When did you last visit a shopping mall? In many places, the answer would be “last weekend.” Some people go even more often. Why? For one thing, malls offer goods and services that people need all in one place: food, clothing, things for their houses, entertainment, even medical services. So, are malls one of the highlights of modern civilization? Environmental activists would say No! They would go even further and say that consumer behavior is causing a huge environmental disaster. They cause consumers of ignorance of the side effect of their shopping—urban sprawl (扩大) .
Social scientists agree that patterns of development have changed the landscape a great deal in the last half century. Before 1950, most people lived in towns or cities and either walked to work or took public transportation. Only very wealthy people had automobiles. Farmers lived in rural areas or isolated villages and came into town only when they needed things they couldn’t produce themselves. If you gazed at the landscape you would see towns surrounded by countryside. Then a massive change occurred.
Automobiles became affordable and people were quick to adopt them. Now ambitious workers could live in the suburbs, the areas just outside cities, which started to grow rapidly. As long as there was lots of cheap land in the suburbs, no one paid much attention to the usage of that land. Malls, fast food restaurants, cinemas, and car dealerships spread out in large, flat buildings. These one–storey buildings and their parking lot took up a great deal space. Well– meaning farmers thought they were better off selling their land than growing crops. In ignorance, no one realized that once the land was built up in urban sprawl, the good farming land would be ruined forever. There was no way to preserve it.
Only in recent years have people come to mourn the old way of life as they have developed insight into the problems. Now people realize that urban sprawl has come with serious environmental problems. The negative aspects of sprawl include air and water pollution, loss of agricultural land, traffic jams, and the death of businesses in the old town centers. Many scholars think the time has come to analyze the problems better so we can develop appropriate policies to control further sprawl. Some think the best way to do is to educate citizens about their priceless environment.What is mainly discussed in the passage?
| A．Weekend Fun | B．Urban Sprawl | C．New Automobiles | D．Isolated Villages |
What does the underlined word “They” refer to in the first paragraph?
| A．Scientists | B．Activists. | C．Farmers. | D．Malls |
Who do environmental activists blame for environmental problems?
| A．Endangered animals. | B．Shopping mall owners. |
| C．Unthinking shoppers. | D．Ambitious farmers. |
What do scholars think should be done about urban sprawl?
| A．Understand the situations better. | B．Follow customary policies. |
| C．Start school in shopping malls. | D．Charge polluters a lot of money. |
What is the scholars’ attitude toward urban sprawl?
| A．Respectful. | B．Negative. | C．Positive. | D．Doubtful. |
Geena David knew she wanted to be a movie star when she was very young. She was not sure what gave her the idea, but she wanted to look like a movie star. “I have a lot of pictures from my childhood of me wearing sunglasses,” she says. “I used to wear them to watch TV.”
Early movie actors started wearing sunglasses not because they looked good, but because their eyes hurt. The l
ights used on movie sets were extremely bright and could cause a painful
problem known as “Klieg eyes”. It was named after the Klieg brothers who invented the lights. Actors wore sunglasses to give their eyes a rest. But when movie stars began wearing their sunglasses in public, they quickly became a must.
Eventually actors started wearing sunglasses in their movies as well as on the street. Audrey Hephburn wore ultra-cool Ray-Ban sunglasses in the 1961 movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. As a result, Ray-Ban sunglasses started to appear more and more in the movies. In 1979, Ray-Ban “Wayfarers” were worn by Jake and Elwood in The Blue Brothers. Tom Cruise wore Ray-Ban “Aviator” sunglasses in the 1986 hit, Top Gun. Then in 1997, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones made Ray-Ban “Predator” sunglasses famous in Men in Black.
Of course sunglasses aren’t just a fashion statement. The main reason to wear sunglasses is to protect our eyes against UV radiation. UV radiation can damage our eyes, so people now choose their sunglasses carefully. But you don’t have to give up style for safety. The choice of frames and lenses available these days is huge. So you can protect your eyes and still be the coolest person on the beach.What is mainly discussed in this passage?
| A．The use of sunglasses. | B．The history of sunglasses. |
| C．The sunglasses wearing. | D．Why movie stars like to wear sunglasses. |
Why did Geena David like to wear sunglasses?
| A．She was a movie star. |
| B．She wanted to follow a movie star. |
| C．Wearing sunglasses was good to her eyes. |
D．It was good to wear sunglasses when wa tching TV . |
Early actors’ eyes hurt because ______.
| A．they wore sunglasses |
| B．they went out in the sun too much |
| C．the lights on movie sets were too bright |
| D．their scripts were written in very small writing |
Now people wear sunglasses ______.
| A．just to protect their eyes | B．for fashion and to protect their eyes |
| C．because of bright lights | D．because movie stars wear them |
London is the capital of the United Kingdom. It has about seven million people. The river Thames runs through London.
People from all over the world visit London to see Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London. There are many museums, theatres and parks in London, as well as offices and factories. London began as a Roman settlement called Londinium. The plague(瘟疫) came to London in the 1600s, followed by the Great Fire of 1666. The city was badly bombed in World War II.
London is very slowly sinking into its foundations and the level of the river Thames is slowly rising. As a result, extra-high tides could flood a large part of London. To prevent this happening, a great barrier（屏障）has been built across the Thames at Woolwich. If very high tides happen, the barrier can be raised and London will be safe.London is the capital of _________, which began as a __________ settlement.
| A．England; Norman | B．UK; Frenchman |
| C．Scotland; English | D．UK; Roman |
According to the passage, from 1600 to now, ________ great disasters have happened in London.
| A．one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
The reason why a great barrierhas been built across the Thames at Woolwich is that_________.
| A．London is very slowly sinking into its foundations |
| B．the level of the river Thames is slowly rising |
| C．extra-high tides could flood a large part of London |
| D．all of the above. |
Even if you are naturally shy, these three tricks will help you to quickly build a new social circle in any new city．
1．Take pictures
One of the great things about taking pictures at an event or party is that it gives you an excuse to get in touch with a person．Everybody loves seeing pictures of themselves，and it’s very easy after taking a picture to say “If you’d like I can email it to you”．This can be the seed that leads to new connections．The next time you hear about a fun event email your new contacts to let them know about it．
2．Eat alone in public
You might feel self-conscious eating by yourself but it has an important benefit：you are much easier to approach when you are alone．People may be afraid of interrupting you or being rude if you are in a conversation with someone else．Bring a book or newspaper to read (this will make you feel less self-conscious)．Plus，having an interesting book with you will give others an excuse to start a conversation if they’ve read it．
3．Join a
class，sports team，or club
Yoga，salsa dancing，volleyball，Toastmasters (a public speaking club)，a class for work，etc. Take up a new hobby or continue an old one!
These are all great places to meet new people，primarily because you will be forced to see the same people over and over again in the
class．You will automatically make friends with them if you have a common interest and are forced to see each other again．
Tips：
* In the beginning．never turn down an invitation from someone，even if it’s something you wouldn’t normally do．
* Email your new friends with fun things to do instead of always asking what their plans are, If t
hey have a better plan you can drop (放弃) yours and join them．This will help establish（建立） you as someone who is contributing value instead of just taking it (people want this in a friend) ．
*Don’t let little things in life upset you or be a negative person．People don’t want to be around someone like that！can give you an excuse to start new connections．
| A．Taking pictures of others | B．Eating by yourself in public |
C．Reading i nteresting books |
D．Joining group activities |
According to the text，which of the following is NOT mentioned as an advantage of joining a class?
| A．It helps you find out your interest and take up a new hobby． |
| B．It helps you find out people who share a common interest with you． |
| C．It offers an opportunity to meet the same people repeatedly． |
| D．It is a good way to meet new people and make friends in a new city． |
Which of the following pieces of advice is a tip from the text?
| A．Try to be outgoing and talkative instead of being shy． |
| B．Never turn down an invitation from your friends． |
| C．Offer suggestions on how to spend time together． |
| D．Don’t give a negative response to any request． |
Why do parents deny their kids’ weight?
Experts in childhood nutrition aren’t surprised by an investigation this summer that shows 50％of parents who have overweight children don’t realize their children Weigh too much．Many parents deny their children’s weight because they don’t want to have to change their own eating and exercise habits，says Keith Ayoob, a doctor who works with overweight children and their families in New York City．
Parents frequently ask him whether their children have a thyroid(甲状腺) problem, but that’s rarely the case．“1t’s usually a dietary(有关饮食的) and lifestyle issue．It’s very difficult for parents to deal with their own food issues，”Ayoob says．An estimated 25 million children in the USA are overweight, which puts them at risk of developing diabetes(糖尿病), high blood Pressure and other health problems．A Consumer Reports magazine investigation released on July 25，2009 of 3．048 parents who have children aged 5 to 17 found that 91% say childhood obesity (肥胖) is a problem in the USA．
Only 36％of the parents
with heavy children say their family doctors have suggested their children lose weight；the other 64％say the doctors didn’t mention it．“Many parents simply don’t realize their children are overweight．”says Keith Ayoob．“The doctors never told them．Other kids in the class look like their children．and their kids seem pretty healthy
．”he says．
He has parents go to the calculator on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website to figure out whether their children are too heavy．Why do many parents fail to admit their children are overweight?
| A．Because they think it a shame to be overweight. |
| B．Because they want to keep their own eating and exercise habits. |
| C．Because they want to change their own eating and exercise habits． |
| D．Because they want their children to have more nutrition． |
What is the probable cause of childhood obesity?
| A．Thyroid problem． | B．High blood pressure． |
| C．Dietary and lifestyle habit． | D．Diabetes． |
It can be inferred from the fourth paragraph that the family doctors’ advice ．
| A．has no influence on many parents |
| B．has much influence on many parents |
| C．has little influence on many parents |
| D．is totally accepted by many parents |
What advice does Keith Ayoob give to parents?
| A．He advises that parents should go and ask their family doctors in person． |
| B．He advises that the children should have a medical examination regularly． |
| C．He advises that school should force the children to eat less and exercise more． |
| D．He advises parents to go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website for the information． |
There is probably no field of human activity in which our values and lifestyles are shown more clearly and strongly than they are in theclothes that we choose to wear．The dress of an individual is a kind of “sign language” that communicates a set of information and is usually the basis on which immediate impressions are formed．Traditionally, a concern
for clothes was considered to be an affair of females，while men took pride in the fact that they were completely lacking clothes consciousness．
This type of American culture is gradually changing as man’s dress takes on greater variety and color．Even as early as 1955，a research in Michigan said that men considered that the value of clothing in daily life was very important．White—collar workers in particular viewed dress as a symbol of ability，which could be used to impress or influence others，especially in the work situation．The white-collar worker was described as extremely concerned about the impression his clothing made on his boss．Although blue-collar workers were less aware that they might be judged on the basis of their clothing，they recognized that any difference from the accepted pattern of dress would be made fun of by fellow workers．
Since that time，of course，the patterns have changed，the typical white-collar worker may now be wearing the blue shirt，while the blue-
collar may be wearing a white shirt，but the importance of dress has not become less. Other researchers in recent years have helped to prove its importance in the lives of individuals at various age levels and in different social and economic status groups.The passage tells us that .
| A．our values and lifestyles are in no field of human activity |
| B．the clothes that we choose to wear have something to do with our values and lifestyles |
| C．our values and lifestyles are from the sign language |
| D．the clothes we choose to wear depend on a set of information and immediate impression |
Traditionally，people usually thought that .
| A．men cared very much for clothes |
| B．neither men nor women showed interest in clothes |
| C．both men and women paid great attention to their clothes |
| D．women concerned greatly about what they wore while men didn’t |
White-collar workers pay great attention to their clothes because ．
| A．they extremely concern about the impression their clothes make on their bosses |
| B．they know that people might judge them on the basisof their clothes |
| C．they want to impress and influence others |
| D．they don’t want to be laughed at |
What does the underlined word“status”in the last paragraph mean？
| A．雕塑 | B．身份 | C．状况 | D．资格 |