“Children who eat less salt and drink fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks may significantly lower their risks of obesity,” researchers recently reported in the journal Hypertension.
“Sugar-sweetened soft drinks are a significant source of calorie intake in children,” said Feng J. He, a researcher at St George’s University of London, England. “It has been shown that sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption is related to obesity in young people.” They wanted to know whether there is a link between salt intake and sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption.
Dr He and colleagues analyzed data from a 1997 national survey of more than 2,000 people between 4 and 18 in Britain. “We found that children eating a lower-salt diet drank less fluid,” said He. “From our research, we estimated that 1 gram of salt cut from their daily diet would reduce fluid intake by 100 grams per day.”
The researchers also found that children eating a lower-salt diet drank fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks. From their research, they predicted that reducing salt intake by 1 gram each day would reduce sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption by 27 grams per day, after. “If children aged 4 to 18 cut their salt intake by half, there would be a decrease of about two sugar-sweetened soft drinks per week per child, so each child would decrease calorie intake by almost 250 kilocalories per week,” Dr He said.
In previous studies, researchers found that a low-salt diet lowers blood pressure in children, and prevents the development of high blood pressure later in life. “Both high blood pressure and obesity increase the risk of having strokes and heart attacks,” Dr He said.
Dr He recommends that parents check labels and choose low-salt food products. “Small reductions in the salt content of 10 to 20 percent cannot be detected by the human salt taste receptors (感受器) and do not cause any technological or safety problems,” Dr He said.According to the passage, obesity is directly linked to ______.
| A．high-salt foods |
| B．sugar-sweetened soft drinks |
| C．high blood pressure |
| D．strokes and heart attacks |
Compared with previous studies, the recent one found that ______.
| A．a lower-salt diet may mean less sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption |
| B．a low-salt diet keeps children out of high blood pressure |
| C．children face the risk of having strokes and heart attacks |
| D．low-salt food products do not do harm to people’s health |
Which of the following statements would Dr He agree to?
| A．The less salt people eat, the healthier people become. |
| B．Children should reduce fluid intake in their daily life. |
| C．No high-salt food products will be available in shops. |
| D．A low-salt diet may prevent both high blood pressure and obesity. |
After reading the passage, who should take effective action?
| A．Children. | B．Parents. | C．Doctors. | D．Researchers. |
My husband and children think they are very lucky that they are living and that it’s Christmas again. They can’t see that we live on a dirty street in a dirty house among people who aren’t much good. But Johnny and children can’t see this. What a pity it is that our neighbors have to make happiness out of all this dirt. I decided that my children must get out of this. The money that we’ve saved isn’t nearly enough.
The McGaritys have money but they are so proud. They look down upon the poor. The McGarity girl just yesterday stood out there in the street eating from a bag of candy(糖果)while a ring of hungry children watched her. I saw those children looking at her and crying in their hearts; and when she couldn’t eat any more she threw the rest down the sewer(下水道). Why, is it only because they have money ? There is more to happiness than money in the world, isn’t there?
Miss Jackson who teaches at the Settlement House isn’t rich, but she knows things. She understands people. Her eyes look straight into yours when she talks with you. She can read your mind. I’d like to see the children be like Miss Jackson when they grow up. This passage mainly suggests that the writer _______.
| A．is easy to get along with | B．is unhappy with the life they are living |
| C．is good at observing and understanding | D．is never pleased with her neighbors |
What do you think of McGarity girl?
| A．She is proud and hungry. | B．She is selfish and cruel. |
| C．She is lonely and friendless. | D．She is unhappy and misunderstood. |
In this text, the writer tries to tell us that _______.
| A．money is the key to everything |
| B．the more money you have, the less happy you’ll be |
| C．there is something more important than money |
| D．when talking to people we should look into their eyes |
Pick out the one that does NOT describe the writer’s view on money.
| A．Why, is it only because they have money? |
| B．There is more to happiness than money. |
| C．Miss Jackson isn’t rich, but she knows things. |
| D．The money we saved isn’t nearly enough. |
Trees are useful to man in three very important ways: they provide him with wood and other products, they give him shade, and they help to prevent drought and floods.
Unfortunately, in many parts of the world man has not realized that the third of these services is the most important. In his eagerness to draw quick profit from the trees, he has cut them down in large numbers, only to find that without them he has lost the best friends he had.
Two thousand years ago a rich and powerful country cut down its trees to build warships, with which to gain itself an empire. It gained the empire but, without its trees, its soil became hard and poor. When the empire fell to pieces, the country found itself faced by floods and starvation.
Even though a government realizes the importance of a plentiful supply of trees, it is difficult for it to persuade the villager to see this. The villager wants wood to cook his food with, and he can earn money by making charcoal(木炭) or selling wood to the townsman（城市居民）. He is usually too lazy or too careless to plant and look after trees. So unless the government has a good system of control, or can educate the people, the forests will slowly disappear.
This does not only mean that the villager’s sons and grandsons have fewer trees. The results are even more serious. For where there are trees their roots break the soil up—allowing the rain to sink in and also hold the soil, thus preventing it being washed away easily, but where there are no trees, the soil becomes hard and poor. The rain falls on hard ground and flows away on the surface, causing floods and carrying away with it the rich topsoil, in which crops grow so well. When all the topsoil is gone, nothing remains but a worthless desert.The purpose that the writer wrote this article is to ______.
| A．tell people the use of wood |
| B．tell people the function of tree roots |
| C．warn that man mustn’t destroy forests any more |
| D．explain how trees help to prevent drought and floods |
In the writer’s opinion, _____, or the forests will slowly disappear.
| A．measures must be taken |
| B．people shouldn’t draw benefit from the tree |
| C．government must realize the serious results |
| D．unless trees never be cut down |
According to the article we know it is _____ to prevent the forests from slowly disappearing.
| A．necessary but impossible |
| B．necessary but difficult |
| C．impossible and unimportant |
| D．difficult and impossible |
In the last two paragraphs the writer wanted to make it clear that _____ .
| A．where there are no trees, the soil becomes poor but soft |
| B．where there are many trees, there are more floods |
| C．where there are no trees, the land might become desert slowly |
| D．floods will make the land become desert |
Canadian experts have found that so – called self – help books may actually do more harm than good to people who really need help．Researchers say that individuals （个人） with low respect felt much worse after repeating positive statements about themselves．
In their study, psychologists Joanne Wood and John Lee sought to determine how positive thinking affected people with different levels of self – confidence．They questioned dozens of people both made and female, analyzed their self – worth and optimism by means of the standard psychological methods and then asked them to write down their thoughts and feelings．The scoring system ranged from 0 to 35．
During the experiment, the researchers asked a total of 68 participants to repeat the self-help book phrase, “I am a lovable person．” After that they measured the participants’ moods and their feelings about themselves．The results revealed that the participants in the low self – respect group who repeated the mantra （颂歌）, were feeling much worse afterwards, when compared to other participants in low self – respect group who did not repeat the phrase．Those with low self – respect who repeated the phrase scored an average of 10 points．Their counterparts （对比者） with equally low self – respect who were not asked to repeat the statement, were able to score a little higher average of 17 points．
However, individuals with high self – respect reported feeling better after repeating the positive self – statement – but only slightly．They scored an average of 31 points, compared with an average of 25 for those with equally high self – respect who did not repeat the phrase．
Professor Wood urged those who promote self – help books, magazines and television shows to stop telling people that simply repeating a positive mantra could change one’s life．First, people start following this idea and feel like they are not alone．They are told that all they have to do is just to read that book and then to repeat these positive statements in a hope that things will be better, and when it does not work for them and they realize that nothing gets better, then it is really frustration to people．
Researchers concluded: “Repeating positive self – statements may benefit certain people such as individuals with high self – respect but discourage the very people who need confidence the most．”The experts tried to find out, when repeating positive self – statements, ．
| A．the different influences on people with different levels of self - confidence |
| B．whether males or females will get more benefit from self – help books |
| C．which group of people self – help books will do the greatest harm to |
| D．who will get the least benefit from self – help book |
How many points did the low self – respect participants get after repeating the self – help book phrase?
| A．An average of 10 points． | B．An average of 17 points． |
| C．An average of 31 points． | D．An average of 25 points． |
So – called self – help books do some good to ．
| A．people lacking confidence |
| B．people with high self - respect |
| C．people with problems to settle urgently |
| D．people repeating positive self – statements |
Sydney – A shark savaged a schoolboy’s leg while he was surfing with his father at a beach in Sydney on February 23．it was the third shark attack along the coast of Australia’s largest city in a month．
The 15 – year – old boy and his father were in the water off Avalon, on Sydney’s northern beaches, around dawn when he was attacked．The city’s beaches are packed with locals and tourists during the summer months．
“The father heard a scream and turned to see his son trashing （扭动） about in the water,” police said．“Fortunately, the shark swam away and the boy was helped to shore by his father．”
Lifesaving Club spokesman Nick Miller: “It got him around the top of his left leg and the father came and dragged him out of water．” He said the boy was bleeding heavily when he was brought to shore．“There was a lot of pain, as you can imagine”．The teenager was airlifted to hospital for treatment for leg injuries．
Police said the bites “cut through to the bone”, but the boy did not appear to have sustained any fractures （骨折）．He was in a stable condition now．
Several beaches were closed after the attack．Water police and lifeguards were searching for the shark, while police hoped to identify its species by the shape of the bite marks．But they said it was too early to say what type of shark attacked the boy．“I don’t even know if he saw it,” Miller said．
Many shark species live in the waters off Sydney’s beaches, but attacks on humans are still relatively rare．However, there were two attacks on successive days earlier this month, one on a navy diver in Sydney harbor, not far from the famous Opera House, and the other on a surfer at the city’s world – famous Bondi beach．
Fishermen say shark numbers are on the rise．There is a ban on commercial fishing in the harbor, which has increased fish stocks．Marine experts also claim environmental protection has created a cleaner environment, attracting sharks closer to shore as they chase fish．Many shark species, including the Great White – the man – eater made famous in Steven Spielberg’s Jaws – are protected in Australian waters．The report mainly tells us．
| A．shark attacks on humans are on the rise |
| B．sharks attacked humans three times in one month |
| C．a boy was attacked by a shark at a Sydney beach |
| D．shark numbers are increasing in the waters off Sydney’s beaches |
The underlined word “savaged” in the first paragraph probably means “ ”．
| A．attracted | B．dragged | C．bit | D．packed |
What do we know about the city of Sydney from the passage?
| A．It is one of the largest cities in Australia． |
| B．Sydney harbor is not far from the famous Opera House． |
| C．There are many locals and tourists on its coast all year round． |
| D．There are few shark species in the waters off Sydney’s beaches． |
About the injury of the boy we know that．
| A．he was losing much blood when he was dragged out |
| B．he was very nervous when he was sent to hospital |
| C．he may be in danger of losing his leg |
| D．he was injured in the right leg |
Watch out, Yahoo．There’s search engine out there with super speed and accuracy．It’s really cool．
Google is the Web’s largest search engine．In just two years it has gained a reputation for surprising speed and accuracy, delivering exactly what you’re looking for in a second．The site now does this 40 million times a day – a number achieved without spending a penny on a TV or newspaper ad．
Google doesn’t need them．In the past six months alone, the site has won a Webby （the online version of the Oscar） for technical excellence, set a new record for search engines by indexing a billion Web pages．
Yahoo still has 10 times the audience, but Google consistently ranks first in customer satisfaction: 97% of users find what they’re looking for most or all the time．“You see people smile when they use it, like they’ve found something no one else knows about,” says Danny Sullivan, editor of an online newsletter．
No one is smiling more than Larry Page, 27, and Sergey Brin, 26, who seem certain to become billionaires when the company goes public, probable sometime next year．They make a great comedy duo．When they first met as Ph． D．students, the pair say, they found each other horrible – “I still find him horrible,” adds Brin – but were driven together by a computer – science project aimed at coming up with better ways of searching the Web．
The idea behind Google is that traditional search engines are stupid．They think relevance is based on repetition; if you type in a request for Tiger Woods, say, you’ll get websites listed according to how many times those words appear．Not only is this no guarantee of quality, but it’s also open to abuse．If you own a Tiger fan site and want to lead more people to it, simply type his name thousands of times in the site’s source code．The first paragraph serves to ．
| A．compare two websites | B．bring out the topic |
| C．put blame on Yahoo | D．give the background of the topic |
What does the underlined word “then” in the third paragraph refer to?
| A．40 million times． | B．Achievements． |
| C．TV and newspaper ads． | D．Web pages． |
Which of the following wins greater customer satisfaction?
| A．Yahoo． | B．Google． | C．Page． | D．Brin． |
It can be inferred that Page and Brin ．
| A．work for Google | B．are Tiger fans |
| C．hated each other | D．work for Yahoo |