Nature is full of color, from rainbows and roses to butterfly wings and peacock tails. Even the fruits and vegetables you eat have different colors: blue blueberries, red strawberries, green broccoli, and orange carrots.
Plant and animals often use color to attract attention. The substances responsible for these colors belong to a class of chemical called antioxidants(抗氧化物). Plants make antioxidant to protect themselves from the sun’s ultraviolet(UV)(紫外线)light.
Ultraviolet light causes chemicals called free radicals(自由基)to form within plant cells. They can destroy parts of plant. Free radicals also have damaging effects on human beings. Some of these effects like wrinkled skin can be seen. The damage is caused by the free radicals attacking cells in our bodies. Certain cancers and heart disease are linked to free radicals.
Our bodies have natural defences for fighting off free radicals. While we are young, our defences are pretty strong. However, they get weaker as we get older. The body’s built-in defences can only go so far without extra help.
The key to fighting free radicals with fruits and vegetables is to mix and match colors. It’s like sunscreen(防晒霜)for the inside of your body. Go for a range of very bright colors. Colorful foods contain hundreds of healthy chemicals not found anywhere else.
Research into how chemicals in blueberries affect the brain’s function in rats suggests that these chemicals may help our own brains work more efficiently.
Don’t just blame the sun. Ultraviolet light isn’t the only source of free radicals. If you breathe polluted air such as smog, automobile exhaust(废气), or wasted gas from a factory, you take in chemicals that also cause such damage. And, the body itself produces free radicals as it processes food.Which of the following not true?
| A．Antioxidants are responsible for plant colors |
| B．Plants use color to attract attention |
| C．Antioxidants can protect plants from UV light |
| D．Antioxidants help free radicals to attack plants |
In which order do the following facts occur?
a Wrinkled skin can be seen
b UV light causes free radicals to form
c Free radicals damage cells in our bodies
d The sun gives out UV light
| A．a,b,c,d | B．d,b,c,a |
| C．c,a,d,b | D．d,b,a,c |
We need extra help for fighting off free radicals from fruits and vegetables because ____.
| A．our bodies’ defences are not natural |
| B．we are too young to defend ourselves |
| C．our defences get weaker as we get older |
| D．our bodies’ built-in defences can only go away |
Which of the following can not cause free radicals to form?
| A．Colorful food | B．UV light from the sun |
| C．Polluted air | D．The body itself |
As you move around your home, take a good look at the things you have. It is likely that your living room will have a television set and a video, and your kitchen a washing machine and a microwave oven. Your bedroom drawers will be filled with almost three times as many clothes as you need. You almost certainly own a car and possibly a home computer, holiday abroad at least once a year and eat out at least once a week.
Now, perhaps, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for. Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world. They feel that the long hours work culture to make more money is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes. Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting is one of them. Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year.
One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz. They used to work in central London. He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank. They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs, leaving their two children with a nanny. Most evenings Daniel wouldn’t get home until eight or nine o’clock and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings. They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by.
Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales. “I always wanted to have a farm then,” says Daniel, “and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift. It’s taken some getting used to, but it’s been worth it. We have to think twice now about spending money on car repairs and we no longer have any holidays. However, I think it’s made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier.
Liz, however, is not quite sure. “I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours. I’m not really a country girl, but I suppose I’m gradually getting used to looking after the animals. One thing I do like, though, is being able to see more of my children. My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much or you might not do it at all.”The passage tells us that.
| A．people seldom work long hours to make money |
| B．people hardly buy more things than necessary |
| C．people are sure everything they own is in the right place |
| D．people realize there is more to life than just making money |
When Daniel was a reporter he ___.
| A．lived in central London | B．disliked his job |
| C．missed his children | D．was well paid |
Daniel and Liz both agree that the move to the farm ____.
| A．was easy to organize | B．has improved family life |
| C．was extremely expensive | D．has been a total success |
What does the author mean by saying"the long hours work culture to make more money is eating up their lives" in the second paragraph ?
| A．People work long hours to earn their living. |
| B．To make more money through hard work is the aim of people's life. |
| C．Long hours of hard work occupy too much of people's life. |
| D．People spent too much time and money eating meals. |
The underlined word "downshifting" in the second paragraph refers to _________.
| A．repairing your car by yourself |
| B．spending money carefully |
| C．moving out to the countryside to live a simpler and better life |
| D．living in a big house in the suburbs and dining out once a week |
Tales From Animal Hospital
David Grant
David Grant has become a familiar face to millions of fans of Animal Hospital . Here Dr Grant tells us the very best of his personal stories about the animals he has treated ,including familiar patients such as the dogs Snowy and Duchess , the delightful cat Marigold Serendipity Diamond . He also takes the reader behind the scenes at Harmsworth Memorial Animal Hospital as he describes his day , from ordinary medical check-ups to surgery （外科手术）. Tales From Animal Hospital will delight all fans of the program and anyone who has a lively interest in their pet, whether it be cat , dog or snake I ! $ 14.99 Hardback 272 pp Simon Schuster
ISBN 0751304417
Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer
Michael White
Form the author of Stephen Hawking : A Life in Science , comes this colorful description of the life of the world’s first modern scientist . Interesting yet based on fact , Michael White’s learned yet readable new book offers a true picture of Newton completely different from what people commonly know about him . Newton is shown as a gifted scientist with very human weaknesses who stood at the point in history where magic ended and science began.
£8.99 Hardback 320 pp Fourth Estate
ISBN 1857024168
Fermat’s Last Theorem
Simon Singh
In 1963 a schoolboy called Andrew Wiles reading in his school library came across the world’s greatest mathematical problem : Fermat’s Last Theorem (定理). First put forward by the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in the seventeenth century, the theorem had baffled and beaten the finest mathematical minds , including a French woman scientist who made a major advance in working out the problem , and who had to dress like a man in order to be able to study at the Ecole Polytechnique . Through unbelievable determination Andrew Wiles finally worked out the problem in 1995 . An unusual story of human effort over three centuries , Fermat’s Last Theorem will delight specialists and general readers alike .
£12.99 Hardback 384 pp Fourth Estate
ISBN 1857025210What is Animal Hospital ?
| A．A news story. | B．A popular book. |
| C．A research report. | D．A TV program. |
In Michael White’s book , Newton is described as
| A．a person who did not look the same as in many pictures |
| B．a person who lived a colorful and meaningful life |
| C．a great but not perfect man |
| D．an old-time magician |
Which of the following best explains the meaning of the word “baffle” as it is used in the text ?
| A．To encourage people to raise questions |
| B．To cause difficulty in understanding. |
| C．To provide a person with an explanation |
| D．To limit people’s imagination. |
What is the purpose of writing these three texts ?
| A．To make the books easier to read |
| B．To show the importance of science |
| C．To introduce new authors |
| D．To sell the books. |
When my family moved to America in 2010 from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment in the United States.
I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.
In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.
However, in the United States, people think “growing old” is a problem since “old” shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises or jogging, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect the elderly, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn’t want to hear.
After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don’t respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don’t show my feelings through words.
By JackJack brought the couple their food very fast because _______.
| A．the manager asked him to do so | B．he respected the elderly |
| C．the couple wanted him to do so | D．he wanted more pay |
When Jack called the couple “elderly”, they became _______.
| A．nervous | B．satisfied | C．unhappy | D．excited |
In Jack’s hometown, _______.
| A．people dislike being called “old” |
| B．people are proud of being old |
| C．many people reach the age of seventy or eighty |
| D．the elderly are the first to get food in restaurants |
After this experience, Jack _______.
| A．lost his job in the restaurant |
| B．made friends with the couple |
| C．no longer respected the elderly |
| D．changed his way with older people |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The more Jack explained, the angrier the couple got. |
| B．Jack wanted to show his feelings through words after his experience. |
| C．The manager went back to the table and apologized to the couple. |
| D．From this experience, Jack learned more about American culture. |
Research suggests that a newly-identified gene known as insomniacs(失眠症患者) may play a role in keeping us asleep. By cloning and testing this gene in about 21,000 fruit flies, Rockefeller University researchers say they have discovered an entirely new mechanism (机制) by which sleep is controlled.
By studying these flies, the researchers discovered that mutations(变异) in the insomniac gene were associated with a great reduction in sleep. While a typical fruit fly slept for an average of 927 minutes a day, the mutant flies slept for just 317. They also slept for shorter periods of time, and slept and woke more frequently.
“The results showed a great loss of both the time that the flies’ sleep lasted and their ability to remain asleep after they slept,” says researcher Nicholas Stavropoulos.
The researchers also examined the link between sleep and lifespan, finding that flies with mutations to the insomniac gene lived only about two-thirds as long as unchanged flies. But when the scientists removed insomniac only in neurons（神经细胞）---allowing it to remain in the rest of the flies’ bodies---this difference disappeared; the resulting animals slept poorly but lived just as long.
“This suggests that reduced sleep can be ‘uncoupled’(分开) from reduced lifespan, supporting the idea that some interruptions of sleep do not affect overall health, at least as far as lifespan is concerned,” Stavropoulos says.
Although flies and humans would appear to have little in common when it comes to lifestyle, scientists say that the mechanisms of sleep and wakefulness are likely to be quite similar.
“Sleep is a fundamental behavior in all animals, and it is poorly understood from a scientific standpoint, says Stavropoulos. This work could prove useful in understanding and treating sleep disorders”The text is mainly about____.
| A．the progress in cloning fruit flies |
| B．the methods of cloning fruit flies |
| C．the link between gene and lifespan |
| D．the influence of a gene on the ability to sleep |
According to paragraph2, the mutant flies________.
| A．slept about 5 hours a day |
| B．had problems waking up |
| C．didn’t seem sleepy at all |
| D．could not fall asleep |
We can conclude from the text that________.
| A．sleep and health go hand in hand |
| B．sleep can be controlled by humans |
| C．research into sleep is very fruitful |
| D．the findings are useful in medical treatment |
Ashley and Chris work in the same department designing postcards. Chris had a college degree in art and deeply felt that the degree of his designs was excellent. His last postcard showed the depth of a desert’s beauty and delights.
“It’s just a picture of the desert,” Ashley said. “Not deep at all.”
“Some people desire seeing beauty,” Chris replied. “Mine delivers that”.
Ashley laughed and said, “well, that depends on what you think beauty is.”
Days later, someone delivered a letter to Ashley. The letter said, “You are worthy of the bad things that will come your way. You will know the taste of defeat, and I will destroy you.”
Ashley suddenly felt very cold. It was as if the room temperature had dropped 30 degrees. “Who would do such a shocking deed?” she wondered. “I will not let a simple letter defeat me.”
Just then, Chris came into the room and offered Ashley a piece of his sandwich.
“Try some,” he smiled widely. “It’s delicious.”
“Are you trying to poison me?” Ashley asked. Chris’s answer was delayed from confusion. “What’s your problem?” he asked.
The next day, Ashley brought a bat to use to defend herself. When Chris saw her bat, he joked, “Defend and win one for the team.”
Ashley took no notice of him. She spent the whole day reading self-defending books and placed her work on delay. “You can’t delay your work. Our job demands us to do our work on time,” Chris said. “We must meet the demands of our job.”
“You‘re not the boss,” Ashley replied. “Don’t make demands of me.”
Because Ashley failed to do her work, she was fired.
Chris glanced at Ashley’s empty desk and smiled.What kind of work did Chris and Ashley do?
| A．Drawing. | B．Designing. |
| C．Painting. | D．Building. |
What did Ashley think of the last postcard designed by Chris?
| A．Excellent |
| B．Too bad |
| C．It didn’t show the real beauty of the desert. |
| D．He expressed himself in an indirect way. |
We may infer from this passage that ___________.
| A．Chris was not a good designer |
| B．Chris and Ashley were friendly to each other |
| C．Chris herself must have written the letter |
| D．It may sometimes bring about bad luck to speak out one’s mind |