【推荐2】“Old wives tales" are beliefs passed down from one generation to another. For example, most of us remember our parents' telling us to eat more of certain foods of not to do certain things. Is there any truth in these teachings? Some of them agree with present medical thinking, but others have not passed the test of time.

Did your mother ever tell you to eat your carrots because they are good for your eyes? Scientists now report that eating carrots can help prevent a serious eye disease called macular degeneration.   Eating just one carrot a day can reduce the possibility of getting this disease by 40%. Garlic(蒜）is good for you ,too. It can kill the type of virus that causes colds.

Unfortunately, not all of Mom's advice passed the test of medical studies. For example,generations of children have been told not to go swimming within an hour after eating. But research suggests that there is no danger in doing so. Do sweets cause tooth problems? Well, yes and no. Sticky sweets made with grains tend to cause more problems than sweets made with simple sugars.

Even though science can tell us that some of our traditional beliefs don't hold water , there is still a lot of truth in the old wives' tales.After much of this knowledge has been accumulated （积累)from thousands of years of experience in family health care. We should respect this body of knowledge even as we search for clear scientific support to prove it true or false .

1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．Eating garlic is good for our eyes.

B．Carrots prevent people from catching colds.

C．Swimming after a meal is dangerous.

D．Sticky sweets tend to damage our teeth.

2. According to the passage, what does the underlined phrase “hold water” mean?

A．To be believable.	B．To be valuable.
C．To be admirable.	D．To be suitable.

3. Why do we need to respect the body of knowledge in the old wives' tales?

A．Because it is told by our ancestors.

B．Because it is scientifically supported.

C．Because it is based on many years' experience.

D．Because it is related to family health care.

4. What is the author's attitude toward “old wives' tales" in the text?

A．Subjective	B．Objective
C．Dissatisfied	D．Curious

【推荐3】Experts recently suggested that teens should start having early bedtimes. Before you think it as a habit suited only for young kids, consider that there are serious advantages in being well-rested. And now, even more research suggests that putting phones away before going to sleep is important to teens’ well-being.

A new study from Seton Hall University School of Health and Medicine Science found that 62 percent of kids used their smart phones before bed, and it’s causing less sleep and poor performance in school.

Those teens who text before bedtime tend to go to sleep later, and get up later in the morning. Such behavior can be associated with mental health illnesses like depression or anxiety. Besides, once teens do receive a text, experts found, they tend to respond right away. Then the text conversation continues — leading to an even later bedtime.

The study’s co-author Dr. Peter Polos says this leads to excessive stimulation (过度刺激) at night. Light from electronic devices can prevent the secretion (分泌) of melatonin — a hormone (荷尔蒙) that promotes sleep, which makes sleep difficult in the face of overuse of smart phones at night. It’s true! More screen time means less sleep time; other studies have suggested the same idea.

As for a final piece of advice, Dr. SushanthBhat says, since getting the proper amount of sleep is very important for brain development and learning in the teenage years, our study should encourage parents and guardians (监护人) to limit the smart phone usage of kids at night. Keep in mind that teens aren’t the only ones addicted to their phones! Adults can also benefit from setting a tech curfew (宵禁) for themselves. After all, kids learn by example!

1. What is the text mainly about?

A．How to promote sleep.

B．The disadvantages of phone usage before bed.

C．The advantages of going to bed early.

D．How kids learn from their parents.

2. Who are likely to go to sleep later according to the text?

A．Kids having text conversations before bed.

B．Kids putting their phones away at night.

C．Kids studying their lessons hard at school.

D．Kids exercising with friends after school.

3. Melatonin can ________.

A．wake people from a sleep	B．help people fall asleep
C．lead to later bedtimes	D．make sleep difficult

4. The author advises parents to ________.

A．learn from their kids

B．get rid of smart phones

C．try to benefit from hi-tech development

D．set a good example to their kids

5. The text is most probably taken from a ________.

A．lesson plan	B．book review
C．science report	D．personal diary

【推荐1】Claude Sammut, a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of New South Wales in Australia, said it would soon be possible for robots to defeat the stars of the future.

For many years, Mr. Sammut has been a member of a project called RoboCup, where robots have been programmed to learn how to play football and compete against others in a football match.

As he explains, the robots are having difficulty in learning how to control the ball and move the ball on their own, but he is still full of confidence that one day in the future they will show the same skills as Wayne Rooney, who is one of the best football players in the world.

Mr. Sammut also said, “In 1968, John McCarthy and Donald Michie made a bet with David Levy, who was then the chess champion in Scotland, that within 10 years a computer program would be able to beat him. It took a little bit longer than 10 years nearly 30 years but eventually such programs came into being.

In the same spirit of a grand challenge, RoboCup aims to develop a team of robots that can defeat the world soccer champion team by the year 2050. To achieve this, or come even closer to the ambition, the robots will have to be able to sense and act in completely unstructured environments. This will require major advances in perception (感知), decision making, learning and cooperative behaviors. Considering robots are integrated hardware and software systems, great advances will also be needed in sensors (传感器), energy storage, and materials.”

1. The RoboCup is aimed to develop robots that know how to        .

A．play computer football games

B．play football and win in real matches

C．understand the rules of the football game

D．improve the skills of real football players

2. What kind of difficulties are the robots facing in playing football?

A．They can’t run as fast as real people.

B．They can’t recognize their partners accurately.

C．They can’t control the ball well by themselves.

D．They can’t pass the ball to their partners.

3. We can conclude from Mr. Sammut’s words that        .

A．many parts of robots still need improving

B．robots would be smarter than human beings in the near future

C．robots have more ambitions than human beings

D．robots would take control of the world

4. What’s the best title for this passage?

A．Scientists wisdom in designing robot football players.

B．Robot football players to beat world’s best team by 2050.

C．Robot football players bright future.

D．Mr. Sammut-the father of robot football players.

【推荐2】根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。Why do some people have many friends while others do not?    1    However, it is not so. Let’s look at two psychological experiments which will give you the key to happy interpersonal relations.The first experiment is called the “Hawthorne effect” after Hawthorne, Illinois, where the experiment took place. A group of psychologists examined the work patterns of two groups of workers in the Western Electric Company.    2    The psychologists changed the working conditions for one group twice but left the other group alone. They were surprised to find that productivity increased on both occasions and in both groups. They concluded that the increase in productivity came from the attention given to the workers by the management. It had increased their motivation and so they had worked harder. In other words, if you take an interest in others, they will want to please you and you will have good relations with them.    3    After Martin Luther King, Jr was killed in 1960s, a teacher, Jane Elliott, living in an all-white town decided to help her class of young children understand why the Civil Rights Movement had been necessary in America.She divided the class into two groups: one with blue eyes and other with brown eyes. Other eye colors such as hazel or green were excluded from his exercise. Then she told the class that brown-eyed people were cleverer than blue-eyed ones because of an agent for brown color found in their blood. Blue-eyed people were stupid, lazy and not to be trusted. Jane Elliott did not need to say any more. The brown-eyed students quickly got used to their new role as the leaders of the class. The blue-eyed students became quiet and withdrawn. Then she discovered something very interesting. Four poor brown-eyed readers began to read fluently in a way they had never done before.    4    So if you want to be successful and happy, take an interest in others whether they are your classmates or workmates. Congratulate them on their success and sympathize with them in their troubles.    5    

A．Before the experiment the management talked to both groups of workers and explained that they wanted to find the best working environment for them.

B．Remember that the way you treat others will decide their attitude and behavior to you.

C．The second experiment shows what happens to personal relations if you are rude to or ignore others.

D．The ones who have more friends usually are those who care about others.

E．Jane Elliott had shown that the way people are treated affects not only their behavior but also their confidence and their performance.

F．You may even imagine that this ability was something they were born with because it seems so effortless to them.

G．The second experiment tells us what teachers said had a great effect on the students.

【推荐3】Scientists recently discovered three tyrannosaur (霸王龙) trackways in Canada. The trackways suggest the meat eaters traveled and hunted in groups. The 70-million-year- old footprints are the first tyrannosaur trackways ever found.

Tyrannosaurs were a type of meat-eating dinosaur that included the strong Tyrannosaurus rex and Albertosaurus. “Groups of tyrannosaurs may have stuck together as a group to increase their chances of bringing down animals and individually surviving,” study coauthor Richard McCrea says. He works for Canada’s Peace Region Paleontology Research Centre. It’s believed that tyrannosaurs were solitary creatures. The newly discovered trackways could change the way scientists look at these frightening beasts.

Trackways can uncover a lot about the social behavior of a species. Unfortunately, very few tyrannosaur footprints have ever been found, and until recently, the only ones known were single prints discovered in Mongolia, the western U.S., and western Canada. But in October 2011, a hunting guide named Aaron Fredlund found two tyrannosaur track marks near Tumbler Ridge, an area in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Over the next year, McCrea and his team searched the site and found the remaining trackways.

The footprints are at about the same depth, which suggests the tyrannosaurs moved through the area at the same time. Impressions of the dinosaurs’ rough skin are even visible in the prints. The prints are also in near-perfect condition. That’s because the ground had a high clay (黏土 ) content when the dinosaurs walked through the area. The land was later covered by a thick layer of volcanic ash, which kept the marks intact (完整). “This is the most ideal situation you could ask for,” McCrea says.

Researchers aren’t sure of the exact species of tyrannosaur that left the prints. But the historic findings show a great deal about how the beasts moved and behaved. “We have extremely convincing evidence that tyrannosaurs traveled in groups,” says McCrea. “This is probably the most important evidence to come out to date on that topic.”

1. Tyrannosaurs stuck together as a group to__________.

A．protect their home and babies	B．add advantages to their hunting
C．deal with extreme climate	D．divide the work scientifically

2. What do the underlined words in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Caused others to be scared.	B．Usually had animal meat as food.
C．Usually spent much time alone.	D．Were able to live for a long time.

3. Why were the tyrannosaur footprints well protected?

A．The dinosaurs left deep footprints.

B．The natural condition was perfect.

C．The area was untouched by humans.

D．The geological activities were active.

4. Which of the following will McCrea most probably agree to?

A．More tyrannosaur footprints would be found.

B．The social behaviors of dinosaurs are similar.

C．The mystery of tyrannosaur remains to be solved.

D．The findings are the basis of the research of dinosaurs.

【推荐1】In the past three years, according to a study, the number of people who study part- time in England has decreased by 42%—the equivalent (等同的)of 106,000 fewer students. Almost half a million students were studying part-time in the past three years, with most of them working at the same time and studying vocational subjects, according to Universities UK(UUK), which conducted the research. The report, which was requested by ministers, said, ''There seems to be many factors responsible for it: the current economic climate limiting employer support for further study and putting pressure on household budgets, changing pathways to higher education and the current changes to the funding system in England and associated increase in tuition fees. Factors such as the rise of apprenticeships(学徒制),increase in private providers (whether for profit or not for profit), and a shift to online learning also have an impact. ''

Professor Sir Eric Thomas, chairman of the review and vice-president of Bristol University, said, ''The reality is that the UK needs more graduates and relies heavily on part-time higher education to meet these fast changing skill needs in a fast changing world. We ignore part-time study's transformative power for individuals and society. While part-time students are a great success story for the UK, something is going wrong. In England in particular, numbers are reducing and do not look like recovering. The situation is highly complex. This review is the beginning of a process of universities working together and with partners to take steps in dealing with this issue. We cannot and must not give up on these students. ''

Rachel Wenstone, vice-president for higher education at the National Union of Students (NUS), said, ''NUS welcomes this report and we are pleased that this issue is getting the attention it deserves. It is incredibly disheartening to see the number of part- time students decreasing. The sector took responsibility in analyzing the issues facing part-time students and it's now time for the sector to take responsibility for dealing with the problems. ''

The university's minister, David Willetts, said, Part-time study brings enormous benefits to individuals, the economy and employers. Tuition fee loans are now available to new part-time students. We will also change the rules which stop people from getting financial support to learn new skills in engineering, technology and computer science part-time. This will make sure that the nation has the skills we need to keep our businesses ahead in the global race. Institutions must also play their part to encourage more part-time study by emphasizing the benefits to future students. I am calling on all universities to make sure that part-time options are highly visible on websites and detailed information about the courses is also up to date.

1. Which of the following is NOT the reason for the decline of the number of part- time students in the UK?

A．The tuition fees have been increased.

B．Many people choose to learn on the Internet.

C．People are too busy with their work and daily lives.

D．Families are short of money to let their members study further.

2. What does Eric Thomas really want to express in Paragraph 2?

A．Part-time higher education is very important in the UK.

B．More graduates in the UK have to improve their skills.

C．Part-time students have been very successful in the UK.

D．Universities in the UK play a key role in attracting part-time students.

3. How does Wenstone feel about the present part-time study in the UK?

A．Puzzled.	B．Satisfied.
C．Optimistic.	D．Discouraged.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A．The UK sees the decline of its part-time students

B．Part-time students receive more attention nowadays

C．The UK comes up with ways to attract more part-time students

D．The decline of part-time students has effects on the UK

【推荐2】Sometimes we may find that every week there are a lot of new stories about how climate change is affecting the planet, or new plans to battle its effects. But the concept itself isn’t new at all — in fact, scientists have been exploring questions about climate change for almost 200 years.

The idea of “greenhouse gases” goes back to 1824, when Joseph Fourier wondered what was regulating the earth’s temperature. Fourier concluded that the atmosphere must be responsible for containing the heat absorbed from the sun and described it as a box with a glass lid: As light shines through the glass, the inside gets warmer as the lid traps the heat. As Fourier’s ideas spread, it came to be called “the greenhouse effect”.

Scientists continued to study the greenhouse effect. Not until a Swedish chemist named Svante Arrhenius came along, did scientists understand how global warming actually works. After years of work, Arrhenius determined that the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere did in fact have a direct effect on global temperatures.

Arrhenius found that CO2, and other gases trap radiation, which warms the atmosphere. Arrhenius was the first to suspect that burning coal could contribute to the greenhouse effect. But Arrhenius welcomed the warming effect on the planet. At a lecture later that year, Arrhenius noted that creatures of a warmer earth “might live under a milder sky and in less barren surroundings”.

While Arrhenius’ findings won him the 1903 Nobel Prize in chemistry, scientists kept debating whether the greenhouse effect was increasing until 1950, when researchers finally began to find strong data supporting it. By the end of the 1950s, American scientists had been sounding the alarm on the long-term consequences of climate change. Climate change research has come a long way since

Fourier first described the greenhouse effect - still, maybe Arrhenius should have been more careful of what he wished for.

1. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．The climate change.	B．The greenhouse effect.
C．The atmosphere.	D．The heat from the sun.

2. What did Arrhenius think of the greenhouse effect?

A．It was beneficial for creatures on the earth.

B．It had both advantages and disadvantages.

C．It did more harm than good to human beings.

D．It was a punishment for human harmful activities.

3. What’s the author’s attitude towards Arrhenius’ wish?

A．Optimistic.	B．Negative.
C．Neutral.	D．Ambiguous.

4. What’s the main idea of the text?

A．Causes of climate change.	B．Effects of greenhouse gases.
C．Findings about global warming.	D．Explorations on climate change.

【推荐3】Honey (蜂蜜) from the African forest is not only a kind of natural sugar, it is also delicious. Most people, and many animals, like eating it. However, the only way for them to get that honey is to find a wild bees’ nest (巢) and take the honey from it. Often, these nests are high up in trees, and it is difficult to find them. In parts of Africa, though, people and animals looking for honey have a strange and unexpected helper—a little bird called a honey guide.

The honey guide does not actually like honey, but it does like the wax (蜂蜡) in the beehives (蜂房). The little bird cannot reach this wax, which is deep inside the bees’ nest. So, when it finds a suitable nest, it looks for someone to help it. The honey guide gives a loud cry that attracts the attention of both passing animals and people. Once it has their attention, it flies through the forest, waiting from time to time for the curious animal or person as it leads them to the nest. When they finally arrive at the nest, the follower reaches in to get at the delicious honey as the bird patiently waits and watches. Some of the honey, and the wax, always falls to the ground, and this is when the honey guide takes its share.

Scientists do not know why the honey guide likes eating the wax, but it is very determined in its efforts to get it. The birds seem to be able to smell wax from a long distance away. They will quickly arrive whenever a beekeeper is taking honey from his beehives, and will even enter churches when beeswax candles are being lit.

1. Why is it difficult to find a wild bees’ nest?

A．It’s small in size.	B．It’s covered with wax.
C．It’s hidden in trees.	D．It’s hard to recognize.

2. What do the underlined words “the follower” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．A honey seeker.

B．A bird.

C．A bee.

D．A beekeeper.

3. The honey guide is special in the way ________.

A．it gets its food	B．it goes to church
C．it sings in the forest	D．it reaches into bees’ nests

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

A．Wild Bees	B．Wax and Honey
C．Beekeeping in Africa	D．Honey-Lover’s Helper