Your house may have an effect on your figure . Experts say the way you design your home could play a role in whether you pack on the pounds or keep them off. You can make your environment work for you instead of against you. Here are some ways to turn your home into part of your diet plan.
Open the curtains and turn up the lights . Dark environments are more likely to encourage overeating , for people are often less self-conscious（难为情）when they’re in poorly lit places--and so more likely to eat lots of food . If your home doesn’t have enough window light, get more lamps and flood the place with brightness.
Mind the colors. Research suggests warm colors fuel our appetites. In one study, people who ate meals in a blue room consumed 33 percent less than those in a yellow or red room. Warm colors like yellow make food appear more appetizing, while cold colors make us feel less hungry. So when it’s time to repaint, go blue.
Don’t forget the clock-or the radio. People who eat slowly tend to consume about 70 fewer calories（卡路里） per meal than those who rush through their meals. Begin keeping track of the time, and try to make dinner last at least 30 minutes. And while you’re at it, actually sit down to eat. If you need some help slowing down, turn on relaxing music. It makes you less likely to rush through a meal.
Downsize the dishes. Big serving bowls and plates can easily make us fat. We eat about 22 percent more when using a 12-inch plate instead of a 10-inch plate. When we choose a large spoon over a smaller one ,total intake（摄入） jumps by 14 percent. And we’ll pour about 30 percent more liquid into a short, wide glass than a tall, skinny glass.The text is especially helpful for those who care about_______.
| A．their home comforts | B．their body shape |
| C．house buying | D．healthy diets |
A home environment in blue can help people_________.
| A．digest food better | B．reduce food intake |
| C．burn more calories | D．regain their appetites |
What are people advised to do at mealtimes?
| A．Eat quickly. | B．Play fast music. |
| C．Use smaller spoons. | D．Turn down the lights. |
What can be a suitable title for the test?
| A．Is Your House Making You Fat? |
| B．Ways of Serving Dinner |
| C．Effects of Self-Consciousness |
| D．Is Your Home Environment Relaxing? |
If you thought the Lantern Festival of China is just a day for family reunions and eating some yuanxiao, then, you are wrong. It is actually the Chinese carnival.
The Chinese traditional Lantern Festival, Yuanxiao Festival in Chinese, which is on the 15th day of the Chinese Lunar Calendar and falls on Feb. 17 this year, is actually not just about getting together with family but also means a date that all people should cheer up and celebrate. It is an ancient Chinese carnival.
Cao Baoming, the vice president of Chinese Folk Literature and Art Society, said that the Yuanxiao Festival, also known as "Shangyuan Festival" and " Lantern Festival，" had become a popular folk custom during the Han dynasty more than 2，000years ago.
The festival is usually considered as the last peak of Spring Festival because people will start their life in the new year officially after the day. People of the whole country will cheer up to celebrate it and also they will pray that Heaven will offer them seasonable weather for a healthy harvest in the new year. Therefore, the custom of joining for celebrations at Yuanxiao Festival is widely spread among ordinary people.
Every year, when the day comes, people will go out of their own houses to the streets to look at various lanterns, guess lantern riddles and watch performances of Dragon Dances, Lion Dances, stilt-walking, fireworks show and so on. Some of those traditional custom and activities are national intangible cultural heritages now.
Actually, the Lantern Festival is not a single festival, and it only could be understood in the context of the Spring Festival.
The Spring Festival eve is usually a night that people stay at home to wait for the coming of the new year. From then until the end of Lantern Festival, it is actually a whole process of people expanding their spaces of activities as well as interpersonal relation-ships. The Lantern Festival of China means __________.
| A．family reunions and eating some yuanxiao |
| B．a new starting of a year |
| C．reunions and celebration |
| D．saying good-bye between family members |
The Lantern Festival of China is considered as a new start of the year because __________.
| A．people will start their life in the new year officially after the day |
| B．people will separate each other to live after the day |
| C．there is no opportunity to reunite together again |
| D．there is no other festival to celebrate after the day |
On the Lantern Festival people all go out to __________.
| A．visit their friends and relatives |
| B．prepare for some lanterns |
| C．clean the streets and other places |
| D．guess Lantern riddles and watch various activities |
The activities on the Lantern Festival people do are the following except __________.
| A．dancing | B．fireworks show |
| C．stilt-walking | D．playing poker |
If there is one thing I'm sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we will still be reading newspapers. It is not that newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of their news from television or radio. Many buy a newspaper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people reading a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.
The nature of what is news may change. What basically makes news is what affects our lives—the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though. It's already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic (基因）engineering. In the future, I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do—as we develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.
It's quite possible that in the next century newspapers will be transmitted (传送)electronically from Fleet Street and printed out in our own home. In fact, I'm pretty sure that how it will happen in the future. You will probably be able to choose from a menu, making up your own newspaper by picking out the things you want to read—sports and international news, etc.
I think people have got it wrong when they talk about competition between the different media (媒体）. They actually feed off each other. Some people once foresaw that television would kill off newspapers, but that hasn't happened. What is read on the printed page lasts longer than pictures on a screen or sound lost in the air. And as for the Internet, it's never really pleasant to read something just on a screen. What is the best title for the passage?
| A．The Best Way to Get News |
| B．The Changes of Media |
| C．Make Your Own Newspaper |
| D．The Future of Newspapers |
In the writer's opinion, in the future，__________.
| A．more big political affairs, wars and disasters will make news |
| B．newspapers will not be printed in publishing houses any longer |
| C．newspapers will cover more scientific research |
| D．more and more people will watch TV |
What will probably be on in the newspaper made by yourself?
| A．Sports and international news. |
| B．A menu of important news. |
| C．The most important news， |
| D．What you are interested in. |
From the passage, we can infer __________.
| A．newspapers will win the competition among the different media |
| B．newspapers will stay with us together with other media |
| C．television will take the place of newspaper |
| D．the writer believe some media will die out |
Today most Chinese teenagers are happy to be favored by two parents and four grandparents in their families. But have you ever thought about how to take care of four to twelve old people when you grow up and get married? This could be a problem for most Chinese youths as China is entering a new stage of an aging society.
An aging society refers to one where 10 percent or more of its population is over 60. By the end of 2007，Chinese over 60 years old have made up 11. 7 percent of the nation's total population.
“ China is getting old before becoming rich，” said Cai Chuang, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The population increase that has powered Chinese growth for three decades will give way over the next ten years to a rapid aging of the society. This will lead to weaker economic growth, because of a lack of labor resources.
As a result of the family planning policy, it is expected that the country's total working population will decrease after 2015.
China is not the only country getting old. More than 60 countries have become aging societies and one in three people in the European Union is a senior citizen.
However, experts said that China doesn't have a highly developed social security network to support the old. Social security is an insurance program protecting those in need, including the old, the disabled and others. An aging society is a society that __________.
| A．less than 10% of its population is over 60 |
| B．10% or more of its population is over 60 |
| C．there are four old people in a family |
| D．most of its population is over 60 |
If China enters an aging society，__________.
| A．there will not be enough labor resources |
| B．the family planning policy will be ended |
| C．everyone needs to take care of four to twelve old people |
| D．China will have a highly developed social security network |
What does Cai Chuang mean by saying “ China is getting old before becoming rich. ” ？
| A．China will be an aging society, then be a developed country. |
| B．China will be a rich country before being an aging society. |
| C．An aging society will affect Chinese economy development. |
| D．China will stop developing because of its aging problem. |
The passage mainly talks about __________.
| A．an aging society |
| B．Chinese social problem |
| C．family planning policy |
| D．aging problem in China |
I am one of the many city people who are always saying that given the choice we would prefer to live in the country away from the dirt and noise of a large city. If it weren't for my job I would immediately move out for the open spaces and go back to nature.
Cities can be frightening places. The majority of the population lives in many tower blocks, noisy, dirty and impersonal. The sense of belonging to a community tends to disappear when you live fifteen floors up. All you can see from your window is sky, or other blocks of flats. Children become aggressive and nervous as they are shut up at home all day, with nowhere to play ； their mothers feel isolated (孤立的）from the rest of the world. Strangely enough, in the past the residents(居民）of one street all knew each other, but nowadays people on the same floor in tower blocks don't even say hello to each other.
Country life, on the other hand, differs from this kind of isolated existence in that a sense of community generally binds the residents of small villages together. People have the advantage of knowing that there is always someone to turn to when they need help. But country life has disadvantages too. While it is true that you may be among friends in a village, it is also true that you are cut off from the exciting and important events that take place in cities. There's little possibility of going to a new show or the latest movie. Shopping becomes a major problem, and for anything slightly out of the ordinary you have to go a long way to the nearest large town. The city people who leave for the country often can't bear the stillness and quiet there.
What, then, is the answer? The country has the advantage of peace and quiet, but suffers from the disadvantage of being cut off；the city gives people a feeling of isolation, and constant noise can nearly drive you mad. But one of its main advantages is that you are at the center of things, and that life doesn't come to an end at half-past nine at night. Some people have found a compromise (折中）between the two ： leave cities and move to villages within commuting(乘车往返)distance of large cities. It sounds great ！ It seems that the writer prefers to live in the country mainly because __________
| A．the city is somehow polluted |
| B．the country folks are more friendly |
| C．one can get better sleep in the country |
| D．it's hard for people to find jobs in the city |
The biggest disadvantage of living in the country is that __________
| A．life there is inconvenient |
| B．shopping is almost impossible |
| C．you can not see a movie or a show |
| D．life comes to an end at half past nine |
As to which is better, city life or country life, the writer __________
| A．did some explanation |
| B．made some comparison |
| C．described both of them vividly |
| D．talked a lot about his preference |
The underlined word “ binds" in the third paragraph is similar in meaning to __________.
| A．attracts | B．drives |
| C．prevents | D．unites |
Without proper planning, tourism can cause problems. For example, too many tourists can crowd public places that are also enjoyed by the inhabitants of a country. If tourists create too much traffic, the inhabitants become annoyed and unhappy. They begin to dislike tourists and to treat them impolitely. They forget how much tourism can help the country's economy. It is important to think about the people of a destination country and how tourism affects them. Tourism should help a country ； keep the customs and beauty that attract tourists. Tourism should also advance the wealth and happiness of local inhabitants.
Too much tourism can be a problem. If tourism grows too quickly, people must leave other jobs to work in the tourism industry. This means that other parts of the country's economy can suffer.
On the other hand, if there is not enough tourism, people can lose jobs. Businesses can also lose money. It costs a great deal of money to build large hotels, airports, air terminals, first-class roads, and other support facilities (配套设施）needed by tourist attractions. For example, a major international class tourism hotel can cost as much as 50 thousand dollars per room to build. If this room is not used most of the time, the owners of the hotel will lose money.
Building a hotel is just a beginning. There must be many support facilities as well, including roads to get to the hotel, electricity, sewers to handle waste, and water. All of these support facilities cost money. If they are not used because there are not enough tourists, jobs and money are lost. Which of the followings do you think has been discussed in the part before this selection?
| A．It is extremely important to develop tourism. |
| B．Building roads and hotels is essential. |
| C．Support facilities are highly necessary. |
| D．Planning is of great importance to tourism. |
Too much tourism can cause all these problems EXCEPT __________.
| A．a bad effect on other industries |
| B．a change of tourists' customs |
| C．over-crowdedness of places of interest |
| D．pressure on traffic |
It can be inferred from the text that __________.
| A．the author doesn't like tourism developing so fast |
| B．local people will benefit from tourist attraction |
| C．other parts of a country's economy won't benefit from tourism much |
| D．we can't build too many support facilities |
The author thinks it is good for local people to know that tourism will __________.
| A．waste a lot of money |
| B．weaken their economy |
| C．help establish their customs |
| D．help improve their life |