I had not yet had the opportunity to do ...

    Americans use many expressions with the word dog． People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well．1.． However， dogs without owners to care for them lead a different kind of life． The expression， to lead a dog's life， describes a person who has an unhappy life．

Some people say we live in a dog﹣eat﹣dog world．2.． They say if a person wants to be successful he has to work like a dog． This means they have to work very， very hard． Such hard work can make people dog﹣tired． And， the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog．

3.． This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life． To be successful， people often have to learn new skills． Yet， some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks． They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things．

4.． People who are unkind or uncaring can be described as meaner than a junkyard dog． Junkyard dogs live in places where people throw away things they do not want． But mean dogs are often used guard this property． They bark or attack people who try to enter the property． However， sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad． We say his bark is worse than his bite．

Dog expressions are also used to describe the weather． The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year． A rain in summer may cool the weather． But we do not want it to rain too hard．5.．

A． We do not want it to rain cats and dogs．

B． Still， people say every dog has its day．

C． Some people are compared to dogs in bad days．

D．There are many other expressions waiting for you to explore．

E． Dogs are their best friends and they are loyal to people．

F． That means many people are competing for the same things， like good jobs．

G． They take their dogs for walks， let them play outside and give them good food and medical care．

    Standing on one leg is a simple way to assess someone's risk of suffering a stroke （中风）， suggests a new study．

Researchers have found struggling to balance on one leg for 20 seconds or longer is linked to an increased risk of small blood vessel （血管） damage in the brain and reduced thinking ability in otherwise healthy people with no symptoms．

"Our study found the ability to balance on one leg is an important test for brain health． Individuals showing poor balance on one leg should receive increased attention， as this may indicate an increased risk of brain diseases and cognitive （认知的） decline，" said Dr Tabara， a professor at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan．

The study， published in the journal Stroke， consisted of 841 women and 546 men， with an average age of 67． To measure onelegged standing time， they stood with their eyes open and raised one leg． The maximum time for keeping the leg raised was 60 seconds． The participants performed the examination twice and the better of the two times was used in the study analysis．

The researchers found that the inability to balance on one leg for longer than 20seconds was associated with brain diseases without symptoms． Overall， those with brain diseases were older and had high blood pressure than those who did not have such diseases．

Short onelegged standing time was also linked with lower cognitive score． Although previous studies have examined the connection between physical abilities and the risk of stroke， this is among the first studies to closely examine how long a person can stand on one leg as an indication of their overall brain health．

Dr Tabara and his team also found a strong link between struggling to stand on one leg and increased age．

1.Dr Tabara suggested that one who couldn't stand on one leg for more than 20 seconds     ．

A. try to improve his physical abilities

B. receive medical treatment for brain diseases

C. be given special attention to prevent accidents

D. be examined for other symptoms of brain diseases

2.Which of the following factors might decrease onelegged standing time according to the text？

a． Heart diseases．

b． Cognitive decline．

c． High blood pressure．

d． The aging process．

e． Brain diseases．

A. a， b， d

B. a， c， d

C. b， c， e

D. b， d， e

3.What can we learn about the study from the fourth paragraph？

A. It was led by Dr Tabara．

B. It included more than 1，300 people．

C. It examined people of different age groups．

D. It required the participants to close their eyes first．

4.Which of the following might be the best title for the text？

A. Overall Brain Health Deserves Close Attention

B. Brain Diseases Without Symptoms Require Attention

C. Can't Stand on One Leg？ You May Be at Risk of Stroke

D. Can't Keep Your Balance？ You May Have Brain Damage

    Working up a credit score for Walter Cavanagh has got to be a mathematical nightmare ﹣ the man has nearly 1，500 valid credit cards to his name and holds the Guinness Record for the most credit cards． Mr． Plastic Fantastic ﹣ a title given to him by Guinness World Records ﹣ is also the proud owner of the world's longest wallet， which can hold about 800 cards． But he uses it only to carry a few cards， while the rest are safely kept in bank safedeposit boxes．

Cavanagh started collecting credit cards in the late 1960s． "One of my best friends and I made a silly bet： the guy who could collect the most credit cards by the end of the year would win dinner，" he said． " I got 143 cards by the end of the year， and my friend gathered 138．" After winning that bet， Cavanagh decided to simply keep going with his unusual collection． He got credit cards from gas stations， airlines， bars， and even ice cream stores．

If there's one card missing from Cavanagh's collection， it's that from the Newberry Company． They repulsed his application for a card in the early 1970s， even though he'd collected over 100 by then． They said he had too much credit． Therefore， so far he hasn't had a Newberry card in his collection．

Cavanagh hasn't stopped applying for new cards ﹣ he's held the Guinness Record since 1971 and has no intention of letting go of it． He copies whole pages from a U．S． directory of businesses and keeps sending applications． If he receives a rejection， he writes back to the company explaining his goal and ambition． But he doesn't count useless cards in his total collection．

Thanks to all the cards to his name， Cavanagh has access to about ＄1.7 million at any moment． Despite this privilege， he has managed to maintain an excellent credit score．

The 72﹣year﹣old retired financial planner and credit expert has only one piece of advice to share： "Never use a card to buy anything you can't pay off in a couple of months． If you don't have the discipline， you shouldn't have the cards．"

1.Cavanagh began to collect credit cards when he     ．

A. owned a very long wallet

B. made a bet with his friend

C. wanted to create a Guinness Record

D. was treated to dinner by his friend．

2.What does the underlined word "repulsed" in Paragraph 3 probably mean？

A. Rejected．

B. Recalled．

C. Repeated．

D. Recognized．

3.What do the underlined words "the discipline" in the last paragraph probably refer to？

A. Having many cards to your own name．

B. Buying things by card and paying off in time．

C. Managing to own more privileges for your card．

D. Using a card to buy things as many times as possible．

4.What do we know about Cavanagh's cards？

A. Some of them are useless．

B. They are safely kept in his long wallet．

C. They have brought him fame and privilege．

D. Fewer new cards are added to his collections．

Dear Alcohol,

You’ve been around forever. I can remember all the pain you’ve caused me.

Do you remember the night when you almost took my father’s life? I do. He loves you. Sometimes I think he loves you more than he loves me. He’s addicted to you, to the way you promise to rid him of his problems only to cause more of them. You just sat back and laughed as his car went turning through the street, crashing into two other cars. He wasn’t the only one badly hurt by you that night.

Do you remember the night of my first high school party? My friends were intrigued by you. They treated you as if they were never going to see you again, drinking all of you that they could. I spent two hours that night helping my friends who had fallen head over heels for you. “I’m so embarrassed,” they said as I held their hair back so that they could throw up. “I’m sorry,” they said when I called taxis for them, walking them out and paying the driver in advance. “This won’t happen again,” they said as they were sent to the hospital to have their stomachs pumped. Two 15-year-old girls slept in hospital beds that night due to you.

Do you remember the night when you took advantage of my 17-year-old neighbor who had to drive to pick up his sister from her dance lesson? Do you know how we all felt when he hit another car head-on and killed two people in the other car? He died the next morning, too. His sister walked home from her dance lesson, and passed police cars and a crowd of people gathering on the sidewalk just two blocks away from the dance studio. She didn’t realize her brother was among them at all. She never saw him again. And it was all your fault.

I wish you’d walk out of my life forever. I don’t want anything to do with you. Look at all the pain you’ve caused. Sure, you’ve made people happy too from time to time. But the damage you’ve caused in the lives of millions is not excusable. Stop attracting the people I love! Stop hurting me, please!

Sincerely,

Me

1.What did Alcohol do to the author’s father that night?

A. It made him drunken and took his life away.

B. It made him kill two other people when driving.

C. It got him into a car accident and badly injured.

D. It got him into trouble and got his stomach pumped.

2.What does the underlined phrase “were intrigued by” probably mean in the letter?

A. were interested in

B. were satisfied with

C. were familiar with

D. were disappointed by

3.What is the author’s purpose in writing this letter?

A. To warn people not to drive after drinking.

B. To persuade people to get away from alcohol.

C. To tell people three sad stories about alcohol.

D. To warn people against the pain caused by alcohol.

4.How was the author feeling while writing this letter?

A. Shocked.    B. Responsible.

C. Disappointed.    D. Sorrowful.

    Life experiences can show one's "grit"（坚韧）． Complex challenges early in life helped the following people develop skills that got them to the top of their professions．

Ursula Burns， Chairwoman， VEON； Former CEO， Xerox

Her family was so poor that her single mother traded office cleaning for health care． But Burns' early gift for math won her a scholarship and an internship at Xerox， where she would compete her way to the top． "I'm a black lady from the Lower East Side，" she says． "Not a lot scares me．"

Howard Schultz， Executive Chairman， Starbucks

Schultz grew up in public housing in Brooklyn， surrounded by poverty， and was the first in his family to go to college （on a football scholarship）． After training in sales， he set up the company that would later buy Starbucks． "In the course of the year I spent trying to raise money， I spoke to 242 people， and 217 of them said no．" he said．

Sean Combs， CEO， Sean John

Combs began a generation of hip﹣hop talent and made a lasting influence on fashion． But his story could have turned out much differently： his drug dealer father was killed when he was 3． "It made me work even harder．" he recently said．

Geisha Williams， CEO， PG&E

Her parents fled Cuba when Williams was 5． By 7， she was her parents' main translator in talks with lawyers and accountants at grocery stores they owned in New Jersey． The experience did help her． "I went from thinking I could be a manager to thinking I could do something much bigger．" she told Fortune．

1.Who did best in math at school？

A. Combs．

B. Burns．

C. Schultz．

D. Williams．

2.How did the death of Combs' father influence him？

A. It made him a failure．

B. He became a drug dealer．

C. It made him even stronger．

D. He became a hip﹣hopper．

3.What can we learn from the passage？

A. Cuba is a good place to do business．

B. No one wanted to help Schultz at first．

C. Poor family kids can be successful easily．

D. Difficulty in life pushed Williams forward．