The global figures reveal that even the Americans put Britain to shame when it comes to taking exercise. Britain has one of the most sedentary populations on the earth, with almost twice the proportion of people defined as “inactive” as in neighboring France. In the UK, 63.3 percent of the population fails to meet recommended levels of physical activity, increasing their risk of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. By contrast, 40.5 percent of US citizens are inactive, despite more than 30 percent of them being obese.
Now, there’s good news. Smart foods that tell the brain you have eaten enough could hold the key to beating obesity, researchers have claimed. They hope the foods will contain a special chemical which mimics (模仿) the message our gut (肠道) sends to the brain when it is full. By sending the message earlier, the brain can be fooled into not overeating. “We know nutrients interact with gut cells, which send chemical messengers——hormones —— to the brain to signal ‘stomach full’,” Dr. Jens Holst said.
This message from our food to gut to brain is now being used to fight obesity. Holst discovered GLP1, which acts on parts of the brain that regulate appetite. “There is a raft of hormones, which will tend to help end a meal,” said Dr. Holst. “We don’t know much about which nutrients are involved and whether we can handle how food interacts with those signaling systems and how those systems are integrated(整合) at different levels in the brain.”
The team hopes their research could lead to drugs which mimic the message, and hopes to eventually make food that can also contain the messages. “It would be even better if we could come up with smart foods,” said Holst.
1.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “sedentary” in Paragraph 1?
A. Proud. B. Inactive.
C. Silent. D. Energetic.
2.What message could smart foods probably tell the brain?
A. Which food tastes good.
B. When to stop eating.
C. How to get enough nutrition.
D. How to live a healthy life.
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A. Smart foods still have a long way to go.
B. Dr. Holst doesn’t think highly of smart foods.
C. There will be more and more overweight people.
D. It’s fashionable to stay slim at present.
Daydreaming was viewed as a waste of time. Or it was considered an unhealthy escape from real life and its duties. Daydreaming has always had a bad reputation, but now scientific research has showed that daydreaming may actually improve your mental health and creativity. It can even help you achieve your desired goals.
Now some people are taking a fresh look at daydreaming. Some think it may be a very healthy thing to do. Researchers are finding daydreaming, they tell us, is a good means of relaxation. But its benefits go beyond this. A number of psychologists have conducted experiments and have reached some surprising conclusions.
Dr. Joan T. Freyberg has concluded that daydreaming contributes to intellectual growth. It also improves concentration, attention span, and the ability to get along with others, she says. In an experiment with school children, the same researcher found that daydreaming led the children to pay more attention to details. They had more happy feelings. They worked together better. Another researcher reported that daydreaming seemed to produce improved selfcontrol and creative abilities.
But that’s only part of the story. The most remarkable thing about daydreaming may be its usefulness in shaping our future lives as we want them to be. Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser believed that much of his success was due to the positive use of daydreaming. He maintained that “you can imagine your future”. Florence Nightingale dreamed of becoming a nurse. The young Thomas Edison pictured himself as an inventor. For these famous achievers, it appears that their daydreams came true.
Of course daydreaming is no substitute(代替者) for hard work. You have to work hard to develop skills. Daydreaming alone can’t turn you into your heart’s desire. But in combination with the more usual methods of selfdevelopment, it might make a critical difference. And who knows: You might see your own daydreams come true.
1.From the scientific research, a few minutes’ daydreaming will ________.
A. relieve stress effectively
B. improve grades
C. escape from real life and duties
D. gain a positive attitudes towards exams
2.According to Dr. Joan T. Freyberg, daydreaming can ________.
A. reduce failure in examinations
B. help rapid and continuous physical growth
C. improve selfcontrol and creative abilities
D. benefit improvement of concentration
3.What does “the story” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A. The attention. B. The conclusion.
C. The contribution. D. The concentration.
4.Nightingale and Edison are examples to explain that daydreaming probably ________.
A. earns a good reputation
B. takes the place of hard work
C. pictures future profession
D. turns the desire into reality
You probably have heard of comic book heroes like Superman, Batman and Spiderman. But what about Tom, the motorbike shop owner, Joe Knight and Karen Berman?
Tom, Joe and Karen are all characters in a comic book. But Mr. Knight and Ms. Berman are real people. In 2006, they wrote a book called Financial Intelligence —— a manager’s guide to knowing what the numbers really mean. It was written for people who need to learn quickly about finance (财政). The book explains, in simple ways, oftencomplex methods of keeping financial information. It became a bestseller.
Recently a comic book, which provides the same information as Financial Intelligence in easytounderstand picture form, is published by Smarter Comics. This book consists of a textbook and a graphic(插画的) novel. It tells the story of Tom, a repairman who must quickly learn how to direct the motorbike repair shop his father founded. Tom has no experience with finance, and is struggling with the business. Joe Knight and Karen Berman help him. Artist Dave Wachter drew pictures for the comic book.
Franco Arda, the founder and head of Smarter Comics, formerly worked as an investment banker. He started the company almost three years ago with his own money. He wanted to create educational comics that increase understanding. “I think almost everybody understands the phrase ‘a picture says a thousand words’, so, I mean, probably 90 percent of us grew up with comics and they understand that comics help us to learn a concept much quicker than text alone,” he said. “Within an hour, you can get the idea of finance with this book very quickly and not in a boring way. Once you get these pictures, you get the basic knowledge of finance.”
“The new comic book is available in paperback(平装本). There will also be versions for iPad and iPhone users,” he added.
1.What’s the passage mainly about?
A. The development of ecomics.
B. A comic book about finance.
C. A popular book Financial Intelligence.
D. The story of the repairman Tom.
2.Which of the following about the “comic book” mentioned in Paragraph 3 is TRUE?
A. It was written by Mr. Knight and Ms. Berman.
B. It was made for those eager to master finance in a short time.
C. It was one of the bestsellers in 2006.
D. Its main idea is how to run a bicycle shop.
3.According to the passage, we can learn that Franco Arda ________.
A. is the writer of Financial Intelligence
B. read a lot of financial books in the past
C. can finish reading Financial Intelligence within an hour
D. was probably influenced by comic books in his childhood
4.What can we know from the passage?
A. Comic book heroes, like Superman, were created by Franco Arda.
B. Tom is a character of the book Financial Intelligence.
C. People will read comic books through emedia in the future.
D. Financial Intelligence tells many simple methods of running a business.
It’s hard to talk to Dad sometimes. His silence about his feelings and thoughts made him mysterious and hard to see through. You could never break his hard shell and get to know him. And he seemed to want to stay that way too.
But a year ago when my relationship with my wife and career took a hit, I needed my dad to pull back the curtain so I could see him as real and accessible. I was facing serious problems, and I wanted to know whether he had faced them before and how he had found his way, because I felt like I had lost mine. In desperation, it occurred to me that sending an email might be the key, so I wrote him one, telling him about my regrets and fears, and I asked him to answer, if he felt like it.
Two weeks later, it showed up in my inbox: a muchthought, threepage letter. Dad, a 68yearold retired technologist and grandfather of four, had carefully considered my message, and crafted a response. He mentioned his lost love, the foolish mistake he made in career and the stupid pride he had between him and his parents. He comforted me that “life will still find its right track despite many of its twists and turns”.
I closed the email and started to cry, because I wished I had opened it up earlier but was grateful it wasn’t too late. I cried because at first, in the midst of my own struggles, his letter instantly put me at ease. And I cried because in the end, it was so simple: I just had to hit “Send”.
We’ve since had many email exchanges. This increasing communication opened a door into his world. My problems haven’t been magically solved, but getting to know my dad better has made the tough stuff more manageable and life sweeter. It’s hard to talk to Dad sometimes, but I’m glad I found a way to talk to mine.
1.The author’s dad can be best described as ________.
A. quiet and caring
B. optimistic and careless
C. selfish and lonely
D. indifferent and serious
2.The underlined part in Paragraph 2 can be best replaced by “________”.
A. draw the curtain
B. become more optimistic
C. show his true self
D. clear the misunderstanding
3.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. Communication Is the Best Policy.
B. Emails from My Dad.
C. A Man of Few Words.
D. My Mysterious Dad.
4.Which of the following is NOT true?
A. My dad’s email was quickly written.
B. I was moved when reading the email.
C. The email contained much information.
D. I wished I could have consulted him earlier.
一位网名为Joe的人因与好朋友发生争执而苦恼，在国外某交友网站上发帖求助。请你用英文给他回复，内容主要包括：
1. 表示安慰和鼓励； 2. 你的建议。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头已给出，但不计入总词数。
Hi, Joe. I have read about your situation.
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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（∧），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 Grandma's birthday yesterday. Father, Mother and I go to visit her. She lives with my uncle in the villages not too far away from our house. In the earlier morning, we bought some presents and got here by bus. Grandma and Uncle was very glad to see us. We gave the presents for Grandma and she was very much happy. Then parents helped Uncle prepare lunch. I talked excited with Grandma about my studies and other things. At 4 o'clock in an afternoon, we said goodbye and went back home.
