American author Mark Twain once noted that “life would be surely happier if we could only be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18.” Twain’s words were only one of many complaints about aging. The ancient Greek poet Homer called old age “hateful”, and William Shakespeare termed it “terrible winter”.
Alexander the Great, who conquered most of the known world before he died around 323 B.C., may have been looking for a river that healed the ravages of age. During the 12th century A.D., a king called Prester John ruled a land that had a river of gold and a fountain of youth.
But the name linked most closely to the search for a fountain of youth is 16th-century Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon. He thought it would be found in Florida. In St. Augustine, the oldest city in the U.S., there’s a tourist attraction. It is said to be the fountain of youth that Ponce de Leon discovered soon after he arrived in what is now Florida in 1513. However, elderly visitors who drink the spring’s water don’t turn into teenagers.
But the tale of the search for a fountain of youth is so appealing(有吸引力的) that it survives anyway, says Ryan K. Smith, a professor of history. “People are more attracted by the story of looking and not finding than they are by the idea that the fountain might be out there somewhere.”
Still, a few grains of truth have helped to support the story. Kathleen Deagan, a professor of archaeology, says a graveyard and the remains of a Spanish mission dating back to St. Augustine’s founding in 1565 have been discovered near the so-called fountain of youth. Michelle Reyna, a spokesperson for the Fountain of Youth Arc
haeological Park in St. Augustine, says the fountain has been a tourist attraction since at least 1901 and may have been attracting visitors since 1860. According to the passage, who searched for a fountain of youth?
| A．Ponce de Leon | B．William Shakespeare. | C．Kathleen Deagan | D．Michelle Reyna |
What does the underlined word “ravages” in the second paragraph probably mean?
| A．Growth. | B．Limits. | C．Damages. | D．Benefits. |
What is the attitude of people towards the fountain of youth?
| A．People find much pleasure in looking for it. |
| B．People believe the existence of it somewhere. |
| C．People have no interest in searching for it. |
| D．People consider the idea of the fountain of youth absurd(荒谬的). |
The passage mainly tells us _____.
| A．how the fountain of youth came into being |
| B．why some famous people hate becoming old |
| C．how to remain young forever |
| D．whether the fountain of youth exists |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The underlined words “the story” refers to Alexander the Great ruling a land that had a river of gold and a fountain of youth. |
| B．Augustine, which is the oldest city in the U.S, lies in Florida. |
| C．Some elderly visitors find themselves younger after drinking the water from the fountain of youth. |
| D．Kathleen Deagan is the spokesperson for the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park. |
I know what you’re thinking : pizza（比萨饼）? For breakfast? But the truth is that you can have last night’s leftovers in the a. m. if you want to I know lots of women who skip breakfast（不吃早餐）, and they have a ton of different excuses for doing it . Some say they don’t have time. others think they ’re “saving” calories（卡路里）, still others just don’t like breakfast food.
But the bottom line is that eating in the morning is very important when you’re trying to lose weight. “Eating just about anything from 300 to 400 calories would be better than nothing at all,” says Katherine Brooking , R , D , who developed the super-easy eating plan for this year’s “SELF CHALLENGE”. And even pizza can be healthy if it’s loaded with vegetables, and you stick to one small piece.
Breakfast is one meal I never miss, and the same goes for most weight loss success stories. Research shows that eating breakfast keeps you from overeating later in the day. Researchers at the University of Southem California found that breakfast skippers have a bigger chance of gaining weight than those who regularly have a morning meal.
So eat something in the morning, anything. I know plenty of friends who end up having no breakfast altogether, and have just coffee or orange juice. I say, try heating up last night’s leftovers-it may sound crazy, but if it works for you, do it! I find if I tell myself, “You can always eat it tomorrow,” I put away the leftovers instead of eating more that night. Try it…you may save yourself some pre-bedtime calories. And watch your body gain the fat-burning effects.The word “leftovers” in Paragraph 1 probably means.
| A．food remaining after a meal | B．things left undone |
| C．meals made of vegetables | D．pizza topped with fruit |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．Working women usually have breakfast in a hurry |
| B．Many people have wrong ideas about breakfast |
| C．There are some easy ways of cooking a meal |
| D．Eating vegetables helps save energy. |
According to the last paragraph, it is important to.
| A．eat something for breakfast | B．be careful about what you eat |
| C．heat up food before eating it | D．eat calorie-controlled food |
The text is written mainly for those.
| A．who go to work early | B．who want to lose weight |
| C．who stay up late | D．who eat before sleep |
Young people and older people do not always agree with each other. They sometimes have different ideas about living, working and playing. But in one special program in New York State, adults and teenagers live together in a friendly way.
Each summer 200 teenagers and 50 adults live together for eight weeks as members of a special work group. Everyone works several hours each day. They do so not just to keep busy but to find meaning and enjoyment in work. Some teenagers work in the woods or on the farms near the village. Some learn to make things like tables and chairs and to build houses. The adults teach them these skills.
There are several free ho urs each day. Weekends are free, too. During the free hours some of the teenagers learn photo-taking or painting. Others sit around and talk or sing. Each teenager chooses his own way to spend his free time.
When people live together, rules are necessary. In this program, the teenagers and the adults make the rules together. If someone breaks a rule, the problem goes before the whole group. They talk about it and ask, “Why did it happen? What should we do about it?”
One of the teenagers has this to say about the experience, “You stop thinking only about yourself. You learn how to think about the group.”In one special program in New York, young and older people.
| A．are friendly to each other |
| B．teach each other new ways of building houses |
| C．live together but do not work together |
| D．spend eight weeks together, working as farmers |
Living together,.
| A．the teenagers have to obey the rules the adults make |
| B．the members don’t have to obey the rules |
| C．the members are not allowed to break the rules they make together |
| D．the members have no free time except on weekends |
The last paragraph shows that the tee nager thinks his experience in the program is.
| A．disappointing | B．helpful | C．tiring | D．unpleasant |
The best title for the passage is.
| A．Rules of Living Together | B．Different Ideas about Living |
| C．Teenagers and Adults Together | D．Life in New York State |
When I was a kid, I always used to wonder how in the world my father work outside in the winter without a coat. It could be minus 20 degrees centigrade and there’d be Dad, removing snow, or perhaps chopping some wood --- his coat thrown aside--- wearing a shirt , a cap, and a pair of gloves.
“Aren’t you cold, Dad?” I’d ask. “No,” Dad would reply. “I’m not cold--- working too hard to be cold.”
Many times I wondered whether my father was an extremely tough man, or whether he was foolish.
One time when I was quite young, perhaps five or so, I went ice fishing with Dad. It was a bright, clear day—and bitterly cold.
After we’d been out on the ice for a little while, my feet started getting cold.
“Daddy, my feet are cold.” I said.
“Yeah, it’s cold out here today,” he replied.
“Tell you what,” he said. “Walk around. Make some circles in the snow. See how many different patterns you can make. That will get your feet warm.”
Now, I was just a little girl at the time but I remember thinking, “How in the world will walking around in the snow make my feet warm? Dad must be out of mind.
But he was my father, after all. I made circles in the snow. I made squares. Pretty soon I was having so much fun making patterns in the snow. I forgot about my feet being cold.
Now, all these years later, I know, too, from personal experience how my father was able to take his coat off and work outside in the winter wearing just a shirt, a cap and gloves. Because I do it, too. “Aren’t you cold?” my husband asked one winter day. “No,” I replied. “I’m not cold—working too hard to be cold.”
I hope my husband has decided I’m both tough and smart. But I guess quite a bit of the time he thinks I’m foolish.
Wherever Dad is in that great big farm in the sky—I’m sure he can’t help but smile whenever I take my coat off while I’m working outside in the winter.When the author’s feet felt cold, her father advised her to.
| A．go home alone first | B．keep walking in the snow |
| C．draw pictures in the snow | D．light a fire on the ice |
Hearing her father’s advice, the author thought her father.
| A．forgettable | B．warm-hearted | C．crazy | D．cruel |
What might the author’s husband think of her?
| A．Tough | B．Smart | C．Brave | D．Foolish |
The author’s purpose of writing this passage is to.
| A．remember her tough and smart father |
| B．show how her father cared about her |
| C．describe memories of her childhood |
| D．explain why her father loved her so much |
Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home. You should not be upset if your English friends don't invite you home. It doesn't mean they don't like you! Dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 p.m., And end at about 11. Ask your hosts what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine as gift. Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks. Do you want to be extra polite? Say how much you like the room, or the pictures on the wall. But remember---- it's not polite to ask how much things cost. In many families, the husband sits at one end of the table and the wife sits at the other end. They eat with their guests.
You'll probably start meal with soup or something small, and then you have meat of fish with vegetables, and then desert, followed by coffee. It's polite to finish everything on your plate and have more if you want it. Did you enjoy the evening? Call your host and hostess the next day, or write them a short "thank you" letter. British and American people like to say "thank you, thank you, thank you" all the time!You're not invited to the evening by a friend, which.
| A．means you are not welcome f or some bad manners |
| B．means he or she doesn't like you for some unknown reasons |
| C．means you should pay more visits to them and bring more gifts |
| D．doesn't mean he or she doesn't like you |
You should never.
| A．say you like the host's house very much |
| B．ask the host the price of the things in the house |
| C．have drinks and some snacks before the evening |
| D．sit beside the host or hostess when having dinner |
As a guest, you should finish everything to show.
| A．you are healthy | B．you rea lly like the food |
| C．you like cooking | D．you have a good appetite.（胃口） |
We don’t plan to cry, but it just happens. In fact when we feel sad or angry, a good cry is almost impossible to resist. But if you didn’t know what crying was, you’d have to wonder why some strong feelings started water streaming from people’s eyes and why they seemed to feel better afterwards.
Now a US researcher had found there may be more in crying than we think. William H. Frey II, author of “Crying: The Mystery of Tears,” believes it may really be one of the body’s clever self-repair mechanisms. Crying may be a way of getting rid of the by-products of stress, he says.
He has found that tears contain some chemicals which can cause stress. One of these is the hormone prolactin (激素), which is set free when one is feeling stressed. Since women have more of this than men, that might explain why they usually cry more, he suggests.
Unsurprisingly, Dr Frey’s study seemed to prove that most people feel better after a good cry. And sex has nothing to do with it ––– the result was true for women and men. So, next time you feel like bursting into tears, go ahead. If Dr Frey is right, you’ll be doing yourself a favour.The best title of this passage would be ________.
| A．Why Do We Cry | B．Crying and Tears. |
| C．Dr Frey and Crying. | D．Tears and Chemicals |
According to the author, we feel like crying because________.
| A．crying is one of our habits |
| B．we can’t control it |
| C．crying is one of the body’s self-repair mechanisms |
| D．we can get the by-products of stress by crying |
According to the passage, men seem less likely to cry than women because_______.
| A．their bodies contain less hormone prolactin |
| B．their tears contain more chemicals |
| C．they are not so full of feelings as women |
| D．the chemicals in their tears can’t cause stress |
The author advised us________.
| A．to plan to cry very often |
| B．not to cry any more |
| C．to go outdoors without hesitation |
| D．to cry as we want to |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Good cries can make most people feel better |
| B．Only women can feel better after crying. |
| C．It is easy to understand that people feel better after a good cry. |
| D．Crying is sometimes impossible to resist. |