Most people will tell you that they can’t work without a cup of coffee in the morning. Research has shown that a cup of coffee does give a person slight excitement.
Legend said that Kaldi, an Ethiopian, found his goats happier while enjoying coffee plants. Curiously, he tasted the leaves and began to dance around. Whether the Legend was true or not, the discovery of coffee dates back to 800A. D. Soon Arabians were roasting coffee beans. Muslims were drinking coffee to stay awake by 1000 A.D. A merchant from Venice introduced coffee to Europe in 1615. By 1696, the Dutch started growing the coffee bush in Java. By 1723, coffee plants were introduced to the Americans. Today, coffee is the most popular drink in the world.
Caffeine is the major chemical in coffee. It blocks(阻止) adenosine, a chemical that makes you sleepy. People can get a pick-me-up or stimulation(刺激) from the drink. The stimulation does not last long. Caffeine poisoning can occur if more than 400 milligrams of caffeine is drunk in a short period, which is about four to five cups of coffee. Caffeine will also cause sleep difficulty, so it should not be drunk before bed.
Caffeine has many advantages. Studies have shown that it helps improve some skills in elderly women. Women who drank three cups of coffee daily scored higher on memory tests than women who drank one cup of coffee. According to newser.com, one cup of coffee a day protects the brain. Coffee also can help people keep away from many diseases according to webmd.com.
Large amounts of coffee can cause nervousness, worries and a fast heartbeat. However, if you mix coffee with milk, it’s fine. Caffeine can be addictive like any drug. The more you drink, the more you depend on it. For some people, just one cup of coffee a day is OK.
1.Who found the most popular drink in the world according to the Legend?
A. An Ethiopian.B. Arabians.
C. Muslims.D. The Dutch.
2.When was the coffee introduced to Europe?
A. In the 1710s.B. In the 1610s.
C. In the 1690s.D. In the 1720s.
3.From the third paragraph we can learn ___________.
A. caffeine can make people sleepy
B. adenosine can make people awake
C. about four to five cups of coffee will cause sleep difficulty
D. coffee is considered harmful if it is taken in a large amount
4.The fourth paragraph mainly tells us ___________.
A. the importance of coffeeB. the good effects of coffee
C. the bad effects of coffeeD. the development of coffee
5. If you like drinking coffee, you had better_______.
A. drink it before bedB. give up this bad habit
C. drink one cup of coffee a dayD. drink more coffee than milk
The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th World Cup, which is expected to take place between June 12 and July 13,2014 in Brazil. It will be the second time for the country to host the competition, the first being the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Brazil will become the fifth country to have hosted the Fifa World Cup twice, after Mexico, Italy, France and Germany.
Brazil is the greatest football nation in the world. There are 100 million Brazilians. How many of them are football fans? 100 million! All of them think that they know all about football. This makes life very difficult for the Brazilian team manager. When things go badly for the Brazilian team, the newspaper would demand (要求)that the team manager should leave his job. “If we win, they put me in heaven(天堂),”as a manager once said, “If we lose, they put me in hell(地狱).”
You can’t escape football in Brazil. There are football matches on every street and beach. On television, the results of the football matches come before the main news programs. There are six television Channels in Rio de Janeiro(里约日内卢). On Sundays each channel shows a different football match.
Brazil is not the richest country in the world,but the government spends much money on football. It cost more than one billion pounds to prepare for the 1950 World Cup. That’s 10 pounds for every Brazilian. And many Brazilians don’t earn as much as 10 pounds a week. Is it worth it?
“Brazil must have a great football team.” says one reporter. “If it costs one billion pounds, that’s all right. If the government doesn’t give a good football team, then it will become unpopular. Football is more than a game in Brazil.”
1.Which of the following countries hasn’t hosted the FIFA World Cup twice yet so far?
A. MexicoB. Italy
C. FranceD. Brazil
2.It is the that come before the main news programs on television.
A. football matches
B. results of football matches
C. football matches on the streets
D. football matches on the beaches
3.The underlined sentence means “In Brazil .”
A. people like football very much,
B. there is something else in football.
C. People like competition.
D. football has influences on the politics(政治)and economy(经济)of the nation.
Birthdays are celebrated all over the world. Some ways to celebrate birthdays are rather similar from county to country---candles, cakes and birthday wishes. But there are also different ways to celebrate birthdays. Here are a few:
Denmark
A flag is flown outside a window to show that someone who lives in the house is having a birthday. Presents are placed around the child’s bed while he is sleeping so he will see them at once when he wakes up. |
India Usually Indian children wear white to school. However, on their birthdays, children wear colored clothes to school and give out chocolate to everyone in the class. Their best friends help them to do this. |
Japan
The birthday child wears new clothes to mark the special time. Certain birthdays are more important than others. These are the third and seventh for girls and fifth for boys. | Holland
The birthday child receives an especially large present. The family also puts flowers on the birthday child’s chair to make it beautiful. |
1.When someone is having a birthday in Denmark, what can you see outside the window?
A. flowersB. presents
C. a flagD. a chair
2.Flowers are put on the chair of the birthday child in .
A. JapanB. Denmark
C. IndiaD. Holland
3.In India, birthday children .
A. give out chocolate to their classmates
B. share chocolate with their best friends
C. go to school in white clothes
D. wear new clothes to mark the special time
A young, rich girl was getting ready bed when she a low crying coming her window. She went over to the window and leaned out, girl was standing there. It was a cold winter, but the girl had no quilt(被子), only old newspapers. The rich girl suddenly came up with a helpful idea. She told her to go to her front door. The homeless girl was and she could only manage .There she gave her a(an) quilt and a pillow(枕头). Watching the true happiness alight(点亮) upon the other girl’s face, she went to bed happily.
The next morning a knock came on the door. The rich girl flew to the door. She opened it and found the little girl. Her face looked , and she smiled,. “I you want these back.” The rich little girl opened her mouth just saying that she could keep them when another idea appeared in her mind ,” “Yes , I want them back. “The homeless girl said , “Thank you!”, laid down the things , and turned to leave when the rich girl shouted, “ Wait! Stay right there.” She saw the rich girl up the stairs and then turn back quickly. She brought a new quilt and a pillow to her. “ Have these,” she said . These were her own personal belongs( 所有物 ) silk and down feathers.
One day, the rich girl , was now a rich woman got a call from a lawyer (律师 ), who told her: Forty years ago , when she was nine years old ,she helped a girl in need. That girl grew into a woman with a husband. She had recently died and left something for her in her will: It was a new pillow with diamonds and a wool quilt with gold thread(线).
1.A.toB. forC. inD. with
2.A.listenedB. listened toC. heardD. heard of
3.A.throughB. acrossC. crossD. over
4.A.The otherB. OtherC. OthersD. Another
5.A.surpriseB. surprisingC. surprisedD. surprises
6.A.noddingB. noddedC. to nodD. nods
7.A.oldB. newC. bigD. small
8.A.sadB. happyC. sadlyD. happily
9.A.tellB. wishC. supposeD. know
10.A.runsB. runningC. ranD. run
11.A.sadB. sadlyC. quietD. quietly
12.A.is made ofB. made ofC. is made fromD. made from
13.A.whichB. whomC. whoD. what
14.A.littleB. fewC. richD. small
15.A.poorB. richC. homelessD. good
----Sandy, it’s really grateful for your help with my physics.
----My pleasure. ____________.
A. Many hands make light work
B. It was better to be safe than sorry
C. The early bird catches the worm
D. That’s what friends are for
—Linda, I called you this morning, but nobody answered the phone.
—I'm sorry. I football with my friends then.
A. play B. played
C. am playingD. was playing
