Burn Calories in Your Sleep?
The weight-loss world is full of assertions（断言）, rarely proved, that some pill can help you “burn calories while you sleep.” But a recent Dutch study reports that it can be done – simply by eating more lean protein（无脂肪蛋白质）.
Researchers report for the first time that consuming nearly a third of daily calories as lean protein – for example, lean meats without the skin – speeds up a person’s metabolism（新陈代谢） during sleep and that higher protein intake increases the burning of calories and fat during the day. Plus, when the study’s participants, who were all women of healthy weight, ate more protein, they felt fuller, more satisfied and less hungry than when they consumed a diet with the amount of protein, about 10 percent of calories.
The findings suggest that adding lean protein to your daily food “enables you to reach the same level of satiety（过饱）that you are used to with about 80 percent of your normal energy intake,” notes Margriet Westerterp-Plantenga. “That means you can eat about 20 percent less and still have the same satiety.”
What gives protein its caloric edge? It’s more difficult for the body to metabolize protein than either fat or carbohydrates（糖类）. The body also doesn’t store protein as efficiently as it does carbohydrates or fat. So protein is more likely to be burned and that in turn requires more oxygen and helps you feel satisfied in the hours after eating.
But the latest findings don’t mean it’s time to dust off those high-protein diet books. The current study limited fat to about 30 percent of daily calories, and included 40 percent of calories as healthy carbohydrates, including fruit and vegetables. For example, lunch included bread, soy milk, fruit yogurt, tuna in water, tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese and salad dressing.
54. According the first paragraph, we know that ______.
A. there’re few studies on weight-loss in the world
B. many studies on weight-loss only cheat customers
C. only few studies are useful for weight-loss
D. there’re few studies about lean protein
55. According to the passage, lean protein can help burn calories while you sleep because ______.
A.it can slow down a person’s metabolism
B. it’s difficult for the body to metabolize
C.it will not make you feel full
D. it’s easy to be stored in the body
56. The underlined phrase “dust off” in the last paragraph means ______.
A. get rid of B. put away
C. get ready to rewrite D. get ready to reuse
57. The passage is mainly to tell readers ______.
A. there is a good diet for weight-losers
B. you can burn your calories in your sleep
C. high-protein diet books will be popular
D. choosing right food is of great use
We all know that everyone becomes a little more forgetful as they get older, but men’s minds decline more than women’s, according to the results of a worldwide survey.
General differences seem to be natural in male and female brains: Men are better at maintaining and dealing with mental images (useful in mathematical reasoning and spatial skills), while women tend to excel be good at recalling information from their brain’s files. Many studies have looked for a connection between sex and the amount of mental decline people experience as they age, but the results have been mixed.
Some studies found more age-related decline in men than in women, while others saw the opposite or even no relationship at all between sex and mental decline.
Those results could be improper because the studies involved older people, and women live longer than men: The men tested are the survivors, “so they’re the ones that may not have shown such cognitive(认知的) decline,” said study team leader Elizabeth of the University of Warwick in England.
Scientists surveyed completed four tasks that tested sex-related cognitive skills: matching an object to its rotated form, matching lines shown from the same angle, typing as many words in a particular category as possible in the given time, e.g. “object usually colored gray”, and recalling the location of objects in a line drawing. The first two were tasks at which men are usually good; the latter are typically dominated by women. Within each age group studied, men and women performed better in their separate categories on average. And though performance declined with age for both genders, women showed obviously less decline than men overall.According to the passage, which of the following can NOT be typed into the same category?
| A．cloud | B．sheep | C．trees | D．goose |
Which of the following statements is true according the article? _______
| A．Men do better than women when it comes to learning English. |
| B．Women stand out at remembering people’s names. |
| C．Women do well in dealing mathematic problems. |
| D．Men excel at typing as many words as possible in the given time. |
One important factor that affects the correctness of the results is that ________.
| A．women live longer than men |
| B．people surveyed are all old |
| C．the old men tested may not have shown such cognitive decline |
| D．people taking part in this test came from all over the world |
The author aims to tell us that _________.
| A．women’s minds perform better than men’s |
| B．men’s minds decline more with age |
| C．everyone becomes a little more forgetful as they get older |
| D．a survey on human’s mind decline was done recently |
Tattoos and body piercings（穿孔）have moved up on the trend list in recent years. Around Western schools lots of teens are sporting new holes and “flesh ink”（纹身）. As with all other subjects, the Chinese will surely have to deal with this situation with respect to their children. To get a better view of what has happened in the West, 1et’s sit down and hear what they say.
Tiara from Indiana：
I personally think body piercing is sickening. If there were supposed to be holes in your body，you would have been born with them. I do，however，think that ear piercing is not wrong. There is a difference between ear piercing and belly button piercing. Ear piercing is not nearly as dangerous. I would be sick if someone stuck a needle in my belly button.
Lee from Illinois:
Hi! I live in Illinois. I am 23. I have 12 tattoos and three piercings. I love my tattoos and consider myself an art collector. You would be surprised at who has given me the thumbs up on my art work. People on the street stop me to look at the tattoo on my leg. Most of them don’t know what it is. They just think the work itself is great.
Subotai from California:
I’m not forbidden of self-expression，but when I see high school students getting these piercings, I really wonder. In some cases, the drive is deeper and darker than mere fashion. A friend of mine tried piercing her own tongue with a safety pin. It got infected and she had a tongue the size of a cow’s.
Jackson from Ohio:
I don’t think it is wrong, but when people do it all over the place like their face and everything—I think that’s ridiculous. People who get the big “dragons that cover the whole body—I don’t think that’s necessary.” When I see naked chicks on guys, I think, “You have no respect for women.” Who doesn’t think tattoos and piercings except ear piercing are beautiful？
| A．Jackson | B．Lee | C．Tiara | D．Subotai |
We can conclude that.
| A．tattoos and piercings are a new kind of elegant art |
| B．all the teachers in the West are in favour of tattoos and piercings |
| C．everything is changeable as time goes on |
| D．it is necessary to live with different views of beauty |
The best title for this passage is probably.
| A．Body Art or Causing Damage |
| B．Doing Damage to the Young People’s Bodies |
| C．Young People’s Different Curiosities |
| D．The Latest Fashion |
Saying “thank you” is probably the first thing most of us learn to do in a foreign language. After all, we’re brought up to be polite, and it is important to make a good impression upon other people — especially across national divides.
So, what exactly are you supposed to say when “thank you” is only the 20th most popular way to express gratitude? According to a recent survey, 19 other ways of expressing appreciation finished ahead of “thank you” in a poll of 3,000 people.
Pollsters(民测调查员) found almost half of those asked preferred the more informal “cheers”, while others liked to use such expressions as “ta”, “great” and “nice one”.
So, just what is the appropriate form of words to express your thanks?
Fortunately, the clue is in the language itself. “Cheers”, despite its popularity, is considered an informal way to say thank you — and this is a definite clue as to when you can best use it.
For instance, when going for a drink with friends, a smile and a “cheers” by way of thanks is not only appropriate to the situation, it is also culturally accurate.
“Ta”, originated from the Danish word “tak”, was the second-most popular expression of thanks, and is also commonly used in informal situations, along with phrases such as “nice one”, and “brilliant”. Interestingly, one word that didn’t make it into the top 20 was “thanks”, Thank you is shorter, more informal cousin.
“Thanks” can be useful, as it is able to bridge the divide between the formality of “thank you” and the downright relaxed “cheers”.
Certain words can double as an expression of thanks as well as delight. Again, the words themselves offer the clue as to when best to use them.
For example, words like “awesome”, “brilliant” and “you star” featured highly in the new poll and they can hint at both your pleasure at someone’s action, as well as serving to express your thanks. If you are on the receiving end of a “new” thank you, you can respond with a simple “no problem”, or “sure”.
Of course, in certain circumstances, a simple wave, nod or smile may be appropriate. For instance, if a car driver slows down to let you cross the road, simply raising your hand in acknowledgement is enough to show that you appreciate the driver’s consideration.
Sometimes, formality is necessary, and “thank you” is still the best choice in such situations. But students should not worry about when exactly to use certain expressions.
Many people in Western countries are worried that good manners are in decline. People are tired of seeing their acts of kindness and service pass without comment. So don’t think your “thank you” is clumsy or awkwardly formal. The chances are, if you said “thank you”, you made someone’s day. You star.We can tell from the results of the poll that __________.
| A．people are unconcerned about politeness nowadays. |
| B．“thank you” remains the best expression of gratitude. |
| C．there is a variety of expressions of appreciation. |
| D．there are more formal expressions than informal ones. |
According to the passage, which is an appropriate response to “awesome” or “brilliant”?
| A．Thanks. | B．Sure. | C．Nice one. | D．Cheers. . |
In the last paragraph the author encourages people to.
| A．show their gratitude to others. | B．behave themselves well. |
| C．continue their acts of kindness. | D．stop worrying about bad manners. |
Which of the following can serve as the best title of this passage?
| A．How to Appear More Polite . | B．Ways to Show Gratitude. |
| C．Never hesitate to Say “Thank You”. | D．Good Manners in Decline! |
I had the meanest mother in the world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs and toast. Others had cokes and candy for lunch, while we had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different than the other kids’. But at least I was not alone in my suffering. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.
My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing. We had to wear clean clothes every day. Other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of disgrace because she made our clothes herself, just to save money.
The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by 9:00 each night and up at 7:45 the next morning. So while my friends slept, my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law. She made us work. I believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us. Through the years, our friends’ report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother, however, would merely be content with black marks. None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout.
She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. Using this as a background, I’m now trying to bring up my three children. I’m filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world.Which of the following things did the writer hate to do most?
| A．Eating differently from other kids. | B．Wearing clean clothes made by mother |
| C．Going to bed early and getting up early | D．Letting mother know where they were |
It can be inferred from the passage that____________.
| A．the writer worked hard and usually got good grades in studies |
| B．mother was punished for breaking the Labor Law |
| C．all the other kids studied better than the writer |
| D．the writer’s family lived a miserable life |
Which of the following statements is Not true according to the passage ?
| A．Mother practiced economy in running her home |
| B．The writer is very thankful for her mother |
| C．The writer is severe with her children when bringing them up |
| D．The wrier has a deep hatred for her mother |
The passage was written in a way of _________ tone.
| A．humorous | B．hateful | C．ridiculous | D．critical |
A． “Better road design and training hold the key to cycle safety”, the new Transport Secretary said today as he pledged to restore Britain’s safety record. Patrick McLoughlin told Conservative Party Conference that while cycling was enjoying a post-Olympics boom, the number of casualties among cyclists was also rising. “But the number of accidents has gone up too. That means it needs better design and better education too.” Mr McLoughlin said in his first speech as Transport Secretary.
B. Cycling in the UK will become safer through “sheer weight of numbers,” the founder of one of the world’s leading cycle brands has said as he backed The Times’s Cyclesafe campaign. Simon Mottram, founder and chief executive of Rapha, has added his support to 40 cross-party MPs who have signed a letter urging David Cameron to use his speech at the Conservative Party Conference to promote measures to make the streets safer for cyclists.
C. Commuters who cycle to work face an increased danger as the casualty toll during peak hours rose by 10 percent last year. The rate at which cyclists were killed or seriously injured rose sharply last year, official figures showed yesterday.
D. In future decades, Londoners will look back on the way cyclists jostled with buses and lorries on major roads as an absurd anachronism. Some risks are unavoidable. But other risks survive only because we are too slow to embrace bold solutions. That is the message from designers who are proposing an ambitious plan to create cycle lanes suspended above London’s busiest streets. London is one of the most dangerous places in the world for cycling. “SkyCycle” would remedy that problem by attaching dedicated cycle paths to existing railway viaducts.
E. Money should be apportioned from the funding for major transport projects, such as the new Forth Crossing, to create a pot of cash for cycling, campaigners have told MSPs. Cycle groups have given warning that not enough money is being put into routes and promotion. They want the Scottish government to take a percentage of the funding allocated to key national projects and create an “active transport” fund to be distributed gradually.
F. We’d like you to tell us why you love cycling by sending a photo of yourself, a family member or friend with their bike and a note about why it is so brilliant. To take part, instagram your photo with the hashtag #ilovemybike or email it to us at ilovemybike@thetimes.co.uk. We’ll post the best pictures here ilovemybike.tumblr.com.
请阅读以下信息，并为他们匹配合适的新闻内容。“Cycle lanes in the sky” answer to traffic danger
More cyclists are seriously injured on Britain’s roads
Share a picture of you and your bike and help us promote the fun and freedom of cycling
“Weight of numbers” will bring safe cycling
Transport Secretary calls for better road design and training to help cyclists