Teenagers in England do much the same as children in America do. They enjoy sending messages by their mobile phones and they also like swimming, listening to the latest music, watching TV and surfing the Internet.
How do teenagers in England spend their free time and holidays? Let’s follow Sally, a British teenager, and spend five days with her during her school holiday.
Day One
After breakfast, Sally’s mother went out and left her alone at home. She checked her mobile phone during lunch —one of her friends sent her a message early in the morning. Dinner was at 6:30 p.m. After that, she finished her English home-work. Then she surfed the Internet.
Day Two
Sally and her mother paid a visit to their friends and went swimming together. Later, they went shopping for clothes and books, and had dinner in a restaurant.
Day Three
She went to the supermarket with her mother to buy fish and chips for lunch as well as some pens. After she got back home, she spent the next few hours surfing the Internet and watching TV.
Day Four
She surfed the Internet. Her mother took her out for lunch before she went to work. She then read stories after lunch.
Day Five
She woke up at 2 p.m., and so did her mother. They went to a park. Her mother met some friends there. When they got home, it was already time for dinner. Afterwards, she did her homework until 10 p.m.When did Sally do her homework?
| A．In the morning. | B．In the afternoon. |
| C．At lunch time. | D．In the evening. |
Sally and her mother went shopping for the second time to buy __________.
| A．food for lunch and pens | B．some books and pens |
| C．some fish and clothes | D．food and books |
Which of the following things did Sally do on Day Four?
| A．She went swimming. | B．She went out for breakfast. |
| C．She read books. | D．She went shopping. |
According to the passage, it can be inferred that ________.
| A．surfing the Internet has become an important part of teenagers’ lives |
| B．parents shouldn’t leave teenagers alone at home |
| C．teenagers don’t usually do their homework during their school holidays |
| D．a park is the best place to meet a friend |
Governments all over the world make public reports about the condition of their economies. Most countries, including the United States, have used a measure called the gross national product (国民生产总值)or GNP. It includes all goods and services produced by citizens of the country anywhere in the world.
Recently the American Commerce Department has started using a new method to measure production. It is known as the gross domestic product（国内生产总值）or GDP. It counts only goods and services that have been produced within the nation’s borders. Money earned by foreign companies operating in the United States is included in the GDP, but money earned by American companies operating in other countries is not.
Economic experts generally approve of the change. They say that the gross domestic product provides a truer measure of the economy. They also note that most other industrial countries use this method. Therefore it will be easier to study the economies of different countries. Some officials also hope the new system will help them make better economic policy decisions. It will provide them with a clearer understanding of economic activity in the U.S. . The new measure is less likely to be affected by sudden changes in foreign oil prices or in the value of the American dollar in other countries.
Economic experts believe that the change from GNP to GDP will immediately reduce the value of American production by at least 40,000 million dollars a year. But that is really a very small change in the American economy – less than 1% . The Commerce Department reports the unofficial gross domestic product once every three months. The government also continues to report GNP as it has four times a year since 1941.To report the American GNP, the government should not consider goods and services produced _______.
| A．by American companies at home |
| B．by American companies in China |
| C．by American companies in Singapore |
| D．by Japanese companies in the United States |
To report the American GDP, the Commerce Department should count money earned ________.
| A．by both American and foreign companies in America |
| B．by American companies within its own borders |
| C．by foreign companies in the United States |
| D．by American companies in its foreign markets |
GDP is considered better than GNP by some economists because ________.
| A．it is something new |
| B．it is used by most countries |
| C．it is easier to calculate |
| D．it is less likely to be affected by the foreign market |
What will happen to the value of American economy if GDP is used to replace GNP?
| A．It will be seriously affected. | B．It will not be affected. |
| C．It will come down a little. | D．It will slightly go up. |
How often are the reports of GDP issued by the American Commerce Department?
| A．once every four months | B．once every three months |
| C．once every six months | D．once a year |
Attempts to understand the relationship between social behavior and health have their origin in history. Dubos (1969) suggested that primitive（原始的）humans were closer to the animals because they, too, relied upon their instincts to stay healthy. Yet some primitive humans recognized a cause and effect relationship between doing certain things and alleviating（减轻）symptoms of a disease or improving the condition of a wound. Since there was so much that primitive humans did not understand about the functioning of the body, magic became an integral component of the beliefs about the causes and cures of health disorders. So it is not surprising that early humans thought that illness was caused by evil spirits. Primitive medicines made from vegetables or animals were invariably used in combination with some form of ritual (礼仪) to drive harmful spirits away from a diseased body.
One of the earliest attempts in the Western world to formulate principles of health care based upon rational thought and rejection of supernatural phenomena is found in the work of the Greek physician Hippocrates. Little is known of Hippocrates who lived around 400 B.C., not even whether he actually authored the collection of books that bears his name. Nevertheless, the writings attributed to him have provided a number of principles underlying modern medical practice. One of his most famous contributions, the Hippocratic Oath, is the foundation of contemporary medical ethics (道德). Among other things, it requires a physician to swear that he or she will help the sick, keep oneself from intentional wrong-doing or harm, and keep secret all matters to keep the doctor-patient relationship.
Hippocrates also argued that medical knowledge should be derived（源自于）from an understanding of the natural sciences and the logic of cause and effect relationships. In this classic thesis, On Airs, Waters, and Places, Hippocrates pointed out that human-being is influenced by the totality of environmental factors: living habits or lifestyle, climate, geography of the land, and the quality of air and food. Interesting enough, concerns about our health and the quality of air, water, and places are still very much written in the twentieth century.The topic of the first paragraph is summarized in ________.
| A．the first sentence of the paragraph |
| B．the second sentence of the paragraph |
| C．the third sentence of the paragraph |
| D．the last sentence of the paragraph |
Why did primitive humans rely on magic in their beliefs about the causes and cures of diseases?
| A．Because magic was an inseparable part of their life. |
| B．Because they had little knowledge about the functioning of the body. |
| C．Because the diseases were caused by the evil spirits. |
| D．Because magic must be used in going through the rituals to drive out the evil spirits. |
Considering Hippocrates’ background, we can see from the second paragraph that ________.
| A．he was the forefather of modern medicine |
| B．experts are sure that the books bearing his name were not written by him |
| C．he had a rational mind aided by supernatural instincts |
| D．experts do not know much about him except when and where he lived |
All of the following are included in the Hippocratic Oath EXCEPT ________.
| A．helping patients |
| B．keeping oneself from harming patients |
| C．keeping secret all matters to maintain a good relationship with the patients |
| D．obeying rules for modern medicine practice |
Which of the following best expressed the main idea of the last paragraph?
| A．Doctor’s concerns remain unchanged. |
| B．Medicine comes from nature. |
| C．Environment affects health. |
| D．Climate determines lifestyle. |
My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox, guiding him with a broomstick. For $1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.
It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I’ve never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More importantly, I earned my pay, it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.
I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $18 a week. Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person could have.
When I was seven, I got work at a golf course near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dream of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.
The more I dreamed, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb (番石榴树枝) and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion and intensity. I learned working in the field--- except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick.The writer’s first job was ___________.
| A．to stand down the fairway at the golf course |
| B．to watch over the sugar-cane plantation |
| C．to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields |
| D．to spot the balls as they landed so the golfers could find them |
The underlined word “tedious” in Paragraph 2 most probably means ___________.
| A．difficult | B．boring | C．interesting | D．unusual |
The writer learned that ________ from his first job.
| A．he should work for those who he liked most |
| B．he should work longer than what he was expected |
| C．he should never fail to say hello to his owner |
| D．he should show respect and faith to the people he worked for |
________ gave the writer self-esteem.
| A．Having a family of eight people |
| B．Owning his own golf course |
| C．Bringing money back home to help the family |
| D．Helping his father with the work on the plantation |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．He wanted to be a successful golfer. |
| B．He wanted to run a golf course near his house. |
| C．He was satisfied with the job he got on a plantation. |
| D．He wanted to make money by guiding oxen with a broomstick. |
Rented Boyfriends
Taobao. com, China's largest online marketplace, is never short of bizarre offers.
And here is the latest one: boyfriends for rent.
A rented boyfriend can do the following: accompanying the girl to visit friends and families, go shopping, having meals and even getting a kiss out of courtesy. The charge is by the hour.
The services become hot with the approach of the Spring Festival, the most important festival for family reunions.
In China, parents especially worry about unmarried daughters.
Single women will have to face the same old question at the family dinner table: have you got a boyfriend?
And for those who haven't found their Mr. Rights, renting a boyfriend emerges as a solution.
So, which men are willing to offer that service?
“I offer such a service only because I'm bored and know fewer female friends at work," said Ding Hui, 27, a salesman in the plastic industry in Shanghai, with a monthly salary of more than 10,000 yuan.
He rented himself twice last year: during the Spring Festival and National Day. His customers were two 28-year-old women.
He charged 3,000 yuan each, and the customer had to cover his round-trip tickets, accommodations and bought him clothes to make him look smart.
More than 260 rent-a-boyfriend services can be found on the taobao.com, with the number climbing.
An anonymous female netizen, who claimed to have rented a boyfriend, said on the website, "My parents are very satisfied, so my pressure is greatly reduced."
Another comment read, "It's good that I've achieved the wish of my parents."On which site can women rent boyfriends? (within 4 words )
How does a rented boyfriend get paid? (within 3 words)
What question may single women have to face at the family dinner table? (within 5 words)
What did Ding Hui’s customer have to pay besides his service?(within 18 words )
For what reasons do single women rent boyfriends? ( within 15 words)
Fish species are expected to shrink in size by up to 24% because of global warming, say scientists.
The scientists argue that failure to control greenhouse gas emissions will have a greater effect on marine ecosystems than previously thought. Previous research has suggested that changing ocean temperatures would affect both the distribution and the reproductive abilities of many species of fish. This new work suggests that fish size would also be heavily affected.
The researchers built a model to see how fish would react to lower levels of oxygen in the water. As ocean temperatures increase, so do the body temperatures of fish. But, according to lead author, Dr William Cheung, from the University of British Columbia, the lower level of oxygen in the water is key. Warmer waters could decrease ocean oxygen levels and greatly reduce fish body weight. On the other hand, rising temperatures directly increase the metabolic rate of the fish's body function. This leads to an increase in oxygen demand for normal body activities. So the fish will run out of oxygen for growth at a smaller body size.
The research team also used its model to predict fish movements as a result of warming waters. The group believes that most fish populations will move towards the Earth's poles at a rate of up to 35km per decade. "So in, say, the North Sea," says Dr Cheung," one would expect to see more smaller-body fish from tropical waters in the future."
Taking these factors into consideration, the research team concludes that fish body size will shrink between 14% and 24%, with the largest decreases in the Indian and Atlantic oceans.
When compared with actual observations of fish sizes, the model seems to underestimate what's actually happening in the seas. The researchers looked at two case studies involving North Atlantic cod and haddock. They found that recorded data on these fish showed greater decreases in body size than the models had predicted.
Dr Alan Baudron, from the University of Aberdeen, UK, believes smaller-sized fish could seriously affect the ability of fish to reproduce. "Smaller fish produce fewer and smaller eggs which could affect the reproductive potential of fish stocks," he said.What's the main idea of the passage?
| A．Global warming makes fish smaller. |
| B．Global warming makes fish decrease in numbers. |
| C．Global warming affects the fish distribution. |
| D．Global warming affects the ability of fish to reproduce. |
What is the key factor making the fish smaller now?
| A．The rising body temperatures. |
| B．The lower level of oxygen in the water. |
| C．The increasing metabolic rate. |
| D．The normal body activities. |
We can infer that as ocean temperatures increase .
| A．more big fish will be born in the sea |
| B．fish tend to swim towards the shore |
| C．fish tend to move towards the warm areas |
| D．fish tend to move towards the colder areas |
What does the underlined word "underestimate" mean?
| A．make an exact prediction of | B．make too low an estimate of |
| C．make too high an estimate of | D．make a careful study of |