Over the years, many cities and states have tried to put a tax(税) on sugary drinks. Last week, Berkeley, California succeeded. The city in northern California will charge a penny-per-ounce tax on most sugary drinks. The tax is expected to raise more than ＄1 million every year to fight against obesity(肥胖).
Makers of sugary drinks are against the tax. They say picking out one product will not solve the obesity problem in America. They also argue that a tax is an attack on personal freedom. “Families should be able to make the choice for their kids without the government stepping in,” said Chris Gindlesperger, a spokesperson for the American Beverage Association(美国饮料协会).
Gindlesperger says that the fight against obesity is more successful when the government partners with industry. He shows how the beverage industry worked with President Bill Clinton’s administration is the 1990s. They introduced water, milk, and fruit juice into a large number of schools, which took the place of sugary drinks. More recently, the beverage industry listened to First Lady Michelle Obama’s suggestion that labels(标签)on sugary drinks be clearer. Containers of up to 20 ounces will show the total calories on the front.
Some people say a tax is a surefire way to help reduce obesity in the U.S. “There is clear evidence that taxes result in less consumption(消费) of sugary drinks,” says Dr. Rachel Johnson, a spokesperson for the American Heart Association. She points to Mexico as an example. The country put up a tax on sugary drinks in January, and sales have already dropped by 10%. What’s more, sales of healthier drinks have increased. Bottled water sales are up by 13%. Milk sales are up by 7%.
Another purpose of the tax is to raise money to fight childhood obesity. Money will be used to build playgrounds, create educational materials, and increase the sales of the healthier foods. “We’ve already helped reduce obesity to some degree,” says Dr. Johnson. “I’m confident that we’re going to see even bigger progress soon.”In the 1990s, sugary drinks in many schools _________.
| A．were charged a penny-per-ounce tax |
| B．were not as popular as they are today |
| C．were replaced by water, milk, and fruit juice |
| D．were not more than 20 ounces per bottle |
The underlined word “surefire” in Paragraph 4 can best be replaced by “_________”.
| A．good | B．stupid | C．strange | D．new |
Why does Johnson talk about Mexico?
| A．It is her favorite country. |
| B．She likes Mexican sugary drinks. |
| C．She tries to show a tax can help a lot. |
| D．It produces all kinds of sugary drinks. |
What is the purpose of this text?
| A．To ask kids to drink fewer sugary drinks. |
| B．To show how to fight childhood obesity. |
| C．To talk about different taxes in Berkeley. |
| D．To discuss if sugary drinks should be taxed. |
There was once a professor of medicine, who was very strict with the students. Whenever he took the chair on the exam committee, the students would be in fear, because he was seldom pleased with the answers they gave. A student would be lucky enough if he or she could receive a good mark from him. At the end of the term, the students of medicine would take their exam again. Now a student entered the exam room and got seated before the committee. This student was a little nervous as he knew it would not be so easy to get through the exam at all.
The professor began to ask. The student was required to describe a certain illness, his description of which turned out to be OK.
Then the professor asked about the cure for illness, and the student, too, answered just as right.
“Good,” said the professor, “and how much will you give the patient?”
“A full spoon”, answered the student.
“Now you may go out and wait for what you can get.”, said the professor. At the same time, the committee discussed carefully the answers the student had given. Suddenly the student noticed that there was something wrong with his last answer. “ A full spoon is too much,” he thought to himself. Anxiously he opened the door of the room and cried, “Mr Professor, I’ve make a mistake! A full spoon is too much for a patient. He can take only five drops.”
“I’m sorry, sir.” Said the professor coldly, “But it’s too late. Your patient has died.The students were afraid of the professor because_________.
| A．their answers seldom satisfied him |
| B．their answers often astonished him |
| C．they often angered and disappointed him |
| D．he often misunderstood them and give them bad markers |
The student’s description of the illness was _____.
| A．not correct | B．accepted |
| C．completely discouraging | D．not satisfied |
Before he left the room the student was almost sure that ______.
| A．he had made a mistake |
| B．his last answer was satisfying |
| C．he had passed the exam, and the only thing was to wait for the mark |
| D．he had not done well in the exam. |
Which of the following is Not true?
| A．Since one spoon is less than five drops, the patient will be all right soon if he takes only one full spoon at a time. |
| B．The doctor will be in trouble if he’s given the patient a full spoon. |
| C．The patient will be in danger if he’s taken as much as a full spoon. |
| D．If the patient wants to remain safe, he should take no more than five drops at a time. |
Which guess is the most reasonable from the passage?
| A．The student must have passed the exam. |
| B．The professor must have been very pleased and given the student a good mark. |
| C．The student must have been very happy when he heard, “Your patient has died.” |
| D．The students may not have passed the exam. |
Cheating can happen in a lot of different ways. When people cheat, it’s not fair to other people, like the kids who studied for the test or who were the true winners of a game.
Many people like the action of cheating. It makes difficult things seem easy, like getting all the right answers on the test. But it doesn’t solve the problem of not knowing the material and it won’t help on the next test--unless the person cheats again.
Some people lose respect for the cheaters and think less of them. The cheaters themselves may feel bad because they know they are not really earning that good grade. And , if they get caught cheating, they will be in trouble at school, and maybe at home, too.
Some kids cheat because they are busy or lazy and they want to get good grades without spending the time studying. Other kids might feel like they cannot pass the test without cheating. Even when there seems to be a “good reason” for cheating, cheating isn’t a good idea.
If you were sick or upset about something the night before and couldn’t study, it would be better to talk with the teacher about this. And if you don’t have enough time to study for a test because of swim practice, you need to talk with your parents about how to balance swimming and school. A kid who thinks cheating is the only way to pass a test needs to talk with the teacher and his or her parents so they can find some solutions together. Talking about these problems and working them out will be better than cheating.The author thinks when kids cheat in class, _________.
| A．it is unfair to other people |
| B．it does harm to their health |
| C．teachers should punish them |
| D．teachers shouldn’t stop them art once |
Some students like cheating mainly because______.
| A．the material in the test is very difficult |
| B．they want to do better than the others |
| C．cheating can make hard things seem very easy |
| D．they have little time to study their lessons |
The fourth paragraph mainly tells us______.
| A．cheating isn’t a good idea |
| B．why kids cheat in the test |
| C．some kids can’t pass the test without cheating |
| D．some kids don’t spend the time studying |
In the passage those cheaters are advised to _____.
| A．spend more time on school than sports |
| B．talk with the teacher or parents. |
| C．try hard to be intelligent rather than lazy |
| D．ask their classmates for good methods of study |
You can not see any object unless light from that object gets into your eyes. Some of the things you see give off light of their own. The sun, the stars, a lighted lamp are examples that can be seen by their own light. Such things are luminous. Most of the things you see are not giving off light of their own. They are simply reflecting light that falls on them from the sun or some other luminous bodies. The moon, for example, does not give off any light of its own. It is non-luminous. You see it because sunlight falls on it and some of it reflects in our direction. So moon light is only second hand sunlight.
When you look at a book, it sends to your eyes some of the light which falls on it, and you see the book. If light could be kept out from where you are so that there would be no light for the book to reflect, then you could not see the book even with your eyes wide open.
Light travels so fast that the time in which it travels from the book you are reading to your eyes is so short as if there were no time at all. Light reaches us from the moon, which is about 380 000 kilometers away, in only a little more than a second.You can see the book because_______.
| A．your eyes are close to it |
| B．it reflects some of the sunlight |
| C．it has light of its own |
| D．your eyesight can get to it |
The underlined word “luminous” means_______.
| A．visible | B．all colors |
| C．giving off light | D．sunlight |
________ have light of their own.
| A．The sun and the moon |
| B．The stars and the earth |
| C．The sun and the stars |
| D．The moon and the earth |
Which of the following is true?
| A．All the things you can see give off light. |
| B．Light from the book is much shorter than that from the moon. |
| C．The moment you open your eyes the light from the book travels to your eyes. |
| D．Light travels so fast that there is no time for you to read. |
Mr. Harris used to work in Dover, but then he changed his work, and he and his wife moved to another town. They did not have many friends there, but they soon met a lot of interesting people, and after a few weeks, they often went to dinner or to parties at other people’s houses.
Then Mrs. Harris said to her husband, “We’ve been to a lot of other people’s houses, and now we must invite them to our house, mustn’t we?”
“Yes, certainly,” answered her husband, “A big party will be the easiest thing, won’t it? Then we can start to invite people to dinner in small numbers next month.”
So Mrs. Harris said, “Yes, I’ll invite all our friends here to a big party on 5th December.”
“How many will that be?” Mr. Harris asked. “Don’t invite too many.”
Mrs. Harris was beginning to write the invitations when her husband saw that she was writing, “Party: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.”
“That isn’t very nice, is it?” he said. “You’re telling our guests that they must go at 8:30.” So Mrs. Harris just wrote “Party: 6:30 p.m.”
A lot of guests came, and they all had a good time, so they did not go home at 8:30. In fact they were still there at mid-night when the door bell rang and a policeman arrived. He said, “You must stop making a noise, because someone has complained(抱怨).”
Mr. Harris said he did not want to quarrel with the policeman, so everyone went home. They were sorry to have to go.
When Mr. and Mrs. Harris were alone again, she said to him. “That was a surprise, wasn’t it? Who complained about the noise?”
“I did,” Mr Harris answered in a tired voice.Why did Mr. Harris and his wife move to another town?
| A．They wanted to make some new friends. |
| B．Mr. Harris changed his work. |
| C．They wanted to meet a lot of interesting people. |
| D．They enjoyed going to parties and visiting other people’s houses. |
What made Mr. and Mrs. Harris hold a party at their house?
| A．It was easy to hold a big party at home. |
| B．They could ask people to dinner in small numbers. |
| C．They had gone to other people’s parties many times. |
| D．They liked making friends with others. |
When did the party end that evening?
| A．At about 8:30. |
| B．When the policeman talked with Mr. Harris on the phone. |
| C．About twelve o’clock.. |
| D．When someone telephoned the police station. |
Why did Mr. Harris telephoned the policeman about the noise?
| A．Because someone rang his door bell many times at mid-night. |
| B．He did not want his friends to stay late that night. |
| C．His friends had a good time that night and also feel tired. |
| D．Because he hated the noise. |
Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in Scotland in 1850. He had to end his college studies because his health was poor. He began to travel, looking for a place that was good for his health. And he wrote about his travels. Inland Voyage(1878) was about journeys by canoe(独木舟) on the rivers and canals of Belgium and France. Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes followed it in next year.
People loved his travel books, and they also found his poems beautiful. In 1879 he travelled to California in a very uncomfortable ship and then by train across the United States to San Francisco. He married in California, but his poor health made him and his wife travel again.
Readers of his travel books and poetry were surprised when Treasure Island came out in 1883. It was not at all like his earlier writing, but both children and grown-ups loved it.
Treasure Island was finished in Switzerland. Stevenson then continued to travel. He loved the islands of the southern Pacific Ocean, and he found that his health was better there. In the end, he and his wife made their home in Samoa. It was there that he wrote Kidnapped(1886), the story of David Balfour and Alan Breck. It was followed (but not immediately) by Catriona, which continues the story of David Belfour and tells of other exciting adventures of David and Alan, and of David’s love for Catriona Drummond. In between the two stories about David Belfour came another surprising book, the “thriller” called The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Stevenson died in Samoa in 1894, and he is buried there.Which of the following about Stevenson is true?
| A．He lived to be 50. |
| B．He was also a popular poet. |
| C．He was buried in his homeland. |
| D．He quit college because he was poor. |
Stevenson settled in Samoa because ______.
| A．it was very beautiful |
| B．he finished his book Kidnapped there |
| C．he was too old to travel on |
| D．it was good for his health |
In which order did the following books come out?
a. Travels with a Donkey
b. Treasure Island
c. Kidnapped
d. Catriona
e. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
| A．a, b, c, d, e | B．a, b, c, e, d |
| C．b, c, a, e, d | D．c, a, b, d, e |
The passage is probably taken from ______.
| A．a newspaper |
| B．an advertisement |
| C．a book introduction |
| D．a public speech |