For many years, I was convinced that my suffering was due to my size. I believed that when the weight disappeared, it would take old wounds, hurts, and rejections with it.
Many weight – conscious people also mistakenly believe that changing our bodies will fix everything. Perhaps our worst mistake is 
believing that being thin equals being loved, being special, and being cherished. We fantasize（梦想）about what it will be like when we reach the long – awaited goal. We work very hard to realize this dream. Then, at last, we find ourselves there.
But we often gain back what we have lost. Even so, we continue to believe that next time it will be different. Next time, we will keep it off. Next time, being thin will finally fulfill its promise of everlasting happiness, self–worth, and, of course, love.
It took me a long while to realize that there was something more for me to learn about beauty. Beauty standards vary with culture. In Samoa a woman is not considered attractive unless she weighs more than 200 pounds. More importantly, if it’s happiness that we want, why not put our energy there rather than on the size of our body? Why not look inside? Many of us work hard to change our body, but in vain. We have to find a way to live comfortable inside our body and make friends with and cherish ourselves. When we change our attitudes toward ourselves, the whole world changes.The passage tries to tell us the importance of .
| A．body size | B．attit udes |
| C．culture difference | D．different beauty standards |
What does the word “everything” in paragraph 2 mean?
| A．All the problems. | B．All the properties |
| C．The whole world | D．The absolute truth |
What can be inferr
ed about the author?
| A．The author is a Samoan |
| B．The author succeeded in losing weight |
| C．The author has been troubled by her/his weight. |
| D．The author probably got wounded in wars or accidents. |
. According to the author, what is the common view of those who have lost some weight first and gained it back later?
| A．They feel angry about the regained weight |
| B．They are indifferent to the regained weight |
| C．They feel optimistic about future plans on weight control. |
| D．They think they should give up their future plans on weight control. |
Who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years?
Jane Addams (1860 - 1935)
Addams helped the poor and worked for peace. She created shelters, education opportunities and services for people in need. In 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Rachel Carson (1907 - 1964)
Rachel Carson was born in the rural river town of Springdale, Pennsylvania in America. The popular 1962 book “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson made people realize the dangers and the harmful effects (影响) of pollution on humans and on the world’s lakes and oceans.
Angela Merkel (1954 - )
In 2005, Germans chose Angela Merkel as their first woman head of the country. She had been a scientist in the past. As Germany’s leader, she has had an effect on the whole world.
Sandra Day O’Connor (1930 - )
When Sandra Day O’Connor finished her class at Stanford Law School, in 1952, she could not find work because she was a woman. However, she became the first woman to join the U.S. Supreme Court (最高法院) in 1981 after years of hard work.
Margaret Thatcher (1925 - )
In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first woman Prime Minister (首相). She served until 1990, which made her the first British leader to serve three terms in a row. Because of her high standards and strong will, people called her Britain’s Iron Lady.
Marie Curie (1867-19245102534)
Polish-born scientist Marie Curie discovered that some types of metal give off energy called radiation (辐射能). Her research led to new medical treatments and arms. She received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and in Chemistry in 1911.Who once won the Nobel Prize?
| A．Jane Addams and Marie Curie. |
| B．Jane Addams and Margaret Thatcher. |
| C．Marie Curie and Angela Merkel. |
| D．Marie Curie and Rachel Carson. |
We can infer from the text that Rachel Carson worked to _____.
| A．help the poor |
| B．spread geographic knowledge |
| C．protect the environment |
| D．protect the rights of women |
What do Angela Merkel and Margaret Thatcher have in common?
| A．Both of them were scientists before coming to power. |
| B．Both of them are the first woman head of their country. |
| C．Both of them are famous for being strict. |
| D．Both of them have worked for three terms. |
Who once failed to find a job?
| A．Jane Addams. | B．Sandra Day O’Connor. |
| C．Rachel Carson. | D．Margaret Thatcher. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Great women . |
| B．Famous scientists . |
| C．Strong leaders . |
| D．Ways to success for women . |
I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch (大牧场) in San Isidro. He lets me use his house to hold events to raise money for youth at risk programs.
The last time I was there he greeted me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let you use my house. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of a poor horse trainer who would go from stable (马厩) to stable, farm to farm, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school was continually interrupted (打断). One day in the last year of high school, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to do when he grew up.
“He wrote a seven-page paper about his goal of owning a horse ranch in great detail. He put a great deal of his heart into the project and even drew a detailed floor plan for the dream ranch. Then the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. But he got a low mark with a note that read, ‘See me after class.’
“The boy went to see the teacher after class and asked, ‘Why did I receive a low mark?’
“The teacher said, ‘This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from a poor family. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. There’s no way you could ever do it, your dream couldn’t come true . ’Then the teacher added, ‘If you will rewrite this paper, I will reconsider your mark.’
“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, ‘Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’
“Finally, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He wrote, ‘You can keep the low mark and I’ll keep my dream.’
“I was that boy twenty years ago.” My friend said, smiling.Which of the following statements is TRUE about Monty Roberts?
| A．He was born in a poor family. |
| B．He received a good education. |
| C．He is raising money for the poor. |
| D．He is a horse trainer who works from farm to farm. |
From Paragraph 3, we know Monty Roberts _____.
| A．was just a daydreamer |
| B．decided to follow his father’s example |
| C．expected the teacher to praise him |
| D．had a great plan for his future |
The teacher thought Monty Roberts’s dream was _____.
| A．strange | B．great | C．pleasant | D．impossible |
From the end of the text, we can infer that Monty Roberts was very _____.
| A．careful | B．clever | C．determined | D．active |
The purpose of the text is to tell readers that _____.
| A．seeing is believing |
| B．knowledge is power |
| C．all roads lead to Rome |
| D．where there is a will, there is a way |
In much society, there is often greater acceptance of light skin than dark
skin; Light skin may be seen as a mark of beauty, intelligence and success.
These beliefs can lead to social pressures even within the same group, if some members are darker than others. The result is that skin lightening has become very common across Africa, Asia and other areas of the world and more people with dark skin are using skin-lighting products, even if it means they may face health risks. They believe that having whiter skin will improve the quality of their lives. Many people think they will have a better family. Or they want to look like what their society generally considers beautiful.
Some beauty care（美容）products and soaps contain chemicals
that make skin lighter. However, some of the chemicals are extremely dangerous. The chemicals in the products block and break down the natural barrier(障碍) to protect against sunlight. Then the skin can become thick and discolored. Usually the person will use more of the product in an effort to correct the problem, which just makes things even worse. Doctor Ly says some chemicals are so dangerous that they may lead to blackened fingernails, infections(感染) and serious skin damage.
And these are not the only problems. Experts say some people who change their skin color suffer emotional damage. They feel regretful and sad. They feel that instead of risking their health, they should have learned to live and accept their skin color as it was.What’s the result of the wrong understanding of darker skin?
| A．Many people with dark skin try to make their skin whiter. |
| B．Many people with whiter skin live a better life than others. |
| C．People with darker skin try to marry people with light skin. |
| D．People with darker skin try to protect themselves against social pressures. |
The third paragraph is about .
| A．some medical effects that skin-lightening products have brought about |
| B．the mental damage that skin-lightening products have caused |
| C．the physical damage that skin-lightening products have caused |
| D．the causes why skin-lightening products can make skin whiter |
Why are chemicals in beauty care products dangerous?
| A．They can damage the skin’s color producing progress. |
| B．They can control people’s emotions and feelings. |
| C．They can make the fingernails and skin black. |
| D．They make more people decide to change their skin colors. |
Loma just had to get in touch with someone: “I had to tell my best
friend something important. I tried calling her but I couldn’t get through. So I sent her an e-mail and then I spoke to her on MSN. Without technology I would not have been able to tell her. ”
Staying connected with friends and family is important for us. That’s
why we asked our readers to tell us how cell-phones, e-mail, blogs, text messaging, and personal pages help them keep in touch. More than 1,500 responded.
Most of them told us they couldn’t live without technology: 80％of
teens said they need technology to stay in touch. Almost 30％said they’d be completely out of their friends without their cell-phones and other methods of communication.
What do they do when they’ve got news they need to share now? Most
teens say they try to reach their friends by phone. But if they don’t reach them, they use QQ, e-mails, and text messaging to get the words out.
Lots of people use one way of communication—like text messaging—to
get a friend’s attention and then use another where they can talk more. “My friends and I always tell each other everything that happens. So I send them text messages to tell them to come online so we can talk about it,” said Sabeiha.
“When planning to get together with friends”, Julian said, “the easiest
and fastest way I know is to send a text message to my contact group.”
Jocelyn said. “If I want to go to see a movie with a few friends, I usually
send text message to them. By telephone, you have to call every single friend
one by one. But text messaging allows you to send the same message to as
many as you’d like, which saves a lot of time. ”Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．E-mails. | B．Blogs. | C．Personal pages. | D．Personal letters. |
What do most young people use first when they have news to tell their friends?
| A．MSN. | B．QQ. | C．Phones. | D．Text message. |
The underlined part “get the words out” means“”.
| A．send the message | B．send the e-mail |
| C．talk with their friends | D．meet their friends |
In which part of a newspaper can you find this passage?
| A．Sport. | B．Education. | C．Technology. | D．Culture. |
When you are curious about something, and want to know more about it, you can use the way of asking questions. Asking questions is the first step to make discoveries and find interesting answers. The steps below can guide you during the research.
Step 1
On a note card or piece of paper，write down the subject that you are interested in. Just get the main idea down. For example, you might write: Discover more about dinosaurs.
Step 2
Next, stop and think for a moment about what you already know about your subject. List what you already know like the sentences below：
（1）Dinosaurs lived long before human beings appeared.
（2）Dinosaurs lived on the earth for more than 150 million years.
（3）Some dinosaurs fed on plants, some on meat.
Step 3
What can you do with what you want to learn? By asking questions. On your paper，start writing down questions about the dinosaurs as you think of them：
（1）What’s the best weather for dinosaurs to live in？
（2）How many kinds of dinosaurs are there？
（3）Have dinosaurs really disappeared？
Step 4
Armed with your list of questions, you can now go to the nearest library or computer to begin your research. As you learn more about your subject, you’ll probably discover some new questions. For example，you might discover that dinosaurs disappeared about 65 million years ago. Why？What happened？Asking new questions can help you research your subject more widely.
The next time you find something interesting to research，take time to
organize your thinking by asking good questions. And remember—learning more always bring more questions.When you do some research，you should take the following steps： _____.
①list what you want to know
②choose a research subject
③list what you already know
④discover new problems
| A．①④③② | B．②③①④ | C．③②④① | D．④③①② |
What does the underlined sentence “Armed with your list of questions” mean?
| A．Putting your list of questions under your arm. |
| B．Discussing your questions with your classmates. |
| C．Writing down your list of questions. |
| D．Taking your list of questions with you. |
According to the passage, which of the following is true？
| A．You can find all the answers online. |
| B．Learn more, and you’ll have no questions. |
| C．During the research, you may keep finding new questions. |
| D．Asking questions is the only way for research. |
The best title for this passage is _____.
| A．Discovering Dinosaurs |
| B．Asking Good Questions |
| C．Finding Subjects |
| D．Having Interesting Answer |