As we get older, most of us worry about grey hair, wrinkles and maintaining a youthful body. But people often don’t realize the voice needs looking after. Here, Mr. Rubin, a voice expert, reveals how to keep your voice youthful.
Drink more fluid and avoid spicy food
You need water for the vocal cords(声带) to vibrate(振动) well. The body must be kept hydrated enough to make the vocal cords operate well. Drinking 1.5 liters of water a day at intervals of 15 minutes is very important. Mr. Rubin advises avoiding foods with an annoying effect on the stomach, such as onions, chili, fizzy drinks and chocolate.
Rest the throat and talk regularly
The vocal cords can be scared if you use your voice during a bad cough. If you have a case of laryngitis(喉炎) with a cold, you should rest your voice for a day or two, and seek medical advice.
Simply staying sociable and using your voice is very important. “As older people get less mobile, they can become socially isolated and speak less.” says Mr. Rubin. “The elderly need to communicate with people more. By using the vocal cords, they enable the ageing process to slow down. ”
Improve your posture
Good posture is essential to keeping the voice young, so we’d better stand properly. Exercise helps you take deeper breaths as it means there is better airflow through the voice box, producing a stronger tone.
Sing in the shower
This is one of the best ways to preserve your voice, as it keeps the larynx muscles strong while the steam lubricates(使润滑) the voice box. “Singing is gymnastics for the voice,” says Mr. Rubin. Joining a choir is one of the best ways to preserve a youthful tone.Mr. Rubin gives us advice on ________.
| A．ways to keep us from aging |
| B．ways to talk with other people |
| C．ways to keep our voice youthful |
| D．prevention of diseases caused by talking too much |
Which of the following statements is TRUE in the opinion of Mr. Rubin?
| A．We should stand properly to keep our voice youthful. |
| B．Professional singers’ voices tend to age quickly. |
| C．The steam can do great harm to the voice. |
| D．Taking more onions can keep us healthy. |
To protect the voice, the old people should .
| A．get less mobile | B．communicate with others more |
| C．avoid using the voice | D．lie in bed more |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Most people have realized the importance of protecting voice. |
| B．It’s hard to keep the vocal cords strong through exercise. |
| C．Singing in the shower is among the best ways to keep our voice youthful. |
| D．Shouting now and then benefits our vocal cords. |
Sam Trafton was my violin teacher and what he said during one of my lessons often came back to me years later．
One day he asked me how much I practiced, I said three or four hours a day．
"Do you practice in long stretches, an hour at a time?"
"I try to.”
"Well, don't," he shouted． "When you grow up, time won't come in long stretches． Practice in minutes, whenever you can find them five or ten before school, after lunch, between household tasks． Spread the practice through the day．"
When I was teaching at Boston, I wanted to write a novel, but for two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time． Then I remembered what Sam had said． During the next week I did an experiment． Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so． To my surprise, at the end of the week I had finished a chapter． Later on I continued my novels by the same piecemeal method．Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, every day there were unoccupied moments that could be caught and put to use．
However, you must get into your work quickly． If you have only five minutes for writing, you can't afford to waste four chewing your pencil． You must make your mental preparations beforehand, and concentrate on your task almost instantly when the time comes． Fortunately, rapid concentration is easier than most of us realize．
Sam Trafton has had a great influence on my life． He let me know that life can be counted on_to supply you short moments and even very short periods of time can add up to all useful hours you need, if you start without delay．The underlined part "counted on" in the last paragraph can probably be replaced by.
| A．enriched | B．added up to | C．concentrated on | D．expected |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．The writer owes great thanks to Sam for teaching him how to use free time |
| B．Sam has had a great influence on the writer's study． |
| C．The writer didn't take the teacher's words to heart at first． |
| D．Rapid concentration is actually more difficult than most people imagine |
It can be inferred from the passage that the writer.
| A．has new books published each year however busy his teaching is |
| B．can always find enough time for mental preparations beforehand |
| C．has formed a bad habit of chewing a pencil while writing his novels |
| D．is always tired of life because his teaching schedule is always heavy |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．A Little Time at a Time | B．How I Became a Writer |
| C．Concentrate on Your Work | D．My Violin Teacher |
Your beliefs are very powerful and have the power to create or to destroy your life. In most cases, whatever you believe is what you will become. If you believe that you are a loser, that you never get a breakthrough in life, and that you can’t accomplish(succeed in doing) anything, these things will be your reality. Believe that you are unlimited, that you can do anything you hope to do and when you do, your accomplishments will know no bounds. You control your beliefs, and that is how you finally control your life. This is a very important point. So how do you develop beliefs that will empower you?
Many of our beliefs come from our environment, the world we live in on a daily basis. If your environment is limiting your beliefs, then work very hard on changing it. If you are constantly around people who are negative and limiting, find other people to hang out with and get around positive, successful people.
Beliefs also come from past experiences. That is why it is so important to experience success on a regular basis. Set small achievable goals, and then try your best to reach them. “I will finish this project by early afternoon.” “I will make six calls on the phone in the next hour.” “I will exercise 20 minutes tonight.” When you start to experience success, then you start to believe in success, and that leads to more and bigger successes.
Beliefs come from knowledge. The more you learn, the more things you will possibly know.
Always take the advantage of opportunities to learn something new. It will bring new possibilities into your beliefs and your life.
Most importantly, you can develop new beliefs by setting and visualizing(设想) goals for
your life. Define your goals clearly. Then in your mind, see yourself achieving them in all of their sensory details. Mentally live the experience, see the sights, hear the sounds, smell the aroma, and feel the feelings. The beliefs formed in this way will lead you to their reality.In the author’s opinion, your life depends on.
| A．your environment where you live |
| B．your experiences |
| C．your knowledge and opportunities |
| D．your beliefs |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．You should try your best to help the negative people around you. |
| B．You should try to achieve small success to believe in success first. |
| C．The more knowledge you learn, the more you will control your life. |
| D．You should stick to your own beliefs without changing. |
According to the passage, what is the most important about your beliefs?
| A．To imagine your success with your senses. |
| B．To make efforts to achieve them. |
| C．To learn as much knowledge as possible. |
| D．To try to experience success regularly. |
Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?
Glynis
I piled on the pounds and I couldn’t lose them. Then I joined a slimming club. My target weight was 140 pounds and I lost 30 pounds in six months. I felt great and people kept saying how good I looked. But Christmas came and I started to slip back into my old eating habits. I told myself I’d lose the weight at slimming classes in the next year, but it didn’t happen. Instead of losing the pounds, I put them on. I’d lost will power(毅力) and tried to believe the saying that fish and chips didn’t make any difference but the scales don’t lie.
Roz
To be honest, I never weigh myself any more. I’ve leant to be happy with myself. It seemed to me that I would feel sorry about every spoonful of tasty food that passed my lips. My idea is simple. You shouldn’t think too much about food and dieting. Instead, you should get on with life and stop dreaming of a super-thin body. This is obviously the size I’m meant to be and, most of all I’m happy with it.
Lesley
I was very happy about winning Young Slimmer of the Year. I’d look in the mirror, unable to believe this slim lady was me! That might have been my problem-perhaps from then on I didn’t pay any attention to myself. Winning a national competition makes everything worse, though because you feel the eyes of the world are fixed upon you. I feel a complete failure because I’ve put on weight again.
Ros
Before moving in with my husband Gavin, I’d always been about 110 pounds, but the pleasant environment went straight to my waist and I put on 15 pounds in a year. Every so often I try to go on a diet. I always do well in the first few days, then end up having the children’s leftovers or eating chocolate happily-my weakness. I’d like to be slim. I decided to take more exercise when my kids are older.What are the four women talking about?
| A．Their figure. |
| B．Their future life. |
| C．Their work as a housewife. |
| D．Their eating habits. |
The underlined word “scales” refers to _.
| A．coaches in the slimming club |
| B．tools to measure weight |
| C．others’ suggestions |
| D．slimming classes |
Who doesn’t seem to care about her weight?
| A．Glynis. | B．Roz. | C．Lesley. | D．Ros. |
According to the passage, we can learn that.
| A．winning an honor has caused Lesley some worry |
| B．slimming classes had no effect on Glynis |
| C．Ros lost weight after she got married |
| D．Roz thinks she is a born slimmer |
Tony Burke, Australia’s environment minister, says he won’t decide until next year whether the koala should be protected as an endangered species. He was expected to make his decision by the end of October. But that decision has been put off. Burke said he needed more time to go over the latest information about the koala’s population.
In September, an Australian Senate committee reported that there was no question the koala’s population is on the decrease. “But they may not yet be eligible(符合条件的)—for listing as a threatened species,” said Senator Doug Cameron. “To have such a significant Australian icon(偶 像) included on the threatened species list would be a national shame.”
The koala is found only in the eucalyptus(桉树) forests of Australia. And its population is reported to have fallen sharply for many reasons, including the cutting down of forests to make way for human beings’ development, their own illness, climate change and killings by other animals such as wild dogs. And every year many koalas are hit by cars as they are trying to cross the busy roads.
Putting off the decision on protection for the koala “is really bad news,” said Debbie Pointing the president of the Koala Action Group. “We’ve worked tirelessly for many years to gather data on the populations,” Pointing said. “That data should be enough to make a decision.”
However, Burke pointed out that the Australian government had spent at least $6.3 milion on koala conservation efforts since 1996. Senators listed efforts that are already underway in Queensland-the construction of special koala bridges as well as fences along roads, to keep the animals out harm’s way.
Some people say that is not enough. “What we’re doing at the moment is likely to drive this species to extinction,” Queensland University zoologist Bill Ellis said.
“Koalas are an iconic Australian animal,” Burke told Australians. “They hold a special place in the hearts of Australians.”
But it is a fact that if more isn’t done to protect the koala, they might soon hold a place only in Australians’ memories.Tony Burke put off announcing the koala as an endangered species because.
| A．he needed more time to examine the latest information |
| B．he doubted whether koalas’ number is decreasing |
| C．he was thinking about ways to protect koalas |
| D．he had more important issues to deal with |
What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?
| A．The habitat of the koala. |
| B．Australia’s traffic problems. |
| C．The importance of koalas for Australians. |
| D．Reasons for the decrease of the koala population. |
According to the text, Debbie Pointing thinks that.
| A．the construction of special koala bridges is of little use |
| B．koalas becoming less important in Australians’ hearts |
| C．the government is to blame for the decreasing koala population |
| D．the government should announce the koala as an endangered species |
It can be learned from the text that Tony Burke.
| A．thought the government has done much for koalas |
| B．called on Australians to take care of the koala |
| C．decided to construct more fences along roads |
| D．was optimistic about the koala’s future |
Americans love their cars. There are more than eight cars for every 10 Americans, but most of the time, they sit idle(闲置的), parked in a driveway or on the street. Now, several companies on the U. S. West Coast are helping people rent their personal car to someone else when they don’t need it.
Eric Loebel is one of those people. For a small price, he wants to let his Oregon neighbors “borrow” his car. It’s a dark blue, model year 2000 Volvo car. The sales and marketing consultant says he doesn’t use it much. “My wife and I are huge bike commuters and almost don’t need a car,” he says.
Loebel is one of the first car owners in Portland to list his wheels for rent through a so-called
“peer-to-peer car sharing” service called Getaround. Com. “Cars are so expensive to own,” he says “This can definitely offset(弥补) some of the cost.” The website lets car owners decide for themselves how much to charge borrowers to rent by the hour, day or week.
Person-to-person rentals began in Germany a decade ago, and there are a handful of similar companies in Europe and Australia. The concept caught on quickly in California over the past year according to John Atcheson, vice president of Getaround, one of four carsharing startups in the San Francisco area.
“We have had amazing cars leaping into our system,” Atcheson says. “Not just 1995 pickup trucks but we have had late model Mercedes, Audis, any type of car you can imagine. We actually have a Tesla Roadster—a $150,000 sports car.”
Another service called JustShareIt plans to stand out by going beyond cars. Its founder says the company will offer person-to-person rentals of power boats, jet skis and snowmobeles(雪地机 动车) too.What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．There are too many cars in America. |
| B．Most cars are rarely used in America. |
| C．Commuting by bike is popular in America. |
| D．Americans try renting their cars to strangers. |
Which of the following is true of Getaround.com?
| A．It gives tips on saving costs on cars. |
| B．It provides a platform for car sharers. |
| C．It provides advice on driving. |
| D．It answers drivers’ questions person-to-person. |
We learn form Atcheson’s words that.
| A．they offer international services |
| B．they first formed in San Francisco |
| C．they offer cars of different types |
| D．their customers prefer new cars |
JustShareIt wants to make itself more attractive by.
| A．providing lower rent |
| B．providing extra sports equipments |
| C．offering person-to-person service |
| D．offering other things for rent |