What’s your opinion on spicy food? Some people cannot handle even the smallest amount of chili(辣椒)in their dinner while others can’t get enough of it.
Scientists have long been puzzled by why some people love chili while others loathe it. Plenty of research has been done on the subject, dating as far back as the 1970s. Previous results showed that a love of chili is related to childhood experiences, and cultural influences affect our taste buds, too. But the latest study has found that a person’s love of spicy food may be linked to his or her personality more than anything else, CBC News reported.
“We have always assumed that liking drives intake--we eat what we like and we like what we eat. But no one has actually directly bothered to connect these personality traits（特点） with intake of chili peppers,” said Professor John Hayes from Pennsylvania State University, who led the study.
But before you look at the study, you should first know that “spicy” is not a taste, unlike sour, sweet, bitter and salty. It is, in fact, a burning sensation that you feel on the surface of your tongue. This got scientists thinking that maybe a love of spicy food is brought about by people’s longing for thrill, something they usually get from watching action movies or riding a roller coaster.
In the study, 97 participants, both male and female, were asked to fill out questionnaires about certain traits of their personality, for example, whether they like new experiences or tend to avoid risks. They were then given cups of water with capsaicin, the plant chemical that makes chili burn, mixed into them.
By comparing the answers to the questionnaires and what participants said they felt about the spicy water, researchers found that those who were most inclined to enjoy action movies or take risks were about six times more likely to enjoy the spicy water.
Interestingly, we used to believe that the reason why some people can withstand spicy food is that their tongues have become less sensitive to it. However, this latest study has found otherwise. “It’s not that it doesn’t burn as badly, it’s that you actually learn to like the burn,” Hayes explained.
1.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “loathe” in the second paragraph?
A.dislike B.fear
C.put up with D.adapt to
2.What Professor John Hayes said means_________.
A.a love of chili is related to childhood experiences
B.cultural influences affect our taste buds
C.we eat what we like and we like what we eat
D.we ignore eating chili is related to our personalities
3.What did Professor John Hayes and his team discover from their study?
A.What we eat actually helps to develop our personalities.
B.Males are more likely to enjoy spicy food than females.
C.Those trying to avoid risks tend to be less interested in spicy food.
D.People are wrong to treat spicy as a kind of taste rather than a feeling.
4.Why do some people like spicy food according to the recent study?
A.Because their taste buds have become less sensitive.
B.Because they love the burning sensation.
C.Because they want to challenge themselves.
D.Because the more they try spicy food, the less it burns.
5.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A.His or her parents’ diets decide on his or her personality.
B.The latest study shows whether a person enjoys spicy food depends largely on his or her personality.
C.His or her childhood experiences decide on his or her personality.
D.His or her cultural background decides on his or her personality.
The ringed planet Saturn has 53 known moons. And another one may be on the way. NASA’s Cassini-Huyens space probe has spotted（发现）a small shape in Saturn’s outermost ring. It suggests the existence of a new moon. The moon has not been directly spotted yet, but scientists have already given it a nickname---Peggy.
The probe’s findings were published in the journal Icarus. Casssini has been observing the ringed planet and its surroundings since 2004. Saturn is a big and powerful world. With a diameter of 74, 732 miles, it is 9½ times the size of Earth. It spins very quickly, and take only 11 hours to spin fully on its axis(轴). The planet is located about 885.9 million miles from the sun and has an average temperature of -285 degrees Fahrenheit.
Peggy will be joining a large community. Saturn has thousands of rings. The outermost ring, called the A Ring, is the largest and brightest. It measures 750 miles long and 6 miles wide. Saturn’s rings are made up of rock, dust and ice, and are constantly gathering space matter. As this material gathers and clumps together, moons are born.
If Peggy is a new moon, it is also a tiny one, measuring only 0.5 miles in diameter. But there is no telling how big this baby will grow over time. “We’ve never seen anything like this before,” said astronomer Carl Murray in a statement . He is the lead author of the Icarus report. “We may be looking at an act of birth, where this object is leaving the rings and heading off to be a moon in its own right.” Once that happens, it will be given a formal name.
However, this mini moon may be one of Saturn’s last. The formation of all its moons, new and old, big and small, has used up much of the rings’ raw material. After 4.5 billion years, Saturn may have finally revealed all its babies.
1.Which of the following is TRUE about Saturn?
A.It has hundreds of rings. B.It is much bigger than Earth.
C.It moves as quickly as Earth. D.Its 53rd known moon is called Peggy.
2.What does the underlined word“It”in Paragraph3 refer to?
A.Saturn’s biggest moon. B.Saturn’s innermost ring.
C.Saturn’s outermost ring. D.Saturn’s new moon Peggy.
3.We can infer from Paragraph 4 that .
A.Peggy may disappear soon
B.Peggy may grow bigger and bigger
C.Peggy will have its own moon soon
D.Peggy is the new moon’s formal name
4.According to the last paragraph, .
A.Saturn will have more and more moons
B.Saturn’s rings will have more and more material
C.Saturn’s rings may disappear in 4.5 billion years
D.Saturn won’t have too many moons younger than Peggy
5.Which can be the best title for the text?
A.Saturn’s baby moon B.The future of Saturn
C.Saturn’s beautiful rings D.Interesting facts about Saturn
After a serious earthquake happened, a father left his wife safely at home and rushed to his son's school, only to find that the building where his son studied had collapsed and looked like a pancake．
He was shocked. He didn't know what he should do for a while, then he remembered the words he had said to his son，“No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you！” And tears began to fill his eyes. He started digging through the ruins.
As he was digging, other helpless parents and the firemen arrived and tried to pull him off the ruins, saying，“It's too late! They're all dead! There's nothing you can do！”To them he replied with one line，“Are you going to help me now？”And then he kept on digging.
No one helped, however. He went on alone because he needed to know for himself，“Is my boy alive or is he dead？” He dug for eight hours...12 hours...24 hours...36 hours...then, in the 39th hour, he pulled back a rock and heard his son's words. He shouted his son's name，“ARMAND！”He heard back, “Dad！？！ It's me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that if you were alive, you'd save me and when you saved me, they'd be saved. You promised, ‘No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you！’You did it, Dad！”
“What's going on there? How is it？”the father asked.
“There are 14 of us left out of 33, Dad. We're frightened, hungry, thirsty and thankful you're here. When the building fell down, it made a triangle, and it saved us.”
“Come out, boy！”
“No, Dad! Let the other kids out first, because I know you'll get me! No matter what happens, I know you'll always be there for me！”
1.The underlined word “collapsed” probably means______.
A.fallen down B.shaken violently
C.stood by D.gone off
2.Who came to help the father when he was digging?
A.His wife. B.Other parents.
C.The firemen. D.No one.
3.Other parents and the firemen wanted to pull him off the ruins because they thought_______.
A.he was mad
B.all the children had died in the earthquake
C.he was too dangerous to others
D.it was not his job to dig
4.How many students were still alive when the father found them in the ruins?
A.Fourteen. B.Thirty three.
C.Forty seven. D.Nineteen.
5.We can learn from the passage that________.
A.it took the father one day to find his son and other students
B.his wife died in the earthquake
C.his son was the last one to come out of the ruins
D.the son didn't believe his father would come to save him
I can still remember when I met my best friend. She had just moved into the neighborhood and her grandmother brought her down to ___me. I hid behind my mother and she hid behind her grandmother,____to look at each other. Soon we lost the____and started playing with each other.
In the 7th grade, I first lost touch with her. She was___ family problems and I deserted her to be with the____people. None of my new friends liked her as much as I did because they knew she had____. However, every summer we____always sit at each other’s house, watch soap operas, and talk about all the boys we liked.
It was last year when I noticed the problem. I guess I was____devoted in high school to ___she needed someone there. Anyway, she made a new best friend and so did I. Then I didn’t know why, ___she started cutting herself!
She then was diagnosed with clinical depression(抑郁症). At first, I was very ___, but we still stayed in_____I wanted to be there with her since her new best friend basically ___her and people were calling her_____
Yesterday she came to me and said, “I never knew what a best friend was ___you, the only person, would stop me cutting. I ___your help so much, and you didn’t even know you were ___me.”
We both cried. And I guess a kind of____from my life is never to give up on your friends. Even if they aren’t as cool as others, or people think they are crazy, they need____there. ___you desert them, you will only be guilty yourself.
1.A.follow B.meet C.join D.support
2.A.scared B.annoyed C.worried D.excited
3.A.temper B.trait C.confidence D.shyness
4.A.taking up B.getting through C.going through D.making up
5.A.happier B.cooler C.individual D.cleverer
6.A.problems B.shortcomings C.partners D.disabilities
7.A.should B.could C.would D.might
8.A.much B.too C.only D.just
9.A.admit B.rebel C.consider D.realize
10.A.but B.for C.or D.so
11.A.calm B.considerate C.upset D.helpful
12.A.place B.touch C.control D.mood
13.A.confused B.bothered C.reminded D.deserted
14.A.crazy B.bitter C.amazing D.sincere
15.A.unless B.as C.until D.that
16.A.grieve B.appreciate C.influence D.demand
17.A.urging B.blaming C.helping D.hurting
18.A.honor B.favor C.submission D.lesson
19.A.someone B.something C.anyone D.everything
20.A.As if B.Although C.If D.Unless
People say, "Guilin's scenery is matchless in the world." It was not until I visited the place _____ I found it really worthy of the reputation.
A.where B.when C.that D.then
The audience was _____to turn their cell phones off in the theatre.
A.selected B.recognized C.respected D.reminded
