【推荐1】WASHINGTON-Thousands of public schools have stopped teaching foreign languages in the last decade, according to a survey. But another contrary trend makes educators and policymakers abuzz: a rush by schools in all parts of America to give lessons in Chinese.

Some schools are paying for Chinese classes on their own, but hundreds are getting some help. The Chinese government is sending teachers from China to schools all over the world and paying part of their salaries.

No one keeps an exact count, but rough calculations based on the government’s survey suggest that perhaps 1,600American public and private schools are teaching Chinese, up from 300 or so a decade ago. And the number is growing fast.

“It’s really changing the language education landscape of this country,” said Nancy. Other indicators point to the same trend. “The number of students taking the Advanced Placement test in Chinese, introduced in 2007, has grown so fast that it is likely to pass German this year as the third most tested Advanced Placement language, after Spanish and French,” said Trevor Packer, vice president of the College Board.

“We’ve all been surprised that in such a short time Chinese would grow to surpass German,” Mr. Packer said.

A decade ago, most of the schools with Chinese programs were on the east and west coasts. But in recent years, many schools have started Chinese programs in heartland states, including Ohio and Illinois in the Midwest, Texas and Georgia in the South, and Colorado and Utah in the Rocky Mountain West.

America has had the study of a foreign language grow before, only to see the bubble burst. Many schools began teaching Japanese in the 1980s, after Japan emerged as an economic rival. But thousands of schools have dropped the language, the survey found. Japanese is not the only language that has declined. Thousands of schools that offered French, German or Russian have stopped teaching those languages, too, the survey found.

1. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “abuzz” in the first paragraph?

A．Be noisy like the sound of a bee.

B．Be interested in various activities.

C．Cause people to discuss something hotly.

D．Motivate people to march bravely.

2. What can we infer from what Mr. Packer said?

A．More and more people choose Chinese in the Advanced Placement test.

B．The Advanced Placement test is the most difficult one in the world.

C．Chinese is more important than Spanish and French.

D．Chinese is a necessary subject in most important tests.

3. What can we know from the last two paragraphs?

A．Many schools started Chinese programs in the Midwest ten years ago.

B．Chinese programs have been started in more areas in America recently.

C．American schools have slopped teaching French, German and Russian.

D．People are gradually fond of learning Chinese and Japanese in recent years.

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Chinese is being learned as an official language in America.

B．Foreign languages fade in American schools except Chinese.

C．Teaching Chinese in foreign countries has become a trend.

D．Foreign languages are no longer being taught in America.

【推荐2】In American English, when someone says he has to “face the music”, it doesn’t mean he is going to a musical performance or a concert.

Imagine a friend asks you to take care of her beautiful sports car. She says, “Please don’t drive it. It’s an extremely fast car.” But you want to pretend the car is yours. So, you drive it around one night. As bad luck would have it, you lose control of the car and drive it into a stop sign. When your friend returns, you must “face the music”. It can be losing her friendship or paying for repairs to her car or both.

In 1851, the writer James Fenimore explained “face the music”. In a theater the orchestra (管弦乐队)sits in front of the stage. So, the actors on stage face the musicians. Many actors are very nervous, and this condition is called “stage fright”. They may want to run away. “Facing the music” means accepting it and not giving in to it.

Word experts say “face the music” may come from the army. A soldier could be forced out of the horse cavalry (骑兵团)because of the serious mistake in the war. The army drummers would play a sad beat. The soldier would be seated backward on a horse and face the music of the drums.

To “take your medicine” is to accept the bad result from something you have done. And if someone says, “You made your bed. Now lie in it.”he means you create a bad situation and you must deal with it. “Pay the piper” is also similar to “face the music”. But it’s fun to “lie in the bed and enjoy music”.

There are many idioms(习语)in the English language, whose real meanings are largely based on the context. Don’t read only with your eyes, or you would make a fool of yourself.

1. In Paragraph 2, “face the music” probably means________.

A．accept the bad result	B．go to a concert
C．refuse to repair the car	D．pretend the car is yours

2. What can we know about the soldier in the text?

A．He wanted to be a cavalry officer.

B．He would play the drum in the army.

C．He must have done something terrible.

D．He would be punished by the army drummers.

3. Which is different from the other expressions in meaning?

A．Pay the piper.

B．Take your medicine.

C．Lie in the bed and enjoy music.

D．You made your bed. Now lie in it.

4. What does the text mainly talk about?

A．The great fun of learning English idioms.

B．The origins of some useful English idioms.

C．Some interesting stories from English idioms.

D．Understanding English idioms in the context.

【推荐3】For Chinese students nowadays, no matter what kind of schools they’re going to, they have to face the problem of learning English. All examinations they want to pass require them to pass English. Examinations for entering further education, studying abroad and even graduating from college require scores in English examinations. English has become the most popular course in tutorial classes and even in the self-study classroom.

When nearly all students’ attention is focused on English, looking at the situation of our mother language, even Chinese linguists get confused about its use. Not only have many new words and phrases which are very popular on the Internet started to fill in every corner of the society, but common use of Chinese is full of mistakes and misunderstandings.

Under such urgent situation for the Chinese language, it’s time for every Chinese person to start protecting our mother tongue.

Chinese has the most speakers of any world language and also is one of the oldest in history. Around the world, many countries have started learning Chinese and Chinese has become one of the most important foreign languages in some foreign countries. Besides, there are 282 Confucius institutions in 88 countries and regions in the world that are teaching Chinese. The number of people learning Chinese is about 50 million outside China.

For those foreigners that are so crazy about Chinese language, what kind of attitude should the Chinese have? Honestly speaking, learning English itself shouldn’t be criticized, and we need to learn English to communicate with the world to show our culture and society.

However, it doesn’t make any sense that the importance of Chinese is replaced by a foreign language in a native’s mind. It’s really time to protect our Chinese language! Are you ready?

1. Which of the following best describes the main idea of the passage?

A．Language study is a problem of the world.

B．It’s time to protect Chinese language.

C．Chinese is becoming more important than English.

D．It’s unnecessary for Chinese people to learn English.

2. Some Chinese linguists get confused about the use of Chinese because ________.

A．more and more new words are used

B．great changes have taken place in Chinese

C．they could not understand network vocabulary

D．there are too many mistakes and misunderstandings

3. The writer describes the situation of English in China so as to________.

A．explain how popular English is

B．prove the importance of English

C．remind us to concern the situation of Chinese

D．encourage us to use Chinese rather than English

4. According to the passage, we should learn English to ________.

A．introduce our culture and society to the world

B．build more Confucius institutions abroad

C．study abroad to get further education

D．get promoted in your favorite jobs

【推荐1】Scientists have proved that petting cats and dogs for just ten minutes is an effective way to reduce stress levels.

Scientists showed that the general well-being of students improves quickly, with even those who are highly stressed showing ''significant'' reduction in cortisol levels - a chemical produced by our bodies in times of stress.

Many universities have adopted ''Pet Your Stress Away'' programs where students can interact with cats or dogs and it appears to be paying dividends now.

The research, conducted by Washington State University, shows that pets improve students' moods and their presence has stress-relieving physiological benefits. ''Just 10 minutes can have a significant impact, '' said Patricia Pendry, an associate professor in WSU's Department of Human Development. ''Students in our study that interacted with cats and dogs had a significant reduction in cortisol, a major stress hormone. ''

This is the first study that has demonstrated reductions in students' cortisol levels during a real-life intervention. The team chose 249 college students and put them into four random groups and compared the effects of different exposures to animals.

The first group were provided 10 minutes of hands-on interaction with dogs and cats.

The second group waited in line while observing others petting the animals.

The third group watched a slideshow of the same animals, while the fourth group was ''waitlisted. ''

Salivary cortisol samples were collected from each participant starting from the moment they woke up in the morning.

There were significantly less cortisol in the saliva of students who had direct interaction with the pets.

''We already knew that students enjoy interacting with animals, and that it helps them experience more positive emotions, '' Dr Pendry said.

''What we wanted to learn was whether this exposure would help students reduce their stress in a less subjective way. ''

''And it did, which is exciting because the reduction of stress hormones may, over time, have significant benefits for physical and mental health. ''

1. What can we learn from the passage?

A．The more stress you have, the less cortisol your body produce.

B．Washington State University has adopted ''Pet Your Stress Away'' programs.

C．The reduction of stress hormones can merely be beneficial to students’ mental health.

D．All groups didn’t interact with dogs and cats for ten minutes.

2. What does the underlined phrase ''pay dividends'' in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．pay off

B．end in failure

C．pay a price

D．make no difference

3. Where is the passage most probably taken from?

A．a fashion magazine	B．an official document
C．an educational journal	D．an advertisement for pets

【推荐2】We all know a picky eater (挑食者) or two, or maybe you're the picky eater, avoiding food adventures at all costs, because you're convinced you'll hate whatever new and bad-looking food is put on your plate. But why is it that some people are picky eaters while others are willing to try pretty much anything that can be eaten?

There's no single explanation for the picky eating habit. Picky eaters are typically unwilling to try new foods, which can be the result of your DNA and the way you are treated and educated when you are young. Marcia Pelchat, Ph.D., a researcher at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia who specializes in food preferences in humans, tells China Daily, “A group in Finland looked at what we call food neophobia, which literally means 'fear of the new', and they found that there is some genetic basis for this.”

“Also, if you have parents who don't really like to try anything new, you will also be exposed to fewer new foods,” Pelchat says. The opposite is also true: Those who try new foods and have positive experiences are then more likely to try unfamiliar foods in the future.

People who are less adventurous may be more hesitant to try new foods. Trying anything new, food included, requires you to step outside of your comfort zone. If you're not very adventurous, you may have a tough time with this. People who seek new adventures or thrills might be more likely to experiment with food. “There is a thrill-seeking personality trait,” Pelchat says. “It's been shown, especially with spicy food, that there is some connection between trying new foods and thrill seeking,” she explains.

Most adult picky eaters start as child picky eaters. “It's normal for children to go through a picky stage when they're toddlers, maybe two or three years old, and that makes sense evolutionarily,” Pelchat says. But as we get older, if we continue to avoid new foods, pickiness can persist.

1. What do we know about people with food neophobia?

A．They eat only a few kinds of food.

B．They avoid new or unfamiliar foods.

C．They are addicted to some kind of food.

D．They have preference for vegetable food.

2. What does Pelchat mainly tell us in Paragraph 3?

A．Food neophobia can be influenced by surroundings.

B．Those who try new foods have a positive life attitude.

C．Parents should set a good example for their children.

D．Food neophobia is linked to poorer dietary quality.

3. What would be a picky eater like?

A．Less optimistic.	B．Less creative.
C．Less independent.	D．Less adventurous.

4. Which of the following shows the best structure of the passage? (P=Paragraph)

A．	B．
C．	D．

【推荐3】Scientists dug up human remains from the Stonehenge dating back to about 5,000 years ago. To our surprise, people journeyed far to get to the Wessex site. These men and women potentially played a huge role in the construction of Stonehenge.

The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, reveals that a number of people buried at the Wessex monument originated from West Wales, which is also the source of the bluestones used in Stonehenge’s early construction.

According to a report from the University College London, scientists from Oxford and Belgium came together to analyze 25 of the burials dug in 2008. Many of them were buried around 3,000 BC, which is around the time when the bluestones were put up to form the Aubrey holes around Stonehenge. The famous stones weren’t built until 500 years later. The team used chemical isotope (同位素) analysis and radiocarbon dating (放射性碳年代测定法) the study and found out that at least 10 of the 25 individuals analyzed didn’t live near the Stonehenge site but in western Britain. This region includes West Wales, where the bluestones were sourced. Furthermore, the wood that was used to burn the bodies was also found to have come from different trees. Some of the pieces of trees come from trees in dense woodland, many of which are found in West Wales. Some of the individuals may have been cremated elsewhere before being buried in Stonehenge.

The researchers suggest that these prehistoric people may have been part of the sacred site’s early construction crew. They may have been the ones to transport the bluestone materials from the Preseli Mountains in West Wales. The findings are an interesting revelation, particularly since it means that there were significant interregional connections that existed as far back as 5,000 years ago. Even back then, in the Neolithic Period (新石器时代), human civilization had wide contacts and exchanges.

1. According to the text, some of the people buried at the Wessex monument came from .

A．the Wessex site	B．West Wales
C．dense woodland	D．the Stonehenge site

2. What can we learn from the third paragraph?

A．The Aubrey holes formed before Stonehenge.

B．The bodies were buried about 3000 years ago.

C．The research objects mostly lived near the Stonehenge site.

D．Stonehenge appeared around the Aubrey holes around 3000 BC.

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

A．Hidden.

B．Covered.

C．Burned.

D．Displayed.

4. Why did the buried people most probably come to Wessex?

A．To recall their past days.	B．To see the local king.
C．To build Stonehenge.	D．To transport the bluestone materials.

5. What does the study indicate?

A．Human contacts and exchanges began even a long time ago.

B．It is important to study the history of Stonehenge.

C．Wessex used to be a powerful country in Europe.

D．The early construction crew promoted interregional connections.

【推荐1】Though diet and exercise are recommended as ways to improve health, new UCR research is the first to examine the long-lasting, combined effects of both factors when they are experienced early in life. “Any time you go to a doctor with concerns about your weight, almost without fail, the doctor recommends that you exercise and eat less, ”said researcher Marcell Cadney. “That’s why it’s surprising most studies only look at diet or exercise separately. In this study, we wanted to include both,” he said.

The researchers found that early-life exercise led to reduced anxious behaviors and an increase in adult muscle and brain mass. When fed Western-style diets high in fat and sugar, the mice not only became fatter, but also grew into adults that preferred unhealthy food.

To obtain the findings, the researchers divided the young mice into four groups—those with access to exercise, those without access, those fed a standard, healthy diet and those who ate a Western diet. Mice started on their diets immediately after weaning(断奶), and continued with them for three weeks until they reached adulthood. After an additional eight weeks of “washout”, during which all mice were housed without wheels and on a healthy diet, the researchers did a behavioral analysis and measured levels of several different hormones.

One of those they measured, leptin, is produced by fat cells. It helps control bodyweight by increasing energy consumption and signaling that less food is required. Early-life exercise increased adult leptin levels in adult mice, regardless of the diet they ate.

Previously, the research team found that eating too much fat and sugar as a child can change the microbiome(微生物群) for life, even if they later eat healthier. Going forward, the team plans to study whether fat or sugar is more responsible for the negative effects they measured in Western-diet-fed mice.

This study offers great opportunities for health interventions in childhood habits. “Our findings may be related to understanding the potential effects of activity reductions and dietary changes associated with overweight,” said Marcell.

1. What is special about the new UCR research?

A．It takes both exercise and diet into account.

B．It is the first to study the effect of exercise.

C．It finds the relation between health and diet.

D．It gives equal importance to physical and mental health.

2. What may early-life exercise contribute to?

A．Stronger bones.	B．A desire for healthy food.
C．A peaceful mind.	D．The various microbiome for life.

3. What is mainly discussed about the research in Paragraph 3?

A．Its process.

B．Its importance.

C．Its objective.

D．Its results.

4. The underlined word “leptin” in Paragraph 4 refers to a type of ________.

A．Behavior.

B．Mouse.

C．Diet.

D．Hormone.

5. What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?

A．It’s never too late to make a change.

B．Early-life health habits matter.

C．A healthy body leads to a healthy mind.

D．Dietary habits make a difference to children’s behavior.