根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
A stress ball is a small ball designed to help relieve stress by exercising the muscles in the hand. Actually, a stress ball does not necessarily have to be shaped like a ball. 1. The main characteristic is that it can fit easily in a hand, and it is changeable, allowing a user to squeeze it out of shape while providing some resistance to force the muscles of the hand to work.
2. Squeezing a stress ball while imagining a reduction in stress is a frequently-recommended stress management tool for people in demanding jobs. Stress balls are often given away at conferences and other corporate events as promotional tools, reflecting their widespread use.
In addition to this, a stress ball can be useful for physical strain. Physical therapists use a very similar tool to help people flex and stretch the muscles in their hands. Squeezing a stress ball can reduce the amount of strain associated with repetitive tasks like typing. 3. .
A variety of things can be used to fill a stress ball. The filling should be firm, with a bit of give to it, forcing people to work to deform the stress ball. You can make your own basic stress ball by filling a balloon with corn starch（淀粉）. Beans and plastic granules（颗粒） may also be used. 4. .
Using a stress ball doesn’t require any particular instructions or skills. 5. Repeated use of a stress ball can, of course, cause the same problems that other repetitive motions are associated with, but taking breaks from typing and other repetitive tasks to squeeze a stress ball a few times can be beneficial.
A. However, these fillings are less smooth.
B. Also, it can help to develop hand strength.
C. All you need to do is pick the ball and squeeze it.
D. A wide variety of shapes can be found on the market.
E. One of the best handmade gifts for men is a stress ball.
F. Stress balls are supposed to be very useful for mental stress relief.
G. This can be easily cured by keeping something like a stress ball in the hand.
No.6 Devon Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong a technology day camp for students 12-17
About Tech-Camp
Tech-Camp is a day camp with a focus on computers and electronics technology. We offer 2-week summer programmes for students of 12 to 17 years of age. We have a computer lab with the latest and fastest equipment, an electronics lab, and a video production studio. Our staff are special, too. They are experts in computers and electronics, of course, but they are also people who care about children and enjoy working with them.
The benefits of Tech-Camp
In all of our programmes, we show students how to work in teams and how to solve problems by themselves. We encourage them to think creatively.
What students will do at Tech-Camp
Each day Tech-camp is filled with useful, interesting and challenging activities. For example, in the Computer Programme, students learn the basic computer programming, and how to use the Internet. In the Tech-Camp Programme, they make radio-controlled model cars and produce their own short videos.
Programme | Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3 |
Computer Programme | 15 June-26 June | 15 June-26 June | 15 June-26 June |
High-tech Programme | 29 June-10 July | 27 July-7 August | 15 June-26 June |
Fee: HK $2,000 per student
(10% discount available for groups of 10 or more students.)
For more information about Tech-Camp, please contact Director of Summer Programmes, Ms Julia Brown, by phone, fax or e-mail.
Telephone: 26548898
Fax: 26948850
E-mail: juliab@techcamp.com.hk
1.What would you probably like to ask about if you phone Ms Julia Brown after reading the brochure?
A. The activities the students will have.
B. The fee each attendant should pay.
C. The e-mail address of Tech-Camp.
D. The deadline for application.
2.From the brochure we can infer that _______.
A. the Camp offers students accommodation during their two-week stay at the Camp
B. high school teachers are in charge of the Tech-Camp all the time
C. students can learn about the hi-tech through lectures given by the experts
D. students can learn how to think and solve problems creatively and learn teamwork
3.According to the passage, how much will they pay if a group of 20 students enter for Tech-Camp?
A. HK $36,000. B. HK $35,000.
C. HK $3,600. D. HK $40,000.
In many countries, schools have long summer holidays, with shorter holidays in between. However, a new report suggests shortening school holidays to stop children forgetting what they have learnt during the long summer break. Instead of three school terms, it says, there should be five eight-week terms. And there should be just four weeks off in the summer, with a two-week break between the other terms.
Sonia Montero has two children at primary school and works full-time. She supports the idea. “The kids,” she says, “have much longer holidays than me and I can’t afford to take several weeks off work, so I need someone to take care of them. But nobody wants the work in the summer months — they all have holidays of their own.”
Not surprisingly, some young people disagree. Student Jason Panos says “It’s a stupid idea. I would hate staying at school in the summer. It’s unfair, too. The people who suggest this had long school holidays when they were young, but now they want to stop us enjoying the summer. The kids in Spain and America have much longer holidays than here, but they don’t forget everything they’ve learnt in a few months.”
Nadia Salib agrees. “Sure,” she says, “the first week at school after the summer is never easy, but you soon get back into it. The real problem round here is that kids get bored after so many weeks out of school, and then some of them start causing trouble. But the answer is to give them something to do, not make everyone stay in school longer.”
1.Why is Sonia in support of shorter school holidays?
A. She doesn’t get any summer holidays in her job.
B. She is worried that her children will forget what they’ve learnt.
C. She can’t afford to pay someone to look after her children.
D. She can’t get anyone to look after her children in summer.
2.What does Jason say about long summer holidays?
A. They can help children forget about school.
B. Schools in other countries don’t have them.
C. These days many older people have them too.
D. They have little influence on children’s education.
3.What does Nadia say about young people on summer holidays?
A. They would like to spend more time at school.
B. Long holidays are very bad for their education.
C. They need something to do to enrich themselves.
D. Long holidays should be shortened to stop them causing trouble.
4.Which of the following statements best explains the text?
A. It has been decided that summer holidays should be shortened.
B. Students are angry that school holidays have been changed.
C. Some people want to change school holidays but not everyone agrees.
D. Teenagers are worried that they will be busy during summer holidays.
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 and 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 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(辣椒素), the plant chemical that makes chili burn, mixed into them.
By comparing the answers to questionnaires and what participants said they felt about the spicy water. Researchers found that those who most tended 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 some people can withstand spicy food is that their tongue 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 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.
3.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.
4.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. What he or she likes to eat mainly decides on his or her personality.
B. That a person enjoys spicy food depends largely on the 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.
Jeremy was born with a twisted body, and terminal illness slowly killing him throughout his young life. Still, his parents had tried to give him as normal a life as possible and had sent him to St. Theresa's Elementary School.
At the age of 12, Jeremy was only in second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His teacher, Doris Miller, often became angry with him. He would often disturb the class by squirming（扭动） in his seat, drooling（流口水） and making grunting（呼噜声）noises. Doris had 18 other youngsters to teach and she didn’t want to waste time on Jeremy.
Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Doris told them of the story of Jesus, and stressed the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of them a large plastic egg. "Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?" "Yes, Miss Miller!" All the children responded except Jeremy. He just listened, his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual noises.
The next morning, the children came to school and placed their eggs in a large basket on Doris' desk. After they completed their Math lesson, it was time to open the eggs.
In the first egg, Doris found a flower. "Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life," she said. The next egg had a plastic beautiful butterfly in it. Then Doris opened the fourth egg. It was empty! Surely it must be Jeremy's she thought, and he did not understand the instructions.
She put that egg down so she wouldn’t embarrass him. Suddenly Jeremy spoke up and said "Aren't you going to talk about my egg?" Doris replied, "But Jeremy - your egg is empty!" He looked into her eyes and said softly, "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty too!"
Doris asked him, "Do you know why the tomb was empty?" "Oh yes!" Jeremy exclaimed. "Jesus was killed and put there. Then His Father raised Him up!"
After class the children excitedly ran out, but Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely away.
Three months later, Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the funeral were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of Jeremy’s casket, all of them empty.
1.What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A. Jeremy’s parents sent him to school.
B. Jeremy was badly ill.
C. Jeremy liked to go to school.
D. Jeremy lived a normal life.
2.From the third paragraph, we can infer that Jeremy _____________.
A. was absent-minded in class
B. slept in class as usual
C. made noises uncontrollably
D. listened to the teacher attentively
3.Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the text?
A. In one of the eggs is a flower.
B. Jeremy didn’t understand his teacher’s instructions.
C. In one of the eggs is a butterfly.
D. There was nothing in Jeremy’s egg.
4.What’s the best title of the passage?
A. Disabled Jeremy
B. A special class
C. Doris and her students
D. Jeremy’s empty egg
书面表达
假设你是李华，你所在的学校英文报刊向全体高二学生征稿，主题是“环境保护”，你有意参加此次活动。请根据下列要点完成一篇英语作文。
1．低碳(low-carbon)生活对我们的好处。
2．日常生活，我们可以做些什么(如居家，出行，在校或购物等时候)。
注意：
1．词数100左右.
2．可以适当增减细节，以使行文连贯。
