“Old wives tales” are beliefs lasting for many generations. 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. However, 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.Which of the following is TRUE according to the test?
| A．Eating garlic is good for our eyes. |
| B．Sticky sweets are damaging our teeth. |
| C．Swimming after a meal is dangerous. |
| D．Carrots prevent people from catching colds. |
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 |
What is the author’s attitude toward “old wives tales” in the text?
| A．Subjective | B．Objective | C．Dissatisfied | D．Curious |
No one can change the weather. Nobody can control the weather. But if we read correctly the signs around us, we can tell what the more important changes in the weather will be. This way of telling what the weather will be like on the following day or two is called weather forecasting.
For many centuries and in all countries, people have studied the weather and tried to make weather forecasting. Rings around the sun are a sign of coming rain. That many people feel their joints(关节) hurt is a sign of wet weather. Some birds fly high if the weather is fine, but they fly near the ground if rainy or stormy weather is on the way. If you see a rainbow during rainy weather, this is a sign that the weather will become clear and fine. Such rainbows come in the evening. If the stars twinkle clearly at night, then fine weather will continue. If a fog appears in the morning just above a river, then the day will be warm. If the sunset is mostly red in colour, then the following day will be fine. If a rainbow appears in the morning, rainy weather will probably come.
Most of the above sayings have been made by the people who have used their eyes and brains to make weather forecasting.Which is true about weather forecasting?
| A．Weather forecasting is a way of telling what the weather will be like. |
| B．Weather forecasting is a report about the weather. |
| C．Weather forecasting is a sign of coming rain. |
| D．People can change the weather forecasting. |
Which of the following can be used here to replace the underlined phrase “on the way”?
| A．continuing | B．reducing. |
| C．coming. | D．disappearing. |
Which of the following signs can tell the weather will probably be rainy?
| A．Some birds fly high. |
| B．A rainbow appears in the morning. |
| C．The sunset is mostly red in colour. |
| D．Fogs appear in the morning just above a river. |
The best title of the passage is _______.
| A．Weather forecasting plays an important role in our life |
| B．Weather forecasting can bring people some signs of weather |
| C．Weather is forecasted only by eyes and brains. |
| D．People can predict weather by experience in daily life |
My husband had just bought a new washing machine for me . I decided to use it the very day and I washed a lot of things .
Everything worked well , but I found one of my husband’s socks(短袜) missing . I looked everywhere for it , but I couldn’t find it anywhere .
The next morning , I got ready for school as usual . When the bell rang , the students came in . I greeted them and told them what we were going to do that day .
When I turned around to write on the blackboard , the class burst into a roar (大笑声)! They laughed and laughed . They laughed so much , in fact ,that I was afraid the headmaster would come in to see all this .
I asked the class to stop , but the more I talked , the more they laughed . I decided to pay no attention to them and I continued to write on the blackboard . when I did this , they roared even more .
Finally , the teacher who had the room next to mine came in to see what all the laughter was about .
“Good heavens ,” I said , “Will someone please tell me what is so funny?”
“Oh , God,” said the teacher , “You have a brown sock to the back of your skirt !”
So that’s how I found my husband’s missing sock .
“Oh , well ,” I said to the class , “Let’s just say you have had an unforgettable lesson on static electricity(静电)。”What was the writer ?
| A．A washer | B．A student |
| C．A headmaster | D．A teacher |
What happened when the writer turned around to write on the blackboard ?
| A．The class roared with anger . |
| B．The class began to laugh loudly . |
| C．Another teacher came in |
| D．There was a loud noise outside the room |
Why couldn’t she find one of her husband’s socks?
| A．Because some students had hidden it . |
| B．Because her husband had taken it away . |
| C．Because she had left it in the classroom . |
| D．Because she never expected that it would stick to her skirt . |
What did the writer do when she got to know why her students laughed?
| A．She did nothing but laugh. |
| B．She got angry with the class . |
| C．She did nothing |
| D．She explained the matter in a clever way . |
Children and teenagers who spend lots of time in front of screens---especially TVs---are easier to get more weight as they grow, according to a new study.
The findings agree with the research suggesting all that inactive sitting and always watching advertisements may lead to poor eating habits.
Researchers used results from a long-term study of children who took part in the surveys every two years. Children were between ages 9 and 16 when the study started. Out of 4,300 girls in the study, 17 percent were overweight or obese（肥胖的）. Twenty-four percent of the 3,500 boys were also above a healthy weight.
The surveys included questions about their height and weight as well as how much time they spent watching TV and DVDs and playing computer and video games.
From one survey to the next, each one-hour increase in children’s daily TV watching was in connection with an increase of about 0.1 points on a body mass index (BMI)（体质指数）, which measures weight in connection with height. There’s an increase of about half a pound in weight per extra hour of TV.
“The weight of the evidence is so strong that television watching is connected with unhealthy changes in weight among youth,” says Jennifer Falbe, who led the study while at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
“It's important for parents to know that all the obesity-causing（引起肥胖的）screens really should be limited in their children's lives.” Falbe says. “When children watch TV, there are many food advertisements on TV that might lead them to eat a cookie or drink a soft drink.” What's more, she says, “they can get into a hibernating(冬眠) state on the sofa, even if children are sitting down while playing a computer game.”Which of the following statements can be the best title for the text?
| A．A new study on screens. |
| B．TVs do harm to children. |
| C．The less TV time, the fatter. |
| D．Too much screen time leads to obesity. |
How many children took part in the study?
| A．4,300 | B．3,500 |
| C．7,800 | D．9,800 |
According to the study, one extra hour screen time will cause children about ______ poundfatter.
| A．0.1 | B．0.5 |
| C．0.3 | D．0.7 |
According to Falbe , what should parents do to stop children getting fat?
| A．Limiting the time of children watching TV. |
| B．Buying children food advertised on TV. |
| C．Not allowing children to watch TV. |
| D．Encouraging children to play computer games. |
Think about the different ways that people use wind. You can use it to fly a kite or to sail a boat. Wind is one of our cleanest and richest power sources, as well as one of the oldest. Evidence shows that windmills (风车) began to be used in ancient Iran back in the seventh century BC. They were first introduced to Europe during the 1100s, when armies returned from the Middle East with knowledge of using wind power.
For many centuries, people used windmills to grind (磨碎) wheat into flour or pump water from deep underground. When electricity was discovered in the late 1800s, people living in remote (偏僻的) areas began to use them to produce electricity. This allowed them to have electric lights and radio. However, by the 1940s when electricity was available to people in almost all areas of the United States, windmills were rarely used.
During the 1970s, people started becoming concerned about the pollution that is created when coal and gas are burned to produce electricity. People also realized that the supply of coal and gas would not last forever. Then, wind was rediscovered, though it means high costs. Today, there is a global movement to supply more and more of our electricity through the use of wind.From the text we know that windmills _______.
| A．were invented by Europeans armies |
| B．have a history of more than 2800 years |
| C．used to supply power to electric lights in remote areas |
| D．have rarely been used since electricity was discovered |
What was a new use for wind power in the late 19th century ?
| A．Sailing a boat. | B．Producing electricity. |
| C．Grinding wheat into flour. | D．Pumping water from underground. |
One of the reasons why wind was rediscovered in the 1970s is that ______ .
| A．wind power is cleaner |
| B．it is one of the oldest power sources |
| C．it was cheaper to create energy from wind |
| D．the supply of coal and gas failed to meet ends |
What would the writer probably discuss in the paragraph that follows ?
| A．The advantages of wind power. |
| B．The design of wind power plants. |
| C．The worldwide movement to save energy. |
| D．The global trend (趋势) towards producing power from wind. |
I began working in journalism (新闻业) when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition (竞争).
With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself easily seen, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was supper time, I walked back home.
“How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.
“None.”
“Where did you go?”
“The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“What did you do?”
“Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“You just stood there?”
“Didn’t sell a single one.”
“My God, Russell!”
Uncle Allen put in, “Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel(五分镍币). It was the first nickel I earned.
Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.
“If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.
My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful reporter as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.Why did the boy start his job young?
| A．He wanted to be famous in the future. |
| B．The job was quite easy for him. |
| C．His mother had high hopes for him. |
| D．The competition for the job was serious. |
From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.
| A．excited | B．interested |
| C．ashamed | D．disappointed |
The phrase “this battle” in the last paragraph refers to.
| A．the war between the boy’s parents |
| B．the arguing between the boy and his mother |
| C．the arguing between the boy and his customers(顾客) |
| D．the fight between the boy and his father |
What is the text mainly about ?
| A．The early life of a reporter. |
| B．The early success of a reporter. |
| C．The happy childhood of the writer. |
| D．The important role of the writer in his family. |