Would you eat a ready meal from the fridge rather than cook by yourself ? Have you been doing Internet shopping rather than going to the stores?
A study into how lazy British people are has found more than half of the adults are so lazy that they’d catch the lift rather than climb two flights of stairs.
Just over 2,000 people were quizzed by independent researchers in the Britain’s largest health center. The results were very surprising.
About one in six people who were asked said if their control was broken, they would continue watching the same channel rather than get up.
More than one third of those asked said they would not run to catch a bus. Worryingly, of 654 respondents (离婚被告) with children, 64% said they were often too tired to play with them.
We know that it’s no wonder that one in six children in the UK are very fat before they start school.
Dr Sarah, Dauncey, medical director of the center, said, “People need to get fitter, not just for their own health, but for their families, friends and pets, too.”
“If we don’t start to take control of this problem, a whole generation will become too unfit to perform even the most basic tasks.”
And Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow, was shamed as the laziest city in the UK, with 75% asked thinking they do not get enough exercise, followed by Birmingham and Southampton, both with 67%.
So there are some problems for the National Health Service, where fatness-related (相关的) illnesses such as heart disease and cancer have been on an increase for the past 40 years and are costing billions of pounds every year.What does the underlined word “quizzed” mean?
| A．questioned | B．answered |
| C．listened | D．heard |
Of 654 respondents with children, 64% said _____.
| A．they were often too busy to play with their children |
| B．they were often so tired that they couldn’t play with their children |
| C．they were often so sad that they didn’t want to play with their children |
| D．they were often ill and they couldn’t play with their children |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．All the adults in the UK are very lazy. |
| B．Half of the children are very fat before they go to school. |
| C．Pets will be in trouble if their owners don’t keep healthy. |
| D．All people in Glasgow feel ashamed because they don’t get enough exercise. |
From the last paragraph, we can learn ______ if they keep lazy.
| A．people may have heart disease |
| B．people can work at home all the time |
| C．people like shopping online |
| D．people don’t like climbing the stairs |
What does the passage mainly talk about ?
| A．The health service in the UK. |
| B．A study of British people’s lifestyles. |
| C．A study of British people’s laziness. |
| D．The fatness problem in the UK. |
A Korean wave is sweeping across China, with many Chinese women worshiping South Korean actors Kin Soo hyun and Lee Min ho as demigods(偶像)．Chinese netizens(网民) always have different opinions．Over South Korean TV dramas, but there is no doubt that programs from the neighboring country are now enjoying a new round of popularity in China, And a big part of the credit for that goes to You Who Came From The Star, the South Korean TV series which is on the air now．
You Who Came From The Star and The Heirs (继承者们) have been subjects of hot online discussions throughout Asia．Besides, the book, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, read by the hero You Who Came From The Star was a hard to get item on Amazon for a while．
The two TV programs have several common elements (因素)：a tall, handsome, and rich hero who loves the heroine blindly and always protects her, and an equally handsome man madly in love with the same woman．Both programs describe the purity of love, which is expressed through a kiss or a warm hug．Perhaps that’s the secret of their success; perhaps people still like Cinderella type stories．
The widening wealth gap is a matter of social concern both in South Korea and China, and the challenges that young people face in their hope for a better life might have caused many ordinary girls to dream of marrying rich, caring men．This is precisely what the popular South Korean TV drams describe．In fact, South Korean TV dramas are tailored to meet the market’s demands．
Many netizens even said at an earlier time that South Korean TV dramas had become popular because of their stereotyped (模式化的) themes: traffic accidents, cancer and other incurable diseases．But all that has changed with the success of You Who Came From The Star and The Heirs, which Chinese directors can use as examples, as well as inspiration, to improve their productions．What is the main reason for a new round of popularity in China?
| A．The dramas are from the neighboring country North Korea． |
| B．Most of the Chinese netizens have voted for them． |
| C．The actors in the dramas are all gods． |
| D．It is because of You Who Came From The Star． |
Which is NOT included in the elements for the success of South Korean dramas?
| A．Charming pure love stories． |
| B．A tender kiss and a warm hug． |
| C．Handsome and rich heroes． |
| D．The heroine’s blind love with the rich． |
The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 means that they are designed to _______．
| A．develop in a large scale |
| B．be measured to a certain size |
| C．meet popular taste purposely |
| D．be shown in a big market |
The main purpose of stereotyped themes in South Korean dramas is to________．
| A．present an idea | B．attract TV viewers |
| C．make them colorful | D．arouse some challenges |
Erica McElrath calls herself “ The Happy Lady”. And by now, you may have caught her singing and dancing with her mp3 player on any of several city street corners. “ I don’t want money,” said McElrah, 40, of St. Louis. “ I come out here to make people smile.”
McElrah lost her full-time job in January. Since then, she has spent her days doing what she loves-dancing in the street. Her message to people in hard times: do something that you enjoy, no matter what your circumstances. “ Life isn’t that bad,” she said. “ If you’re working 40 hours a week, you shouldn’t be complaining.”
McElrah graduated from parkway Central High School and has spent the past 21 years working as a nursing assistant, She began singing and dancing publicly on her days off a few years ago to help her through the pain of her second divorce.
Her favorite spot is the northwest corner of Chouteau Avenue and South Grand Boulevard near St. Louis University. McElrah’s mp3 player is loaded with hundreds of classic rock hits and 80’s pop songs, including those by Joe Cocker, Tina Turner, Neil Diamond and Toto. But her favorite artist, by far, is Stevie Nicks.Videos of McElrah have appeared on YouTube, a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos. “People think I’m crazy, but I don’t care,” She said. “ I can dance a little. I just go with the music.” Even a rude gesture from a passing motorist doesn’t bother her either. “ I just smile and wave,” she said.
McElrah’s show of bravery recently earned her a job opportunity with Liberty Tax Service, which temporarily offered her a job as a dancer Statute of Liberty to promote a new place near Grand Center starting in January.
“ Just be happy and do what you love,” she said. “The money will come.”At first McElrah began singing and dancing in public in order to _____.
| A．make a living | B．entertain the public |
| C．rise to fame | D．encourage herself |
Erica McElrah was offered a job because of _____.
| A．her beautiful voice | B．her positive behavior |
| C．her lively dancing | D．her competitive spirit |
Which of the following about Erica McElrah is TRUE？
| A．She doesn’t care others’ comments on her. |
| B．Her favorite artist is Joe Cocker. |
| C．She once worked as a doctor. |
| D．She has been divorced once. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Ways To Be Happy |
| B．Learn To Do What You Love |
| C．Happy Lady’s Singing and Dancing Life |
| D．What Made The Happy Lady Famous? |
In April 2014，the world's oldest known message in a bottle was discovered floating in the Baltic Sea. It had spent 101 years lost in the ocean！The message was finally sent to the author's granddaughter.
A German fisherman named Konrad Fischer found the brown bottle near Kiel，Germany. He said he nearly threw the bottle back into the water after pulling it out of a fishing net. Then he noticed something inside.
The bottle in good condition contained a Danish postcard with two German stamps，dated May 17，1913. Although dampness had made most of the writing illegible（字迹模糊的），the readable part of the message asked whoever found it to return it to an address in Berlin. It even contained two stamps to pay for postage.
From the address，researchers found that the postcard was written by a man named Richard Platz，who was 20 years old when he wrote the message. While he was hiking on the Baltic coast with a nature appreciation group，he threw the bottle into the sea. Then the researchers began a search for any living relatives of his. Sure enough，they were able to find his 62-year-old granddaughter，Angela Erdmann，who still lives in Berlin.
“It was almost unbelievable，”Erdmann said upon being presented with her grandfather's bottle and message.“That was a pretty moving moment. Tears rolled down my face."
Erdmann never knew her grandfather，who died in 1946，but says that the discovery of the bottle has made her want to learn more about him.
The bottle remained on display at the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg until May 1．After that，the researchers examined the postcard and tried to figure out the meaning of the rest of the message.
Previously，the oldest message found in a bottle spent nearly 98 years at sea and was discovered in April 2012，according to Guinness World Records.When Konrad Fischer picked up the bottle from the sea， ．
| A．he thought it would bring him good luck |
| B．he noticed the postcard inside immediately |
| C．he decided to uncover the secret of the bottle |
| D．he wanted to throw it back into the sea at first |
Why did Richard Platz throw the bottle with the message into the sea?
| A．He expected his granddaughter could find the postcard. |
| B．He wished the finder would send the postcard to his home. |
| C．He believed his postcard would be kept secret at sea forever. |
| D．He thought he could make friends with the finder of the bottle. |
What can be the best title for this passage？
| A．The finding of a floating bottle at the sea |
| B．A one-century-old letter to a granddaughter |
| C．The world's oldest message in a floating bottle |
| D．The oldest Danish postcard in a floating bottle |
Many people believe Henry Ford invented the automobile (汽车). But Henry Ford did not start to build his first car until 1896. That was eleven years after two Germans developed the world's first automobile. Many people believe Henry Ford invented the production line that moved a car's parts to the worker, instead of making the worker move to the parts. That is not true, either. Many factory owners used methods of this kind before Ford. What Henry Ford did was to use other people's ideas and make them better. And he made the whole factory a moving production line.
In the early days of the automobile, almost every car maker raced his cars. It was the best way of gaining public notice. Henry Ford decided to build a racing car. Ford's most famous race was his first one. It was also the last race in which he drove the car himself.
The race was in 1901, at a field near Detroit. All of the most famous cars had entered, but only two were left: the Winton and Ford's. The Winton was famous for its speed. Most people thought the race was over before it began.
The Winton took an early lead. But halfway through the race, it began to lose power. Ford started to gain. And near the end of the race, he took the lead. Ford won the race and defeated the Winton. His name appeared in newspapers and he became well-known all over the United States. Within weeks of the race, Henry Ford formed a new automobile company. In 1903, a doctor in Detroit bought the first car from the company. That sale was the beginning of Henry Ford's dream. Ford said: "I will build a motor car for the great mass of people. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for one person to operate and care for. It will be built of the best materials. It will be built by the best men to be employed. And it will be built with the simplest plans that modern engineering can produce. It will be so low in price that no man making good money will be unable to own one."
The Model T was a car of that kind. It only cost $850. It was a simple machine that drivers could depend on. Doctors bought the Model T. So did farmers. Even criminals. They considered it the fastest and surest form of transportation. Americans loved the Model T. They wrote stories and songs about it. Thousands of Model T's were built in the first few years.What do we know about Henry Ford from Paragraph 1?
| A．He made good use of ideas from others. |
| B．He produced the first car in the world. |
| C．He knew how to improve auto parts. |
| D．He invented the production line. |
Why did Henry Ford take part in the 1901 car race?
| A．To show off his driving skills. |
| B．To draw public attention. |
| C．To learn about new technology. |
| D．To raise money for his new company. |
“That sale” in Paragraph 4 refers to .
| A．the selling of Ford cars at reduced prices |
| B．the sale of Model T to the mass of people |
| C．he selling of a car to a Detroit doctor |
| D．the sales target for the Ford Company |
What was Henry Ford's dream according to the text?
| A．Producing cars for average customers. |
| B．Building racing cars of simple design. |
| C．Designing more car models. |
| D．Starting more companies. |
How words came into being is unknown. All we assume (猜测) is that some early men invented certain sounds, in one way or another, to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could talk with each other. Later they agreed upon certain signs called letters, which could be put together to show those sounds, and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken or written in letters, are called words.
The power of words, then, lies in their associations—the things they bring up to our minds. Words become filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live, the more certain words bring back to us the happy and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases.
Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which have powerful effects on our minds and feelings. This clever use of words is what we call literary style (文体). Above all, the real poet is a master of words. He can express his meaning in words which sing like music, and which by their position and association can move men to tears. We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them correctly, or they will make our speech silly and common.We learn from the text that language might have begun with _______.
| A．expressions | B．actions | C．signs | D．sounds |
What is mainly discussed in Paragraph 2?
| A．The learning of new words. |
| B．The importance of old words. |
| C．The relation of human experience with words. |
| D．The gradual change and development of words. |
In the last paragraph, what does the author suggest that we should do?
| A．Use words skillfully. | B．Make musical speeches. |
| C．Learn poems by heart. | D．Associate with listeners. |