In much of Asia, especially the so-called “rice-bowl” cultures of China, Japan, Korea, 1. Vietnam, food is usually eaten with chopsticks.
Chopsticks are usually two long, thin pieces of wood or bamboo. They can also be made of plastic, animal bone or metal. Sometimes chopsticks are quite artistic. Truly elegant chopsticks might 2. (make) of gold and silver with Chinese characters. Skilled workers also combine 
various hardwoods and metal 3. (create) special design.
The Chinese have used chopsticks for five thousand years. People probably cooked their food in large pots, 4. (use) twigs(树枝) to remove it. Over time, 5. the population grew, people began cutting food into small pieces so it would cook more quickly. Food in small pieces could be eaten easily with twigs which 6. (gradual) turned into chopsticks.
Some people think that the great Chinese scholar Confucius, 7. lived from roughly 551 to 479 B.C., influenced the 8. (develop) of chopsticks. Confucius believed knives would remind people of killings and 9. (be) too violent for use at the table.
Chopsticks are not used everywhere in Asia. In India, for example, most people traditionally eat 10. their hands.
That morning, I got on the train as always. I was a publishing director and was reading my newspaper . But that day, I read it very . I thought I must be tired. At the office, I sat down, turned on my and found I couldn’t read the message on the screen.
Finally, worried drove me to hospital. There, confirmation came that I suffered from aphasia(失语症), a condition that it’s difficult or impossible to receive and produce language.
I was back at home a week later, and my was to get better and return to work in a couple of months. I started a speech therapist(治疗专家) three times a week, and was given homework to help my vocabulary and grammar. After a month, my own speech became —“Could you pass the salt?” “Shall we go for a walk?” — but I couldn’t have a conversation. I couldn’t read the newspaper.
For 25 years, I was used to a(n) day of meetings, and bringing three manuscripts home with me each night. I didn’t feel to say goodbye to my old self.
In the darkest months, I devoted myself to . I would spend hours writing a description of something like a pencil. I couldn’t novels or newspapers, so I tried reading poetry, and found the shorter lines easier to . My speech came back, and I learned how to read again, 56 much more slowly. I spent more time with my family, and myself to slow down.
Now, 10 years later, my relationship with my is deeper than ever. We have to be very patient with each other. I’m no longer a high-achieving publisher or someone who 10 books a week. I’m a family man with aphasia, and if I read 10 books a year, that’s good.
1.A. once again B. as usual C. in time D. at last
2.A.smoothly B. patiently C. worriedly D. slowly
3.A. radio B. compute C . phone D. typewriter
4.A. friends B. coaches C. colleagues D. roommates
5.A. means B. proves C. explains D. admits
6.A. discovery B. goal C. ability D. reason
7.A. seeing B. teaching C. describing D. greeting
8.A. receive B. repeat C. reunite D. rebuild
9.A. easy B. delightful C. functional D. fast
10.A. exciting B. busy C. interesting D. short
11.A. afraid B. anxious C. ready D. right
12.A. trying B. preparing C. focusing D. asking
13.A. similar B. strange C. special D. simple
14.A. produce B. recognize C. manage D. arrange
15.A. create B. understand C. write D. believe
16.A. since B. though C. unless D. when
17.A. allowed B. expected C. advised D. ordered
18.A. books B. illness C. doctors D. family
19.A. decided B. chosen C. continued D. learned
20.A. sells B. delivers C. reads D.collects
1. When a starving man gets a meal, he begins to think about an overcoat; when a manager gets a new sports car, visions of country clubs dance into view.
The many wants of mankind might be regarded as making up several levels. 2. .
The first and most basic level of wants is food. Once this want is satisfied, a second level of wants appears: clothing and some sort of shelter. By the end of World War II these wants were satisfied for a great majority of Americans. 3.It included such items as cars and new houses.
By 1957 or 1958 this third level of wants was fairly well satisfied. Then, in the late 1950s a fourth level of wants appeared: the “life-enriching” level. While the other levels mean physical satisfaction－the feeding, comfort, safety, and transportation of the human body－this level stresses mental needs for recognition, achievement and happiness. It includes a variety of goods and services, many of which could be called “luxury” items(奢侈品). Among them are vacation trips, the best medical care, and entertainment. 4.
On this level, a greater percentage of consumer spending goes to services, while on the first three levels more is spent on goods. Will consumers raise their sights to a fifth level of wants as their income increases, or will they continue to demand luxuries and personal services on the fourth level?
A fifth level probably would be wants that can be achieved best by community action. Consumers may be spending more on taxes to pay for government action against disease, ignorance, crime and prejudice. 5. In this way, we can enjoy more fully the good things on the first four levels.
A．Then a third level appeared.
B．Human wants seem endless.
C．When there is money enough to satisfy one level of wants, another level appears.
D．There are several levels of wants in one’s life.
E．At this stage, we now may seek to ensure the health, safety, and leisure.
F．Also included here are fancy foods and the latest styles in clothing.
G．Different people have different wants on each level
If you like texting and are trying to lose weight, a new study found that using texting(发短信) to track diet and exercise habits may help you lose weight.
Previous research has shown that keeping food and exercise diaries improves the likelihood of success when you are using it to lose weight. Using a computer or a pen and paper to record information, however, can be a burden and cause some people to give up.
Duke University researchers said using text messages to track eating and exercise habits can save time, and increase the chances that people will stick with their weight-loss rules.
The study included 26 obese/fat women with an average age of 38. The women used daily texting as part of their weight-loss program. The text messages focused on tracking personalized goals, such as avoiding sugary drinks or walking 10,000 steps a day. Messages also provided brief feedback (反馈) and [Z-X-X-K]tips.
Every morning, the women received a text from an automated system that said, “Please text yesterday’s personal information of steps you walked and how many sugary drinks you had.” Based on the women's responses to the text message, the system sent another text with personalized feedback and tips.
After six months, the women who used daily texting lost an average of nearly 3 pounds, while another group of women who used traditional methods to keep food and exercise diaries gained an average of 2.5 pounds, according to the study, which was published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
“Text messaging has become popular and may be an effective method to simplify tracking of diet and exercise behavior,” Dori Steinberg, who was responsible for this research, said.
Steinberg said, “Text messaging offers several advantages compared to other self-monitoring methods. Unlike web-based diet and exercise diaries, data in a text message can be entered quickly on nearly all cell phone platforms so it is very convenient to receive feedback. Besides, because of the limited number of words used in text messages, it saves time.”
1.According to the study, traditional methods _________.
A. are easier for people to lose weight
B. may cause people to give up losing weight
C. provide brief feedback and tips
D. are easy to track diet and exercise behavior
2.Which is NOT true about text messaging according to Steinberg?
A. It saves time.
B. It saves money.
C. It can be entered quickly.
D. It is easy to receive feedback.
3.What’s the best title for the text?
A. Texting helps keep healthy
B. Texting saves time and money
C. Texting provides brief feedback and tips
D. Texting can help you lose weight
4.What’s Dori Steinberg’s attitude towards text messaging?
A. Unknown. B. Negative.
C. Positive. D. Unconcerned.
What do Tom Sawyer and jumping frogs have in common? Stories about both of them were created by one man：Mark Twain. Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Mark Twain was his pen name. When Twain was 4, his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, lying on the west bank of the Mississippi. Twain grew up there and was attracted greatly with life along the river - the steamboats, the big wooden boats, and the people who worked on them.
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras Country is one of Twain's best-loved short stories, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is one of his most famous novels. Both these works are celebrated by events held during National Tom Sawyer Days. There's also a fence-painting competition to see who can paint the fastest. The idea for this competition comes from a scene in Tom Sawyer, in which Tom has been told to paint the fence in front of the house he lives in. It's a beautiful day, and he would rather be doing anything else. As his friends walk by, he persuades them to paint with him for fun, and they all join in the "fun". By the end of the day, the fence has three coats of paint!
Although the story of Tom Sawyer is not true, it's based on fact. If you go to Hannibal,, you'll see the white fence, which still stands at Twain's boyhood home.
1.Mark Twain created Tom Sawyer and jumping frogs .
A. at the age of four B. in the same book
C. in different stories D. on the steamboats
2.The fence-painting competition comes from .
A. Mark Twain's suggestion
B. a story in Jumping Frog
C. the life of people in boats
D. a scene in Tom Sawyer
3.The sentence "the fence has three coats of paint!" means that" ".
A. all of Tom's friends wear three coats
B. the fence has been painted three times
C. three new coats are hanging on the fence
D. they have drawn three coats on the fence
You may know the Eiffel Tower as one of the most famous man-made monuments in the world, and you’d be absolutely right! Read on to learn about the history of the great Eiffel Tower.
Travelers from around the world flock(蜂拥)to Paris, France, to visit the Eiffel Tower, making it the most visited paid monument in the entire world! In fact, in 2010, the Eiffel Tower welcomed its 250 millionth visitor!
The history of the Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower was named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the famous monument. Construction began in January of 1887 and was completed in only two years. Their plan was to finish the tower in time to be the entrance arch for the World’s Fair in 1889. This fair celebrated the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution, which took place from 1789 to 1799.
The height competition
Located on the Champs de Mars, the tower is the tallest structure in Paris. It was the tallest man-made structure in the world for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York surpassed(超过) it. Then the spire(塔尖) on the top of the tower was added, raising its height to 17 feet taller than the Chrysler Building. It is now 1,063 feet tall! There are two replicas(复制品) of the Eiffel Tower in the world: a half scale model at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas and a full-sized monument of a similar (but not exact) design in Tokyo, Japan.
Three shades of wonder
Some pictures make the Eiffel Tower look like a dark iron color. But it is, in fact, bronze. Not only that, but the tower is actually painted three different shades to make it appear even taller: darkest on the bottom and lightest on the top.
1.The Eiffel Tower was constructed to ________.
A. show great respect for Gustave Eiffel
B. make Paris the most visited city in the world
C. show the French people’s construction skill
D. celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution
2.Which of the following does the author mention in the passage?
A. The political meaning of the Eiffel Tower.
B. The disadvantages of the Eiffel Tower.
C. The location of the Eiffel Tower.
D. The cost of the Eiffel Tower.
3.Where can you find a structure similar to the Eiffel Tower according to the passage?
A. In New York.
B. In Las Vegas.
C. In Los Angeles.
D. In Florida.
4.The main purpose of the passage is to ________.
A. tell visitors where to find the replicas of the Eiffel Tower
B. raise people’s awareness of protecting the Eiffel Tower
C. offer people some information about the Eiffel Tower
D. call on people to visit the Eiffel Tower
