【推荐1】Summer is the season to dive into new activities and relax. And right now is the time to make sure that you’re ready for the great outdoors, the holiday planning and travel, and the bathing suit beach days.

If you want to lose weight before summer, concentrate on dropping no more than a pound or two a week.     1    And when you trouble yourself, sooner or later you’re going to gain it back. Operate on a 500-calorie-a-day deficit (亏损).     2     So if you cut 500 calories a day for seven days straight, you’ll lose a pound a week right there.

Operating at a decrease of 500 calories a day should involve both eating less and moving more. For example, you could consume 300 fewer calories and bum 50 extra per day.

Include both healthy eating and exercise in your weight-loss plan, and break the 500-calorie goal into small groups to make it more reachable.     3    

To cut 100 calories:     4     Have vegetable pizza instead of pepperoni (意大利辣香肠). Use our Nutritional Needs Calculator to determine how many daily calories you should consume in order to lose, gain, or maintain your healthy goal weight. Once you’ve reached your goal, recalculate your nutritional needs for keeping extra weight off all summer long.

To burn 100 calories: spend 15 minutes biking.     5     Spend 5 minutes gardening. Keep on exercising at least 30 minutes daily a week. Reading food labels and counting calories or writing down what and when you eat can give you more control as well.

A．Here are some simple ways to get there.

B．Walk or run one mile.

C．A pound is 3,500 calories.

D．It is okay to have some snacks between your meals.

E．You should always make sure you get a lot of sleep.

F．Anything more than that usually means you’re troubling yourself.

G．Eat a chicken breast without the skin.

【推荐2】Race walking shares many fitness benefits with running, research shows, while most likely contributing to fewer injuries.     1    .

    2    . The longest track and field event at the Summer Olympics is the 50-kilometer race walk, which is about five miles longer than the marathon. But the sport’s rules require that a race walker’s knees stay straight through most of the leg swing and one foot remain in contact (接触) with the ground at all times.     3    , however, says Jaclyn Norberg, an assistant professor of exercise science at Salem State University in Salem, Mass.

    4    , she says, According to most calculations, race walkers moving at a pace of six miles per hour would burn about 800 calories(卡路里) per hour, which is approximately twice as many as they would burn walking, although fewer than running, which would probably burn about 1,000 or more calories per hour.

However, race walking does not pound the body as much as running does, Dr. Norberg says. According to her research,     5    , who do not leave the ground, create only about 1.4 times their body weight with each step.

As a result, she says, some of the injuries associated with running, such as runner’s knee, are uncommon among race walkers. But the sport’s strange form does place considerable stress on the ankles and hips, so people with a history of such injuries might want to be cautious in adopting the sport. In fact, anyone wishing to try race walking should probably first consult a coach or experienced racer to learn proper technique, she says. It takes some practice.

A．Race walkers are conditioned athletes

B．Like running, race walking is physically demanding

C．Having a medical checkup

D．It does, however, have its won problem.

E．It’s this strange form that makes race walking such an attractive activity.

F．It’s less likely to cause knee injuries

G．runners hit the ground with as much as four times their body weight per step, while race walkers

【推荐1】People living on parts of the south coast of England face a serious problem that the sea had eaten into the soft cliffs (悬崖) where residents live. In 2020, the owners of a large hotel and of several houses discovered, to their horror, that their gardens had disappeared overnight. While experts were studying the problem, the hotel and several houses disappeared altogether, sliding down the cliff and into the sea.

Erosion (侵蚀) of the white cliffs along the south coast of England has always been a problem but it has become more serious in recent years. Dozens of homes have had to be abandoned as the sea has gone farther and farther inland. Experts have studied the areas most affected and have drawn up a map for local people, forecasting in ten years their homes will be swallowed up by the hungry sea.

Angry owners have asked the Government to build sea defenses to protect their homes. Government surveyors have pointed out that in most cases, this is impossible. New sea walls would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and would only make the waves go further along the coast, shifting (转移) the problem from one area to another. Meanwhile, if you want to buy a cheap house with an uncertain future, apply to a house agent in one of the threatened areas on the south coast of England. You can get a house for a knockdown price but it may turn out to be a knockdown home.

1. What is the cause of the problem that people living on parts of the south coast of England face?

A．The disappearance of hotels, houses and gardens.

B．The experts’ lack of knowledge.

C．The rising of the sea level.

D．The washing-away of cliffs.

2. According to the second paragraph, the erosion of the white cliffs in the south of England __________.

A．will soon become a problem for people living in France

B．has now become a threat

C．is quickly changing the map of England

D．can be stopped if proper measures are taken

3. It is not possible to build sea defenses to protect against erosion because ___________.

A．it is too costly and will endanger neighbouring areas

B．the government is too slow in taking action

C．they will be easily knocked down by waves

D．house agents along the coast do not support the idea

【推荐2】Finland is perhaps the most beautiful and mysterious of the countries of northern Europe. Two-thirds of its surface is covered with thick forests. Relative to its size, Finland has more lakes than any other countries. The northern part of this country is inside the Arctic Circle, where almost no trees can grow because of its cold weather and the people use their deer to transport clothing and food.

The Finnish history began in the Middle Ages. In about 1155, Finland was conquered (征服) by its western neighbor Sweden. After a period of rule by Denmark in the 14th century, the Swedes won back independence and power in 1523 under their brave king. During the Napoleonic Wars (1804～1818), Finland was finally passed from Sweden to Russia. The opportunity came in 1917 when the Russian Revolution brought foreign rule of Finland to the end. Shortly after Soviet Russia made peace with Germany, 1919 saw the founding of the Finnish Republic.

The years between the First and Second World Wars were years of progress and growing development. Finland is the fifth largest country in Europe, and despite a relatively small population of 5.2 million, the market potential is much greater. Finland has no coal or oil, and the nation’s wealth lies in the timber (木材) from its forests, which supplies material for paper and furniture making, and in the electric power from its water. Finland is an excellent gateway to trade with Russia and the Baltic States because of a long history of trading with these markets. Finland has also enjoyed a strong and long-standing trading relationship with Britain, a relationship which was further strengthened by Finland’s accession (加入) to the European Union in January 1995.

The following are some of the main commercial centres and towns:

Town	Population
Helsinki	545,474 (1 January 2013)
Espoo	213,271 (1 January 2013)
Tampere	195,468 (1 January 2013)
Vantaa	178,471 (1 January 2013)
Turku	172,561 (1 January 2013)
Oulu	120,753 (1 January 2013)

1. From the text, we learn that Finland ________.

A．lies inside the Arctic Circle

B．is next to the countries of northern Europe

C．lies east of Sweden

D．is entirely covered with forests and lakes

2. In the history, Finland was sequentially ruled by ________ in order.

A．Sweden, Germany, Denmark and Russia

B．Sweden, Denmark, Sweden and Russia

C．Sweden, Denmark, Russia and Germany

D．Sweden, Russia, Denmark and Russia

3. Finland had been under the control of ________ for as long as 100 years or so.

A．Russia	B．Denmark
C．Sweden	D．foreign countries

4. Which of the following is NOT true about Finland?

A．Finland is one of the most northerly countries in the world.

B．Helsinki, capital of Finland, is the largest city of the country.

C．Finland became one of the members in the European Union in January 1995.

D．Finland has more lakes than any other countries in the world.

【推荐3】The internet has led to a huge increase in credit-card(信用卡) ____Your card information could even be for sale in an illegal Website(非法网站). Websites offering cheap goods and services should be regarded with care Online shoppers who enter their credit-card information may never receive the goods they thought they bought.
The thieves then go shopping with your card number—or sell the information over the Internet. Computer hackers(黑客)have broken down security(安全) system, raising questions about the safety of card holder information.
Several months ago, 25,000 customers of a CD universe, an online music retailer(批发商), were not lucky. Their names, addresses and credit-card numbers were posted on a Website after the retailer refused to pay US $ 157,828 to get back the information.
Credit-card firms are now fighting against online fraud. Master-card is working on plans for Web only credit-card, with a lower credit limit. The card could be used only for shopping online. However , there are a few simple steps you can take to keep from being cheated.
Ask about your credit-card firm’s online rules: under British law, cardholders are responsible for the first US $ 78 of any fraudulent spending. And shop only at secure sites: send your credit-card information only if the Website offers advanced secure system.
If the security is in place, a letter will appear in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. The Website address may also start http://--the extra “s” stands for secure. If in doubt, give your credit-card information over the telephone.
Keep your password safe: most online sites require a user name and password before placing an order. Treat your password with care.
1. The underlined word “fraud” in the first paragraph probably means ______.

A．cheating

B．sale

C．payment

D．use

2. According to this passage most people worry about shopping on the Internet because ______.

A．a great number of stolen credit-cards are sold on the Internet every day

B．fraud on the Internet happens very often

C．many Websites break down every day

D．there are too many illegal Websites on the Internet

3. Thieves usually get the information of the credit-card ______.

A．because many customers lost their cards

B．by paying money for people working in the information companies

C．because of the carelessness of the customers

D．by stealing the information from Websites

4. If the passwords of your credit-cards are not probably kept, _____.

A．the bank and the shop will suffer great losses

B．you will not be able to get back your information

C．you might suffer great losses

D．the bank will answer for your loss

5. What’s the best title of the passage?

A．How to Beat Online Credit-card Thieves

B．How to Shop on the Internet

C．Never Use Credit-card Without an Advanced Computer

D．Why Thieves Steal Credit-card Information