Jack lay, quiet and unmoving, for thirty minutes while a stranger repeatedly stabbed(刺) him with sharp needles, causing blood to pour steadily out of his leg. Jack was getting a tattoo. His friend Tony had recently gotten a tattoo, and Jack was so impressed by it that he decided to get one too. Peer pressure, media influence, and personal expression are some of the common reasons for wearing tattoos today.
The desire to be accepted by one’s friends or peers can have a great influence on what a person does. Sometimes, wearing a tattoo can be a sign that you belong to a certain group. Gangs often use special clothes and tattoos to identify their particular group. Some of these groups wear only brand-name clothes. Others wear tattoos. When a person’s friends are all doing something, that person is more likely to do the same thing.
The media is another big influence behind the popularity of tattoos in North America. A wide variety of media images show tattoos—people appearing in commercials selling expensive cars, famous sports heroes with tattoos in magazines, fashion models wearing designer clothes that show their bodies tattooed with detailed and colorful patterns. These media images link tattoos to ideas of wealth, success, and status. As a result, many people decide to get a tattoo for its fashion and status value.
Many people decide to wear tattoos in order to express their artistic nature, their beliefs, or their feelings－in other words, to show their individuality(个性). A musician in a rock band may get a tattoo of a guitar on the arm. Some environmentalists may tattoo pictures of endangered animals on their shoulders. A tattoo can be a public sign to show what is important in a person’s life.
As you can see, there are many reasons why young North Americans get tattoos. A tattoo can be part of a group’s uniform, a sign of fashion, or an expression of individuality. The decision to get a tattoo is most often a result of the influence of friends or media or the desire to express oneself. For Jack, it was a mixture of all three.Jack has got tattoos in order to ________.
| A．show his great bravery | B．gain a special experience |
| C．make himself more healthy | D．be different from others |
According to the passage, media images are linked to ________.
| A．traditional lifestyle | B．social position |
| C．cultural background | D．public interest |
We can infer from the passage that ________.
| A．some people get tattoos out of pressure |
| B．tattoo is related to religious belief |
| C．getting tattoos costs a lot of money |
| D．most people with tattoos are artists |
Our children grew up on peanut butter and jelly (果冻) sandwiches. Even my husband and I sometimes ate one secretly at late night with a glass of milk. It was too delicious and tasty. My mother-in-law was the jelly maker in this family. The jelly was made of either grape or blackberry. The only job I did to the jelly making was to save baby food jars (罐子), which my mother-in-law would fill with the tasty gel (凝胶体), pack them up and send back to our home. For the past 22 years of my married life, whenever I wanted to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for ourselves, all I had to do was reach for one of those little jars of jelly. It was always there.
This past December, my mother-in-law passed away. Among the things in the house to be divided by her children were the remaining canned goods in the pantry (食品储藏室). When my husband brought his jars home, we carefully put them away in our pantry.
The other day I reached in there to get jelly for a quick sandwich, and there it was. Sitting all alone on the far side of the shelf was a small jar of grape jelly. As I picked up the jar, I suddenly realized something that I had failed to see earlier-this was the last jar we would ever have from my mother-in-law. Although she had been dead for nearly a year, so much of her had remained with us. Our children had never known a day without their grandmother’s jelly. It seems like such a small thing, and most days it was something that was ignored. But today it seemed a great treasure.
No longer was it just a jar of jelly. It was the end of a family tradition. I believed that as long as it was there, a part of my mother-in-law would always live on.Why did the couple eat the jelly secretly at late night?
| A．Because it was very delicious and nice. |
| B．Because it was only made for children. |
| C．Because it was made by mother-in-law. |
| D．Because it was good to health. |
What can we know about the author in making jelly?
| A．She could make baby food by herself. |
| B．She could only collect baby food jars. |
| C．She helped her mother fill the jars with the tasty gel. |
| D．She sent the jelly jars home with her husband. |
What did the mother-in-law leave to the author?
| A．The skills to make jelly. |
| B．Some baby food in the house. |
| C．Some canned jars filled with jelly. |
| D．A lot of money. |
What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．a quick sandwich | B．the shelf |
| C．grape | D．jelly |
What’s the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
| A．To miss her mother-in-law. |
| B．To introduce the skills of making jelly. |
| C．To remember the family tradition. |
| D．To warn people to be nice to the old. |
Born with easy-broken bone disease, Zhang Yonghong is only half a meter tall and must use a wheelchair. His thin arms and legs can hardly support any weight, and he is unable to take care of himself. However, his hands are able to produce fine paper-cuts, which will free his daughter from the same disease.
To support himself, he learned how to make paper-cut art from his mother. He sold his artwork and taught his techniques in Xi’an for eight years before discovering his young daughter inherited the disease from him, leading Zhang to move his family to Beijing for his daughter’s better treatment five years ago.
The daughter’s treatment costs about 30,000 yuan a year. The family’s savings was used up in two years, and Zhang was forced to start to sell his work in underground passages with his healthy wife, who soon left him because of the hard life.
With a little help from government, he was lucky to meet some kindhearted people in Beijing. A Hong Kong businessman gave 60,000 yuan to him last year to treat the girl and start a small shop on Qiangulouyuan, which is known as a famous hutong that attracts lots of tourists over holidays. Zhang Rui, a university graduate, spends most of her time helping Zhang sell the paper-cuts, translating the stories of the paper-cuts into English and selling the works on the roadside of Nanluoguxiang.
However, the artist still lives beyond his income (收入) and struggles to continue his small business. “Selling paper-cuts is his only source of income. Without this, he can’t support the family and treat his daughter,” says Zhang Rui, who hopes more people will help Zhang.Why did Zhang grow only half a meter tall?
| A．His easy-broken bone disease affected him. |
| B．His parents also had the same disease. |
| C．His poor family couldn’t provide him with rich food. |
| D．An unexpected accident caused him to grow slowly. |
What does the underlined word “inherited” probably mean in Paragraph 2?
| A．get around | B．take away |
| C．pass on | D．go over |
Why did his wife leave him?
| A．Because she was afraid of losing the daughter. |
| B．Because she was tired of him and her children. |
| C．Because she lost hope for her daughter. |
| D．Because the life was too hard for them. |
With the help of a Hong Kong businessman, Zhang Yonghong _________.
| A．could support the daily life of his family |
| B．ran a shop of his own in Beijing |
| C．hired a girl to sell his artworks |
| D．could start a translation room |
What can we conclude from the last paragraph?
| A．Zhang still needs more people to help him. |
| B．Zhang manages his business very well. |
| C．Zhang’s business needs to be developed. |
| D．Zhang needs to look for a wife to help him. |
Dear Aunt Tara,
I have a problem with my homework. We have to do it in a group. It has to be finished this Friday, but Gary, the boy in our group, has done nothing helpful. He just keeps rocking the boat.
Every time we talk about the work with him, he always says, “Don’t worry. I’ll do it later.” But he seldom does his job. And when he does, he does it the wrong way. Someone has to do it for him again. What’s worse is when Ms. Lin asks about our group, Gary always tells her that we others don’t work hard enough. I’m really mad at Gary about this. We’re in the same group. Shouldn’t we help each other to do a better job?
Kate
Dear Kate,
It is important for students to learn how to work together in a group. Maybe you should talk to Gary about the problem and tell him you all need his help. If he still doesn’t change, go talk to your teacher. I believe she can make Gary do his job.
Aunt TaraWhich of the following is true about Kate’s homework?
| A．It’s very easy. |
| B．It’s very boring. |
| C．It has to be done by herself. |
| D．It requires teamwork. |
What does “rocking the boat” most likely mean in Kate’s letter?
| A．Causing trouble. |
| B．Doing easy jobs. |
| C．Telling people what to do. |
| D．Working without thinking. |
Which of the following best describes Gary?
| A．Kind and helpful. | B．Lazy and dishonest. |
| C．Tall and strong. | D．Honest and popular. |
What do we know from Aunt Tara’s letter?
| A．Kate is the leader of Ms. Lin’s class. |
| B．Kate should let Gary know how she feels. |
| C．Gary should be put in another group. |
| D．Gary has decided to change himself. |
What’s Aunt Tara’s advice to Kate?
| A．Do the homework without Gary’s help. |
| B．Ask her teacher immediately to make Gary do his job. |
| C．Talk to Gary first and then to Ms. Lin if necessary. |
| D．Ask her teacher to give her a different kind of homework. |
At a primary school in a small town in the east of South Carolina, second-grade teachers Garneau and Lynne are convinced that separating elementary-age boys and girls produces immediate academic improvement in both genders（性别）．
David Chadwell, South Carolina’s expert of single gender education says, “Boys and girls learn, hear and respond to their surroundings differently．We can teach boys and girls based on what we now know．”
Male and female eyes are not organized in the same way, he explains．The organization of the male eye makes it sensitive to motion and direction．“Boys understand the world as objects moving through space,” he says．
The male eye is also drawn to cooler colors like silver and black．It’s no accident that boys tend to create pictures of moving objects instead of drawing the happy colorful family, like girls do in their class．
The female eye, on the other hand, is drawn to warmer colors like red, yellow and orange．To attract girls, Chadwell says, the teacher doesn’t need to move as much as in boy’s class．Using descriptive phrases and lots of colors in presentations or on the blackboard gets their attention．
Boys and girls also hear differently．“When someone speaks in a loud tone, girls understand it as yelling,” Chadwell says．“They think you’re mad and can shut down．” Girls are more sensitive to sounds．He advises girls’ teachers to watch the tone of their voices．Boys’ teachers should sound more forceful, even excited．
A boy’s nervous system causes him to be more cautious when he is standing, moving, and the room temperature is around 69 degrees Fahrenheit．Stress in boys, he says, tends to increase blood flow to their brains, a process that helps them stay focused．Girls are more focused when seated in a warmer room around 75 degrees Fahrenheit．Girls also respond to stress differently．When exposed to threat and conflict, blood goes to their guts（肠道）, leaving them feeling nervous or anxious．
These differences can be applied in the classroom, Chadwell adds．“Single gender programs are about making the best use of the learning．”What is David Chadwell’s attitude toward separating elementary-age boys and girls while learning?
| A．Supportive | B．Worried |
| C．Concerned | D．Uninterested |
To engage boy in a class, the teacher ______．
| A．must have a moving object in this hand |
| B．needs to wear clothes in warm color |
| C．has to speak politely |
| D．had better move constantly while teaching |
Which of the following shows the organization of the passage?
（ =" Paragraph" 1=" Paragraph" 2=" Paragraph" 3 …．．． =" Paragraph" 8 ）
Which of the following students is most likely to be focused?
| A．A boy sitting in a warm room |
| B．A standing boy who is faced with stress |
| C．A girl standing in a cold room |
| D．A girl who is facing a lot of pressure |
Deborah Cohen is a senior natural scientist at the Rand Corp and the author of the book A Big Fat Crisis: The Hidden Forces Behind the Obesity Epidemic and How We Can End It. According to the book, there are lots of misunderstandings of obesity.
1. If you’re obese, blame your genes.
Obesity rates have increased. Yet, between 1980 and 2000, the number of Americans who are obese has doubled—too quickly for genetic factors to be responsible.
At restaurants, a dollar puts more calories on our plates than ever before, because restaurant meals usually have more calories than what we prepare at home, so people who eat out more frequently have higher rates of obesity than those who eat out less.
2. If you’re obese, you lack self-control.
Research shows that if we are faced with too much information, we have a tendency to make poor dietary choices. Our world has become so rich in temptation that we can be led to consume too much in ways we can’t understand. Even the most vigilant(警觉的) people may not be up to the task of controlling themselves.
3. Lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables is responsible for obesity.
Although the US Department of Agriculture estimates that fewer than 5 percent of Americans live in the “food deserts”, about 65 percent of the nation’s population is overweight or obese. For most of us, obesity is not related to access to more fresh fruits and vegetables, but to the choices we make in supermarkets.
4. The problem is not that we eat too much, but that we don’t exercise.
Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign is based on the idea that if kids exercise more, childhood obesity rates will decrease. But there was no significant decrease in physical activity levels as obesity rates climbed in the 1980s and 1990s. In fact, although a drop in work-related physical activity may account for up to 100 fewer calories burned, leisure physical activity appears to have increased. The problem is that we eat too much.The author mentioned Deborah Cohen’s book in Paragraph 1 to _______.
| A．introduce the topic |
| B．draw readers’ attention |
| C．introduce the author of the book |
| D．advertise the book |
What is the relationship between obesity and the place where you eat?
| A．The less you eat out, the higher rates of obesity you have. |
| B．The less you eat at home, the lower rates of obesity you have. |
| C．The more you eat out, the higher rates of obesity you have. |
| D．The more you eat at home, the higher rates of obesity you have. |
What’s the best title of this passage?
| A．Four misunderstandings of obesity. |
| B．Four rules to help you avoid obesity. |
| C．Obesity leads to a big fat crisis. |
| D．Lacking self-control leads to obesity. |