It is said that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but even if you manage to bag a bargain meal, it will not taste as good as a more expensive choice, according to scientists.
A new study has found that restaurant goers who pay more for their meals think the food is tastier than offered for a smaller price. The experts think that people tend to associate cost with quality and this changes their perception(感知) of how food tastes.
Scientists at Cornell University studied the eating habits of 139 people enjoying an Italian buffet in a restaurant. The price of the food was set by the researchers at either $4 or $8 for the all-you-can-eat meal. Customers were asked to rate how good the food tasted, the quality of the restaurant and to leave their names.
The experiment showed that the people who paid $8 enjoyed their meal 11% more than those who ate the “cheaper” buffet. Interestingly those that paid for the $4 buffet said they felt guiltier about loading up their plates and felt that they overate. However, the scientists said that both groups ate around the same quantity of food in total.
Brian Wansink, a professor of consumer behavior at the university, said: “We were fascinated to find that pricing has little effect on how much one eats, but a huge effect on how you interpret the experience.” He thinks that people enjoyed their food more as they associated cost with quality and that small changes to a restaurant can change how tasty people find their meals.
In a previous study, researchers from the university showed that people who eat in bright lighting consume more than people who eat in less brightly lit areas. We can learn from the passage that ________.
| A．there were 139 subjects involved in the new study |
| B．a free lunch might be as delicious as you expected |
| C．the high pricing will change the exact taste of the food |
| D．in the experiment, the price of the food ranged from $4 to $8 |
According to the passage, which of the following factors has an effect on the quantity of food a person consumes?
| A．The taste of the food. |
| B．The price of the food. |
| C．The number of companions. |
| D．The lighting of the restaurant. |
Who will benefit most from the new study?
| A．The person who runs a restaurant. |
| B．The person who often eats outside. |
| C．The person who works on decoration. |
| D．The person who studies in university. |
The passage is intended to ________.
| A．promote marketing methods |
| B．inform readers of a new study |
| C．teach consumers how to eat better |
| D．find the association between cost and quality |
（八）
Why do men die earlier than women? The latest research makes it known that the reason could be that men’s hearts go into rapid decline when they reach middle age.
The largest study of the effects of ageing on the heart has found that women’s longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose their pumping power with age.
“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 18 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, David Goldspink of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.
“Within the heart there are millions of cells that enable it to beat. Between the age of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men,” said Goldspink. “This is part of the ageing process.”
What surprises scientists is that the female heart sees very little loss of these cells. A healthy 70-year-old woman’s heart could perform almost as well as a 20-year-old one’s.
“This gender difference might just explain why women live longer than men,” said Goldspink. They studied more than 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 80, focusing on healthy persons to remove the confusing influence of disease. “The team has yet to find why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart,” said Goldspink.
The good news is that men can improve the health of their heart with regular exercise. Goldspink stressed that women also need regular exercise to prevent their leg muscles becoming smaller and weaker as they age.
1. The underlined word “longevity” in the second paragraph probably refers to “________”.
A. health
B. long life
C. ageing
D. effect
2. The text mainly talks about ________.
A. men’s heart cells
B. women’s ageing process、
C. the gender difference
D. hearts and long life
3. According to the text, the UK scientists have known that ________.
A. women have more cells than men when they are born
B. women can replace the cells that enable the heart to beat
C. the female heart loses few of the cells with age
D. women never lose their pumping power with age
4. If you want to live longer, you should ________.
A. enable your heart to beat much faster
B. find out the reason for ageing
C. exercise regularly to keep your heart healthy
D. prevent your cells from being lost
5. We can know from the passage that ________.
A. the reason why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart has been found out
B. scientists are on the way to finding out why the male heart loses more of the cells
C. the team has done something to prevent the male from suffering the greater loss
D. women over 70 could lose more heart cells than those at the age of 20
（七）
“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.
5. 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
6. 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
7. 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.
8. After reading the passage, who should take effective action?
A. Children.
B. Parents.
C. Doctors.
D. Researchers.
（六）
A qualified doct who rarely practiced but instead devoted his life to writing. He once said: “Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my lover.” Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, was a great playwright and one of the masters of the modern short story.
When Chekhov entered the Moscow University Medical School in 1879, he started to publish hundreds of comic short stories to support his family. After he graduated, he wrote regularly for a local daily newspaper.
As a writer he was extremely fast, often producing a short story in an hour or less. Chekhov’s medical and science experience can be seen through the indifference(冷漠) many of his characters show to tragic events. In 1892, he became a full time writer and published some of his most memorable stories.
Chekhov often wrote about the sufferings of life in small town Russia. Tragic events control his characters who are filled with feelings of hopelessness and despair.
It is often said that nothing happens in Chekhov’s stories and plays. He made up for this with his exciting technique for developing drama within his characters. Chekhov’s work combined the calm attitude of a scientist and doctor with the sensitivity(敏感) of an artist.
Some of Chekhov's works were translated into Chinese as early as the 1940s. One of his famous stories, The Man in a Shell, about a school teacher’s extraordinarily orderly life, was selected as a text for Chinese senior students.
1. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov ________.
A. had a lawful lover
B. was an illegal writer
C. used to be a lawyer
D. was a competent doctor
2. In 1880, Chekhov ________.
A. became a full-time writer
B. studied medicine in Moscow University
C. practiced medicine in his hometown
D. published his most memorable stories
3. Which of the following adjectives can’t be used to describe Chekhov?
A. Sensitive.
B. Cool.
C. Quick-minded.
D. Warm-hearted.
4. Which of the following is the right order of the events?
a. became a doctor
b. became a full time writer
c. started to publish comic short stories
d. wrote regularly for a local daily newspaper.
e. entered the Moscow University Medical School
A. e→c→a→d→b
B. d→a→b→c→e
C. e→c→b→a→d
D. a→e→c→b→d
（五）
Washoe, a female chimpanzee (黑猩猩) believed to be the first non-human to acquire human language, has died of natural causes at the research institute where she was kept.
The chimp died on Tuesday night, according to Roger and Deborah Fouts, co-founders of The Chimpanzee and Human Communications Institute in Washington, where she lived.
Washoe was born in 1965 in Africa, where she was captured by the Air Force and taken to the US for research use in the space program. In 1966, she left the program and began living with two scientists, Allen and Beatrix Gardner, who led a project to teach the chimp American Sign Language (ASL) in Washoe, Nevada, for which it was named. Washoe had been living on Central Washington University’s Ellensburg Campus since 1980. She had a vocabulary of about 250 words. Also, Washoe taught sign language to three younger chimps: Tatu, 31, Loulis, 29, and Dar, 31
Primate (灵长类) researcher Jane Goodall, in Fouts’ book Next of Kin, noted the importance of the work with Washoe. “Roger, through his ongoing conversations with Washoe and her extended family, has opened a window into a chimpanzee’s mind,” Goodall said.
Though previous efforts to teach chimps spoken languages had failed, the researchers believed there was a better chance using signs. But Washoe’s language skills were disputed by scientists who believed that language is unique to humans. Among those who doubted that chimps could use language were linguist (语言学家) Noam Chomsky and Harvard scientist Steven Pinker. They believed primates simply learn to perform certain acts in order to receive rewards, and do not acquire true language.
5. As for its first task, Washoe was involved with _______.
A. some space research
B. a study on African animals
C. an ASL project
D. the program of training the Air Force
6. In Goodall’s opinion, teaching Washoe ASL ______.
A. was not successful
B. led to the book Next of Kin
C. won honor for Fouts
D. made a difference
7. In the last paragraph, the underlined word “disputed” probably means “______”.
A. supported
B. studied
C. questioned
D. discussed
8. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. The ASL project was first set up in Africa for the study on Washoe.
B. Washoe may communicate with other chimps by signing.
C. Washoe must have been able to speak 250 words or so.
D. The researchers will prove that most chimps could use language.
9. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Washoe was the first animal to be taught human language.
B. Washoe, the chimp, was named in honor of a place.
C. There were four chimps in total at Ellensburg Campus.
D. Chomsky believed primates only perform silent signs.
（四）
About ten years ago, a young and very successful businessman named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his shiny, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old.
He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child came out, but a brick sailed out and — WHUMP! — it hit the Jag’s shiny black side door! SCREECH...!!!! Immediately Josh stopped the car, jumped out, seized the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!" Building up a head of steam, he went on. " That’s my new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?"
"Please, mister, please....I’m sorry! I didn’t know what else to do!" begged the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" tears were streaming down the boy’s face as he pointed around the parked car. "It’s my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled of the curb (路沿) and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up. "Sobbing, the boy asked the businessman," Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.
Moved beyond words, the young businessman tried hard to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapers and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long walk back to the black, shining 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE — a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent (凹痕) to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. Feel for the bricks of life coming at you.
1. The boy threw a brick at the businessman’s car because ________.
A. the businessman drove at a high speed
B. he envied the brand-new car very much
C. he wanted to ask for some money
D. he wanted to get help from the driver
2. Which of the following is the right order of the story?
a. The younger brother threw a brick at Josh’s car.
b. The elder brother fell out of his wheelchair.
c. The younger brother begged Josh for help.
d. Josh lifted the elder brother back into his wheelchair.
e. Josh shouted at the younger brother.
A. b, a, e, c, d
B. a, c, d, b, e
C. b, a, c, e, d
D. a, c, b, e, d
3. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Josh would accept the money from the kids.
B. The two kids were Josh’s neighbors.
C. Josh was a kind-hearted man.
D. Josh’s new car broke down easily.
4. According to the passage, the last sentence means ________.
A. trying to get ready for the trouble in your future life
B. driving fast in a neighborhood street is dangerous
C. trying to be more understanding seeing others in trouble
D. protecting oneself from being hurt