China has been drinking tea since the time of Shennong, 5,000 years ago. Britain’s relationship with tea is much shorter, but tea enjoys the pride as the UK’s national drink. According to the UK Tea Council, British people drink an average of three cups a day or a national total of 165 million cups every day.
With figures like these, it is no surprise that time spent taking tea affects the working day in Britain. A recent survey found that 24 minutes a day are lost to making, buying and drinking tea and coffee. That is, £400 a year is lost in working hours per employee, or 190 days over a lifetime. So, should employers be worried about this lost working time, or does the tea break make up in other ways?
One argument is that caffeine improves mental state: a drink of tea or coffee can make you active and focus on work.
Professor Rogers of the University of Bristol disagrees. After years of studying caffeine he sees nothing can prove that. “Workers would perform equally well if not drinking it at all,” he says. “But if they’re often drinking it and then go without, they’ll feel tired and won’t work well.”
Psychologist Cooper instead emphasizes the role tea breaks play in office life, and in building social relationships. “We need to make people more active and see other people. The tea break is one way of doing this,” says Cooper.
And Professor Rogers also points out the comfort effect of a hot drink: “We warm our hands on them on a cold day; they’re comforting and play a big role in our everyday life. Whatever the caffeine’s doing, I’d say these 24 minutes aren’t wasted.”
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Tea Breaks cannot make people more active at work. |
| B．British people drink more tea than people in other countries. |
| C．Tea break plays an important role in people’s life in Britain. |
| D．A lot of time has been wasted drinking tea in the working day. |
We learn from a recent survey that in Britain _______.
| A．£400 is lost in working hours for each person |
| B．tea breaks take up 24 minutes in a working day |
| C．people spends 190 days drinking tea and coffee each year |
| D．people drink 165 million cups in working hours every day |
What’s Psychologist Coopers’ attitude towards tea break?
| A．Doubtful. | B．Uncertain. |
| C．Negative. | D．Positive. |
A long time ago, before human beings lived on the earth, little coral polyps（水螅）settled around tropical （热带的）coastlines and constructed corals. Over a long period they created lots of reefs. Yet, pollution, climate change and commercial fisheries are limiting the chance of future generations knowing or seeing many of the reefs and sea creatures that exist. Hence, take action to dive now and you can explore the underwater world.
Commercial underwater diving began in ancient Greece. Diving in general means that the whole body is completely in water. On that account there are lots of exciting and quite adventurous ways to dive, like shark cage diving, scuba diving（戴水肺潜水）and reef diving.
There are great coral reefs all over the world, but usually they are situated in warm, clear water such as the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, where they grow best. This is why there are no coral reefs on the west coast of South Africa. However, South Africa’s east coast offers much brightly coloured sea life.
In South Africa more than 100,000 dives a year are made just in coral reefs, which are one of the natural wonders of the world. To see the whole beauty of the reef the right diving gear（设备） is an essential requirement. This means a perfect fitting diving mask and fins, as well as a snorkel（呼吸管）and a friend. Diving alone is dangerous because there may be strong currents you are not aware of, and it’s a lot more fun to share the experience with someone. However, before you can explore the deeper sea, a certificated and checked scuba, a wetsuit and of course a license will be needed. Whether you choose the snorkel or the scuba to spot the colourful underwater world, try to touch as little as possible, be careful with the corals and don’t strike the fishes, because the complex ecosystem is very sensitive.The following factors probably affect coral reefs EXCEPT ________.
| A．sea creatures | B．pollution | C．fishing | D．climate change |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Human beings appeared before corals were created. |
| B．One needs a license to dive into the deeper sea. |
| C．Diving alone has many advantages. |
| D．The origin of diving is in modern Greece. |
There are no coral reefs on the west coast of South Africa probably because of a lack of ________.
| A．large waters and soft sand |
| B．warm currents and delicious food |
| C．friendly creatures and flat seabed |
| D．clear water and suitable temperature |
The last paragraph mainly tells us ________.
| A．diving alone under the sea is rather dangerous |
| B．some matters we need pay attention to when diving |
| C．South Africa is a popular place for diving |
| D．what we should wear when diving |
In a generous display of maturity and sympathy, one Jewish boy made his first deed as a man in his faith a great act of charity.
Joshua Neidorf, a 13-year-old boy from Los Angeles, donated most of his birthday money to Operation Mend, a program that reconstructs the faces of severely burned U. S. veterans（退伍老兵）.
The young man decided to donate his money after getting to know Army Sgt. Louis Dahlman, who was undergoing a series of reconstruction surgeries（手术）at UCLA （University of California at Los Angeles） thanks to Operation Mend. The Neidorfs had signed up to be Dahlman’s “buddy family”, spending time with him whenever he visited Los Angeles for a surgery.
“I just love knowing that it’s going somewhere...to help the people who save our lives and keep us safe every day,” said Neidorf. His mother added, “It makes me feel like our world is going in a good direction with this next generation.”
In all, Neidorf gave $13,000 to Operation Mend. He also encouraged his friends to donate to the cause. He is the organization’s youngest donor so far.
Operation Mend is a privately funded program that works in partnership with the UCLA Medical Center. Ron Katz, a board member at the hospital, started the program in 2006 after seeing a TV programme about Aaron Mankin, a veteran who had gone through dozens of surgeries after a fight in Iraq which completely burned off his face.
Mankin ended up being Operation Mend’s first patient, starting the first of 20 reconstructive facial surgeries at UCLA in Sept. 2007. In a 2011 interview, Katz shared how his experience of helping Mankin made him realize the need to establish a more permanent program.
“My wife and I soon realized that there were dozens of Aarons out there,” Katz said. “They deserve the best that we offer them.”Neidorf decided to help veterans because ________.
| A．he benefited from Operation Mend | B．he was afraid of burned faces |
| C．he thought they deserved help | D．he didn’t know how to spend money |
Operation Mend was founded after ________.
| A．Neidorf donated part of his birthday money |
| B．the Neidorfs signed up to be Dahlman’s “buddy family” |
| C．Ron Katz saw a TV programme about a veteran |
| D．Mankin was successfully operated on at UCLA |
What can we learn from the passage?
A. Neidorf’s mother was opposed to his decision to donate money.
B. Mankin’s face was burned in a fire in America.
C. Mankin went through more than 30 facial surgeries at UCLA.
D. Many facial surgeries are needed to reconstruct a seriously burned face.The last two paragraphs mainly tell us ________.
| A．the process of Mankin’s surgery | B．how Operation Mend was set up |
| C．how Katz became famous | D．veterans are respected by people |
Barack Obama became US President in January, 2009. Since then, the world has been watching him closely to see whether he keeps his promises about the economy(经济), foreign policy and health care.
But at home, he has also been under pressure from his two daughters to keep his promise: to give them a new dog as a gift for helping him with his election campaign(竞选活动).
On Tuesday the nation’s first dog, named Bo, came out. It is a six-month-old water dog which is black with a white chest and white paws(爪).
“Bo’s got star quality,” said President Obama as he and his family took a walk with the dog on the White House lawn(草坪) in front of reporters.
He then joked, “ I finally got a friend. It took some time,” mentioning a famous saying, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.”Barack Obama is ______ President now.
| A．French | B．British | C．Russian | D．American |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The dog is called Bo. | B．The dog is six month old. |
| C．The dog is black and white. | D．The dog is all white. |
The dog is Obama’s gift to ______.
| A．the reporters | B．his wife | C．his daughters | D．his sons |
What might the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?
| A．It’s not easy to find a dog in Washington. |
| B．It’s not easy to find a friend in Washington. |
| C．Dogs aren’t friendly to man. |
| D．Man isn’t friendly to dogs. |
| Found An IC card with some keys was found. Come to Room 203 between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Friday or call 6606982. |
Summer Job Do you like to talk with people? Do you like to write stories? And do you want to work for a students’ magazine? Come and work for us as a reporter for two months. Tel: 6676981 |
| Cooking Tour Join Cooking Tour. You can visit Guangzhou, Changsha, Chongqing and three other cities. You can enjoy the most delicious food and learn Chinese cooking. Duration 12 days Cost ￥3,600 Tel: 6657762 |
Painting Competition For all the students from Senior 1 and Senior 2 Paint a picture of an animal Send it to the Painting Club Before 30th June For more information Call 6644451 |
You can call ______ if you have lost your IC card.
| A．6644451 | B．6676981 | C．6657762 | D．6606982 |
You should ______ if you want to find a job as a reporter.
| A．go to the Painting Club | B．go to Room 203 |
| C．join Cooking Tour | D．try Summer Job |
How many Chinese cities can you visit if you join Cooking Tour?
| A．3. | B．6. | C．9. | D．12. |
Chen Wei may paint a picture of ______ if he wants to take part in the competition.
| A．an elephant | B．a river | C．a tree | D．a flower |
2008 will be remembered by us Chinese people as a year of sadness and happiness. May of the year sadly saw the Great Sichuan Earthquake, the worst earthquake in China over 30 years. It killed around 70,000 people. Tens of thousands were injured or went missing.
However, to our delight, China also hosted its first Olympic games that summer in Beijing. It was a very successful games with a great opening ceremony. 43 new world records and 132 new Olympic records were made. And China came out first with 51 gold medals.When did the Great Sichuan Earthquake happen?
| A．In 2005. | B．In 2006. | C．In 2007. | D．In 2008. |
About 70,000 people ______ in the earthquake.
| A．were killed | B．were injured |
| C．went missing | D．went hungry |
How many gold medals did China win at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games?
| A．175. | B．132. | C．51. | D．43. |
We Chinese people were ______ in 2008.
| A．sad | B．happy | C．neither sad nor happy | D．both sad and happy |