than 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed across the globe each day, and it’s likely that many taste bitter.
Now, a new study suggests that coffee fans can make their drink taste sweeter by simply changing the colour of their cups.
Scientists claim that blue and glass mugs, which are popular in some coffee shops, can reduce coffee’s bitterness, without any need for sugar, and that coffee drunk from white cups tastes the bitterest.
To prove their claims, the researchers invited 36 volunteers and used three different colored cups -- blue, white and transparent glass -- to do an experiment.
In the experiment, coffee consumed from the white cup was found to taste less sweet when compared to the other two colored cups, while the blue cup made the coffee taste the sweetest.
The scientists believe that the colour brown may be associated with coffee’s bitterness because coffee in a white cup appears the brownest and tastes the bitterest.
“Our study clearly shows that the colour of a coffee cup does influence the perceived (感受到的) taste and flavor of coffee,” said Dr George Doorn of Federation University Australia, “but the potential effects may be different between a one-time purchase and a return customer.”
“Anyhow, the effect of the colour of the cup on the flavor of the coffee suggests that café owners, baristas (服务员), as well as coffee cup manufacturers should carefully consider the colour of their cups, ” he added.
However, the idea that colour can alter the taste of food and drink is not new.
A study published last year revealed that red, strawberry-flavored mousse (慕斯蛋糕) served on a white plate was rated as 10 percent sweeter and 15 percent more flavorous than the same food presented on a black plate.What color of the cup can best reduce coffee’s bitterness without adding sugar?
| A．Blue. | B．Brown. | C．White. | D．Transparent. |
The scientists used ________ to do the experiment to prove their claims.
① different brands of coffee
② different colored coffee cups
③ several volunteers
④ several manufactures
| A．① ② | B．② ③ | C．② ④ | D．③ ④ |
Why does coffee in white cups taste the least sweet?
| A．Because white cups are not as beautiful as other cups. |
| B．Because white cups make coffee appear the brownest. |
| C．Because white cups reduce the sugar in them. |
| D．Because white cups are better used to serve cakes. |
According to the article, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Black plates increase the sweetness of food and drink. |
| B．Strawberry-flavored mousse is 10 percent sweeter than coffee. |
| C．People consume more than 2.5 billion cups of coffee across the globe every year. |
| D．People can make coffee taste sweeter by changing the color of their coffee cups. |
To me, life without music would not be exciting. I realize that this is not true for everybody. Many people get along quite well without going to the concert, and listening to the record. But music plays an important part in everyone's life, whether he realizes it or not. Try to imagine, for example, what films or TV plays would be like without music. Would the feelings, the moving plot, and the greatest interests, be so exciting or dramatic? I'm not sure about it.
Now, we have been speaking of music in its more common meaning----the kind of music we hear in the concert hall. But if we look at some parts of music more closely, we discover them in our everyday life too----in the rhythm of the sea, the melody of a bird in the woods and so on. So music surely has meaning for everyone, in some way or other. And, of course, it has special meaning for those who have spent all their lives working on playing or writing music.
It is well said, “Through music a child enters into a world of beauty, expresses himself from his heart, feels the joy of doing things alone, learns to take care of others, develops his mind and makes his body strong.” What dose the writer say more about in the text?
| A．Life full of music. |
| B．Life without music. |
| C．The importance of music. |
| D．The development of music. |
From the text, we learn that many people________.
| A．don't realize the importance of music |
| B．get along quite well without music |
| C．go to the concert instead of enjoying music |
| D．think music would be less exciting than films |
What does the underlined word “melody” mean in the text?
| A．flying | B．looking | C．singing | D．living |
From the last paragraph, we learn that music________.
| A．is very important, especially for children |
| B．is very necessary for our everyday life |
| C．can make our life exciting and dramatic |
| D．can enter into another beautiful world |
After a busy day of work and play, the body needs to rest. Sleep is necessary for good health. During this time, the body recovers from the activities of the day. The rest that you get while sleeping makes it possible for your body to prepare itself for the next day.
There are four levels of sleep, each being a little deeper than the one before. As you sleep, your body relaxes (放松) little by little. Your heart beats more slowly, and your brain slows down. After you reach the fourth level, your body shifts (变换) back and forth from one level of sleep to the other.
Though your mind slows down, you will dream from time to time. Scientists who study sleep point out that when dreaming occurs, your eyeballs begin to move more quickly (although your eyelids are closed). This stage of sleep is called REM, which stands for rapid eye movement.
If you have trouble falling asleep, some people recommend (建议) breathing very slowly and very deeply. Other people believe that drinking warm milk will make you drowsy. There is also an old suggestion that counting sheep will put you to sleep.The text suggests that not getting enough sleep might make you _____.
| A．suffer from poor health |
| B．feel tired and nervous |
| C．dream more often |
| D．breathe quickly |
During REM, _____.
| A．you move restlessly |
| B．you start dreaming |
| C．your mind stops working |
| D．your eyeballs move quickly |
The underlined word "drowsy" in the last paragraph probably means _____.
| A．lazy | B．sleepy | C．relaxed | D．pleased |
A good title for this text might be _____.
| A．Dreams | B．Sleep |
| C．Good Health | D．Work and Rest |
Research shows that childhood friendships are important indicators of future success and social adjustment. Children's relationships with peers (同龄人) strongly influence their success in school, and children with fewer friends are more likely dropping out of school, becoming sad and other problems.
Making and Keeping Friends Is More Than Child's Play
When 6-year-old Rachel returned to school on a recent Monday morning, her eyes immediately scanned the playground for her friend Abbie. Though they were only separated by a weekend, the girls "ran right into each other's arms and hugged," recalls Rachel's mother Kathryn Willis of Gilbert. "It was like a scene from a movie."
Most parents instinctively (本能地) know that having friends is good for their child. Experts agree that friendship is not simply child's play, but a powerful predictor of social adjustment throughout life.
A Skill for Life
"Childhood friendships serve as a very important training ground for adulthood," says Dr. Robbie Adler-Tapia, psychologist with the Center for Children's Health & Life Development.
Researcher William Hartup states, "Peer relations contribute significantly to both social and cognitive (认知的) development." Hartup concludes that the single best childhood predictor of adult social adaptation is not school grades or classroom behavior, but rather, how well a child gets along with other children.
The work of Arizona State University proves that just as being able to make and keep friends is beneficial to kids, so is the lack of friends detrimental.
Good Friendships Don't Just Happen
Experts agree that it is basic for children to develop high-quality friendships. But, researchers warn, these friendships don't necessarily just happen. Often, a good friendship begins with involved （卷入，牵连）parents.
Valley psychologist Dr. Lynne Kenney Markan believes kids should be taught social skills in much the same way they are taught math and reading.
Bad Company
Many parents worry about the quality as well as the quantity of their child's friendships. "When she was in 1st grade, her supposed 'best friend' began calling her names and threatening to hurt her," says Mindy Miller. "My daughter wasn't allowed to talk to or even look at other girls in her class. It really crushed (压跨) her spirit. I told my daughter she didn't need a 'friend' like that."
"I'll bend over backwards to help my son get together with a friend I think is good for him," Adler-Tapia says. "I don't look at it as manipulation (操纵), just positive parental involvement. " The example of Rachel and Abbie is used to show that ________.
| A．childhood friendship is of great benefit to their growth |
| B．a positive friendship helps children solve emotional and physical problems |
| C．it is a proven（被证明的） fact that peer friendship is the most rewarding experience throughout life |
| D．Rachel missed her friend Abbie very much because of their separation of one weekend |
The underlined word "detrimental" could be replaced by _______.
| A．valuable | B．disappointing | C．accurate | D．harmful |
We can learn from the passage that high-quality friendship most probably results from ______.
| A．social skills and good study habits |
| B．school grades and classroom behaviors |
| C．academic success and social adaptation |
| D．positive parental involvement and social skills |
From the last paragraph we can conclude that Dr. Robbie Adler-Tapia agrees that ______.
| A．parents should regard making friends as something that just happens |
| B．it's wise for parents to support and encourage healthy peer relationships |
| C．parents only need to help their children to deal with difficult social situations |
| D．parents are supposed to encourage their children to make as many friends as they can |
Millions of British people have ditched the traditional ‘thank you’ and replaced it with the less formal ‘cheers’, according to a survey.
Although the average person will say ‘thank you’ nearly 5,000 times a year, one in three are more likely to throw in a ‘cheers’ or ‘ta’ where it’s needed, rather than risk sounding old fashioned.
One in 20 now say ‘nice one’ instead, while younger generations are more likely to offer a ‘cool’ than a ‘thank you’.‘Merci’, ‘fab’ and even ‘gracias’ were also listed as common phrases to use, as was ‘much appreciated’.
One in twenty who took part in the survey of 2,000 people by the Food Network UK for Thank You Day, which is marked on November 24, 2011, said a formal ‘thank you’ was now not often needed in everyday conversation. More than one in ten adults said they regularly won’t say thank you if they are in a bad mood. Most people declared that saying thank you was something drilled into them by their parents. A huge 70 percent of those questioned will say thank you to a person’s face without even meaning it, while a fifth avoid saying it when they know they should — on at least two occasions every day.
It seems our friends and family get the brunt (压力) of our bad manners with half admitting they’re not good at thanking those closest to them — many justifying (为…辩解) the lack of thanks because their family ‘already know I’m grateful’.
When spoken words won’t do, it falls to a nice text to do the job for most people. A third will still send a handwritten thank-you note — but 45 percent admit it’s been more than six months since they bothered to send one.
A quarter of British people say thank you with food, with 23 percent cooking a meal to show their appreciation to someone. Another 15 percent bake a cake.
It follows that 85 percent of people will be annoyed at not getting the gratitude (感激) they feel they should receive.Most of the people who took part in the survey say that they say “thank you” _____.
| A．when they are in good mood |
| B．completely out of habit |
| C．when they feel truly grateful |
| D．purely out of politeness |
The underlined word “ditched” in Paragraph 1 means “________”.
| A．given up | B．used | C．shared | D．grasped |
It can be learned from the passage that _______.
| A．different ways of expressing gratitude are all fashionable |
| B．people should avoid saying “thank you” nowadays |
| C．a thank-you note is still appreciated by most people |
| D．people in a bad mood never say “thank you” |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Most people express their gratitude to others by buying food for them. |
| B．About fifty percent of people try not to say thank you when they should. |
| C．Most people may feel natural when they fail to receive others’ gratitude. |
| D．Many people think it unnecessary to say thanks to their family members. |
The oil resources which are left will not last very long. This means that all vehicles such as cars, trains, buses, planes and ships that need oil to work will not be able to run. So it will be necessary to develop a new system of transport which uses a fuel more than oil. Electric vehicles are one possibility. In Britain, most families have at least one car and this car is used every day. It could be that only one person in the family drives the car to work or for shopping. The number of cars on the road which are almost empty perhaps helps to explain why the oil is used up so quickly. The family car is a very useful form of transport but it is also a great waste of energy, especially if it is compared with buses or trains. Much petrol is used by a car which is traveling at 120 kilometers an hour. Clearly, it would be better if there were fewer cars on the road and more speed limits so that the oil which is left will last as long as possible.
About 25% of Britain’s total consumption of energy is domestic—it is used only in the home. Just over 20% is used for transport. Most of the energy is used in industry. It is difficult to suggest any possible energy conservation in industry because many of the suggestions would mean that some people would lose their jobs. It is important that industry produces the same amount of products using the same amount of workers.
Obviously, conservation is not going to be the answer to the energy crisis（危机）. The most it can do is to give more time for a better solution to be found. The more time which is available for new sources of energy to be developed, the better it is because there is still a lot of work to be done in order to find suitable, safe methods of producing energy.In Britain, what reason could help to explain why oil is used up very quickly?
| A．People use cars every day. |
| B．Most families have at least one car. |
| C．Many cars on the road are almost empty. |
| D．Electric vehicles are used. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Compared with buses and trains, the family car is useful and can save energy. |
| B．A car driving at the speed of 80 kilometers per hour uses half as much petrol as a car traveling at 160 kilometers per hour. |
| C．It is possible for people to develop vehicles. |
| D．Limitation of the number of cars on the road and their speed will help the oil last longer. |
What does the underlined word “domestic” mean in Paragraph Two?
| A．For household use. | B．On the road. |
| C．Slow driving. | D．Fast driving. |
What is a better way to solve the problem of the energy crisis?
| A．Governments should cut down the number of family cars on the road. |
| B．The speed of vehicles must be limited. |
| C．New sources of energy should be found and developed. |
| D．Factories should cut down on production. |
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