We keep reading that TV is bad for you. If this is true, how come the current generation of TV-addicted kids is much smarter than we are? In my home, the only people who can work the remote control are the children.
Perhaps TV does educate you. For example, you learn a useful medical fact: A person who has been shot always has time to speak an incomplete sentence before he dies. “The killer was…” (dies)
But I guess the biggest things we learn from TV can be regarded as “Life Skills”. Bad things only happen on dark and stormy nights. Emotional breakdowns cause people to wander in the heavy rain without umbrellas. And contrary to what scientists say, the crack(霹雳) of lightning and the accompanying flash happen at exactly the same time, wherever you are.
I’ve even acquired useful geographical facts from science-fiction shows: Aliens speak English no matter which planet they come from.
Making use of what we learn from TV can improve our security. Consider these truths. If you are ever attacked by 20 bad guys, don’t worry about being outnumbered. The criminals will hang back and take turns to approach you in ones and twos just so you can conveniently defeat them all. Bad guys who are completely covered in black clothes always remove their black masks to reveal that they are in fact, aha, women.
TV also teaches us important information about escaping from danger. Watch and learn. (1) If anyone is running after you down a passage, you will find that boxes have been conveniently placed near all the walls you need to jump over. (2) If you are tall and handsome, you can run from any number of armed criminals, and every shot will miss you.
Be warned, however. If your name card says “henchman” (帮凶) and you are part of a group of plain-looking people trying to catch a handsome individual, a single shot will kill you. But don’t be anxious: TV also delivers useful information for bad guys. All cars are inflammable (易燃的) and have amazing shock absorbers that enable them to fly into the air and land without damage — except police cars.
TV even teaches us about TV. Whenever anyone turns on a TV, it shows a news flash about someone they know. They then turn the box off immediately after that news item.
1.By saying “A person who has been shot always has time to speak an incomplete sentence
before he dies” (Paragraph 2), the writer shows his________.
A. humor B. sympathy
C. deep concern D. medical knowledge
2.We can infer from Paragraph 3 that in the real world_______.
A. bad things cause people to break down in the rain
B. bad things never happen on dark and stormy nights
C. people with emotional problems like to walk in the rain without umbrellas
D. the crack of lightning and the accompanying flash don’t happen at the same time
3.On TV what usually happens when a person turns it on?
A. The news shown is always about someone the person knows.
B. The person always turns off the TV when it’s time for news.
C. The program shown is always about the importance of TV.
D. TV always shows news about famous people.
4.What’s the main idea of this passage?
A. Life skills can be learned from TV.
B. TV plays an important role in society.
C. Watching TV makes people more creative.
D. What happens in TV is very different from reality.
One of the most widely accepted, commonly repeated assumptions (假设) in our culture is that if you exercise, you will lose weight. I exercise all the time, but I still have gut fat that hangs over my belt when I sit. Why isn’t all the exercise getting rid of it?
It’s a question many of us could ask. More than 45 million Americans now belong to a health club, up from 23 million in 1993. We spend some $19 billion a year on gym memberships. Of course, some people join and never go. Still, as one major study — the Minnesota Heart Survey — found, more of us at least say we exercise regularly.
And yet obesity (肥胖) figures have risen sharply in the same period: a third of Americans are obese, and another third count as overweight by the Federal Government’s definition. Yes, it’s entirely possible that those of us who regularly go to the gym would weigh even more if we exercised less. But like many other people, I get hungry after I exercise, so I often eat more on the days I work out than on the days I don’t. Could exercise actually be keeping me from losing weight?
The popular belief that exercise is essential for weight control is actually fairly new. As recently as the 1960s, doctors routinely advised against too much exercise, particularly for older adults who could injure themselves. Today doctors encourage even their oldest patients to exercise, which is sound advice for many reasons: People who regularly exercise are at significantly lower risk for all manner of diseases — those of the heart in particular. They less often develop cancer and many other illnesses. But the past few years of obesity research show that the role of exercise in weight loss has been wildly over-evaluated.
“In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless,” says Eric Ravussin, exercise researcher at Louisiana State University. Many recent studies have found that exercise isn’t as important in helping people lose weight as you hear so regularly in gym advertisements or on shows like The Biggest Loser — or, for that matter, from magazines like this one.
The basic problem is that while it’s true that exercise burns calories and that you must burn calories to lose weight, exercise has another effect: it can make one hungry. That causes us to eat more, which in turn can negate (使无效) the weight-loss benefits we just gained. Exercise, in other words, isn’t necessarily helping us lose weight. It may even be making it harder.
1. From the passage we learn that ____.
A. some Americans join a health club but never go there
B. the number of overweight people has doubled since 1993
C. more than 45 million Americans now go to the gym regularly
D. Americans waste too much money each year on sports
2. According to the passage, exercise ____.
A. has long been believed to be good for older adults
B. is not properly advertised as an effective way to lose weight
C. was first recognized as an effective way to lose weight in the 1960s
D. is less effective in preventing heart disease than what doctors believe
3.According to the writer, people might gain weight because ____.
A. they have the habit of going to the gym regularly
B. they eat the same food when they do not exercise
C. they exercise less than required by doctors
D. they eat more after they exercise
4.What may be the best title for this passage?
A. Overweight Is Not Good for Your Health
B. Exercise Won’t Make You Thin
C. Gym Is Part of American Lifestyle
D. Obesity Is a Social Problem in America
Below is some advice on how to prevent colds and flu.
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8 Ways to Avoid Colds and Flu 1. Wash your hands and wash them often The US Naval Health Research Center conducted a study of 40,000 volunteers who were ordered to wash their hands five times a day. The volunteers cut their incidence of flu by 45 percent. 2. Wash your hands twice every time you wash them Researchers at Columbia University found one hand washing had little effect, even when using antibacterial soap. So wash twice if you’re serious about preventing colds. 3. Change your toothbrush every three months You think your toothbrush gets your teeth clean — and it does. But once you’ve finished brushing, it can be a breeding ground for germs. Most dentists recommend you change your brush every two or three months. It’s also a good idea to replace it after you’ve had a cold or flu. 4. Sneeze and cough into your arm or tissue (纸巾) Whoever taught us to cover our mouths when we cough or sneeze got it wrong. That just puts the germs right on our hands, where you can spread them to objects — and other people. Instead, put your arm over your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough if a tissue isn’t handy. It’s pretty rare that you shake someone’s arm, after all. 5. Stop blaming yourself when things go wrong Believe it or not, blaming yourself makes you more likely to catch a cold! Researchers found that even those who had control over their work were more likely to begin sneezing if they lacked confidence or tended to blame themselves when things went wrong. Such attitudes make people more stressed on the job, and stress, as you know, can challenge your immune system. 6. Once a day, sit in a quiet, dim room, close your eyes, and focus on one word Meditate (冥想). It is a proven way to reduce stress. Studies have shown that stress weakens your immune system. In fact, people with high stress levels have up to twice the number of colds as non-stressed people. 7. Get moving Ride a bike, join a dance class, or go for a walk. A study found that older women who did 45 minutes of gentle exercise, five times a week for a year, were up to three times less likely to get a cold than women who took little exercise. The researchers found that the exercisers’ immune system was strongest in the last three months of the study. 8. Leave the windows in your house open a crack You don’t have to keep all of them open, but one or two in the rooms in which you spend the most time. This is particularly important if you live in a newer home, where fresh circulating air has been the victim of energy efficiency. A bit of fresh air will do wonders for chasing out germs. |
1.To prevent yourself from getting colds, you should wash your hands____.
A. twice every hour B. twice every time
C. five times every hour D. five times every time
2.When you cough or sneeze, you should ____.
A. put your hands over your mouth
B. avoid shaking hands with other people
C. cover your mouth with your arm or a tissue
D. keep away from other people
3.Your immune system will be weakened if ____.
A. your stress level is high
B. your room is not bright
C. you have control over your work
D. you do not exercise for 45 minutes every day
4.If you live in a new house, it is particularly important to ____.
A. leave all the windows open a crack
B. leave only one or two windows open to save energy
C. keep one or two windows open in the rooms where you spend the most time
D. keep all the doors and windows open to let in more fresh air when you are at home
Some people would go through anything just to achieve their dream. Kasia Siwosz is proof. For the final year student on the university women’s tennis team, the road to Berkeley, University of California was met with poor advice and misinformation from her home country and two unsuccessful stops along the way that fell short of expectations.
Born in Poland, Siwosz began playing tennis at seven years old and developed the skills that helped her earn a top-50 ranking among the ITF Junior division (国际网球联会青少年赛).. Siwosz wanted to do more with her life than just play tennis, which led her to seek chances that would also allow her to obtain a top education. While most who grow up in the U.S. are naturally accustomed to the American tradition of collegiate (大学的) sports, such a custom is not as familiar in a country like Poland. “There’s no collegiate sports in Poland and no culture of sports and academic (学术的) study there. You can only do one, not both,” Siwosz said.
Her desire to have a quality education led her to America to follow her dream. While Siwosz was talented enough to begin her collegiate tennis career, she could only attend community college because she missed the deadline to apply to four-year schools, mainly due to misinformation provided in her home country of Poland.
When she had earned all her credits and was able to transfer (转学), Siwosz made the decision to attend Baylor in Texas. Her friends from Poland put in a good word for the university, saying that it was a good fit because there were many international players at Baylor. “I thought it would be a good idea, but it really wasn’t what I thought it would be,” Siwosz said. “I wasn’t happy at Baylor. The level of tennis was high, but the academic standards were no match and I just wanted more.”
After one year at Baylor, Siwosz’s luck finally began to change when she made the decision to transfer to Berkeley, which was due in large part to Lee, a former Berkeley student. Lee, who is a keen tennis player himself, met Siwosz four years ago in Texas. “I knew she was unhappy there,” he said. “I saw the opportunity for her to come here.” Siwosz visited Lee in Berkeley. “I ended up loving this place and this school,” Siwosz said. “I came here a lot over the summer, I gave it a shot and I ended up with a Berkeley education and a spot on one of the best college tennis teams in the country.”
1.What does “two unsuccessful stops” (Paragraph 1) refer to?
A. Poland and the U.S.
B. Baylor and Berkeley.
C. The community college and Baylor.
D. The ITF Junior division and the Berkeley tennis team.
2.Why did Siwosz want to leave her homeland for America?
A. Poland had no culture of sports.
B. Berkeley had always been her dream university.
C. She wanted to play tennis and have a good education.
D. She wanted to improve her tennis skills and get a higher ranking.
3. Why did she leave Baylor?
A. The level of tennis there was not high.
B. It was not suitable for international students.
C. She couldn’t get along with her friends there.
D. She was not satisfied with the education level there.
4. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. How Siwosz left Poland.
B. How Siwosz realized her dream.
C. How Siwosz became a top tennis player.
D. How Siwosz transferred from Baylor to Berkeley.
Steve, a twelve-year-old boy with alcoholic parents, was failing. Surprisingly, he could read, yet, 21 his reading skills, Steve had been failing since first grade. Steve was a big boy, yet, he went unnoticed... 22 Miss White.
Miss White was a smiling, beautiful, young lady. For the first time in his 23 life, Steve couldn’t take his eyes off his teacher; yet, 24 he failed. In the middle of the first term, the entire seventh grade was 25 for basic skills. Steve hurried through his tests, and 26 to dream of other things, as the day passed slowly. One day, Miss White’s 27 voice broke into his daydreams. “Steve!” Startled (吓了一跳), he 28 to look at her. “Pay attention!” She began to 29 the test results. “You all did pretty well,” she told the class, “ 30 one boy, and it breaks my 31 to tell you this, but...” She hesitated, pinning Steve to his seat with a sharp 32 . “... The smartest boy in the seventh grade is failing my class!”
After that, Steve still 33 do his homework. “Just try it,” Miss White said one day. “Steve! Please! I care about you!” Wow! Suddenly, Steve got it! Someone cared about him? Someone, so beautiful and perfect, cared about him! Steve went home from school, 34 , that afternoon.
The following Monday he arrived at school on time, and waited for Miss White to enter the classroom. She walked in, all sparkle and smiles! Immediately, she gave a 35 on the weekend homework. Steve was the first to 36 his paper. With a look of 37 , Miss White took his paper. Steve walked back to his desk, his heart beating strongly within his chest.
Miss White’s face was in total 38 ! Suddenly, her face broke into a bright smile. The smartest boy in the seventh grade had just 39 his first test! From that moment 40 was the same for Steve.
1.A. in honor of B. in spite of C. in addition to D. in case of
2.A. to B. before C. until D. upon
3.A. rich B. young C. fresh D. simple
4.A. still B. even C. also D. forever
5.A. observed B. corrected C. selected D. tested
6.A. struggled B. agreed C. continued D. declared
7.A. cheerful B. impatient C. enthusiastic D. shy
8.A. decided B. managed C. turned D. forgot
9.A. go over B. run over C. turn over D. hand over
10.A. except for B. due to C. as for D. up to
11.A. will B. record C. heart D. back
12.A. pain B. stare C. sense D. contrast
13.A. wouldn’t B. couldn’t C. mustn’t D. shouldn’t
14.A. amused B. doubtful C. approved D. thoughtful
15.A. survey B. speech C. report D. quiz
16.A. give up B. hand in C. turn down D. come across
17.A. respect B. curiosity C. surprise D. fear
18.A. victory B. shock C. sadness D. confidence
19.A. escaped B. taken C. missed D. passed
20.A. nothing B. something C. anything D. everything
He is not native, if he were, we _______ this discussion over his identity.
A. would not be having B. are not having
C. had not had D. will not have
