RecentlysomeAmericanscientists-优题课

People have smoked cigarettes for a long time now. The tobacco which is used to make cigarettes was first grown in what is now part of the United States. Christopher Columbus, who discovered America, saw the Indians smoking. Soon the dried leaves were transported to Europe . In the late 1800s, the Turks made cigarettes popular.
Cigarette smoke contains at least two harmful substances, tar and nicotine. Tar, which forms as the tobacco burns, damages the lungs and therefore affects breathing. Nicotine, which is found in the leaves, causes the heart to beat faster and increases the breathing rate. Nicotine in large can kill a person by stopping a person’s breathing muscles. Smokers usually take in small amounts that the body can quickly break down.
Nicotine can make new smokers feel dizzy(头晕) or sick to their stomachs. The heart rate for young smokers increases 2 to 3 beats per minute. Nicotine also lowers skin temperature and reduces blood flow in the legs and feet. It plays an important role in increasing smokers’ risk of heart disease and stroke.
Smoking cigarettes is dangerous. Cigarette smoking was the cause of lung cancer and several other deadly diseases.
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Tobacco first appeared in_________.

A．Asia	B．Africa
C．Europe	D．America

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What is the main purpose of the first paragraph?

A．To tell us the bad effects caused by smoking cigarettes

B．To introduce the history of smoking

C．To let us know what the cigarettes are made from

D．To tell the readers that Columbus found the Indians smoking

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._________doesn’t make one’s heart beat as usual.

A．Tar	B．Nicotine
C．Lung disease	D．Leave

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The following effects are caused by Nicotine EXCEPT that________.

A．It can make new smokers feel dizzy or sick to their stomachs

B．It lowers skin temperature

C．It causes the heart to beat less fast

D．Nicotine will probably kill a person if a smoker takes in too much of it.

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What’s the main idea of this passage?

A．Where did cigarettes come from?

B．The effect of smoking on your body.

C．How to smoke is healthy?

D．Who is the first smoker?

James Stallman Rockefeller, the oldest-known U．S．Olympic medal winner and the former head of the bank that became Citigroup, died Tuesday．He was 102．Records of the U．S．Olympic Committee show that Rockefeller was the oldest American medal winner．He was the captain of Yale University's eight-man rowing team with coxswain that won gold at the 1924 Paris Olympics - beating the Canadian team by less than 16 seconds．The oars from the winning race and the gold medal were prominently displayed in Rockefeller's house．"I think he was really proud of that - probably more than the bank career," said his grandson.
Rockefeller suffered a stroke on Thursday, said his grandson, who lived with him at his Greenwich home for two years, attributed his long life to a regimented（严密组织的） lifestyle: breakfast at eight a．m．, lunch at 1 p．m．, cocktails at 6 p．m．and dinner promptly at 7 p.m.. He liked plain food, without sauces or cheese, and plenty of fresh vegetables, including those grown in the garden of his estate．Rockefeller was in good health until shortly before he died．He drove his car up until last year and would review documents from the various charities and businesses he helped lead．
Rockefeller, born on June 8, 1902, was a grandson of William Rockefeller, who founded Standard Oil with his brother, John D．Rockefeller．He graduated from Yale in 1924 and served in the Airborne Command during World War II．He started at the bank, and then called the National City Bank, in 1930, following his uncle and grandfather, who were leaders of the bank． He became president in 1952, chairman in 1959 and retired in 1967．In 1955, under Rockefeller's leadership, the bank merged with the First National Bank of New York to form Citigroup．Rockefeller also was a director of numerous companies, including Pan American Airways, Northern Pacific Railroad, NCR and Monsanto, and served on the boards of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the American Museum of Natural History．
Rockefeller and his wife．Nancy Carnegie Rockefeller, had four children．His wife died in 1994．
Rockefeller lost his wife when he was_______．

A．at the age of 91	B．in his eighties
C．in his early nineties	D．in his 1994

We can learn from the passage that _______．

A．the American rowing team beat the Canadian team in less than 16 seconds in 1924．

B．Rockefeller was the first American medal winner．

C．James Stallman Rockefeller founded the National City Bank and was the first president．

D．His grandson thought Rockefeller had long life because of a regimented lifestyle．

What we can infer from the passage is that ______．

A．James Stallman Rockefeller is a great Olympic medal winner．

B．James Stallman Rockefeller was in good health until he died．

C．James Stallman Rockefeller was very active in American society．

D．James Stallman Rockefeller was the only grandson of William Rockefeller．

On the day Apple debuted the often-delayed white-colored iPhone 4, the company's marketing department gave a nod to the product's troubled history．
"Finally．" read the big headline Thursday above a picture of the white phone on the homepage of Apple．com．
The white model was supposed to ship alongside the black one at the iPhone 4's launch（推出） last June．But design and manufacturing complications delayed the process by 10 months, catching Apple off guard, executives say．
As CNN reported last month, earlier test models of the white iPhone 4 produced unclear photos, especially when the flash（闪光灯） was used．Its whiteness confused the proximity sensor （距离传感器） , which detects when the phone is held next to someone's head and turns off the touch screen to save battery life．
These problems weren't present in older iPhones that came in white because they didn't have flash photography; the proximity sensor was unaffected because the front side of previous models was black．
"We thought we were there a year ago, or less than that, when we launched the iPhone 4, and we weren't," Philip Schiller, Apple's chief marketing executive, said in an interview．"It's not as simple as making something white．There's a lot more that goes into both the material science of it —how it holds up over time…but also in how it all works with the sensors．"
Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White predicts that the white model could help drive sales of Apple's phones．He says Apple could sell 1 million to 1．5 million every three months until the next iPhone model is unveiled, which is expected to be this fall．
Forty-five people were lined up at Apple's flagship New York store Thursday morning to buy white iPhones, according to a CNN Money report．
The reason why white-colored iPhone 4 was delayed by 10 months is that _______．

A．it's always sold out due to its popularity

B．it met some problems concerning design and manufacture

C．it lacked white manufacturing materials

D．its proximity sensor can't save battery life

According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．There are multi-colored models of iPhone 4．

B．The same design problems were also found in older white iPhones．

C．IPhone4 will be launched this fall．

D．Originally designers thought they could solve the problems before iPhone 4 was launched．

What would be the best title for this passage?

A．Why the White iPhone 4 Took So Long

B．The History of iPhone 4

C．The Attraction of White

iPhone 4

D．The Design and Manufacture of iPhone 4

A characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-made man —the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts, usually beginning by working with his hands．While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect m the community than the common laborer or even the skilled factory worker, he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a farmer or laborer of some sort．
This attitude toward manual （体力的） labor is now still seen in many aspects of American life．One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously （豪华地） furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself, wil2 serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward, furthermore the dinner will not consist merely of something quickly and easily assembled from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the nearby bakery．On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes．A professional man may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the house．His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing．The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education．
From paragraph 1, we can know that in America _____．
A．people tend to have a high opinion of the self-made man
B．people can always rise to the top through their own efforts
C．college professors win great respect from common workers
C．college professors feel it painful to mention their fathers as labors．
According to the passage, the hostess cooks dinner herself mainly because ______．

A．servants in American are hard to get

B．she takes pride in what she can do herself

C．she can hardly afford servants

D．It is easy to prepare a meal with canned food

The expression " wait on table" in the second paragraph means "______”．

A．wait for others on a table	B．keep accounts in a restaurant
C．wait to lay the table	D．serve customers in a restaurant

How does the author support his opinion?

A．By analyzing causes and effects	B．By giving examples
C．By reasoning and concluding	D．By telling stories

St James’s Palace has announced that while Miss Middleton will wear a wedding ring．Prince William has chosen not to．
Rings are typically exchanged by couples during their wedding to represent commitment （承诺）to each other．Does it matter if husbands don’t wear a wedding ring?
Prince William’s father wears one, his grandfather doesn’t and their decisions weren’t seen as strange．But reactions to Prince William’s decision show that wedding rings for husbands are now the norm．One young man, who spoke to the BBC, thinks William is setting a bad example, saying: "I think it’s disgraceful （不光彩的）．It’s a tradition．You have to wear a ring really．And for someone of the royal family to do that, it’s not right．"
Broadly speaking, modem husbands tend to wear their wedding rings as a symbol of loyalty and faithfulness．So not wearing one can seem unusual or even dishonest to some, although men haven’t always worn them．
The wearing of wedding rings has been the done thing for centuries among wives but only became common practice among husbands during World War II．Men fighting overseas usually wore them as a reminder of wives and families back home．
Wearing rings is a safety issue（问题） for men in certain manual jobs．But how does William explain his decision? A royal officer has said he "isn’t one for jewelry"．
According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．There is going to be a royal exhibition of jewelry．

B．Wearing rings among husbands and wives is tradition at all times．

C．All the male members of British royalty don’t wear wedding rings．

D．Wearing rings is a safety guarantee for some manual jobs．

What is the author’s attitude towards Prince William’s decision?

A．Subjective．

B．Objective．

C．Approving．

D．Disappointed．

By saying "he isn’t one for jewelry", the royal officers meant that _____．

A．Prince William is a person who doesn’t like wearing jewelry．

B．Prince William isn’t a person who is crazy about collecting jewelry．

C．Prince William considers jewelry penniless．

D．Prince William doesn’t wear a wedding ring for safety．

What would be the best title for this passage?

A．To Wear Wedding Rings or Not

B．Complaint about British Royal Disgraceful Behavior]

C．The History of Wearing Wedding Rings

D．No Ring for Wills