Below is a selection from a popular science book.
If blood is red, why are veins(静脉)blue?
Actually, veins are not blue at all. They are more of a clear, yellowish colour. Although blood looks red when it’s outside the body, when it’s sitting in a vein near the surface of the skin, it’s more of a dark reddish purple colour. At the right depth, these blood-filled veins reflect less red light than the surrounding skin, making them look blue by comparison.
Which works harder, your heart or your brain?
That kind of depends on whether you’re busy thinking or busy exercising. Your heart works up to three times harder during exercise, and shifts enough blood over a lifetime to fill a supertanker. But, in the long run, your brain probably tips it, because even when you’re sitting still your brain is using twice as much as your heart, and it takes four to five times as much blood to feed it.
Why do teeth fall out, and why don’t they grow back in grown-up?
Baby (or “milk”) teeth do not last long; they fall out to make room for bigger, stronger adult teeth later on. Adult teeth fall out when they become damaged, decayed and infected by bacteria. Once this second set of teeth has grown in, you’re done. When they’re gone, they’re gone. This is because nature figures you’re set for life, and what controls regrowth of your teeth switches off.
Do old people shrink as they age?
Yes and no. Many people do get shorter as they age. But, when they do, it isn’t because they’re shrinking all over. They simply lose height as their spine(脊柱)becomes shorter and more curved due to disuse and the effects of gravity(重力). Many (but not all) men and women do lose height as they get older. Men lose an average of 3—4 cm in height as they age, while women may lose 5 cm or more. If you live to be 200 years old, would you keep shrinking till you were, like 60 cm tall, like a little boy again? No, because old people don’t really shrink! It is not that they are growing backwards—their legs, arms and backbones getting shorter. When they do get shorter, it’s because the spine has shortened a little. Or, more often, become more bent and curved.
Why does spinning make you dizzy(眩晕的)?
Because your brain gets confused between what you’re seeing and what you’re feeling. The brain senses that you’re spinning using special gravity-and-motion-sensing organs in your inner ear, which work together with your eyes to keep your vision and balance stable. But, when you suddenly stop spinning the system goes out control, and your brain thinks you’re moving while you’re not!
Where do feelings and emotions come from?
Mostly from an ancient part of the brain called the limbic system. All mammals have this brain area—from mice to dogs, cats, and humans. So all mammals feel basic emotions like fear, pain and pleasure. But since human feelings also involve other, newer bits of the brain, we feel more complex emotions than any other animals on the planet.
If exercise wears you out, how can it be good for you?
Because our bodies adapt to everything we do to them. And as far as your body is concerned, it’s “use it, or lose it”! It’s not that exercise makes you healthy; it’s more that a lack of exercise leaves your body weak and easily affected by disease.What is the colour of blood in a vein near the surface of the skin?
| A.Blue | B.Dark reddish purple |
| C.Red | D.Light yellow |
Why do some old people look a little shrunken as they age?
| A.Because their spine become more bent. |
| B.Because they are more easily affected by gravity. |
| C.Because they keep growing backwards. |
| D.Because their spine is in active use. |
Which of the following statements about our brain is true?
| A.The brains of the other mammals are as complex as those of humans. |
| B.When our brain senses the spinning, we will feel dizzy. |
| C.In the long run, our brain probably works harder than our heart. |
| D.Our feelings and emotions come from the most developed area in our brain. |
. In this article, we can know except _____.
| A.it takes four to five times as much blood to feed our brain as to feed our heart. |
| B.when adult teeth are gone, they cannot grow back. |
| C.the reason why spinning make us dizzy. |
| D.how we can grow taller. |
What is the main purpose of the selection?
| A.To give advice on how to stay healthy. |
| B.To report the latest discoveries in medical science. |
| C.To challenge new findings in medical research. |
| D.To provide information about our body. |
The next time you get caught jumping on your bed you can tell your parents with a straight face that you are not playing, simply getting ready got a promising career in “Mattress Jumping”. Believe it or not, there are some people who actually get paid to do that! According to Reuben Reynoso, a professional mattress tester at San Francisco’s McRoskey Mattress Factory that still makes every mattress by hand, it is real work and needs some training. For a start, it’s not all about jumping to new heights or doing tricks like professional athletes, but rather about feeling each area of the mattress carefully to detect the filling. In order to do it right, every bit of the mattress has to be tested slowly and deliberately.
Over the years, Reynoso has figured out the perfect routine. He begins by placing a protective mat over the mattress so that it doesn’t get dirty or absorb the smell from his feet. Then begins the fun---he steps to the middle of an edge and then takes five steps back and five steps forward. In this way, he slowly but surely, covers the entire surface. The key according to him is to find the perfect number of jumps---Too many and he will end up destroying the mattress completely. Too few? And it will not fit into the giant machine for that final sewing! Who knew a job that sounds so simple could have so many skills!
While Reuben will not reveal how he got into this profession, he will admit that it is more fun than being a carpenter, roofer, construction worker and railroad engineer---all jobs he has tried previous to finding his true profession!We learn from the text that the McRoskey Mattress Factory ______.
| A.is the world’s oldest mattress factory |
| B.make mattresses for sports |
| C.produces mattresses by hand |
| D.hires athletes as mattress testers |
The protective mat is used to ______.
| A.prevent the tester getting hurt |
| B.keep the mattress as clean as possible |
| C.protect the mattress from being destroyed |
| D.make the mattress fit into the sewing machine |
According to Reynoso, the most important thing in his work is ______.
| A.the timing of his jumps |
| B.the height of his jumps |
| C.the number of his jumps |
| D.the frequency of his jumps |
We can learn from the text that Reynoso ______.
| A.has been injured several times in his work |
| B.liked mattress jumping in his childhood |
| C.didn’t choose mattress testing as his first job |
| D.dreamt about becoming a jumping athlete |
Four days after Dad’s 67th birthday, he had a heart attack. Luckily, he survived. But something inside him had died. His enthusiasm for life was gone. He refused to follow doctor’s orders, and his sour attitude made everyone upset when they visit him. Dad was left alone.
So I asked Dad to come to live with me on my small farm, hoping the fresh air would help him adjust. Within a week after he moved in, I regretted the invitation. He criticized everything I did. I became frustrated. Something had to be done.
One day I read an article which said when given dogs, depressed patients would be better off. So I drove to the animal shelter that afternoon. As soon as I got there, a pointer’s eyes caught my attention. They watched me calmly.
A staff member said: “He got here two weeks ago and we’ve heard nothing. His time is up tomorrow.”
I turned to the man in horror. “You mean you’re going to kill him?”
“Ma’am,” he said gently. “We don’t have room for every unclaimed dog.”
The police’s calm brown eyes awaited my decision. “I’ll take him,” I said.
I drove home with the dog on the front seat beside me. I was helping it out of the car when Dad walked onto the front porch. “Look what I got you!” I said excitedly.
Dad wrinkled his face. “I don’t want it,” he muttered, turning back towards the house. Then, suddenly, the dog pulled free from my grasp. He sat down in front of my Dad.
Dad’s anger melted, and soon he was hugging the dog.
This was the beginning of a warm friendship. Dad named the dog Cheyenne. Together they spent long hours walking down dusty lanes and relaxing on the banks of streams.
Dad’s bitterness faded, and he and Cheyenne went on to make many friends. Then, late one night two years later, I felt Cheyenne’s cold nose burrowing (搜寻) through my bed covers. He had never before come into my bedroom at night. I ran into my father’s room and found that he had passed away.
Two days later, my shock and grief deepened when I discovered Cheyenne lying dead beside Dad’s bed. As I buried him near their favorite stream, I silently thanked the dog for restoring Dad’s peace of mind.After the author’s father survived the heart attack, he ______.
| A.ignored everyone who visited him |
| B.became unpleasant toward other people |
| C.was left alone to get full rest |
| D.no longer wanted to live |
Why did the author take the pointer home?
| A.It was a type that is known for its friendliness. |
| B.Its eyes made her think it was the best dog available. |
| C.It was good at getting people’s attention and entertaining them. |
| D.It caught her attention right away and she didn’t want it to be killed. |
From the last two paragraphs we can conclude that _______.
| A.the author’s father and Cheyenne formed a real connection |
| B.friendship and care is much more efficient than the medicine |
| C.more attention should be given to old people |
| D.dogs are so loyal that they usually die for their friends |
Which section of a newspaper is the source of the passage?
| A.Friends | B.Entertainment |
| C.Education | D.Health |
My name’s Geoffrey Chaucer. It was 16th April 1386, and I was in London at an inn in Southwark. Tomorrow I would go to Canterbury, to the shrine (圣地) of Saint Thomas Becket, together with twenty-nine other people. Before I say more, I want to tell you about some of the people with me.
First there was a knight, a good man who fought well and knew many different countries. He was a true friend to everyone, and always helped people when they needed it. His clothes were old, dark, and dirty from many years of fighting.
Then there was a businessman with an expensive hat on his head. The man, who looked wealthier than he truly was, always said, “I’m doing very well.” A very quick thinker, he talked about ships and the sea a lot, and showed much interest in changing money from different countries.
After the businessman came a franklin (乡绅) with a white beard. He asked people from near and far to visit him at home as he liked eating and drinking and having a good time with others. He was an important man, he knew right from wrong, and people listened to him.
There was a woman from Bath. Her face was open, and nice-looking, but she couldn’t hear very well. In her red dress, she was a big woman with a big smile and big teeth, laughing a lot and talking easily. She knew all about love.
So there we were, all thirty of us, at the inn. The landlord, a tall fat man, brought us the best dinner in London. He would also join our journey tomorrow. After we finished eating, the landlord smiled, suggesting “We’re going to Canterbury tomorrow, and that’s four days from here. One by one, let’s all tell a story on the road to make the time go quicker. And to the teller of the best story we can give a free dinner here at my inn when we get back. What do you say?” We all said “yes” happily to him. Then the question for us was: Who goes first?Which of the following can be described as kind-hearted?
| A.The knight. | B.The businessman. |
| C.The franklin. | D.The woman. |
Which is TRUE of the people described in the text?
| A.The knight always wore very expensive clothes. |
| B.The franklin usually spent time on his own. |
| C.The woman was deaf and loved the red color. |
| D.The businessman was not as rich as he seemed. |
The underlined sentence most probably means “______”.
| A.Who will be the first to be served at the inn |
| B.Who will be the first to tell a story on the road |
| C.Who will go at the front of the traveling group |
| D.Who will be the leader of the traveling group |
According to the text, Chaucer would probably arrive in Canterbury on ______.
| A.April 19th | B.April 20th |
| C.April 24th | D.April 28th |
Movies coming soon
The Croods
Length of time:1 hour 32 minutes
Style: Family, Action
Release date(上映日期): November 22, 2014
Directors: Kirk De Micco, Chris Sanders
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds
Summary
A prehistoric family are forced to flee their cave after it’s destroyed by a disaster that threatens to change their lives forever in this animated(动画制作的) film featuring the voices of Nicolas Cage and Emma Stone.As a protective caveman father leads his family out of harm’s way, the clan(家族) crosses paths with a clever teen named Guy (voice of Ryan Reynolds), who offers to help them reach a distant land where they will be safe from a terrible disaster that will soon change the entire world.
Admission
Length of time: 1 hour 47 minutes
Style: Comedy
Release date: November 22, 2014
Director: Paul Weitz
Starring: Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Nat Wolff
Summary
Tina Fey and Paul Rudd star in director Paul Weitz’s comedy about an honest Princeton admissions officer.The officer meets a teenager who may be her long-lost son while recruiting(招收) students from an alternative high school.Years ago, Portia Nathan(Fey) quietly gave her newborn son up for adoption.Now she’s got a great career recruiting students for Princeton university.Then, one day, she receives an unexpected call from her close college classmate John Pressman(Rudd), who runs an alternative high school that is home to some very gifted students.One such student is Jeremiah(Nat Wolff), who John believes could be the son that Portia gave up for adoption back in her youth.Meanwhile, as Portia puts her career in danger by changing Jeremiah’s transcript(成绩单), an unexpected love story begins to happen.Who is a film director?
| A.Paul Weitz. | B.Emma Stone. |
| C.Paul Rudd. | D.Nicolas Cage. |
In the movie The Croods, the escaping family is led by____________.
| A.Ryan Reynolds | B.a smart teen |
| C.the father | D.the mother |
It can be inferred that John Pressman____________.
| A.is played by Nat Wolff |
| B.has adopted Portia’s child. |
| C.changes Jeremiah’s transcript |
| D.knows about Portia’s experience |
In which section of a newspaper can we most probably read the text?
| A.New movies. | B.Movie reviews. |
| C.Adventure movies. | D.Movie Stars. |
Cursive(草书) writing is about to become extinct.Do we raise the red flag? To teach or not to teach cursive writing is a question that several state education departments are meeting with.
Before you read this text, do a simple exercise.Pick a pen and paper and start writing in cursive.Yes, that fancy handwriting that you learned in grade school.You may not have forgotten the good times you had while writing curly(弯曲的) Ms and Ns.However, the chances are that you won’t be able to write it as excellently as you used to.Some people are good at making the perfect curls, while some are bad.I am still terrible at it.
Cursive writing is hardly used by kids anymore as even adults don’t write in this style, unless they are using it for their signature.Learning it was a usual practice in school for several decades.However, in 2011, the Indiana Department of Education made it optional(可选择的) for schools to teach cursive writing to the students.In fact, there are 46 more states that have also done the same.
There are some who believe that it is high time for cursive writing to retire from school curriculum.After all, if we don’t leave the past behind, we cannot make way for new things.If you walk into any classroom, you would find children using keyboards to communicate in the written form.On the other hand, fans of cursive writing insist on its usefulness.They remind us that if we stop teaching and learning cursive writing in school, very soon most of our historical documents will become hard to us.Where do we stand on this subject? Is it the right time to erase an almost forgotten writing style and live in the keyboarding world? Or can we do both without compromising on our school curriculum? Let me know your thoughts on this matter by leaving a comment in the section below.From the second paragraph, we know that the author ___________.
| A.didn’t learn cursive writing in grade school |
| B.is poor at making the perfect curls |
| C.often writes in cursive |
| D.often does physical exercise |
In Indiana schools, children ___________.
| A.must learn cursive writing |
| B.are interested in cursive writing |
| C.can choose to learn cursive writing |
| D.learn cursive writing every day |
It can be inferred that the author __________.
| A.prefers to learn cursive writing |
| B.is a cursive writing teacher |
| C.welcomes people to show their opinions |
| D.is a very famous expert in education |
Which of the following could be the best title for the text?
| A.Is cursive writing necessary? |
| B.Is the keyboarding world good? |
| C.How to write in cursive |
| D.How to improve cursive writing |