English is the most widely used language in the history of our planet. One in every seven human beings can speak it. More than half of the world’s books and three quarters of international mail are in English. Of all languages, English has the largest vocabulary — perhaps as many as two million words.
However, let’s face it: English is a crazy language. There is no egg in an eggplant, neither pine nor apple in a pineapple and no ham in a hamburger. Sweet-meats are candy, while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.
We take English for granted. But when we explore its paradoxes (探讨它的矛盾), we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, public bathrooms have no baths in them.
And why is it that a writer writes, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn’t the plural of booth be beeth? One goose, two geese — so one moose, two meese?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell the next?
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects (反映) the creativity of human beings. That’s why, when stars are out, they are visible (能看见的); but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it; but when I wind up this essay, I end it.
1.Which of the following includes two items which have the similar meaning?
A. Quite a lot and quite a few. B. Overlook and oversee.
C. A wise man and a wise guy. D. Hot as hell and cold as hell.
2.The underlined words “wind up” in the last paragraph probably means “_____”.
A. blow B. roll up
C. get hurt D. finish
3.Through the many paradoxes in the English language, the writer wants to show that human beings are ____.
A. clever B. crazy
C. lazy D. dull
A study published Monday found that people who sleep less tend to be fat，and experts said it’s time to find out if more sleep will fight fatness.
“We’ve put so much emphasis on diet and exercise that we’ve failed to recognize the value of good sleep，”said Fred Turek，a physician at Northwestern University.
Monday’s study from Eastern Virgnia Medical School in Norfolk covered 1,000 people and found that total sleep time decreased as body mass index－a measure of weight based on height increased.
“Men slept an average of 27 minutes less than women and overweight and fat patients slept less than patients with normal weights，”it said.In general the fatter subjects slept about 1.8 hours a week less than those with normal weights.
“Americans experience insufficient sleep and fat bodies.Clinicians are aware of the burden of fatness on patients，”the study said.
“Our findings suggest that major extensions of sleep time may not be necessary，as an extra 20 minutes of sleep per night seems to be associated with a lower body mass index，”it added.
“We caution that this study does not set up a causeandeffect relationship between restricted sleep and fatness，but investigations indicating success in weight loss via extensions of sleep would help greatly to set up such a relationship.”
The study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine along with an editorial by Turek and Northwestern colleague Joseph Bass commenting on it and related research.
Inan interview，Turek said some studies have shown the lack of sleep causes declines in an appetiteholding back protein hormone，and increases in another hormone that cause a longing for food.“In addition neuropathies(神经疗法)in the brain governing sleep and fatness appear to overlap(部分重叠)，”he said.
“Fatness has been rising dramatically in developed countries and reached epidemic(流行病)levels in the United States，”it added，“leading to a variety of health problems.”
A new study having been 1. | |||
2. | in the past | diet and 3. | |
this time | sleep | ||
A study from Eastern Virginia Medical School | People | 1,000 were 4. | |
difference | Men slept 27ms less than women on 5. | ||
Americans' problem | 6. sleep and fat bodies | ||
conclusion | Weight loss set up 7. between sleep & fatness. | ||
Reason | Less sleep causes protein hormone to 8. | ||
concern | developing countries | rising with 9.speed | |
in the USA | quite 10. | ||
About this time every year, I get very nostalgic(怀旧的)．Walking through my neighborhood on a fall afternoon reminds me of a time not too long ago when sounds of children filled the air，children playing games on a hill, and throwing leaves around in the street below. I was one of those children, carefree and happy. I live on a street that is only one block long. I have lived on the same street for sixteen years. I love my street. One side has six houses on it, and the other has only two houses, with a small hill in the middle and a huge cottonwood tree on one end.When I think of home, I think of my street. Only I see it as it was before. Unfortunately things change. One day, not long ago, I looked around and saw how different everything has become.Life on my street will never be the same because neighbors are quickly grown old, friends are growing up and leaving, and the city is planning to destroy my precious hill and sell the property to contractors.
It is hard for me to accept that many of my wonderful neighbors are growing old and won't be around much longer. I have fond memories of the couple across the street, who sat together on their porch swing almost every evening, the widow next door who yelled at my brother and me for being too loud, and the crazy old man in a black suit who drove an old car. In contrast to these people, the people I see today are very old neighbors who have seen better days. The man in the black suit says he wants to die, and another neighbor just sold his house and moved into a nursing home. The lady who used to yell at us is too tired to bother any more, and the couple across the street rarely go out to their front porch these days. It is difficult to watch these precious people as they near the end of their lives because at once I thought they would live forever.
The “comings and goings” of the younger generation of my street are now mostly “goings”as friends and peers move on. Once upon a time, my life and the lives of my peers revolved around home. The boundary of our world was the gutter at the end of the street. We got pleasure from playing night games or from a breathtaking ride on a tricycle. Things are different now, as my friends become adults and move on. Children who rode tricycles now drive cars. The kids who once played with me now have new interests and values as they go their separate ways. Some have gone away to college like me, a few got married, two went into the army, and one went to prison. Watching all these people grow up and go away makes me long for the good old days.
Perhaps the biggest change on my street is the fact that the city is going to turn my precious hill into several lots for now homes. For sixteen years, the view out of my kitchen window has been a view of that hill. The hill was a fundamental part of my childhood life; it was the hub of social activity for the children of my street. We spent hours there building forts, sledding, and playing tag. The view out of my kitchen window now is very different; it is one of tractors and dump trucks tearing up the hill. When the hill goes, the neighborhood will not be the same. It is a piece of my childhood. It is a visual reminder of being a kid. Without the hill, my_street_will_be_just_another_pea_in_the_pod.
There was a time when my street was my world, and I thought my world would never change. But something happened. People grow up, and people grow old. Places changes, and with the change comes the heartache of knowing I can never go back to the times I loved. In a year or so, I will be gone just like many of my neighbors. I will always look back to my years as a child, but the place I remember will not be the silent street whose peace is interrupted by the sounds of construction. It will be the happy, noisy, somewhat strange, but wonderful street I knew as a child.
1.The writer calls up the memory of the street________.
A. every year when autumn comes
B. in the afternoon every day
C. every time he walks along his street
D. now that he is an old man
2.The writer finds it hard to accept the fact that________.
A. many of his good neighbors are growing old
B. the lady next door who used to yell at him and his brother is now a widow
C. the life of his neighbors has become very boring
D. the man in his black suit even wanted to end his own life
3.What does the writer mean by saying “my street will be another pea in the pod”？
A. His street will be very noisy and dirty.
B. His street will soon be crowded with people.
C. His street will have some new attractions.
D. His street will be no different from any other street.
4.Which could be a good title for the passage?
A. The Past of My Street Will Live Forever
B. Unforgettable People and Things of My Street
C. Memory Street Isn't What It Used to Be
D. The Big Changes of My Street
He opened his mouth as if ________something.
A. to say B. say
C. saying D. to be said
________a teacher has given permission is a student allowed to enter the classroom.
A. If only B. Only if
C. As if D. Even if
Although the wind has ________，the rain remains steady，so you still need a raincoat.
A. turned up B. gone back
C. died down D. blown out
