China has recently been faced with serious issues of product safety. In Panama, it is said that medicine made with a poisonous chemical sickened some people. A Chinese company had identified it as diethylene glycol, a low – cost substitute commonly used in automobile antifreeze.
Some countries have banned Chinese-made toothpaste containing diethylene glycol. China has now told companies to discontinue its use, even though it says the toothpaste is safe. Another industrial chemical, melamine, was found in wheat flour used to make pet food in North America. Thousands of dogs and cats became sick.
The United States has restricted some imports of Chinese seafood because they contained banned substance. And questions have been raised about other products, including children’s toys covered with lead paint.
Chinese officials promised to provide the European Union, the biggest trading partner, with detailed reports on enforcement efforts against unsafe goods.
Meglena Kuneva, commissioner (理事) for consumer protection of the European Union said China should have kept its promise.
China recently closed three companies linked to the Panama and the pet food scare. And it dismissed the former head of its food and drug administration. He was found guilty of corruption (腐败) for approving unsafe drugs. This week, a conference of the State Council approved a proposed special measure on the supervision of food safety. The Xinhua News Agency said it calls for stronger controls over producers, greater responsibilities for government and more serious punishment for illegal activities.
But Chinese officials have accused some foreign media of overstating problems with goods made in China. They say food imports from the United States also fail inspection sometimes. Next Week, American and Chinese food safety officials are planning to hold 5 days of meetings in Beijing to discuss cooperation.How many cases with safety problems are mentioned in the passage?
| A.Six | B.Five | C.Four | D.Three |
How was Panama case dealt with afterwards?
A. Three companies linked to it were closed down.
B. The former head of food and drug administration was executed.
C. More serious punishment was conducted for leaders linked to it.
D. Both A and B.It can be implied but not clearly stated that ________.
| A.Chinese made toothpaste is safe |
| B.the safety of “made in China” is doubted |
| C.there are safety problems with one more Chinese products |
| D.stronger control over Chinese products is in need |
The passage is mainly about ________.
| A.China is facing product safety problems |
| B.more controls are taken of Chinese goods |
| C.overstated problems with Chinese goods |
| D.China is losing its trade partners |
What does “it” refers to in the last but one paragraph?”
| A.China | B.The European Union |
| C.Chinese officials | D.The Chinese company |
Yasuda is 95 years old. Looking for easier ways to search the Web and send email, he bought Apple’s iPad. The pany has sold 3.27 million iPads since they entered the market in April. Although it’s impossible to know with certainty how many seniors (老年人) are buying them, evidence suggests that it’s a hit with seniors.
The iPad’s intuitive interface (直观界面) makes it attractive to seniors around the world, says Takahiro Miura, a researcher at the University of Tokyou. “The iPad is a good tool for seniors because it’s very easy to use,” he says. “Unlike the PC, it doesn’t require former knowledge.”
James Cordwell, a researcher in London, says the iPad’s popularity with seniors is helping Apple reach beyond its traditional base of young customers. “The world’s population, especially in developed markets, is getting older. It’s probably a market where Apple has least entered, ” Cordwell says. Senior users are “a key source of growth for them in the future.”
Seniors make up about 22 percent of the population in Japan. They may prove that seniors are willing to accept the iPad. Besides the customer group under 30, they spend more than any other group in the country, according to a report. Motoo Kitamura, 78, a former gas salesman, bought an iPad to help him municate with his 2-year-old grandson and prevent him from experiencing some of the mental problems that sometimes e with getting older. “Trying new things like that is good mental exercise,” he says.The underlined part “a hit” in Paragraph 1 probably means ______ .
| A.a sudden attack |
| B.a heavy burden |
| C.quite popular |
| D.very familiar |
Which of the following is NOT an advantage of the iPad?
| A.It has intuitive interface. |
| B.It is easy to operate. |
| C.Beginners can use it without similar experiences. |
| D.People can use it as a way to do mental exercise. |
What can we learn from the text?
| A.People above thirty are Apple’s largest customer group in Japan. |
| B.The traditional customers of Apple’s products are usually the young. |
| C.Seniors will soon grow into Apple’s largest customer group. |
| D.Seniors in Japan are fond of buying latest hi-tech products. |
What is the text mainly about?
A. iPad leading Apple to seniors.
B. iPad influencing the customer group.
C. iPad’s arrival causing Japanese to think.
D. iPad beating the traditional PC.
Wildlife faces threats ( 威胁 ) from habitat destruction, pollution, and other human actions. Although protecting wildlife may seem too hard at times, even small actions in your own neighbourhood can help protect many different animals. Here are some tips on how to protect wildlife through small actions.
1.Create wildlife friendly areas in your backyard.
When trying to make your garden more beautiful , you can choose plants that can provide food and shelter to native wildlife . This will also help cut down on pollution . Add bird or bat houses to your yard or garden to attract and shelter these species.
2. Avoid harming the natural ecosystem ( 生态系统 ) in your area.
Some plants from other places can kill or harm native plants that provide food and shelter for wildlife.
3. ________________________________________________.
By using less water and fewer fuels, you will be helping to protect the wildlife around you . Take buses or the subway when you can, turn off electric devices when you’re not using them , take shorter shower, and keep your room temperature at or below 68 degrees during the winter.
4. Buy products that are wildlife friendly
Don’t buy products that are made from endangered animals. Keep in mind that some endangered animals are killed by traps , catches or hunters who are after other wildlife within the same habitat.
5. Donate money or time to organizations that protect wildlife and their habitats.
You can give money to organization or groups that protect wildlife species in your neighbourhood.We infer that the purpose of this passage is to ________.
| A.tell us why protecting wildlife is extremely important now |
| B.suggest that we protect wildlife through actions |
| C.explain why protecting wildlife is not as hard as people think. |
| D.give us some tips on how to protect wildlife through small actions |
Which of the following threats to wildlife is NOT mentioned in the passage ?
| A.Animal diseases |
| B.Loss of habitat |
| C.Pollution |
| D.Hunters |
What’s the best title for the third point ?
| A.Have a greener lifestyle. |
| B.Use less water and fewer fuels. |
| C.Take a bus when you go out |
| D.Try a new kind of life. |
The writer suggests that we _________.
| A.not buy products made from animals |
| B.share cars with others when we go out |
| C.grow as many kinds of plants in our gardens as possible |
| D.provide shelters for birds and bats in our gardens or yards |
It was the end of the school term and my son Tom had less than three months left before he would finish his six years at high school. During this time he had developed a love for basketball. Sadly, because of my work over the last twelve months, I had only been able to attend a few of his games; however, I was determined to get to his last game for the school term.
Tom’s team came out in the first 10 minutes with a burst of goals that saw them leading by just over 20 points at the end of the first half. The second half changed as the other team quickly played themselves back into the game. Tom’s team started to miss an increasing number of shots. It was at that point that the coach called his first time out.
The noise of the spectators (观众) became quiet as the coach spoke to them. He had the team standing in a half circle, but he squatted (蹲) down, looking up at them and fiving some very calm and clear instructions on what they needed to do in the last couple of minutes. As he stood up to allow the team to return to the court, I saw him give some further words of encouragement to all of them.
You could see that he knew that the team was fighting to save the game and that he needed to lift them up. By squatting down he placed himself in a position where he was talking up to them, rather than down or at them, and as the players went back onto the court his words of encouragement served to lift their energy and spirits.
Well, Tom’s team went on to win the final by 5 points. As I drove away I thought about what can happen to us all in our everyday life. One of my favourite quotes is about the half filled glass of water --- “Is it half full or is it half empty?” Like the coach, the answer to this quote all depends on how you look at things.Why did the writer e to see his son play basketball?
| A.Because his son would graduate from high school. |
| B.Because he felt sorry for never watching his son play. |
| C.Because it was a final his son played a key role in. |
| D.Because he had a strong interest in basketball himself. |
By squatting down, the coach wanted to _____ .
| A.talk about what the players were doing wrong |
| B.make the players feel better |
| C.prevent spectators from hearing what he said |
| D.show his anger at the bad performance of the players |
What is the writer’s attitude towards the coach?
| A.Negative. | B.Supportive. | C.Interested. | D.Unconcerned. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A.A father should care about his son at school. |
| B.Playing hard is rewarded with a close match. |
| C.What a coach says has the most influence on players. |
| D.Looking at things positively is important in hard times. |
D
Losing weight comes with a lot of health benefits—including making your brain sharper.
There have been few studies of overweight and cognitive functioning, (认知功能) possibly because it is generally believed that it is not a primary risk cause for poor cognitive performance. Yet, it turns out that overweight may damage cognitive functions such as memory and attention. Losing weight, therefore, may help improve these mental functions, according to a new research led by John Gunstad, assistant professor of psychology at Kent State University.
Growing evidence suggests that being fat is linked to cognitive deficits (缺陷). So Gunstad and his team guessed that losing weight might improve mental function. For their study, they measured memory and attention in a group of 150 overweight participants, some of whom had some kind of operation for weight loss and some did not. All of the volunteers completed mental skills tests to assess their abilities of memory and attention at the beginning of the study, and again 12 weeks later. To begin with, about 24% of the patients showed damaged learning and 23% showed signs of poor memory when tested. At the end of the study, those who had lost weight after operation improved their scores into the average or above average range for cognitive functions. Scores for the volunteers who didn’t lose weight dropped even further.
The study helped Gunstad to find out whether losing weight had any effect on mental function. Now that he’s seen the positive effect that weight loss can have on memory and attention, he says he will next study those who choose to lose weight by the traditional way—eating healthier and getting more active. He expects that losing weight in this way will have a similarly positive effect on the brain. “If we can improve the condition with operations, then we can probably produce the same change with behavioral weight loss as well,” he says.There is less research on overweight and cognitive functions because researchers _____.
| A. believe overweight only affects our body |
| B. have focused on ways to sharpen people’s mind |
| C. do not consider overweight a main cause for low cognitive ability |
| D. are clear about the relation between weight and mental functions |
The result of Gunstad’s study shows that ______.
| A. losing weight has little effect on people’s memory |
| B. losing weight can improve people’s mental functions |
| C. overweight people are likely to have psychology problems |
| D. overweight people’s abilities of concentration differ greatly |
What is Gunstad planning to prove next in his research?
| A. Slim people are smarter than overweight people. |
| B. Healthy diet is better than exercise in losing weight. |
| C. Traditional ways of losing weight are better than operation. |
| D. Overweight people will get smarter by taking more exercise. |
Which of the following is the best title for the text?
| A.Body Weight and Health |
| B.Losing Weight by Operation |
| C.Ways to Improve Mental Functions |
| D.Losing Weight to Sharpen Your Mind |
C
The creative projects of World Food Program (WFP) focused on preventing hunger from taking hold in the future and breaking the cycle of hunger. Here are some of the ways in which we work to prevent hunger in the future:
School Meals
As well as directly addressing hunger, School Meals projects encourage families to keep their children in school and help them build better futures. If children aren’t hungry they will concentrate on their lessons. With a solid education growing children have a better chance of finding their own way out of hunger. These projects benefit girls especially. For more information: www.wfp.org/schools meals.
Food for Assets(有用的人)
WFP’s Food for Assets projects provide the hungry with food to lay the foundation for a better tomorrow. When poor farmers no longer have to worry about the next meal, they have the time and energy to build irrigation(灌溉) systems that can increase production. Similarly, Food for Training projects allow the poor to devote time to learning skills that will sustain(维持) them economically in the future. For more information: www.wfp.org/food-assets.
HIV/AIDS
WFP uses its food rations(配给) to reduce the blow of HIV and AIDS. The agency distributes its rations to people living with HIV and AIDS, so they can keep providing for their families for longer and have time to transfer vital knowledge and skills to the growing number of AIDS children--the next generation of food providers in developing countries. For more information: www.wfp.org/hiv-aids.
Purchase for Progress
WFP buys large amounts of food in developing countries. It has this purchasing power and uses it to help poor farmers contact reliable markets where they can get competitive prices for their produce. With secure markets, farmers will be encouraged to produce more and innovate(创新).The knock-on effect is producing more food for everyone. For more information: www.wfp.ofp/purchase-progress.The text is written with the purpose of ____.
| A.seeking solutions to some hot issues |
| B.introducing some of WFP’s projects |
| C.raising money for the people in need |
| D.calling readers’ attention to the poor |
The farmers who want to receive some training should visit_____.
| A.www.wfp.org/hiv-aids |
| B.www.wfp.org/food-asset |
| C.www.wfp.org/purchase-progress |
| D.www.wfp.org/school-meals |
AIDS children can benefit from food rations in that_____.
| A.they no longer go hungry |
| B.they can take care of their parents |
| C.they don’t have to worry about food |
| D.they can learn more skills from their parents |
By buying large amounts of food in developing countries, WFP aims to ____.
| A.help farmers to increase their income |
| B.encourage farmers to produce more food |
| C.introduce new ways of farming to farmers |
| D.motive farmers to plant different kind of crops. |