How far would you be willing to go to satisfy your need to know? Far enough to find out your possibility of dying from a terrible disease? These days that’s more than an academic question, as Tracy Smith reports in our Cover Story.
There are now more than a thousand genetic（基因的）tests, for everything from baldness to breast cancer, and the list is growing. Question is, do you really want to know what might eventually kill you? For instance, Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson, one of the first people to map their entire genetic makeup, is said to have asked not to be told if he were at a higher risk for Alzheimer’（老年痴呆症）.
“If I tell you that you have an increased risk of getting a terrible disease, that could weigh on your mind and make you anxious, through which you see the rest of your life as you wait for that disease to hit you. It could really mess you up.” Said Dr. Robert Green, a Harvard geneticist.
“Every ache and pain,” Smith suggested, could be understood as “the beginning of the end.”“That ’s right. If you ever worried you were at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, then every time you can’t find your car in the parking lot, you think the disease has started.”
Dr. Green has been thinking about this issue for years. He led a study of people who wanted to know if they were at a higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s. It was thought that people who got bad news would, for lack of a better medical term, freak out. But Green and his team found that there was“no significant difference”between how people handled good news and possibly the worst news of their lives. In fact, most people think they can handle it. People who ask for the information usually can handle the information, good or bad, said Green.The first paragraph is meant to__________.
| A．ask some questions |
| B．introduce the topic |
| C．satisfy readers’ curiosity |
| D．describe an academic fact |
Which of the following is true of James Watson？
| A．He is strongly in favor of the present genetic tests. |
| B．He is more likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. |
| C．He believes genetic mapping can help cure any disease. |
| D．He doesn’t want to know his chance of getting a disease. |
According to Paragraphs 3 and 4, if a person is at a higher genetic risk, it is__________.
| A．advisable not to let him know |
| B．impossible to hide his disease |
| C．better to inform him immediately |
| D．necessary to remove his anxiety |
The underlined part“freak out”in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to“_________”.
| A．break down | B．drop out | C．leave off | D．turn away |
The study led by Dr. Green indicates that people__________.
| A．prefer to hear good news |
| B．tend to find out the truth |
| C．can accept some bad news |
| D．have the right to be informed |
When you look at your food, some ingredients（配料） are easy to see. For example, there is milk in your cereal (麦片), cheese on your pizza and peanut butter on your bread. But your meals are also filled with ingredients you can’t see. And you might be surprised to learn just how much those hidden ingredients affect your health.
Salt is a perfect example of an ingredient that you might not notice, even when you eat a lot of it. More than 75% of the salt we eat is hidden in restaurant meals, fast food and processed (加工过的) food, such as French fries, hot dogs and even biscuits.
Salt is important to us and it has many uses. It keeps our muscles (肌肉) working and our nerves (神经) sending messages through the whole body. Salt can be used to clean teeth, to make our skin smooth or added to a relaxing bath. Salt is also used to help make food last longer.
However, eating too much salt can cause heart problems. For a long time, heart trouble has been regarded as an adult problem, but new research shows that salt is starting to affect kids. Then how much salt is safe for kids every day? Let’s look at the following chart:
| Ages |
Amount of Salt Every Day |
| 1-3 years old |
2 grams |
| 4-6 years old |
3 grams |
| 7-10 years old |
5 grams |
| 11 or more than 11 years old |
6 grams |
Kids should not eat more than that.What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?
| A．The importance of salt in our everyday life. |
| B．The result of eating too much salt. |
| C．How much salt people need every day. |
| D．Though people eat much salt every day, they may not notice it. |
Which of the following is NOT the use of salt?
| A．Salt keeps muscles working. |
| B．Salt helps to make food last longer. |
| C．Slat helps to reduce heart problems. |
| D．Salt can be used to clean teeth. |
If Mike is 10 years old, how much salt should he eat each day?
| A．Five grams. | B．Two grams. |
| C．Three grams. | D．Six grams. |
Tayka Hotel de Sal
Where：Tahua，Bolivia
How much：About $95 a night
Why it’s cool：You’ve stayed at hotels made of brick or wood，but salt？That’s something few can claim.Tayka Hotel de Sal is made totally of salt—including the beds (though you’ll sleep on regular mattresses(床垫) and blankets)．The hotel sits on the Salar de Uyuni，a prehistoric driedup lake which is the world’s biggest salt flat.Builders use the salt from the 4,633squaremile flat to make the bricks，and glue them together with a paste (糊) of wet salt that hardens when it dries.When rain starts to dissolve the hotel，the owners just mix up more salt paste to strengthen the bricks.
Green Magic Nature Resort
Where：Vythiri，India
How much：About $240 a night
Why it’s cool：Taking a pulley(滑轮)operated lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just the start of your adventure.As you look out of your open window—there is no glass！—you watch monkeys and birds in the rain forest canopy(罩篷)．Later you might test your fear of heights by crossing the handmade rope bridge to the main part of the hotel，or just sit on your bamboo bed and read.You don’t even have to come down for breakfast—the hotel will send it up on the pulleydrawn “elevator”．
Dog Bark Park Inn B&B
Where：Cottonwood，Idaho
How much：$92 a night
Why it’s cool：This doghouse isn’t just for the family pet.Sweet_Willy is a 30foottall dog with guest rooms in his belly.Climb the wooden stairs beside his hind leg to enter the door in his side.You can relax in the main bedroom，go up a few steps of the loft(阁楼) in Willy’s head，or hang out inside his nose.Although you have a full private bathroom in your quarters，there is also a toilet in the 12foottall fire hydrant(消防栓) outside.
Gamirasu Cave Hotel
Where：Ayvali，Turkey
How much：Between $130 and $475 a night
Why it’s cool：This is caveman cool！Experience what it was like 5,000 years ago，when people lived in these mountain caves formed by volcanic ash.But your stay will be much more modern.Bathrooms and electricity provide what you expect from a modern hotel，and the white volcanic ash，called tufa，keeps the rooms cool，about 65in summer.(Don’t worry—there is heat in winter.)What do we know about Tayka Hotel de Sal?
| A．It is located on a prehistoric lake. |
| B．It should be protected against the rain. |
| C．Everything in the hotel is made of salt. |
| D．You have to cross a rope bridge to the hotel. |
What is the similarity of the four hotels?
| A．Being expensive. |
| B．Being comfortable. |
| C．Being natural. |
| D．Being unique. |
What does the underlined words “Sweet Willy” refer to?
A．The name of the hotel.
B．The name of the hotel owner.
C．The building of Dog Bark Park Inn B&B.
D．The name of a pet dog of the hotel owner.Which of the hotels makes you have a feeling of living in the far past?
A．Tayka Hotel de Sal.
B．Green Magic Nature Resort.
C．Dog Bark Park Inn B&B.
D．Gamirasu Cave Hotel.
Elizabeth and I are 18 now, and about to graduate. I think about our elementary school friendship, but some memories have blurred(模糊). What happened that day in the fifth grade when Beth suddenly stopped speaking to me? Does she know that I’ve been thinking about her for seven years? If only we could go back, and discover what ended our relationship.
I have to speak with Beth. I see her sometimes, and find out school is “fine”. It’s not the same. It nvever will be. Someone says that she’s Liz now. what happened to Beth?
I can’t call her. Should I write? What if she doesn’t answer me? How will I know what she’s thinking?
Yes, I’ll write her a letter. These things are easier to express in writing. “Dear Be-,” no, “Dear Li-” no, “Dear Elizabeth,” I begin. The words flow freely, as seven-year-old memories are reborn. I ask her all the questions that have been left unanswered in my mind, and pray she will answer. I seal my thoughts in the perfect white envelope, and imagine Beth looking into the mailbox. Will she know why I’m writing? Maybe she once thought of writing the same letter.
As the mailman takes my envelope from me forever, I wonder if I’ve made the right decision. Do I have the right to force myself into Beth’s life again? Am I simply part of the past? I have taken the first stop. Beth has control of the situation now.
One day has passed. Are my words lying on the bottom of the post office floor.
Two days are gone. I’m lost in thought and don’t even hear the phone ring.
“Hello? It’s Elizabeth”What can we learn about Beth?
| A．She had a quarrel with the author in the fifth grade |
| B．She moved to another school in the fifth grade |
| C．She is now called Liz instead of Beth |
| D．She hasn’t seen the author for seven years |
Why does the author decide to write a letter instead of calling?
| A．She is sure that Beth will not answer |
| B．She’s afraid that they’ll quarrel on the phone |
| C．She doesn’t know Beth’s telephone number |
| D．It is easier to express her feelings in writing |
What does the underlined sentence mean in the fifth paragraph?
| A．It’s up to Beth to decide what to do next |
| B．Beth is to be blamed for the ending of their friendship |
| C．Beth is in the same situation as the author is |
| D．The author is completely in the hands of Beth now |
What might happen at the end of the story?
| A．Beth answers her letter two day later |
| B．The letter doesn’t reach Beth at all |
| C．They make up their friendship |
| D．Beth refuses to make peace with her |
Sometimes two very different individuals (个体)become the best friends. For example,, who could have thought that a spider would become friends with a pig? But in American writer E.B.White’ novel Charlotte’s Web, this is exactly what happens
Wibur the pig grows up in a barn(谷仓) and makes many friends, including a spider called Charlotte. One day a sheep tells Wibur that he will finally be served up as dinner. But Charlotte decides to save her friend. To help Wibur，Charlotte writes words like “terrific”, “radiant” and “humble” on her web to praise Wibur. This makes the farmer believe that is too important to kill.Wibur is saved, but Charlotte is so tired that she dies.
The book was first published in 1952. In over 60 years Charlotte has become one of the most famous spiders of all time. She teaches us about love and promise. “She is very, very loving under that crusty(暴躁),that ugly look,” Peter Neumeyer, writer of The Annotated Charlott’s Web
The book’s success drew the attention of Hollywood filmmakers , however, they wanted a happier ending. White was strongly against this idea and as a result the film, like the book, ends with Charlotte’s death.
Jen Doll, reporter with The Atlantic, believe that “death is a part of life”. She says this is one of the main messages of the book.
As Charlotte tells Wibur, “You have been my friend. That in itself is a wonderful thing. I wove(纺织)my webs for you because I like you. After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while and then we die. A spider’s life can’t help being something of a mess(杂乱), with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a little. God knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.”Which of the following about the story is TRUE?
| A．It’s a good example of how differences make us different |
| B．It encourages children to love their family and friends |
| C．The farmer kills Wibur as dinner |
| D．Charlotte is loving and helpful although she is ugly |
What is the disagreement about Charlotte’s Web between Hollywood filmmaker and White?
| A．How Charlotte makes friends with Wibur |
| B．How to make Charlotte lovely |
| C．Whether Charrlotte should die |
| D．Whether Wibur should be killed |
In the last paragraph, Charlotte’s main message is that _________
| A．life could be boring and troublesome |
| B．friendship is more important than life |
| C．dying for a good cause is worthwhile(值得的) |
| D．life is like a web |
“Clean your plate!” and “Be a member of the clean-plate club!” Just about every kid in the US heard this from a parent or grandparent. Often, it’s accompanied by an appeal: “Just think about those starving orphans in Africa.” Sure, we should be grateful for every bite of food. Unfortunately, many people in the US take too many bites. Instead of “cleaning the plate’, perhaps we should save some food for tomorrow.
According to news reports, US restaurants are partly to blame for the growing bellies(胃口,食欲). A waiter puts a plate of food in front of each customer, with two to four times the amount recommended by the government, according to a USA Today story. Americans traditionally associate (将……联系起来) quantity with value and most restaurants try to give them that. They prefer to have customers complain about too much food rather than too little.
Barbara Rolls, a nutrition professor at Pennsylvania State University, told USA Today that restaurant portion(一分,份额) sizes began (or grew) in the 1970s, the same time that the American waistline began to expand(扩大).
Health experts have tried to get many restaurants to serve smaller portions. Now, apparently, some customers are calling for this too. The restaurant industry trade magazine QSR reported last month that 57 percent of more than 4,000 people surveyed believe restaurants serve portions that are too large; 23 percent had no opinion; 20 percent disagreed. But a closer look at the survey indicates that many Americans who can’t afford fine dining still prefer large portions. Seventy percent of those earning at least $150,000 per year prefer smaller portions; but only 45 percent of those earning less than $25,000 want smaller.
It’s not that working-class Americans don’t want to eat healthily. It’s just that, “after long hours at low-paying jobs, getting less on their plate hardly seems like a good deal. They live from paycheck, happy to save a little money for next year’s Christmas presents.”Parents in the United States tend to ask their children _______.
| A．not to save food | B．to wash the dishes |
| C．not to eat too much | D．not to waste food |
Why do American restaurants serve large portions?
| A．Because Americans associate quantity with value. |
| B．Because Americans have big bellies. |
| C．Because Americans are good eaters. |
| D．Because Americans are greedy. |
Which of the following is NOT true of working-class Americans?
| A．They work long hours. |
| B．They live from paycheck to paycheck. |
| C．They don’t want to be healthy eaters. |
| D．They want to save money for their children. |
What happened in the 1970s?
| A．The US government recommended the amount of food a restaurant gave to a customer. |
| B．Health experts persuaded restaurants to serve smaller portions. |
| C．The United Stated produced more grain than needed. |
| D．The American waistline started to expand. |
What does the survey indicate(表明,显示)?
| A．Many poor Americans want large portions. |
| B．Twenty percent of the Americans want smaller portions. |
| C．Fifty seven percent of the Americans earn $150,000 per year. |
| D．Twenty three percent of the Americans earn less than $25,000 per year. |