Mainland couples who give birth to a second child in Hong Kong will be fined for breaking the family planning policy，a senior official has warned．
As more women flock to Hong Kong to give birth to their second child，Zhang Feng，family planning department director of Guangdong Province，stressed that this violated China's policies．“And those who are government employees will even be dismissed from their posts．”he said．
“ It doesn’t matter if they give birth to their second child on the mainland or in other countries and regions, they have violated the country’s policies and the province’s regulations”.
He said that some families had been punished in the past few months after having a second child in Hong Kong, but gave no details.
Zhang made his remarks when a Hong Kong newspaper carried a controversial ( 有争议的 ) notice claiming residents’ medical services had been affected by the growing number of mainland women who arrive in the city to give birth and gain fight of abode ( 居住) there.
According to statistics revealed by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government，about 88，000 babies were born in Hong Kong in 2010，but more than 41，000 or 47 percent，were to mainland couples，including a large number from Guangdong．
Hong Kong has limited the number of mainland women permitted to give birth in the city at 34，000 this year．
The issue also has caused calls for an amendment（修正）to Hong Kong's Basic Law so that babies born to mainland women are no longer granted permanent fight of abode．
“I support Hong Kong government's decision to reduce or limit the number for mainland women giving birth in Hong Kong．”Zhang said．
China introduced its family planning policy in 1979 to limit births in the world's most populous nation，although the rules have been relaxed in recent years．Which of the following is true?
| A．Those who give birth to a second child in Hong Kong will be fined． |
| B．Many government employees have been dismissed from their posts． |
| C．Zhang Feng is family planning department director of Guangdong Province． |
| D．It doesn't matter if they give birth to their second child on the mainland． |
What does the word “violated” mean in the second paragraph?
| A．went against | B．was obeyed |
| C．was for | D．was dismissed |
Zhang Feng said that .
| A．few families had been punished after having a second child in China |
| B．about 88，000 babies were born in Hong Kong in 2010 |
| C．the residents' medical services in Hong Kong had been affected |
| D．he agreed to reduce or limit the number for mainland women giving birth in Hong Kong |
From the passage we can infer .
| A．in 2010 most of the babies born in Hong Kong belonged to mainland couples |
| B．the number of mainland women permitted to give birth in Hong Kong has been reduced |
| C．babies born to mainland women in Hong Kong can't get permanent right of abode now |
| D．the family planning policy in China is as strict as before |
A blind baby is doubly handicapped. Not only is it unable to see, but because it cannot receive the visual stimulus（刺激）from its environment that a sighted child does, it is likely to be slow in intellectual development. Now the ten-month old son of Dr. and Mrs. Dennis Daughters is the subject of an unusual psychological experiment designed to prevent a lag（滞后）in the learning process. With the aid of a sonar-type electronic that he wears on his head, infant(婴儿) Dennis is learning to identify the people and objects in the world around him by means of echoes(回声).
The device is an improvement of the “Sonicguide”, an instrument produced by Telesensory Systems,
Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif, and used by blind adults in addition to a smart or guide dog. As adapted for Dennis, it consists of a battery-powered system about the size of a half dollar that is on a headgear. A transmitter sends out an ultrasonic(超声的) pulse that creates an 80 degree cone of sound at 6 feet. Echoes from objects within the cone are perceived (felt) as sounds that vary in pitch(音调) and volume(音量) with the size and distance of the object.
The closer an object is, the lower the pitch, and the larger the object, the louder the signal. Hard surfaces produce a sharp ping, while soft ones send back signals with a slightly fuzzy quality. An object slightly to the right of Denny’s sends back a louder sound to his right ear than to the left. Thus , by simply moving his head right and left and up and down, he can not only locate an object but also get some notion of its shape and size, thanks to the varying qualities of sounds reaching his ears as the cone of ultrasound(超声波) passes its edges. Dennis likes to use the device to play a kind of peek-a-boo with his mother. Standing on her knee and facing her directly, he receives a strong signal in both ears. By turning his head away, he makes her seem to disappear. “From the first time he wore it,” says Mrs. Daughters, “it was like a light going on in his head.”
What remains to be determined is how well the device will help Dennis cope with his surroundings as he begins to walk and venture further into his environment.
Meanwhile, Telesensory, Inc, is working on the development of sonar(声纳) device with somewhat the same sensitivity as Dennis’s for use by school-age children.Dr. and Mrs. Daughters’ research is directed to ________.
| A．helping the blind to see and learn as well as others |
| B．benefiting the learning process of blind children |
| C．solving blind children’s psychological problems |
| D．finding out how children develop intellectually |
Infant Dennis becomes the subject of the experiment most probably because ________.
| A．he already lags behind the sighted children |
| B．he leads a life as normal as any other children |
| C．he is at the early stage of the learning process |
| D．he has the aid of a sonar-type electronic device |
What can we learn about infant Dennis’ device?
| A．Its first design was designed for blind adults. |
| B．Its battery is as small as a half-dollar coin. |
| C．It is functionally similar to a sane and guide dog. |
| D．It has been improved by Telesensory Systems, Inc. |
In the third paragraph, “its edges” refers to ___________ .
| A．the edge of an object |
| B．the edge of the device |
| C．the boundary of Dennis’ movement |
| D．the boundary of the sound pitch. |
Even when you’re extremely busy, you aren’t using your time with 100% efficiency. There are gaps in everyone’s schedule where they aren’t doing anything important. Even if your schedule has no gaps, there is probably lots of time when you aren’t working as fast or as effectively as you possibly could.
Why aren’t you completely efficient? It’s because time isn’t the limiting factor. If it were the limiting factor, people could work non-stop without breaks or any unproductive distractions(消遣). Instead, people, even those who are highly productive, need to take breaks, occasionally procrastinate (拖延) and slow down on tasks throughout the day.
The real and most important limiting factor for productivity is your energy levels to pay attention. Energy levels limit your productivity because when you’re tired, you can have enough time and still not get everything done. Your attention ability is also limited, because even if there are a million things that need to be done, you can only focus on one or two at a time.
You might not be able to insert another 4-5 hours into your schedule without making some sacrifices（牺牲）. But even extremely busy people can add an hour or two into their schedule without cancelling anything. The reason why it’s hard to “find time” isn’t a lack of time. It’s because you don’t have enough energy left to focus on something else that needs to fit into your day.
I first suspected time wasn’t the real problem during an extremely busy period in my life over a year ago. I was extremely busy, but at that time I still exercised regularly. I had daily to-do lists with over twenty items, and I still found time to exercise. However, after a few weeks off, because of illness, I stopped exercising. I was not busy by any standards, in fact, my schedule was very light. Despite this free time, I found it hard to find time to exercise. It seemed to get pushed later and later into my schedule until it was gone. How can I explain this strange experience? I believe you have known it.If someone can’t work with 100% efficiency, the most important limiting factor is ________.
| A．a schedule without gaps |
| B．breaks and distractions |
| C．the limited time |
| D．the limited energy |
According to Paragraph 4, everyone, including the extremely busy people, can ________.
| A．work without any rest |
| B．focus on many things at a time |
| C．find some more time in a day |
| D．do some exercise regularly |
The writer gives the example of himself in the last paragraph in order to ________.
| A．prove what the real limiting factor is |
| B．show us how busily he needs to work |
| C．explain how important a healthy body is |
| D．tell us what a strange experience he has |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Do You Really Lack Time? |
| B．How Can You Work Efficiently? |
| C．What Makes Your Energy Limited? |
| D．When Should You Do Exercise? |
In the US, 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 (水龙头)water before you order. You may find the bread and butter is free, and if you order coffee, you may get a free refill(重续).
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.
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.Which statement is TRUE?
| A．American people like sitting with people they don’t know. |
| B．Hostess always seats a small group at a large table. |
| C．American people never sit with people they don’t know. |
| D．American people would not light a cigarette if the people who sit at the same table mind their smoking. |
What is served before you order?
| A．Cold water. | B．Butter. |
| C．Coffee. | D． Bread. |
What do American people always do when servings are too large for them?
| A．They take the food home with a doggie bag for their dogs. |
| B．They leave the food on the table and go away. |
| C．They take the food home with a doggie bag and enjoy the food later. |
| D．They ask the waitress or waiter to keep the food for them. |
English is the most widely used language in the history of our planet. One in every seven human beings can speak it. More than half of the world’s books and three quarters of international mail are in English. Of all languages, English has the largest vocabulary-perhaps as many as two million words.
However, let’s face it: English is a crazy language. There is no egg in an eggplant, neither pine nor apple in a pineapple and no ham in a hamburger. Sweet-meats are candy, while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.
We take English for granted. But when we explore its paradoxes (探讨它的矛盾), we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, public bathrooms have no baths in them.
And why is it that a writer writes, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn’t the plural of booth be beeth? One goose, two geese — so one moose, two meese?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell the next?
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects (反映) the creativity of human beings. That’s why, when stars are out, they are visible (能看见的); but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it; but when I wind up this essay, I end it.According to the passage ______.
| A．sweet-meats and sweetbreads are different things |
| B．there should be egg in an eggplant |
| C．pineapples are the apples on the pine tree |
| D．boxing rings should be round |
Which of the following is the correct plural?
| A．Beeth. | B．Geese. |
| C．Meese. | D．Tooth. |
Which of the following includes two items which have the similar meaning?
| A．A wise man and a wise guy. |
| B．Overlook and oversee. |
| C．Quite a lot and quite a few. |
| D．Hot as hell and cold as hell. |
The underlined words “wind up” in the last paragraph probably mean “______”.
| A．blow | B．roll up |
| C．get hurt | D．finish |
Through the many paradoxes in the English language, the writer wants to show that human beings are ______.
| A．clever | B．crazy | C．lazy | D．Dull |
There was once a captain who loved money so much that he cheated his sailors at the end of every voyage and took their wages.
On the last day of one voyage, the ship was in a small port. It was winter time, and the sea was very cold, so the captain said to his sailors, "If one of you stays in the water during the whole night, I will give him my ship. But if he comes out before the sun appears, I shall get his wages."
The sailors had heard about the captain's cheating, so they didn't trust him. But then one of them, who thought that he was cleverer than the captain, said that he would do it. He got into the water, and, though it was very cold, he stayed in it. When it was nearly morning, some fishermen lit a fire on the shore about half a mile away.
"You are cheating," the captain said to the sailor. "The fire's warming you."
"But it's half a mile away!" said the sailor.
"A fire's fire," answered the captain. "I have won."
The sailor came out of the water, and said, "Perhaps you think that you are clever because you have won my wages, but you can't cook a chicken."
"I can," answered the captain.
"If you cook this chicken," said the sailor, "I shall work for you without wages for seven years, but if you can't, you will give me your ship."
The captain agreed, took the chicken and said, "Where's the fire?"
"There it is," answered the sailor. "On the shore."
"But it's half a mile away," said the captain angrily.
"A fire's fire,' you said," answered the sailor. "If it is enough to warm me in the water, it is enough to cook your chicken."The captain got the sailors' wages ________.
| A．to buy a chicken for himself |
| B．and kept the money for future use |
| C．by cheating him |
| D．and said he would return the money soon |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．All the sailors refused to get into the water because it was too cold. |
| B．The captain knew that the fire the fishermen made was enough to warm the sailor in the water. |
| C．The captain succeeded in cheating the sailor. |
| D．It was the sailor who was cleverer. |
The captain insisted that the fire was warming the sailor because he ________.
| A．didn't want to lose the bet |
| B．didn't believe the sailor's success |
| C．wanted to keep his promise |
| D．wanted to show his cleverness |
Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?
| A．The sailors didn't trust the captain. |
| B．In order to help the sailor in the water, the fishermen made a fire. |
| C．The captain failed to cheat the sailor this time. |
| D．The sailor didn't get out of the water before the sun appeared. |
What is the title of the story?
| A．How a Captain Cheated His Sailor |
| B．How a Sailor Got a Ship |
| C．A Brave Sailor |
| D．A Fire Is Fire |
Johnny Smith was a good math student at a high school. He loved his computer. He came home early every day, then he worked with it till midnight. But Johnny was not a good English student, not good at all. He got an F in his English class. One day after school Johnny joined his computer to the computer in his high school office. The school office computer had the grades of all the students: the math grades, the science grades, the grades in arts and music, and the grades in English. He found his English grade. An F! Johnny changed his English grade from an F to A. Johnny' parents looked at his report card. They were very happy.
"An A in English!" said Johnny's Dad. “You're a very clever boy, Johnny.”
Johnny is a hacker. Hackers know how to take information from other computers and put new information in. Using a modem, they join their computers to other computers secretly. School headmasters and teachers are worried about hackers. So are the police, for some people even take money from bank computer account and put it into their own ones. And they never have to leave home to do it! They are called hackers.Johnny changed his English grade with the computer in _______.
| A．the classroom |
| B．the school office |
| C．a bank near his house |
| D．his own house |
When Johnny's parents saw the report, they were happy because _______.
| A．Johnny was good at math |
| B．Johnny loved computers |
| C．Johnny could join one computer to another |
| D．they thought Johnny was not poor in English any longer |
Who are worried about hackers in the story?
| A．Johnny's parents. |
| B．School headmasters, teachers and the police. |
| C．The police. |
| D．School headmasters and teachers. |
What should the hackers know well, do you think, after you read this story?
| A．Information. | B．Bank computer accounts. |
| C．Computers. | D．Grades. |
The last paragraph is about _______.
| A．Johnny | B．computers |
| C．hackers | D．modem |
Sir Steven Redgrave
Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals
“In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes (糖尿病). Believing my career was over, I felt extremely low. Then one of the specialists said there was no reason why I should stop training and competing. That was it — the encouragement I needed. I could still be a winner if I believed in myself. I am not saying that it isn’t difficult sometimes. But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn‘t finished yet. Nothing is to stand in my way.”
Karen Pickering
Swimming World Champion
“I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary. This is the key to success — you can’t follow a career in any field without being well-organized. List what you believe you can achieve. Trust yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you’ll be a step closer to achieving them.”
Kirsten Best
Poet & Writer
“When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can’t achieve something. Then, there are other distractions, such as family or hobbies. The key is to concentrate. When I feel tense, it helps a lot to repeat words such as ‘calm’, ‘peace’ or ‘focus’, either out loud or silently in my mind. It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence. This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a powerful psychological tool”What does Sir Steven Redgrave mainly talk about?
| A．Difficulties influenced his career. |
| B．Specialists offered him medical advice. |
| C．Training helped him defeat his disease. |
| D．He overcame the shadow of illness to win. |
What does Karen Pickering put on top of her diary?
| A．Her training schedule. |
| B．Her daily happenings. |
| C．Her achievements. |
| D．Her sports career. |
What does the underlined word “distractions” probably refer to?
| A．Ways that help one to focus. |
| B．Words that help one to feel less tense. |
| C．Activities that turn one’s attention away. |
| D．Habits that make it hard for one to relax. |
According to the passage, what do the three people have in common?
| A．Courage. | B．Devotion. |
| C．Hard work. | D．Self-confidence. |
Where do you think you can find this passage?
| A．Popular Science. | B．Historical Events. |
| C．Successful People. | D．Political Systems. |
Some people are lucky enough to be born with a good sense of direction and even if they have just visited a place once, they will be able to find it again years later.
I am one of those unfortunate people who have a very poor sense of direction and I may have visited a place time after time but I still manage to get lost on my way there.
When I was young I was so shy that I never dared ask complete strangers the way and so I used to wander round in circles and hoped that by some chance I would get to the spot I was heading for.
I am no longer too shy to ask people for directions, but I often receive replies that puzzle me. Often people do not like to admit that they do not know their hometown and will insist on telling you the way even if they do not know it; others, who are anxious to prove that they know their hometown very well, will give you a long list of directions which you cannot possibly hope to remember; and still others do not seem to be able to tell between their left and their right and you find in the end that you are going in the opposite direction to that in which you should be going.
If anyone ever asks me the way somewhere，I always tell him/her that I am a stranger to the town in order to avoid giving him/her wrong directions, but even this can have embarrassing results.
Once I was on my way to work when I was stopped by a man who asked me if I would direct him to the Sunlight Building. I gave my usual reply, but I had not walked on a few steps when I realized that he had asked for directions to my office building.
However, at this point, I decided it was too late to turn back and search him out of the crowd behind me, as I was going to meet with someone at the office and I did not want to keep him waiting.
Imagine my embarrassment when my secretary showed in the very man who had asked for directions to my office and his astonishment when he recognized me as the person he had asked.The author seems to be very frustrated by the fact that ____.
| A．he is poor at giving directions |
| B．he is too shy to ask for direction to improve his sense of it |
| C．he is jealous of those who have excellent sense of direction |
| D．he is not born with an adequate sense of direction |
Poor in recognizing the way, the author managed to ___.
| A．go without asking anyone the way in the street |
| B．lose himself even visiting a place repeatedly |
| C．show others the way when necessary |
| D．go to his office all by himself |
The author prefers not to ask the way now because ___.
| A．he knows many people are just like him |
| B．he has been used to getting lost |
| C．he finds it hard to trust strangers |
| D．few people can give effective instructions |
An example is given to show the narrator’s ___.
| A．embarrassing encounter |
| B．successful escape |
| C．poor sense of direction |
| D．stupid response |
The tone of the story is ___.
| A．helpless | B．proud |
| C．anxious | D．humorous |
Bamboo is one of the nature’s most surprising plants. Many people call this plant a tree, but it is a kind of grass.
Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist recorded one bamboo plant that grew almost 1.5 meters in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe. There are more than 1,000 kinds of bamboo that grow around the world on both mountains and plains(平原).
Not all bamboo looks the same. Some bamboo plants are very thin. They may only grow to be a few centimeters wide while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across. This plant also comes in different colors, from yellow to black to green.
Many Asian countries have been using bamboo for hundreds of years. They often use bamboo for building new buildings. As a matter of fact, the cables(绳索) that hold up the hanging bridge across the Min River in Sichuan are made of bamboo. The bridge has been in use for more than 1,000 years, and is still holding strong.
In Africa, engineers are teaching poor farmers how to find water using bamboo. These African countries need cheap ways to find water because they have no money, and their fields often die from no rain and no water. It seems that bamboo is one of the best things they can use. Bamboo pipes and drills(钻) can help to make the poor thirsty fields to be watered. How is bamboo like grass?
| A．It is thin and easy to cut. |
| B．It grows everywhere. |
| C．It grows quickly after its cut short. |
| D．It is short and green. |
The sentence “while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across.” means “Some other bamboo plants may grow to be very _______.”
| A．short | B．strong |
| C．thick | D．tall |
From the text we know ______.
| A．most people call bamboo plant trees |
| B．a bamboo plant may grow 4.5 meters in three days |
| C．the bamboo plant changes its colors when it grows |
| D．a bridge held by bamboo cable was built thousands of years ago |
Why did the engineers teach the poor farmers in Africa to make use of bamboo?
| A．Because it is cheap. |
| B．Because it is colorful. |
| C．Because it drills fast. |
| D．Because it is used by Asians. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．There are many different kinds of bamboo with different colors. |
| B．Cables made of bamboo can last for over a thousand years. |
| C．Bamboo can be used for buildings, bridges and watering projects(工程). |
| D．Bamboo plants are able to grow well in any part of the world. |
Johnny Smith was a good math student at a high school. He loved his computer. He came home early every day, then he worked with it till midnight. But Johnny was not a good English student, not good at all. He got an F in his English class. One day after school Johnny joined his computer to the computer in his high school office. The school office computer had the grades of all the students: the math grades, the science grades, the grades in arts and music, and the grades in English. He found his English grade. An F! Johnny changed his English grade from an F to A. Johnny' parents looked at his report card. They were very happy.
"An A in English!" said Johnny's Dad. "You're a very clever boy, Johnny."
Johnny is a hacker. Hackers know how to take information from other computers and put new information in. Using a modem, they join their computers to other computers secretly. School headmasters and teachers are worried about hackers. So are the police, for some people even take money from bank computer accounts and put it into their own ones. And they never have to leave home to do it! They are called hackers.Johnny changed his English grade with the computer in _______.
| A．the classroom | B．the school office |
| C．a bank near his house | D．his own house |
When Johnny's parents saw the report, they were happy because _______.
| A．Johnny was good at math |
| B．Johnny loved computers |
| C．Johnny could join one computer to another |
| D．they thought Johnny was not poor in English any longer |
Who are worried about hackers in the story?
| A．Johnny's parents. |
| B．School headmasters, teachers and the police. |
| C．The police. |
| D．School headmasters and teachers. |
What should the hackers know well, do you think, after you read this story?
| A．Information. | B．Back computer accounts. |
| C．Computers. | D．Grades. |
The last paragraph is about _______.
| A．Johnny | B．computers |
| C．hackers | D．modem |
Your smartphone(智能手机) can do a lot of things. It can call people. It connects to the Internet. It enables you to play fun games. But there is a dark side to this smart little device（设备）of yours – it might also spread disease.
“People are just as likely to get sick from their phones as from handles of the bathroom,” Jeffrey Cain, the president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, told The Wall Street Journal.
This may be hard to believe, but scientists reached this conclusion after they tested eight random cell phones from an office in Chicago. All the tested phones showed high numbers of coliforms(大肠菌), a kind of bacteria found in excrement(粪便)，with about 2,700 to 4,200 units of the bacteria on each phone. In drinking water, the healthy limit is less than 1 unit per 100 ml of water. This bacteria can cause flu, pinkeye（红眼病）and diarrhea(腹泻).
Although computers, keys and pens all carry germs(细菌), our smartphones get far dirtier. They touch a lot of stuff, including our hands and the inside of our pocket or purse. We take them almost everywhere: the bus, the subway and who hasn’t played Angry Birds of Fruit Ninja while sitting on the toilet?
“Some things that we think are personal are actually more public than we imagine,” Cain said.
What’s even worse is that after the phone returns from its dirty trip, it then spends most of its time cozying up to our faces. You don’t think about how often you touch your phone to your face, do you? Our noses, mouths and ears are all warm and rich in grease（油脂）, an environment that germs really like.
Compared to traditional keypads（键盘）, touch screens transmit（传播）germs more easily to hands. According to Time magazine’s website, an expert in Australia warned that playing with iPads and iPhones at Apple stores is a health risk.
So how do you keep your smartphone clean? Alcohol is effective when used to kill germs from the back and side of your phone. But it might harm the screen. There is one simple and reliable way you can reduce the germs on your phone’s surface: wash your hands regularly.The underlined word “dark” in the first paragraph means .
| A．black | B．hopeless |
| C．unclear | D．unpleasant |
By saying “Some things we think are personal are actually more public than we imagine”, Cain meant that .
| A．people love to share their smartphones more than they realize |
| B．our personal items could be as risky to our health as public items |
| C．smartphones are used in public places more than people realize |
| D．most people don’t know how dirty their cell phones are |
Compared with traditional keypads, smartphones .
| A．make contact with our hands more often |
| B．are greasier and need more alcohol to clean |
| C．get warm more easily and are harder to clean |
| D．get much nearer to our faces |
What is the article mainly about?
| A．Tips on the use of smartphones. |
| B．Health problems caused by the use of smartphones. |
| C．The danger of coliforms infection. |
| D．The influence that smartphones have on our life. |
Just five minutes of exercise a day outdoors can improve mental health, according to a study.
Researchers from the University of Essex, UK have found that as little as five minutes of a “green activity” such as walking, gardening, cycling or farming could help to improve mood and increase self-esteem (自信).
Many studies have shown that outdoor exercise can reduce the risk of mental illness and improve a sense of well-being, but the new study, led by Jules Pretty and Jo Barton, was the first to determine how much time needed to be spent on green exercise for the benefits to show.
Barton and Pretty looked at data from 1,252 people of different ages, genders (性别) and mental health status (情况) taken from 10 studies in Britain.
They analyzed their different outdoor activities including walking, gardening, cycling, fishing, boating, horse-riding and farming in locations such as a park, garden or nature trail (路径).
They found that the mental health changes were seen after just five minutes. With longer periods of time exercising in a green environment, the positive effects were more apparent.
Looking at men and women of different ages, the researchers found the health changes were particularly strong in the young and the mentally ill.
Green and blue
A bigger effect was seen with exercise in an area that also contained water – such as a lake or river.
“This is because historically we are drawn to water to survive and it is in our genetic (遗传的) make-up to be at one with nature,” the researchers wrote in their report.
Pretty said those who were generally inactive, or stressed, or with mental illness would probably benefit the most from “green exercise”.
“Employers, for example, could encourage staff in stressful workplaces to take a short walk at lunchtime in the nearest park to improve mental health.”
He also said exercise programs outdoors could benefit youth offenders.How is the study this article refers to different from other studies?
| A．It determined the exact amount of time needed. |
| B．It took longer to finish the research. |
| C．It involved more people. |
| D．It was led by just two researchers. |
What can we conclude from the findings of the study?
| A．Gardeners and farmers do not need “green exercise”. |
| B．Just five minutes of “green exercise” daily can help improve mental health. |
| C．Walking in a park with a lake will weaken the effect. |
| D．“Green exercise” is not suitable for the mentally ill. |
According to Pretty, _______ would probably benefit the most from “green exercise”.
| A．stressed, inactive people |
| B．office worker |
| C．youth offenders |
| D．women and children |
What is the main problem discussed in this article?
| A．Physical well-being. | B．Mental illness. |
| C．Outdoor exercise. | D．Harmony with nature. |
WHAT do you do when you feel lonely? Hide yourself away and spend your time reading, watching TV or walking around?
You might think that feeling lonely is just like feeling happy, sad or scared – that it’s just one of your various moods (情绪). That is true. However, if you let yourself be lonely for too long without dealing with it, you could be making a serious mistake.
Doctors have known for some time that feeling lonely is bad for the mind. It can lead to mental（心理的）health problems such as depression（抑郁）,stress and reduced confidence. “Being lonely means not feeling connected or cared for, it’s not about being physically alone,” Lisa Jaremka, scientist from Ohio State University, US, told Live Science in January. But there’s growing evidence that not having friends is connected with physical illness as well.
In 2006, for example, scientists studied 2,800 women who had cancer. They found that those who had few friends or family were five times more likely to die of their disease than women with many social contacts. Also, even healthy people had a better chance of falling ill if they felt left out by others, according to the BBC.
The results have scientists thinking that loneliness might hurt the immune system（免疫系统）, which protects the body from diseases.
Hoping to prove this theory, Jaremka and her research team put volunteers through a stress test. During the test, volunteers were asked to make an unprepared speech in front of a group of stony-faced people. The researchers found that volunteers who said they were lonely in their daily lives felt more stress during the test. And their blood samples showed that all the stress had managed to cause harmful changes to their immune system.
“Loneliness has been thought of in many ways as a chronic stressor（慢性增压器）--- a socially painful situation that can last for quite a long time,” explained Jaremka, who led the study.
The number of people suffering from loneliness is increasing all over the world. However, solving the problem is easier said than done. It won’t work to just “tell anyone to go out and find someone to love you”, said Jaremka. “ We need to create support networks.”If people feel lonely for a long time, .
| A．they won’t feel happy anymore |
| B．they are more likely to fall ill |
| C．they will find the feeling goes away by itself |
| D．they are more mentally harmed than physically |
What was the purpose of the stress test carried out by Jaremka’s team?
| A．To find out how people fight diseases. |
| B．To prove loneliness hurts people’s immune systems. |
| C．To see how people’s emotions change when they give unprepared speeches. |
| D．To find out the relationship between loneliness and stress. |
What makes scientists think loneliness makes the body worse at fighting diseases?
| A．Growing evidence of mental problems linked to loneliness. |
| B．Some research results about the relationship between cancer and loneliness. |
| C．Some studies showed that people who suffered from loneliness fell ill or died more easily than those who didn’t. |
| D．Different results after comparing healthy conditions of people who suffer from loneliness and those who don’t. |
We can conclude from the article that .
| A．loneliness has become the No 1 killer in the world. |
| B．loneliness is increasing due to advanced technologies. |
| C．lonely people lack the courage to make friends |
| D．much more work needs to be done to fight loneliness |
WHEN he was 11 years old, he loved fishing in the lake near his family’s house in New Hampshire.
On the day before bass (鲈鱼) season began, he and his father went fishing in the evening. He tied a small silver lure (诱饵) on his fishing rod (鱼竿) and practiced casting. The lure struck the water and caused ripples (波纹) in the black water.
When his rod bent over, he knew something huge was on the other end. His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully pulled the fish in. Finally, he lifted it from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass.
The boy and his father looked at the handsome fish. The father lit a match and looked at his watch. It was 10pm —two hours before bass season began. The father looked at the fish, then at the boy.
“You’ll have to put it back, son.” he said.
“Dad!” cried the boy.
“There will be other fish,” said his father.
“Not as big as this one,” cried the boy.
He looked around the lake. No other fishermen or boats were anywhere around. He looked again at his father’s stern（坚决的）face. Even though no one had seen them, the boy knew that the decision was not negotiable（可商量的）.He slowly lowered the fish back into the water.
The creature swam away. The boy thought that he would never again see such a great fish.
That was 34 years ago. Today, the boy is a successful architect（建筑师）in New York City. His father’s house is still there by the lake. He takes his own son and daughters fishing there.
He has never again caught such a large fish as the one he landed that night long ago. But he does see that same fish again and again---every time he faces a question of right and wrong. His father taught him it is the practice of doing right that is difficult.
Do we do right when no one is looking?Why did the father ask the boy to put the bass back in the water?
| A．He wanted to teach him to love animals. |
| B．He didn’t want to fish bass at all. |
| C．It wasn’t bass season yet. |
| D．It was the custom to free a fish after catching it. |
We can infer that the son was _____ when his father made the decision.
| A．disappointed | B．confused |
| C．worried | D．determined |
What does the fish in the article stand for?
| A．Rewards. | B．Good lessons. |
| C．Family conflicts (冲突). | D．Right choices. |
The story mainly conveys the idea that ______.
| A．history repeats itself |
| B．opportunity seldom knocks twice |
| C．we might face difficult situations in every stage of life |
| D．whether or not anyone is watching, we should do the right thing |
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