Every object tells a story. Even the most ordinary objects can present to us powerful images. Sometimes it is the ordinary nature of these objects that actually makes them so extraordinary. Such is the case with an old leather shoe in a museum in Alaska. At first glance it does not look like much. It is a woman’s shoe of a style popular in the 1890s. But what is unique(独特的) about this shoe is where it was found. It was discovered on the Checkout Pass, the famous trail used by the people seeking gold in Alaska. Who it belonged to or why it was left there is not known. Was it perhaps dropped by accident as the woman climbed up the 1500 stairs carved outfa
ce? Or did she throw away goods that she didn’t need in order to travel lighter?
Over 100, 000 people with “gold fever” made this trip hoping to become millionaires. Few of them understood that on their way they would have to cross a harsh wildnes
s. Unprepared for such a dangerous journey, many died of starvation and exposure to the cold weather.
The Canadian government finally started requiring the gold seekers to bring one ton of supplies with them. This was thought to be enough for a person to survive for one year. They would carry their supplies in backpacks(背包) each weighing up to fifty pounds; it usually took at least 40 trips to get everything to the top and over the pass. Whoever dropped the shoe must have been a brave and determined woman. Perhaps she was successful and made it to Alaska. Perhaps she had to turn back in defeat. No one will ever know for sure, but what we do know is that she took part in one of the greatest adventures in the 19th century. 
The ordinary woman’s leather shoe is considered unusual because ______.
| A．it was an important clue to life in the past |
| B．it was found on a famous trail |
| C．it at one time belonged to a VIP |
| D．it was a fashionable shoe at that time |
According to this passage, many people who went to Alaska ______.
| A．eventually became millionaires | B．brought with them many shoes |
| C．had conflicts with the Eskimos | D．were not properly equipped |
The Canadian government made gold seekers bring one year’s supplies with them so that ______.
| A．they would not die of hunger and cold |
| B．the army would have enough food for fighting a war |
| C．they would change these goods with the Eskimos |
| D．the supplies would make Alaska rich |
No matter what happened to the woman who owned the shoe, ______.
| A．she must have lived a happy life |
B．she certainly dropped the shoe on purpose |
| C．her adventurous spirit is definitely admired |
| D．her other shoes were equally fashionable |
New research shows that overweight or even mildly obese people have a lower risk of early death than people considered to be normal weight.
Researchers examined the results of 97 studies. Most of the studies were less than 10 years old. They included almost three million adults from around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Taiwan, Brazil, India and Mexico.
The researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics found that people who are considered overweight or slightly obese were five to six percent less likely to die from all causes than people of normal weight. People with higher obesity ratings, however, had almost a 30 percent greater risk of death compared to normal-weight individuals.
Katherine Flegal was the lead author of the study. She says she was not surprised that overweight people would not have a higher risk of death.
“Because we’d actually already read a lot of this literature and realized it was likely that mortality rates (死亡率) for overweight would be at least not higher than normal weight. I guess I was a little bit surprised that it was definitely lower. And I was also surprised that the lower rates of obesity also didn’t seem to differ from normal weight.”
But she says the difference in death rates appears to be small between normal-weight people and those who are overweight or mildly obese.
The study has raised new questions about “body mass index,”（体重指数） or BMI. This is a measurement of body fat as a ratio（比率） of height to weight. In recent years, many public health experts have promoted body mass index as a way to predict the risk of health problems. Bu t a person's BMI can be misleading in some cases.
Steven Heymsfield ,the executive director of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, says people can be physically fit and in good health, but might weigh more because they are more muscular.
Still, Dr. Heymsfield says people should not think gaining extra weight is OK just because of the new findings. He says being at a healthy weight lowers the risk for heart disease and diabetes（糖尿病）.According to the new findings, the researchers found that __________ .
| A．People with high obesity have a lower risk of early death than people with low obesity |
| B．People with overweight have a greater risk of early death than people of normal weight. |
| C．People with mild obesity are less likely to die than people of normal weight. |
| D．People with obesity live much longer than people of normal weight. |
What does the underlined word “literature” in paragraph 6 mean ?
| A．works like novels and poems |
| B．books and articles on a particular subject |
| C．printed material |
| D．magazines and newspapers |
Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage?
| A．BMI is commonly used to measure body fat as a ratio of height to weight. |
| B．Not all people with a little higher BMI are fat . |
| C．Many public health experts encourage more people to use BMI as a way to predict the risk of health problem |
| D．Because of the ne w findings, people should think about gaining extra weight. |
A new study of 8,000 young people in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior shows that although love can make adults live healthily and happily, it is a bad thing for young people. Puppy love (早恋) may bring stress for young people and can lead to depression . The study shows that girls become more depressed than boys, and younger girls are the worst of all.
The possible reason for the connection between love and higher risk of depression for girls is “loss of self”. According to the study, even though boys would say “lose themselves in a romantic relationship”, this “loss of self” is much more likely to lead to depression when it happens to girls. Young girls who have romantic relationships usually like hiding their feelings and opinions. They won’t tell that to their parents.
Dr Marian Kaufman, an expert on young people problems, says 15% to 20% young people will have depression during their growing. Trying romance often causes the depression. She advises kids not to jump into romance too early. During growing up, it is important for young people to build strong friendships and a strong sense of self. She also suggests the parents should encourage their kids to keep close to their friends, attend more interesti ng school activities and spend enough time with family.
Parents should watch for signs of depression -- eating or mood changes -- and if they see signs from their daughters or sons, they need to give help. The good news is that the connection between romance and depression seems to become weak with age. Love will always make us feel young, but only maturity (成熟) gives us a chance to avoid its bad side effects.Which of the following is more likely to have depression?
| A．Young people who have a strong sense of selfishness. |
| B．Young girls who always hide their feelings and opinions. |
| C．Young boys whose parents watch for their behavior. |
| D．Careless parents whose children are deep in love. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The older a woman is，the less likely she seems to lose herself in romance. |
| B．Lacking love can lead young people to grow up more quickly. |
| C．Early love makes young people keep close to their friends and parents. |
| D．Parents should help their children to be aware of the signs of depression. |
What’s the author’s attitude towa rds puppy love?
| A．Confused. | B．Disinterested. |
| C．Scared. | D．Disapproving. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Puppy love may bring young people depression. |
| B．Parents should forbid their children’s love. |
| C．Romance is a two edged sword for adults. |
| D．Romance is good for young people. |
Betty Friedan, born in 1921 in Peoria, Illinois, attended Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She finished her studies in psychology in 1942. After college she attended the University of California at Berkeley to continue her studies. Later, she moved to New York City and worked as a reporter and editor for labor union newspapers.
In 1947, Betty married Carl Friedan. They had a child, the first of three. When Betty Friedan became pregnant for the second time, she was dismissed from her job at the newspaper. After that she worked as an independent reporter for magazines. But her editors often rejected her attempts to write about subjects outside the traditional interests of w omen.
In 1966, Betty Friedan helped found NOW, the National Organization for Women. She served as its first president. She led campaigns to end unfair treatment of women seeking jobs. She wanted women to take part in social and political change. Betty Friedan led a huge demonstration(游行) in New York City for women’s rights. Demonstrations were also held in other cities.
In 1981, Betty Friedan wrote a book called “The Second Stage” about the condition of the women’s movement. Friedan wrote that the time for huge demonstrations and other such events had passed. She urged the movement to try to increase its influence on American political life. Some younger members of the movement criticized her as too conservative.
Betty Friedan died on February 4, 2006. She was considered the mother of modern women’s liberation movement. Betty Friedan once told a television reporter how she wanted to be remembered: “She helps make women feel better about being women.”According to Paragraph 2, Betty lost her job because .
| A．she was pregnant | B．she got married |
| C．her editors didn’t like her | D．she was too independent |
Betty led a huge demonstration to .
| A．fight against the government |
| B．fight for women’s rights |
| C．take part in political life |
| D．get support from the government |
The book“The Second Stage” .
| A．was popular among young women readers |
| B．thought highly of those huge demonstrations |
| C．was about the condition of the women’s movement then |
| D．decreased the movement’s influence on American political life |
Fr om the last paragraph, we know that .
| A．Betty help ed women live better |
| B．Betty wanted to be remembered forever |
| C．Betty thought it better to be a woman |
| D．the television reporter knew Betty well |
When I was fifteen, I announced to my English class that I was going to write my own books. Half the students sneered（冷笑）, the 36 nearly fell out of their chairs laughing. “Don’t be silly, only 37 can become writers, ” the English teacher said, “And you are getting a D this term. ” I was so 38 that I burst into tears.
That night I wrote a short 39 poem about broken dreams and mailed it to the newspaper. To my 40 , they published it and sent me two dollars. I was a published and 41 writer. I showed my teacher and fellow students. They 42 . “Just plain dumb luck. ” the teacher said. I tasted 43 and I’d sold the first thing I’d ever written. That was more than any of them had done and if it was just dumb luck, that was 44 with me.
During the next two years I sold dozens of 45 , letters, jokes and recipes. By the time I 46 from high school, with a C minus average, I had scrapbooks（剪贴簿） filled with my published works. I 47 mentioned my writing to my teachers, friends or my family again. They were dream killers and 48 people must choose between their friends and their dreams, they must always choose their 49 .
I had four children at the time, and the oldest was only four. I wrote what I felt. It 50 nine months, just like a pregnant woman. I mailed it without a self addressed stamped 51 and without making a copy of the manu script.
A month later I received a（n） 52 , and a request to start working on another book. The worst year I earned two dollars. In my best year I earned 36, 000 dollars. 53 years I earned between five thousand and ten thousand. No, it isn’t enough to live 54 , but it’s still more than I’d make working part time. People ask what college I 55 , what degrees I had and what qualifications I have to be a writer. The answer is： “None. ” I just write. I’m not a genius.
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Sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s highest hunger rate. But according to a new report, African farmers also have ideas that could help the world fight hunger and poverty. Danielle Nierenberg from the Worldwatch Institute in Washington spent a year visiting twenty-five countries south of the Sahara. In Nairobi, Kenya, for example, Ms Nierenberg found women farmers growing vegetables just outside their doorsteps in the Kibera settlement. She says they are finding ways to make their lives better. The women feed their families and sell their surplus. They use the money to send their children to school.
Last year, about 925,000,000 people worldwide did not get enough to eat. Half of all people in the world now live in and around cities. Researchers like Ms Nierenberg are looking increasingly at creative ideas to feed those who don’t have enough good food to eat. She says there are a lot of lessons that people in the Western world can learn from Africa. And what they are doing can certainly be done in other developing countries.
Farmers in the developing world lose between twenty and forty percent of their harvest before it ever reaches market. There are many reasons why food gets wasted. Farmers are without electricity and cold storage. They lack good seeds and fertilizer. They lack good roads. Conditions like these keep small farmers in poverty. Ms Nierenberg says more attention needs to be paid to protecting harvests. She says, “Given all that we invest in producing food in the first place, we need to devote the same amount of attention to making sure that it is not wasted.”
In Nigeria, village processing centers are helping farmers reduce their losses and earn more money. They centers process cassava, a root vegetable, into basic food products. In Uganda, the Worldwatch report says some schools are teaching children how to grow local kinds of crops. And in South Africa and Kenya the report praises the breeding(培育) of local kinds of livestock. These animals may produce less milk or meat than other breeds, but they can survive heat and drought conditions.We could learn from the new report in Para.1 that .
| A．sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s highest hunger rate |
| B．African farmers have ideas to help fighting hunger and poverty |
| C．women farmers grow vegetables in the Kibera settlement |
| D．women farmers grow vegetables to send their children to school. |
The underlined word “surplus” in Para.1 is closest in meaning to .
| A．private vegetables | B．side products |
| C．leftover vegetables | D．home-made products |
Ms Nierenberg suggests that .
| A．the women spend more money on education instead of farming |
| B．more and more African people should live in and around cities |
| C．researchers find creative ideas to feed the people suffering hunger |
| D．people in the Western world do the same as the Africans have done |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Farmers in developing world often lose some of their harvest |
| B．Small farmers in developing countries often suffer poverty. |
| C．Farmers should pay more attention to protecting their harvest |
| D．Attention should be paid to saving food instead of producing food |
The best title of this passage should be .
| A．A New Report About African Farmers Fighting Hunger |
| B．Creative Ideas to Feed Those Who Have No Enough Food |
| C．Looking to Africa for Ideas About How to Fight Hunger |
| D．Animals That Can Survive Heat and Drought Conditions |