Below is a selection about Guinness（吉尼斯） World Records.
Top 6 Unusual Guinness World Records
♦ Fastest 100 m running on all fours
The 2008 Guinness World Records Day was, according to CWR, their biggest day of record-breaking ever, I- h more than 290.000 people taking put in record attempts in 15 different countries. Kenichi Ito's record attempt was port of this special day. He is just another example of Japanese with "super powers". His "super power" is to run with great speed on all fours. Kenichi Ito ran 100 m on all fours in 18.58 seconds. The Japanese set this record at Setagaya Kuritsu Sogo Undojyo, Tokyo, in 2008.
♦ Most people inside a soap bubble
The Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana, Califomia celebrated this year the 15th anniversary of the Bubble (泡泡) Festival. A bubble's math principles and science were presented and demonstrated at the three-week-long exhibition. The intriguing Bubble Show was also part of the program. Fan Yang and Deni Yang impressed the audience with their awesome skills for bubble making. The Yang family cooperated with the Discovery Science Center to set a new Guinness World Record for mow people inside a scup bubble and they succeeded.
The family that has been working with soap bubbles for 27 years created a huge soap bubble and got 118 people inside it. The record was set or. April 4, 2011.
♦ Longest ears on a dog
A bloodhound from Illinois has the longest ears ever measured a dog. The right ear is 13.75 inches long and the left one 13.5 inches. The dog named Tigger earned this title in 2004 and is owned by Christina and Bryan Flessner.
Mr. Jeffries is the previous record holder of this title. Each of his ears measured approximately 11. 5 inches long. His grandfather used to hold this amazing world record, but when he died Mr.Jeffries look over.
♦ Most living generations
Did you ever wonder what is the Guinness World Record for most living generation in one family? Seven is the answer.
The ultimate authority on record-breaking mentions on the website that the youngest great-great- great-great grandparent of this family was Augusta Bung "aged 109 years 97 days, followed by her daughter aged 89, her granddaughter aged 70, her great grand-daughter aged 52, her great-great grand-daughter aged 33 and her great-great-great granddaughter aged 15 on the birth of her great-great-great-great grandson on January 21, 1989".
♦ Most T shirts worn at once
Believe it or not, there is a record also for this category. Krunoslav Budiseli set a new world record on May 22, 2010 for wearing 245 T-shirts at the same time. The nun from Croatia was officially recognized as the new record bolder by Guinness World Records after he managed to put on 245 different T-shirts in 1ess than two hours.The T-shirts weighted 68 KG and Budiseli said he began struggling around T-shirt No. 120. He dethroned the Swedish Guinness record holder who wore 238 T-shirts.
♦Heaviest pumpkin
Guinness World Records confirmed on October 9. 2010 that a gigantic pumpkin （南瓜） grown in Wisconcin was officially the world's heaviest. It weighed 1,810 pounds 8 ounces and was unveiled by Chris Stevens at the Stillwater Harvest Festival in Minnesota. Stevens' pumpkin was 85 pounds Javier than the previous re I, another huge pumpkin grown in Ohio. The proud farmer said his secret is a precise of rain, cow mature, good soil, sea grass and fish emulsion. Some of the world's heaviest pumpkins, including the record bolder, were on public display at the Bronx Botanical Gardens in New Yost for a dozen days.
| 1． |
Why is Kenichi Ito described «s a man with a "super power"?
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| 2． |
Jeffries is the name of.
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| 3． |
How many T-shirts had Krunoslav Budiseli put on before he felt it difficult to go on?
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| 4． |
According to the given information. which Guinness World Record was most recently set?
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A new study has found that the best way to make yourself feel happier is to think of something good that happened to you the day before.
Volunteers who were asked to remember a pleasant event from past 24 hours began to feel happier right away．Other activities such as saying “Thank you” and smiling also made volunteers feel happier, but not as much.
Professor Richard Wiseman of Hertfordshire University planned the study．He got 26,000 people to go online to try out a few different activities to make them feel happier．They were told to be nice, remember a pleasant event from the day before, give thanks or smile for 15 seconds twice a day．The volunteers did these activities for one week.
The result showed that thinking about one good thing that had happened the day before worked the best for making people happier.（146 words）The text may probably be taken from _____.
| A．a personal anecdote(轶事) | B．sports news |
| C．a history novel | D．brief news |
Volunteers who _____ began to feel happier right away.
| A．thought of something good that happened the day before |
| B．were asked to remember a pleasant event from the past 24 hours |
| C．did other activities like saying “thank you” and smiling |
| D．went online to try out a few different activities |
From the text we know that Richard Wiseman is a(an) _____.
| A．worker | B．artist | C．professor | D．director |
The best title may probably be _____.
| A．Thinking about yesterday’s happiness to be happy today |
| B．Making a study to make people happier and younger |
| C．Letting out a secret to live a longer life |
| D．Doing experiments to make people happier |
Our spiritual intelligence quotient （精神智商）, or SQ, helps us understand ourselves, and live fuller, happier lives．
Though we're all born with SQ, most of us don’t even realize that we have it．Fortunately, you don't have to sign up for classes to learn how to improve your SQ．Here are some simple steps that can lead you to this new level of understanding．
Sit Quietly．The process of developing spiritual intelligence begins with solitude （独处） and silence．To tune in to your spirit, you have to turn down the volume （强度） in your busy, noisy, complicated life and force yourself to do nothing at all．Start small by creating islands for silence in your day．In the car, instead of listening to the music, use the time to think．At work, shut the door to your office between meetings, take a few breaths and let them out very, very slowly．Enjoy the stillness in your home after the kids are finally in bed．
Step Outside． For many people, nature sets their spirit free．Go outside to watch a beautiful sunset．If you are walking with the dog, take the time to admire flower in bloom; follow the light of a bird and watch clouds float overhead．
Ask Questions of Yourself．Ask open-ended questions, such as "What am I feeling? What are my choices? Where am I heading?"
But don't expect an answer to arrive through some supernatural form of e-mail．"Rarely do I get an immediate answer to my question," says Reverend Joan Carter, a Presbyterian minister in Sausalito, California．“But later that day I suddenly find myself thinking about a problem in a perspective（角度） I never considered before．”
Trust Your Spirit．While most of us rely on gut（本能的） feeling to realize danger, spiritual intelligence pushes us, not away from, but towards some action that will lead to a greater good．The passage is mainly about．
| A．what your SQ is and in what way it can benefit our life |
| B．what your SQ is and in what way it can be improved |
| C．the relationship between your SQ and your life |
| D．advantages and disadvantages of SQ |
The underlined phrase "to tune in to your spirit" in the third paragraph probably means to _____．
| A．get your spirit relaxed | B．keep up your spirit |
| C．keep seated quietly | D．change your spirit |
From the passage, we can know that the most important thing to improve your SQ is．
| A．a peaceful mind | B．deep thought |
| C．spare time and hobbies | D．good spirits |
According to the passage, which of the following is True?
| A．Not everyone has SQ． |
| B．You have to go to classes to learn how to improve your SQ． |
| C．SQ leads us to take wrong actions． |
| D．SQ can benefit our life． |
Section One
The city is an accumulation of human civilization．Just as the American social philosopher（哲学家） Lewis Mumford put it, it is a special system which, fine and compact, has been designed to preserve the fruits of human civilization．Many Western languages have developed their versions of the term “civilization” from the same Latin（拉丁语的） word “civitas”（meaning “city”）, and it is by no means a coincidence．The city has played a significant role in the perfection of order in human society．
Section Two
The emblem, showing the image of three people ― you, me, him/her holding hands together, symbolizes the big family of mankind．Inspired by the shape of the Chinese character “世” （meaning the world）, the design conveys the organizers' wish to host an Expo which is of global scale and which displays the various urban cultures of the world．
Section Three
Created from the inspiration of Chinese character “人”, the design roots deeply in Chinese culture．It tells the world the eternal core（永恒的核心） and theme of Shanghai World Expo will be always human．The mascot “Haibao” will become the messenger for the theme of World Expo 2010 Shanghai China “Better City, Better Life”．
The basic structure of the Chinese character “人” in which each stroke（一笔，一划） supports each other also shows the concept that the beautiful life should depends on mutual-help．If the human are willing to support one another, the harmony among human, nature, and society will be available．Such an urban life will be nice．
Haibao’s confident smile is expressing his sincere greeting from China ― “World Expo 2010 Shanghai China welcomes you!”Section One mainly tells us about ______．
| A．the part cities play in human civilization |
| B．the development of the word “city” |
| C．why the Expo is held in Shanghai |
| D．where human civilization originated |
The underlined word “it” in Section One refers to ______．
| A．the civilization | B．the philosopher | C．the word | D．the city |
Which correctly matches the sections with the pictures described in the passage?
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Dieters are often advised to stop drinking alcohol to avoid the extra calories lurking in a glass of wine or a favorite cocktail．But new research suggests that women who regularly consume moderate（适度的） amounts of alcohol are less likely to gain weight than nondrinkers and are at lower risk for obesity （fatness）．
The findings, reported this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, are based on a study of 19,220 United States women aged 30 to 40 who fall into the “normal weight” based on their body mass index．Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston tracked the women’s drinking habits over 13 years．About 60 percent of the women were light or regular drinkers, while about 40 percent reported drinking no alcohol．
Over the course of the study, 41 percent of the women became overweight．Although alcohol is packed with calories, the nondrinkers in the study actually gained more weight over time: nine pounds, on average, compared with an average gain of about three pounds among regular moderate drinkers．The risk of becoming overweight was almost 30 percent lower for women who consumed one or two alcohol drinks a day, compared with nondrinkers．
The findings are certain to be confusing for women who continue to receive conflicting messages about the health benefits and risks of alcohol．Although moderate drinking is associated with better heart health, regular drinking also increases breast cancer risk．
The trend toward less weight gain among drinkers doesn’t appear to hold true for men．A 2003 study of British men showed that regular drinkers gained more weight than nondrinkers．Studies suggest that drinking alcohol has different effects on eating habits among men and women．Men typically add alcohol to their daily caloric intake, whereas women are more likely to substitute（替代）alcohol for food．In addition, there may be differences in how men and women metabolize（代谢）alcohol．Metabolic studies show that after men drink alcohol, they experience little if any metabolic change．But alcohol appears to slightly speed up a woman’s metabolism．
The findings don’t mean women should rush to drink alcohol to lose weight．Other research shows that once a person is already overweight, her alcohol metabolism is more efficient, and so an overweight woman may gain more weight from alcohol than a lean（瘦的） woman．The data do, however, suggest that for many women facing weight problems, the extra calories are probably not coming from alcoholic drinks．According to the study, which of the following regular drinker is less likely to gain weight than nondrinkers?
A B C DThat men regular drinkers gained more weight than women regular drinkers is due to the following except ______．
| A．women are more likely to substitute alcohol for food． |
| B．men drink alcohol much faster than women． |
| C．men and women metabolize alcohol differently． |
| D．men have different effects on eating habits with women． |
The underlined word “whereas” may probably mean _______．
| A．so | B．in order that | C．but | D．and then |
What can a dieter probably do before reading this passage?
| A．Rush to drink alcohol to lose weight |
| B．Add alcohol to his or her daily caloric intake． |
| C．Face the weight problems alone． |
| D．Try to stop drinking any alcohol or wine． |
The Writers' Strike：Making the Best of the Worst
By now you are probably feeling the effects of the TV writers’ strike---the decision of television writers to stop working．With few new TV shows, I present to you a list of shows available on DVD worth your viewing time to keep you going during this painful period．
Arrested Development is one of the funniest and most clever shows ever to have appeared on network TV．With a most perfect cast（全体演员）, the show sets out to cover the daily happenings of the Bluth family, a group of selfish staff who manage to still put family first．
For more comedy goodness, I recommend one of the sharpest comedies to have ever broadcast, 30 Rock．Starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, two stars with impressive comic timing, the show gives you a glimpse into the making of a sketch show （幽默短剧）,similar to Saturday Nigth Live, from the funny writers to the self-centered cast all the way up to the boss．
If you are looking for something more serious, or perhaps Friday Night lights might be more to your liking．If you are a fan of football, this show is probably for you．If you are a fan of great drama, both soapy and serious, this show is probably for you, If you are a fan of good-looking people, this show is definitely for you ．
If those shows were not enough for you, might I recommend a show with a more heart-pounding excitement? The Amazing Race, after twelve seasons, still remains one of the most exciting shows on TV．Teams of two travel the globe with little to no money and experience far-out adventures in an attempt to remain the last team standing．If you are fond of soapy TV shows, you will probably choose to watch．
| A．Friday Night Lights | B．30 Rock |
| C．the Amazing Race | D．Saturday Night Live |
From the DVD shows listed above, we can learn that ．
| A．two teams won the amazing race |
| B．football fans enjoy the Amazing Race |
| C．the Bluths care about their family though selfish |
| D．30 Rock and Saturday Night Live have nothing in common |
The author writes the passage to tell us that．
| A．the effects of the TV writers’ strike are great |
| B．the strike puts TV shows in the worst situation |
| C．watching DVD is a good choice during the strike |
| D．we should choose DVD shows according to our tastes |
The passage is most probably taken from．
| A．a book review | B．a newspaper |
| C．a film poster | D．a DVD menu |