How to Fight Winter Blue
Winter’s short days are more than cold. For many people, winter depression, the most common type of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), is as much a part of the season as hats and scarves.
Winter serious SAD sufferers may need medical treatment. Those feeling a little blue can help themselves by sticking to a healthy lifestyle.
Here are some tips:
Pace yourself. Don’t expect to do everything you normally can. Set a realistic schedule. Don’t listen to negative thinking, like blaming yourself or expecting to fail.
Get involved in activities that make you feel good or feel like you’ve achieved something. For example, play table tennis or badminton.
If you are feeling depressed, you may feel like staying away from friends. Yet this is a time when friends’ support can be helpful. Call them regularly. Remember, the more we put off calling or visiting a friend, the harder it is to rebuild a friendship.
Think clearly about what’s wrong or right. Instead of giving in to vague feelings of sadness, look at your problems objectively. Break down problems into specific issues that you can work on.
Regular exercise helps to prevent and ease depression.
Eat well. Studies show that a healthy diet can help to maintain (keep) a healthy body and mind. The vitamins, minerals and micro—nutrients found in balanced diet may help our bodies to produce feel-good hormones(荷尔蒙). Foods containing chemicals to help produce feel-good hormones include bananas, turkey, nuts and seeds. Eat at least five pieces of fruit and vegetables every day.
P.S. Symptoms(症状) of SAD:
No interest or pleasure in things you used to enjoy.
Increased need for sleep.
A change in eating habits, especially an appetite for sweet or starchy(含淀粉的) foods.
Weight gain
A heavy feeling in the arms or legs
A drop in energy level
Difficulty in concentrating
Overly emotional
Avoidance of friends and social situations
Frequent feelings of guilt
Long-term feelings of hopelessness, and physical problems, such as headachesThe writer of the passage agrees that .
| A．the cold in winter makes us suffer from SAD |
| B．hats and scarves protect us from SAD |
| C．every one of us meets SAD in winter |
| D．we are blue mainly because of short days in winter |
We may infer that , according to the passage.
| A．more darkness will make us sad |
| B．we should wear hats and scarves in winter |
| C．a healthy lifestyle prevents us from serious SAD |
| D．staying away from friends makes us depressed |
．When we pace ourselves, we .
| A．don’t do anything we can | B．make a practical plan |
| C．face depression easily | D．think something of guilt |
The underlined expression “ease depression” in the passage probably means “ ”
| A．reduce depression | B．be easy with depression |
| C．face depression easily | D．make an easy depression |
The passage includes the following except .
| A．the earlier we meet friends, the easier it is to rebuild a friendship |
| B．if we give in to unclear feelings of sadness, we’ll be caught in the SAD |
| C．playing table tennis helps us achieve whatever we want |
| D．feel--good hormones from a balanced diet can help a healthy body |
Living a healthy lifestyle lies in forming the right eating habits. Here are some of the good habits you can develop when it comes to healthy eating.
Drink plenty of water. You must drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. You may need even more water if you are in a hot environment or if you are exercising.
Eat breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A recent study has shown that those who eat breakfast will consume an average of 100 calories less during the day than their colleagues who skipped breakfast. They will also be able to concentrate better.
Don’t skip lunch. If you do so, your blood sugar level will drop and your metabolism (新陈代谢) will slow down. When you get home you are starving and eat everything you can find.
We all need to snack from time to time, but please choose your snacks carefully. In fact, it’s a good idea to eat two healthy snacks besides your three main meals. Choose healthy snacks like fruits and vegetables, low fat yogurt, cottage cheese with apple sauce, and so on.
Eat your fruit and vegetables. We should eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Take a piece of fruit for a snack, add some banana and raisins to your favourite breakfast cereal, have a salad with lunch, and eat at least one vegetable at dinner each night.
Do not eat your dinner too late. Try to eat dinner at least 3 hours before you go to bed. This will give your body a chance to digest most of the food before you rest for the next 8 hours. Plan dinner for the week ahead of time and make sure you have everything you need in the house so other family members can get a head start on dinner if you have a late meeting at the office.How many good eating habits are mentioned in the passage?
| A．8. | B．7. | C．6. | D．5. |
The underlined word “raisin” most probably means “_____”.
| A．a peach leaf | B．a dried grape |
| C．a piece of cheese | D．a peanut |
Who is this passage intended for?
| A．Students. | B．Housewives. |
| C．Office workers. | D．Cooks. |
You may most probably find this article _____.
| A．in a textbook | B．in a science fiction book |
| C．in an advertisement | D．in a website |
Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experience? Strangely enough, the answer to these questions is yes. To some extent our intelligence is given to us at birth, and no amount of special education can make a genius out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits of person’s intelligence are fixed at birth, but whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment. This view, now held by most experts, can be supported in a number of ways.
It is easy to show that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be intelligence. Thus if we take two unrelated people at random from population, it is likely that their degree of intelligence will be completely different. If on the other hand we take two identical twins, they will very probably be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.
Imagine now that we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates that environment as well as birth plays a part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence.Which of these sentences best describes the writer’s point in Paragraph 1?
| A．To some extent, intelligence is given at birth. |
| B．Intelligence is developed by the environment. |
| C．Some people are born clever and others born stupid. |
| D．Intelligence is fixed at birth, but is developed by the environment. |
It is suggested in this passage that ________ .
| A．unrelated people are not likely to have different intelligence |
| B．close relation usually have similar intelligence |
| C．the closer the blood relationship between people, the more different they are likely to be in intelligence |
| D．people who live in close contact with each other are not likely to have similar degrees of intelligence |
The phrase “at random” (Line 3, Para.2) means ________ .
| A．purposely | B．regularly |
| C．independently | D．aimlessly |
The best title for this article would be ________ .
| A．What Does Intelligence Mean? |
| B．We are Born with Intelligence |
| C．On Intelligence |
| D．Environment Plays a Part in Developing Intelligence |
What is homestay? Literally it is a home for you to stay when you are not home. To be specific, homestay provides foreign language students with the opportunity to speak native language outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a local home. Here is what you will experience in our British Homestay Program.
What to Expect
The host will provide accommodation and meals. Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week. You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health.
Accommodation Zones
Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones 2, 3 and of the transport system. Most hosts do not live in the town centre (Zone 1) as much of central London is commercial and not residential(居住的). Zones 3 and 4 often offer smaller accommodation in a more crowded area. It is very convenient to travel in London by underground.
Meal Plans Available
◆Continental Breakfast
◆Breakfast and Dinner
◆Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner
It's important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast. Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal(谷物类食品), bread and tea or coffee. Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England. Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by desert, fruit and coffee.
Friends
If you wish to invite a friend over to visit, you must first ask your host's permission. You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy.
SelfCatering Accommodation in Private Homes
Accommodation on a roomonly basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room. This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the longstay student. However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practice English at home quite as much.The passage is probably written for_________.
| A．hosts willing to receive foreign students |
| B．English learners applying to live in English homes |
| C．travelers planning to visit families in London |
| D．foreigners hoping to build British culture |
Which of the following will the host provide?
| A．Medical care. | B．Free transport. |
| C．Room cleaning. | D．Physical training. |
According to the passage, what does continental Breakfast include?
| A．Dessert and coffee. | B．Fruit and vegetables. |
| C．Fruit and cold meat. | D．Bread and fruit juice. |
Why do some people choose selfcatering accommodation?
| A．To enjoy much more freedom. |
| B．To enrich their knowledge of English. |
| C．To entertain friends as they like. |
| D．To experience a warmer family atmosphere. |
It's really true what people say about English politeness: it's everywhere. When squeezing past someone in a narrow passage, people say "sorry". When getting off a bus, English passengers say "thank you" rather than the driver. In Germany, people would never dream of doing these things. After all, squeezing past others is sometimes unavoidable, and the bus driver is only doing his job. I used to think the same way, without questioning it, until I started traveling to the British Isles, and here are some more polite ways of interacting (交往) with people in UK.
People thank each other everywhere in England, all the time. When people buy something in a shop, customers and retail assistants in most cases thank each other twice or more. In Germany, it would be exceptional（例外的）to hear more than one thank you in such a conversation. British students thank their lecturers when leaving the room. English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs, as opposite to Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough.
Another thing I observed during my stay was that English people rarely criticize others. Even when I was working and mistakes were pointed out to me, my employers emphasized several times but none of their explanations were intended as criticism. It has been my impression that by avoiding criticism, English people are making an effort to make others feel comfortable. This also is showed in other ways. British men still open doors for women, and British men are more likely to treat women to a meal than German men. However, I do need to point out here that this applies to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men! Yes, the latter are a bit tightfisted.What is the author's attitude towards English politeness?
| A．He thinks it is artificial. |
| B．He appreciates it very much. |
| C．He thinks little of it. |
| D．He thinks it goes too far. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The author think it's unnecessary to say “thank you” to the bus driver. |
| B．In Germany, employers often say “thank you” to employees for their job. |
| C．Germans think it is unnecessary to thank workers because payment is enough. |
| D．German men never treat a woman to dinner. |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．English people try to avoid criticizing others in the daily life. |
| B．In Germany, passengers sometimes say “thank you” to bus drivers. |
| C．English drivers often say “thank you” to passengers when they get off the bus. |
| D．Germans are more considerate and polite than Englishmen. |
The author develops the text through the method of .
| A．giving comments |
| B．telling stories |
| C．making comparisons |
| D．giving reasons/examples |
Even with the multimedia excitement of the web. Electronic Mail, email, is the most frequently used application of the Internet. Many people who have a chance to use the Internet at school, home, and work. They use the Internet for no other purposes than to send or receive emails.
It's all very easy. You prepare the message, log onto(登录) the Internet, and send it. The message first goes to your Internet Service Provider's mail server, which in turn sends it to the recipient's(邮件接收者) mail server. On the way your message may go through several servers, each reading the name in order to send it to the right server. The message then remains in the recipient's mail email server until he requests it by “checking his mail”.
The benefits of emails are obvious: mostly it's quick. Also, many people feel that the rules for regular mails don't apply to email, making it less formal, which in turn make email easier to write and send.
It's not just friends and coworkers that are receiving emails. Wherever you look, the Web is providing email addresses. This has made communication between strangers easier than ever. You can read an interesting article online and immediately send the author an email. Anyone who posts his email address on a Web page is saying he wants to receive email.
There are places you can go if you don't know someone's email address. Check out Bigfoot, the Internet Address Finder, or Netscape's Email Directories for more information.
Email is one of the services offered by your Internet Service Provider—a service that you're applying for every month.The passage is about .
| A．the multimedia excitement | B．different websites |
| C．email | D．mail server |
We can infer from the passage that .
| A．email is the only application of the internet |
| B．if you want to send and receive emails, all you have to do is to log onto the Internet. |
| C．many people use the Internet only for the purpose of sending and receiving email |
| D．you can send emails to friends and coworkers but you can't make communication between strangers |
If you don't know someone's email address, .
| A．look up in a dictionary |
| B．check on Netscape's Email Directories |
| C．ask your computer teacher |
| D．refer to your textbook |
What can you infer from the fourth paragraph?
| A．Only friends and coworkers send emails. |
| B．It's convenient to communicate between strangers online. |
| C．It's difficult to contact the author on the Internet. |
| D．You can't log onto the Internet except at home. |