To some, it's a dream job---eating delicious meals for free and then writing about them. But for some food critics, their eyes aren't the only thing that gets wide with yet another feast.
Karen Fernau, a food writer for The Arisona Republic, said when she first started her job –she began to gain weight. “I always looked forward to lunch before this job, then all of a sudden lunch was all day every day. " she says. Nine years later, keeping her weight steady and her health intact (完好无损的)is a daily battle. If she knows she will be going to a tasting at a bakery or eating a four-course meal, she usually eats fruits or salads throughout the day. Now she is always keeping track of what's in the food she eats and she says most people don't even look at or consider it. At one tasting task alone, she says, upward of l,000 calories is often added to her day. That's about half of the recommended total calories per day for the average adult.
But even though she's thought of a special eating method, Fernau says sticking to it is a daily battle. And food editors, writers and critics across the country couldn't agree more. “When I'm at home or not eating for work, it's healthy food to the extreme," says Phil Vettel, who's been a restaurant critic for the Chicago Tribune for 19 years.
Vettle, who eats dinner at four restaurants each week, says unlike most professions, he has no right to choose. "If I'm going out to eat, I can't choose the healthiest thing on the menu, I have to eat when they're bringing me. " While Vettel exercises when he can, Joe Yonan, a food editor at The Washington Post, has strengthened his exercise habits since he started the job two years ago. Yonan says he realized early on that he was gaining weight and immediately hired a personal trainer to meet with three times a week, on top of his body training three to five times a week.
Still, it's a struggle that many Americans might envy. After all, it's one thing to get your calories from lobster(龙虾) tails or a delicate(精致的)chocolate cookie and quite another to get them from sodas and fast-food burgers. What does the underlined sentence mean in Para l?
A.The food critics are always impressed by the delicious food in the restaurant. |
B.The food critics are shocked to learn they have to have one more feast. |
C.There is a wide variety of choices for the food critics to choose from. |
D.The food critics eat delicious food, which also tends to result in gaining weight. |
What can we learn about the job of being a food critic?
A.They enjoy free and delicious dishes and make comments on them. |
B.They only work for local magazines and newspapers. |
C.Once they become food critics, they tend to stay in the job. |
D.Their excellent sense of taste makes them qualified for the job. |
What is mentioned to be a method that food writers use to keep fit?
A.Not eating anything except for the free meals. |
B.Writing down everything they put into their mouth. |
C.Hiring a personal trainer for special exercise instructions. |
D.Choosing only the healthy food on the menu. |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.No matter whether the food is expensive or not, the gaining of calories is the same. |
B.The calories that lobster tails and chocolate cookies contain are less harmful. |
C.Americans envy those food critics since they enjoy delicate and tasty food. |
D.Everybody should take the calories in their food carefully. |
What's the main idea of the passage?
A.A job offering free meals may not be as desirable as it sounds to be. |
B.Dishes in the restaurant usually contain too many calories. |
C.Eating fruits and vegetables every day is the best way to lose weight. |
D.Food writers work hard to maintain their health and weight. |
Good Genes Mean Long Life
Scientists have discovered that living to the age of 100 may have nothing to do with the lifestyle you lead and everything to do with the type of genes you have.
For the lucky carriers of “Methuselah” genes, worries over smoking, eating unhealthily and not getting enough exercise may not be as necessary as to those of us without the special gene pattern (组合).
The “Methuselah” genes could give extra protection against the diseases of old age such as cancer and heart disease. They could also protect people against the effects of the unhealthy lifestyles that we believe will lead us to an early death, scientists say. However, the genes are very rare.
The genes include ADIPOQ, which is found in about 10 percent of young people but in nearly 30 percent of people living past 100. They also include the CETP and the ApoC3 genes, which are found in 10 percent of young people, but in about 20 percent of people over 100 years old.
Some of those genes were discovered by a research group at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, led by Professor Nir Barzilai. The team studied the genes of over 500 people over 100 years old, and their children.
The studies show that tiny mutations (变异) in the make-up of some genes can greatly increase a person’s lifespan (寿命). Barzilai told a Royal Society conference that the discovery of such genes gave scientists clear targets for developing drugs that could prevent age-related diseases, allow people to live longer and stay healthy.
David Gems, a researcher at University College London, believes that drugs to slow ageing will become widespread.
“If we know which genes control longevity (长寿) then we can … target them with drugs. That makes it possible to slow down ageing,” he told The Times.
“Much of the pain and suffering in the world are caused by ageing. If we can find a way to reduce that, then we are obliged (义不容辞的) to take it.”According to the article, which of the following is the most important if a person is to live to the age of 100?
A.Eating healthy food every day. | B.Having the right types of genes. |
C.Having a healthy lifestyle. | D.Taking drugs that prevent ageing. |
According to the article, the ApoC3 gene is found in ________ of people over 100 years old.
A.10% | B.20% | C.30% | D.50% |
Which of the following statements is TRUE of the research led by Professor Nir Barzilai?
A.The team studied the genes of over 100 people over 100 years of age. |
B.The researchers found that mutations in certain genes lead to longer life. |
C.The researchers found ways to develop drugs that could cure age-related diseases. |
D.The study suggested that most people have genes that could lengthen their lives. |
According to David Gems, ________.
A.drugs to slow ageing will be very expensive |
B.modern science will be able to find more longevity genes |
C.it is the duty of medical scientists to fight the problems of ageing |
D.scientists can make new genes that will allow longer life |
Stopping teens from smoking is a big challenge many communities face today. Many communities can only watch without being able to act while local businesses continue to sell tobacco products to children, even under the risk of punishment by law.
Recent studies show that a large percentage of teens today are getting their cigarettes from stores, mostly gas stations or convenience stores. As teens continue to be able to buy their own cigarettes, more and more communities begin to punish those who sell cigarettes to the teens.
One community has experienced success in their attempts to stop the sale of tobacco products to children. Woodridge, Illinois, started a program seven years ago which forbade and strictly punished the sale of tobacco products to children. The entire program includes local licensing of vendors (小贩), repeated undercover inspections to see if the sale to children has stopped, and education programs in schools. Woodridge has become a model community as other communities are moving to stop teen tobacco use.
A recent national study showed that 36.5% of females, and 40.8% of males buy their cigarettes from stores, whether it is a gas station or a supermarket. Hopefully, as more and more sellers see the trouble they face if caught selling to children, they will stop selling.
True, tightening down on stores that sell tobacco to children isn’t going to completely stop the problem of teen tobacco use. Teens continue to get them from other sources. But it definitely does prevent their efforts. With more education in schools, and perhaps stronger punishments for teens caught with tobacco, more and more teens will see the problems with the tobacco usage, and will stop the habit.To stop teens from smoking, more and more communities are ________.
A.punishing those who sell cigarettes to teens more severely |
B.punishing teens caught with tobacco more severely |
C.educating those who sell cigarettes about the danger of teen smoking |
D.stopping the sale of tobacco products in stores |
Which of the following is NOT a way Woodridge uses to stop tobacco sale to children?
A.Local licensing to tobacco sale. | B.Repeated undercover inspections. |
C.Education programs in schools. | D.Stronger punishment of teens caught smoking. |
It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A.teens can only buy cigarettes from gas stations and convenience stores |
B.more communities have succeeded in stopping teen tobacco use |
C.More males than females have the habit of smoking in America |
D.Punishment alone cannot solve the problem of teen tobacco use |
What attitude does the writer have towards stopping teen tobacco abuse?
A.Negative | B.Optimistic | C.Uncertain | D.Uncaring |
Recently there was a major discovery in the scientific research — the mapping of all DNA in a human gene(基因) is complete. Couple of years ago, this seems an impossible task for scientist to accomplish. All this progress in science leads us to believe that the day, when the human being will be cloned, is not far away. Human cloning has always been a topic of argument, in terms of morality(道德) or religion.
Taking a look at why cloning might be beneficial, among many cases, it is arguable that parents who are known to be at risk of passing a genetic limitation to a child could make use of cloning. If the clone was free of genetic limitations, then the other clone would be as well. The latter could be inserted in the woman and allowed to ripen to term. Moreover, cloning would enable women, who can’t get pregnant, to have children of their own.
Cloning humans would also mean that organs could be cloned, so it would be a source of perfect transfer organs. This surely would be greatly beneficial to millions of unfortunate people around the world that are expected to lose their lives due to failure of single (or more) organ(s). It is also arguable that a ban on cloning may be unlawful and would rob people of the right to reproduce and limit the freedom of scientists.
Arguments against cloning are also on a perfectly practical side. Primarily, I believe that cloning would step in the normal “cycle” of life. There would be a large number of same genes, which reduce the chances of improvement, and, in turn, development — the fundamental reason how living things naturally adapt to the ever-changing environment. Life processes failing to do so might result in untimely disappearance. Furthermore, cloning would make the uniqueness that each one of us possesses disappear, thus leading to creation of genetically engineered groups of people for specific purposes, and chances are that those individuals would be regarded as “objects” rather than people in the society.
Scientists haven’t 100% guaranteed that the first cloned humans will be normal. Thus, this could result in introduction of additional limitations in the human “gene-pool”.
Regarding such arguable topics in “black or white” approach seems very innocent to me personally. We should rather try to look at all “shades” of it. I believe that cloning is only legal if its purpose is for cloning organs; not humans. Then we could regard this as for “saving life” instead of “creating life”. I believe cloning humans is morally and socially unacceptable. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.Genetic limitation will be beneficial for some women |
B.A large number of genes will prevent us from developing |
C.Prohibition(禁止) of cloning might limit the freedom of scientists |
D.First cloned humans might be normal according to scientists |
What’s the author’s opinion on cloning?
A.Cloning should be entirely banned |
B.Cloning should be used in creating life |
C.Cloning will take away the right to reproduce |
D.Cloning is acceptable if it is used for cloning organs |
Which of the following shows the structure of the passage
Why does a large education nation like China have so few world renowned scientists as the US? Educationists from China and the US try to find out the answer to questions like this at a forum on the basic education strategy.
The forum, held recently, was jointly organized by the Education Development Research Center of the Ministry of Education in China and the Postgraduate School of the University of Pennsylvania in the US. It aims to find out similarities and differences that exist between two countries in their educational system.
While some educationists in China keep a doubtful eye to the country’s educational system in recent years. Their American counterparts give a positive answer to the basic education in China, saying that it is still one of the best in the world.
An American educationist told reporters that the basic education in the US was criticized in recent years due to its political tendency. On the contrary, Chinese government’s stress on basic education and qualified teachers has set a good example.
At primary and middle school, pupils in China did better in math and science lessons than the US pupils. However, few grow to be world “masters”. Why? Educationists attributed this to China’s stress on examination rather than students’ interest.
Deputy Director of the postgraduate school of Pennsylvania University said American teachers encouraged students to focus on their strong points. In China, students are driven to study to pass the entrance examination test and they do not pay much attention to their own interest.
At the forum, director of the Education Development Research Center Mr. Zhang said in the future, the research center would make its middle and long-term basic education strategy by taking some references from other countries including the US.
He also revealed that for a long time in the future, China would make a breakthrough in setting the policy for quality education.This passage is mainly about _________.
A.quality education development in the future |
B.why China’s education cultivates(培养) few world masters |
C.China’s good basic education |
D.genius education at the primary stage |
The underlined word “renowned” in the first paragraph probably means ________
A.famous | B.active | C.qualified | D.experienced |
Few pupils in China who did better in math and science lessons than the US pupils grow to be
world “masters”, because _________
A.The US government spends more money on basic education |
B.American pupils are cleverer than Chinese pupils |
C.basic education in China is not as successful as that of the US |
D.Chinese people pay less attention to students’ interest |
China’s educational system will _______ in the future.
A.help students to study even harder to pass the examination |
B.apply more attention to quality education referring to systems of other countries |
C.allow students to pay more attention to their own interest without their test results |
D.copy the educational system in the US |
The first and best of victories is for a man to conquer(征服) himself; to be conquered by himself is, of all things, the most shameful, says Plato. Self-control is at the root of all the advantages. Let a man give in to his impulses (冲动) and feelings, and from that moment he gives up his moral freedom.
A single angry word has lost many a friend. When Socrates found in himself any temper or anger, he would check it by speaking low in order to control himself. If you are conscious of being angry, keep your mouth shut so that you can hold back rising anger. Many a person has dropped dead in great anger. Fits of anger bring fits of disease. Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad. Keep cool, says George Herbert, for fierceness (狂怒) makes error a fault.
To be angry with a weak man is to prove that you are not strong yourself. Anger, says Pythagoras, brings with folly(愚蠢)and ends with regret. You must measure the strength of a man by the power of the feelings he conquers, not by the power of those which conquer him.
Self-control is man’s last greatest victory.
If a man lacks self-control he seems to lack everything. Without it he can have no patience, no power to govern himself; he can have no self-confidence, for he will always be controlled by his strongest feeling. If he lacks self-control, the very backbone and nerve of character are lacking also.What does the reader learn from the first paragraph?
A.The greatest victory for a man is to conquer everything except himself. |
B.One’s moral freedom is based on the control of himself. |
C.To control oneself is the most difficult in one’s life. |
D.If a person is too stubborn, he will feel most shameful. |
If a man lacks self-control, he lacks all of the following EXCEPT _______.
A.the very backbone and nerve of character |
B.the patience and power to control himself |
C.strong feelings |
D.self-confidence |
The author’s main purpose in writing this article is to _______.
A.explain that self-control is the key to success |
B.teach people how to control everything in order to make a great success |
C.distinguish all kinds of self-control and suggest ways for keeping it |
D.advise people not to lose temper so as to make and keep more friends |
The passage is mainly developed by _____.
A.analyzing(分析)causes | B.making comparisons(比较) |
C.examining differences | D.listing quotations(引证) |