Directions: Read the following passage, Answer the questions according to the
information given in the passage.
Secret Santas
On Christmas morning, Linda wakes up, and tries to imagine the wide-eyed surprise of children in another household as they unwrap the presents she carefully chose for them. Linda has never met the children, but that’s all part of the joy of giving as secret Santas, she says.
"It's an amazing feeling to buy gifts on an anonymous (匿名的) basis," says Linda.
"It brings a whole new meaning to the holidays."
Linda and Tony are an American couple living in Toronto, Canada, and Linda did charitable work as a member of the American Women's Club of Toronto. As the name suggests, members are U.S. citizens living in Toronto, who join together for fellowship and community service.
To find her "adopted" family, Linda goes to the local schools and requests a wish list for a family that's struggling to survive. Last year she helped a single mother with three children. The mother works as a cleaning lady in a nursing home.
"The list is always heartbreaking. They have an opportunity to ask for anything and do just the opposite, asking for basic clothes or simple toys," she says. "We always buy the kids a new winter coat, hats, and gloves." She also buys gifts for the parents.
Last year Linda asked the mother for a second wish list--one that didn't include the basics. "Every child should have a Christmas that sticks with them for a lifetime." She purchased iPods for the two older children and a video game system for the youngest."I have learned a very valuable lesson in all of this," says Linda. "Pay attention to what's going on in your own backyard--no matter where you live."
The joy of giving as secret Santas is much sweeter when the gift is anonymous.What reaction does Linda imagine the children will have?
(No more than 5 words) (2 marks)
Why did Linda join the American Women's Club of Toronto?
(No more than 10 words) (2 marks)
Why did Linda ask for a second wish list?
(No more than 15 words) (3 marks)
What kind of people does "secret Santas" in the passage refer to?
(No more than 12 words) (3 marks)
请认真阅读下面短文,并根据所读内容在文章后图表中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。
When it comes to the prevention of heart disease, women need to pay attention to their own special risks. And so do men. Surprisingly, even children and teens need to be aware- or at least the parents who want to keep them safe do. Thankfully, scientists have also made great leaps in figuring out the specific prevention strategies that work best for all. So now, knowledge is your best protection.
What Men Need to Know
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), at least half of the people who die suddenly from heart disease each year had no clue they were sick. Some think that half of all heart attacks strike out of the blue. Not true, insists Jennifer Mieres, a spokeswoman for the AHA. A 2004 study found that at least 90 percent of first heart attacks are caused by well-known problems like high cholesterol(胆固醇) or diabetes. “If you look closely,” says she, “you’ll almost always find a risk factor that was undiscovered, ignored, or not adequately treated.”
Lifestyle changes like adopting a healthy diet, getting out for regular exercise, avoiding tobacco, losing weight are the first line of defense.
What Women Need to Know
There are some special considerations for the women who are healthy and want to make sure they stay that way. First, they shouldn’t smoke-no one should, but the habit is even harder on women’s heart than it is on men’s.
Women who find that they are at risk should talk to their doctor about taking a statin(他汀,药物名). Indeed, statins reduce the risk of heart disease, but there has been not enough evidence that they help high-risk women and it can’t guarantee the long-term safety. So it’s worth noting that a healthy diet and exercise also reduce cholesterol.
What Parents Need to Know
Last year, a study showed that overweight children and teens have arteries(动脉)that look like those of an average 45-year-old. New guidelines say these children should get a cholesterol test by age ten -- and even urge doctors to consider statins for those most at risk if nothing else works. The recommendations caused oppositions. Lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise are the best strategy, says Dr. Greer, a professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. Statins should be considered only for kids in danger.
| Title: The Family Guide to a Healthy Heart |
|
Theme |
All people, regardless of their gender(性别) and 1._____, should pay attention to their own special risks and keep some basic knowledge in mind to 2______ heart disease. |
Things Men Need to Know |
Such problems as high cholesterol or diabetes3____ to most of first heart attacks. They should make changes in their lifestyle, like adopting a healthy diet, exercise4____ , avoiding tobacco and losing weight. |
Things Women Need to Know |
5____ should be avoided, which will do more6_____ to a woman’s heart than to a man’s. Statins may not work on high-risk women and can’t guarantee safety in the long 7_______ With a healthy diet and exercise, one’s cholesterol can be 8.________. |
| Things Parents Need to Know |
Research showed that overweight children and teens’ arteries are 9._____ to those of an average 45-year-old. Children should change the way they live without taking statins unless in 10_______. |
请认真阅读下列短文, 并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。注意:每空格1个单词。
The job of raising children is a tough one. Children don’t come with an instruction handbook. And each child is different. So parents sometimes pull their hair out in frustration, not knowing what to do. But in raising children---as in all of life---what we do is influenced by our culture. Naturally then, American parents teach their children basic American values.
To Americans, the goal of parents is to help children stand on their own two feet. From infancy, each child may get his or her own room. As children grow, they gain more freedom to make their own choices. Teenagers choose their own forms of entertainment, as well as the friends to share them with. When they reach young adulthood, they choose their own careers and marriage partners. Of course, many young adults still seek their parents’ advice and approval for the choices they make. But once they "leave the nest" at around 18 to 21 years old, they want to be on their own, not "tied to their mother’s apron strings."
The relationship between parents and children in America is very informal. American parents try to treat their children as individuals ─ not as extensions of themselves. They allow them to fulfill their own dreams. Americans praise and encourage their children to give them the confidence to succeed. When children become adults, their relationship with their parents becomes more like a friendship among equals. But contrary to popular belief, most adult Americans don’t make their parents pay for room and board when they come to visit. Even as adults, they respect and honor their parents.
Most young couples with children struggle with the issue of childcare. Mothers have traditionally stayed home with their children. In recent years, though, a growing trend is to put preschoolers in a day care center so Mom can work. Many Americans have strong feelings about which type of arrangement is best. Some argue that attending a day care center can be a positive experience for children. Others insist that mothers are the best caregivers for children. A number of women are now leaving the workforce to become full-time homemakers.
Disciplining children is another area that American parents have different opinions about. Many parents feel that an old-fashioned spanking(一顿打) helps youngsters learn what "No!" means. Others prefer alternate forms of discipline. For example, "time outs" have become popular in recent years. Children in "time out" have to sit in a corner or by a wall. They can get up only when they are ready to act nicely. Older children and teenagers who break the rules may be grounded, or not allowed to go out with friends. Some of their privileges at home like TV or telephone use may also be taken away for a while. Although discipline isn’t fun for parents or children, it’s a necessary part of training.
Being a parent is a tall order. It takes patience, love, wisdom, courage and a good sense of humor to raise children. Some people are just deciding not to have children at all, since they’re not sure it’s worth it. But raising children means training the next generation and preserving our culture. What could be worth more than that?
Title: The Job of Raising Children
| Paragraph outline |
Supporting details |
| Introduction |
It is no easy task to bring up children. Parents sometimes feel very 1▲, not knowing what to do. |
| The goal of parents |
They help children to be 2▲instead of depending on parents. |
| The relationship between parents and children |
An informal relationship exists between American parents and children. ● Children are praised and 3▲to realize their dreams. ● Children are treated 4▲more like friends. |
| The issue of childcare |
Most young couple struggle with this issue. ● 5▲, mothers stayed home with kids. ● Recently, a day care center is where preschoolers are put. ● There is a(n) 6▲over whether attending a day care center is a positive experience for children. |
| Ways to 7▲children |
American parents have different opinions. ● "Time outs" have become 8▲in recent years. ● 9▲away some privileges is a way to punish some older children and teenagers. |
| Conclusion |
Raising children takes patience, love, wisdom, courage etc., but it is 10▲. |
Is there a “success personality”—some winning combination of qualities that leads almost inevitably(必然地)to achievement? If so, exactly what is that secret success formula(公式), and can anyone develop it?
At the Gallop Organization we recently focused in depth on success, inquiring into the attitudes of 1500 distinguished people selected at random from Who’s Who in America. Our research finds out a number of qualities that occur regularly among top achievers. Here is one of the most important, that is common sense.
Common sense is the most widely possessed quality of the people surveyed. Seventy-nine percent award themselves a top score in this quality. And 61 percent say that common sense is very important in contributing to their success.
To most, common sense means the ability to present sound, practical judgments on everyday affairs. To do this, one has to remove extra ideas and get right to the key points of what matters. A Texas oil and gas businessman puts it this way: “The key ability for success is simplifying. In conduction of meeting and dealing with industry reducing a complex problem to the simplest term is highly important.”
Is common sense a quality a person is born with, or can you do something to increase it? The oil man’s answer is that common sense can definitely be developed. He owes this to learning how to debate in school. Another way to increase your store of common sense is to observe it in others, learning from their—and your own—mistakes.
Besides common sense, there are many other factors that influence success: knowing your field, self-reliance, intelligence, the ability to get things done, leadership, creativity, relationships with others, and of course, luck. But common sense stands out. If you develop these qualities, you’ll succeed. And you might even find yourself listed in Who’s Who someday.
| Secrets to success |
|
| Finding of the (1)▲ |
Top achievers have some common (2)▲, one of which is common sense. |
| The most important quality |
79 percent of the people surveyed (3)▲highly of common sense. And 61 percent say their success (4)▲from this quality. |
| Understanding of common sense |
To most, it means one is (5)▲of presenting sound, practical judgments on everyday affairs by (6)▲on what really counts. |
| (7)▲to get common sense |
(8)▲it through activities like learning how to debate in school. Increasing it through mistakes by observing others. |
| Other factors leading to success |
(9)▲from common sense, many other factors contribute to success, luck (10)▲. But common sense is the most outstanding. |
1. _____________ 2. _____________ 3. ______________ 4. __________ 5. ______________
6. _____________ 7. _____________ 8. ______________ 9. __________10. ______________
Should doctors ever lie to benefit their patients to speed recovery or to cover the coming of death? In medicine as in law, government, and other lines of work, the requirements of honesty often seem dwarfed by greater needs; the need to protect patients from brutal news, to uphold a promise of secrecy or to advance the public interest.
What should doctors say, for example, to a 46-year-old man coming in for a routine physical checkup just before going on vacation with his family who, though he feels in perfect health, is found to have a form of cancer that will cause him to die within six months? Is it best to tell him the truth? If he asks, should doctors reject that he is ill, or minimize the gravity of the illness? Should they at least hide the truth until after the family vacation?
Doctors face such choices often. At times, they see important reasons to lie for the patients’ own sake; in their eyes, such lies differ sharply from self-serving ones.
Studies show that most doctors sincerely believe that the seriously ill patients do not want to know the truth about their condition, and that informing them of risks destroys their hope, so that they may recover more slowly, or deteriorate faster, perhaps even commit suicide.
But other studies show that, contrary to the belief of many physicians, a great majority of patients do want to be told the truth, even about serious illness, and feel cheated when they learn that they have been misled. We are also learning that truthful information, humanely conveyed, helps patients cope with illness; help them tolerate pain better with less medicine, and even recover faster after surgery.
There is an urgent need to debate this issue openly. Not only in medicine, but in other professions as well, practitioners may find themselves repeatedly in difficulty where serious consequences seem avoidable only through deception. Yet the public has every reason to know the professional deception, for such practices are peculiarly likely to become deeply rooted, to spread, and to trust. Neither in medicine, nor in law, government, or the social sciences can there be comfort in the old saying, “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.”
Title: 1 Or Not
| Different 2 |
·Most doctors are in 3 of lying for the patients’ own sake. |
| ·A great majority of patients 4 on being told the truth. |
|
| Reasons for 5 lying to patients |
·Informing patients of the truth about their condition destroys their hope, 6 to recovering more slowly, or deteriorating faster, perhaps even 7 themselves. |
| Reasons 8 lying to patients |
·The truthful information helps patients to 9 their illness, help them tolerate pain better with less medicine, and even recover faster after surgery. ·Most patients feel 10 when they learn that they have been misled. |
请认真阅读下列短文,并根据短文的内容要点完成文章后的表格。注意:补全填空应符合语法和搭配要求,每空只填一个单词。
Happiness is U-shaped, for we are happier at the start and end of our lives but hit a slump when we are middle-aged,
British and US researchers say.
Economists from the University of Warwick, central England, and from Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, looked at data on the mental health of two million people from 80 countries.
In Britain, the probability of depression for men and women peaks at around 44 years of age, Warwick University said in a press release.
In the United States, though, there was a big difference between men and women.
Among women, unhappiness peaked at around the age of 40, whereas among men, it was about 50.
But the U-shape of happiness is constant around the world, and mid-life depression takes place regardless of marital status, changes in job or income.
The study appears in Social Science & Medicine, published by the Dutch publishing house Elsevier.
"It happens to men and women ,to single and married people, to rich and poor and to those with and without children." said co-author Andrew Oswald.
One possibility may be that people realize theywon't achieve many of their aspirations at middle age, the researchers said.
Another reason could be that after seeing their fellow middle-aged peers begin to die, people begin to value their own remaining years and embrace life once more.
But the good news is that if people make it to aged 70 and are still physically fit, they are on average as happy and mentally healthy as a 20-year old.
"For the average persons in the modern world, the dip in mental health and happiness comes on slowly, not suddenly in a single year," Oswald said. "Only in their fifties do people emerge from this low period,"
Title: People happiest at start and end of lives, but slump in middle
| Theme |
Happiness is in the (1)of U, for we are happier when are young and old but unhappy when we are middle-aged. |
| Findings |
For (2)men and women, depression is most (3)to peak when they are about 44 years old. |
| For American people, men and women are very (4). Most women feel (5)at around the age of 40. Among men, unhappiness peaks at about 50. |
|
| The U-shape of happiness is constant around the world, and mid-life depression (6)regardless of marital status, changes in job or income. |
|
| (7) |
Possibly because people realize they are (8)to achieve many of their aspirations at middle age. |
| Possibly because after they have seen their fellow middle-aged peers’ deaths, people begin to value their own years (9)and embrace life once more. |
|
| Good news |
If people are still in good (10)when they reach 70, they are on average as happy and mentally healthy as a 20-year old. |