One important attraction of walking is its long-lasting appeal. Whereas jogging and aerobic dancing can pall quickly, walking provides a popular activity that seems to endure. Fitness foundations estimate that 35 million adult Americans walk for exercise every day, with at least 15 million walking two or three times a week. Among the most regular walkers are those 65 years and older—evidence that walking is an exercise that lasts.
In addition to its many physical benefits, walking, like other physical activities, has a comforting effect on the psyche. Walking can help you to think more clearly and feel more relaxed. It also can be a sociable activity. An early morning walk around the neighborhood provides an opportunity to chat with friends or simply admire the flowers. Or because it does not require a team or even a partner, walking is something you can do on your own time, by yourself, whenever the mood strikes.
Easily affordable, all you need to start walking is enthusiasm and a pair of comfortable and sturdy low-heeled shoes. Dr.ChristineL. Wells recommends an Oxford-style shoe with ties for better foot support; she does not recommend sneakers or other “cheapies”. If you plan to walk regularly, you might want to invest in a pair of so-called walking shoes. If so, expect to spend at least $35.
For walking during the hotter months, early morning or evening hours are best. Clothes should fit loosely and be lightweight and light-colored. Elderly walkers should consider wearing long sleeves, and all Arizonans need to be particularly concerned about skin cancer. Dr. Wells suggests wearing sunscreen as well as a side-brimmed hat to protect your eyes, ears, nose and back of the neck.
Walkers also should drink an adequate amount of water. Wells advises drinking an 8-ounce glass of water before you start out, and more when you return. “If you walk four miles or more a day in Arizona, I also recommend that you carry a water bottle,” she says. “ And water is just fine; you don’t need those fluid-replacement or electrolyte drinks.”The underlined word “pall” most probably means________.
| A．interest people | B．be easily learnt | C．become boring | D．become popular |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a benefit of walking?
| A．It improves one’s appetite. | B．It’s an inexpensive exercise |
| C．It helps to comfort the mind. | D．it can be an individual or social activity |
For regular walking, what you need most is _______.
| A．endurance | B．enthusiasm | C．strength | D．relaxation |
We may infer from the passage that _______.
| A．people in Arizona are easily exposed to strong sunlight. |
| B．walking is most suitable for those 65 years and older |
| C．water is better than any other drinks for walkers |
| D．jogging and dancing don’t have any positive effect on the mind. |
Which word best describes the author’s attitude toward walking?
| A．positive | B．playful | C．doubtful | D．cautious(谨慎) |
It is quite reasonable to blame traffic jams, the cost of gas and the great speed of modern life, but manners on the road are becoming horrible. Everybody knows that the nicest men would become fierce tigers behind the wheel. It is all right to have a tiger in a cage, but to have one in the driver’s seat is another matter.
Road politeness is not only good manners, but good sense. It takes the most cool – headed drivers great patience to give up the desire to beat back when forced to face rude driving. On the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards reducing the possibility of quarrelling and fighting. A friendly n
od or a wa
ve of thanks in answer to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of good will and calm so necessary in modern traffic conditions. But such behaviors of politeness are by no means enough. Many drivers don’t even seem able torecognize politeness when they see it nowadays.
However, misplaced politeness can also be dangerous. Typical examples are the driver who waves a child crossing the street at a wrong place into the path of oncoming cars that may not be able to stop in time. The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they want to. It always amazes me that the highways are not covered with the dead bodies of these grannies.
An experienced driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if drivers learnt to correctly join in traffic stream without causing total blockages that give rise to unpleasant feelings. Unfortunately, modern drivers can’t even learn to drive, let alone master the roadman- ship. Years ago, experts warned us that the fast increase of the car ownership would demand more give – and – take from all road users. It is high time for all of us to take this message to heart. The passage mainly talks about _____.
A．road politeness  |
B．traffic jams |
| C．good manners | D．modern drivers |
Troubles on the road are often caused by _____ .
| A．traffic jams | B．the behavior of the drivers |
| C．great speed | D．terrible road conditions |
According to the writer, a good driver should _____.
| A．beat back when forced to face rude driving |
| B．be able to recognize politeness when he sees it |
| C．encourage old ladies to cross the roads whenever they want to |
| D．join in traffic stream quickly however other people feel |
The following statements are right EXCEPT that _____.
| A．some modern drivers are not good at driving |
| B．road politeness is good sense as well as good manners |
| C．it is all right to have a tiger in the driver’s seat |
| D．a friendly driver should nod or wave thanks in answer to an act of politeness |
Suppose you work in a big firm and find English very important for your job because you often deal with foreign businessmen. Now you are looking for a place where you can improve your English, especially your spoken English.
Here are some advertisements about English language training from newspapers.
You may find the information you need.
★Global English Center
＊General English in all four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
＊3-month(700yuan), 6-month(1200yuan) and one-year(2000yuan) courses.
＊Choice of morning or evening classes, 3 hours per day. Mon-Fri.
＊Experienced college English teachers.
＊Close to city center and bus stops.
Tel: 67605272 Add: 105 Zhongshan Road, 100082.
★Modern Language School
Special courses in English for business. traveling , banking , hotel management and office skills.
＊Small classes(12-16 students) on Sat.＆Sun. From 2:00-5:00pm.
＊Native English teachers from Canada and USA.
＊Language lab and computers supplied.
＊3-month course: 1,050yuan; 6-month course: 1,850yuan.
Write or phone: Modern Language School, 675Park Road.100056
Tel: 67353019
★The 21st Century English raining Center
＊We specialize in effective teaching at all levels.
＊We offer morning or afternoon classes, both of which last three months and a half at
a cost of 800yuan.
＊We also have a six-week TOEFL preparation class during winter and summer holidays.
＊Entrance exams: June 1 and Dec.1.
＊Only 15-minute walk from city center.
Call 67801642 for more information.
★The International House of English
＊Three/Six-month English courses for students of all levels at very low cost: 60yuan for 13 hours per week; convenient class hours: 9:00-12:00am and 2:00-5:00pm.
＊A four-month evening program for developing speaking skills( same cost as day classes).
＊Well-trained Chinese and foreign teachers experienced in teaching English as a second/foreign language. Free sightseeing and social activities. Very close to Central Park.
For further information call 67432308.You work from 9:00am to 4:00pm every day. Which schools will you choose?
| A．Global English Center and Modern Language School |
| B．Global English Center and The International House of English |
| C．Modern Language School and the 21st Century English Training Center |
| D．The 21st Century English Training Center and The International House of English |
You will probably prefer to go to the International House because it _____.
| A．has native English teachers |
| B．has special course in spoken English |
| C．costs less than the other schools |
| D．offers free sightseeing and social activities |
If you want to apply for a university in the USA, you may attend _____.
| A．The 21st Century English Training Center |
| B．The International House of English |
| C．Modern Language School |
| D．Global English Center |
If you take the evening program at the International House, you will pay about _____.
| A．60 yuan | B．240 yuan | C．720 yuan | D．1,000 yuan |
It seems that some people go out of their way to get into trouble. That’s more or less what happened the night that Nashville Police Officer Floyd Hyde was on duty.
“I was on the way to a personal-injury accident in West Nashville. As I got onto Highway 40, blue lights and sirens (警笛) going, I fell in behind a gold Pontiac Firebird that suddenly seemed to take off quickly down the highway. The driver somehow panicked at the sight of me. He was going more than a hundred miles an hour and began passing cars on the shoulder. ”
But Hyde couldn’t go after him. Taking care
of
injured people is always more important than worrying about speeders, so the officer had to stay on his way to the accident. But he did try to keep the Firebird in sight as he drove, hoping another nearby unit would be able to step in and stop the speeding car. As it turned out, keeping the Firebird in sight was not that difficult. Every turn the Pontiac made was the very turn the officer needed to get to the accident scene.
Hyde followed the Pontiac all the way to his destination. At that point he found another unit had already arrived at the accident scene. His help wasn’t needed. Now he was free to try to stop the driver of the Firebird, who by this time had developed something new to panic about.
“Just about that time,” Hyde says, “I saw fire coming out from under that car, with blue smoke and oil going everywhere. He’d blown his engine. Now he had to stop. ”
“After I arrested him, I asked him why he was running. He told me he didn’t have a driver’s license.”
That accident cost the driver of the Firebird plenty — a thousand dollars for the new engine — not to 
mention the charges for driving without a license, attempting to run away, and dangerous driving. Why did the driver of the Firebird suddenly speed down the highway?
| A．Because he was racing with another driver on the road. |
| B．Because he realized he had to hurry to the accident scene. |
| C．Because he wanted to overtake other cars on the shoulder. |
| D．Because he thought the police officer wanted to stop him. |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Someone else was taking care of the injured person. |
| B．The Pontiac reached its destination at the accident scene. |
| C．Hyde knew where he was going by following the right car. |
| D．The policeman was running after a speeder on Highway 40. |
The driver of the Firebird _____.
| A．took a wrong turn on the way | B．had some trouble with his car |
| C．was stopped by the police officer | D．paid for the expenses of the accident |
What is probably the best title for the article?
| A．Losing His Way? | B．Fun All the Way? |
| C．Going My Way? | D．Help on the Way? |
My dad was never the kind to offer many words of love or encouragement. But we knew he loved us... he just had his own way of showing it.
When I was a teen, we were seasonal campers at a family campground almost an hour outside the city where we lived. Each family had their own campsite with water and electric, and you basically parked your camper there from May through October. Most "Seasonals" visited them every weekend during those months, with the occasional weeklong stay. There were plenty of other kids who camped seasonally each weekend, and they came to be some of my closest friends. Of course, many of them were boys.
We kids paired up with our little boyfriends or girlfriends, and we'd hold hands as we'd walk around the campground. We'd play ping-pong, h
ave some snacks, and play songs. Most weekends were pretty similar, but the couples would change. You'd see so-and-so with a different so-and-so than they were with the weekend before. You know how it is when you're a teen — a three-week relationship is a really long time.
So, needless to say, my teen years were spent with quite a few different boys. But every single one of them had something in common... they'd all received The Evil Eye.
The Evil Eye was a magical sort of thing. One simple look from my dad, and the boy immediately knew not to mess with me. It was as if he could send his warnings through invisible laser（激光）beams that shot directly from his eyes to the boys' brains.
"You will not put your hands on my daughter... You will not kiss my daughter... You will not even whisper sweet nothings into my daughter's ear."
I remember one night in particular, walking with a boy around the campground after dark. We came from one direction, and my dad from the other. The boy and my dad locked eyes for a brief second, then the boy dropped my hand like a hot potato and turned away, giving me a quick, "See ya later."
Yes, the Evil Eye. Best way ever to keep wandering teen boy hands away from your daughters.The Evil Eye in the passage implies that _____.
| A．Dad gets angry easily | B．Dad’s eyes are like evil’s |
| C．Dad’s eyes are ugly-looking | D．Dad’s eyes are protective to his daughter |
The underlined words “mess with” in paragraph 5 most probably means _____.
| A．make untidy | B．cause trouble | C．get married to | D．talk to |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．As teenagers, we went camping every weekend. |
| B．We made lots of friends during the seasonal camping. |
| C．We had regular boyfriends or girlfriends and enjoyed ourselves. |
| D．The boy dropped my hand and turned away because he loved The Evil Eye. |
It can be inferred from the passage that the author _____.
| A．is a teenage girl who loves her father |
B．is a teenage boy who hates his father |
| C．is now an adult who has come to understand her father’s love |
| D．used to be a naughty boy who changed girlfriends now and then |
You know that pearls grow inside oysters(牡蛎), but would you ever think to look for diamonds inside an ostrich(鸵鸟)? Well, a hunter once shot
an ostrich and discovered, to his great surprise, that the big bird had swallowed a bunch of diamonds. How could such a strange thing happen?
Like many other birds, the ostrich swallows small stones that stay inside its “gizzard”. The gizzard is a bird’s second stomach. It is where the food is ground up. The small stones help to grind up the food so it can be digested. The small stones do the chewing because birds don’t have teeth. In that case of the ostrich with the diamonds, the bird simply had expensive taste in rocks. It used the diamonds to digest its dinner.
Diamonds and stones aren’t all that an ostrich will swallow. If there are no stones around, it will eat just about anything. Sadly for ostriches in zoos, this can be a fatal h
abit. The tendency to swallow anything it sees has caused the death of many an ostrich. Cruel or careless people often throw things into the bird’s living space. They throw keys, coins, and even large objects such as horseshoes. The ostrich swallows them without hesitation. Coins can be the worst. Inside the ostrich they wear down to a razor-sharp edge. They will cut open the bird’s gizzard from the inside. When one young zoo ostrich died, 484 coins weighing more than eight pounds were found in its gizzard.
Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
| A．Birds often eat strange and funny things. |
| B．Ostriches will swallow anything to help them digest food. |
| C．One ostrich died with 484 coins in its gizzard. |
| D．Ostriches are often hurt by cruel or careless people. |
The ostrich is not smart enough to ______.
| A．digest its own food | B．eat only diamonds |
| C．avoid eating harmful objects | D．escape from the zoo |
The sentence “the small stones do the chewing” makes rocks seem as though they were ______.
| A．important | B．aliv e |
| C．dangerous | D．uncomfortable |
he word “fatal” in the third paragraph is another word for “______”.
| A．foolish | B．careless | C．deadly | D．cruel |