Off the Beaten Path
Cover price: $30.00
Our price: $19.80
The best-selling Reader’s Digest travel book has 40% new content including over 200 new sites, over 200 new full-color photographs, and all-new, up-to-date maps. It spotlights over 1,000 of the United States’ most overlooked must-see destinations.
Container Gardens by Number
Cover price: $15.95
Our price: $9.49
A unique book contains 50 easy-to-follow container designs. Each design provides a simple numbered planting plan that shows exactly how to create each display, with an instruction of the finished planter and in-depth plant information. The plans are easy to follow and for any type of living space or garden.
Best Weekend Projects
Cover price: $17.95
Our price: $13.96
Choose from 80 unique ideas to create an extraordinary living space. The projects are practical, as well as attractive, and will improve your home and yard and can be made in a weekend. These 80 well-designed projects are presented in a clear, easy-to-follow style that addresses readers in an accessible, user-friendly tone.
1801 Home Remedies
Cover price: $40.00
Our price: $29.96
Plenty of health complaints can be handled at home. Each and every remedy will be tested by a doctor to make sure it is safe and sound.
Dozens of conditions are covered, from headaches, sunburn, bad breath, and blisters to allergies, and hiccups.You can most probably read the passage in a _____ .
| A.newspaper | B.travel guide | C.reference book | D.textbook |
How much money could you save if you want to buy a travel book?
| A.$6.46 | B.$10.20 | C.$13.96 | D.$19.8 |
Which of the following could help you deal with common diseases without a doctor?
| A.Off the Beaten Path. | B.Container Gardens by Number. |
| C.1801 Home Remedies. | D.Best Weekend Projects. |
What’s the purpose of the passage?
| A.To share opinions about the books with readers. |
| B.To advise readers to read more in spare time. |
| C.To share the pleasure of reading with readers. |
| D.To advise readers to buy their books. |
A
A drunken burglar in the Orrell Park area of Liverpool, ended up leaping out of a window after a 10-year-old girl asked him to prove he was a superhero.
The drunken thief who pretended he was Superman to stop a child raising the alarm has been caught after he leapt from the apartment building in his pants to make the girl convinced.
Theif Ethan Adamson, 25, told police that he had broken into a fifth-floor flat after a drinking session, believing it was empty.
But he was horrified when the owner’s 10-year-old daughter woke up while he was there.
From his hospital bed, the thief told reporters, “To keep her quiet, I told her I was really Superman and I’d soon be flying off back to my secret headquarters.”
“She called my bluff (向…摊牌) and told me, ‘If you’re Superman, show me you can fly or I’ll scream’.
“I had no choice so I stripped to my pants to look more like a superhero and went to the window. I saw another roof below and I thought I could make it but it turned out to be a lot further down than thought. I know it doesn’t make sense but it did to me when I was drunk.”
Police later found him on the roof in just his yellow pants, covered in cuts and bruises after a baffled neighbor heard his cries of pain.
He now faces seven years behind bars for burglary.
Police spokesman Frank Armado said, “ He was in quite a serious state and couldn’t move until we got up there using ladders. He was treated for his injuries and we got him some fresh clothes, before taking him to hospital where he is being kept under guard until he is well enough to be arrested.”What does the underlined part in the passage mean?
| A.I could land safely on the roof. |
| B.I could make the girl trust me. |
| C.I could prove I was a superhero. |
| D.I could make a successful escape. |
What’s the right order of the event?
a. Ethan Adamson told reporters of the burglary.
b. The 10-year-old girl called Ethan Adamson’s bluff.
c. Ethan Adamson attended a drinking session.
d. Ethan Adamson leapt out of a window.
| A.cabd | B.dbca |
| C.cbda | D.dcab |
What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?
| A.To report on a joking burglary |
| B.To call our attention to the burglary. |
| C.To explain how the burglar was caught. |
| D.To look back on an adventure story. |
D
“We need carbohydrates, protein and fat — they are like the wood in the fireplace. The vitamins and minerals are like the match, the spark, for the fuel,” she explains. “We need them all, but in a very different proportions. And if the fuel isn’t there, the spark is useless.”From the first paragraph we know that working women .
| A.think cooking is especially complicated |
| B.do not share the same views with registered dietitians |
| C.are busy and not interested in cooking |
| D.are likely to eat healthfully |
Orange juice is different from orange drink in that .
| A.it contains only a small percentage of real juice |
| B.it is natural, nutritious and prepared from real oranges |
| C.it is largely orange-colored sugar water |
| D.it produces nothing but calories |
In Paragraph 4, “a fruitless search” means .
| A.an effort with no results |
| B.a search for a diet without fruits |
| C.a research on fruitless diet |
| D.a diet serving as medicine |
C
Justin Bieber may have millions of fans worldwide, but Russia’s bears don’t appear to admire the pop singer’s music --- which proved fortunate for one lucky fisherman.
Igor Vorozhbitsyn had his life saved by a Justin Bieber ringtone, when his mobile phone went off during a dangerous attack by a brown bear.
The 42-year-old was attacked as he was walking to a favourite fishing spot in northern Russia’s Yakutia Republic and firmly believed that he was going to be killed.
Wildlife experts believe the ringtone must have frightened the bear into stopping its attack.
‘Sometimes a sharp shock can stop an angry bear in its attack and that ringtone would be a very unexpected sound for a bear,’ explained one.
Mr Vorozhbitsyn suffered from cuts and severe wounds and was rescued when he was found by other fishermen after using the phone to call for help.
Mr Vorozhbitsyn ---now recovering from his wounds---explained: ‘I had parked my car and was walking towards the spot I’d marked out when there was a tremendous impact on my back and the bear was on top of me.’
‘I couldn’t believe my luck when the phone went off and it run away.’
‘I know that sort of ringtone isn’t to everyone’s taste but my granddaughter loaded it onto my phone for a joke,’ he added.
Adult brown bears can weigh as much as 600kg and have been known to kill wolves and even Siberian tigers.
Finally, this is a proof that Justin Bieber is unbearableIgor Vorozhbitsyn was attacked when____.
| A.he was fishing at his favourite fishing spot. |
| B.he was walking towards his favourite fishing spot. |
| C.he was phoning his granddaughter. |
| D.he was driving to his favourite fishing spot. |
The bear stopped attacking because___.
| A.Justin Bieber came to rescue Igor Vorozhbitsyn. |
| B.Justin Bieber sang to it. |
| C.Justin Bieber’s ringtone was a sudden fright to it. |
| D.Igor Vorozhbitsyn’s mobile phone was a sudden fright to it. |
What is the writer’s attitude towards Justin Bieber?
| A.positive | B.negative | C.neutral (中立的) | D.not mentioned |
What does the last paragraph imply?
| A.Justin Bieber’s music is popular all over the world. |
| B.Justin Bieber’s music is life-saving. |
| C.Justin Bieber’s music is threatening. |
| D.Even bears cannot stand Justin Bieber’s music. |
B
American researchers found females are the more talkative sex because of a special “language protein” in the brain.
The study, conducted by neuroscientists(神经学家) and psychologist from the University of Maryland, concluded that women talked more because they had more of the Foxp2 protein. The research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that higher levels were found among humans that were women but in rats that were males. Their findings came after it was previously claimed that ladies speak about 20,000 words a day – over 13,000 more than men. “This study is one of the first to report a sex difference in the expression of a language-associated protein in humans or animals,” said Prof Margaret McCarthy, who led the study. In their study, the researchers attempted to determine what might make male rats more vocal than their female friends.
They separated four-day-old rats from their mothers and then counted the number of times they cried out in the “ultrasonic(超声波的) range”, the frequencies higher than humans can hear, over five minutes. While both sexes called out hundreds of cries, the males called out twice as often, they found. But when the pups were returned to their mother’s cage, she fussed over her sons first. Tests conducted on the parts of the brain known to be associated with vocal calls showed the male pups have up to twice as much Foxp2 protein as the females. The researchers then increased the production in the brains of female pups and reduced it in males. This led to the female rats crying out more often and their mothers showing more interest to them. In contrast, males became less “talkative”.
The researchers then tested samples from ten children, aged between three and five, which showed that females had up to 30 per cent more of the Foxp2 protein than males, in a brain area key to language in humans.
“Based on our observations, we assume higher levels of Foxp2 in girls and higher levels of Foxp2 in male rats is an indication that Foxp2 protein levels are associated with the more communicative sex,” said Prof McCarthy.
“Our results imply Foxp2 as a component (成分)of the neurobiological basis of sex differences in vocal communication in mammals.”From the second paragraph, we can learn that ________.
| A.women always speak more words than men |
| B.men and male rats have low levels of language protein |
| C.women and male rats have similar levels of Foxp2 |
| D.McCarthy isn’t the first to find females more talkative |
The underlined phrase “fussed over” in the third paragraph probably means______.
| A.paid attention to | B.related to |
| C.put pressure on | D.counted on |
The researchers carried out the experiments on rats in order to _______.
| A.test which part of the brain is key to language in rats and humans |
| B.prove the levels of Foxp2 protein in humans and rats are different |
| C.determine the reason why female rats are more talkative than male rats |
| D.discover the association between Foxp2 protein and vocal communication |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A.Tests on humans and rats |
| B.Why women are the talkative sex |
| C.Sex differences in Foxp2 protein |
| D.Foxp2 protein determines oral ability |

Do you remember the night when you took advantage of my 17-year-old neighbor who had to drive to pick up his sister from her dance lessons? Do you know how we all felt when he hit another car and killed the two people in the other car? He died the next morning too. His sister walked home from her dance lesson, and passed police cars and a crowd of people gathering on the sidewalk just two blocks away from the dance studio. She didn’t realize her brother was in the midst of it all. She never saw him again. And it’s all your fault.
I wish you’d walk out of my life forever. I don’t want anything to do with you. Look at all the pain you’ve caused. Sure, you’ve made people happy too from time to time. But the damage you’ve caused in the lives of millions is inexcusable. Stop luring (引诱) in the people I love. Stop hurting me, please.
Sincerely,
AnonymousWhat is author’s purpose in writing to alcohol?
| A.To introduce Mr. Alcohol to the readers |
| B.To describe the harm alcohol did to his family. |
| C.To show how much alcohol can hurt people. |
| D.To show the great fun alcohol can bring to people’s life. |
What did alcohol do to the author’s father?
| A.It made him crash into two other cars and took his life. |
| B.It made him drink too much and he had to get his stomach pumped. |
| C.It made him kill two other people when driving. |
| D.It made him get into a car accident and badly injure himself. |
The underlined phrase “were intrigued by” is closest in meaning to ________.
| A.were familiar with |
| B.were interested in |
| C.were disappointed with |
| D.were satisfied with |
What is the tone of the article?
| A.Critical | B.Doubtful |
| C.Unconcerned | D.Humorous |