Two magazines recently listed the best cities to live in. Here are two of the cities listed as “the world’s best.”
SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA The city has comfortable weather all year round (15°C to 26°C ). Housing is not very expensive in San Jose. Also, many of the city’s older neighborhoods are very beautiful and have small hotels and cafés(咖啡馆). Beautiful mountains are around the city. You can visit them easily from San Jose. So lots of people go sightseeing there every year. But air pollution is a problem in the city center.
HONG KONG, CHINA This lively city—once a small fishing village—is today an international business center. It is an interesting mixof East and West, old and new. Modern tall buildings are next to small temples (庙宇). Popular nightclubs are close to traditional teahouses. Busy people fill the streets at all hours of the day. But outside the city, there are parks for walking or relaxing. Hong Kong is famous for its wonderful native dishes. There’s also food from Europe, North America, and other parts of Asia. However, this small city has a large population. Nearly 7 million people live in Hong Kong! That’s why housing is often very expensive. Traffic and air pollution are also a problem.Which of the following is not mentioned about San Jose?
| A．The weather. | B．The mountains. | C．The air. | D．The traffic. |
What makes Hong Kong the world’s best according to this passage?
| A．The lively city and the wonderful dishes. | B．The beautiful mountains and the lively city. |
| C．The expensive housing and the food. | D．The city and the people. |
The writer thinks housing in Hong Kong is expensive because .
| A．it was a small fishing village | B．it is a mix of East and West |
| C．it is famous for its wonderful food | D．there are too many people in the city |
What do the two cities have in common?
| A．They both have beautiful mountains. | B．They both have a large population. |
| C．Air pollution is a problem in both. | D．They are both crowded. |
From the passage, we can know that .
| A．San Jose and Hong Kong are the only two cities of the world’s best |
| B．San Jose has more natural sights than Hong Kong does |
| C．the weather in both cities is fine |
| D．Hong Kong is the more popular city of the two |
Welcome to one of the largest collections of footwear in the world that will make you green with envy. Here at the Footwear Museum you can see exhibits from all over the world. You can find out about shoes worn by everyone from the Ancient Egyptians to pop stars.
Room 1
The celebrity footwear section is probably the most popular in the entire museum. Started in the 1950s there is a wide variety of shoes and boots belonging to everyone from queens and presidents to pop stars and actors! Most visitors find the celebrities' choice of footwear extremely interesting.
Room 2
Most of our visitors are amazed—and shocked—by the collection of “special purpose” shoes on exhibition here at the Museum of Footwear. For example, there are Chinese shoes made of silk that were worn by women to tie their feet firmly to prevent them from growing too much！
Room 3
As well as shoes and boots, the museum also exhibits shoeshaped objects. The variety is unbelievable. For example, there is a metal lamp that resembles a pair of shoes, and Greek wine bottles that look like legs！
The Footwear Library
People come from all over the world to study in our excellent footwear library. Designers and researchers come here to look up information on anything and everything related to the subject of footwear.Where would you find a famous singer's shoes?
| A．Room 1. | B．Room 2. | C．Room 3. | D．The Footwear Library. |
All exhibits each room ________.
| A．share the same theme |
| B．have the same shape |
| C．are made of the same material |
| D．belong to the same social class |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．The oldest exhibits in Room 1 were made in the 1950s. |
| B．Room 2 is the most visited place in the museum. |
| C．Room 3 has a richer variety of exhibits than the other two. |
| D．Researchers come to the Footwear Library for data. |
The purpose of the text is to get more people to ________.
| A．do research | B．design shoes | C．visit the museum | D．follow celebrities |
The smell of fresh air is becoming something of a distant memory, thanks to our increasing use of fragrance (香气). From air fresheners to scented (有香味的) candles, we live in a world of scent.
Recent figures show seven in ten people use air fresheners or scented candles to keep our homes smelling sweet. Yet recent records suggest that perfumed products could affect our health, causing problems including allergies (过敏), headaches and asthma (哮喘) .
One leading expert believes nearly a third of people suffer health effects from being exposed to scents. A major problem is so-called “contact” allergy—where perfumes and scented products cause eczema (湿疹) when they come into contact with the skin. About one in 20 is thought to be affected by fragrance allergy.
“Often it may not be immediately obvious that you have developed a fragrance allergy,” says Dr. Baron. “You don’t react immediately. Gradually, as you are exposed more and more, the body increases its reaction, until it becomes noticeable to you.”
People with pre-existing eczema are particularly vulnerable (易受影响). “The eczema worsens in areas in contact with perfumes,” says Dr. Baron. “But even those without allergies can be at risk of fragrance allergy.” You can become suddenly allergic to perfumes and personal care products that you have been using for years. “Even if you know which fragrance causes a problem, it can be difficult to avoid, as most personal care products –soap, shampoo, sun cream and washing powder—contain fragrances,” says Dr. Baron.
And strong scents can also cause headaches. Fragrances activate the nose’s nerve cells, stimulating the nerve system associated with head pain. To minimize risk, sufferers are advised to minimize the contact.
“Fragrance suggest cleanliness – yet people are smelling a potentially dangerous chemical mixture,” says Anne Steinemann, professor of the University of Washington. “We often use them to mask one problem – as with air fresheners – but create a greater one – adding poisonous chemicals to the air.”What is the text mainly about?
| A．The world trend of using fragrance. |
| B．The benefits of using non-fragranced products. |
| C．The health problems caused by fragrance |
| D．The ways of removing allergy. |
According to Dr. Baron, .
| A．our bodies have an immediate reaction to fragrance. |
| B．seven in ten have suffered fragrance allergy. |
| C．fragrance can affect people who don’t have allergy |
| D．people can avoid contacting with fragrance easily |
Which of the following questions does the text NOT answer?
| A．Which products contain fragrance? |
| B．What’s the influence of fragrance in the air? |
| C．What are the air fresheners made up of? |
| D．How are headaches caused by fragrance? |
The following paragraph might discuss.
| A．the asthma caused by strong scents. |
| B．people’s efforts to protect fresh air. |
| C．the methods of curing eczema |
| D．the bad effects of air fresheners. |
The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light，I looked sadly before me at a huge pile of that troublesome stuff（东西） they call “books”。
I was going to have my examination the next day.“When can I go to bed？” I asked myself. I didn’t answer，In fact I dared not.
The clock struck twelve. “ Oh，dear！” I cried. “Ten more books to read before I can go to bed！” We pupils are the most wretched creatures（生物） in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.
The clock struck one. I was quite desperate（绝望的）now. I forgot all I had learned. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed，“Oh，God，please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards，Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later，with my head on the desk，I fell asleep.The underlined word “wretched”in Paragraph 3 probably means _______ .
| A．very happy. | B．disappointed. | C．very unhappy. | D．hopeful. |
Reviewing his lessons didn’t help him because.
| A．it was too late at night. |
| B．he was very tired. |
| C．his eye lids were so heavy that he couldn’t keep them open. |
| D．he hadn’t studied hard before the examination. |
What do you suppose happened to the author？
| A．He went to a church to pray again. |
| B．He passed the exam by sheer luck. |
| C．He failed in the exam. |
| D．He was punished by his teacher. |
The best title for the passage would be __________ .
| A．The Night Before the Examination. |
| B．Working Far into the Night. |
| C．A Slow Student. |
| D．Going Over My Lessons. |
Retirement Age
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely．The " standard" retirement age varies from country to country, but it is generally between 50 and 70, according to the latest statistics, 2011．However, for a long time, people have got into an argument about whether the age of retirement should be increased or reduced in their own countries．
There are several arguments for allowing older people to continue working as long as they are able．Many people think that older employees have a large amount of knowledge and experience which can be lost to a business or organization if they are made to retire．Besides, older employees are often extremely faithful employees to and are more willing to implement company policies than the young．A more important point is regarding the attitudes in society to old people．To force someone to resign or retire at 60 or 65 indicates that the society does not value the input of these people and that effectively their useful life is over．
Allowing old people to work indefinitely （无限地）, however, is not always a good policy．Some people took the strong view that age alone is no guarantee of ability．Many young employees have more experience or skills than older staff, who may have been stuck in one area for most of their working lives．Having compulsory retirement allows new ideas in an organization．On the other hand, older people should be rewarded by society for their life' s labor by being given generous pensions and the freedom to enjoy leisure．They can have time to do whatever they like, that is, they can have their own plans or roles and achieve their retirement goals．
With many young people unemployed or frustrated in low-level positions, there are often calls to compulsorily retire older workers．However, this can affect the older individual' s freedom—and right—to work．In my opinion, giving workers more choices over their retirement age will benefit society and the individual．According to the passage, older people should go on with work because ____.
| A．they will help the business not to fail quickly |
| B．they have grasped much practical experience |
| C．they need to have a sense of achievement |
| D．they want to learn more knowledge |
The underlined word "implement" in Paragraph 2 probably means "______".
| A．take over | B．work on | C．get rid of | D．carry out |
The third paragraph is mainly to tell us that ______．
| A．older people can' t do their work well |
| B．young people usually have new ideas |
| C．it is better for older people to retire on time |
| D．older people would like to do something else |
Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
I got interested in the idea of standing desks about a year ago. The health advantages of standing instead of sitting for eight hours a day are clear, so when the company Ergotron invited me to review their WorkFit C-Mod Dual Desk, I jumped out of my chair---really.
After several hours putting the desk together, I finally got to try it out. The standing desk had a desktop that I could use for writing.
At first I absolutely loved it. Standing during the day instead of sitting was fantastic. Although I felt more tired after all that standing during the day, I knew the health benefits were worth the slight discomfort. However, after the initial novelty (新奇)of the desk wore off, I realized that I could not use it in the long term.
It was just not practical. While using the desk for a month , I could definitely foresee problems arising from using it full time.
I enjoy having a lot of things on my desk. The standing desk just did not have enough room for all of my things.
I can easily foresee awkward situations when I put that desk in an office space. When someone comes into your office, does your guest have to stand as well? If you office is big enough, maybe you have room for two chairs for you and a visitor, which is great. Yet for the ordinary worker in a small office, the standing desk creates a very awkward situation.
Additionally, the amount of money I would have to spend to replace my current workspace with a standing desk was another issue. The desks I have looked at were highly expensive.
Yes, spending the day standing can offset(抵消) many of the negative effects of too much sitting, but we humans are designed for movement. Through activity changes like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, you can easily increase the time you spend on your feet. Best of all, those options are completely free.When the author was asked to try the standing desk out, he was ____.
| A．excited | B．surprised | C．unhappy | D．uninterested |
When first using the standing desk, the author ___.
| A．thought it was boring | B．thought it was wonderful |
| C．felt less tired than usual | D．felt quite uncomfortable |
According to the author, a standing desk ____.
| A．takes up too much space | B．is suitable for long-term use |
| C．is cheaper than traditional desks | D．is impractical though good for health |
What does the author mainly tell us in the text?
| A．How to use the standing desk. | B．What he does during the workday. |
| C．His opinion on the standing desk. | D．The advantage of the standing desk. |