If you need glasses to read this, you are among most of Chinese students. About four-fifths of high school students in China have poor eyesight(视力). And now more and more children in primary school need glasses, too.
Two main reasons can cause poor eyesight: too much time spent indoors studying and too little time spent outdoors playing. Reading and writing for hours and hours, sometimes in poorly lighted rooms, causes eyesight to weaken. But students have to do this because there is so much pressure on them to succeed in school. They have less time to enjoy the sun.
The sun, it turns out, is important in developing good eyesight. According to a study by Australian National University, Australian children and Chinese children have the same level of eyesight before they start school, but once they enter primary school, Chinese children only spend about an hour a day outside, while Australian children spend three to four hours each day in the sunshine. The result is that while about forty percent of Chinese primary school students need glasses, only three percent of Australian children do.
And poor eyesight at a young age can have serious long term influence. As you get older, your eyesight can worsen.
With all that in mind, don’t you think it’s time to give your eyes a break?How many high school students have poor eyesight in China according to the reading?
| A．A half of them. | B．Three percent of them. |
| C．Forty percent of them. | D．Four-fifths of them. |
Which can cause poor eyesight according to the reading?
| A．Like reading and writing very much. |
| B．Spend too much time enjoying the sun. |
| C．Spend too much time indoors studying. |
| D．Start primary school at a young age. |
What can we learn from the third paragraph?
| A．Primary school studying can be very harmful to young students. |
| B．Australian children spend more time outdoors than Chinese children. |
| C．After primary school, children in China and Australia have the same eyesight. |
| D．Fewer Chinese primary school students have poor eyesight than Australian ones. |
What does the writer want to tell us?
| A．Remember to give our eyes a break. |
| B．Develop good eyesight in Australia. |
| C．Avoid poor eyesight at an old age. |
| D．Spend little time outdoors playing. |
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 arent 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 wont 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 cant 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 |
For light sleepers
Millions of people have trouble falling asleep each night, which is why Light Sleeper was created.
Developed in the United Kingdom, Light Sleeper's makers say it can help a person fall asleep and also help a person fall back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night.
Light Sleeper works by projecting (投射) a light onto the ceiling while the person is lying down. The idea is to watch the light, because the light moving in a circle has a relaxing effect.
One of the advantages of the product is that it won't disturb other people in the room. The product can be easily moved and will switch itself off after 30 minutes to save power.
Stop the snoring (打鼾)
Here's a new product designed to slow down the frequency and level of your snoring. The Snore Stopper has a sensitive instrument that will detect when you're snoring. Once it does tha
t, it will send a very mild electronic signal to your wrist. This consequently changes your sleeping position to stop you from snoring. The Snore Stopper; won't cause any damage to your body.
Get your true colors
Photoshop features a pen that will copy the color settings of what you are monitoring onscreen to use as a color in your program. Now an off-line product allows you to pick a color when not using the computer software.
The Color Picker is a concept pen. After placing the pen against an object, the user just presses the scan button. Color sensors (感应器) inside the pen send information to a box, which then mixes red, green and blue to produce the desired ink color.
Keep it fresh
More high technology products are showing up in the kitchen. A new Bagel dome (圆顶形物) advertises that it will keep your baked goods fresher for longer periods of time. The product, which is able to remove air, works for bread rolls, cakes and other perishables. To use it, you just push a button at the top.How can Light Sleeper help a person fall asleep?
| A．Its light makes people feel calm. |
| B．It doesn't make any noise. |
| C．It is fixed on the ceiling. |
| D．Its light moves fast. |
What do we know about the Snore Stopper?
| A．It will cause slight damage to a person's body. |
| B．It will wake a person up once he starts snoring. |
| C．It can make sure a person doesn't snore all night. |
| D．It can make a person snore less by changing his sleeping position. |
The Color Picker will probably be used while you're .
| A．using the computer |
| B．drawing pictures |
| C．collecting information |
| D．designing a program |
The underlined word "perishables" in the last paragraph refers to foods which .
| A．are easy to keep |
| B．go bad easily |
| C．are rich in vitamins |
| D．keep you thin |
It can be learned from the passage that .
| A．the Color Picker is convenient to use |
| B．Light Sleeper was designed by an American |
| C．the Bagel dome mainly serves as decoration |
| D．few people would like to try the Snore Stopper |
Around four years ago, I received a call from the principal of our school as to the “Parents View” talk the next morning. He asked me to speak to the group. After the call, my whole body became feverish and panicky. The time from his call to the next morning seemed like years. The whole night, I could not sleep with many ominous apprehensions in mind. One of them was to call the principal with regret and tell him that I could not come. Finally, I gathered some courage. I thought, “If I miss this opportunity, surely the school will never invite me again to any of the
ir programs.”
I reached the school in time. Before my turn came, my whole body was trembling. When my turn came and I started speaking, my heartbeat increased and my mouth went dry. I wasn’t even able to read the written speech properly. I was not aware of where I was standing and what I was reading. That was the day when I realized my biggest weakness, Public Speaking.
After my speech, I met with the principal and explained what happened to me. He told me that this happens to everyone. Even great speaker, faced the same things when they started. He suggested that I come again next time.
Around one month later, I was invited to refer to a topic on Motivation. This time I was feeling comfortable. My speech was not only appreciated by the principal as well as the teachers, because I was able to get my idea across to them. They encouraged and praised my efforts.
After delivering is successfully, I became more confident .l said to myself, “If I can speak in front of such a learned audience, like the principal who educates others, I can now speak in front of others too.”
I started delivering lectures in my plant, on various topics like Self Motivation, Personality Development, Personal Excellence, Spoken English and Presentation Skills. This has become a passion for me. I learned that everything is possible if we have the courage to take the first step.Which of the following is the hest title for the passage?
| A．Practice Makes a Man a Better Speechmaker |
B． Public Speaking Makes a Man Embarrassed. |
| C．Principal Provides the Best Chances. |
| D．Spoken English Develops in Malting Speeches. |
The author had bad feelings before the speech because______.
| A．he disliked the idea of giving a lecture |
| B．he had got a high fever before that |
| C．he regretted accepting the invitation |
| D．he feared he couldn't perform it properly |
What does the underlined part ominous apprehensions in the first paragraph mean?
| A．Unlucky opportunities. |
| B．Negative ideas. |
| C．Curious views. |
| D．Happy comments. |
What can we conclude from the passage?
| A．Nothing is to be got without pains but poverty. |
| B．Knowledge makes humble, ignorance makes proud. |
| C．A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. |
| D．Necessity is the mother of invention. |
Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines.
Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person's thoughts.
In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts.
“Our brain has billions of nerve cells. These send signals through the spinal cord (脊髓) to the muscles to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles.” Tavella says. “Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices.
The researchers designed a special cap for the user. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp (头皮) and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair. The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path. They help the computer react to commands from the brain.
Prof. Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands. “The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories: communication, and controlling devices. One example is this wheelchair.”
He says his team has set two goals. One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from. And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time.BCI is a technology that can ________.
| A．help the disabled to recover |
| B．control a person's thoughts |
| C．help to update computer systems |
| D．link the human brain with computers |
How did Tavella operate the wheelchair in the laboratory?
| A．By talking to the machine. |
| B．By controlling his muscles. |
| C．By using his mind. |
| D．By moving his hand. |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Robotic Vehicles Could Help to Cure Brain Injuries |
| B．BCI Could Mean More Freedom for the Disabled |
| C．New Findings About How the Human Brain Works |
| D．Switzerland, the BCI Research Center |
When my mother was alive, she used to tell me again and again about the value of just being nice. “Never underestimate（低估）the power of a smile,” she would say. I fear she would be very disappointed looking at the world today. A lot of people don’t smile and when it comes to service today, they’re just not nice. Now don’t give me wrong, not all service workers but a good many.
I was on the phone the other day with a computer help desk. First a man, then later a woman, who couldn’t have been ruder. And this to a customer, who didn’t know his way around a PC. But no matter, I could tell they thought I was a bother, The woman, in fact, seemed to be chewing gum as she unemotionally clicked off a series of commands for me to perform.
The next day I heard from a friend of mine who got a performance review without his boss once looking up at him. Not once.
You see it everywhere. Gone are the days when people cared about you. It’s a sign of the time, I suspect. But that makes me sad — for them and for us all. People who aren’t happy, who don’t smile, who don’t kid, who don’t joke or make light of even bad situations, make for an even worse situation.
And it spreads like a cancer. Someone’s rude to you, you’re rude to them and to the next fellow you meet, and on and on. Smiles are contagious（易感染的）but so annoyances. The boss who can’t be bothered with his workers. The celebrity who can’t be bothered with her annoying fans.
You know, my mom used to judge presidential candidates by how they smiled. I would say, “But mom, you don’t know if that smile is real.”
“Oh, yes I do,” she would tell me. “I can feel it.”
It’s in their eyes, she would say. And it’s in their smile. The rest just kind of falls into place.Why did the writer mention his phone call?
| A．To show many people aren’t nice. |
| B．To prove his mother is wrong. |
| C．To share his funny experience with us. |
| D．To tell us he knows little about computer. |
What is the author’s attitude towards the boss of his friend?
| A．Respectful. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Opposed. | D．Doubtful. |
When someone is rude to you, you’re advised to ________.
| A．become one just like him or her |
| B．be nice to the people you meet |
| C．be rude to the next person |
| D．make for a worse situation |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Feel a person in his eyes |
| B．Don’t judge a person by his look |
| C．The effect of rudeness |
| D．The power of a smile |