In recent years, there has been a steady attack on salt from the doctors: salt is bad for you—regardless of your health. Politicians also got aboard. “There is a direct relationship,” US Congressman Neal Smith said, “between the amount of sodium(钠) a person consumes and heart disease, circulatory(循环的) disorders, stroke and even early death.”
Frightening, if true! But many doctors and medical researchers are now beginning to feel the salt scare has gone too far. “All these remarks and cry about salt is unnecessary,” Dr. Dustan insists. “For most of us it probably does not make much difference how much salt we eat.” Dustan’s most recent short-term study of 150 people showed that those with normal blood pressure experienced no change at all when placed on an extremely low-salt diet, or later when salt was reintroduced. Of the hypertensive(高血压的) patients, however, half of those on the low-salt diet did experience a drop in blood pressure, which returned to previous level when salt was reintroduced.
“An adequate to somewhat excessive(过度的) salt intake has probably saved many more lives than it has cost in the general population,” said Dr. John H Laragh. “So an opinion that the whole population should avoid salt makes no sense.”
Medical experts agree that everyone should practice reasonable “moderation”(节制) in salt consumption. For the average person, a moderate amount might run from four to ten grams a day, or roughly 1/2 to 1/3 teaspoons. One to two grams of salt would come from the natural sodium in food. The rest would be added in processing, preparation or at the table.
“Na is not your enemy,” says Comek’s Dr. Laragh. “Salt is the No.1 natural component of all human tissue, and the idea that you do not need it is wrong. Unless your doctor has proven that you have a salt-related health problem, there is no reason to give it up.”
1.Why is salt attacked by doctors and politicians?
A. It’s unnecessary.
B. It does no good to human health..
C. It is hated by most people.
D. It will surely lead to heart disease and circulatory disorders.
2.From Dr. Dustan’s study in Paragraph 2 we can infer that _____.
A．a low-salt diet may be good to some patients
B．the amount of salt intake has nothing to do with one’s blood pressure
C．the reduction of salt intake can completely cure a hypertensive patient
D．an extremely low-salt diet makes no difference to anyone
3.In the 3rd paragraph, Dr. Laragh implied that _____.
A．people should not be afraid of taking much excessive salt
B．doctors should not always advise people to avoid salt
C．an adequate to somewhat excessive salt intake is suggested to ill people
D．excessive salt intake has killed some patients in the general population
4.What is the experts’ advice for average people on salt consumption?
A．They should increase salt intake through sodium pills.
B．They should avoid salt as often as possible.
C．They should consume 1/2 to 1/3 teaspoons of salt a day.
D．They needn’t care about how much salt they consume.
Many countries follow special customs when a child’s baby teeth fall out. Many of these customs tell stories about animals taking the teeth.
For example, Koreans have the custom of throwing the fallen tooth onto the roof of a house so that a magpie (喜鹊) can take the tooth away and bring a new tooth for the child. This custom is also followed by some other Asian countries, such as Japan and Vietnam.
Other countries, though, have tooth customs about other animals. In Mexico and Spain, for example, it is thought that a mouse takes a fallen tooth away and leaves some money. But in Mongolia, it is dogs that take children’s teeth away. Dogs are highly respected in Mongolian culture. It is believed that the new tooth will grow strong if the baby tooth is fed to a dog, so parents in Mongolia will put their children’s fallen teeth in a piece of meat and feed it to a dog.
In France and the USA, a child will put a fallen tooth under his or her pillow before going to bed. It is thought that in the early morning, when the child is still sleeping, the Tooth Fairy will take the tooth away and leave something else under the pillow. What she will leave is hard to know. It is said that in France the Tooth Fairy may leave some candies; however, in the United States, she may leave money.
1.Koreans throw a tooth onto the roof of a house in order to __________.
A. get money B. feed magpies
C. get candies D. get a new tooth
2.In Vietnam, if a child’s tooth falls out, he or she will __________.
A. throw it onto the roof of a house
B. feed it to a mouse
C. put it in a piece of meat and feed the meat to a dog
D. leave it to the Tooth Fairy
3.From the last paragraph, we can know that in France and the USA _________.
A. a child will put his or her fallen tooth beside the pillow
B. the Tooth Fairy takes the fallen teeth away at midnight
C. the Tooth Fairy will leave some candies to the children after taking the fallen teeth away
D. no one knows for sure what the Tooth Fairy will leave to the children after taking the fallen teeth away
4.The passage is mainly about ___________.
A. customs about fallen teeth in western countries
B. customs about fallen teeth in different countries
C. stories about human teeth
D. stories about some animals
Did you know that the position you choose to sleep in says something about what kind of person you are?
A study of 1,000 British people has been done by Chris, a British professor and director of the Sleep Assessment and Advisory Service in the UK. It looked at the six most common sleeping positions and which personalities tend to match them. Have a look.
1. Fetus (胎儿) position – This is the most common sleeping position. About 41 percent of the participants said they sleep in this position. These sleepers may appear to be strong but they are usually sensitive (敏感的) and shy. The more they curl (蜷缩) up, the more worried they are.
2. Log position (树干睡姿) – This is the second most common position. People who sleep like a log are usually stubborn.
3. Yearner position (向往型睡姿) – This position says that you are open-minded and eager (急切的) to face challenges.
4. Soldier position – These sleepers lie on their backs with their arms down and close to the body. They are usually reserved and quiet.
5. Freefall position – People who sleep in this position are outgoing (外向的) but feel a lack of control in their lives. This is the least comfortable position.
6. Starfish position – People who sleep like this are good listeners, helpful, and uncomfortable being the center of attention.
1.What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Sleeping position decides personality.
B. Sleeping position reflects personality.
C. What the six different sleeping positions are like.
D. Different people have different sleeping positions.
2.According to the passage, which of the following statements is correct?
A. Those sleeping in fetus position are always strong.
B. Those sleeping in log position changes their ideas easily.
C. Those sleeping in freefall position usually feel uncomfortable in their lives.
D. Those sleeping in starfish position may feel uneasy when focused on.
3.What does the underlined word “participants” in paragraph 3 most probably mean?
A. Fetus B. British people
C. People surveyed D. Sleepers
In most languages, a greeting is usually followed by “small talk”. Small talk means the little things we talk about at the start of a conversation. In English-speaking countries people often make small talk about the weather. “Nice day, isn’t it?” “Terrible weather, isn’t it?” But there is something special about small talk. It must be about something that both people have the same opinion about. The purpose of small talk is to let both people agree on something. This makes meeting people easier and more comfortable. In the UK people usually agree about the weather, so it is a safe topic for small talk. But people often disagree about religion or politics so these are not suitable topics for small talk. The topics for small talk also depend on where the conversation is taking place. At football matches, people make small talk about the game they are watching. “Great game, isn’t it?” At bus-stops, people may comment on the transport system. “The bus service is terrible, isn’t it?”
1.Small talk is ________.
A. a kind of conversation with short words
B. a greeting used when people meet each other
C. to let people disagree about something
D. something we talk about to start a conversation
2.The favorite topic of small talk for English people is _________.
A. the weather B. politics
C. games D. languages
3.The passage suggests that when we learn a language _________.
A. we should learn about the transport system of the country
B. we should only master the grammar and the vocabulary
C. we should learn the culture of the country
D. we should understand the importance of the language
4.When we say “Great game, isn’t it?”, we are in fact __________.
A. asking a question B. having a conversation
C. make a comment D. making small talk
“When should I begin to acquire good habits?”a young boy asked his teacher.
“How old are you?” asked the teacher.
“Eight years old, sir.”answered the boy.
“Then you have just lost eight years,”the teacher replied.
There is no doubt that habits are formed at a very early age. When one is young, it is easy to acquire good habits.
Good habits are practices that help us in our daily life. The habit of brushing one’s teeth in the morning, for instance, keeps one’s teeth clean and prevents a bad smell which is unpleasant to others. Bad habits such as sticking one’s tongue out, biting one’s fingernails and picking one’s nose, are undesirable ways of behaving in front of others. If we want people to enjoy being with us, we should try to develop habits that are pleasant.
It is said, “We sow an act; we reap a habit. We sow a habit and we reap a character.” The habits we formed at an early age shape our character. Habits are like tributaries（支流） which flow into a river. The river is made up of all its tributaries; a person’s character is made up of all the habits that he or she has acquired over the years.
【写作内容】
1．以约30个词概括本文内容；
2．以约120个词谈谈你对好习惯养成的看法，并包括以下要点：
（1）你认为好习惯重要吗，为什么？
（2）你身上有哪些好习惯，它们对你的学习或生活有什么影响？
（3）怎样才能养成良好的习惯？
【写作要求】
1．作文中可以使用亲身经历或虚构的故事，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不得直接引用原文的句子。
2．作文中不得出现真实姓名和学校名称。
Frederick M. Hess is the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, which is a nonprofit organization that conducts research on many public issues. He says that a long summer vacation doesn’t make sense in today’s world.
Can American students afford to take a summer vacation? In a summer vacation, millions of kids spend valuable time sending messages, watching TV, playing video games and doing shopping in the mall. They will also be putting their academic futures at risk.
Summer vacation once made sense in the past when you didn’t need an education to get a good job. But now things have changed. For today’s students, academic skills are important to students’future success, but such skills are affected in the summertime. Many nations don’t give kids an American-style summer vacation. They offer no more than seven consecutive（连续的） weeks of vacation. Most American school districts offer up to thirteen weeks. To compete in the global marketplace, Americans must be prepared to go up against international competitors.
Summer vacation also causes challenges for today’s families. In the 1960s, more than 60% of families had a stay-at-home Mom. Now two-thirds of American children live in households where every adult works. For these families, summer vacation can be more burden than break. Someone must watch the kids.
But the biggest problem may be how summer vacation hurts academic achievement. Researchers have found that disadvantaged students lose significant ground in the summertime.
A longer school year does not have to be an invitation to hard boring work. Rather, it should allow time-pressed teachers to conduct richer and more imaginative lessons. Schools would have more time to devote to athletics, languages, music and the arts. Summer vacation can be a grand thing. But in the 21st century, it may also be outdated.
Title: Summer Vacation
Theme | A long summer vacation isn’t 1. in today’s world. | |
Basic Information | 2. length | 13 weeks in most American schools |
Students’ 3. | ·Sending messages and watching TV ·Playing video games ·Doing shopping | |
Disadvantages | · 4. student’s academic skills and putting academic futures at risk. ·Being a 5. to families for they have to watch kids. ·Hurting students’ academic achievement and resulting in 6. significant ground. | |
Suggestion | A longer school year does not have to 7. to hard boring work. Richer and more imaginative lessons should be 8. , such as athletics, languages, music and the arts. | |
9. | Though being a ground thing, summer vacation might be out of 10. in the 21st century. | |
