Why do you think people who live in some hot countries eat very spicy(辛辣的)food? Is it because the spices make the food taste better? Is it just because their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents liked hot food，or is there some connection between spices and healthy food?
Researchers from Cornell University think that it is because spice plants have some important chemicals. These chemicals can kill bacteria(细菌)which spoil food．“Most common spices can kill 75 to 100 percent of the bacteria in food，”explains one of the scientists．The bacteria grow more easily and spoil food more quickly at higher temperatures．For this reason，it is more difficult to keep food from spoiling in hot climates.
Do you like your food spicy? Your answer probably tells something about the country you come from．If you like spicy food，it is possible that hundreds of years ago，when there were no fridges，people in your country started using spices to keep the food from spoiling．The traditional spicy dishes helped those people to live longer，healthier lives．Today，in a time of fridges，the spices just make the food taste good．The chemicals in spices keep food from spoiling by_________．
| A．making food taste better |
| B．making food hotter |
| C．preventing bacteria getting into food |
| D．killing bacteria in food |
Food goes bad more quickly in hot climates because_______．
| A．cold temperature makes bacteria |
| B．bacteria get used to hot food |
| C．high temperature helps bacteria grow faster |
| D．bacteria spoil food only at high temperature |
According to the passage，spices are useful in the following things except_____．
| A．helping you to live longer |
| B．helping to keep you healthier |
| C．making your food taste better |
| D．replacing fridges |
King’s College Summer School
King’s College Summer School is an annual(每年的) training program for high school students at all levels who want to improve their English. Courses are given by the teachers of King’s College and other colleges in New York. Trips to museums and culture centers are also organized. This year’s summer school will be from July 25 to August 15.
More information is as follows:
| Application (申请) date ·Students in New York should send their applications before July 18, 2008. ·Students of other cities should send their applications before July 16, 2008. ·Foreign students should send their applications before July 10, 2008. |
Courses ·English Language Spoken English: 22 hours Reading and Writing: 10 hours ·American History: 16 hours ·American Culture: 16 hours |
| Steps ·A letter of self-introduction ·A letter of recommendation(推荐) ﹡ The letters should be written in English with all the necessary information. |
Cost ·Daily lessons: $200 ·Sports and activities: $100 ·Travels: $200 ·Hotel service: $400 ﹡You may choose to live with your friends or relatives in the same city. |
| Please write to: Thompson, Sanders 1026 King’ s Street New York, NY 10016, USA E-mail: KC-Summer-School@ yahoo, com |
You can most probably read the text in ________.
| A．a newspaper | B．a travel guide | C．a textbook | D．a telephone book |
Which of the following is true about King’ s College Summer School?
| A．Only top students can take part in the program. |
| B．King’ s College Summer School is run every other year. |
| C．Visits to museums and culture centers are part of the program. |
| D．Only the teachers of King’ s College give courses. |
If you are to live with your relatives in New York, you will have to pay the school __
| A．$200 | B．$400 | C．$500 | D．$900 |
What information can you get from the text?
| A．The program will last two months. |
| B．You can write to Thompson only in English. |
| C．As a Chinese student, you can send your application on July 14, 2008. |
| D．You can get in touch with the school by e-mail or by telephone |
I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles” (风格) of directions every time 1 ask “How can I get to the post office?”
Foreign tourists are often confused (困惑) in Japan because most streets there don’t have names; in Japan, people use landmarks (地标) in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know.
It’s true that a person doesn’t know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, ‘Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don’t know.” People in Yucatan believe that “I don’t know” is impolite, They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place they usually _________
| A．describe the place carefully |
| B．show him a map of the place |
| C．tell him the names of the streets |
| D．refer to recognizable(可辨认的) buildings and places |
What is the place where people measure distance in time?
| A．New York. | B．Los Angeles. | C．Kansas. | D．Iowa. |
People in Yucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer ________
| A．in order to save time | B．as a test | C．so as to be polite | D．for fun |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．It's important for travelers to understand cultural differences. |
| B．It's useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly. |
| C．People have similar understandings of politeness. |
| D．New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors. |
The summer I was ten, my mother decided to bring us to the world of art. My brother and I were not very excited when we realized what my mother meant. What she meant was not that we could take drawing classes or painting classes but that we would have to spend one afternoon a week with her at the Fine Arts Museum. Before each visit to the museum, she made us read about artists and painting styles(风格). It was almost as bad as being in school. Who wants to spend the summer thinking about artists when you could be with your friends at the swimming pool?
First we had to read about ancient Egyptians(古埃及人) and their strange way of painting faces and then go to look at them at the museum. My 12-year-old brother thought this was so funny, but I was not interested. Later we had to learn about artists in the Middle Ages who painted people wearing strange long clothing. We had to look at pictures of fat babies with wings and curly (鬈曲的) hair and with no clothes on flying around the edges of paintings. I certainly couldn’t see what was so great about art.
On our last visit to the museum, something happened when I saw a painting by a woman called Mary. In it, a woman was reading to a child. The colors were soft and gentle, and you could tell by the mother’ s expression how happy she was just to be with the child. I couldn’t stop looking at this painting ! I wanted to see every painting Mary had ever made! It was really worth looking at so many paintings to find a painter who could interest me so much.The aim of the mother’ s plan was to _________.
| A．take them to visit the museum |
| B．introduce them to the world of art |
| C．ask them to read about artists |
| D．show them different painting styles |
What was the writer’ s experience in the museum before the last visit?
| A．She came to feel her mother’ s love. |
| B．She liked many paintings. |
| C．She hardly enjoyed herself. |
| D．She could understand the pictures of fat babies. |
What made the writer go through a change that summer?
| A．One of Mary’s paintings. |
| B．A strange way of painting. |
| C．Artists in the Middle Ages. |
| D．Her mother’ s instruction. |
From the text, we can see _________.
| A．the importance of curiosity | B．the effect of art |
| C．the value of learning | D．the power of family education |
Almost everyone has seen someone speed read.They appear to skim the text and still have read and absorbed the content.The people who have studied speed reading techniques will still read at different speeds；however they will undoubtedly beat those without experience.
The best and most efficient way to learn to read fast is to join in classes，where speed reading skills will be explained clearly.
The advantage of courses is that students will be shown several different strategies showing them to choose the ones they find easiest to understand the material they are reading.
Students should try to learn all the strategies presented during their courses as, once these are mastered，they will see a dramatic improvement in their reading rate，after which they can choose their preferred style. Students will see the benefits of speed reading as soon as the techniques are applied to their main field of study.
A traditional education builds habits in reading which a good speed reading course will push aside，replacing with new techniques. A comprehensive course will also advise students how to become more efficient readers；hopefully this will also encourage the desire for self improvement as well as the desire to read.
Lecturers in speed reading will usually take the time to teach students the importance of preparing the environment they work in before they read a single work remember reading at speed is all about increasing the speed of comprehension not just the speed of reading! The satisfaction of reading faster and with better comprehension skills cannot be ignored；the techniques of speed reading increase the enjoyment of reading.Speed reading is a skill to be encouraged in each and every generation of new readers.What's the best title of this passage?
| A．Speed Reading Is an Important Skill |
| B．Speed Reading Brings You Pleasure |
| C．Better Attend a Special Class |
| D．Your Reading Skill Have to Be Improved |
What is the best way that readers can improve their speed reading according to the writer's opinion?
| A．To practice reading at different speeds. |
| B．To read fast without complete understanding. |
| C．To attend classes that teach speed reading. |
| D．To experience satisfaction by reading. |
How does the writer suggest readers learn the strategies provided by the class?
| A．They should choose one suitable strategy to improve speed reading. |
| B．They should choose the method suitable to their main field of study. |
| C．They must follow the instructions of their teachers. |
| D．They should try all of them in order to choose the suitable one. |
Which of the following can be inferred from the text?
| A．The aim of the reading course is only to increase the speed of reading. |
| B．The writer thinks little of the reading habits formed by traditional education. |
| C．The desire to read is the key factor to improve one's reading skill. |
| D．The speed reading course in designed for future generations. |
So long as teachers fail to distinguish between teaching and learning，they will continue to undertake to do for children that which only children can do for themselves.Teaching children to read is not passing reading on to them.It is certainly not endless hours spent in activities about reading.Douglas insists that “reading cannot be taught directly and schools should stop trying to do the impossible”．
Teaching and learning are two entirely different processes.They differ in kind and function.The function of teaching is to create the conditions and the climate that will make it possible for children to devise the most efficient system for teaching themselves to read.Teaching is also public activity.It can be seen and observed.
Learning to read involves all that each individual does to make sense of the world of printed language.Almost all of it is private, for learning is an occupation of the mind，and that process is not open to public scrutiny.
If teacher and learner roles are not interchangeable，what then can be done through teaching that will aid the child in the quest(探索)for knowledge? Smith has one principal rule for all teaching instructions.“Make learning to read easy, which means making reading a meaningful，enjoyable and frequent experience for children.”
When the roles of teacher and learner are seen for what they are，and when both teacher and learner fulfill them appropriately，then much of the pressure and feeling of failure both is eliminated.Learning to read is made easier when teachers create an environment where children are given the opportunity to solve the problem of learning to read by reading.The problem with the reading course as mentioned in the first paragraph is that ________.
| A．it is one of the most difficult school courses |
| B．students spend endless hours in reading |
| C．reading tasks are assigned with little guidance |
| D．too much time is spent in teaching about reading |
The teaching of reading will be successful if________.
| A．teachers can improve conditions at school for the students |
| B．teachers can enable students to develop their own way of reading |
| C．teachers can devise the most efficient system for reading |
| D．teachers can make their teaching activities observable |
The underlined word “scrutiny” most probably means “________”．
| A．inquiry | B．observation | C．control | D．suspicion |