Laura Fagan, a 29-year-old British girl, has a special job. She is paid well to taste chocolate, desserts and cakes. [
Laura works in the famous supermarket, Tesco. Her job is to try different kinds of desserts. She needs to try as many as 20 desserts a day. Also, she always travels for work. She needs to travel to different cities to try different desserts.
Although the job seems to be great, it is hard. Usually, Laura begins trying desserts as early as 8 am, and is still trying new desserts at 6 pm before she goes back home. Luckily, the job hasn’t made her too heavy. She only worries about her teeth.
“Of course I was afraid of becoming fat when I started the job, so I try to do exercise as often as possible. The main thing is my teeth. I don’t think my dentist will be happy if I tell her what I do, so I try to brush my teeth as often as possible,” Laura told a reporter. She goes to the gym to keep slim (苗条的) and takes more care of her teeth after trying the desserts. She said, “When I tell people what I do, they say it’s the best job in the world.”
Laura loves her job although it is hard. “I can learn about new trends (动态) in food,” she said.
Music not only gives you something to sing and dance to, but also can make you
feel happier. Scientists say that music can help to relax people’s mind and even help
to relieve（痛苦） pain. How does music work its magic? It is the fact that music
can adjust(调节) our mood（心情）. Recently, there is a scientific research to back up
what we have always known about music. The studies have shown that when people
are excited or happy they are more helpful. The opposite (相反的情况)happens when
people feel aggressive（好斗的） or under stress. The use of music can influence how
helpful people can be.
Dr. Adrian North made a study with 256 university students.Half the group took exercise
in the gymnasium listening to music which can bring happiness and the other half exercised
to aggressive music. When leaving the gym, the students were asked to hand out flyers（传单） in support of the local disabled athlete’s foundation（残疾运动员基金会）.
The results showed that nearly half of the group that listened to happy music were willing to (愿意) hand out flyers. But less than 20% in the group that heard the aggressive music were willing to do so. This study suggests that our choice of music can influence our willingness to cooperate(合作). While a study also shows that productivity (生产效率) can be increased with the right choice of background music in the workplace. As music stimulates(刺激)worker’s mind, job satisfaction is often positively influenced. Other studies have shown that workers who are in a good mood have more job satisfaction than those in a bad mood.
These studies show that music can have a powerful influence on a person’s ability to cooperate. Moods have a direct influence(直接影响) on cooperation and job satisfaction. These factors also have a direct relationship to the success of a business.
1.What do scientists say about music ? _____________________________.
2.The phrase “back up” , Paragraph 1 most probably means “support”, doesn’t it ?
_________.
3.Why do people use the right choice of background music in the workplace?_______ .
4.How do people feel if they are bored or sad ?_____________________ .
5. What do moods have a direct influence on?______________________________ .
It was Christmas Day．Tina was alone in the great city house．Her parents went to the hospital because their oldest boy was ill．
"What a boring Christmas!" Tina thought to herself． At that moment，she 1. music in the street． She ran to the window and saw a little boy 2. ．He was singing and beating a drum．Tina saw that he wore no 3. ．
"Are you cold?" asked Tina．
The little boy smiled，but she couldn't hear 4. he said．So she told him to come in． He was a little nervous，but the carpet (地毯) felt warm to 5. poor feet．He told Tina that his name was Guido．And he was 6. poor that he had to go singing from house to house for some money to buy his dinner．
"My mama is away，and I am 7. a sad Christmas．But I'll try to make it nice 8. you，" said Tina．They played games and Guido sang to her．Then they had a big dinner． Guido was very happy．
That night，Tina told her mother， " Now I know something．Whenever you 9. sad and lonely，find somebody 10. and lonelier than yourself and cheer them up．It will make you feel all right． "
A: Hi, Bill. You look unhappy. __1.__ B: I didn’t pass the English exam again.
A: _2._ But please don’t give up. B: Well, maybe my way of learning English is not right.
A: ______3.________ B: I learn it by doing my English homework early in the morning.
A: Oh, you should read books instead. It’s easy to remember things early in the morning, don’t you think so?
B: Mm… perhaps you’re right. I’ll have a try. A: Do you take notes in English class?
B: Never! I just listen to what the teacher says. What do you think of the way?
A: _______4._______ You should write down the important things that the teacher tells you.
B: OK. I’ll do as you tell me. A: Good luck to you! B: ___5._____
Many people hurt their backs when they try to lift heavy things from the floor. It is easy to hurt your back muscle(肌肉) when you try to pick up a heavy thing. However, there is a correct way to lift things from the floor. If you pick up heavy things correctly, you probably will not hurt
Your back. To lift something from the floor correctly, first bend (弯曲) your knees and lower yourself. Keep your back straight. Do not bent over, from your waist (腰) keep your back and hips (臀部) and waist in a line. If you bent over, the muscles in your lower back can became hurt very easily. If you keep your back and hips straight, the muscles are stronger, because they hold up together. The other muscles can then help the lower back muscles.
As you lower yourself, try to get as close to thing as you can, put one knee on each side of the thing. Remember at all times to keep your back straight. Put your hand under the thing that is in front of you, between y our knees.
To lift the thing, you should stand up slowly. Use your leg muscles in order to stand up. In other words, lift with your legs, not with your back.
1.Which part of your body is more easily to be hurt when you lift heavy things?
A. The leg muscles. B. The back muscles
C. The hips D. The knees
2.Many people hurt their backs when they lift something because _______.
A. they are not strong
B. the things are very heavy
C. the way to lift the things is not correct.
D. they are very heavy
3.The muscles are stronger if you _______.
A. keep your back, hips and waist in a line
B. bend over from your waist
C. lower your self
D. get down on your knees
4.To lift heavy things, the most important of all is to _________.
A. stand up slowly
B. keep your back straight
C. bend your knees
D. put one knee on each side
5. What does “In other words” mean? ________
A. 总而言之 B、换句话说
C、在其它话中 D、在其它单词中
Steven Jobs was born in 1955. He was an American businessman and inventor. He was the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Apple Inc. In the late 1970s, Steve, with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula, and others, designed, developed, and marketed one of the first successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series and later, the Macintosh.
Steve was among the greatest of American inventors – brave enough to think differently, and believed he could change the world and in fact, he had the power to change the whole world. By making computers personal and putting the Internet in our pockets, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups.
Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last. He changed the way each of us sees the world. Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations (创新) that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is much better because of Steve. On October 5, 2011, Steve died of cancer. The world has lost a visionary. We all feel sad about it.
1. Where can we find this passage?
A. In a science book. B.In a science fiction novel.
C. In a dictionary. D. In a newspaper.
2. Why Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last?
A. Because he knew he would die soon.
B. Because he was too busy every day.
C. Because he was humorous.
D. Because he wanted to make full use of time.
3.From the passage, we can know that ______.
A. It is cancer that took the Steve’s life
B. Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy enrich and improve all of our lives
C. Apple II series and the Macintosh have made computers personal and put the Internet in our Pockets
D. Steve was a businessman but not an inventor
4. According to the passage, “a visionary” means ______.
A. 一位伟人 B. 一位见证者
C. 一位梦想家D. 一位冒险家
5. What would be the best title for this passage?
A. Steve Jobs’ death
B. Our loss of a great CEO
C. A great inventor, Steve Jobs
D. The great changes in our lives
