“OK,”I said to my daughter as she bent over her afternoon bowl of rice. “What’s going on with you and your friend J.?” J. is the leader of a group of third-graders at her camp-- a position Lucy herself occupied the previous summer. Now she’s the one on the outs. and every day at snack time, she tells me all about it, while I offer the unhelpful advice all summer long.
“She’s fond of giving orders, ”Lucy complained. “She’s turning everyone against me. She’s mean. And she’s fat.” “Excuse me,” I said, struggling for calm. “What did you just said?” “She’s fat.” Lucy mumbled(含糊地说).“We’re going upstairs,” I said, my voice cold. “We’re going to discuss this.” And up we went. I’d spent the nine years since her birth getting ready for this day, the day we’d have the conversation about this horrible word. I knew exactly what to say to the girl on the receiving end of the teasing, but in all of my imaginings, it never once occurred to me that my daughter would be the one who used the F word-Fat.
My daughter sat on her bed, and I sat beside her. “How would you feel if someone made fun of you for something that wasn’t your fault?” I began. “She could stop eating so much,” Lucy mumbled, mouthing the simple advice a thousand doctors have given overweight women for years.
“It’s not always that easy,” I said . “Everyone’s different in terms of how they treat food.” Lucy looked at me, waiting for me to go on. I opened my mouth, then closed it. Should I tell her that, in teasing a woman’s weight, she’s joined the long tradition of critics? Should I tell her I didn’t cry when someone posted my picture and commented , “I’m sorry, but aren’t authors who write books marketed to young women supposed to be pretty?”
Does she need to know, now, that life isn’t fair ? I feel her eyes on me, waiting for an answer I don’t have. Words are my tools. Stories are my job. It’s possible she’ll remember what I say forever, and I have no idea what to say.
So I tell her the only thing I can come up with that is absolutely true. I say to my daughter, “I love you, and there is nothing you could ever do to make me not love you. But I’m disappointed in you right now. There are plenty of reasons for not liking someone. What she looks like isn’t one of them. ”
Lucy nods, tears on her cheeks. “I won’t say that again,” she tells me, and I pull her close, pressing my nose against her hair. As we sit there together, I pray for her to be smart and strong. I pray for her to find friends, work she loves, a partner who loves her. And still, always, I pray that she will never struggle as I’ve struggled, that weight will never be her cross to bear. She may not be able to use the word in our home, but I can use in my head. I pray that she will never get fat.
The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 indicates that Lucy ______.
| A．has turned against her friend J. |
| B．gets along well with her friend J. |
| C．has begun to compete with her friend J. |
| D．often makes fun of her friend J. |
Why does the author want to discuss with Lucy?
| A．Because she decides to tell Lucy a similar story of her own. |
| B．Because she is really shocked at Lucy’s rudeness. |
| C．Because she has prepared the conversation for nine years. |
| D．Because she wants to offer some other helpful advice. |
What does the author want to tell her daughter?
| A．People shouldn’t complain because life is unfair. |
| B．She herself was once laughed at for her appearance. |
| C．People shouldn’t be blamed for their appearance. |
| D．It is not easy to take the doctors’ advice to eat less. |
It can be inferred from the passage that_________.
| A．the author earns a living by writing stories. |
| B．the author is a fat but good-looking woman. |
| C．the author will stop loving her daughter for what she said. |
| D．the author’s daughter agreed with her from the very beginning. |
We can learn from the last paragraph that_________.
| A．Lucy was deeply moved by her mother’s prayer. |
| B．a mother’s prayer will shape her daughter’s attitude towards life |
| C．the author allows her daughter to use the F word in her head |
| D．the author hopes her daughter will never have weight trouble |
The author’s attitude towards her daughter can be best described as _________.
| A．unsatisfied and angry | B．loving but strict |
| C．indifferent but patient | D．satisfied and friendly |
It is known to us that puter users are being warned by industry experts to pay attention to secret codes which could be used to record their conversation.
E-mails, screen savers, and electronic greeting cards can carry a secret code which is able to turn on the puter’s microphone, make a recording, and forward it to someone else without the user’s knowledge.
In fact any attachments (附件) sent to a puter, whether it is a game of Space Invaders, or a moving picture, can possibly be used to spy (窥探).
Experts say people should always think twice about opening attachments because --- although not mon --- bugging (窃听) by puter can and has been done.
Bill Lyons, head of the Internet Security pany Finjan, said, “People in the army have tested this and you can be sure, if people in general are aware of it, then puter hackers (黑客) are aware of it. The frightening thing is that there are tools on the Internet which people, using a simple search method, can find, and which will enable them to attach this dangerous code to simple attachments.”What is the advice given in the passage?
| A．Use secret codes to record other people’s conversation. |
| B．Be careful when opening an attachment. |
| C．Never open any attachments. |
| D．Never use secret codes. |
What worries the experts is that ___ .
| A．nobody seems to believe such things |
| B．nobody knows the danger of the code |
| C．tools can easily be used to tie dangerous codes to e-mails |
| D．effective ways can never be found to deal with the problem. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．A moving picture cannot be used to spy. |
| B．Electronic greeting cards cannot carry a secret code. |
| C．A secret code is used to destroy the puter system. |
| D．Any attachments sent to a puter may carry a secret code. |
Yasuda is 95 years old. Looking for easier ways to search the Web and send email, he bought Apple’s iPad. The pany has sold 3.27 million iPads since they entered the market in April. Although it’s impossible to know with certainty how many seniors (老年人) are buying them, evidence suggests that it’s a hit with seniors.
The iPad’s intuitive interface (直观界面) makes it attractive to seniors around the world, says Takahiro Miura, a researcher at the University of Tokyou. “The iPad is a good tool for seniors because it’s very easy to use,” he says. “Unlike the PC, it doesn’t require former knowledge.”
James Cordwell, a researcher in London, says the iPad’s popularity with seniors is helping Apple reach beyond its traditional base of young customers. “The world’s population, especially in developed markets, is getting older. It’s probably a market where Apple has least entered, ” Cordwell says. Senior users are “a key source of growth for them in the future.”
Seniors make up about 22 percent of the population in Japan. They may prove that seniors are willing to accept the iPad. Besides the customer group under 30, they spend more than any other group in the country, according to a report. Motoo Kitamura, 78, a former gas salesman, bought an iPad to help him municate with his 2-year-old grandson and prevent him from experiencing some of the mental problems that sometimes e with getting older. “Trying new things like that is good mental exercise,” he says.The underlined part “a hit” in Paragraph 1 probably means ______ .
| A．a sudden attack |
| B．a heavy burden |
| C．quite popular |
| D．very familiar |
Which of the following is NOT an advantage of the iPad?
| A．It has intuitive interface. |
| B．It is easy to operate. |
| C．Beginners can use it without similar experiences. |
| D．People can use it as a way to do mental exercise. |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．People above thirty are Apple’s largest customer group in Japan. |
| B．The traditional customers of Apple’s products are usually the young. |
| C．Seniors will soon grow into Apple’s largest customer group. |
| D．Seniors in Japan are fond of buying latest hi-tech products. |
What is the text mainly about?
A. iPad leading Apple to seniors.
B. iPad influencing the customer group.
C. iPad’s arrival causing Japanese to think.
D. iPad beating the traditional PC.
Wildlife faces threats ( 威胁 ) from habitat destruction, pollution, and other human actions. Although protecting wildlife may seem too hard at times, even small actions in your own neighbourhood can help protect many different animals. Here are some tips on how to protect wildlife through small actions.
1.Create wildlife friendly areas in your backyard.
When trying to make your garden more beautiful , you can choose plants that can provide food and shelter to native wildlife . This will also help cut down on pollution . Add bird or bat houses to your yard or garden to attract and shelter these species.
2. Avoid harming the natural ecosystem ( 生态系统 ) in your area.
Some plants from other places can kill or harm native plants that provide food and shelter for wildlife.
3. ________________________________________________.
By using less water and fewer fuels, you will be helping to protect the wildlife around you . Take buses or the subway when you can, turn off electric devices when you’re not using them , take shorter shower, and keep your room temperature at or below 68 degrees during the winter.
4. Buy products that are wildlife friendly
Don’t buy products that are made from endangered animals. Keep in mind that some endangered animals are killed by traps , catches or hunters who are after other wildlife within the same habitat.
5. Donate money or time to organizations that protect wildlife and their habitats.
You can give money to organization or groups that protect wildlife species in your neighbourhood.We infer that the purpose of this passage is to ________.
| A．tell us why protecting wildlife is extremely important now |
| B．suggest that we protect wildlife through actions |
| C．explain why protecting wildlife is not as hard as people think. |
| D．give us some tips on how to protect wildlife through small actions |
Which of the following threats to wildlife is NOT mentioned in the passage ?
| A．Animal diseases |
| B．Loss of habitat |
| C．Pollution |
| D．Hunters |
What’s the best title for the third point ?
| A．Have a greener lifestyle. |
| B．Use less water and fewer fuels. |
| C．Take a bus when you go out |
| D．Try a new kind of life. |
The writer suggests that we _________.
| A．not buy products made from animals |
| B．share cars with others when we go out |
| C．grow as many kinds of plants in our gardens as possible |
| D．provide shelters for birds and bats in our gardens or yards |
It was the end of the school term and my son Tom had less than three months left before he would finish his six years at high school. During this time he had developed a love for basketball. Sadly, because of my work over the last twelve months, I had only been able to attend a few of his games; however, I was determined to get to his last game for the school term.
Tom’s team came out in the first 10 minutes with a burst of goals that saw them leading by just over 20 points at the end of the first half. The second half changed as the other team quickly played themselves back into the game. Tom’s team started to miss an increasing number of shots. It was at that point that the coach called his first time out.
The noise of the spectators (观众) became quiet as the coach spoke to them. He had the team standing in a half circle, but he squatted (蹲) down, looking up at them and fiving some very calm and clear instructions on what they needed to do in the last couple of minutes. As he stood up to allow the team to return to the court, I saw him give some further words of encouragement to all of them.
You could see that he knew that the team was fighting to save the game and that he needed to lift them up. By squatting down he placed himself in a position where he was talking up to them, rather than down or at them, and as the players went back onto the court his words of encouragement served to lift their energy and spirits.
Well, Tom’s team went on to win the final by 5 points. As I drove away I thought about what can happen to us all in our everyday life. One of my favourite quotes is about the half filled glass of water --- “Is it half full or is it half empty?” Like the coach, the answer to this quote all depends on how you look at things.Why did the writer e to see his son play basketball?
| A．Because his son would graduate from high school. |
| B．Because he felt sorry for never watching his son play. |
| C．Because it was a final his son played a key role in. |
| D．Because he had a strong interest in basketball himself. |
By squatting down, the coach wanted to _____ .
| A．talk about what the players were doing wrong |
| B．make the players feel better |
| C．prevent spectators from hearing what he said |
| D．show his anger at the bad performance of the players |
What is the writer’s attitude towards the coach?
| A．Negative. | B．Supportive. | C．Interested. | D．Unconcerned. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．A father should care about his son at school. |
| B．Playing hard is rewarded with a close match. |
| C．What a coach says has the most influence on players. |
| D．Looking at things positively is important in hard times. |
D
Losing weight comes with a lot of health benefits—including making your brain sharper.
There have been few studies of overweight and cognitive functioning, (认知功能) possibly because it is generally believed that it is not a primary risk cause for poor cognitive performance. Yet, it turns out that overweight may damage cognitive functions such as memory and attention. Losing weight, therefore, may help improve these mental functions, according to a new research led by John Gunstad, assistant professor of psychology at Kent State University.
Growing evidence suggests that being fat is linked to cognitive deficits (缺陷). So Gunstad and his team guessed that losing weight might improve mental function. For their study, they measured memory and attention in a group of 150 overweight participants, some of whom had some kind of operation for weight loss and some did not. All of the volunteers completed mental skills tests to assess their abilities of memory and attention at the beginning of the study, and again 12 weeks later. To begin with, about 24% of the patients showed damaged learning and 23% showed signs of poor memory when tested. At the end of the study, those who had lost weight after operation improved their scores into the average or above average range for cognitive functions. Scores for the volunteers who didn’t lose weight dropped even further.
The study helped Gunstad to find out whether losing weight had any effect on mental function. Now that he’s seen the positive effect that weight loss can have on memory and attention, he says he will next study those who choose to lose weight by the traditional way—eating healthier and getting more active. He expects that losing weight in this way will have a similarly positive effect on the brain. “If we can improve the condition with operations, then we can probably produce the same change with behavioral weight loss as well,” he says.There is less research on overweight and cognitive functions because researchers _____.
| A. believe overweight only affects our body |
| B. have focused on ways to sharpen people’s mind |
| C. do not consider overweight a main cause for low cognitive ability |
| D. are clear about the relation between weight and mental functions |
The result of Gunstad’s study shows that ______.
| A. losing weight has little effect on people’s memory |
| B. losing weight can improve people’s mental functions |
| C. overweight people are likely to have psychology problems |
| D. overweight people’s abilities of concentration differ greatly |
What is Gunstad planning to prove next in his research?
| A. Slim people are smarter than overweight people. |
| B. Healthy diet is better than exercise in losing weight. |
| C. Traditional ways of losing weight are better than operation. |
| D. Overweight people will get smarter by taking more exercise. |
Which of the following is the best title for the text?
| A．Body Weight and Health |
| B．Losing Weight by Operation |
| C．Ways to Improve Mental Functions |
| D．Losing Weight to Sharpen Your Mind |