PALO AITO, California—“Switching off the television may help prevent children from getting fatter—even if they do not change their diet or increase the amount they exercise,” US researchers said last week.
A study of 192 third and fourth grades, generally aged eight and nine, found that children who cut the number of hours spent watching television gained nearly two pounds(0.91 kg) less over a one-year period than those who did not change their television diet.
“The findings are important because they show that weight loss can only be the result of a reduction in television viewing and not any other activity,” said Thomas Robinson, a pediatrician(儿科专家) at Stanford University.
“American children spend an average of more than four hours per day watching television and videos or playing games, and rates of childhood being very fat have doubled over the past 20 years,” Robinson said.
In the study, presented this week to the Pediatric Academic Societies’ annual meeting in San Francisco, the researchers persuaded about 100 of the students to reduce their television viewing by one-quarter to one-third.
Children watching fewer hours of television showed a significantly smaller increase in waist size and had less body fat than other students who continue their normal television viewing, even though neither group ate a special diet nor took part in any extra exercise.
“One explanation for the weight loss could be the children unstuck to the television may simply have been moving around and burning off calories,” Robinson said.
“Another reason might be due to eating fewer meals in front of the television. Some studies have suggested that eating in front of the TV encourages people to eat more,” Robinson added.The purpose of the first two paragraphs is ______.
| A．to report the time children spend watching TV |
| B．to show that more TV time leads to getting fatter |
| C．to tell us the best way to reduce weight |
D．to int roduce the background of the research |
According to the passage, the time American children usually spend on watching TV ____.
| A．is more than four hours a day | B．is less than four hours a day |
| C．doubled in the last twenty years | D．is more than on any other activities |
The time the 100 children spend on TV every day is about _______ in the study.
| A．a quarter of an hour | B．four hours | C．three hours | D．one hour |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage ?
| A．Weight increase owes to the result of a reduction in TV viewing. |
| B．The percentage of children getting fatter has doubled in the last 20 years. |
| C．Children usually eat less while watching TV. |
| D．Children usually eat nothing while watching TV. |
The main idea of the passage would be ______.
| A．less TV time helps reduce children’s weight |
| B．fewer meals is a must in reducing children’s weight |
| C．the less you eat, the thinner you will be |
| D．more exercise is of great benefit to reduce weight |
Research by sociologists Scott Coltrance Michele Adams looked at national survey data and found that when men increase their share of housework and childcare, their children are happier, healthier and do better at school．What’s more, when school-aged children do housework with their fathers, they get along better with their peers and have more friends．And they show more positive behaviors than if they do the same work with their mothers．“Because fewer men do housework than women,” said Adams, “when they share the work，it has more influence on children．” Fathers model “co-operative family partnerships”．
When men share housework and childcare, it turns out, their partners are happier．Wives of egalitarian（主张人人平等的）husbands, regardless of class, report the highest levels of marital（婚姻的）satisfaction and lowest rates of depression，and are less likely to see therapists（治疗专家）．They are also more likely to stay fit, since they probably have more time on their hands．
And the benefits for men are even greater．Men who share housework and childcare are healthier--physically and psychologically．They smoke less, drink less, and take recreational drugs less often．They are more likely to stay in shape and more likely to go to doctors for routine screenings, but less likely to use emergency rooms or miss work due to illness．
In both Europe and the United States，Dad is becoming the “fun parent”．He takes the kids to the park and plays soccer with the kids; she stays home．“What a great time we had with Dad!” the kids announce as they burst through the kitchen door to a lunch mum prepared．We can infer from the first paragraph that ．
| A．fathers usually have greater influence on their children |
| B．it's better for school-aged children to do housework with their mothers |
| C．few boys would like to do housework |
| D．children benefit more from doing housework with their fathers |
Which of the following is NOT true of a woman whose husband shares housework?
| A．She enjoys a high level of satisfaction at home． |
| B．She is less likely to develop depression． |
| C．She will have more free time． |
| D．She is more likely to gain weight． |
Men who share housework and childcare ．
| A．benefit physically more than psychologically |
| B．will take the place of women |
| C．are less likely to develop bad habits |
| D．don’t perform well at work |
The passage is mainly about ．
| A．the new pattern of family relations in Europe and the US |
| B．the benefits of men’s participation in housework and childcare |
| C．the problems of men’s participation in childcare |
| D．the important role husbands play in the family |
If your boss asks you to work in Moscow this year, he’d better offer you more money to do so — or even double that depending on where you live now．That’s because Moscow has just been found to be the world’s most expensive city for the second year in a row by Mercer Human Resources Consulting．
Using the cost of living in New York as a base, Mercer determined Moscow is 34．4 percent more expensive including the cost of housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment．
A two-bedroom flat in Moscow now costs $4,000 a month; a CD $24．83, and an international newspaper $6．30, according to Mercer．By comparison, a fast food meal with a hamburger （汉堡包） is a steal at $4．80．
London takes the No．2 place, up from No．5 a year ago, thanks to higher cost of housing and a stronger British pound relative to the dollar．Mercer estimates （估算） London is 26 percent more expensive than New York these days．Following London closely are Seoul and Tokyo, both of which are 22 percent more expensive than New York, while No．5 Hong Kong is 19 percent more costly．
Among North American cities, New York and Los Angeles are the most expensive and are the only two listed in the top 50 of the world’s most expensive cities．But both have fallen since last year’s study — New York came in 15th, down from 10th place, while Los Angeles fell to 42nd from 29th place a year ago．San Francisco came in a distant third at No．54, down 20 places from a year earlier．
Toronto, meanwhile, is Canada’s most expensive city but fell 35 places to take 82nd place worldwide．In Australia, Sydney is the priciest place to live in and No．21 worldwide．What do the underlined words “a steal” in Paragraph 3 mean?
| A．an act of stealing | B．something delicious |
| C．something very cheap | D．an act of buying |
London has become the second most expensive city because of ______．
| A．the high cost of clothing |
| B．the stronger pound against the dollar |
| C．its expensive transportation |
| D．the high prices of fast food meals |
Which city is the third most expensive on the list?
| A．Tokyo． | B．Hong Kong． | C．Moscow． | D．Sydney． |
Which city has dropped most on the list in North America?
| A．New York． | B．Los Angeles． | C．San Francisco． | D．Toronto． |
Vending machines （投币式自动售货机） are found in 16% of U．S．elementary schools, 52% of middle schools and 88% of high schools．About 22% of students in grades 1 through 12 buy food in vending machines each day—and those purchases added an average of 253 calories to their diets, according to a new study in the September issue of the Journal of School Health．
Just to be clear, those were not 253 calories' worth of tofu, yogurt or carrot．The most popular vending machine items included soft drinks, candy, chips, crackers, cookies, cakes and ice cream．On the plus side （好的方面）, kids also bought low-fat milk, fruit juice and even fruit, the study found．
But the eventual effect on kids' diets was not good．Those who bought from vending machines ate an average of 156 grams of sugar per day, compared with 146 grams for those who abstained （节制）．They also consumed less fiber, iron and vitamin B．
One silver lining: Vending machine customers ate 4% less sodium （钠） than other students--an average of 3,287 milligrams per day compared with 3,436 mg for those who didn't buy from vending machines．That's probably because the extra snacks made kids too full to eat as much at mealtimes, when dishes are especially Salty．In any event, kids should eat no more than 1,200 to 1,500 mg of sodium each day, according to the Mayo Clinic．Even for adults, the government recommends a daily limit of 2,300 mg．
Overall, vending machines in school appear to be a threat to children's health．The researchers calculated that all that snacking adds up to about14 extra pounds per child per school year．For some students this might be a serious contributor to weight issues．The study was based on data collected from 2,309 children nationwide for the third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study, which was
conducted by the U．S．Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service．The students using vending machines take in less of all the following EXCEPT ．
| A．sugar | B．fiber | C．vitamin | D．iron |
The underlined words “One silver lining” mean “”．
| A．a discouraging condition at present |
| B．a bright side of a difficult situation |
| C．an urgent warning from health experts |
| D．an increasing concern from the public |
Why do kids buying food from vending machines take less salt probably?
| A．They prefer less salty food． |
| B．They have formed healthy eating habits． |
| C．They eat less food at mealtimes． |
| D．They take less junk food as snacks． |
What's the purpose of the text?
| A．To teach children a balanced diet． |
| B．To introduce the finding of a new study． |
| C．To remind parents of children's health． |
| D．To tell the history of vending machines． |
A simple piece of clothesline hangs between some environmentally friendly Americans and their neighbors．
On one side stand those who see clothes dryers （干衣机） as a waste of energy and a major polluter of the environment．As a result, they are turning to clotheslines as part of the “what-I-can-do environmentalism．”
On the other side are people who are against drying clothes outside, arguing that clotheslines are unpleasant to look at．They have persuaded Homeowners Associations （HOAs） access the U．S．to ban outdoor clotheslines, because clothesline drying also tends to lower home value in the neighborhood．
This has led to a Right-to-Dry Movement that is calling for laws to be passed to protect people’s right to use clotheslines．So far, only three states have laws to protect clothesline．Right-to-Dry supporters argue that there should be more．
Matt Reck, 37, is the kind of eco-conscious（有生态意识的）person who feeds his trees with bathwater and reuses water drops from his air conditioners to water plants．His family also uses a clothesline．But on July 9, 2007, the HOA in Wake Forest, North Carolina, told him that a dissatisfied neighbor had telephoned them about his clothesline．The Recks paid no attention to the warning and still dried their clothes on a line in the yard．“Many people say they are environmentally friendly but they don’t take matters into their own hands,” says Reck．The local HOA has decided not to take any action, unless more neighbors come to them．
North Carolina lawmakers are saying that banning clotheslines is not the right thing to do．But HOAs and housing businesses believe that clothesline drying reminds people of poor neighborhoods．They worry that if buyers think their future neighbors can’t even afford dryers, housing prices will fall．
Environmentalists say such worries are not necessary, and in view of global warming, that idea needs to change．As they say, “The clothesline is beautiful．Hanging clothes outside should be encouraged．We all have to do at least something to slow down the process of global warming．” One of the reasons why supporters of clothes dryers are trying to ban clothesline drying is that ______．
| A．clothes dryers are more efficient |
| B．clothesline drying reduces home value |
| C．clothes dryers are energy-saving |
| D．clothesline drying is not allowed in most U．S．states |
Who are in favor of clothesline drying?
| A．Housing businesses. |
| B．Environmentalists． |
| C．Homeowners Associations． |
| D．Reck’s dissatisfied neighbors． |
What is mainly discussed in the text?
| A．Clothesline drying: a way to save energy and money． |
| B．Clothesline drying: a lost art rediscovered． |
| C．Opposite opinions on clothesline drying． |
| D．Different varieties of clotheslines． |
Questionnaire(调查表，问卷)
Read the questions and answer YES or NO, then you will find out how good you are.
1. When you don 't understand something, you ask questions.□
2. You like listening to older people talk about the past.□
3. You think that you can learn something interesting from everyone around you. □
4. You are brave enough when you have to talk to people you don't know.□
5. You enjoy reading books about famous people.□
6. You always see and talk to different people.□
7. You are interested in learning new ways of doing things.□
8. You enjoy sharing experiences with friends and learning from people of all ages. □
9.You talk a lot about yourself.□
10. Even if you are often wrong, you make your own decisions.□
11.You hate teaching what you are good at: sports, technology, whatever.□
12.Your parents don't understand you, so you don't talk to them much.□
SCORE(打分数) NOW!
Score 2 points if you answer YES to each of the first 8 questions, and 0 if you choose NO.
Score 2 points if you answer NO to each of the last 4 questions, and 0 if you choose YES.
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18—24 You are friendly and open-minded. You make people feel important by listening to what they have to say. You'll probably succeed in learning al1 kinds of interesting things. Good for you!
10--16 Remember that every single person you know can teach you something. You will greatly make your life rich and colorful.
0- 8 About 400 years ago, a famous writer wrote, "No man is an island. "This is still useful today. Try to be more open and interested in people around you.If you say "YES" to all these questions , you'll get ____ points.
| A．12 | B．16 | C．20 | D．24 |
When you score 22 points, you are _____.
| A．shy and nervous | B．silent and serious |
| C．open and friendly | D．brave and strong |
"No man is an island." in the text probably means that _____.
| A．the famous writer was very clever |
| B．everything is the same as 400 years ago |
| C．you will feel happy if on an island |
| D．you can not live alone in the world |