Sitting on exercise balls brings more than a smile to students and teachers.
Some fourth-graders at Conrad Weiser West Elementary School in Womelsdorf love their new chairs-—probably because they're not really chairs at all.
The kids are sitting on the air-filled balls. But different from those just for exercise, these have small legs that keep them from rolling. Sitting on a chair all day in school can make anyone want to move around. So, more and more teachers are letting students have a ball. By using exercise balls instead of common chairs, teachers find students' posture(姿势) and attention improved.
Dotti Pownall, a fifth-grader teacher in West Virginia, has been using balls as chairs since December 2008. "The students love them." she says. Pownall took a survey of her students. She found that 80 percent, thought sitting on the balls helped them concentrate(专注) better:
"Besides, they’re fun,b" says Pownall.
According to WittFitt,b a company that has sold balls to more than 200 schools, they can improve kids' posture and classroom behavior.
Exercise ball chairs are getting popular in classrooms, from preschool to college. Some adults (成人) even use them at work.
Lisa Witt felt so stro
ngly about the use of balls as chairs that she started WittFitt. She said the company not only encourages the use of balls but also educates teachers and students on how to use them. "We sell balls in 24 s
tates in America, three provinces in Canada and Japan." says Witt.Sitting on exercise balls can______.
| A．improve students' attention | B．make students smarter |
| C．keep students moving around | D．help students become fit |
According to the passage, the company WittFitt______.
| A．began to produce balls in 2008 | B．sells balls in 24 countries |
| C．was set up by Lisa Witt | D．is famous around the world |
It can be seen from the passage that ______.
| A．exercise balls have no legs | B．Pownall works as a teacher |
| C．students hate exercise balls | D．exercise balls are filled with sand |
The passage mainly tells us about______.
| A．the shape of exercise balls | B．the use of exercise balls |
| C．the number of exercise balls | D．the inventor of exercise balls |
Books which give instructions on how to do things are very popular in the United States today. Thousands of these “How to” books are available; in fact, there are about four thousand books with titles that begin with the words "How to". One book may tell you how to earn more money, another may tell you how to save or spend it, and another may explain how to give your money away. Many “How to” books give advice on careers (职业). They tell you how to choose a career and how to succeed at it. If you fail, however, you can buy a book called "How to Turn Failure into Success". If you would like to become very rich, you can buy the book "How to Make a Million". If you never make any money at all, you may need a book called "How to Live on Nothing?"
One of the most popular types of books is one that helps you with personal problems. If you want to have a better love of life, you can read "How to Succeed at Love Every Minute of Your Life?". If you are tired of books on happiness, you may prefer a book called "How to Make Yourself miserable?".
Many of these books help people use their time better. Some people want books which will give them useful information about sports, hobbies, and travel. Other people use their free time to make repairs and improvements on their homes. They prefer books which give step by step instruction on how to repair things like plumbing (卫生管道工程) and electrical wiring, or on how to redecorate (重新装饰) or enlarge a house.
Why have "How to" books become so popular? Probably because life has become so complex. Today people have far more free time to use, more choices to make, and more problems to solve. "How to" books help people deal with modem life.“How to” books are welcomed in the United States today because___________.
| A．these books are cheap |
| B．Americans love the writers of these books |
| C．the readers can get them without paying anything |
| D．these books can help the Americans deal with their problems in modern life |
These “How to” books are written to__________.
| A．tell people to love their life |
| B．earn money |
| C．give people some good advice on how to |
| D．say something about America |
Before someone wants to find a good job, he .
| A．buy a book on "How to Make a Million? |
| B．read a book on how to choose a career |
| C．beg bosses or managers for it |
| D．use his free time to look for it |
If people will not succeed in what he is doing, a book called___________ can give help.
| A．“How to” Turn Failure into Success |
| B．“How to” Make a Million |
| C．“How to” Succeed at Love Every Minute of Your Life |
| D．“How to” Make Yourself Miserable |
Which headline of the following is the best for this passage?
| A．“ How to”Books in America. |
| B．“How to” Books Are Ordinary in America. |
| C．Thousands of “How to” Books. |
| D．Books with Title That Begin with the Words “How to”. |
“If you consider getting older with needing less sleep, it’s not true!” says Robert Oexman, D．C．, director of the Sleep to Live Institute．Besides disease, medicine and pain, if parents complain of bad sleep, Dr．Oexman looks at their nighttime habits, where the problem almost always exists．So, how are you destroying your sleep?
Watch TV until you fall asleep
It has nothing to do with what you watch．It’s you who face TV’s bright light．That’s the reason．So even if you nod off in front of the TV, for example, you probably won’t stay asleep for long．
So an hour before bedtime, treat yourself like a baby: a warm bath．But no reading or writing on your computer before bed or in the middle of the night．
Exercise too close to bedtime
Remember how poorly you sleep when you have a fever, never really feeling rested? Well, heavy exercise too close to bedtime has the same effect--it raises your body temperature, so when you lay your sleepy head on the pillow, your body temperature is normal．
Eat fatty, heavy foods too close to bedtime
If you’ve ever tried to go to sleep after eating a fatty meal, you’ve probably found the discomfort of stomach acids（胃酸）less than good for falling asleep or staying asleep．
So try to eat your last meal of the day at least 2-3 hours before bedtime．Should you feel hungry before bed? So have a bowl of cereal or a small boiled potato．Or maybe have a serving of jasmine rice．
| Title: Help with sleep __ |
||
| Bad __ |
___ |
Solutions |
| ___ |
It’s ___ |
Take a warm ___ Don’t read or write before bed or at ___ |
| Exercising too close to bedtime |
It takes you several hours to sleep __ |
Don’t do exercise at least three hours before bedtime． |
| Eating fatty, heavy foods too close to bedtime． |
You feel ___ |
Eat your last meal at least 2-3 hours before bedtime． Have something if you feel _ |
Life comes in a package．This package includes happiness and sadness, failure and success, hope and despair．Life is a learning process．Experiences in life teach us new lessons and make us a better person．With each passing day we learn to deal with various situations．
Love plays a main role in our life．Love makes you feel wanted．Without love a person could become cruel．In the early stage of our life, our parents are the ones who show us with love and care．They teach us about what is right and wrong, good and bad．But we don’t always care about it．It is only after marriage and having kids that a person understands others’ feelings．
Happiness can bring people a peaceful mind．No mind is happy without peace．Sadness is the cause of the death of a loved one or the failure．But all of these things will pass away．
Failure is the path to success．It helps us to touch the sky, teaches us to survive and shows us a specific way．Success brings in money, pride and self-respect．
Hope is what keeps life going．Parents always hope their children will do well．Hope makes us dream．Hope builds in patience．Life teaches us not to despair even in the darkest hour, because after every night there is a day．
Life teaches us not to regret over yesterday, for it has passed and is out of our control．Tomorrow is unknown, for it could either be bright or dark．So the only choice is to work hard today, so that we will enjoy a better tomorrow．We usually have to accept _______ if we want to be successful．
| A．love | B．failure | C．sadness | D．hope |
In which section can readers probably read the passage?
| A．Business． | B．Travel． |
| C．Lifestyles． | D．Education． |
What does the word “despair” mean in Chinese?
| A．颓废 | B．遗憾 | C．悲伤 | D．绝望 |
What’s the meaning of the last sentence of the whole passage?
| A．When choosing between “today” and “tomorrow”, you’d better enjoy tomorrow． |
| B．If you work hard today, you’ll have a better life in the future． |
| C．What you can only choose is to work hard today rather than tomorrow． |
| D．The only choice you make is that you should enjoy a better tomorrow． |
What’s the purpose of the passage?
| A．To encourage people to love each other． |
| B．To tell people how to deal with happiness and sadness． |
| C．To give readers some information about life． |
| D．To remind people to keep having a beautiful dream． |
Do you have a headache? Take an aspirin or eat bird brains．Do you want beautiful skin? Use skin cream or eat pearls．Is your hair turning gray? Color your hair or eat black rice．
“Eat bird brains, pearls, and black rice?” some people ask．“How strange!” But for many Chinese people, bird brains, pearls, and black rice are not strange things to eat．Instead, they are good medicines．
Food that people use for medicines is called medical（药用的） food．The Chinese have eaten medicinal food and spices（香辛料） for centuries．Ginger, for example, is a common spice in Chinese cooking．Ginger gives food a nice flavor．The Chinese began to use ginger many years ago．They used ginger not because it tasted good．They used ginger because it was medicinal．Ginger, they thought, was good for the digestion．It also helped people who had colds．Pepper and garlic, too, were probably medicines a long time ago．
Some people don’t believe that food and spices are good medicines．They want to buy their medicine in drugstores, not in supermarkets．Other people want to try medicinal food．They say, “Maybe medicinal food can’t help me．But it can’t hurt me, either．”
People can try medicinal food at a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco, California．The restaurant serves medicinal food．The menus at the restaurant have a list of dinners．Next to each dinner there is information about the food．The information helps people order “Queen’s Secret,” for example, is one dinner at the restaurant．This dinner has meat from chickens with black feathers．It is for women who want to look young．All of the followings are common spices in Chinese cook in EXCEPT．
| A．ginger | B．pepper | C．garlic | D．pearls |
What do you know about medicinal food?
| A．The Chinese have eaten medicinal food for a long time． |
| B．Many Chinese believe medicinal food tastes good． |
| C．Medicinal food may be bad for your health． |
| D．Medicinal food is served all over the world． |
Why did the Chinese begin to use ginger many years ago?
| A．Because it gave food different flavors． |
| B．Because it made food more delicious． |
| C．Because it was good for people’s health． |
| D．Because it made people feel cold． |
Which answer to the following questions can be found out from the passage?
| A．When did the Chinese start to eat bird brains? |
| B．Why do women like “Queen’s Secret”? |
| C．What is the advantage of using pepper? |
| D．How do Chinese people stop a toothache? |
What can we infer （推测） according to the passage?
| A．More foreigners will learn more about medicinal food． |
| B．All the Chinese will believe black rice stops hair turning gray． |
| C．Ginger will be more and more popular in China． |
| D．Medicinal food will be sold in drugstores and supermarkets． |
| Name |
Confederation of European Baseball |
Federation |
Volleyball Federation |
African Football |
| Logo |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Formation |
1953 |
1963 |
1946 |
1957 |
| Leadquarters |
Lausanne, Switzerland |
Kuala Lumpur, alaysia |
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
Cairo, Egypt |
| Region |
Europe |
Asia |
South America |
Africa |
| Members |
38 |
30 |
12 |
56 |
| Official Languages |
English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch |
English, Chinese, Indian |
Spanish, Portuguese |
English, French, Arabic |
| Website |
www．baseball europe．com |
www．asiahockey．org |
www．voleysur．org |
www．cafonline．com |
When was Asian Hockey Federation set up?
| A．In 1953 | B．In 1963 | C．In 1946 | D．In 1957 |
Which organization has the most members?
In how many organizations can English be spoken as an official language?
| A．One | B．Two | C．Three | D．Four |
If you are from China, which sport can you probably take part in?
| A．Baseball． | B．Hockey |
| C．Volleyball | D．Football |
If you want to know something about volleyball, you can go to
| A．www．baseballeurope．com | B．www．asiahockey．org |
| C．www．voleysur．org | D．www．cafonline．com |