【推荐1】The key avoiding a cold be as simple as keeping your nose warm with a scarf when you go outside in winter.

Research shows that low temperatures make it harder for the body to fight off the virus that causes half of the colds in adults and almost all colds in children.The finding backs up the popular idea that people are more likely to catch a cold if they feel freezing,perhaps by putting on a coat in winter or going out with wet hair.

The U.S. Researchers looked at how well rhinovirus（鼻病毒）,the biggest cause of the common cold,grew in cells kept at different temperatures.The virus found it easier to breed（繁殖）at 33℃-the sort of temperature typically found inside the nose-than at the 37℃ found deep inside the body.

Researchers also found that the body’s initial immune response（免疫反应）to the cold did not work as well at 33℃,the same temperatures.The virus was followed to cause damage.The experiments were carried out on cells taken from mice,but the result may also be relevant to humans-including the one in five who carry the rhinovirus in their nose at any given time.

Ron Eccles,a leading British expert on the common cold,suggests that those anxious to avoid a cold try taking vitamin D because we tend to be low on it during the winter.

1. Which of the following is more likely to cause a cold?

A．Wrapping a scarf around the nose in winter.	B．Putting on a coat in winter.
C．Going out with wet hair.	D．Taking vitamin

2. What is the percentage of people who carry the rhinovirus in their nose at any given time?

A．10%.	B．20%
C．50%	D．80%

3. Why does Ron Eccles suggest taking vitamin D in winter to avoid a cold?

A．Because human bodies contain less vitamin D in winter.

B．Because human bodies contain more vitamin D in winter.

C．Because many people avoid taking vitamin D in winter.

D．Because many people favor vitamin D in winter.

4. What can be learned from the text?

A．It is easier for the body to fight off cold virus in low temperatures.

B．The finding may be easily accepted by the public.

C．The typical temperature inside the nose is 37℃.

D．The virus is very likely to do harm at 37℃.

【推荐2】Whenever we see a button (按钮), we are eager to press it because we know something will happen. This is true in most cases, for example on a doorbell and on the “on/off” button on the TV. But some buttons are actually fake, like the “close” button on a lift.

Many people are in the habit of pressing the “close” button because they don’t have the patience to wait for the lift doors to shut. But lifts’“close” buttons are a complete scam, at least in the US—the doors will not close any faster no matter how hard you press.

It started in the 1990s when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in the US, making sure that all lifts stayed open long enough so that people with disabilities could enter. Only US firefighters and repairmen can use the buttons to speed up the door-closing process if they have a code or special keys.

But to normal lift riders, the buttons aren’t completely useless. According to psychologists, fake buttons can actually make you feel better by offering you a sense of control.

“Perceived (能够感知的) control is very important. It reduces stress and increases well-being,” Ellen J. Langer, a psychology professor, said, “Having a lack of control is associated with depression.”

Experts have revealed that a lot of buttons that don’t do anything exist in our lives for this same purpose. For example, many offices in the US have fake thermostats (温度调节器) because people tend to feel better when they think they can control the temperature in their workspace.

But psychologists found it interesting that even when people are aware of these little “white lies”, they still continue to push fake buttons because as long as the doors eventually close, it is considered to be worth the effort.

“That habit is here to stay,” John Kounios, a psychology professor, said, ‘‘Even though I have real doubts about the traffic light buttons, I always press them. After all, I’ve got nothing else to do while waiting. So why not press the button in the hope that this one will work?”

1. What was the author’s main purpose in writing the article?

A．To describe some different kinds of fake buttons.

B．To analyze(分析) the functions (作用) of fake buttons.

C．To explore people’ different habits when it comes to pushing buttons.

D．To explain the advantages and disadvantages of fake buttons.

2. What does the underlined word “scam” mean?

A．Trick.	B．Tool.
C．Button.	D．Joke.

3. According to John Kounios, people who press fake buttons ______.

A．don’t know that what they press is fake	B．should give up this habit
C．consider what they do to be meaningless	D．probably do so to kill time

【推荐3】Each year more than 2,500 people die and 12,600 are injured in home fires just in the United States, with direct property（财产）loss because of home fires at about $7.3 billion every year. Every day Americans experience the horror of fires, but most people don’t understand fires.

To protect yourself, it is important to learn something about home fires.

In less than 30 seconds a small flame can get completely out of control and turn into a major fire. It only takes minutes for thick black smoke to fill a house or for it to be in flames. Most deadly fires occur in the home when people are asleep. If you realize a fire, you won’t have time to take valuables because the fire spreads too quickly and the smoke is too thick. The fire uses up the oxygen you need and produces smoke and poisonous gases that kill. Breathing even small amounts of smoke and toxic gases can make you tired and sleepy, and short of breath. The smoke can cause you to be a deep sleeper before the flames reach your door. You may not wake up in time to escape.

Room temperatures in a fire can be 100 degrees at floor level and rise to 600 degrees at eye level. Breathing in this super-hot air will burn your lungs. It can melt clothes to your skin. In five minutes, a room can get so hot that everything in it starts to burn at once.

Fires are bright at first, but quickly produce black smoke and complete darkness. If you wake up to a fire you may be blinded, confused about where you are or which direction you should go and unable to find your way around the home you’ve lived in for years.

Only when we know the true nature of fires can we prepare our families and ourselves.

1. How does the first paragraph develop?

A．By raising questions.	B．By giving examples.
C．By expressing opinions.	D．By listing reasons.

2. What can we infer from the third paragraph?

A．It is necessary to escape in time.

B．It is important to find poisonous gases.

C．It is impossible to keep away from smoke.

D．It is dangerous to sleep away from the door.

3. How does black smoke trouble us?

A．Getting us lose our ways.

B．Making our faces turn black.

C．Causing us to feel hopeless.

D．Forcing us to walk around the home.

4. What is the passage mainly telling us?

A．Different processes of home fires.

B．Some basic knowledge of home fires.

C．Great damage of them fires in the USA.

D．Some good ways to prevent home fires.

【推荐1】Do you think studying in a different country is something that sounds very exciting? Certainly, it is a new experience, which brings the opportunity of discovering fascinating things and a feeling of freedom.     1     You will experience culture shock. Evidently, at least four essential stages of culture-shock adjustment occur.

The first stage is called "the honeymoon". In this stage, you feel excitement about living in a different place, and everything seems to be marvelous.     2    

Eventually, however, the second stage of culture shock appears. This is the "hostility stage".     3     You become tired of many things about the new culture. Moreover, people don't treat you like a guest anymore. Everything that seemed to be so wonderful at first is now awful, and everything makes you feel distressed and tired.

Then you come to the third stage called "recovery". You start feeling more positive, and you try to develop comprehension of everything you don't understand. The whole situation starts to become more favorable.     4    

The last stage of culture shock is called "adjustment".     5     The things that initially made you feel uncomfortable or strange are now things that you understand. Now you feel comfortable; you have adjusted to the new culture.

A．Actually, culture shock is something you cannot avoid when studying in a foreign country.

B．You have reached a point where you feel good because you have learned enough to understand the new culture.

C．You like everything, and everybody seems to be so nice to you.

D．You recover from the symptoms of the first two stages.

E．In spite of these advantages, however, there are also some challenges you will encounter.

F．However, when you have completely adjusted to a new culture you can more fully enjoy it.

G．You begin to notice that not everything is as good as you had originally thought it was.

【推荐3】Chinese mooncake is the representative food of the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is a kind of round cookie with various fillings and different artistic patterns on the surface.

In Chinese culture, roundness symbolizes completeness and togetherness. The mooncake is not just a food. It’s a cultural tradition deep in Chinese people’s hearts, symbolizing a spiritual feeling. At Mid-Autumn Festival, people eat mooncakes together with family, and present mooncakes to relatives or friends to express love and best wishes.

As early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties in what today are Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces in east China, there was a kind of “Taishi cake” thick at the center and thin at the edge, which was the origin of the mooncake. In the Han Dynasty, sesame (芝麻) and walnuts were introduced into China, and round cookies filled with these foods appeared. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that the name “mooncake” was used for the first time. In the Northern Song Dynasty, mooncakes got popular in the royal palace. In the Ming Dynasty, the custom of eating these cookies during the Mid-Autumn Festival became popular.

Mooncakes vary according to different regional styles and tastes. Cantonese-style mooncakes are known for their sweetness. Suzhou-style mooncakes have existed for more than a thousand years. They have soft layers of dough (面团) and lots of sugar and lard, making them available in sweet or salty tastes. Beijing-style mooncakes use sweetness delicately and are decorated well. Chaoshan-style mooncakes are usually larger than other mooncakes with common fillings of red bean paste and potato paste.

Most mooncakes contain high amounts of sugar and oil, which are not healthy. To decrease the harmfulness that high fat and calories bring to our body, some foods are recommended to eat together with mooncakes, including tea, sour fruit like grapes, and wine. They help digest and take away fat in our body. Also, do not eat too much at one time.

1. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．The features of moon cakes.	B．The history of the moon cakes.
C．The customs of the moon cakes.	D．The meaning behind moon cakes.

2. When was the name “mooncake” used for the first time?

A．In the Han Dynasty.	B．In the Tang Dynasty.
C．In the Ming Dynasty.	D．In the Northern Song Dynasty.

3. What is special about the Beijing-style mooncakes?

A．They contain less sugar.	B．They are generally larger in size.
C．They have a much longer history.	D．They feature fine decorative patterns.

4. What is the purpose of the last paragraph?

A．To stress the importance of a healthy diet.	B．To call on people to value traditional culture.
C．To tell people how to eat mooncakes healthily.	D．To recommend some new flavors of mooncakes.