Have you ever walked outside thinking it was one temperature but quickly discovered it felt colder? That is because of the “wind chill” effect.
Wind chill is how cold people and animals feel when they are outside, not the actual temperature on the thermometer(温度计). It is based on how quickly your body loses heat when it is exposed to wind and cold. When the wind is strong, your body quickly loses heat, making the temperature of your skin drop.
When scientists first started calculating wind chill, they used research conducted in 1945 by explorers to Antarctica who measured how quickly water froze outside.
But water freezes faster than exposed skin, so the wind chill index based on that data wasn’t accurate.
In 2001, the US government began to measure wind chill more precisely by testing how quickly people’s skin froze.
Twelve volunteers were placed in a chilled wind tunnel. Equipment was stuck to their faces to measure the heat flow from their cheeks, forehead, nose and chin while they walked three miles per hour on a treadmill(跑步机).
The experiment revealed how quickly exposed skin can be damaged, particularly unprotected areas like your fingers, toes, the tip of your nose and your ear lobes. In fact, 40 percent of your body heat can be lost through your head! Signs you might have frostbite(冻疮) are when the skin turns white or pale and you lose feeling in that area.
The information collected from the volunteers helped scientists work out the math to compute wind chill. It involves wind speed and air temperature.
If, for example, the temperature outside is zero degrees Fahrenheit and the wind is blowing at 15 miles per hour, the wind chill is calculated at 19 degrees below zero. At that wind chill temperature, exposed skin can freeze in 30 minutes.
You can find a calculation table at www.nws.noaa.gov/om/windchill/index.shtml.
Experts advise in cold weather that you wear loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing, worn on top of each other. Air caught between the clothes will keep you warm. The best cold-weather coats have head coverings made of woven material that keep out water. So next time the temperature drops and you want to play outside, listen to your parents when they tell you to wrap up warm! According to the text, wind chill _______.
| A．means how fast exposed skin freezes |
| B．doesn’t affect your head as much as other body parts |
| C．changes according to the temperature on the thermometer |
| D．changes from person to person depending on their health |
When might a person have frostbite according to the passage?
| A．When his skin turns red and he loses feeling in that area. |
| B．When he is running faster and he is losing strength quickly. |
| C．When his face is exposed and quickly loses heat even indoors. |
| D．When his skin turns pale and he has no feeling in that area. |
What factors influence wind chill?
| A．A person’s body temperature and will speed. |
| B．Wind speed and a person’s strength. |
| C．Air temperature and wind speed. |
| D．The location and air temperature. |
What can we conclude from the passage?
| A．It was in 1945 that scientists first began to calculate wind chill. |
| B．Compared with water, people’s exposed skin freezes more slowly. |
| C．The wind chill index based on Antarctica data is considered a standard. |
| D．With the development of technology, many previous researches have been proven wrong. |
Our children grew up on peanut butter and jelly (果冻) sandwiches. Even my husband and I sometimes ate one secretly at late night with a glass of milk. It was too delicious and tasty. My mother-in-law was the jelly maker in this family. The jelly was made of either grape or blackberry. The only job I did to the jelly making was to save baby food jars (罐子), which my mother-in-law would fill with the tasty gel (凝胶体), pack them up and send back to our home. For the past 22 years of my married life, whenever I wanted to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for ourselves, all I had to do was reach for one of those little jars of jelly. It was always there.
This past December, my mother-in-law passed away. Among the things in the house to be divided by her children were the remaining canned goods in the pantry (食品储藏室). When my husband brought his jars home, we carefully put them away in our pantry.
The other day I reached in there to get jelly for a quick sandwich, and there it was. Sitting all alone on the far side of the shelf was a small jar of grape jelly. As I picked up the jar, I suddenly realized something that I had failed to see earlier-this was the last jar we would ever have from my mother-in-law. Although she had been dead for nearly a year, so much of her had remained with us. Our children had never known a day without their grandmother’s jelly. It seems like such a small thing, and most days it was something that was ignored. But today it seemed a great treasure.
No longer was it just a jar of jelly. It was the end of a family tradition. I believed that as long as it was there, a part of my mother-in-law would always live on.Why did the couple eat the jelly secretly at late night?
| A．Because it was very delicious and nice. |
| B．Because it was only made for children. |
| C．Because it was made by mother-in-law. |
| D．Because it was good to health. |
What can we know about the author in making jelly?
| A．She could make baby food by herself. |
| B．She could only collect baby food jars. |
| C．She helped her mother fill the jars with the tasty gel. |
| D．She sent the jelly jars home with her husband. |
What did the mother-in-law leave to the author?
| A．The skills to make jelly. |
| B．Some baby food in the house. |
| C．Some canned jars filled with jelly. |
| D．A lot of money. |
What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．a quick sandwich | B．the shelf |
| C．grape | D．jelly |
What’s the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
| A．To miss her mother-in-law. |
| B．To introduce the skills of making jelly. |
| C．To remember the family tradition. |
| D．To warn people to be nice to the old. |
Born with easy-broken bone disease, Zhang Yonghong is only half a meter tall and must use a wheelchair. His thin arms and legs can hardly support any weight, and he is unable to take care of himself. However, his hands are able to produce fine paper-cuts, which will free his daughter from the same disease.
To support himself, he learned how to make paper-cut art from his mother. He sold his artwork and taught his techniques in Xi’an for eight years before discovering his young daughter inherited the disease from him, leading Zhang to move his family to Beijing for his daughter’s better treatment five years ago.
The daughter’s treatment costs about 30,000 yuan a year. The family’s savings was used up in two years, and Zhang was forced to start to sell his work in underground passages with his healthy wife, who soon left him because of the hard life.
With a little help from government, he was lucky to meet some kindhearted people in Beijing. A Hong Kong businessman gave 60,000 yuan to him last year to treat the girl and start a small shop on Qiangulouyuan, which is known as a famous hutong that attracts lots of tourists over holidays. Zhang Rui, a university graduate, spends most of her time helping Zhang sell the paper-cuts, translating the stories of the paper-cuts into English and selling the works on the roadside of Nanluoguxiang.
However, the artist still lives beyond his income (收入) and struggles to continue his small business. “Selling paper-cuts is his only source of income. Without this, he can’t support the family and treat his daughter,” says Zhang Rui, who hopes more people will help Zhang.Why did Zhang grow only half a meter tall?
| A．His easy-broken bone disease affected him. |
| B．His parents also had the same disease. |
| C．His poor family couldn’t provide him with rich food. |
| D．An unexpected accident caused him to grow slowly. |
What does the underlined word “inherited” probably mean in Paragraph 2?
| A．get around | B．take away |
| C．pass on | D．go over |
Why did his wife leave him?
| A．Because she was afraid of losing the daughter. |
| B．Because she was tired of him and her children. |
| C．Because she lost hope for her daughter. |
| D．Because the life was too hard for them. |
With the help of a Hong Kong businessman, Zhang Yonghong _________.
| A．could support the daily life of his family |
| B．ran a shop of his own in Beijing |
| C．hired a girl to sell his artworks |
| D．could start a translation room |
What can we conclude from the last paragraph?
| A．Zhang still needs more people to help him. |
| B．Zhang manages his business very well. |
| C．Zhang’s business needs to be developed. |
| D．Zhang needs to look for a wife to help him. |
Dear Aunt Tara,
I have a problem with my homework. We have to do it in a group. It has to be finished this Friday, but Gary, the boy in our group, has done nothing helpful. He just keeps rocking the boat.
Every time we talk about the work with him, he always says, “Don’t worry. I’ll do it later.” But he seldom does his job. And when he does, he does it the wrong way. Someone has to do it for him again. What’s worse is when Ms. Lin asks about our group, Gary always tells her that we others don’t work hard enough. I’m really mad at Gary about this. We’re in the same group. Shouldn’t we help each other to do a better job?
Kate
Dear Kate,
It is important for students to learn how to work together in a group. Maybe you should talk to Gary about the problem and tell him you all need his help. If he still doesn’t change, go talk to your teacher. I believe she can make Gary do his job.
Aunt TaraWhich of the following is true about Kate’s homework?
| A．It’s very easy. |
| B．It’s very boring. |
| C．It has to be done by herself. |
| D．It requires teamwork. |
What does “rocking the boat” most likely mean in Kate’s letter?
| A．Causing trouble. |
| B．Doing easy jobs. |
| C．Telling people what to do. |
| D．Working without thinking. |
Which of the following best describes Gary?
| A．Kind and helpful. | B．Lazy and dishonest. |
| C．Tall and strong. | D．Honest and popular. |
What do we know from Aunt Tara’s letter?
| A．Kate is the leader of Ms. Lin’s class. |
| B．Kate should let Gary know how she feels. |
| C．Gary should be put in another group. |
| D．Gary has decided to change himself. |
What’s Aunt Tara’s advice to Kate?
| A．Do the homework without Gary’s help. |
| B．Ask her teacher immediately to make Gary do his job. |
| C．Talk to Gary first and then to Ms. Lin if necessary. |
| D．Ask her teacher to give her a different kind of homework. |
At a primary school in a small town in the east of South Carolina, second-grade teachers Garneau and Lynne are convinced that separating elementary-age boys and girls produces immediate academic improvement in both genders（性别）．
David Chadwell, South Carolina’s expert of single gender education says, “Boys and girls learn, hear and respond to their surroundings differently．We can teach boys and girls based on what we now know．”
Male and female eyes are not organized in the same way, he explains．The organization of the male eye makes it sensitive to motion and direction．“Boys understand the world as objects moving through space,” he says．
The male eye is also drawn to cooler colors like silver and black．It’s no accident that boys tend to create pictures of moving objects instead of drawing the happy colorful family, like girls do in their class．
The female eye, on the other hand, is drawn to warmer colors like red, yellow and orange．To attract girls, Chadwell says, the teacher doesn’t need to move as much as in boy’s class．Using descriptive phrases and lots of colors in presentations or on the blackboard gets their attention．
Boys and girls also hear differently．“When someone speaks in a loud tone, girls understand it as yelling,” Chadwell says．“They think you’re mad and can shut down．” Girls are more sensitive to sounds．He advises girls’ teachers to watch the tone of their voices．Boys’ teachers should sound more forceful, even excited．
A boy’s nervous system causes him to be more cautious when he is standing, moving, and the room temperature is around 69 degrees Fahrenheit．Stress in boys, he says, tends to increase blood flow to their brains, a process that helps them stay focused．Girls are more focused when seated in a warmer room around 75 degrees Fahrenheit．Girls also respond to stress differently．When exposed to threat and conflict, blood goes to their guts（肠道）, leaving them feeling nervous or anxious．
These differences can be applied in the classroom, Chadwell adds．“Single gender programs are about making the best use of the learning．”What is David Chadwell’s attitude toward separating elementary-age boys and girls while learning?
| A．Supportive | B．Worried |
| C．Concerned | D．Uninterested |
To engage boy in a class, the teacher ______．
| A．must have a moving object in this hand |
| B．needs to wear clothes in warm color |
| C．has to speak politely |
| D．had better move constantly while teaching |
Which of the following shows the organization of the passage?
（ =" Paragraph" 1=" Paragraph" 2=" Paragraph" 3 …．．． =" Paragraph" 8 ）
Which of the following students is most likely to be focused?
| A．A boy sitting in a warm room |
| B．A standing boy who is faced with stress |
| C．A girl standing in a cold room |
| D．A girl who is facing a lot of pressure |
Deborah Cohen is a senior natural scientist at the Rand Corp and the author of the book A Big Fat Crisis: The Hidden Forces Behind the Obesity Epidemic and How We Can End It. According to the book, there are lots of misunderstandings of obesity.
1. If you’re obese, blame your genes.
Obesity rates have increased. Yet, between 1980 and 2000, the number of Americans who are obese has doubled—too quickly for genetic factors to be responsible.
At restaurants, a dollar puts more calories on our plates than ever before, because restaurant meals usually have more calories than what we prepare at home, so people who eat out more frequently have higher rates of obesity than those who eat out less.
2. If you’re obese, you lack self-control.
Research shows that if we are faced with too much information, we have a tendency to make poor dietary choices. Our world has become so rich in temptation that we can be led to consume too much in ways we can’t understand. Even the most vigilant(警觉的) people may not be up to the task of controlling themselves.
3. Lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables is responsible for obesity.
Although the US Department of Agriculture estimates that fewer than 5 percent of Americans live in the “food deserts”, about 65 percent of the nation’s population is overweight or obese. For most of us, obesity is not related to access to more fresh fruits and vegetables, but to the choices we make in supermarkets.
4. The problem is not that we eat too much, but that we don’t exercise.
Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign is based on the idea that if kids exercise more, childhood obesity rates will decrease. But there was no significant decrease in physical activity levels as obesity rates climbed in the 1980s and 1990s. In fact, although a drop in work-related physical activity may account for up to 100 fewer calories burned, leisure physical activity appears to have increased. The problem is that we eat too much.The author mentioned Deborah Cohen’s book in Paragraph 1 to _______.
| A．introduce the topic |
| B．draw readers’ attention |
| C．introduce the author of the book |
| D．advertise the book |
What is the relationship between obesity and the place where you eat?
| A．The less you eat out, the higher rates of obesity you have. |
| B．The less you eat at home, the lower rates of obesity you have. |
| C．The more you eat out, the higher rates of obesity you have. |
| D．The more you eat at home, the higher rates of obesity you have. |
What’s the best title of this passage?
| A．Four misunderstandings of obesity. |
| B．Four rules to help you avoid obesity. |
| C．Obesity leads to a big fat crisis. |
| D．Lacking self-control leads to obesity. |