“Old wives tales” are beliefs passed down from one generation to another, For example, most of us remember our parents’ telling us to eat more of certain foods or not to do certain things. Is there any truth in these teachings? Some of them agree with present medical thinking, but others have not passed the test of time.
Did your mother ever tell you to eat your carrots because they are good for your eyes? Scientists now report that eating carrots can help prevent a serious eye disease called macular degeneration. Eating just one carrot a day can reduce the possibility of getting this disease by 40%. Garlic is good for you, too. It can kill the type of virus that causes colds.
Unfortunately, not all of Mom’ s advice passed the test of medical studies, For example, generations of children have been told not to go swimming within an hour after eating. But research suggests that there is no danger in doing so. Do sweets cause tooth problems? Well, yes and no. Sticky sweets made with grains tend to cause more problems than sweets made with simple sugars.
Even though science can tell us that some of our traditional beliefs don’t hold water, there is still a lot of truth in the old wives’ tales. After all, much of this knowledge has been accumulated from thousands of years of experience in family health care. We should respect this body of knowledge even as we search for clear scientific support to prove it true or false.
1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the test?
A. Eating garlic is good for our eyes. B. Sticky sweets are damaging to our teeth.
C. Swimming after a meal is dangerous. D. Carrots prevent people from catching colds.
2. The author develops the third paragraph mainly .
A. by cause and effect B. by order in space
C. by order in time D. by examples
3. The phrase “hold water” in the last paragraph most probably means”_____”.
A. to be believable B. to be valuable C. to be admirable D. to be suitable
4.What is the author’s attitude toward “old wives tales” in the text?
A. Subjective B. Objective C. Dissatisfied D. Curious
56yearold becomes 1st woman to swim Atlantic
(AP)－Jennifer Figge pressed her toes into the Caribbean sand, excited and exhausted as she touched land this week for the first time in almost a month. Reaching a beach in Trinidad, she became the first woman on record to swim across the Atlantic Ocean—a dream she'd had since the early 1960s,when a stormy transAtlantic (飞越大西洋) flight got her thinking she could wear a life vest and swim the rest of the way if needed.
The 56yearold left the Cape Verde Islands off Africa's western coast on Jan.12,2009, swimming 19 out of 25 days battling waves of up to 30 feet.The distance from Cape Verde to Trinidad is about 700 miles.Crewmembers are still computing exactly how many miles she swam.
The original plan was for her to swim to the Bahamas—a distance of about 2,100 miles—but inclement (恶劣的) weather forced her to change her plans and she arrived at Trinidad on Feb.5.She now plans to swim from Trinidad to the British Virgin Islands,ending her voyage at the Bitter End Yacht Club in late February.
Her journey came a decade after French swimmer Benoit Lecomte made the first known solo transAtlantic swim,covering nearly 4,000 miles from Massachusetts to France in 73 days.No woman on record had made the crossing.
Figge wore a red cap and wet suit,with her only goodluck charm (护身符) underneath:an old,red shirt to guard against chafing (磨痛),signed by friends,relatives and her father,who recently died.The other cherished (珍惜) possession she kept onboard was a picture of Gertrude Ederle,an American who became the first woman to swim across the English Channel.“We have a few things in common,”Figge said,“She wore a red hat and she was of German descent (血统).We both talked to the sea,and neither one of us wanted to get out.”When did Jennifer Figge want to swim across the Atlantic Ocean？
| A．After she reached a beach in Trinidad. |
| B．After she pressed her toes into the Caribbean sand. |
| C．After her stormy transAtlantic flight in the early 1960s. |
| D．After her graduation from a university. |
Jennifer Figge had to change her plans .
| A．because she wanted to shorten her voyage |
| B．because of bad weather conditions |
| C．because she wanted to end her voyage in late February |
| D．because she wanted to set a new world record |
When did Benoit Lecomte probably make the first known solo transAtlantic swim？
| A．In 1999. | B．In 1988. | C．In 1978 . | D．In 1968. |
For what purpose did Jennifer Figge keep a photo of Gertrude Ederle？
| A．Figge would like to follow her example. |
| B．She had the same red cap as Figge always wore. |
| C．Figge also wanted to swim across the English Channel. |
| D．They were both born in Germany. |
A “blogger” is a person who writes on an Internet website called a “blog”. The word “blog” is a short way of saying “web log”, or “personal website”. Anyone can start a blog, and they can write about anything they like．
There are millions of blogs on the Internet today. They provide news, information and ideas to the people who read them．They contain links to other websites．And they provide a place for people to write their ideas and react to the ideas of others．
A research company called Perseus has studied more than 3,000 web logs. It says that blogs are most popular with teenage girls. They use them to let their friends know what is happening in their lives. The study also says that more than 100,000 bloggers stopped taking part in the activity after a year．
However, some people develop serious blogs to present political and other ideas. For example, the Republican and Democratic parties in the southern state of Kentucky recently started their own blogs. And American companies are beginning to use blogs to advertise their products．
At thesame time, some long-standing blogs have ended. Last week, blogging leader Dave Winer closed his free blog service “weblogs.com”． He said the site became too costly to continue. He started the blog four years ago, and thousands of people had written on it. They are now upset because they did not know that the site was closed．
One blog that is still going strong is called Rebecca’s Pocket．Rebecca Blood created the website in 1999. She wrote about the history of blogs on the site．That article led to a book called The Weblog Handbook．It has been translated into four languages so far．
Miss Blood says Rebecca’s Pocket gets about thirty thousand visitors a month．She writes about anything and everything —— politics, culture and movies. She recently provided medical advice． And she wrote about how to prevent people from being stolen from online bank accounts．The text is mainly written to _______．
| A．introduce an Internet website called “blog” |
| B．introduce a short way of saying “web log” |
| C．tell readers about blogs |
| D．tell readers how to write blogs |
From the text we can learn that blogs cover almost everything except _______．
| A．different ideas | B．medical advice |
| C．advertisements | D．account passwords |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the text?
| A．Politicians don’t use blogs at all． |
| B．A lot of bloggers no longer write or read blogs． |
| C．Those who like to use blogs are mostly teenage girls． |
| D．Dave Winer closed his “weblogs.com” because of the money shortage． |
The reason why Rebecca’s Pocket is still going strong is that _______．
| A．it was created by a woman |
| B．it is about the history of blogs |
| C．it provides useful information and advice |
| D．it has editions in atleast four different languages |
Short people, studies have shown , are more likely to have a stroke , suffer from high blood pressures and heart disease and be bullied in school .
Now, researchers report that short people—at least in the past—were also more likely to die at a younger age than their taller peers.
Their study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology (流行病学) and Community Health , found that short bones have something to do with short life for more than 1,000 years. The conclusion was based on 490 sets of adult skeletal(骨架) remains from an archaeological(考古学的) site in northeastern England , YC dating from the 9th century to about 1850 .
About 55% of men and 73% of women died before the age of 45, and 39% of men and 56% of women died before age 30. The risk of death before age 30 declined as bone length increased.
“This study provides evidence from an archaeological sample that long bone length is connected with age at death—those with smaller bones tend to die younger,” according to Dr. D.J. Gunnell of the university of Bristol in the UK and colleagues .
While it is not clear why short stature(身材) might be linked to earlier death , the researchers point out that height is an indicator of childhood nutrition, which may have long-lasting effect on health .
“Mechanism (身体结构) for height-mortality(死亡) associations in the past may differ from those today , for example , short stature may have increased the risk of death in childbirth and this may explain the higher risk of premature(未成熟的) mortality in women,” Gunnell and colleagues write .
“However, short bones, it would appear, have always been a marker of a short life,” the authors conclude.The title of the passage should be.
| A．Short people and their taller peers |
| B．Men and women |
| C．Short stature and short life |
| D．Long life and short life |
“An indicator” in Paragraph 6 means.
| A．a study | B．a marker | C．a risk | D．an age |
Which of the following statements is Not true according to the passage?
| A．People with smaller bones were more likely to die younger. |
| B．Women were more likely to die at a young age. |
| C．Short-stature women bear higher risk of death in giving birth to babies. |
| D．Most people were more likely to die at the age of 30 in the past. |
Short stature may be caused by.
| A．less childhood nutrition | B．heart disease |
| C．some illnesses | D．high blood pressure |
The topic in this passage is probably connected with
| A．space medicine | B．sports medicine |
| C．social medicine | D．industrial medicine |
The blockbuster film Titanic has brought millions of dollars and thousands of people to the theaters and continues to touch people today in their homes. Why is this film so successful? It is a combination of many different things. Among these are many different elements. Looking at some of these elements will show how the director and others involved were able to create an emotionally charged movie that appealed to millions.
The film uses one thematic(主题的) element called - The Truth of Human Nature. The two main characters seem to represent noble people. Most of the other characters in the film are shown as non-tolerant, rude and cold-hearted people. The element of focusing on the two main characters' love and emotion seems symbolic of an ideal state.
There are also social problems addressed. This is done in a few different ways. The most noticeable way is that the lower class people remain locked in the basement as the ship goes down. Throughout Titanic, the lighting is very important. The poor, lower class people are always shown in very warm-coloured light that gives them a sense of life and happiness. On the other hand, the rich, upper class are always shown in a flat light portraying the feeling of hardness and coldness. By using these techniques, they show the issue of class segregation(种族隔离), and they create stereotypes. The main characters are able to break free of these stereotypes and be together. This is the solution to the segregation problem.
As you can see, Titanic took a lot of thinking and preparation to film in a manner that would create emotion and bring to the surface the issues and story of the great ship.The underlined word “blockbuster” in the first paragraph probably means “________”．
| A．something very successful |
| B．a highly explosive bomb |
| C．something worth a lot of money |
| D．a touching story |
In Titanic, the scene of the lower class people remaining locked in the basement as the ship goes down is used to ________.
| A．criticize non-tolerant and cold-hearted rich people |
| B．enlarge the scene of the film |
| C．make the film more attractive |
| D．emphasize the condition of the poor at that time |
Why were different colours of light used in the film Titanic? ________
| A．They were used to show the difference between the rich and the poor. |
| B．The director was determined to achieve good visual effect. |
| C．The social status was represented by the color of light in the past. |
| D．The use of light was the main technique the director made use of. |
What can we infer from the passage? _________
| A．The segregation problem in the society can be solved by using the light. |
| B．Though love is the main theme of Titanic, it also reflects some social problems. |
| C．Because of the director's talents, the film Titanic achieved great success. |
| D．In the film Titanic there are two characters altogether. |
The writer mainly talks about ________ in this passage.
| A．the process of shooting Titanic |
| B．the leading actor and actress in Titanic |
| C．the reasons why Titanic became a blockbuster film |
| D．the outline of Titanic |
Sir,
Just over six months ago, I saw an advertisement in the Morning Mail for a set of the complete works of William Shakespeare. Your company, Cosmo books Ltd., offered this set (eight books of plays and two books of poetry) at what was claimed to be a ‘remarkable’ price: fifteen pounds and fifty pence, including postage and packing. I had wanted a set of Shakespeare’s plays and poems for some time, and these books, in red imitation leather, looked particularly attractive; so I sent for them.
Two weeks later, the books arrived, together with a set of the complete works of Charles Dickens which I had not ordered. So I returned the Dickens books to you, with a cheque for fifteen pounds and fifty pence for the works of Shakespeare. Two more weeks passed. Then there arrived on my door step a second set of the works of Shakespeare, the same set of novels by Dickens and a six book set of the plays of Moliere, in French. Since I do not read French, these were of no use to me at all. However, I could not afford to post all these books back to you, so I wrote to you at the end of August of last year, instructing you to come and collect all the books that I did not want, and asking you not to send any other books until further notice.
You did not reply to that letter. Instead you sent me a bill for forty two pounds, and a set of the plays of Schiller, in German. Since then, a new set of books has arrived every two weeks, the works of Goethe, the poems of Milton, the plays of Strindberg; I hardly know what I have. The books are still all in their boxes, in the garage, and my car has to stand in the rain outside.
I have no room for any more books, and even if I read from now until the Last Judgment, I should not finish reading all the books that you have sent me.
Please send no more books, send no more bills, send no more angry letters demanding payment. Just send one large lorry and take all the books away, leaving me only with the one set of the complete works of Shakespeare for which I have paid.
Yours faithfully,
SIMON WALKERSimon Walker wrote the letter to ________
| A．show his anger to Cosmo Books Ltd.. |
| B．complain about getting books he didn’t want. |
| C．advise readers not to order books from Cosmo Books Ltd.. |
| D．urge for the final solution to the problem with the unwanted books. |
The advertisement that Mr. Walker saw in the Morning Mail was for ________
| A．unlimited number of Cosmo Books. |
| B．a set of 10 books of the works of Shakespeare. |
| C．fifteen pounds and fifty pence. |
| D．a book containing all the plays and poems of Shakespeare. |
Mr. Walker answered the advertisement because ________
| A．he wanted a set of Shakespeare’s works which was a good bargain |
| B．he claimed that the books were being offered at a remarkable price. |
| C．he had ordered the set and had been waiting for them to come for some time. |
| D．the set he already had was not particularly attractive. |
It can be inferred that _______
| A．Cosmo Books have sent bills for books that they have not sent. |
| B．Mr. Walker took some action after receiving the books he did not order. |
| C．Mr. Walker hasn’t received the books that he ordered. |
| D．Several sets of books have been sent to Mr. Walker free of charge. |
The tone of the letter is that of _______
| A．bitterness | B．respect | C．annoyance | D．humor |