Parents can cut the chances of their children getting fat simply by keeping them longer at table. Just three extra minutes at a family mealtime could help prevent child fatness. The reasons might lie in communication and the importance of a scheduled mealtime.
Dr Barbara Fiese said, “Children, whose families have a 20-minute meal over four times a week, weigh lighter than kids who leave the table after15 to 17 minutes. Over time, those extra minutes per meal add up and become really powerful.”
Researchers studied 200 family mealtimes, testing the influences of mealtime habits of families with children in primary school. They found that families, who said that shared mealtimes were an important part of family life and had special meaning for them, were less likely to have fat children. Similarly, families who talked more together and communicated more positively during the meal, were more likely to have healthy-weight children.
Teaching families how to make full use of family mealtimes was a wise idea. “This is something we can do and teach. It’s also important to recognize the increasing differences of families and their complex living schedules that may challenge(挑战) their abilities to plan ahead and set some time to communicate with each other,” said Dr Fiese.
Families in poorer US neighborhoods faced more problems, including poor chances of getting healthy food. But even so, regular high quality family mealtimes made a difference to the children’s weight. Dr Fiese said, “Three to four extra minutes per meal will make a healthy weight more possible.”
1.How long is reasonable for a family mealtime according to the text?
A.About 10 minutes. B.About 12 minutes
C.About 15 minutes D.About 20 minutes.
2.What’s the advantage of a longer family mealtime according to the text?
A.Children can better enjoy their meals.
B.Children can have a good rest while eating.
C.Children can communicate more during the time.
D.Children can have more time to choose what they like.
3.What does the author want to show in paragraph3?
A.The result of a study. B.Different eating habits.
C.Causes of child fatness. D.The importance of normal eating
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.Mealtime talk helps to lose weight
B.Healthy food makes normal weigh
C.Poorer families have thinner children
D.Longer family mealtimes help prevent child fatness
When my best friend and I were teenagers, our favorite place to hang out was the Hallmark store. If we had money, we would choose a perfect card for each other and then share tears or smiles depending on what emotion the words expressed. In those coming years we developed a friendship built on sincere feelings and we often found comfort in the words of a Hallmark card. I think it is perhaps since those years that I have become a greeting card collector.
The other day, while cleaning out the storage in my home, I came across the bag where I have kept greeting cards. They are the lasting messages that speak the meanings of my life. I pulled out a foolish-looking card. It has a stick drawing on the front that seems to be my portrait(肖像画), I laughed as I realized this is exactly how my oldest daughter saw her mum. Opening it up I saw a hand-drawn heart with eyes and a big smile. On the other side are some words “You are the best mum in the world!” This may be one card that Hallmark cards cannot compete with for it is a treasure more precious than gold. I can’t go back to where I’ve been but, from time to time, I can be taken into a welcomed memory trip.
These are the Hallmark moments of our lives. Words from once upon a time inspire us to appreciate the people in our lives who mean so much. When we sometimes have doubts, or when the world treats us unfairly, the encouraging words are there in black and white, sometimes drawn in a homemade stick drawing with a heart-shaped smiling face standing out from the rest.
Life is a Hallmark card when you care enough to send the very best.
1.What influence does the Hallmark card have on the author?
A.Finding her real hobby.
B.Becoming a greeting card donor.
C.Getting real friendship and comfort.
D.Learning to share the experience of making cards.
2.The author uses “a welcomed memory trip” in paragraph 2 to show that_______.
A.she often remembers her past trip
B.those cards are very meaningful for her
C.her daughter’s words moved her deeply
D.drawing herself on the cards is very meaningful
3.Why does the author think the words on the cards mean a lot?
A.Because they make her full of thanks.
B.Because they are written in different colors.
C.Because they can help her overcome doubts.
D.Because they always inform her of the card collector.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.Words on the cards B.Collecting greeting cards is a hobby.
C.Life is a Hallmark card D.Memory in the childhood
Thomas Edison was one of ten said to be the greatest genius of his age. There are only a few men in all of the history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light. But Edison could never be happy only because someone said he was a genius. “There is no such thing as genius,” Edison said. He said that what people called genius was mostly hard work.
But Edison was a dreamer as well as a worker. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature. Nature, he often said, is full of secrets. He tried to understand them; then, he tried to learn what could usefully be done with them.
Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people will do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking can give men enjoyment and pleasure.
Edison could not understand how anyone could be uninterested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what ideas he had about life. “Work,” he answered. “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.
1.Edison thought ____________.
A.he could be happy if he was a genius
B.genius plays the most important part in one’s success
C.hard work could do better than genius
D.genius could do better than hard work
2.Edison was _____________.
A.very much interested in nature
B.interested in discovering the secrets of nature
C.interested in changing people’s ideas
D.uninterested in making people happier by discovering the secrets of nature
3.In Edison’s opinion, ______________.
A.thinking can supply people with enjoyment and pleasure as well as help
B.people’s success lies mostly in genius
C.hard work is the second important thing in making people successful
D.there are few secrets for him to discover later
4.The last sentence in the passage most probably implies __________.
A.life is too short for Edison to invent more for human beings
B.Edison made 100 inventions in his life
C.Edison was able to live and work for 100 years
D.people of his time were ready to give Edison another 100 years’ work
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Where: Becket, Massachusetts
When: June 15-Aug. 24
Each summer, this influential dance center presents a number of classes and performances by more than 50 companies from around the world. Highlights (最精彩的部分) this season include the Dance Theater of Harlem's production of Alvin Ailey's “The Lark Ascending”, which opens the festival.
Many events are free. Ticketed performances start at $22. jacobspillow.org.
Moab Music Festival
Where: Moab, Utah
When: Aug. 29-Sept. 9
This area is better known for mountain biking than for music. But since 1992, it has hosted a private festival that brings classical, jazz, Latin and other types of music to the land. This year there will be 16 concerts, including three “Grotto Concerts”, where guests take a 45-minute boat ride down the Colorado River to performances.
Events start at $25. moabmusicfest.org.
Cheyenne Frontier Days
Where: Cheyenne, Wyoming
When: July 19-28
There's something for everyone at this 117-year-old festival, from an “Indian village” and Old West museum to country concerts. But the competition is still the main attraction, with cowboys and cowgirls competing for major money in the world's largest outdoor stage.
Competition tickets start at $18, and concert tickets at $23. cfdrodeo.com.
The Glimmerglass Festival
Where: Cooperstown, New York
When: July 6-Aug. 24
Each summer, opera lovers from around the country (and the world) travel to upstate New York to watch productions that include stars like Nathan Gunn and Ginger Costa-Jackson. This year's performances include Wagner's “The Flying Dutchman” and Verdi's “King for a Day”, in honor of the 200th birthdays of both composers (作曲家).
Tickets start at $26. glimmerglass.org.
1.If you want to enjoy a “Grotto Concert”, which date suits you best?
A.June 15. B.July 19.
C.August 24. D.September 4.
2.If you go to Cheyenne to watch a competition and enjoy a concert, how much will you pay at least?
A.$18. B.$22.
C.$36. D.$41.
3.If you are a big fan of Wagner, you're advised to go to _____.
A.Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
B.the Glimmerglass Festival
C.Cheyenne Frontier Days
D.Moab Music Festival
假设你是李华，为迎接即将来访的美国某中学生代表团，你校决定举办英语讲故事比赛。请你为校 英语报写一则通知，内容包括：
1. 比赛时间和目的；
2. 比赛内容中国传统文化故事；
3. 报名截止日期。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Notice
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Student Union
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（A)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
It was raining light when I got up yesterday. After quick breakfast, I took an umbrella with me and went to school in a hurry. It was fifteen minutes after school began. I was running quickly while I saw an old man walking slowly in the rain. I stopped, wondered whether to help him or not, as I might be late to school. Then I made a decision to walk with him home. About ten minutes late, we arrived at his house. He thanked me again and again. I smiled and said it was nothing. I was late when I got to school. Hearing his story, the head teacher, that was giving his lecture, praised me before all the students.
