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Culture and Cuisine
The United States is known for jazz and blue jeans.But travel to Paris and ask your average French citizen about American cuisine (烹饪) and he’s likely to answer,“ McDonalds.” Ask the same thing of any American citizen on any American street and I’m afraid you’d get the same answer,or something close to it.
Hamburgers and hotdogs and fries are all fine,but with American malls and other outlets standardizing everything from clothing to food,the sad truth is that American cuisine is becoming more homogeneous―all the same―no matter where you live.True,many Americans are eating more varied foods these days,but these are largely the cuisines of immigrant groups,and they are quite likely to be affected by homogenization of American cuisine.
So what exactly is American cuisine? Well,to some extent it is a reflection of our melting pot culture,meaning that Europeans made huge contributions in the form of wheat,dairy products,pork,beef and poultry.But American cuisine also includes products that once were known only to the New World,including potatoes,corn,pumpkin,sweet potatoes,and peanuts.
The one region of the country where you still find all these things in daily use is the Deep South.The South lost the Civil War,but children of the southerners are winning the battle to preserve and advance their cooking traditions—and in this case one of the few cuisines can truly be called American,which is why we’re pleased to have Low Country cuisine in this issue of food creation.That’s right,grits and gravy are back in a big way in cities like Charleston and Savannah.Truth is,they never really left,but up until a decade ago Low Country cuisine was more common at home than in restaurants.
In fact,a large number of tourists now go to the lower Atlantic region in order to experience this extraordinary cuisine for themselves.Time will tell whether Low Country cuisine becomes popular in other regions of the country in the way that,say,Italian cuisine has,but it’s amazing and heartening to see one of our true cultural treasures enjoying renewed popularity in these increasingly homogeneous times.
According to the passage,American cuisine impresses people as being _______.

A.dull and changeless
B.rich and various
C.popular and delicious
D.disagreeable and unpleasant

It can be seen that the writer feels regretful that _______.

A.cuisines of other countries play a more important role in America
B.American cuisine has become increasingly lacking in variety
C.American cuisine tends to vary because of immigration
D.American cuisine is being changed by foreign cuisines

From the passage,we know that grits and gravy _______.

A.were cooked with new materials after the Civil War
B.are gaining popularity in the south of America
C.were more popular over ten years ago
D.are seldom served in restaurants

What’s the writer’s attitude towards the renewal of Low Country cuisine in America?

A.Concerned and cautious.
B.Hopeless and doubtful.
C.Positive and supportive.
D.Critical and disapproving.
科目 英语   题型 阅读理解   难度 中等
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Julie was preparing for a trip when her phone slipped into a sink full of water. Panic moment! She quickly picked up the wet phone and tried to turn it on, but nothing worked. Her first reaction? She got dressed, drove to the nearest store, and bought a new model at full price.
A new study finds that fear of losing your phone is a common illness. About 66 percent of those surveyed suffer from nomophobia or “no mobile phone phobia”. Interestingly, more women worry about losing their phone than men.
Fortunately, there’s a solution.
The first step is to figure out if you have nomophobia. Checking your phone too often is one thing, but the true sign of a problem is that you can’t conduct business or go about your routine when the fear becomes so severe.
Do you go to unusual lengths to make sure you have your phone? That’s another sign of a problem. If you find you check your phone plenty of times per hour, or a total of an hour per day, there may be a problem.
Some of the treatments are similar to those for treating anxiety attacks: Leaving the phone behind and not checking e-mail or text messages, and then learning to tolerate the after anxiety. Even if this leads to a high level of worry and stress, the solution is to push through the fear and learn to deal with not having your phone.
Of course, there are also technological alternatives. Luis Levy, a co-founder at Novy PR, says he uses an application called Cerberus that can automatically track the location of his phone. To find it, he can just go to a Web site and see the phone’s location.
He also insures his phone through a service called Asurion. The company’s description of its product reads like a prescription for anxiety: “60 million phones are lost, stolen or damaged each year. You’ll have complete peace of mind knowing that your phone is protected and you can quickly reconnect with family, friends and work, as soon as the very next day!”
Why does the author mention Kelly’s experience in the first paragraph?

A.To inform us that mobile phones are useful.
B.To introduce the topic for discussion.
C.To warn us that we should be careful.
D.To tell us we should get phones ready for a trip.

The underlined word “nomophobia” in Paragraph 2 means ________.

A.Fear of losing mobile phones.
B.Habits of using mobile phones
C.Eagerness for new mobile phones.
D.Independence of mobile phones.

Which of the following is a way to treat nomophobia?

A.Avoiding using phone for some time
B.Learning more about modern technology.
C.Protecting one’s phone against any damage.
D.Not using a mobile phone in one’s daily work.

Why can the service called Asurion help to treat nomophobia?

A.It lets you know other people also lose their phones.
B.It will give you a new phone through insurance.
C.It enables you to reconnect with your acquaintance.
D.It gives you a prescription to treat nomophobia.

What is the passage mainly about?

A.Solutions to nomophobia. B.New mobile phone technology.
C.Disadvantages of mobile phone. D.Attitude toward mobile phone.

Different exercise types have different purposes and different benefits. One type of exercise may not accomplish all goals of being physically fit: a healthy heart, strong muscles and bones, and safety from injury. As a result, it is important to do enough types of exercise to have all the physical benefits. Here is a quick check sheet.
Aerobic Exercise: To have a strong and healthy heart, you need to do aerobic exercise. This means that you need to exercise yourself enough so that your heart rate, while exercising, is 65 percent to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. If you don’t get your heart rate up within this level—you just aren’t working hard enough. Whatever you do, your heart rate needs to be 65 percent to 85 percent of your MHR for 20 to 30 minutes, at least 3 times a week. Typical types include:
* Running
* Walking (at least 4 to 4.5 mph)
* Swimming
* Bikingk3s5u
* Elliptical Training
* Yoga
Strength Training: To keep your muscles and bones strong, you need to do strength training. This comes in a variety of forms. Whatever you do, however, you need to train your muscles enough so that they are really tired by the end of each session. To see real benefits, make sure you are strength training 2 to 3 times a week for about 30 to 40 minutes. Typical types of strength training include:
* Weight Training
* Yoga
* Resistance Training
* Plyometrics
Flexibility Training: To keep your body flexible, reducing risk of injuries and pain in your joints and muscles, you need to do flexibility training. You should always aim to stretch every muscle after any exercise routine. Typical types of flexibility training include:
* Stretching
* Yoga
* Pilates
So next time you think that yoga 5 times a week will be enough, think about what it is really doing. Is it getting your heart rate up? Are you making up your strength? Are you keeping your muscles flexible?
If your purpose is to _______, you can choose swimming as your exercise form.

A.keep muscles and bones strong
B.build a strong and healthy heart
C.keep body flexible
D.reduce risk of injuries and pain in joints and muscles

After reading this passage, we know that ________.

A.Yoga is really better for people than running
B.The three kinds of training have links with one another
C.Flexibility training helps you build up your muscles
D.The more exercise you do, the better

Which of the following is closest in meaning to “session” in Paragraph 3?

A.meeting B.gathering C.term D.period

The paragraph following this article may discuss_______.

A.how to build up our strength
B.how to choose an exercise type
C.how to find a good workout dealing with two or three of these goals
D.how to be more flexible

I decided to have dinner in the hotel, for I arrived late one night on a business trip. As I was finishing my meal, an elderly couple came in to dine. They were holding hands and had lovely smiles on their faces. They satthree tables from me. I was amazed at the love they showed for each other. It seemed to strike home all the more, because it was shortly afterending a 20-year marriage and I still had pain in my heart.
My waiter was also their waiter. As I paid my bill, I inquired as to what their bill was. He informed me, and I gave him $40 to pay their bill. He asked if I knew them and I told him "No, I just wanted to repay them for the love that they were showing to each other," and then I departed.
The next day I entered the restaurant to dine before my departure. After Ihad been seated, the waiter who served me the night before told me that the strangest thing happened after I left the restaurant.
When the elderly couple went to pay for their meal, they were informed that it had been paid. When they inquired who had done this, thehostess told them they had no idea who I was, just retelling what I said.
The couple were amazed. They looked around, asked for the bill of two young couples who were seated together, paid their bill and departed, saying "Love begets(产生) Love" to the amazement of the hostess and waiter.
I smiled and said "That's nice," and proceeded to order my meal.
About 45 minutes later, I finished my meal and was about to head out, but my waiter was nowhere to be found. I waited andwaited and finally walked over to the hostess stand and explained that Ineeded to pay for my meal and hurry to the airport. She smiled and explained that I would not have to pay for my meal, because both the waiter and she felt compelled to pay my bill due to the joy that was brought to the faces of the elderly couple and the amazement ofthe young couples.
When I told her that they didn't have to do that, she said with a smile "Love begets Love."
The writer’s purpose of writing the passage is to.

A.suggest love never dies
B.share an interesting experience
C.encourage us to help people in need
D.prove a show of love really makes a difference

Why did the elderly couple pay the bill of the two young couples?

A.Because they were always ready to help poor people.
B.Because they were happy to pass the love they gained.
C.Because they invited the young people to the meal.
D.Because they didn’t want to take the advantage of the writer’s generosity.

What can be inferred from the story?

A.The love between the elderly couple deeply touched the writer who was single.
B.The young couples paid the bill of other customers in the restaurant.
C.The waiter left on purpose and made the writer stay alone to test him.
D.The writer did all this to prove his belief in love.

Which of the following proverbs can best explain the theme of the story?

A.A good beginning makes a good ending.
B.Where there is love, there is life.
C.Love me, love my dog.
D.As a man sows, so shall he reap (收获).

Monkeys , face to face
DISCOVER magazine once reported on a curious event in the woods : a group of monkeys applied mud (泥) to their faces in order to keep away insects , but when they were done they seemed to have lost their ability to recognize each other ---two monkeys that were supposed to be friends even started fighting.
“Faces are really important to how monkeys and apes (猿)can tell one another apart,” explained Michael Alfaro, a biologist at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), to the New York -based International Science Times . This is quite different from many other animals , which depend heavily on smells.
Since faces play such a crucial part in the social lives of monkeys , could this explain why certain monkey species have such colorful faces while others have simpler, plainer ones ?
To test this theory , a group of researchers from UCLA studied 139 monkey species , mainly from Asia and Africa, and analyzed hundreds of headshot (头像)photos of those monkeys from their databases.
It was found that species that live in larger groups have faces with more complex color patterns than those that live in smaller groups. According to Live Science, researchers believe that this is nature’s way of making it easier for monkeys to recognize each other since those living in larger groups have to distinguish between a greater number of faces.
This is actually not that hard to understand . Just imagine if there were 10 people standing in front of you, all wearing white clothes. It would be much more difficult to tell them apart than if they wore clothes with colorful patterns. However, if there were only two people that you had to identify, a lack of color wouldn’t be much of a problem.
Apart from the need to recognize group members , researchers found that geography and environment also affect monkeys’ facial colors. Species that live closer to the equator in thick, humid (潮湿的)forests were found to have darker faces than those who live in dry areas further away from the equator. This is because darker faces help camouflage (伪装)the monkeys in the woods so that they go unnoticed by predators (捕食者).
We can learn from the article that monkeys mainly recognize each other by their __.

A.Smells B.Facial appearances C.body shapes D.Voices

Which of the following statements about monkeys’face patterns is TURE according to the article ?

A.Larger monkeys have more complex face color patterns.
B.Monkeys with colorful face patterns usually take higher social positions within groups.
C.Monkeys living in smaller groups usually have simpler, plainer face patterns.
D.Colorful face patterns keep monkeys safe from predators.

What is article mainly about?

A.The social lives of monkeys.
B.How monkeys tell each other apart.
C.A comparison between the face patterns of monkeys and those of human beings.
D.The different factors that determine monkeys’ face patterns.

The US will seek to expand its own oil production in an attempt to reduce dependence on imported oil and bring down fuel prices , President Obama says . New contracts for exploration will be signed in non-protected areas of Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico.
In his weekly speech , the President insisted the US could reduce its need for imported oil and improve safety. Using his speech to tell Americans that he understood their concerns about rising prices, President Obama focused particularly on the price of fuel, which has risen in recent months.
US consumers have historically enjoyed cheap fuel , but have seen prices rise in recent months even though US oil production in 2010 reached its highest level for seven years.
Although the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 was serious, Mr Obama said the Gulf remained a key part of the country’s future energy supply.
The President’s proposals (议案)come after Republicans (共和党人) introduced a series of proposals that would expand and speed up oil and gas production.
The White House has criticized the Republican proposals for safety reasons , but Mr Obama was clear in his speech that he felt safety and environmental standards could be maintained even though production might rise.
“ I believe that we should continue to expand oil production in America —even as we increase safety and environmental standards ,”he said.
“As a nation, we should be investing in the clean, renewable sources of energy that are the solution to high gas prices.”
Mr Obama has previously called for a step-change in energy policy, saying the US must move towards getting 80%of its electricity from clean energy sources by 2035.
Which of the following is NOT included in Mr Obama’s speech?

A.The dependence on imported oil.
B.Improving safety standards
C.The reason for the rising oil prices .
D.Expanding oil production.

Mr Obama thinks the Republican proposals are ______.

A.Not safe enough B.Not environmentally friendly
C.Practical D.Clear

What can we learn from the text ?

A.The US has got most of its electricity from clean energy.
B.US oil production is too small to keep the present low fuel prices.
C.The US produced the most oil in 2010 in its history.
D.The Gulf is still important in energy supply in spite of the oil spill in 2010.

Which of the following can serve as the title?

A.Obama: US will seek oil in Alaska and Gulf of Mexico.
B.Obama: US will import less oil to improve safety and environmental standards .
C.Obama: the time of high fuel prices will be gone.
D.Obama: clean, renewable sources of energy are the solution to high gas prices

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