Walking is a popular form of exercise. It is an easy activity and offers a good way to improve physical fitness. Walking also gives many of the same benefits as other kinds of exercise.
Regular, brisk walks help a person's body work better. Walking builds a stronger heart and lungs. Walking also seems to help protect the heart from heart disease. The lungs work better because they take in and use oxygen more effectively. Walking can help in weight control, too. A quick fifteen-minute walk burns as many calories as jogging the same distance in half the time. Walking causes very injuries, so there is also a lower "dropout" rate among walkers than among runners.
People are more likely to continue a walking program. This gives a better chance for success. Walking offers some mental benefits, too. It seems to make people feel better. Many walkers say they sleep better at night when they take regular walks. Others say they have a better attitude towards life. Walking offers many of the same physical and mental benefits as other forms of exercise, but walking offers some special advantages, too. Almost everyone can walk. There are no special lessons or training. To become a real walker, a person only needs to walk faster, farther, and more often.
People can walk almost anywhere. There are no special playing fields or courts for walking. Sidewalks, streets, parks, fields, and malls are excellent places for walking. People can walk almost anytime. A person doesn't need a team or a partner for walking. There is no "season" for walking. Most walkers walk in all kinds of weather.
Walking doesn't cost anything. There are no special fees for walking. Good walking shoes and comfortable clothes are the only equipment that a walker needs.
Walking offers a form of exercise within the reach of nearly everyone. With a little time and effort, people can rediscover a valuable form of exercise and improve their fitness.Walking benefits people's_______.
| A．legs and arms | B．feet and hands |
| C．heart and lungs | D．head and stomach |
Most people like walking because_______.
| A．it is easy to continue |
| B．it is funny |
| C．they are ill |
| D．they want to see who walks faster |
When you start walking, you should prepare _______.
| A．a good bag |
| B．a hat and gloves |
| C．some food and drinks |
| D．walking shoes and comfortable clothes |
It's late evening in the middle of the winter． The snow is deep， but off I go into the wild．Suddenly， I hear it： the howl（嚎叫） of wolves． Excitedly， I walk faster in the direction of the howling．
I've been working as a volunteer wolf tracker in Yellowstone National Park for over a year． It's my job to follow wolves to record information about them． Like wolves， however， I don't work alone． I'm one of a team of people who have been in a project to help reintroduce wolves to the park．
Humans have always feared wolves． From fairy tales to movies， the wolf is always the bad guy a danger to humans and other animals． In the 1920s， the organizers of the park shared this view about wolves and made the decision to drive them away from the park．As a result，the number of elk（麋鹿） in the park increased． The elk started looking for food near river banks since they didn't have to worry about wolves．This， in turn， stopped trees from growing along the rivers， doing great harm to the environment there．
The return of wolves has already made a big difference． To begin with， the elk soon learned to stay away from the rivers， so new trees have been able to grow there． The trees become home to new wildlife， such as birds， and provide food for more animals．
The park is now becoming more and more popular with those who want to see wolves in their natural environment． It has also helped the local people make more money， Tourists visit the area，stay in the local hotels， and eat in the local restaurants．
Looking at the wild animals and the beautiful sceneries around me， I am amazed at the changes the wolf has made to Yellowstone．And happily，it is playing a good guy in this story．
（1）According to the passage， one of a wolf tracker's jobs is to ．
A． catch wolves in the park
B． feed wolves in the wild
C． stop wolves from killing elk
D． collect information about wolves
（2）Why did the organizers drive the wolves away from the park in the 1920s？
A． The wolves were always howling at night．
B． The elk in the park were in danger of dying out．
C． The wolves had done great harm to the environment．
D． The park was thought to be unsafe with wolves around．
（3）Paragraphs 4 and 5 are mainly about the that wolves have brought to Yellowstone．
A． risks
B． troubles
C． changes
D． competitions
（4）What does the writer mean by the underlined sentence in the last paragraph？
A． Wolves are important to Yellowstone．
B． Yellowstone has been home to wolves．
C． The wolf and the elk live in peace now．
D．The number of wolves is growing fast．
Is there a connection between music and language？According to recent studies，the answer is yes：Music helps develop certain language abilities in the brain．
A study from Northwestern University shows that playing a musical instrument can improve a person's hearing ability． As a part of the study， two groups of people listened to a person talking in a noisy room．The people in the first group were musicians， while those in the second group had no musical training．The musicians were found to be able to hear the talking person more clearly．
Musicians hear better， says study leader Nina Kraus， because they learn to pay attention to certain sounds． For example， when the violinists play in an orchestra（管弦乐队），they must listen closely to what they are playing and ignore（忽视） the other sounds． In this way， musicians can hear certain sounds better， even in a room with lots of noise．
Gottfried Schlaug，a doctor at Harvard Medical School，works with stroke（中风） patients．Because of their illness， these people cannot say their names，addresses， or other information normally．However， they can still sing． Dr. Schlaug was surprised to find singing words helped his patients finally speak． Why does this work？Schlaug isn't sure． Music seems to be able to make different parts of the brain active， including the bad parts． In some way， this helps patients use those parts of the brain again．
So music is not only enjoyable， but also good for us in many other ways． Playing an instrument or singing， says Nina Kraus， can help us do better in school and keep our brain sharp as we get older．
（1）What were the people in the first group asked to do in the study of Northwestern University？
A．Listen to different kinds of music．
B． Make some noise in an empty room．
C． Give the second group musical training．
D． Find out what the talking person was saying．
（2）The writer uses the example of violinists in Paragraph 3 to explain ．
A． how musicians play in an orchestra
B． how musicians ignore certain sounds
C． why musicians have better hearing ability
D． why musicians are not afraid of loud noise
（3）Gottfried Schlaug helps his stroke patients speak by ．
A． playing music for them
B．getting them to sing words
C． teaching them to play instruments
D． joining the bad parts of their brain
（4）What is the main purpose of the passage？
A． To introduce different ways of playing music．
B． To give some advice about making our brain active．
C． To show the relationship between music and language abilities．
D． To share the results of recent studies on treating stroke patients．
Future View
I think it will be great if they invent something so that we only have to sleep for one or two， hours every day．Then we'd all have much more time to do．things and to enjoy ourselves． Life would be better， I think， and everyone would do a lot more with their lives．
Miguel
If I could choose anything， I'd go for a time machine so that I could go back and do some things differently． Of course，that's impossible-but wouldn't it be great if it was possible？ I wish I could go back in time to when I was a kid and say some of the things in a different way!
Hannah
Well， of course， the best thing is medicine for really bad diseases（疾病）．A lot of scientists are working very hard to stop diseases like Ebola，a terrible disease that has killed many thousand people in Africa．So if they， found a special treatment for Ebola， or a way of completely preventing it，life would be easier in so many places．
Isabella
It will be great if there is some kind of fuel（燃料） we can use in cars that won't produce any pollution．I guess there are scientists right now trying to do that， and I hope they'll succeed because the world would be a much cleaner place， wouldn't it？
Charlie
I wish there was a machine that did homework! Wouldn't that be fantastic？ But I guess teachers wouldn't be very happy．
Georgina
（1）Why does Hannah want to go back in time？
A． To be young again．
B． To live a better life．
C． To do something for Africans．
D． To say some words differently．
（2）Who might be worried about the pollution of the world？
A． Miguel．
B． Isabella．
C． Charlie．
D． Georgina．
（3）In which part of a newspaper may this passage appear？
A． Health．
B． Science．
C． Travel．
D． Education．
A few months ago．I was nominated"，for Governor of the great state of New York， to run against Stewart L． Woodford and John T． Hoffman． I really felt dirty to run against them for all their shameful crimes that were reported on newspapers． However， as a candidate， I had no choice．
The next morning， as I was looking listlessly over the papers at breakfast， I came across this paragraph：
PERJURY﹣ Mr. Mark Twain， a candidate for Governor， was convicted' of perjury by thirty﹣four people， in Wakawak， in 1863． He intended to rob a poor woman of her land，her only stay and support after her husband died． For Mr. Twain himself， as well as the public， he needs to clear this matter up．Will he do it？
What a lie! I never had heard of Wakawak!
During the rest of the time， I got a title "the Infamous Perjurer Twain" on this paper．
Next came "Gazette"， with this：
WANTED TO KNOW﹣ When Mr. Twain was in Montana，his workmates lost small valuables from time to time， until at last， these things having all been found on Mr. Twain's person or in his suitcase．Will he explain this to his fellow﹣citizens？
I got a new title，"Twain， the Montana Thief"． But I never was in Montana in my life．
Then another newspaper article：
DELIRIUM TREMENS TWAIN ﹣ Mark Twain，who was to make a speech at the mass meeting of the Independents last night， didn't come to time! He argued that he had been knocked down by a runaway team and his leg broken in two places． But a certain man who was very drunk was seen to reel into Mr. Twain's hotel last night． It is his duty to prove that this person was not Mark Twain himself． WHO WAS THAT MAN？
I did not drink!
In the following weeks，I got more titles like "Delirium Tremens"， "Body﹣Snatcher"， "Filthy Corruptionist" ，etc．
Then one morning：
Mr. Mark Twain still maintains SILENCE． He dare not speak． Dare he open his mouth explain？
Before I could reply， more dirty charges" poured up on me． One day they even taught nine little children of all shades of colour to rush on to the platform at a public meeting and call me Pa（ father）!
I gave up． I sent them a letter to state that I gave up， and in bitterness of spirit I signed it，"Truly yours，once a decent man， but now MARK TWAIN， I．P．， M．T．， D．T．， B．S． and F．C．"
（1）In the story， people were running for Governor．
A． three
B． four
C． five
D． six
（2）Which of the following is TRUE about Mr. Twain according to his story？
A． He got punished for stealing in Montana．
B． He kept silent to the charges against him．
C． He was often too drunk to attend meetings．
D． He accepted the titles from the newspapers．
（3）Who could be the person making Mr. Twain dirty？
A． The persons who wanted to beat him．
B． The poor who wanted their land back．
C．The women who had children with him．
D． The reporters who helped him make news．
（4）Why did Mr. Twain finally decide to give up running for Governor？ （请用约40词回答）
Tide is the regular rise and fall of the ocean level caused by the movement of the sun， the earth and the moon． It is considered a promising source of green energy to produce electricity in coastal areas．
To make use of tidal energy， we need to build tidal power stations． The bays and the river mouths where the tide is high（the tidal range is more than 10 metres） are usually perfect sites to build tidal power stations． There are many such places in the world． According to the IRENA （ the International Renewable Energy Agency）， by just using 2% of our coastlines， we can produce 4，383TWh of ocean power each year， enough to meet 16.4% of the world's electricity needs．
To build a tidal power station， we need to build a dam． In the dam are many turbines and on each turbine there is an electric generator'． When the tide rises，water comes through the dam，the turbines turn and the electric generators work， producing electricity．When the tide falls，water goes out through the dam， the turbines turn again．The electric generators continue to work．
Tidal energy has its advantages．Using tidal energy to produce electricity is much cheaper than using the traditional energy， like coal or gas． For example， the Rance Tidal Power Station in France has been there for over 50 years， producing around 5.000.000TWh of electricity each year． The cost is only 1.3 cents/TWh．
Tidal energy can be used nearly 24 hours a day． As long as the sun， the earth and the moon exist，we can use it to produce electricity． But without sunshine， there is no solar energy． When there is no wind，electric generators will not work． In addition， with the development of modern technology， tidal energy can be stored and used to produce electricity continuously．
However， we still have some problems to solve． It is difficult to build a dam in the sea， and the cost is very high．Moreover it's expensive to keep a tidal power station in its best condition．Scientists are working on them．
（1）A tidal power station is best built ．
A．at a river mouth with wind
B． along the coast with waves
C． In a bay with tide high enough
D．in coastal areas with sunshine
（2）The underlined word "turbine" in Paragraph Three is a machine to ．
A． make the tide rise and fall
B． make an electric generator work
C． let water go through the dam
D．keep the dam in good condition
（3）What advantage does tidal energy have？
A． We can use it to get useful tide．
B． It can improve the ocean environment．
C． We can use it nearly all the time．
D． It meets 16． 4% of the electricity needs．
（4）How can we make better use of tidal energy？
A． By digging more bays and river mouths．
B． By building cheaper tidal power stations．
C． By closing traditional electric power plants．
D． By using tidal energy to replace other energy．
