The Writers' Strike：Making the Best of the Worst
By now you are probably feeling the effects of the TV writers’ strike---the decision of television writers to stop working. With few new TV shows, I present to you a list of shows available on DVD worth your viewing time to keep you going during this painful period.
Arrested Development is one of the funniest and most clever shows ever to have appeared on network TV. With a most perfect cast(全体演员), the s
how sets out to cover the daily happenings of the Bluth family, a group of selfish staff who manage to stil
l put family first.
For more comedy goodness, I recommend one of the sharpest comedies to have ever broadcast, 30 Rock. Starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, two stars with impressive comic timing, the show gives you a glimpse into the making of a sketch show (幽默短剧),similar to Saturday Nigth Live, from the funny writers to the self-centered cast all the way up to the boss.
If you are looking for something more serious, or perhaps Friday Night lights might be more to your liking. If you are a fan of football, this show is probably for you. If you are a fan of great drama, both soapy and serious, this show is probably for you, If you are a fan of good-looking people, this show is definitely for you .
If those shows were not enough for you, might I recommend a show with a more heart-pounding excitemen
t? The Amazing Race, after twelve seasons, still remains one of the most exciting shows on TV. Teams of two travel the globe with little to no money and experience far-out adventures in an attempt to remain the last team standing.If you are fond of soapy TV shows, you will probably choose to watch .
| A．Friday Night Lights | B．30 Rock |
C．the Amazin g Race |
D．Saturday Night Live |
From the DVD shows listed above, we can learn that .
| A．two teams won the amazing race |
| B．football fans enjoy the Amazing Race |
| C．the Bluths care about their family though selfish |
| D．30 Rock and Saturday Night Live have nothing in common |
The author writes the passage to tell us that .
| A．the effects of the TV writers’ strike are great |
| B．the strike puts TV shows in the worst situation |
| C．watching DVD is a good choice during the strike |
| D．we should choose DVD shows according to our tastes |
The passage is most probably taken from .
| A．a book review | B．a newspaper | C．a film poster | D．a DVD menu |
Respect your teachers
First of all, students should respect the teachers. They should pay attention in the classes. That means to salute him, to stand from his chair when the teacher enters the classroom etc. Attend any lesson attentively. In class of a certain subject or teacher you don’t like very much, if it’s total anarchy(混乱), how can we talk about respect?
Play by the rules
If your teacher wants you to use wide-lined paper—do it! If she tells you to sharpen your pencils only before class starts, listen to her. If she doesn’t accept late homework, do yours on time. Sometimes classroom rules seem strict or even silly, but most teachers know what’s necessary to make things run smoothly, what it takes to let the learning begin. And the better the learning environment, the smarter you’ll be!
Expect her/him to like you.
Teachers are teachers because they like kids. Given the chance, most teachers want to be your friends too. Respect your teacher, but don’t be afraid of her/him. She/He wants you to have a great school year just as much as you want to have!
Put first things first.
Friends are a fun part of school. But they’re not the most important part. When your teacher is teaching, give her/him your full attention. Even when it’s hard to do -- recess will come soon enough, and that’s the time for playing with your friends.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Advice Before You Go to School |
| B．What You Should Do at School |
| C．How to Get Along With Your Teacher |
| D．How to Plan Your Time at School |
What do you think the title of the second paragraph “play by the rules” mean?
| A．Don’t play if you haven’t completed your homework. |
| B．Follow what the teacher says. |
| C．Work is work and play is play. |
| D．Make the learning environment as good as possible. |
According to the last paragraph, what do you think the first thing is?
| A．The teacher. | B．The teacher’s lecture. |
| C．The students | D．Friends. |
The underlined word “recess” most probably means “____”.
| A．break | B．play | C．parents | D．news |
What is language for? Some people seem to think it's for practicing grammar rules and earning lists of words—the longer the lists，the better．That's wrong．Language is for the exchange（交流）of ideas and information．It's meaningless knowing all about a language if you can't use it freely．Many students I have met know hundreds of grammar rules, but they can't speak correctly or fluently（流利地）．They are afraid of making mistakes．One shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes when speaking a foreign language．Native speakers make mistakes and break rules, too．Bernard Shaw once wrote, "Foreigners often speak English too correctly．"But the mistakes that native speakers make are different from those that Chinese students make．They're English mistakes in the English language．And if enough native speakers break a rule, it is no longer a rule．What used to be wrong becomes right．People not only make history, they also make language．But a people can only make its own language．It can't make another people's language．So Chinese students of English should pay attention to grammar, but they shouldn't overdo（做过头）it．They should put communication（交际）first.Language is used to ________.
A. express oneself
B. practise grammar rules
B. talk with foreigners only
D. learn lists of wordsGenerally, when an American or an Englishman speaks English, he ________.
| A．never makes mistakes |
| B．often makes mistakes |
| C．can't avoid making mistakes |
| D．always makes mistakes |
"Foreigners often speak English too correctly．"This sentence means that ________.
| A．foreigners speak correct English |
| B．foreigners speak incorrect English |
| C．foreigners speak English according to the grammar rules |
| D．foreigners never make mistakes when they speak English |
In its early history, Chicago had floods frequently, especially in the spring, making the streets so muddy that people, horses, and carts got stuck. An old joke that was popular at the time went something like this: A man is stuck up to his waist in a muddy Chicago street. Asked if he needs help, he replies, "No, thanks. I've got a good horse under me."
The city planner decided to build an underground drainage (排水) system, but there simply wasn't enough difference between the height of the ground level and the water level. The only two options were to lower the Chicago River or raise the city.
An engineer named Ellis Chesbrough convinced me the city that it had no choice but to build the pipes above ground and then cover them with dirt. This raised the level of the city's streets by as much as 12 feet.
This of course created a new problem: dirt practically buried the first floors of every building in Chicago. Building owners were faced with a choice: either change the first floors of their buildings into basements, and the second stories into main floors, or hoist the entire buildings to meet the new street level. Small wood-frame buildings could be lifted fairly easily. But what about large, heavy structures like Tremont Hotel, which was a six-story brick building?
That's where George Pullman came in. He had developed some house-moving skills successfully. To lift a big structure like the Tremont Hotel, Pullman would place thousands of jackscrews (螺旋千斤顶) beneath the building's foundation. One man was assigned to operate each section of roughly 10 jackscrews. At Pullman's signal each man turned his jackscrew the same amount at the same time, thereby raising the building slowly and evenly. Astonishingly, the Tremont Hotel stay open during the entire operation, and many of its guests didn't even notice anything was happening. Some people like to say that every problem has a solution. But in Chicago's early history, every engineering solution seemed to create a new problem. Now that Chicago's waste water was draining efficiently into the Chicago River, the city's next step was to clean the polluted river.The author mentions the joke to show ______.
| A．horses were fairly useful in Chicago |
| B．Chicago's streets were extremely muddy |
| C．Chicago was very dangerous in the spring |
| D．the Chicago people were particularly humorous |
The city planners were convinced by Ellis Chesbrough to_______.
| A．get rid of the street dirt |
| B．lower the Chicago River |
| C．fight against heavy floods |
| D．build the pipes above ground |
The underlined word "hoist" in Paragraph 4 means "_______".
| A．change | B．lift |
| C．repair | D．decorate |
What can we conclude about the moving operation of the Tremont Hotel?
| A．It went on smoothly as intended. |
| B．It interrupted the business of the hotel. |
| C．It involved Pullman turning ten jackscrews. |
| D．It separated the building from its foundation. |
The passage is mainly about the early Chicago's ______.
| A．popular life styles and their influences |
| B．environmental disasters and their causes |
| C．engineering problems and their solutions |
| D．successful businessmen and their achievements |
| Forget Cyclists, Pedestrians are Real Danger We are having a debate about this topic. Here are some letters from our readers. ■Yes, many cyclists behave dangerously. Many drivers are disrespectful of cyclists. But pedestrians are probably the worse offenders. People of all ages happily walk along the pavement with eyes and hands glued to the mobile phone, quite unaware of what is going on around them. They may even do the same thing while crossing a road at a pedestrian crossing or elsewhere. The rest of us have to evade (避让) them or just stand still to wait for the unavoidable collision. The real problem is that some pedestrians seem to be, at least for the moment, in worlds of their own that are, to them, much more important than the welfare of others. ——Michael Horan ■I love the letter from Bob Brooks about cyclists (Viewpoints, May 29). I am afraid they seem to think they own the roads. I was walking across Altrincham Road one morning when a cyclist went round me and on being asked what he was doing he shouted at me. The government built a cycle lane on the road but it is hardly used. The police do nothing. What a laugh they are! The cyclists should all have to be made to use the cycle lanes and wear helmets, fluorescent (发荧光的) jacket and lights at night and in the morning they should pay some sort of tax and be fined for not wearing them. ——Carol Harvey ■Cyclists jump on and off pavements (which are meant for pedestrians), ride at speed along the pavements, and think they have a special right to go through traffic lights when they are on red. I was almost knocked down recently by a cyclist riding on the pavement when there was a cycle lane right next to him. Other road users, including horse riders, manage to obey the rules so why not cyclists? It's about time they had to be registered and insured, so when they do hit a pedestrian or a vehicle, or cause an accident, at least they can be treated and there might be an opportunity to claim. ——JML Write to Viewpoints of the newspaper. |
Michael Horan wrote the letter mainly to show that _______.
| A．drivers should be polite to cyclists |
| B．road accidents can actually be avoided |
| C．sine pedestrians are a threat to road safety |
| D．walking while using phones hurts one's eyes |
Carol Harvey suggests that cyclists should _______.
| A．be provided with enough roads |
| B．be asked to ride on their own lanes |
| C．be made to pay less tax for cycling |
| D．be fined for laughing at policemen |
What is a complaint of JML?
| A．Very few drivers are insured. |
| B．Cyclists ride fast on pavements. |
| C．Pedestrians go through red traffic lights. |
| D．Horse riders disrespect other road users. |
The underlined word "they" in the third letter refers to ______.
| A．accidents | B．vehicles |
| C．pedestrians | D．cyclists |
The three letters present viewpoints on _______.
| A．real source of road danger |
| B．ways to improve road facilities |
| C．measures to punish road offences |
| D．increased awareness of road rules |
Below is some advice on how to prevent cancer:
1. Eat Blueberries
Aside from being a healthy and delicious snack, blueberries contain pterostilbene, which has important colon（结肠） cancer-fighting prosperities. But wait, it gets better. Blueberries also offer a large dose of vitamins C (14 milligrams per cup). So at breakfast, try to take in a cup and a half of blueberries in your cereal or yogurt, or mixed with other berries.
2. Drink Pomegranate（石榴）Juice
The deep red juice of the pomegranate contains polyphenols, isoflavones and ellagic acid, which together create a powerful anticancer mixture. Most recently, researchers from the University of Wisconsin at Madison has discovered that 16 ounces of pomegranate juice per day also may inhibit the growth of lung cancer.
3. Relax
Feeling stressed or worried? Find ways to relax and you may reduce your chances of developing cancer. Purdue University researchers tracked 1,600 men over 12 years and found that half of those with high levels of worry died during the study period. Only 20 percent of the optimists died before the study were completed, while 34 percent of the extremely anxious men died of some type of cancer. Instead of stressing about the past or future, focus on the present and relax!
4. Take Selenium（硒）
Selenium is well known for its cancer-fighting properties. In a study of almost 1,000 men, researchers from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that when men with the lowest initial levels of selenium in their bodies received a daily supplement over a-4-year period, they remarkably cut their prostate（前列腺） cancer risk by 92 percent. However, it is possible to get too much of a good thing, so monitor your intake of selenium-containing supplements, Brazil nuts, tuna, meats and grains carefully.
5. Eat Sushi（寿司）
Seaweed may not be your idea of a great snack, but it is high in fiber, calcium and iron, and dry, roasted seaweed sheets used in sushi provide the additional benefits of vitamins A and C. Sushi rolls are also high in protein. So don’t skimp（节省）on the Sushi!
6. Breathe Clean Air
There’s no question that secondhand smoke kills. A recent American Journal of Public Health study showed that nonsmokers working in smoky places had three times the amount of carcinogen（致癌物质） in their urine（尿） than nonsmokers working in smoke-free locations. What’s worse, their levels of the carcinogen rose 6 percent for every hour worked. Nine states have banned smoking in all workplaces, bars and restaurants. The message is clear: Do whatever you can to avoid the cloud of smoke.
7. Break a Sweat
Even a small amount of exercise can offer major cancer-fighting benefits. In a study of 29,110 men published in The International Journal of Cancer, men who exercised just once a week had a percent lower risk of metastasis(转移性) prostate cancer than men who didn’t work out at all. The better the frequency, duration and intensity of the exercise, the bigger the reduction in risk, according to the study.To prevent yourself from catching colon cancer, you should eat ________ as often as possible.
| A．sushi | B．blueberries |
| C．pomegranates | D．Vitamin D |
A person is very likely to catch some type of cancer if _________________.
| A．he is very fond of exercise every day. |
| B．he is addicted to drinking |
| C．he is always feeling extremely stressed or worried |
| D．he likes to have meals in restaurants |
_____________________________ will remarkably reduce the risk of men’s prostate cancer.
| A．Having a proper supplement of selenium |
| B．Drinking a cup of pomegranate juice every day |
| C．Breathing fresh air now and then |
| D．Taking exercise at least once a week |
If you want to keep cancer away, it is completely important to ______.
| A．have a daily supplement of vitamins B and C |
| B．try to ignore the secondhand smoking |
| C．take in as many selenium-containing supplements as possible |
| D．have exercise as often as possible |