【推荐1】Growing up in England with a British father and a Chinese mother, I’ve enjoyed food from both countries ever since I was able to hold a knife and fork and chopsticks!

Mum has sweet memories of the food from her home town in Sichuan, and often cooks spicy dishes. Thanks to this, Dad has come to love hot pot! But there are still some dishes that Dad dare not try even after many years of marriage to my mother.   Even today he still does not take to eating things like chicken feet.

But I enjoy that sort of food myself. Last week, I went to the butcher’s and asked, “Do you have pigs’ ears?” “No,” the butcher said, pulling at his own ears, “just these ordinary ones.” He must have thought I was joking.

Dad can cook a super “full English breakfast” of bacon, eggs, beans, sausages and toast with butter. Mum and I just have to find a way to get him into the kitchen! He also does a typical Sunday roast. We all love roast beef and vegetables.

I’ll never forget my first visit to China. Mum encouraged me to try different kinds of food. But just when I thought I could deal with all Chinese food, I came across stinky tofu, a horrible grey thing that looked and smelt like a burnt sports shoe. I gathered all my courage to take a bite and was amazed to find it wasn’t so bad. It reminded me of blue cheese, a similarly   strong smelling type of food you either love or hate. Maybe I’ll fall in love with stinky tofu, someday.

People say that one man’s meat is another man’s poison, but I feel at home with food from both my cultures.

1. What can we learn from this passage?

A．I have enjoyed the food from two cultures since a little child.

B．Because of my Mum, Dad loves all kinds of Chinese food.

C．We all like roast beef and vegetables except Mum.

D．I have fallen in love the stinky tofu now.

2. What is the character of the butcher?

A．Generous

B．Mean

C．Humorous

D．Serious

3. What does the underlined part in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．refuse

B．like

C．allow

D．mind

4. What’s the main purpose of this passage?

A．To introduce two different cultures.

B．To advise the readers to try some different food.

C．To show the different eating habits between China and Britain.

D．To tell a story about a child of his eating experience.

【推荐2】Perhaps you are a corporate manager who is about to attend a few business dinners in China, or maybe you are meeting your significant other' s family at a dinner in Shanghai. Either way, you can be sure that lots of drinking is involved during these Chinese social events.

What you will be drinking.

Baijiu- Also called sorghum wine, baijiu is the drink of choice for business dinners in China.The most popular brand of baijiu is Maotai , which can be as strong as 60% alcohol-by-volume（compared to an average vodka at 40% ABV).

Red wine-Red wine has increased in popularity at Chinese dinner tables in recent years along with the rising interest in luxury goods.

Beer-Popular Chinese beer brands include Tsingtao and Harbin Beer, which are crisp, refreshing lagers(淡啤酒） that can cool the burning sensations from drinking baijiu.

Courage, quantity, and quality

It's perfectly all right if you get drunk, and if you leave sober, your hosts might think they've failed to show the proper hospitality.

The bottom line is, it's best if you drink whatever they give you. This is called jiudan-“drink courage". Of course, having jiudan doesn't automatically mean you have a good jiuliang-“drinking capacity" or the ability to hold your drink. But this really doesn't matter, as long as you have good jiupin-“drink manners" or the way you behave when drunk. Ideally you'll have all three, but if you don't, the first one is the most important.

General etiquette

When clinking glasses, the junior people should always hold their glasses lower than those of senior folks. Also, if you are late for the party, you are expected to punish yourself by drinking.

Lastly, it is considered extremely rude to refuse a drink after someone toasts you. Of course, “drying your glass" is considered the utmost respect at the dinner table.

1. What is beer more likely to serve as at Chinese dinner tables?

A．Appetizer.

B．Primary drink.

C．Secondary drink.

D．After-dinner drink.

2. What policy should you follow when drinking in China?

A．Under no circumstances should you get drunk.

B．If you don't love the drink offered, you can say no.

C．You have to get drunk to show respect for your host.

D．Drink courage matters most when you drink with others.

3. What is the proper behavior for a young adult over 18 at Chinese dinner tables?

A．Refusing a drink if you don't want it.

B．Drinking yourself under the table when late.

C．Holding your glass lower when toasting seniors.

D．Toasting seniors as many times as you can.

【推荐3】Turning trash into treats

Imagine you are at the supermarket checkout. You pay the cashier, load your food into the cart, then take one third of your newly purchased items outside and throw them into the trash.

This may sound farfetched (牵强的), but millions of us worldwide do this on a regular basis, although in a more non-direct way. Figures published this year by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimate that over 30 percent of the food produced worldwide goes to waste. In the west, most of this food is thrown away by businesses that are unable to sell it, or by consumers who buy too much. And the majority of this food, despite being past its sell-by date, is still perfectly fit for human consumption.

So where do these excess products end up? “We receive food from various sources” says Adam Smith, founder of the Real Junk Food Project, on his company’s website. The British company recently made headlines in the UK after it became the country’s first “food waste supermarket”, offering products that would otherwise have ended up in a landfill site. Most of its customers are low –income families, or even college students who find it difficult to afford food.

Some retailers across Europe are also taking action. France recently passed a law that says all supermarkets must now donate all of their unsold produce to charities, while the Italian government has also put similar measures in place. Hundreds of cafes that serve meals made from surplus food have been set up across the continent too, selling dishes at rock bottom prices or even giving them away for free.

So what can we do as individuals to help prevent our dinner ending up in the bin?”In two words: Buy less. Or at least shop smarter,” Johnthan Bloom, who runs the blog Wasted Food, tells Foodtank.com.

1. What can we learn about food waste?

A．Food waste is very serious now.

B．Buying less leads to food waste.

C．Eating less leads to food waste.

D．Energy shortage results from food waste.

2. What does the underlined phrase “sell-by date” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．The last limited date to sell.

B．The date to sell out.

C．The Date on sale.

D．The date to produce.

3. What do people do to reduce food waste according to the text?

A．Recycle the food from the trash.

B．Donate unsold produce to charities.

C．Eat up meals made from leftover food.

D．Offer food to the low-income families .

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To show where the leftover food end up.

B．To show the bad habits of people’s eating.

C．To appeal to people to prevent food waste.

D．To introduce the advantages to deal with junk food.

【推荐1】Most people want to be healthier, but they do not know to do this or think that they do not have the time.    1     Here are some science-backed tips on health and fitness for busy people.

Use smaller bowls and plates, but taller glasses.    2     The reason why this happens is that our brain thinks that we are eating the same amount of food, but in reality, we are eating a smaller portion (一份)．Cornell University also found the larger the plate, the more likely that you were to overload it.

    3     People need to drink enough water every day. But sugary drinks are linked to obesity and diabetes (糖尿病). So plain water is the best choice. If you aren’t a fan of plain water, add flavor with slices of orange, lemon, lime, watermelon, or cucumber.

Work out during the commercials. No one likes commercials, so you might as well do something healthy when they are playing. Every time those commercials are playing, you can do push-ups, sit-ups, or wall sits.     4    

Being healthy and fit only takes a short amount of time per day.     5     Science has proven that you can be healthy without hours of working out per day.

A．Have a healthy diet.

B．So being busy is really no excuse any more.

C．Drink plenty of water.

D．The longer that you watch TV, the more that you need to work out.

E．They tested this theory with a self-service restaurant with two sizes of plates.

F．A study found that by using smaller dishes, you can eat up to 29% less calories per day.

G．The truth is that it does not have to take that long or need huge life changes to be healthy.

【推荐2】New research brings some good news for lovers of spicy foods, after finding that eating hot red chili peppers might help to extend lifespan.

Consuming（消耗）hot red chili peppers might reduce death risk, say Chopan and Littenberg from the research team. In hot peppers, such as Mexico peppers, the strong flavor comes from a compound（复合物）, which does not exist in sweet peppers or onions. Studies have suggested that this compound can offer a wealth of health benefits.

A study of more than 16,000 people in the United States showed that people who consumed red chili peppers had a lower risk of death from all causes over an average of 18 years than those who did not eat the spicy food. Compared with people who did not consume hot red chili peppers, those who did were found to be at 13 percent reduced risk of all-cause death.

For example, a recent study reported by Medical News Today, found that the compound might have the potential to stop breast cancer, while an earlier study linked the compound to a reduced risk of digest system cancers. Still, the available data suggested that hot red chili pepper consumption was most strongly associated with a reduced risk of death from heart disease.

While the researchers are unable to discover the concrete compound by which red chili peppers might extend lifespan, the team says that it is likely due to the compound that is effectively against obesity.

Overall, the team says that these latest findings support those of the 2015 study, linking spicy food intake to reduced risk of death by showing ‘‘an significant decrease in death associated with hot red chili pepper consumption.” However, Chopan and Littenberg note that the earlier study was only conducted in Chinese adults, so the new research makes these findings more credible.

1. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．The compound protects people against obesity.

B．Red chili pepper can cure all-cause disease.

C．The study only goes for American people.

D．Onion consuming can reduce death risk.

2. What is the finding of the new research mainly about?

A．Hot red chili pepper lovers develop no cancers.

B．Hot red chili peppers help control breast illness.

C．Hot red chili pepper intake may increase lifespan

D．Hot red chili peppers decrease heart disease.

3. Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word “credible”?

A．Attractive.	B．Practical.
C．Encouraging.	D．Convincing.

【推荐2】Machines might one day replace human laborers in a number of professions, but surely they won’t ever replace human artists. Right?

Think again. Not even our artists will be safe from the inevitable machine takeover, if a new development in artificial intelligence(AI) by a team of researchers from Rutgers University and Facebook’s AI lab offers a clue of what’s to come. They have designed an AI capable of not only producing art, but actually inventing whole new aesthetic(美学的) styles similar to movements like impressionism or abstract expressionism. The idea, according to researcher Marian Mazzone, was to make art that is “novel, but not too novel”.

The model used in this project involves a generator network, which produces the images, and a discriminator network, which “judges” whether it’s art. Once the generator learns how to produce work that the distributor recognizes as art, it’s given an additional instruction: to produce art that doesn’t match any known aesthetic styles.

“You want to have something really creative and striking — but at the same time not to go too far and make something that isn’t aesthetically pleasing,” explained Ahmed Elgammal.

The art that was generated by the system was then presented to human judges alongside human-produced art without showing which was which. To the researchers’ surprise, the machine-made art scored slightly higher overall than the human-produced art.

Of course, machines can’t yet replace the meaning conveyed in works by human artists, but this project shows that artist skill sets certainly seem reproducible by machines.

What will it take for machines to produce content with meaning? That might be the last AI frontier. Human artists can at least hang their hats in that field for now.

“Imagine having people over for a dinner party and they ask, ‘Who is that by?’ And you say, ‘Well, it’s a machine actually.’ That would be an interesting conversation starter,” said Kevin Walker.

1. What is implied in the second paragraph?

A．Artists won’t be replaced by AI.	B．AI can produce new styles of art.
C．AI is totally at a loss about impressionism.	D．AI fails to reflect abstract expressionism.

2. What did Marian find in his study?

A．AI can please human judges with its art.	B．AI can combine content with meaning.
C．AI can make art aesthetically unpleasant.	D．AI can create high quality arts.

3. What does the underlined phrase “hang their hats” mean?

A．Discover.

B．Hold.

C．Struggle.

D．Appear.

4. What Kevin said in the last paragraph tells us that         .

A．she uses machines to cook for a party	B．she likes to join in a dinner party
C．she expects the arrival of AI	D．she cares about the starter of a chat

【推荐3】Is dark chocolate healthy? Yes，dark chocolate has compounds (化合物)that offer health benefits and can be enjoyed without guilt，even on a daily basis.But the amount matters，since too many bites can contribute to extra fat，sugar and calories and get rid of its health benefits.

Dark chocolate is rich in cocoa，which contains compounds known as flavanols(黄烷醇)．At high levels，cocoa flavanols have been shown to help lower blood pressure and the risk of diabetes. Dark chocolate has the highest amount of cocoa flavanols：milk chocolate has lens，and white chocolate has none.

But while cocoa flavanols in dark chocolate make it a healthful treat，they give it a biter flavor. Producers may process chocolate to make it more delicious，but doing so can remove some of these beneficial compounds，said Matt Hartings，an American professor. In spite of this，dark chocolate is still a healthier choice than milk chocolate，which tends to have more sugar. Additionally，cocoa powder contains minerals. So you can enjoy a piece of dark chocolate even after a meal. Just keep the following in mind.

First ，buy chocolate that has at least 60% cocoa.“Generally speaking，the higher the percentage，the more flavanols. These higherpercentage chocolates have the added benefit over the lower percentages and milk and white chocolates because they contain less sugar and less fat，” Hartings said.

Second，if possible，choose natural cocoa over Dutch processed cocoa，which is treated with an alkali (碱)．This gives chocolate a milder flavor but removes healthful flavanols.
And finally，to keep weight in check，limit to 30 grams of dark chocolate daily，or about 150 calories，
1. Dark chocolate is healthy mainly because of the existence of ．

A．rich minerals	B．less sugar
C．cocoa flavanols	D．fewer calories

2. What does the underlined word “treat” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Something enjoyable.

B．A salt­free diet.

C．Food paid by others.

D．A cure for an illness.

3. What can we learn from the text?

A．Cocoa flavanols leads to high blood pressure.

B．White chocolate is good for health.

C．One can feel free to eat dark chocolate.

D．Alkali can affect flavanols' content.

4. What's the author's purpose in writing the text?

A．To show his love for dark chocolate.

B．To promote the sales of chocolate.

C．To provide facts about dark chocolate.

D．To make a distinction among chocolates.