⑴ Every language has its own special words and expressions. And a story can be told about each of them. Hot is a simple, easily understood word. So are most of the expressions made with the word hot. But not always, as we shall see.
⑵ The words hot potato, for example, give you no idea at all to the meaning of the expression, hot potato. The potato is popular and many Americans like baked potatoes. Imagine trying to carry a hot potato in your hand. It would be difficult, even painful, to do so. Some publicly argued problems are highly emotional. The problems must be treated carefully, or they will be difficult and painful if an elected official has to deal with them. One such hot potato is taxes. Calling for higher taxes can mean defeat for a politician. And yet, if taxes are not raised, some very popular government programs could be cut. And that also can make a politician very unpopular. The questions must be dealt with carefully, the same way you would handle any other hot potato.
⑶ Another expression is not so hot. If you ask someone how she feels, she may answer “not so hot”. What she means is she does not feel well. Not so hot also is a way of saying you do not really like something. You may tell a friend that the new play you saw last night is not so hot. That means ____________________________.
⑷ A hot shot is a person, often a young person, who thinks he can do anything. He is very sure he can succeed. But often he fails. The expression was born in the military forces. A hot shot was a soldier who fired without aiming carefully.
⑸ Hot is a word that is often used to talk about anger. A person who becomes angry easily is called a hothead. An angry person’s neck often becomes red. We say he is hot under the collar.What is the text mainly about? (no more than 8 words)
_______________________________________________________________Fill in the blank in Paragraph 3 with a proper sentence. ( no more than 8 words)
__________________________________________________________________Which sentence in the text is the closest in meaning to the following one?
As you would deal with other difficult problems, you must be careful with these ones.
__________________________________________________________________________________List three situations where “hot” expressions can be used according to the text. (no more than 30 words)
①________________________________________________________________
②________________________________________________________________
③________________________________________________________________Translate the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 into Chinese.
__________________________________________________________________
If a diver surfaces too quickly, he may suffer the bends. Nitrogen (氮) dissolved (溶解) in his blood is suddenly liberated by the reduction of pressure. The consequence, if the bubbles (气泡) accumulate in a joint, is sharp pain and a bent body—thus the name. If the bubbles form in his lungs or
his brain, the consequence can be death.
Other air-breathing animals also suffer this decompression (减压) sickness if they surface too fast: whales, for example. And so, long ago, did ichthyosaurs (鱼龙). That these ancient sea animals got the bends can be seen from their bones. If bubbles of nitrogen form inside the bone they can cut off its blood supply. This kills the cells in the bone, and consequently weakens it, sometimes to the point of collapse. Fossil (化石) bones that have caved in on themselves are thus a sign that the animal once had the bends.
Bruce Rothschild of the University of Kansas knew all this when he began a study of ichthyosaur bones to find out how widespread the problem was in the past. What he particularly wanted to investigate was how ichthyosaurs adapted to the problem of decompression over the 150 million years. To this end, he and his colleagues traveled the world’s natural-history museums, looking at hundreds of ichthyosaurs from the Triassic period and from the later Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
When he started, he assumed that signs of the bends would be rarer in younger fossils, reflecting their gradual evolution of measures to deal with decompression. Instead, he was astonished to discover the opposite. More than 15% of Jurassic and Cretaceous ichthyosaurs had suffered the bends before they died, but not a single Triassic specimen (标本) showed evidence of that sort of injury.
If ichthyosaurs did evolve an anti-decompression means, they clearly did so quickly—and, most strangely, they lost it afterwards. But that is not what Dr Rothschild thinks happened. He suspects it was evolution in other animals that caused the change.
Whales that suffer the bends often do so because they have surfaced to escape a predator (捕食动物) such as a large shark. One of the features of Jurassic oceans was an abundance of large sharks and crocodiles, both of which were fond of ichthyosaur lunches. Triassic oceans, by contrast, were mercifully shark- and crocodile-free. In the Triassic, then, ichthyosaurs were top of the food chain. In the Jurassic and Cretaceous, they were prey (猎物) as well as predator—and often had to make a speedy exit as a result.Which of the following is a typical symptom of the bends?
| A．A twisted body. | B．A gradual decrease in blood supply. |
| C．A sudden release of nitrogen in blood. | D．A drop in blood pressure. |
The purpose of Rothschild’s study is to see _______.
| A．how often ichthyosaurs caught the bends |
| B．how ichthyosaurs adapted to decompression |
| C．why ichthyosaurs bent their bodies |
| D．when ichthyosaurs broke their bones |
Rothschild’s finding stated in Paragraph 4 _______.
| A．confirmed his assumption | B．speeded up his research process |
| C．disagreed with his assumption | D．changed his research objectives |
Rothschild might have concluded that ichthyosaurs _______.
| A．failed to evolve an anti-decompression means |
| B．gradually developed measures against the bends |
| C．died out because of large sharks and crocodiles |
| D．evolved an anti-decompression means but soon lost it |
Wugging, or web-use giving, describes the act of giving to charity at no cost to the user. By using Everyclick.com, which is being added to a number of university computers across the UK, students can raise money every time they search, but it won’t cost them a penny.
Research shows that students are extremely passionate about supporting charity — 88% of full time students have used the Internet to give to charity. This figure is high considering this age group is often the least likely to have their own income. 19% of 22 to 24 year olds have short-term debts of more than £5,000. With rising personal debt levels in this age group, due to university tuition fees or personal loans and a lack of long-term savings, traditional methods of donating to charity are often not appealing or possible.
Beth Truman, a 21 year old recent university graduate, has used everyclick.com to donate to her chosen charity, the RSPCA, for two years and has seen the “wugging” grow in popularity with students. “When you’re at university you become more socially aware, but it’s sometimes hard to give to others when you have little money yourself,” says Beth. “Wugging is great for people in this age group as it allows them to use the technology on a daily basis to give to charity, without costing them a single penny.”
Wugging is perfect for people who want to be more socially aware and supportive but don’t feel they have the means to do so. Students using the web can raise money for causes they care about without costing them anything in terms of time or money, and charities get a valuable source of funding.
Everyclick.com works like any other search engine, allowing users to search for information, news and images but users can decide which of the UK’s 170,000 charities they would like to support through their clicks. Everyclick.com then makes monthly payments to every registered charity. Launched in June 2005, Everyclick.com is now the eighth largest search engine and one of the busiest charity websites in the UK.According to the passage, “wugging” is actually _______.
| A．a student movement | B．a charity-related action |
| C．a school organization | D．a website |
In the case of charity, everyclick.com _______.
| A．frees students of the financial worries |
| B．receives much money from students |
| C．offers valuable information to students |
| D．praises students for their money-raising |
What does Beth Truman think of the “wugging” movement?
| A．It makes Everyclick.com popular in the UK. |
| B．It becomes easy to do charity because of it. |
| C．It results in students’ more social awareness. |
| D．It helps students to save money. |
From the passage, we can conclude that _______.
| A．most full time students do charity on the Internet every day |
| B．Everyclick.com helps students pay for the college education |
| C．“wugging” is a win-win idea for both students and charities |
| D．Everyclick.com is the most successful search engine in the UK |
Knowing the best way to study will help you to be a better student. By using your time properly, you can do your homework more quickly. Learning to study is not difficult.
The first thing to remember is that you must be willing to learn. It doesn’t mean that you must always like the subject. It does mean, however, that you must be wil1ing to do whatever is necessary to learn. Try to understand why it is important and how it will help you now and later to do and learn other things. Knowing mathematics facts will be useful in your whole life. Knowing how to spell makes any kind of writing easier. Sometimes the subject that you think is going to be uninteresting will be exciting when you begin to work at it and understand it more clearly. Learning things can be fun if you are willing to work with them.
Here’s some advice for you: have a certain time each day and a quiet place with good lighting for study, so that you can concentrate on your study without interruptions(中断); have everything ready before you sit down to study, a dictionary, paper, a pen and books; be sure you understand what you should learn before you start; read carefully and pay special attention to the most important things; when memorizing, first find out the main parts and then recite the whole thing; check your homework after you finish it; never forget the importance of review and preview.
Don’t try to spend a lot of time researching learning methods. There are many students who know many good learning methods but don’t study well. They forget that no one can study well unless he studies hard.The main goal of the article is .
| A．to prove that learning is not difficult |
| B．to make the readers be interested in study |
| C．to tell the importance of self teaching |
| D．to tell the students how to study well |
The first thing to remember in studying is that .
| A．you must like the subject |
| B．you must follow the teacher |
| C．you must enjoy learning |
| D．you must spend much time researching learning methods |
We learn things because .
| A．we may use these things in the future |
| B．we like the subjects |
| C．our parents want us to learn them |
| D．every student learns them at school |
The following advice is given in the article EXCEPT.
| A．To put a pen, paper and books beside you before study. |
| B．To study at any possible time and place. |
| C．To review and preview |
| D．To pay attention to the most important things before you start to study |
Among the following statements, which of the following is true?
| A．The more learning methods we have, the better we will study. |
| B．Finding the best learning method is the most important in learning. |
| C．If you don’t work hard, though you have a good learning method, you can’t be good at study. |
| D．Once we have mastered a good learning method, we can improve our study greatly. |
In today's fast-paced (快节奏) society, few people take time to enjoy the midday meal．Most of us just rush right through it. We grab a quick salad, or buy a sandwich and eat at our computers, Sometimes, if there is a deadline around the corner, we just skip lunch．
The development of technology hasn't done our eating habits much good either．We are constantly distracted by e-mail, social media, and 24 - hour news．Even when we do sit down for lunch, we are more connected to our hand - held electronic devices．
Long working hours can cause all kinds of health problems, and many developed countries have put in place labor laws specifically regarding the lunch break．These laws give employees the right to take a break during a long work shift, but it's up to them whether they do so or not．
Frank Partnoy, a former Wall Street trader, says that employers should encourage workers to take time off for lunch．This is because long lunch breaks can benefit both individuals and society.
Writing in The Guardian, Partnoy says that one obvious reason to take a lunch break is to slow down and gain some perspective（认识）． A break from work allows us to think strategically and outside the box．It also puts our daily tasks into a broader context（背景）．
What we eat at lunch is also important．In Partnoy' s opinion, a fast food lunch is more harmful than not having lunch at all． And it's not just about calories and unhealthy food．Recent studies show that fast food also has negative effects on how we think．
However, if we sit down at a proper restaurant and chat leisurely with colleagues, we are more likely to slow down, something that hardly can be achieved in a noisy and over — packed fast food chain．
Despite these benefits, some employees might still be unwilling to take time off for lunch．Partnoy's suggestion? Make skipping lunch difficult: Employers could ask workers to fill out a form stating their reasons for skipping the meal．What does the underlined phrase "skip lunch" mean in the first paragraph?
| A．have a quick lunch | B．don't have lunch |
| C．work while having lunch | D．take a lunch break |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．Modern technology results in good diet habits． |
| B．Electronic devices make our life comfortable． |
| C．Many people are too busy to have a good lunch． |
| D．Laws have passed to make workers have lunch． |
According to Frank Partnoy, long lunch breaks.
| A．are time for the workers to relax their mind |
| B．make the employees work longer hours |
| C．are for employees to have a quick lunch |
| D．make the workers eat a proper lunch at home |
In Partnoy's opinion, a fast food lunch.
| A．saves a lot of time for a rest |
| B．affects people's way of thinking |
| C．is better than having no lunch |
| D．makes workers sit down and think |
What might be the author's purpose in writing the text?
| A．To warn us not to eat fast food． |
| B．To introduce Frank Partnoy's opinion． |
| C．To encourage us to work more efficiently． |
| D．To show the importance of a proper lunch． |
Mu Yumin had no idea that when he stopped by the computer club as a freshman looking for something fun, it would decide his career four years later．The 22 -year -old biology major at Huazhong University of Science and Technology found a job as an IT technician in Shanghai．" My experience in the club gave me another 'diploma' ," said Mu．" More importantly, I found something I am good at and can make a living from．"
Now campuses(校园) around the country have started recruiting（吸收某人为新成员） fresh faces for all kinds of clubs．Upperclassmen and experts suggest a hobby-based choice of clubs, which might have a lasting impact（影响）on one' s life and career Zhang Ling did not get many chances to write stories as an environmental protection major at Jiangxi University of Science and Technology．But this changed when she joined the university broadcast station．Her daily interviews with students and teachers expanded her horizon．Now she is determined to become a journalist on environmental issues with her degree in environmental protection．"Journalism changed my life track," said the 22 –year-old girl．"I only wanted to be a science teacher in a local senior high school．But now I am applying for a graduate school in journalism."
Lan Yujie, professor at Anhui University of Technology, regards Mu and Zhang as good examples of choosing "what I like" instead of " what is practical" in finding jobs and seeking further study． "Some freshmen don't know what to choose," said Lan．"Just following a hobby and doing something you like can easily give you the experience that makes you happy and special．"
Lan further says that joining clubs should not necessarily have a purpose, As part of campus life, a club experience will impact one's life and career m one way or another．"The point of clubs is to have as many diverse（多样的）experiences as possible so that students can explore more of their life," said Lan．Why did Mu Yumin join the computer club?
A．To get another diplomA. B．To change his major．
C．To find a good joB.D．To have a good time．Which of the followings is true about Zhang Ling?
| A．She didn't intend to be a journalist． |
| B．She changed her major to journalism． |
| C．She now works as a science teacher |
| D．She's graduated from the university． |
According to the text, joining the campus club has many advantages EXCEPT.
| A．helping you know what you really like |
| B．making you plan your career better |
| C．helping you to make more friends |
| D．obtaining more life experiences |
What can we learn from Lan Yujie's words in the last paragraph?
| A．Club experiences will affect students' life and career |
| B．Students should be practical in finding jobs |
| C．Joining clubs should have a clear goal． |
| D．Students will have a colorful campus life by joining clubs． |
What is the main idea of the text?
| A．How to change your major． |
| B．Joining a campus club for a diploma． |
| C．How to find a job after graduation |
| D．Joining a club to explore more of your life． |