阅读短文，并按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
Big storms, high waves, technical failures, loneliness, After battling hard times and danger for over nine months. British teenager Mike Perham made history last month as the youngest person to sail solo (单独) around the world.
The 17-year-old made the record after he cleared the Panama Canal ( 巴拿马运河) and then sailed through the Caribbean and home across the Atlantic.
Mike is only three months younger than Zac Sunderland. the 17-year-old American boy who had taken the crown as the youngest solo around-the-world sailor in July.
The two youngsters met in Cape Town in South Africa as they crossed the globe in different directions. Mike insisted they were not rival (竞争对手). "No. It's two teenagers going out there, living their dream and having the adventure of a lifetime." he said.
Mike may be young, but he is no stranger to sailing adventures. He picked up the hobby at age 6 when his father took him out in a small boat on a local lake. Father and son sailed separate boats across the Atlantic when Mike was 14, making him the youngest person to cross that ocean solo. That record gave him the taste for this even greater challenge.
On the recent journey. the scariest moment for Mike came when his sailboat was hit by storms in the southem Indian Ocean.
"We were picked up by what felt like a 60-foot wave and threw down on our side at 90 degrees," he said.
"It felt like I was going right over. Stuff was flying around and I just thought 'Oh no'".
At other times, he had to dive into the Pacific and fix problems. He tied himself to the boat, jumped into the water and went to work with a knife in 30-second dives undemeath (在......之下) the boat to cut a rope away.
Mike said he felt proud that he made his dream come true. "You've got to have confidence in yourself that you will make it." he said.What's the main idea of the passage? (No more than 15 words)
Which canal did Mike Perham cross? (No more than 3 words)
What does the underlined word "taste" in the fifth paragraph mean? (1 word)
What did Mike believe in? (No more than lO words)
What do you think of Mike Perham? (No more than 10 words)
There has been a recent trend in the food service industry toward lower fat content and less salt. This trend, which was started by the medical community（医学界） 61 a method of fighting heart disease, has had some unintended side 62 (effect) such as overweight and heart disease-the very thing the medical community was trying to fight.
Fat and salt are very important parts of a diet. They are required 63 (process) the food that we eat, to recover from injury and for several other bodily functions. When fat and salt 64 (remove) from food, the food tastes as if is missing something. As 65 result, people will eat more food to try to make up for that something missing. Even 66 (bad), the amount of fast food that people eat goes up. Fast food 67 (be) full of fat and salt; by 68 (eat) more fast food people will get more salt and fat than they need in their diet.
Having enough fat and salt in your meals will reduce the urge to snack(吃点心) between meals and will improve the taste of your food. However, be 69 (care) not to go to extremes. Like anything, it is possible to have too much of both, 70 is not good for the health.
In much of Asia,especially the so-called＂rice bowl＂ cultures of China,Japan,Korea, 41Vietnam,food is usually eaten with chopsticks.
Chopsticks are usually two long,thin pieces of wood or bamboo.They can also be made of plastic,animal bone or metal.Sometimes chopsticks are quite artistic.Truly elegant chopsticks might 42 (make)of gold and silver with Chinese characters.Skilled workers also combine various hardwoods and metal 43 (create)special designs.
The Chinese have used chopsticks for five thousand years.People probably cooked their f ood in large pots, 44 (use)twigs( 树枝 )to remove it.Over time, 45 thepopulation grew,people began cutting food into small pieces so it would cook more quickly.
Food in small pieces could be eaten easily with twigs which 46(gradual)turned into chopsticks.
Some people think that the great Chinese scholar Confucius, 47 lived from roughly 551 to 479 B.C.,influenced the 48 (develop)of chopsticks.Confucius believed knives would remind people of killings and 49 (be)too violent for use at the table.
Chopsticks are not used everywhere in Asia.In India,for example,most people traditionally eat 50their hands.
Last October ,while tending her garden in Mora ,Sweden ,Lena Pahlsson pulled out a handful of small 56 (carrot) and was about to throw them away .But something made her look closer ,and she noticed a 57 (shine) object .Yes ,there beneath the leafy top of one tiny carrot was her long-lost wedding ring.
Pahlsson screamed 58 loudly that her daughter came running from the house ."she thought I had hurt 59 (I),"says Pahlsson Sixteen years 60 (early),Pahlsson had removed the diamond ring 61 (cook) a meal. When she
wanted to put the ring back on later, it was gone. She
supected that one of her three daughters-then ten. eight, and six- had picked it up, but the girls said they hadn't. Pahlsson and her husband 62 (seareh) the kitchen, checking every corner. but turned up nothing. "I gave up hope of finding my ring again," she says. She never replaced it.
Pahlsson and her husband now think the ring probably got 63 (sweep) into a pile of kitchen rubbish and was spread over the garden, 64 it remained until the carrot's leafy top accidentally sprouted (生长) through it. For Pahlsson, its return was 65 wonder.
Population Change
Why is the world's population growing? The answer is not what you might think. The reason for the explosion is not that people have been reproducing like rabbits, but that people have stopped dropping dead like flies. In 1900, people died at the average age of 30.By 2000 the average age was 65.But while increasing health was a typical feature of the 20 thcentury, declining birth rate could be a defining one of the 21 st.
Statistics show that the average number of births per woman has fallen from 4.9 in the early 1960s to 2.5 nowadays. Furthermore, around 50% of the world's population live in regions where the figure is now below the replacement level(i.e.2.1 births per woman)and almost all developed nations are experiencing sub-replacement birth rate. You might think that developing nations would make up the loss(especially since80% of the world's people now live in such nations), but you'd be wrong. Declining birth rate is a major problem in many developing regions too, which might cause catastrophic global shortages of work force within a few decades.
A great decline in young work force is likely to occur in China, for instance. What does it imply? First, China needs to undergo rapid economic development before a population decline hits the country. Second, if other factors such as technology remain constant, economic growth and material expectations will fall well below recent standards and this could invite trouble.
Russia is another country with population problems that could break its economic promise. Since 1992 the number of people dying has been bigger than that of those being born by a massive 50%,Indeed official figures suggest the country has shrunk by 5% since 1993 and people in Russia live a shorter life now than those in 1961.Why is this occurring? Nobody is quite sure, but poor diet an above all long-time alcoholism have much to do with it. If current trends don't bend. Russia's population will be about the size of Yemen's by the year 2050.
In the north of India, the population is booming due to high birth rates, but in the south, where most economic development is taking place, birth rate is falling rapidly. In a further twist, birth rate is highest in poorly educated rural areas and lowest in highly educated urban areas. In total, 25% of India's working-age population has no education. In 2030, a sixth of the country's potential work force could be totally uneducated.
One solution is obviously to import foreign workers via immigration. As for the USA, it is almost unique among developed nations in having a population that is expected to grow by 20% from 2010-2030. Moreover, the USA has a track record of successfully accepting immigrants. As a result it's likely to see a rise in the size of its working-age population and to witness strong economic growth over the longer term.
If you feel stressed by responsibilities at work, you should take a step back and identify (识别)those of 41 (great)and less importance. Then, handle the most important tasks first so you'll feel a real sense of 42(achieve). Leaving the less important things until tomorrow 43(be) often acceptable.
Most of us are more focused 44 our tasks in the morning than we are later in the day. So, get an early start and try to be as productive 45possible before lunch. This will give you the confidence you need to get you through the afternoon and go home feeling accomplished.
Recent 46 (study) show that we are far more productive at work if we take short breaks 47 (regular). Give your body and brain a rest by stepping outside for 48 while, exercising, or dong something you enjoy.
If you find something you love doing outside of the office, you'll be less likely 49 (bring) your work home. It could be anything-gardening, cooking, music, sports-but whatever it is, 50(make) sure it's a relief from daily stress rather than another thing to worry about.