We often hear people talking about a generation gap (代沟). The name is new,but the idea is old. Young people and their parents don’t understand each other. The world has always kept changing. During the second century after Christ a wise man said, “Bury me on my face because in a little while everything will be turned upside down.” There has always been a gap between generations, but more people talk about it now. Old Mr. Ellis thinks he understands what has happened. “When I was a boy, I thought the world was a beautiful place. My life was very pleasant. But when I was older, I learned about people who were treated badly, people who didn’t have enough to eat. I wanted to help them, and I married a girl who wanted to help them, too. We went to meetings and talked a lot, but it didn’t seem to make much difference. ”“Our children grew up in a world at war. They didn’t know when the fighting would stop. They wanted their children to have nice clothes and toys. They didn’t want to think about the future. They thought nothing could be done about it.” “Now I have grandchildren, and they have their own ideas. They are trying to make the world better. They are trying to help other people. They’re making people listen to them. I am proud of their generation.” The wise man mentioned in the text told people to bury him on his face so that when everything is turned upside down he will _____.
| A．lie on his stomach | B．lie on his back |
| C．stand quietly | D．sit in peace |
Which generation did NOT want to do anything to make the world a better one?
| A．Mr. Ellis’ generation | B．His children’s generation |
| C．His grandchildren’s generation | D．None of the above. |
What is the writer’s attitude towards the generation gap?
| A．Unacceptable. | B．Awful. | C．Funny. | D．Common. |
It is natural that children are curious about the world around them. For example, they want to know how their hearts beat. They want to know why the ocean water tastes salty.
As children grow up, they become curious about different kinds of things. When they are babies, they are interested in the parts of their bodies and in the smiles of their mothers. They become interested in the physical world around them: the plants, the animals, the sky. Later, they become interested in the things that people have made: wheels, bicycles, cars. And when they are adults, their curiosity continues. Sometimes this curiosity leads to a career (生涯、职业) in science.
Scientists spend their lives trying to find out about the world．Those who work with the earth sciences study the earth, the oceans, and the skies. Other scientists who study living things work with the biological sciences. A third group of scientists study the physical sciences, e. g. physics, chemistry.
These scientists have already discovered a lot about our world．For example, they tell us why your heart beats fast when you run. They say that when you are quiet, your heart normally beats sixty-five or seventy-five times a minute. Your heart is a pump (泵) that pumps blood to all parts of the body. The blood carries oxygen and nutrition. When you run, your muscles work very hard and use the nutrition that the blood carries to them. The muscles need oxygen, too . So your brain sends a signal to the heart. The signal means that the muscles need more nutrition and oxygen. Then the heart beats fast and sends blood quickly to the muscles. It may beat 90 to 140 times a minute.
Of course, scientists cannot answer all of our questions. If we ask, “Why does the ocean water taste salty” scientists will say that the salt comes from rocks. When a rock gets very hot or very cold, it cracks. Rain falls into cracks. The rain then carries the salt into the earth and into the rivers. The rivers carry the salt into the ocean. But then we ask , “What happens to the salt in the ocean? The ocean does not get saltier every year.” Scientists are not sure about the answer to this question.
We know a lot about our world, but there are still many answers that we do not have, and we are curious.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
| A．People of different ages are interested in different things |
| B．People in different countries are interested in different things. |
| C．Men and women are curious about different things. |
| D．People are curious in the same way. |
Scientists who work with the biological sciences study____.
| A．the earth , the oceans and the sky | B．plants and animals |
| C．man-made things | D．ocean water |
When you run, your muscles need ____.
| A．more nutrition and oxygen | B．more signals | C．more salt | D．water |
A rock cracks _____.
| A．in wet regions | B．in dry regions |
| C．at very high or very low temperatures | D．when salty water falls in |
People are always curious because ____.
| A．they cannot explain many things | B．they know nothing about the world |
| C．they know little about the world | D．they want to be scientists |
Chocolate is good for your heart, skin and brain. Usually, people think that chocolate is bad for their health. They describe chocolate as “something to die for” or say “death by chocolate”．Now they should bite their tongues! Evidence(证据) is showing that some kinds of chocolate are actually good for you in the following ways:
A happier heart
Scientists at Harvard University recently examined 136 studies on cocoa—the main ingredient in chocolate and found that it does seem to strengthen the heart．Studies have shown heart benefits from increased blood flow．These benefits are the result of cocoa’s chemicals, which seem to prevent both cell damage and inflammation(炎症)．
Better blood pressure
If yours is high, chocolate may help．Jeffrey Blumberg from Tufts University recently found that people with high blood pressure who ate 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate per day for two weeks saw their blood pressure drop quickly．
Muscle magic
Chocolate milk may help you recover after a hard workout(锻炼)．In a small study at Indiana University, people who drank chocolate milk between workouts did better on a tiredness test than those who had some sports drinks．
Better for your skin．German researchers gave 24 women a half-cup of special cocoa every day．After three months, the women’s skin was moister(滑润的)and smoother．The research shows that chocolate helps protect and increase blood flow to the skin, improving its appearance．
Brain gains
It sounds almost too good to be true, but research suggests that chocolate may improve your memory, attention span, reaction time, and problem-solving by increasing blood flow to the brain．Which of the following is wrong?
| A．Coca’s chemicals can prevent both cell damage and inflammation. |
| B．Chocolate may help you lower your blood pressure. |
| C．People early know chocolate is good for their health. |
| D．chocolate may improve your memory, attention span, reaction time, and problem-solving. |
What’s the meaning of the underlined sentence in the fourth paragraph?
| A．Sports drinks are better than chocolate milk． |
| B．Sports drinks can make people easy to be tired． |
| C．Drinking milk can keep you energetic at work． |
| D．We should drink chocolate milk between times when we work hard． |
What’s the main idea of the text?
| A．Chocolate, a Healthy Food | B．More Chocolate, Less Health |
| C．Chocolate and Blood Pressure | D．Advice on Eating Chocolate |
The conclusion that chocolate may help lower blood pressure was brought out by．
| A．scientists at Harvard University |
| B．Jeffrey Blumberg from Tufts University |
| C．scientists at Indiana University |
| D．German researchers |
What’s the meaning of “bite their tongues” in the first paragraph?
| A．Think of it．． | B．Speak up． | C． Stop talking | D．Listen to it |
He wishes the holiday season would end already. His back aches, his red suit feels like a spacesuit , his cheeks have gone tight from smiling for 12 hours —and still the kids keep coming and coming , like ants at a picnic . As Christmas becomes more commercialized (商业化) across the U. S. and Canada, so must Santas. As the holiday begins earlier each year, so must its spokesmen .
The questions from children these days are harder than ever. Now, with thousands of children expecting a father or mother serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, the questions are as heart-breaking as they are unanswerable. For example, “Can you please bring Daddy home from the war in time for Christmas morning?”
Santas also have a pretty good chance of getting sued (指控). A professional Santa Claus in Canada told a story: A Santa had a girl on his knee, and he commented, “You have nice eyes and nice hair.” The girl later said it was sexual harassment (骚扰) . When a Santa feels anxious, he often shows it in the same ways ordinary people do: The Santas were always seen to hang around at the dinner table when the show ended. Many of them just sleep in bed for several days and don’t see other children again.In the first paragraph, “spokesmen” refers to.
| A．businessmen | B．political leaders |
| C．organizers of the activities | D．Santa Clauses |
The passage implies that the job of Santa Claus is.
| A．well-paid | B．very hard | C．worth doing | D．dangerous |
According to the third paragraph, Santas may sometimes be blamed(责备) for.
| A．doing something against the law |
| B．hanging around the dinner table |
| C．being lazy and sleeping in bed for days |
| D．not playing their roles as expected |
What would be the best title for the passage ?
| A．Christmas: Not a Good Festival for Santas | B．Is Santa Claus Really Alive? |
| C．A Christmas Story | D．What Does Santa Claus Do for Children? |
Every year on my birthday, from the time I turned 12, a white gardenia was delivered to my house. No card came with it. Calls to the flower-shop were not helpful at all. After a while I stopped trying to discover the sender’s name and just delighted in the beautiful white flower in soft pink paper.
But I never stopped imagining who the giver might be. Some of my happiest moments were spent daydreaming about the sender. My mother encouraged these imaginings. She’d ask me if there was someone for whom I had done special kindness. Perhaps it was the old man across the street whose mail I’d delivered during the winter. As a girl, though, I had more fun imagining that it might be a boy I had run into.
One month before my graduation, my father died. I felt so sad that I became completely uninterested in my upcoming graduation dance, and I didn’t care if I had a new dress or not. But my mother, in her own sadness, would not let me miss any of those things. She wanted her children to feel loved and lovable. In truth, my mother wanted her children to see themselves much like the gardenia-lovely, strong and perfect with perhaps a bit of mystery(神秘).My mother died ten days after I was married. I was 22. That was the year the gardenia stopped coming. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．A childhood Dream. | B．A Mother’s Love. |
| C．A Graduation Party. | D．A Special Birthday. |
The mother insisted that her daughter go to the graduation dance because _________.
| A．she could take care of things herself | B．she hoped she would find a boyfriend |
| C．she wanted her to be happy and strong | D．she thought education was most important |
Who was the sender of the flower?
| A．A boy the writer had run into. | B．One of the writer’s neighbors. |
| C．One of the writer’s classmates. | D．The writer’s mother. |
All people need to sleep. Sleep is a necessary process that promotes proper body functioning and can improve the quality of your life. Not only is the quantity of sleep important, but also the quality of sleep.
Your bedroom should be shaped to your taste and to allow you to sleep in a peaceful environment. One of the biggest mistakes people make in their sleep is to use their bedroom for activities other than sleep. If your bedroom also functions as a command station for your life and work, the likelihood of your sleeping being poor is rather high. Bedrooms should be designed, decorated and used for mainly sleep. TVs, computers and other things should not be in your bedroom if at all possible.
Establishing regular sleeping and waking times can help improve the quality of your sleep especially for those suffering from sleeplessness. Avoid hot food, caffeine, sugar and alcohol at least 4 to 6 hours before your sleep time.Develop a regular exercise program. Proper exercise and nutrition will help improve sleeping patterns. However, avoid exercising 2 hours before sleeping, since this may stimulate your body and make sleeping more difficult.
Establish a pre-bedtime rule that will help focus you on sleep. You can try meditation（沉思）,reading or deep breathing and relaxation. Your bedtime rule should be yours. Do not worry about it fitting into a specific category. Do what is the best for you.
Things such as room temperature, noise and light levels and even your bed mattress can have a lot of effect on the quality of sleep that you experience. Block out distracting noises and lights. You are in your bedroom to sleep and not be distracted by environmental interferences（干扰）. According to the author, ________.
| A．the bedroom has many functions than expected |
| B．the bedroom is better used for sleep |
| C．computers can make people sleep fast |
| D．amusements are forbidden in the bedroom by law |
If you have sleep problems, __________.
| A．a well- designed bedroom is important to you |
| B．you’d better have steady sleeping and waking time |
| C．cold food and sugar are good for you |
| D．you need proper exercise and nutrition |
The following sentences are true EXCEPT ______.
| A．Alcohol can produce troubled sleep. |
| B．Anytime taking exercises does good to sleep |
| C．What nourishes the body can improve sleeping patterns |
| D．taking a deep breath can calm you down |
The main idea of the last paragraph is _______.
| A．a good sleep environment contributes to good sleep. |
| B．blinding lights can make for a good sleep. |
| C．bed mattress plays a key part in sleep. |
| D．distracted people are sleepless. |