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. |
Too much TV-watching can harm children’s ability to learn and even reduce their chances of getting a college degree, new studies suggest in the latest effort to examine the effects of television on children.
One of the studies looked at nearly 400 northern California third-graders. Those with TVs in their bedrooms scored about eight points lower on math and language arts tests than children without bedrooms TVs.
A second study, looking at nearly 1,000 grown-ups in New Zealand, found lower education levels among 26-year-olds who had watched lots of TV during childhood. But the results don’t prove that TV is the cause and don’t rule out that already poorly motivated youngsters(年轻人)may watch lots of TV.
Their study measured the TV habits of 26-year-olds between ages 5 and 15. Those with college degrees had watched an average of less than two hours of TV per weeknight during childhood, compared with an average of more than 2½ hours for those who had no education beyond high school.
In the California study, children with TVs in their rooms but no computer at home scored the lowest, while those with no bedroom TV but who had home computers scored the highest.
While this study does not prove that bedroom TV sets caused the lower scores, it adds to accumulating findings that children shouldn’t have TVs in their bedrooms.According to the California study, the low-scoring group might____________.
| A．have watched a lot of TV |
| B．not be interested in math |
| C．be unable to go to college |
| D．have had computers in their bedrooms |
What is the researchers’ understanding of the New Zealand study results?
| A．Poorly motivated 26-year-olds watch more TV. |
| B．Habits of TV watching reduce learning interest. |
| C．TV watching leads to lower education levels of the 15-year-olds. |
| D．The connection between TV and education levels is difficult to explain. |
What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?
| A．More time should be spent on computers. |
| B．Children should be forbidden from watching TV. |
| C．TV sets shouldn’t be allowed in children’s bedrooms. |
| D．Further studies on high-achieving students should be done. |
What would be the best title for this text?
| A．Computers or Television |
| B．Effects of Television on Children |
| C．Studies on TV and College Education |
| D．Television and Children’s Learning Habits |
If you ask people to name the one person who had the greatest effect on the English language, you will get answers like “Shakespeare,” “Samuel Johnson,” and “Webster,” but none of these men had any effect at all compared to a man who didn’t even speak English-William the Conqueror.
Before 1066, in the land we now call Great Britain lived peoples belonging to two major language groups. In the west central region lived the Welsh, who spoke a Celtic language, and in the north lived the Scots, whose language, though not the same as Welsh, was also Celtic. In the rest of the country lived the Saxons, actually a mixture of Anglos, Saxons, and other Germanic and Nordic peoples, who spoke what we now call Anglo-Saxon (or Old English), a Germanic language. If this state of affairs had lasted, English today would be close to German.
But this state of affairs did not last. In l066 the Normans led by William defeated the Saxons and began their rule over England. For about a century, French became the official language of Eng-land while Old English became the language of peasants. As a result, English words of Politics and the law come from French rather than German. In some cases, modern English even shows a distinction (区别) between upper-class French and lower-class Anglo-Saxon in its words. We even have different words for some foods, meat in particular, depending on whether it is still out in the fields or at home ready to be cooked, which shows the fact that the Saxon peasants were doing the farming, while the upper-class Normans were doing most of the eating.
When Americans visit Europe for the first time, they usually find Germany more "foreign" than France because the German they see on signs and advertisements seems much more different from English than French does. Few realize that the English language is actually Germanic in its beginning and that the French influences are all the result of one man's ambition. The two major languages spoken in what is now called Great Britain before l066 were
| A．Welsh and Scottish | B．Nordic and Germanic |
| C．Celtic and Old English. | D．Anglo-Saxon and Germanic |
Which of the following groups of words are, by inference, rooted in French?
| A．president, Lawyer, beef | B．president, bread, water |
| C．bread, field, sheep | D．folk, field, cow |
Why does France appear less foreign than Germany to Americans on their first visit to Europe?
| A．Most advertisements in France appear in English. |
| B．They know little of the history of the English language. |
| C．Many French words are similar to English ones. |
| D．They know French better than German. |
What is the subject discussed in the text?
| A．The history of Great Britain. |
| B．The similarity between English and French. |
| C．The rule of England by William the Conqueror. |
| D．The French influences on the English language. |
Shanghai: Car rentals(出租) are becoming more and more popular as an inexpensive way of taking to the roads. Business people, foreigners and families alike are making good use of the growing industry.
The first car rental firm opened in Shanghai in 1992 and now 12 car rental players are in the game, with more than 11,500 cars in their books.
The largest Player----Shanghai Bashi Tourism Car Rental Center Offers a wide variety of choices-deluxe sedans, minivan, station wagons, coaches. Santana sedans are the big favorite.
Firms can attract enough customers for 70 percent of their cars every month. This figure shoots up during holiday seasons like National Day, Labor Day and New Year's Day, with some recording 100 percent rental.
The major market force rests in the growing Population of white-collar employees (白领雇员工),who can afford the new service, said Zhuang Yu, marketing manager of Shanghai Angel Car Rental Co.The words “deluxe sedans'," minivans" and station wagons" used in the text refer to
| A．cars in the making | B．bar rental firms. |
| C．cars for rent | D．car makers |
Which of the following statements is true according to the text?
| A．70% of the cars can be rented out on holiday |
| B．70% of the customers are white-collar employees. |
| C．More firms are open for service during holiday seasons. |
| D．Some firms rent out all their cars during holiday seasons. |
Shanghai's car rental industry is growing so fast mainly due to --,
| A．better cars supplied by producers |
| B．fast service offered by car rental firms |
| C．the increasing number of white-collar employees. |
| D．people's growing interest in travelling during holidays |
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. “How much is an ice cream sundae?”“Fifty cents,” replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. “How much is a dish of plain ice cream?” he required. Some people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was a bit impatient. “Thirty-five cents,” she said rudely. The little boy again counted the coins. “I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the bill and departed. When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed nearly beside the empty dish, were two five-cent coins and five one-cent coins---her tip.In the days , an ice cream is ______________.
| A．dearer than usual | B．as dear as usual |
| C．much cheaper than usual | D．as cheap as usual |
How much money did the boy probably have in his pocket?
| A．thirty-five cents. | B．More than fifty cents. |
| C．only fifty cents. | D．Less than fifty cents. |
Why did the little boy have only a dish of plain ice cream?
| A．The plain ice cream cost him much less. |
| B．He enjoyed the cheaper ice cream better. |
| C．The coins were not enough for an ice cream sundae. |
| D．He wanted to save some coins to tip the waitress. |
We can infer that the waitress might have felt _____ when she got the tip.
| A．very surprised. | B．a bit of shame |
| C．quite pleased | D．a little worried |
Do you enjoy reading? Do you read newspapers or magazines? Chances are, if you do any of these activities, your pre-school child is on his way to becoming a reader.
The process of learning to read is complex, and one of the most important things to know is that parents can help their children learn to read. As children have conversations with adults, they hear both new and familiar words and their vocabulary grows.
There are many opportunities for adults and children to talk together, such as when riding in the car or in a bus, doing housework like fixing dinner, or bathing and getting ready for bed. A major part of conversation is listening. When children talk, adults listen and respond. Then children listen and respond, and so the flow of conversation happens.
Have you watched you pre-school child pretend to read to his younger sisters or brothers? Have you read his favorite story over and over? These experiences tell children that reading is fun. And when things are fun and they are repeated, your child will see letters. He begins to connect them to familiar words, especially the letters that make up his name. A natural next step for him to take is to write the letters.
When children see parents make a grocery list, they want to use a pencil and paper to make their own list. To encourage these beginning writing activities, have pencils, markers, crayons and scrap paper within your children’s reach.
The more children get connected with talking, listening, reading and writing, the easier it is for them to become active readers. While you as a parent have a big influence on these early behaviors, it is important to remember that opportunities for literacy experiences happen when you and your child share in the basic routines（日常生活）of everyday life. The third paragraph tells us that parents can talk with their children__________.
| A．during daily routines | B．only in quiet places |
| C．in their spare time | D．when they are eager to walk |
During the process of learning to read, children may _________.
| A．copy the action of the adults. |
| B．prefer to talk with those of their own age. |
| C．show no interest in reading at all. |
| D．waste a lot of paper and other materials. |
When do children want to learn to write?
| A．When their parents ask them to do so. |
| B．When they believe they can write well. |
| C．When they know what they want to know |
| D．When they can connect letters with familiar words. |
The passage is written to _____________.
| A．talk about parents’ influence on their children’s behavior |
| B．encourage parents to set a good example to their children |
| C．advise parents to make reading a part of their children’s daily life |
| D．make parents believe in the importance of early reading |