An Israeli law banning too skinny models went into effect with the start of 2013. The law, approved last March in Israel, requires models to prove they have maintained a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 18.5 for three months before a fashion show. That means a woman who is 5'8'' tall can weigh no less than 119 pounds.
“This law is another step in the war against eating disorders,” said physician Adatto. “Underweight models,” he explained, “can no longer serve as role models for innocent young people who copy their false image of being skinny.”
But some critics in this country say it is misguided, focusing on weight instead of health. They also say the Israeli ban is bound to fail because of the strong power of the fashion industry. “I think it’s an approach that isn’t going to work.” Said eating disorder expert Susan Ice, who worked with an organization which creates a healthy working environment for models.
But Adatto told the reporter that he began to concern the issue after meeting an ambitious model who looked like she needed to be hospitalized. He said. “I realized that only legislation can change the situation. There was no time to waste, so many girls were dieting to death.”
However, the efforts to regulate models’ weight in Spain and Italy have not resulted in significant changes in part because of difficulties in determining reliable methods of measuring weight and health.
Still, folks including Ice say there’s no denying that images from Hollywood and the fashion industry can be difficult for young women to deal with. “Certainly I don't believe the modeling industry has caused the rise in eating disorders, but it makes it harder,” she says. “It’s a difficult recovery environment, worshiping thinness as the beauty ideal.”What does BMI in the first paragraph refer to?
| A．A new show held by those skinny models. |
| B．A worldwide prize for the healthiest model. |
| C．A measure of body health based on height and weight. |
| D．A kind of medicine to cure eating disorders. |
One benefit the new Israeli law may bring is ________.
| A．to change the working conditions of models |
| B．to prevent models from suffering from eating disorders |
| C．to lower the chance of skinny models’ death |
| D．to provide guidance for women worshiping thinness |
In the opinion of the critics, the law won’t succeed because .
| A．the fashion industry is much too influential |
| B．it misleads young women to form a bad eating habit |
| C．it doesn’t provide a proper approach that can work well |
| D．it doesn’t create a healthy working environment for models |
According to the passage, the new Israeli law banning skinny models is .
| A．practical | B．acceptable | C．reasonable | D．controversial |
If you ask some people, “How did you learn English so well?” you may get a surprising answer: “In my sleep!”
These are people who have taken part in one of the recent experiments (实验) to test “the learn while you sleep” method (方法), which is now being tried in several countries, and with several subjects. English is among them.
Scientists say that this sleep study method greatly speeds language learning. They say that the ordinary person can learn two or three times as much during sleep as in the same period during the day—and this does not affect (影响) his rest in any way. However, sleep teaching will only put into your head what you have studied already while you are awake.
In one experiment, ten lessons were broadcast over the radio for two weeks. Each lesson lasted twelve hours — from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. The first three hours of English grammar and vocabulary (词汇) were given with the students awake. At 11 p.m. a lullaby (催眠曲) was broadcast to send the student to sleep and for the next three hours the radio in a soft and low voice broadcast the lesson again into his sleeping ears. At 2 a.m. a sharp noise was sent over the radio to wake the sleeping student up for a few minutes to go over the lesson. The soft music sent him back to rest again while the radio went on. At 5 o’clock his sleep ended and he had to go through the lesson again for three hours before breakfast.In the experiment, lessons were given____ .
| A．in the night time | B．after lullabies were broadcast |
| C．while the student was awake | D．all through the twelve hours |
Before each lesson finishes, the student has to____ .
| A．get up and take breakfast |
| B．be woken up by a loud voice |
| C．listen to the lesson again in sleep |
| D．review (复习) the lesson by himself |
The sleep study method is being tried in many countries to teach____ .
| A．the English language | B．grammar and vocabulary |
| C．a number of subjects | D．foreign languages |
From Monday until Friday most people are busy working or studying, but in the evenings and on weekends they are free to relax (放松) and enjoy themselves. Some watch TV or go to the movies; others take part in sports. It depends on individual interests. There are many different ways to spend our spare time.
Almost everyone has some kinds of hobbies. It may be anything from collecting stamps to making model airplanes. Some collections are very expensive, but others don’t cost anything at all. Some collections are worth a lot of money; others are valuable only to their owners.
I know a man who has a coin collection worth several thousand dollars. A short time ago he bought a rare (稀有的) fifty cent piece worth $250! He was very happy about his buying and thought the price was reasonable (合理的). On the other hand, my youngest brother collects matchboxes. He has almost 600 of them but I doubt (怀疑) if they are worth any money. However, to my brother they are very valuable. Nothing makes him happier than to find a new matchbox for his collection.
That’s what a hobby means, I guess. It is something we like to do in our spare time simply for the fun of it. The value in dollars is not important, but the pleasure it gives us is.The underlined word “individual” in the first paragraph most probably means____ .
| A．different | B．strange | C．secret | D．one's own |
In the writer's opinion, ____.
| A．all hobbies are very expensive | B．some hobbies don't cost anything |
| C．hobbies are worthless | D．hobbies are valuable to everybody |
Something that one enjoys doing in one's spare time is a____ .
| A．job | B．pleasure | C．hobby | D．habit |
Which of the following statements (陈述) is NOT true?
| A．The writer's brother has a large collection of matchboxes, which makes him very happy. |
| B．We collect a subject in our spare time simply for the fun of it. |
| C．The pleasure that a hobby can give is important. |
| D．To have a hobby means to spend a lot of money. |
Mr. Brown worked in a factory of a small town. He had been there for twenty years before one day he was sent to the capital for important business. He was quite excited because he had never been there before. Before he set off, he asked his wife and three daughters if they wanted him to buy something for them in London. Mrs. Brown began to think it over and then she said she wished her husband would be able to buy a nice umbrella for her, and so did their three daughters. As he was afraid he would forget it, he drew an umbrella on his hand. To his regret, he lost it at the station.
On the train Mr. Brown sat opposite to an old woman. The woman’s umbrella was so nice that he carefully looked at it and said to himself not to forget to buy a few umbrellas like it. When the train arrived at the station in London, he said good-bye to the old woman, took his bag and her umbrella and was going to get off.
“Wait a minute, sir,” shouted the old woman. “That’s my umbrella!”
Now Mr. Brown noticed that he had taken her umbrella. His face turned red at once and said in a hurry,“Oh, I’m very sorry, Madam! I didn’t mean it!”
Seven days later Mr. Brown left the capital. To his surprise, he met the old woman and sat opposite to her again. Looking at the four umbrellas, the old woman was satisfied with herself. “It seems that I had a better result than the other four women.” She thought.We can learn from the passage that Mr. Brown was ______.
| A．a conductor | B．a worker |
| C．a thief | D．an umbrella maker |
The underlined word “it” in the first paragraph refers to ______.
| A．his ticket | B．his bag |
| C．his drawing | D．his umbrella |
Why did Mr. Brown take the woman’s umbrella?
| A．Because he was lost in thought. |
| B．Because it was much like his own umbrella. |
| C．Because he thought the woman would not notice it. |
| D．Because the woman misplaced it beside Mr. Brown. |
When looking at Mr. Brown with four umbrellas, the woman felt ______.
| A．surprised | B．angry | C．fortunate | D．sad |
Can you remember the day when you spoke your first word? If you can, you are unusual. Try to imagine what first few months of your life were like. I am sure you just spent most of your time eating, sleeping and crying. As you grow older, you were awake more of the time. It took your parents more time to play with you and talk to you. You watched and listened curiously. You began to know that people made certain sounds to go with certain things.
Then you began to try making the sounds you heard. And step by step you were able to make the right sound for one thing.On that day you came to understand the secret of language. The secret is that a certain sound means a certain thing. One sound might be as good as another. But it is no good as a word unless everybody agrees on its meaning. Only when a group of people use the same set of sounds of things, can they understand each other. Then, and only then do these people have a LANGUAGE.
After you found the secret of language, you learned words. Some of the words meant things, such as BOOKS, CHAIRS and SHOES. Some words meant doing things, such as GO and SWIM. And other words describe things, such as GOOD and DIRTY. Soon you learned to put words together to express one’s idea, such as “I want to go out and play with my friends.” This is language. By means of language people can communicate. So we say languages are means of communication. When you were a little baby, you_________.
| A．made sounds to let people know that you wanted to eat |
| B．spent most of your time playing with your parents |
| C．could not hear any sound around you |
| D．spent most of your time eating, playing and crying |
The secret of language is that___________.
| A．one sound might be as good as another |
| B．people can understand each other |
| C．a certain sound is for a certain thing |
| D．there is a special sound for each person |
You could learn words__________.
| A．before you knew what the language was |
| B．after you knew what the language was |
| C．if you knew the secret of the language |
| D．when you were a baby |
The aim in using language is___________.
| A．to get everying one wants from others |
| B．to say what one wants to know |
| C．to share ideas, opinions, news, etc with one another |
| D．to make oneself understood by others |
Happiness is for everyone. You don’t need to care about those people who have beautiful houses with large gardens and swimming pools or those who have nice cars and a lot of money and so on. Why? Because those who have big houses may often feel lonely and those who have cars may want to walk on the country roads in their free time.
In fact, happiness is always around you if you put your heart into it. When you are in trouble at school, your friends will help you; when you study hard at your lessons, your parents are always taking good care of your life and your health; when you get a success, your friends will say congratulations to you; when you do something wrong, people around you will help you to correct it. And when you do something good to others, you will feel happy, too. All these are your happiness. If you notice a bit of them, you can see that happiness is always around you.
Happiness doesn’t mean money. It is a feeling of your heart. When you are poor, you can also say you are very happy, because you have something that can’t be bought with money. When you meet with difficulties, you can say loudly you are very happy, because you have more chances to challenge yourself. As the saying goes, life is like a revolving（旋转的）door. When it closes, it also opens. If you take every chance you get, you can be a happy and lucky person.When you do something wrong, people around you will_______.
| A．quarrel with you | B．help you correct it |
| C．do something wrong like you | D．laugh at you |
What will your friends say when you make great progress?
| A．Oh, so do I. | B．Congratulations! |
| C．Good luck! | D．Just so-so! |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．People who have cars would never like to walk in the open air. |
| B．You can get help from others when you are in trouble. |
| C．You can still be a happy person even if you have little money. |
| D．Happiness is always around you though difficulties come towards you. |
The passage mainly tells us_______.
| A．parents always care for our life and health |
| B．we’re not happy if we meet with difficulties |
| C．happiness is always around us |
| D．life is colorful |