Children who spend more time outdoors may have a lower risk of becoming nearsighted, new research suggests.
In the study, researchers looked at about 1,900 schoolchildren. The scientists found that the kids who had been instructed to spend more time outdoors over three years were 23 percent less likely to develop nearsightedness during this time than those who had not been instructed to spend more time outdoors. Moreover, among the kids who did become nearsighted during the study, the degree to which their eyesight worsened was slightly smaller among those who spent more time outdoors.
The researchers selected six schools and required the children, whose average age was 7 at the start of the study, to attend one additional 60-minute class of outdoor activities during each school day for three years. The parents of these children were also encouraged to engage their children in outdoor activities after school, especially during weekends and holidays. The other half of the children, from another six schools, continued their usual activity patterns. After three years, 30.4 percent of the kids in the intervention(干预) group had become nearsighted, compared with 38.5 percent of the kids in the other group.
It is not clear exactly why spending more time outside would benefit children’s eyesight, the researchers said. However, some research has suggested that the higher levels of light intensity found outdoors may increase the release of the chemical dopamine(多巴胺) of the eye. In turn, dopamine is known to restrain（抑制） the type of growth in the eye that is associated with nearsightedness.
Based on the new results, the researchers recommend that children spend more time outdoors because of the potential benefits to their eyesight. However, it’s important to protect kids’ skin and eyes from UV light, which can be damaging.
1.What did the children in the intervention group do during each school day?
A. Attend an extra class of outdoor activities.
B. Continue to do their usual activities.
C. Spend one hour in doing eye exercises.
D. Participate in outdoor activities with parents.
2.What can be inferred about the chemical dopamine?
A. It can contribute to poor sight.
B. It can damage people’s brain.
C. It is beneficial to eyesight.
D. It means low levels of light intensity.
3.What may be discussed in the following paragraph?
A. How to design outdoor activities for kids.
B. How to prevent kids becoming nearsighted.
C. How to protect kids’ skin and eyes from UV light.
D. How to encourage kids to join in outdoor activities.
4.Which can serve as the best title for the passage?
A. The More Time Outdoors, the Better
B. Kids May See Better if They Play Outside
C. It’s Time to Engage Kids in Outdoor Activities
D. Researchers Found a Cure for Nearsightedness
Lions are opportunists. They prefer to eat without having to do too much work. When resting in the shade, they are also watching the sky to see what is flying by, and even in the heat of the day they will
suddenly start up and run a mile across the plains to find out what is going on. If another animal has made a kill, they will drive it off and take the dill for themselves. A grown lion can easily eat 60 pounds of meat at a single feeding. Often they eat until it seems painful for them to lie down.
The lionesses (母狮) , being thinner and faster, are better hunters (猎手) than the males (雄狮). But the males don’t mind. After the kill they move in and take the test share.
Most kills are made at night or just before daybreak. We have seen many, many daylight attempts but only ten kills. Roughly, it’s about twenty daytime attempts for one kill.
When lions are hiding for an attack by a water hole, they wait patiently and can charge at any second. The kill is the exciting moment in the day-to-day life of the lion, since these great animals spend most of their time, about 20 hours a day, sleeping and resting.
Lions are social cats, and when they are having a rest, they love to touch each other. After drinking at a water hole, a lioness rests her head on another’s back. When walking, young lions often touch faces with older ones, an act of close ties among members of the group.
1.By describing lions as “opportunists” in the first paragraph, the author means to say that lions _______.
A. are cruel animals
B. are clever animals
C. like to take advantage of other animals
D. like to take every chance to eat
2.According to the text, which of the following is true?
A. Lions make most kills in the daytime.
B. Males care more about eating than active killing.
C. Lions are curious about things happening around them.
D. It doesn’t take lions too much time to make a kill.
3.How can we know that lions are social animals?[
A. They depend on each other.
B. They look after each other well.
C. They readily share what they have.
D. They enjoy each other’s company.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Powerful Lions
B. Lions at Work and Play
C. Lions, Social Cats
D. Lions, Skilled Hunters
How to Be a Winner
Sir Steven Redgrave
Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals
“In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes (糖尿病). Believing my career was over, I felt extremely low. Then one of the specialists said there was no reason why I should stop training and competing. That was the encouragement I needed. I could still be a winner if I believed in myself. I am not saying that it isn’t difficult sometimes. But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn't finished yet. Nothing is to stand in my way.”
Karen Pickering
Swimming World Champion
“I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary. This is the key to success —you can’t
follow a career in any field without being well-organized. List what you believe you can achieve. Trust yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you’ll be a step closer to achieving them.”
Kirsten Best
Poet & Writer
“When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can’t achieve something. Then there are other distractions, such as family or hobbies. The key is to concentrate. When I feel tense, it helps a lot to repeat words such as ‘calm’, ‘peace’ or ‘focus’, either out loud or silently in my mind. It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence. This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a powerful psychological(心理的) tool.”
1.What does Sir Steven Redgrave mainly talk about?
A. Difficulties influenced his career.
B. Specialists offered him medical advice.
C. Training helped him defeat his disease.
D. He overcame the shadow of illness to win.
2.What does Karen Pickering put on top of her diary?
A. Her achievements.
B. Her daily happenings.
C. Her training schedule.
D. Her sports career.
3.According to the passage, what do the three people have in common?
A. Courage.
B. Devotion.
C. Hard work.
D. Self-confidence.
When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Doctor Gibbs. He didn't look like any doctor I'd ever known. He never yelled at us for playing in his yard, but was always very kind.
When Doctor Gibbs wasn't saving lives, he was planting trees. He had some interesting theories about planting trees. He believed in the principle: "No pains, no gains". He hardly watered his new trees, which flew in the face of conventional wisdom. Once I asked why and he told me that watering plants spoiled them because it made them grow weaker. He said you had to make things tough for the trees so that only the strongest could survive. He talked about how watering trees made them develop shallow roots and how, if they were not watered, trees would grow deep roots in search of water. So, instead of watering his trees every morning, he'd beat them with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree's attention.
Doctor Gibbs died a couple of years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I'd watched him plant some twenty five years ago. They were all tall and strong.
I planted a couple of trees myself a few years ago. Two years of attending these trees meant they grew up weak. Whenever a cold wind blew, their branches trembled. Adversity(逆境) seemed to benefit Doctor Gibb's trees in ways comfort and ease never could.
Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. I often pray that their lives will be easy. But lately I've been thinking that it's time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to meet with hardship. There's always a cold wind blowing somewhere. What we need to do is to pray for deep roots, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we won't be torn apart.
1.With the trees planted, Doctor Gibbs often __________.
A. paid little attention to them
B. kept watering them every morning
C. talked to them to get their attention
D. beat them to make them grow deep roots
2.What does the author think of the way Doctor Gibbs planted trees?
A. Strange and harmful.
B. Interesting and funny.
C. Cruel and unacceptable.
D. Original and reasonable.[
3.Which prayer does the author wish for his sons?
A. Meet people like Dr Gibbs in the future.
B. Be able to stand the rain and wind in their lives.
C. Have an easy life, without too much to worry about.
D. Have good luck, encountering less hardship 
in their life.
4.Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A. Prayers for my sons
B. Doctor Gibbs and his trees
C. Growing roots
D. Watering trees
假定你是李华，你班的外籍教师Mr. Smith 即将回国。他喜欢中国文化，所以你送他一组中国剪纸（福、寿、喜）。请写一封送别信，简介礼物寓意，并表达谢意和祝愿。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 书信的开头和结尾以为你写好。
参考词汇：1.剪纸paper cuttings; 2.福 Fu；3.寿 Shou；4.喜 Xi
Dear Mr. Smith,
It is really hard for me to say goodbye to you.___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。作文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意： 1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改 10 处，多者 （从第 11 处起 ）不计分。
With the development of the Internet, more and more children are addicted to play online games day and night. It does harm not only to their health, especial their eyes, but also to their studies. Comparing with online games, many traditional games benefits kids mentally and physically. They were very popular to several generations, for they learned something valuable and had a fun playing the games. Therefore, the games are losing our appeal now, and so me children even haven’t heard of them. Personally, I think teachers and parents should take measure to limit their children’s Internet time. Let children know harm of online games and the benefits of traditional games. What’s more, we should often organize some traditional activity for children.
