【推荐2】Eating chips, chocolates and cakes may damage a child’s intelligence, according to researchers at Bristol University. Their study suggests a link between diet high in processed(加工的) food and a slightly lower IQ. Writing in the journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, they suggest poor nutrition may affect brain development.

The eating habits of 3,966 children taking part in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children were recorded at the ages of three, four, seven and eight and a half. The researchers said three types of diet appeared: processed diet which was high in fat, sugar and fast food, traditional diet of meat, potatoes and vegetables, and healthy diet of salads, fruit and fish. The children all took IQ tests when they were eight and a half.

The researchers found a link between IQ and diet, even after taking into consideration other factors such as the mother’s level of education and social class. Diet high in processed food at the age of three was linked to a slightly lower IQ at the age of eight and a half, suggesting early eating habits have a long-term influence. Dr Pauline Emmett, who carried out the study at Bristol University, said, “Brain development is much faster in early life, and it’s when it does most of its growing.”

Although the relationship between diet and IQ was very strong, the influence was quite small. Processed food was linked with IQs only a few points lower. Experts in the field said the results had shown common sense was right. Fiona Ford, spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, said, “It’s well worth looking at the long-term influence of diet, for everyone’s familiar with the short term. The research agrees with the type of advice we already know, but that’s not always enough. Sometimes a society has to help a person change; we need to educate more young parents about healthy eating.”

1. All the following can lead to a slightly lower IQ except ___________.

A．birthday cakes	B．KFC food
C．chocolates	D．fruit salad

2. The longest period of the research on eating habits might reach ____________.

A．five years and a half	B．two years and a half
C．four years and a half	D．one year and a half

3. Which of the following agrees with Fiona Ford’s opinion?

A．The British Dietetic Association has a duty to encourage young parents to adopt healthy diet.

B．The research has shown the short-term influence of diet.

C．The British Dietetic Association has predicted the results of the research.

D．Diet affects people’s intelligence greatly.

4. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．Healthy food makes children grow rapidly.

B．Processed food reduces children’s intelligence.

C．Eating habits change children’s intelligence.

D．Proper diet makes children wise and healthy.

【推荐3】Millions of people die of hunger in southern Africa every year, but when Zambia was offered thousands of tons of free maize by the US, the government politely paid no.

“We don’t know whether the food is safe,” said Zambia’s commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Dipak Patel.

His worries are shared by countries around the world that are in two minds about America’s genetically modified（GM，转基因的）crops. Just last week, EU（欧盟）member nations were discussing whether or not to import GM sweet corn from the US.

Ever since people started farming, they have tried to crossbreed（杂交） plants to make them stronger or better tasting. At one time, only related plants could be crossed with each other.

But when GM techniques were developed in the 1970s, scientists were able to put a single gene from a living creature into an unrelated creature.

This means they can make crops more productive and resistant to disease by adding genes from other species. They can also create food with special characteristics, such as “golden rice”, which is enriched with vitamin A. But many people believe GM foods are a health risk.

“If left to me, I would certainly not eat GM foods,” said Scottish scientist Arpad Pusztai. “We are putting new things into food which haven’t been eaten before. The effects on the immune system（免疫系统） are not easy to predict.”

At the moment, the official argument is that GM foods “are not likely to present risks for human health”. But there are still many questions to be answered as the foods are produced in different ways.

Some experts believe the genetic material added to plants can transfer to humans and give damage to our bodies. Further harm could be caused by the genes from GM plants crossbreeding with naturally produced crops.

1. We learn from the passage          .

A．people have discovered that GM foods will do harm to human health

B．millions of Zambia people die of eating too much GM foods

C．people are still not sure if GM foods will do harm to human health

D．genetic material added to plants will damage our bodies sooner or later

2. What does “in two minds” in the third paragraph mean?

A．Unsure	B．Worried
C．Likely	D．Careless

3. The following statements is NOT true about GM foods?

A．It is produced from plants added genes from other species.

B．GM foods can have special characteristics.

C．GM foods will affect people’s immune system.

D．GM foods have been produced since 1970s.

4. What’s the author’s attitude?

A．Supportive.	B．Neutral.
C．Doubtful.	D．Critical.

【推荐3】A breathtaking trick potentially left over from our ancestors might be found in us — the ability to sense oxygen through our skin.

Amphibians, animals such as frogs that can live both on land and in water, have long been known to be capable of breathing through their skin. In fact, the first known lungless frog that breathes only through its skin was discovered recently in the rivers of Borneo.

Now the same oxygen sensors found in frog skins and in the lungs of mammals (哺乳动物) have unexpectedly been discovered in the skin of mice.

“No one had ever looked,” explained Randall Johnson, a biologist researcher.

Mice and frogs are quite distant relatives, so the fact they have these molecules (分子) in common in their skin suggests they might well be found in the skin of other mammals, such as humans.

“We have no reason to think that they are not in the skin of people too,” Johnson said.

These molecules not only detect oxygen, but help increase levels of vital red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body. Normal mice breathing in air that is 10 percent oxygen-a dangerously low level similar to conditions at the top of Mount Everest, and about half that of air at sea level. However, mice that had the oxygen sensor HIF-1a genetically removed from their skin failed to produce this hormone (荷尔蒙) even after hours of such low oxygen.

These findings, if they hold true in humans, suggest one could raise the level of oxygen circulating inside the body. This could help treat lung diseases and disorders such as anemia (贫血症) without injecting drugs, which make up a multibillion-dollar market, Johnson said.

Athletes also often try to get more oxygen delivered to their muscles in order to improve their performance. They often do this by training at high altitudes or in low-oxygen tents. The new study suggests they might want to expose their skin as well as breathing in low-oxygen air to improve their performance. “It’s hard to say what exactly might be done, however — there’s a lot we don’t know yet,” Johnson explained.

The scientists detailed their findings in the April 18 issue of the journal Cell.

1. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Johnson believes that Oxygen sensors also exist in human skin.

B．People have to surf the Internet to read detailed findings.

C．It has been proved that these findings help treat lung diseases.

D．It has long been expected oxygen sensors exist in mice’s skin.

2. One of the functions of the molecules mentioned above is _______.

A．carrying oxygen around the body

B．improving athletes’ performance

C．detecting oxygen

D．increasing level of oxygen

3. What is Johnson’s attitude to the application of the findings to the athletes’ training?

A．Negative.

B．Doubting.

C．Positive.

D．Hesitating.

4. The best title of the passage may be _______.

A．Great Findings Benefits Athletes A Lot

B．Frogs And Mice Are Distant Relatives

C．First Known Animal Breathes Through Skin

D．Humans Might Sense Oxygen Through Skin

【推荐1】The British are known for their sense of humour. However, it is often difficult for foreigners to understand their jokes. The reason is that the British often use understatement.

Understatement means saying less than you think or feel. For example, if someone gets very wet in a shower of rain, he might say, “It’ a little damp (潮湿的) outside.” Or, if someone is very impolite and shouts at another person, someone else might say, “She isn’t exactly friendly.” Understatement is often used in an unpleasant situation or to make another person look silly. Understatement plays an important part in British humour.

Another key to understanding British humour is that the British like to make fun of themselves as well as others. They often laugh about the silly and unpleasant things that happen to their everyday life when someone accidentally falls over in the street. They also like to make jokes about people from different classes of society. They like to make jokes about their accents, the way they dress and the way they behave. What’s more, the British love to watch comedies (喜剧) about people who do not know how to behave in society. The comedy series Mr. Bean is a good example of this kind of humour.

Mr Bean doesn’t talk often, and instead he uses his body movements and facial expressions to make people laugh. Perhaps what makes Mr Bean so funny is that he does things that adults in the real world cannot do. Mr. Bean is popular in many countries around the world because you do not have to speak English to understand the humour. Because of this, many people have become familiar with the British sense of humour.

1. Why is it difficult for foreigners to understand British jokes?

A．The British often enlarge the fact.

B．British jokes are connected with many different cultures.

C．British jokes are not as funny as jokes in other countries.

D．The British usually use understatement.

2. The author explains understatement by ________.

A．describing a process	B．making comparisons
C．following the time order	D．using examples

3. Mr Bean makes people laugh by ________.

A．using his body movements and facial expressions	B．making jokes about others’ accent
C．copying how others behave	D．telling funny stories

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．British humour in comedy	B．Humour in different cultures
C．Understanding British humour	D．Developing your sense of humour

【推荐2】More than 45,000 years ago, by the shore of present-day Tasmania, a local person picked up a large piece of thick, dark brown seaweed. And he realized that this giant piece of seaweed could be used to make a watertight(不透水的) bag. And 45,000 years later on mainland Australia, people are again turning to seaweed to solve pressing problems. Today, it is used to address the world’s climate crisis.

Winberg, a marine ecologist, has spent decades studying seaweed. She believes seaweed’s fast growth rate and ability to absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide can help fight climate change, clean the oceans, and change the way we farm, not just in the oceans but also on land.

Realizing seaweed’s potential as a climate solution, Winberg opened Australia’s first land-based, commercial seaweed farm in 2013. On her farm Winberg produces seaweed juices that are used in food, and medicines. Like plants on land, seaweed absorbs CO2 and grows biomass(生物量). Coastal marine systems can absorb carbon at rates up to 50 times greater than forests on land. Globally, seaweeds are thought to sequester nearly 200 million tons of CO2 every year — as much as New York States annual emissions. And when the seaweed dies, much of the carbon locked up in its tissues is transported to deep oceans.

The potential for seaweed doesn’t stop in the oceans. Winberg has found there are benefits on land, too. She believes that seaweed farming offers “huge potential” to not only address the climate crisis, but also feed a growing population in a sustainable way. According to Winberg, one hectare of a seaweed farm can produce more protein than the same amount of land used for cattle. “We’re sitting on undiscovered, renewable, sustainable resources,” she says.

In the thousands of years of human experimentation with seaweed, the scale of the challenges that seaweed can help solve has grown largely. But some things are still the same. To the Aboriginal Australians living in Tasmania who first discovered some of seaweed’s uses, it might have seemed like a wonder material as they made watertight bags out of it. To seaweed experts like Winberg today, this old idea is still ringing true.

1. What is mainly introduced about seaweed in Paragraph 1?

A．It’s history.

B．It’s origin.

C．It’s use.

D．It’s appearance.

2. What is Winberg’s attitude towards seaweed?

A．Unclear

B．Critical

C．Doubtful

D．Favorable

3. How does the author explain things in Paragraph 3?

A．By comparison.

B．By argumentation.

C．By example.

D．By simile.

4. From the article, we know that ________.

A．People can only feel the seaweed’s benefits from the sea.

B．Seaweed can solve an increasing number of difficulties.

C．The seaweed today has no more advantages than before.

D．The potential for seaweed does not apply to the land.