If you bought some candy months ago but never ate it, how can you tell whether it’s still safe to eat? The easiest way is to check the “expiration date (保质期)” printed on the wrapper. If that date has already passed, you’re likely to throw the candy away. But is that really necessary?
According to a new report from the US Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), tons of food is wasted each year, largely because people don’t fully understand what expiration dates, or “use-by dates”, actually mean.
Food dating was introduced in 1970s because customers wanted more information about the things that they were eating. When they first showed up, use-by dates were only supposed to indicate freshness because producers wanted their products to be tasted in their best conditions.
But the truth is that these dates aren’t related to the risk of food poisoning or food-born illness, according to Time News. However, most customers misinterpreted use-by dates and related them to the safety of the food, and they still largely do now.
Eggs, for example, can still be eaten three to five weeks after purchase even though the use-by date is much earlier. When their use-by dates pass, strawberry juice may lose its red color and biscuits may lose their crunch（松脆的口感）, but they are not harmful.
“It’s a confusing subject, the difference between food quality and food safety,” said Jena Roberts, vice president of National Food Lab, a US food testing company. “Even in the food industry I have colleagues who get confused.”
This is why scientists are calling for a standard explanation to be printed following the use-by dates. “We want this to be clearly communicated so customers are not misinterpreting the date and contributing to a lot of waste,” said Dana Gunders, a staff scientist with the NRDC.
But this won’t be a mistake that is easy to correct since people have believed it for so long. Another problem is that the quality levels of different foods change differently-some are still eatable long after their use-by date while others are not.
As a result, food industry officials are now thinking of changing the use-by date to a date indicating when food is most likely to throw away.According to the text, use-by date was first intended to ________.
| A．reduce the waste of food |
| B．show whether the food was fresh |
| C．show the safety of food |
| D．give a warming of food poisoning |
Which of following is TRUE?
| A．Most customers understand what use-by date mean. |
| B．Biscuits can’t be eaten when not as crunchy as they were bought. |
| C．“ Use-by dates” have existed for more than 50 years. |
| D．Even after their use-by dates pass, some food are still safe to eat. |
Scientists are calling for a standard explanation to be printed together with the use-by dates because________.
| A．Most consumers often misunderstand use-by dates |
| B．use-by dates are not helpful or reliable |
| C．more consumers get worried about food safety |
| D．the quality level of different foods changes differently |
Searching the Internet may help middle-aged and older adults keep their memories sharp,US researchers said.
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles ,studied people doing web searches by recording their brain activity.
“What we saw was people who had Internet experience used more of their brain during the search,”Dr.Gary Small, a UCLA expert on aging, said,“This suggests that just searching on the Internet may train the brain and that it may keep it active and healthy.”
“This is the first time anyone has simulated(模拟)an Internet search task while scanning the brain,”Small said. His team studied 24 normal volunteers between the ages of 55 and 76. Half were experienced at searching the Internet and the other half had no web experience. However, the two groups were similar in age, gender and education.
Both groups were asked to do Internet searches and book reading tasks while their brain activity was monitored.
“We found that in the book reading task, the visual cortex— the part of the brain that controls reading and language — was activated,”Small said,“In doing the Internet search task, there was much greater activity, but only in the Internet-savvy（了解）group.”
He said it appears that people who are familiar with the Internet can engage in much deeper level of brain activity. Activities that keep the brain engaged can preserve brain health and thinking ability. Small thinks learning to do Internet searches may be one of those activities.Researcherswhen volunteers were doing web searches.
| A．studied the Internet |
| B．activated the brain |
| C．recorded their memories |
| D．monitored the brain activity |
The two volunteer groups were.
| A．similar in education |
| B．of the same age |
| C．good at the computer |
| D．book lovers |
According to the passage, we can learn that.
| A．reading books keeps the brain more engaged |
| B．searching the web keeps the brain more engaged |
| C．watching TV keeps the brain more engaged |
| D．chatting online keeps the brain more engaged |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．When you read, the whole brain will be activated. |
| B．Dr.Gary Small is a UCLA expert on brain health. |
| C．Internet searches can preserve brain health and thinking ability |
| D．People who read books may have a better memory. |
To me, life without music would not be exciting. I realize that this is not true for everybody. Many people get along quite well without going to the concert, and listening to the record. But music plays an important part in everyone's life, whether he realizes it or not. Try to imagine, for example, what films or TV plays would be like without music. Would the feelings, the moving plot, and the greatest interests, be so exciting or dramatic? I'm not sure about it.
Now, we have been speaking of music in its more common meaning----the kind of music we hear in the concert hall. But if we look at some parts of music more closely, we discover them in our everyday life too----in the rhythm of the sea, the melody of a bird in the woods and so on. So music surely has meaning for everyone, in some way or other. And, of course, it has special meaning for those who have spent all their lives working on playing or writing music.
It is well said, “Through music a child enters into a world of beauty, expresses himself from his heart, feels the joy of doing things alone, learns to take care of others, develops his mind and makes his body strong.” What dose the writer say more about in the text?
| A．Life full of music. |
| B．Life without music. |
| C．The importance of music. |
| D．The development of music. |
From the text, we learn that many people________.
| A．don't realize the importance of music |
| B．get along quite well without music |
| C．go to the concert instead of enjoying music |
| D．think music would be less exciting than films |
What does the underlined word “melody” mean in the text?
| A．flying | B．looking | C．singing | D．living |
From the last paragraph, we learn that music________.
| A．is very important, especially for children |
| B．is very necessary for our everyday life |
| C．can make our life exciting and dramatic |
| D．can enter into another beautiful world |
After a busy day of work and play, the body needs to rest. Sleep is necessary for good health. During this time, the body recovers from the activities of the day. The rest that you get while sleeping makes it possible for your body to prepare itself for the next day.
There are four levels of sleep, each being a little deeper than the one before. As you sleep, your body relaxes (放松) little by little. Your heart beats more slowly, and your brain slows down. After you reach the fourth level, your body shifts (变换) back and forth from one level of sleep to the other.
Though your mind slows down, you will dream from time to time. Scientists who study sleep point out that when dreaming occurs, your eyeballs begin to move more quickly (although your eyelids are closed). This stage of sleep is called REM, which stands for rapid eye movement.
If you have trouble falling asleep, some people recommend (建议) breathing very slowly and very deeply. Other people believe that drinking warm milk will make you drowsy. There is also an old suggestion that counting sheep will put you to sleep.The text suggests that not getting enough sleep might make you _____.
| A．suffer from poor health |
| B．feel tired and nervous |
| C．dream more often |
| D．breathe quickly |
During REM, _____.
| A．you move restlessly |
| B．you start dreaming |
| C．your mind stops working |
| D．your eyeballs move quickly |
The underlined word "drowsy" in the last paragraph probably means _____.
| A．lazy | B．sleepy | C．relaxed | D．pleased |
A good title for this text might be _____.
| A．Dreams | B．Sleep |
| C．Good Health | D．Work and Rest |
Research shows that childhood friendships are important indicators of future success and social adjustment. Children's relationships with peers (同龄人) strongly influence their success in school, and children with fewer friends are more likely dropping out of school, becoming sad and other problems.
Making and Keeping Friends Is More Than Child's Play
When 6-year-old Rachel returned to school on a recent Monday morning, her eyes immediately scanned the playground for her friend Abbie. Though they were only separated by a weekend, the girls "ran right into each other's arms and hugged," recalls Rachel's mother Kathryn Willis of Gilbert. "It was like a scene from a movie."
Most parents instinctively (本能地) know that having friends is good for their child. Experts agree that friendship is not simply child's play, but a powerful predictor of social adjustment throughout life.
A Skill for Life
"Childhood friendships serve as a very important training ground for adulthood," says Dr. Robbie Adler-Tapia, psychologist with the Center for Children's Health & Life Development.
Researcher William Hartup states, "Peer relations contribute significantly to both social and cognitive (认知的) development." Hartup concludes that the single best childhood predictor of adult social adaptation is not school grades or classroom behavior, but rather, how well a child gets along with other children.
The work of Arizona State University proves that just as being able to make and keep friends is beneficial to kids, so is the lack of friends detrimental.
Good Friendships Don't Just Happen
Experts agree that it is basic for children to develop high-quality friendships. But, researchers warn, these friendships don't necessarily just happen. Often, a good friendship begins with involved （卷入，牵连）parents.
Valley psychologist Dr. Lynne Kenney Markan believes kids should be taught social skills in much the same way they are taught math and reading.
Bad Company
Many parents worry about the quality as well as the quantity of their child's friendships. "When she was in 1st grade, her supposed 'best friend' began calling her names and threatening to hurt her," says Mindy Miller. "My daughter wasn't allowed to talk to or even look at other girls in her class. It really crushed (压跨) her spirit. I told my daughter she didn't need a 'friend' like that."
"I'll bend over backwards to help my son get together with a friend I think is good for him," Adler-Tapia says. "I don't look at it as manipulation (操纵), just positive parental involvement. " The example of Rachel and Abbie is used to show that ________.
| A．childhood friendship is of great benefit to their growth |
| B．a positive friendship helps children solve emotional and physical problems |
| C．it is a proven（被证明的） fact that peer friendship is the most rewarding experience throughout life |
| D．Rachel missed her friend Abbie very much because of their separation of one weekend |
The underlined word "detrimental" could be replaced by _______.
| A．valuable | B．disappointing | C．accurate | D．harmful |
We can learn from the passage that high-quality friendship most probably results from ______.
| A．social skills and good study habits |
| B．school grades and classroom behaviors |
| C．academic success and social adaptation |
| D．positive parental involvement and social skills |
From the last paragraph we can conclude that Dr. Robbie Adler-Tapia agrees that ______.
| A．parents should regard making friends as something that just happens |
| B．it's wise for parents to support and encourage healthy peer relationships |
| C．parents only need to help their children to deal with difficult social situations |
| D．parents are supposed to encourage their children to make as many friends as they can |
Millions of British people have ditched the traditional ‘thank you’ and replaced it with the less formal ‘cheers’, according to a survey.
Although the average person will say ‘thank you’ nearly 5,000 times a year, one in three are more likely to throw in a ‘cheers’ or ‘ta’ where it’s needed, rather than risk sounding old fashioned.
One in 20 now say ‘nice one’ instead, while younger generations are more likely to offer a ‘cool’ than a ‘thank you’.‘Merci’, ‘fab’ and even ‘gracias’ were also listed as common phrases to use, as was ‘much appreciated’.
One in twenty who took part in the survey of 2,000 people by the Food Network UK for Thank You Day, which is marked on November 24, 2011, said a formal ‘thank you’ was now not often needed in everyday conversation. More than one in ten adults said they regularly won’t say thank you if they are in a bad mood. Most people declared that saying thank you was something drilled into them by their parents. A huge 70 percent of those questioned will say thank you to a person’s face without even meaning it, while a fifth avoid saying it when they know they should — on at least two occasions every day.
It seems our friends and family get the brunt (压力) of our bad manners with half admitting they’re not good at thanking those closest to them — many justifying (为…辩解) the lack of thanks because their family ‘already know I’m grateful’.
When spoken words won’t do, it falls to a nice text to do the job for most people. A third will still send a handwritten thank-you note — but 45 percent admit it’s been more than six months since they bothered to send one.
A quarter of British people say thank you with food, with 23 percent cooking a meal to show their appreciation to someone. Another 15 percent bake a cake.
It follows that 85 percent of people will be annoyed at not getting the gratitude (感激) they feel they should receive.Most of the people who took part in the survey say that they say “thank you” _____.
| A．when they are in good mood |
| B．completely out of habit |
| C．when they feel truly grateful |
| D．purely out of politeness |
The underlined word “ditched” in Paragraph 1 means “________”.
| A．given up | B．used | C．shared | D．grasped |
It can be learned from the passage that _______.
| A．different ways of expressing gratitude are all fashionable |
| B．people should avoid saying “thank you” nowadays |
| C．a thank-you note is still appreciated by most people |
| D．people in a bad mood never say “thank you” |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Most people express their gratitude to others by buying food for them. |
| B．About fifty percent of people try not to say thank you when they should. |
| C．Most people may feel natural when they fail to receive others’ gratitude. |
| D．Many people think it unnecessary to say thanks to their family members. |