In recent years, there has been a steady attack on salt from the doctors: salt is bad for you—regardless of your health. Politicians also got aboard. “There is a direct relationship,” US Congressman Neal Smith said, “between the amount of sodium(钠) a person consumes and heart disease, circulatory(循环的) disorders, stroke and even early death.”
Frightening, if true! But many doctors and medical researchers are now beginning to feel the salt scare has gone too far. “All these remarks and cry about salt is unnecessary,” Dr. Dustan insists. “For most of us it probably does not make much difference how much salt we eat.” Dustan’s most recent short-term study of 150 people showed that those with normal blood pressure experienced no change at all when placed on an extremely low-salt diet, or later when salt was reintroduced. Of the hypertensive(高血压的) patients, however, half of those on the low-salt diet did experience a drop in blood pressure, which returned to previous level when salt was reintroduced.
“An adequate to somewhat excessive(过度的) salt intake has probably saved many more lives than it has cost in the general population,” said Dr. John H Laragh. “So an opinion that the whole population should avoid salt makes no sense.”
Medical experts agree that everyone should practice reasonable “moderation”(节制) in salt consumption. For the average person, a moderate amount might run from four to ten grams a day, or roughly 1/2 to 1/3 teaspoons. One to two grams of salt would come from the natural sodium in food. The rest would be added in processing, preparation or at the table.
“Na is not your enemy,” says Comek’s Dr. Laragh. “Salt is the No.1 natural component of all human tissue, and the idea that you do not need it is wrong. Unless your doctor has proven that you have a salt-related health problem, there is no reason to give it up.”Why is salt attacked by doctors and politicians?
| A．It’s unnecessary. |
| B．It does no good to human health. |
| C．It is hated by most people. |
| D．It will always lead to heart disease and circulatory disorders. |
From Dr. Dustan’s study in Paragraph 2 we can infer that _____.
| A．a low-salt diet may be good to some patients |
| B．the amount of salt intake has nothing to do with one’s blood pressure |
| C．the reduction of salt intake can completely cure a hypertensive patient |
| D．an extremely low-salt diet makes no difference to anyone |
In the 3rd paragraph, Dr. Laragh implied that _____.
| A．people should not be afraid of taking much excessive salt |
| B．doctors should not advise people to avoid salt |
| C．an adequate to somewhat excessive salt intake is suggested to ill people |
| D．excessive salt intake has killed some patients in the general population |
What is the experts’ advice for average people on salt consumption?
| A．They should increase salt intake through sodium pills. |
| B．They should avoid salt as often as possible. |
| C．They should consume 1/2 to 1/3 teaspoons of salt a day. |
| D．They needn’t care about how much salt they consume. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The salt scare is not reasonable. |
| B．The cause of hypertension is disclosed. |
| C．The moderate use of salt is recommended. |
| D．Salt consumption is to be avoided. |
It was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.
Then one day. Some visitors from the city arrived. The told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog’s legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, and so they wanted to buy frogs from other place.
This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was catch them. Agreement was reached, and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. For the first time, the people were able to dream of a batter future. But the dream didn’t last long.
The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and, there seemed to be more insects around lately.
The villagers decided that they couldn’t just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides(杀虫剂) and medicines. Soon there was no money left.
Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn’t been useless. They had been doing an important job---eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.
Now, the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning.From paragraph I we learn that the villagers __________.
| A．worked very hard for centuries |
| B．dreamed of having a better life |
| C．were poor but somewhat content |
| D．lived a different life from their forefathers |
Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs?
| A．the frogs were easy money |
| B．They needs money to buy medicine |
| C．they wanted to please the visitors |
| D．the frogs made too much noise |
What might be the cause of the children’s sickness?
| A．the crops didn’t do well |
| B．there were too many insects |
| C．the visits brought in diseases |
| D．the pesticides were overused |
What can we infer from the last sentence of the text?
| A．Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country |
| B．Health is more important than money |
| C．The harmony between man and nature is important |
| D．good old day will never be forgotten |
Forty years ago Sadie left her drunk and violent husband. Needing shelter (住所）for herself and her young son, she took a job as a doorkeeper in a housing project for people. It meant she could live "on site" in one of the
.
Eventually, she got to know the residents (居民）.One resident, Archie, didn't have a family of his own, his nephew's wife and her naughty kids would drop in from time to time. They were there to help the old guy.
Sadie helped care for Archie as he illness and it was she who called the
who diagnosed (诊断)his deadly cancer.
time passing, Sadie's son
up, got married and settled several hundred miles away. Sadie
and moved into a nice little house of her own. To
the loneliness, she took in a series of
over the years.
A heavy fall of snow came a year and a half ago. She was pleased when a neighbor to walk her current dog, Muffin, until the weather improved. Each day he would
a while talking to her，making sure she was OK, and
if she needed anything.
Although she had known him for a long time, Sadie thought to wonder what his last name was. This morning she asked. His surname was the same
old Archie's. It brought back a memory and she talked about the
. She told him about working at the old residents' flats and was
to discover the man who had been "caring" for her for the past year and a half had been one of the little kids who used to run
on his way to visit "Uncle Archie".
She had cared for his family, now he was caring for her. ② of them knew it until that moment but they were living proof of the old saying, "What goes around comes around, "and the
of kindness will not be broken.
A. poor B. senior C. disabled D. unfortunate
A. groceries B. stadiums C. flats D. cages
A. otherwise B. but C. though D. because
A. battled B. banned C. cured D. beat
A. servant B. master C. neighbor D. doctor
A. As B. Since C. With D. When
A. grew B. got C. went D. came
A. complained B. retired C. fired D. hesitated
A. refuse B. reduce C. stop D. escape
A. programs B. projects C. birds D. dogs
A. attempted B. declared C. offered D. wished
A. spend B. cost C. take D. spare
A. observing B. requiring C. indicating D. checking
A. often B. never C. sometimes D. once
A. to B. from C. as D. of
A. coincidence B. comprehension C. tradition D. statement
A. puzzled B. frightened C. concerned D. surprised
A. calling B. screaming C. barking D. whispering
A. All B. None C. Neither D. Both
A. custom B. glory C. pattern D. circle
We’ve considered several ways of paying to cut in line: hiring line standers, buying tickets from scalpers (票贩子), or purchasing line-cutting privileges directly from, say, an airline or an amusement park. Each of these deals replaces the morals of the queue (waiting your turn) with the morals of the market (paying a price for faster service).
Markets and queues—paying and waiting—are two different ways of allocating things, and each is appropriate to different activities. The morals of the queue, “First come, first served, have an egalitarian (平等主义的) appeal. They tell us to ignore privilege, power, and deep pockets.
The principle seems right on playgrounds and at bus stops. But the morals of the queue do not govern all occasions. If I put my house up for sale, I have no duty to accept the first offer that comes along, simply because it’s the first. Selling my house and waiting for a bus are different activities, properly governed by different standards.
Sometimes standards change, and it is unclear which principle should apply. Think of the recorded message you hear, played over and over, as you wait on hold when calling your bank: “Your call will be answered in the order in which it was received.” This is essential for the morals of the queue. It’s as if the company is trying to ease our impatience with fairness.
But don’t take the recorded message too seriously. Today, some people’s calls are answered faster than others. Call center technology enables companies to “score” incoming calls and to give faster service to those that come from rich places. You might call this telephonic queue jumping.
Of course, markets and queues are not the only ways of allocating things. Some goods we distribute by merit, others by need, still others by chance. However, the tendency of markets to replace queues, and other non-market ways of allocating goods is so common in modern life that we scarcely notice it anymore. It is striking that most of the paid queue-jumping schemes we’ve considered—at airports and amusement parks, in call centers, doctors’ offices, and national parks—are recent developments, scarcely imaginable three decades ago. The disappearance of the queues in these places may seem an unusual concern, but these are not the only places that markets have entered. According to the author, which of the following seems governed by the principle “First come, first served”?
| A．Taking buses. |
| B．Buying houses. |
| C．Flying with an airline. |
| D．Visiting amusement parks. |
The example of the recorded message in Paragraphs 4 and 5 illustrates ______.
| A．the necessity of patience in queuing |
| B．the advantage of modern technology |
| C．the uncertainty of allocation principle |
| D．the fairness of telephonic services |
The passage is meant to ______.
| A．justify paying for faster services |
| B．discuss the morals of allocating things |
| C．analyze the reason for standing in line |
| D．criticize the behavior of queue jumping |
Attempt a guess at the following question: In the English-speaking world, which country has the least affordable homes? You are wrong if you guessed the US, even with the housing bubble （气泡） and main sadness. Nor is it the UK, where prices have risen because demand is far from supply. According to a recent survey of 227 cities around the globe, you must go south of the equator （赤道） to Australia to find the priciest homes．
The report measured a city’s housing market along the following guidelines. An “affordable” home required three times or less of the average family’s income to purchase. At four times earnings, a home fell into the “unaffordable” category. And a “seriously unaffordable” home needed five times a family’s income. In Australia, homes in the least affordable city cost just about 9.5 times the average income. Sydney, Perth, and Melbourne were only a little under this figure．
Australian officials offered little comment, apart from a general statement on the dismal findings. These prices make the possibility that many Australians will one day own a home largely unbelievable. Land rationing （配给制） and excessive development charges have raised prices, and the problem will only be solved through urgent action by the Rudd government．
Some American cities were also included on the least affordable list, four of which were in California. America is still involved in a mortgage（抵押）crisis, though, affecting the affordability of homes. Yet a number of US cities garnered “affordable” status, namely Dallas and Kansas. Australia had no cities listed in the top fifty places with affordable homes．
The survey suggests that you can find affordable homes in most places, just not if you’re Australian and choose to live down under．To buy an affordable house, you should pay _____．
| A．3 times or less of the average family’s income |
| B．4 times or less of the average family’s income |
| C．5 times or less of the average family’s income |
| D．9.5 times or less of the average family’s income |
What caused the prices of houses to increase in Australia?
| A．The rising family’s income． |
| B．The demand over supply. |
| C．The excessive development charges． |
| D．The decrease of land． |
The underlined word “dismal” in Paragraph 3 may mean _____．
| A．cheerful | B．satisfactory |
| C．difficult | D．sad |
What might be the most suitable title for the passage?
| A．Affordable Houses | B．A House is a Dream First |
| C．Housing Bubble | D．Homes Too Expensive |
Do you know what really troubles me? For some reason, words with silent letters have always bothered me. For example, consider these words: know, design, island, school, wrist, naughty, and salmon. All of these words have at least one letter that is not typically pronounced, and these words are just a very small part of words with silent letters in them.
Some words are even worse, consider this word: colonel. Not only are some letters not pronounced, but letters that are not even there are pronounced.
Even foreign languages, especially French, are guilty of this needless complexity and confusion. I know there must be some main historical reasons why the words are spelled and pronounced the way they are, but that does not mean bad traditions must continue to survive. Especially if they are no longer logical.
Unfortunately, there is very little that anyone can do for it, because there’s no group of people who can change or have the right to change the English language for everyone. However, the only thing we can do is make changes in the way we talk and write in hopes that it catches on. For example, I pronounce the letter “l” in salmon on purpose to make people annoyed and to sound more different or complicated. I even pronounce colonel the correct or French way.
I can only hope these two minor changes to the English language make sense to you, and you will help to keep up these minor changes forever in your everyday life.Which of the following is the main reason for silent letters?
| A．French language. | B．Historical reasons. |
| C．Some linguists | D．Bad traditions. |
The underlined phrase “catches on” probably means “________”.
| A．becomes popular | B．gets across |
| C．follows the fashions | D．doesn’t fall behind |
Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
| A．Troubles in everyday life |
| B．Traps in English words |
| C．Words with silent letters |
| D．Necessary changes of languages |