In Egypt, smoke-filled offices are common along with taxi drivers who light one cigarette after another while stuck in Cairo’s heavy traffic. Non-smoking sections in restaurants are unheard of and water pipes which fill cafes often overflow onto sidewalks, leaving the sweet smell of fruit-flavored tobacco lingeringon the streets.
But some doctors and lawmakers here want to change this culture of Egypt’s. The country’s parliament recently passed laws banning smoking in some public places including government buildings, schools and hospitals. It also calls for health warnings to be put on cigarette packs and allows the government to increase the price of tobacco, according to parliament member Hamdiel-Sayyed, who proposed the new laws. If individuals break the law, they could be fined up to $17. Tobacco factories can be forced to pay about $3,500, if they don’t follow the law and advertise their products.
Egypt’s laws are modest compared to other countries including Britain and some American cities where smoking in all indoor public places is banned. But they are a start, especially for a country where 80 billion cigarettes are smoked a year. “Part of the objective is to keep children and young people from becoming smoking addicts,” said el-Sayyed.
But in a country burdened by poverty and high unemployment, will the laws be able to force people not to smoke?
Mustafa Ahmed, 25, said laws to ban smoking are a good idea in principle but are not realistic. “Smoking is popular in Egypt. There is a lot of pressure on people here, especially because the economy is bad. People smoke because they think it will relax them.”
Sherif Omar, a parliament member, also has his doubts about the new laws. “Laws by themselves don’t work well unless you have education in schools and in the media,” he said.
59. What does the underlined part “this culture” in the second paragraph refer to?
A. Heavy traffic — a big headache for drivers. B. No non-smoking areas in buildings.
C. The wide-spread smoking habit in Egypt.
D. No effective measures taken to stop smoking.
60. Which of the following is NOT a part of the new laws passed by the parliament?
A. Not allowing tobacco advertising. B. Warning people of the danger of smoking.
C. Allowing the government to increase the price of tobacco.
D. People who break the law will be fined up to $3,500.
61. Compared with Britain, Egypt’s laws _______.
A. will be more effective in reducing smoking B. set stricter limits on smoking
C. do not set very strict limits on smoking D. will not be effective
62. According to Sherif Omar, the new laws are hard to carry out because _______.
A. Egyptians face high work pressure B. Egyptians are addicted to smoking
C. many people are strongly against these laws
D. people don’t receive anti-smoking education
63. What would be the best title of the passage?
A. Egypt starts to ban smoking everywhere.
B. Egypt attempts to control smoking in public places.
C. Egypt’s laws increase people’s sense of health.
D. Egypt’s laws aren’t supported by the common people.
People in the United States honor their parents with two special days:Mother’s Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June. These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care. These two days make us think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with child care.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother’s Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery. On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is “the thought that counts”. Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries, telephone companies, and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays. Which of the following is NOT a reason for children to show love and respect for parents?
A.Parents bring up children. |
B.Parents give love and care to children. |
C.Parents educate children to be good persons. |
D.Parents pass away before children grow up. |
What do you think “florists” do?
A.They sell flowers. |
B.They make and sell bread. |
C.They offer enough room for having family parties. |
D.They sell special gifts for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. |
Which do you think is right about “carnation”?
A.It has only two kinds of colors. |
B.It refers to the special clothes people wear on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. |
C.It’s a kind of flower showing love and best wishes. |
D.People can wear carnations only on the second Sunday in May. |
What do you know from the passage?
A.Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are both in May. |
B.Fewer women worked outside the home in the past. |
C.Not all the children respect their parents. |
D.Fathers are not as important as mothers at home. |
On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, .
A.people usually have family parties | B.everyone goes to visit the cemetery |
C.children always go to parents’ home | D.hand-made cards are the most valuable gifts |
At age 61, identical twins Jeanne and Susan no longer look exactly alike. Susan smoked for many years and is an admitted sun worshipper, whose habits Jeanne does not share. A new study of twins suggests you can blame those coarse(粗糙的)wrinkles, brown or pink spots on too much time in the sun, smoking, and being overweight.
Because twins share genes, but may have different exposures to environmental factors, studying twins allows an “opportunity to control for genetic susceptibility(易受影响性),” Dr. Elma D. Baron, at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, and his colleagues explain in the latest issue of Archives of Dermatology.
Their analysis of environmental skin-damaging factors in 65 pairs of twins hints that skin aging is related more to environment and lifestyle than genetic factors.
But when it comes to skin cancer, the researchers say their findings support previous reports that both environment and genes affect skin cancer risk.
Baron’s team examined facial skin of 130 twins, 18 to 77 years old, who lived mostly in the northem Midwest and Eastern regions of the US, who were attending the Twins Days Festival in Ohio in August 2002. At this time, each of the twins also separately reported how their skin burned or tanned(晒黑)without sunscreen, their weight, and their history of skin cancer, smoking, and alcohol drinking. The study group consisted of 52 fraternal(异卵双生)and 10 identical twin pairs, plus 3 pairs who were unsure of their twin status.
From these data, the researchers noted strong ties, outside of twin status, between smoking, older age, and being overweight, and having facial skin with evidence of environmental damage. By contrast, sunscreen use and drinking alcohol appeared related to less skin damage.
Baron and his colleagues say the current findings, which highlight ties between facial aging and potentially avoidable environmental factors—such as smoking, being overweight, and unprotected overexposure to the sun’s damaging rays—may help motivate people to minimize these risky behaviors.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.Jeanne and Susan share all the habits including smoking. |
B.Skin aging is related more to environment and lifestyle than genetic factors. |
C.Only identical twins can take part in the research. |
D.Sunscreen use cannot help people have less skin damage. |
Why did Baron’s team do the research on twins?
A.Twins are more likely to suffer from skin cancer. |
B.It may guarantee the research is not influenced by genetic factors. |
C.It gives others an opportunity to control twins’ genes. |
D.It helps find twins are exposed to different environments. |
What can you infer from the last paragraph?
A.This research makes people aware of dangerous lifestyles. |
B.The environmental factors are unavoidable. |
C.Being exposed to the sun is absolutely damaging. |
D.There is little relationship between skin aging and environment. |
The passage is mainly concerned with.
A.skin cancer and environment |
B.identical twins research |
C.aging skin and environmental factors |
D.genes and lifestyles |
Why should you tour Spain with SpainExchange?
◇We design and personalize(个性化)your tour to fit your desires and needs.
◇We are Spain insiders: we are located in Spain and we know the country.
You get the tour you want. You do not have to follow a schedule, but we encourage you to make your own with our help. If you have a few cities in Spain that you want to visit or a specific theme for your tour that needs some fine-tuning(微调), we can do it for you. On the contrary, if you are not sure what’s here and need some extra help, we can help you. We can assist you in developing the tour that fits you and your students.
You get more for your money. Yes, it may cost you the same price as with the other companies—usually less—but you will receive more in return. With any other company you will be mixed with other groups. With SpainExchange, your tour is for yourself and your students only: your group alone will be in your bus; your students will be housed in double rooms; they will have 2 paid meals per day, and your entrance fees will be on us.
Your students will have an educational experience they’ll never forget. The students will learn about world history, not just Spanish history, art history, archeology, Spanish culture, and much more. Many students have “fallen in love” with Spain and make plans for future studies here. And teachers are amazed at how much Spain has to offer. As one teacher said, “I can’t wait to come back and see the rest.”
Only a professional Spain insider that is flexible to design the tour that fits your group can provide all that for you. Just tell us what you want and enjoy the ride.What is the advantage of SpainExchange over other touring companies?
A.It is designed for your personalized needs. |
B.It is much cheaper than the tours from other companies. |
C.It is organized by a Spanish-speaking agency. |
D.It offers double rooms and 2 paid meals per day. |
Who do you suppose this passage is written to?
A.School teachers. | B.College students. |
C.Spain locals. | D.Exchange professors. |
The passage is probably take from.
A.Wild “Burning” Journey Back To Spain |
B.Spain Teaching School Tries Something New |
C.A World of Novels: Picks For Best Foreign Fictions |
D.Tour Brochure(手册): Learning Beyond Classroom |
It is natural that children are curious (好奇的) about the world around them. For example, they want to know how their hearts beat. They want to know why the ocean water tastes salty.
As children grow up, they become curious about different kinds of things. When they are babies, they are interested in the parts of their bodies and in the smiles of their mothers. They become interested in the physical world around them: the plants, the animals, the sky. Later, they become interested in the things that people have made: wheels, bicycles, cars. And when they are adults, their curiosity continues. Sometimes this curiosity leads to a career (生涯、职业) in science.
Scientists spend their lives trying to find out about the world.Those who work with the earth sciences study the earth, the oceans, and the skies. Other scientists who study living things work with the biological sciences. A third group of scientists study the physical sciences, e. g. physics, chemistry .
These scientists have already discovered a lot about our world.For example, they tell us why your heart beats fast when you run. They say that when you are quiet, your heart normally beats sixty-five or seventy-five times a minute. Your heart is a pump (泵) that pumps blood to all parts of the body. The blood carries oxygen and nutrition. When you run, your muscles work very hard and use the nutrition that the blood carries to them. The muscles need oxygen, too . So your brain sends a signal to the heart. The signal means that the muscles need more nutrition and oxygen. Then the heart beats fast and sends blood quickly to the muscles. It may beat 90 to 140 times a minute.
Of course, scientists cannot answer all of our questions. If we ask, “Why does the ocean water taste salty” scientists will say that the salt comes from rocks. When a rock gets very hot or very cold, it cracks. Rain falls into cracks. The rain then carries the salt into the earth and into the rivers. The rivers carry the salt into the ocean. But then we ask , “What happens to the salt in the ocean? The ocean does not get saltier every year.” Scientists are not sure about the answer to this question.
We know a lot about our world, but there are still many answers that we do not have, and we are curious.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
A.People are curious in the same way. |
B.People in different countries are interested in different things. |
C.Men and women are curious about different things. |
D.People of different ages are interested in different things |
Scientists who work with the biological sciences study____.
A.the earth , the oceans and the sky | B.man-made things |
C.plants and animals | D.ocean water |
When you run, your muscles need ____.
A.more nutrition and oxygen | B.more signals | C.more salt | D.water |
A rock cracks _____.
A.in wet regions | B.in dry regions |
C.at very high or very low temperatures | D.when salty water falls in |
Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about tea.People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like, mainly because tea was very expensive. It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity. Some of them were not sure how to use it. They thought it was a vegetable and tried cooking the leaves. Then they served them mixed with butter and salt. They soon discovered their mistake but many people used to spread the used tea leaves on bread and give them to their children as sandwiches.
Tea remained scarce and very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it direct from China early in the seventeenth century. During the next few years so much tea came into the country that the price fell and many people could afford to buy it.
At the same time people on the Continent were becoming more and more fond of tea.Until then tea had been drunk without milk in it, but one day a famous French lady named Madame de Sevigne decided to see what tea tasted like when milk was added.She found it so pleasant that she would never again drink it without milk. Because she was such a great lady her friends thought they must copy everything she did, so they also drank their tea with milk in it. Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few Britons drink tea without milk.
At first, tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess (公爵夫人) found that a cup of tea and a piece of cake at three or four o’clock stopped her getting “a sinking feeling” as she called it. She invited her friends to have this new meal with her and so, tea-time was born.Which of the following is true of the introduction of tea into Britain?
A.The Britons got expensive tea from India. |
B.Tea reached Britain from Holland. |
C.The Britons were the first people in Europe who drank tea. |
D.It was not until the 17th century that the Britons had tea. |
This passage mainly discusses_____________.
A.the history of tea drinking in Britain | B.how tea became a popular drink in Britain |
C.how the Britons got the habit of drinking tea | D.how tea-time was born |
Tea became a popular drink in Britain.
A.in eighteenth century | B.in sixteenth century |
C.in seventeenth century | D.in the late seventeenth century |
People in Europe began to drink tea with milk because.
A.it tasted like milk |
B.it tasted more pleasant |
C.it became a popular drink |
D.Madame de Sevinge was such a lady with great social influence that people tried |
to copy the way she drank tea