Over the years, Brian Wansink, director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University, has studied such things as how far Americans typically drive to buy food, how many times we refill our plates at all-you-can-eat buffets and how we organize our kitchens. In the mid-2000s he famously coined the phrase “mindless eating”(and wrote a book by that name) to focus attention on all the bad dietary decisions we make without really thinking about them.
His new book, Slim by Design: Mindless Eating Solutions for Everyday Life, aims to change the design of restaurants, school lunchrooms, office cafeterias and homes so that the mindless choices we make will be more healthful ones. Some examples:
Keep kitchen counters clear. No visible snack food, no bread, no nuts — not even breakfast cereal. In Wansink’s research, “women who had even one box of breakfast cereal that was visible — anywhere in their kitchen — weighed 21 pounds more than their neighbor who didn’t.”
Trick yourself into drinking less wine. “We tend to focus on the height of what we pour and not the width, so we pour 12 percent less wine into taller wineglasses than we pour into wider wineglasses.” And the shape of the glass is not the only variable that affects how much we drink. Wansink writes: “Because red wine is easier to see than white wine, we pour 9 percent less red wine whenever we pour a glass.”
Wansink said his researchers also found that people ate less at restaurants when sat in well-lighted areas near windows and doors, than in darker areas or in the back. They ate less if they were offered a doggie bag, or to-go box, before they got their meals: apparently the idea of getting a “free” second meal outweighed the impulse (冲动) to clean their plates. Workers who frequently ate at their desks weighed 15.4 pounds less, on average, than those who didn’t. Fruits and vegetables kept on the top shelf of the refrigerator were eaten at higher rates than those on lower shelves.
The point, Wansink says, is to consider findings like those and change your environment or habits. Then you won’t have to think about it: You’ll just eat less.
1.Why did Brian Wansink write Slim by Design: Mindless eating Solutions for Everyday Life?
A. Because he wanted people to become thin.
B. Because he wished to change the design of dining places.
C. Because he hoped to coin a new phrase “mindless eating”.
D. Because he intended to help people make more healthful dietary decision.
2.According to Wansink, which of the following affects the amount of wine we drink ____.
A. the shape of wineglasses B. the color of wineglasses
C. the taste of wine D. the quality of wine
3.The underlined phrase a “doggie bag” in paragraph 5 probably means ____.
A. a bag for carrying dogs B. a box for takeaway food
C. a container for leftovers D. a bag for carrying dog food
4.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Changing environment or habits of eating will help you eat less.
B. Eating fruits and vegetables is better for your health.
C. Keeping your kitchen counter clear of any food will help make you thin.
D. Many people eat or drink too much without paying attention to it.
Charlie is a teacher and his wife, Maria is an artist. The night before last, just before the longest day of the year, Charlie was sitting in a deckchair enjoying the warm summer air when Maria touched his shoulder and he could tell immediately she was a little worried about something. He asked her what the matter was and she replied that there was a strange thing on the jacket that was hanging in the bedroom. They had both lived in the West Indies (西印度群岛) and had seen a lot of strange creatures in their house before. But now they were living in England and so Charlie just laughed and said he would have a look at the “thing”.
He walked to the bedroom. He saw a jacket hanging in the bedroom and went up to it to have a closer look at the “thing”. The moment he touched it, the thing sprang into life. Now Charlie experiences fear like the rest of us but when this creature opened its wings, he jumped out of his skin and ran screaming from the room like a small child doing about 100 miles an hour.
For a moment the next-door neighbours thought that Charlie was murdering his wife because of the noise they could hear. In fact, it was a bat that frightened Charlie.
Eventually Charlie managed to trap the bat in a box and took it to the garden to let the bat fly. Maria, who had been playing the guitar while Charlie was upstairs, asked Charlie if he had found out what the thing was. “Oh, nothing to worry about”, he said casually hoping that the terror could not be seen in his eyes, “it was just a bat.”
1.Why was Maria a little worried one night?
A. Because she couldn't find her guitar. B. Because she saw something strange.
C. Because it was too hot for her. D. Because she had quarreled with her husband.
2.The underlined part “jumped out of his skin” in the second paragraph probably means ____.
A. stood up B. was very frightened
C. threw off his clothes D. was very excited
3.What happened to the bat?
A. It was killed by Charlie. B. It was badly wounded.
C. It was set free by Charlie. D. It was kept as a pet.
4.It can be inferred that ________.
A. Charlie was afraid that his wife would laugh at him if she knew the truth
B. the neighbours would report to the police about Charlie murdering the bat
C. the bat wouldn't come to Charlie's room again because it was frightened
D. Maria heard her husband screaming downstairs and became frightened
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.Why did Mark Twain’s friend ask him to buy a ticket for him?
A. He was a poor man. B. He had lost his money. C. Mark Twain was kind.
2.What was the friend doing when the conductor came to check the tickets?
A. He was lying on the seat. B. He was sitting on the seat. C. He was lying under the seat.
3.How many tickets did Mark Twain buy at all?
A. None. B. Only one. C. Two.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.What is Susan Welch?
A. A reporter. B. A tourist guide. C. A writer.
2.Which of the following is Pop World of BCD International about?
A. Paintings. B. Pop songs. C. Literature.
3.Which program gives the ideas behind the pop songs?
A. The History of Pop. B. About the Big Hits. C. The Road to Music.
4.What can we learn from the text?
A. It’s impossible for foreigners to understand most pop songs.
B. Pop Words is the listeners’ favorite program.
C. It’s difficult for native English speakers to understand some pop songs.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.What is the relationship between the two speakers?
A. They are director and actress. B. They are husband and wife.
C. They are reporter and actress.
2.What does the woman do in the play?
A. She acts a young lady. B. She directs the play. C. She writes the play.
3.What does the woman want to be after this play?
A. A singer. B. A director. C. A film star.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.What is the conversation about?
A. A film. B. A book. C. A story.
2.What does the girl think of the film?
A. She thinks it is far better than the book.
B. She thinks it is not so good as the book.
C. She thinks it is as good as the book.
3.According to the girl, what did the film director do to the story?
A. He followed the story. B. He improved the plot. C. He changed the ending.
