1 . It has always been thought that alcohol causes people to put on weight because it contains a lot of sugar, but new research suggests a glass a day cold form part of a diet. Looking at past studies they found that, while heavy drinkers do put on weight; those who drink in moderation can actually lose weight.
A spokesman for the research team at Navarro University in Spain says, “Light to moderate alcohol intake, especially of wine, may be more likely to protect against, rather than promote, weight gain.” The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol research reviewed the findings and agreed with most of the conclusions, particularly that data do not clearly indicate if moderate drinking increases weight.
Boston University’s Dr. Harvey Finkel found that the biologic mechanisms (生物学机制) relating alcohol to changes in body weight are not properly understood. His team pointed out the strong protective effects of moderate drinking on the risk of getting conditions like diabetes (糖尿病), which relate to increasing obesity. Some studies suggest that even very obese people may be at lower risk of diabetes if they are moderate drinkers.
The group says alcohol provides calories that are quickly absorbed into the body and are not stored in fat, and that this process could explain the differences in its effects from those of other foods. They agree that future research should be directed towards assessing the roles of different types of alcoholic drinks, taking into consideration drinking patterns and including the past tendency of participants to gain weight.
For now there is little evidence that consuming small to moderate amounts of alcohol on a regular basis increases one’s risk of becoming obese. What’s more, a study three years ago suggested that resveratrol (白藜芦醇), a compound present in grapes and red wine destroys fat cells.
1. The passage is mainly for those ________.| A．who produce wine | B．who go on a diet |
| C．who are eager to lose weight | D．who have a drinking habit |
| A．properly | B．carefully | C．frequently | D．excitedly |
| A．Moderate drinking increases weight. |
| B．Resveratrol is proved to increase the risk of becoming fat. |
| C．Moderate drinking has a strong protective effect. |
| D．The specific roles of different types of alcoholic drinks are very clear. |
| A．How to do some easy experiments. |
| B．How to reduce the calories contained in wine. |
| C．How to make wine in a healthy way. |
| D．How to prove the finding mentioned in the last paragraph. |
2 . It’s school time again! You’re probably feeling excited and maybe a little sad that summer is over. Some kids feel nervous or a little scared on the first day of school because of all the new things: new teachers, new friends, and even a new school. Luckily, these “new” worries only stick around for a little while. Let’s find out more about going to a new school.
Most teachers kick off the new school year by introducing themselves and talking about all the stuff you’ll be doing that year. Some teachers give students a chance to tell something about themselves to the rest of the class, too. When teachers do the talking on the first day, they often go over classroom rules and school rules so you’ll know what’s allowed and what’s not. Please pay close attention.
You might already know a lot of people in your classes on the first day, but it’s a great day to make a new friend, so try to say hello to kids you know and new ones that you don’t. Make the first move and you’ll be glad you did, and so will your new friend!
Seeing friends you haven’t seen for some time can make the first day a good one. You can make the day feel special by wearing clothes that you really like. Maybe you got a great T-shirt on one of your vacations, or a pair of sneakers (运动鞋). It also can make you feel good to be prepared and have all the things you need, such as pencils, folders, and whatever else you’ll be needing. But make sure that you pack them the night before in case you don’t have time in the morning.
1. The underlined phrase “kick off” in the second paragraph probably means “________”.| A．start | B．study | C．find | D．learn |
| A．what to know about a new school | B．how to prepare for a new school |
| C．what to do on your first day of school | D．how to spend your first day of school |
| A．introduce yourself | B．learn about the school rules |
| C．make new friends | D．go over your lessons |
| A．nervous | B．mad | C．happy | D．upset |
3 . Participating in photography competitions can bring you various benefits. The following are four great photography competitions you may want to attend this year.
Communication Arts Photography Competition
Most photo competitions come with cash prizes. This competition doesn’t. But it is still a respected competition. To be qualified (符合资格的), your images need to be first produced or published in a period from the previous March to this March. Each participant can present five images at most, and the images must be created for the same project. The winning images will spread worldwide in Communication Arts and on commarts.com.
Sony World Photography Awards
The competition provides winners with cash prizes as well as Sony equipment. Another great thing about this competition is its travelling exhibition. No matter which country you are in, you can always notice the winning images. Participants are allowed to present five to ten images. You will love this competition because it is free to enter, and you can choose from many different categories (类别).
Moscow International Foto Awards
The goal of the competition is to discover and recognize talented photographers worldwide and introduce them to the creative community in Russia. There is a discount on entry fees for students. Participants can enter up to twenty images, both individual images and photo series in any of its nine categories.
Nikon Small World
Being a long-standing camera producer, Nikon has been running this competition since 1975. This competition is all about photomicrography. Anyone can enter, and each participant can present three images. If you don’t feel like entering even if it is free, checkout the previous winners. The images are amazing, and that might just get you in the mood for application.
1. What can we know about the Communication Arts Photography Competition?| A．It awards winners a large sum of money. |
| B．It accepts images that have been published only. |
| C．It enables the winning works to be widely seen. |
| D．It allows a participant to present works on various topics. |
| A．Nikon Small World. |
| B．Moscow International Foto Awards. |
| C．Sony World Photography Awards. |
| D．Communication Arts Photography Competition. |
| A．They both enable one participant to compete in many categories. |
| B．They both offer the winning images worldwide exhibition tours. |
| C．They both only qualify photos taken by their own-brand cameras. |
| D．They both give participants free entrance. |
4 . There are many kinds of pollution, which can be classified by environment, including air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution. Modern society is also concerned about specific types of pollution, such as noise pollution, light pollution and plastic pollution. Pollution of all kinds may not only have negative effects on the environment and wildlife, but also do harm to human health and well-being.
Although environmental pollution can be caused by natural events such as forest fires and active volcanoes, use of the word “pollution” generally means that the wastes have an anthropocentric source — that is, a source created by human activities. Pollution has accompanied humankind ever since groups of people first congregated and remained for a long time in any one place. Indeed, ancient human settlements are frequently recognized by their wastes, Pollution was not a serious problem as long as there was enough space available for each individual or group. However, with the establishment of permanent settlements by great numbers of people, pollution became a problem, and it has remained one ever since.
By the middle of the 20th century, an awareness of the need to protect air, water, and land environments from pollution had developed among the general public. In particular, the
publication in 1962 of Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring focused attention on environmental damage caused by improper use of pesticides(杀虫剂)such as DDT. In response, major pieces of environmental law and regulation were passed in many countries to control the environmental pollution.
Great efforts are made to limit the release of harmful substances into the environment. Unfortunately, attempts at pollution control are surpassed by the scale of the problem, especially in less-developed countries. Noxious levels of air pollution are common in large cities. To control the pollution completely, we still have a long way to go.
1. What does paragraph 1 mainly talk about?| A．The history of pollution. | B．The types of pollution. |
| C．The causes of pollution. | D．The effects of pollution. |
| A．Human activities. | B．Forest fires. | C．Volcanoes. | D．Natural disasters. |
| A．Natural events such as forest fires and active volcanoes can’t cause any environment pollution. |
| B．Pollution was a serious problem as long as there was enough space available. |
| C．Pollution of all kinds do no harm to human health and well-being. |
| D．permanent settlements by great numbers of people made pollution become problem ever since. |
| A．No measures have been taken by the government to control the problems of pollution. |
| B．The book Silent Spring helped to improve the awareness of protecting the environment. |
| C．Silent Spring concentrated on the improper use of plastic bags. |
| D．The pollution has been controlled in less-developed countries. |
5 . The effect of natural disasters and her fit and active husband David’s surprising heart attack at the age of 54 had all seen Leila reflect on appreciation — something she was drawing on heavily after she injured her knee.
After finishing her film, Leila and David planned a skiing vacation with their kids. It was on the first day of the holiday the family had dreamed of for years that the unthinkable thing happened. Leila injured her knee in a horrific accident and was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery.
Leila said, “I thought, after the last couple of years, it would be great to go on a big adventurous holiday, but on the first day I broke my knee. Before that day, I sent my mother messages asking her how she was. When I injured my own knee, I didn’t understand what she was going through and I was sorry for making my mother feel worried. Thankfully, I was still alive.”
After the surgery, there would be months before recovery. But while others might have fallen into a “why is me” slump (低潮期), Leila was determined to face each day with a “ can do” thought.
When she couldn’t carry her own glass of water, she slung (吊挂) a water bottle around her neck. When she couldn’t move quickly to keep up with the kids, she got a walker at home. She became so adept at using it that she would try to go for a run. “There were a lot of frustrating things in losing independence, but this would pass. The kids and David were magnificent in their care,” she added.
While the holiday didn’t turn out the way she had hoped, it did reaffirm her love for her family, as well as her appreciation for her own relative good health.
1. Which word can best describe Leila’s skiing vacation?| A．Interesting. | B．Moving. | C．Boring. | D．Disappointing. |
| A．Positive. | B．Unfriendly. | C．Critical. | D．Objective. |
| A．Shocked. | B．Angry. | C．Alarmed. | D．Skillful. |
| A．Become grateful for your life. |
| B．Make your dream come true. |
| C．Try to do what you want to do. |
| D．Love yourself before you love others. |
6 . In Washington DC, there is an entrepreneurial (创业的) teen, who owns and
Born with a(n)
“I knew that I wanted to start a(n)
Stephanie Gerstenblith, one of his
It is Michael’s faith that everyone should take the
Michael believes his cupcakes inspire smiles, tears, amazement, joy, satisfaction,
| A．displays | B．increases | C．runs | D．evaluates |
| A．occasional | B．shocking | C．abnormal | D．unbelievable |
| A．interested | B．convinced | C．disappointed | D．tired |
| A．guided | B．limited | C．delayed | D．improved |
| A．baking | B．study | C．work | D．research |
| A．difficult | B．strange | C．special | D．ordinary |
| A．returns | B．shows | C．gives | D．lends |
| A．innovation | B．business | C．school | D．conversation |
| A．history | B．friends | C．money | D．mistakes |
| A．help | B．detect | C．teach | D．save |
| A．apparently | B．barely | C．potentially | D．constantly |
| A．simple | B．popular | C．official | D．meaningful |
| A．classmates | B．customers | C．relatives | D．colleagues |
| A．inspired | B．warned | C．forced | D．asked |
| A．Rather than | B．Such as | C．Due to | D．Apart from |
| A．make a fortune | B．make a living | C．make a difference | D．make a donation |
| A．decision | B．responsibility | C．consequence | D．conclusion |
| A．something | B．everything | C．freedom | D．security |
| A．misunderstood | B．doubted | C．controlled | D．forgotten |
| A．enthusiasm | B．intelligence | C．happiness | D．argument |
7 . Alexander Graham Bell was born in 1847 in Scotland, but when he was young his family moved to Boston, USA.
He believed that one should always be curious and his most famous saying was: Leave the beaten track occasionally and dive into the woods. Every time you do you will be certain to find something that you have never seen before. Follow it up, explore all around it, and before you know it, you will have something worth thinking about to occupy your mind. All really big discoveries are the result of thought.
It was this exploring around problems and his dynamic spirit that led to his most famous invention-the telephone in 1876. Bell never set out to invent the telephone and what he was trying to design was a multiple telegraph.
The original telegraph sent a message over distances using Morse code. But only one message could go at a time. Bell wanted to improve it so that it could send several messages at the same time. He designed a machine that would separate different sound waves and allow different conversations to be held at the same time. In searching to improve the telegraph, Bell had invented the first telephone!
The patent was given in 1876, but it was not until five days later that Bell sent his first telephone message to his assistant Watson. The words have now become famous:
“Mr Watson—come here—I want to see you.”
Alexander Graham Bell was not a man to rest and he interested himself in many other areas of invention. He experimented with helicopter designs and flying machines. While searching for a kite strong enough to carry a man into the air, Bell experimented putting triangles together and discovered the tetrahedron shape. Being very stable, it has proved invaluable in the design of bridges.
1. What does the author think is the key to Bell’s success as an inventor?| A．Curiosity. | B．Intelligence. | C．Good luck. | D．Inspiration. |
| A．In 1847. | B．In 1876. | C．In 1880. | D．In 1888. |
| A．kites | B．telephone | C．flying machines | D．tetrahedron shape |
| A．poor | B．rich | C．creative | D．kind |
8 . Charlie Chaplin, British comedian, producer, writer, director and composer, is widely regarded as the greatest comic artist of the screen and one of the most important figures in the film history.
Chaplin was named after his father, a British entertainer. He spent his early childhood with his mother, the singer Hannah Hall, after she and his father separated, and took the place of his mentally unstable mother to appear on the stage. However, he and his mother soon separated from each other because the sick Hall was sent to a hospital. Then, Charlie was sent to a series of boarding schools.
Using his mother’s show-business contacts, Charlie became a professional entertainer in 1897 when he joined the Eight Lancashire Lads, a dancing act.
His early stage characters include a small role in William Gillette’s Sherlock Holmes (1899). While touring America with the Karno company in 1913, Chaplin was signed to appear in Mack Sennett’s Keystone comedy films. Though Making a Living (1914) was not the failure that historians have claimed, Chaplin’s first screen character did not show him to best advantage.
To come up with a more-workable screen image, Chaplin created an outfit consisting of a too-small coat, too-large pants and a walking stick. As a finishing touch,he put on a mustache (胡子). It was in his second Keystone film, Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914), that Chaplin’s classic screen character, “the Little Tramp (流浪汉)”,was born.
In truth, Chaplin did not always portray a tramp; in many of his films his character was employed as a waiter,store clerk, stagehand, fireman,and the like. But the Tramp’s attraction was universal: audiences loved his cheekiness (厚脸皮), unexpected bravery and especially his recovery in the face of difficulties which moved the audience most. Some historians have traced the Tramp’s origins to Chaplin’s Dickensian childhood, while others have suggested that the character had its roots in the motto (座右铭) of Chaplin’s teacher, Fred Karno: “Keep it eager, gentlemen, keep it eager.” Whatever the case, within months after his movie was on, Chaplin was the screen’s biggest star.
1. Which word best describes Chaplin’s early life?| A．Carefree. | B．Struggling. | C．Simple. | D．Boring. |
| A．His further study in an art school. |
| B．His performances in another country. |
| C．His mother’s serious health problem. |
| D．His father’s disapproval of their meeting. |
| A．His early works. | B．His main character. |
| C．The reasons for his success. | D．His relationship with others. |
| A．His action with a walking stick. |
| B．His unique and serious appearance. |
| C．His special learning experience. |
| D．His ability to recover from difficulties. |
9 . Peru is a country on the Pacific coast of South America. It has three main geographical areas: a narrow coastal belt; the Andes Mountains running parallel to the coast; and high, flat plains in the southeast. In the high plains area is Lake Titicaca, the highest lake in the world, on which boats can travel. Peru has abundant plants from desert grasses to vast areas of jungle.
Once the centre of the powerful and extremely wealthy Inca Empire, much of South America was governed by Spain from the sixteenth century. Peru gained its independence from Spain in 1821. The capital of Peru is Lima, which is in the north on the coast. The ancient Inca capital, Cuzco, is found high in the Andes. It is a popular tourist destination as it is close to the famous Inca ruins of the city of Machu Picchu. Cuzco is a lively city where both Indian and Spanish culture and art can be seen.
1. How many geographical parts is Peru made up of?| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．It is the highest lake in the world. | B．It is the lowest lake in the world. |
| C．It is the biggest lake in the world. | D．It is the narrowest lake in the world. |
| A．In 1800. | B．In 1821. | C．In 1835. | D．In 1879. |
10 . When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr. Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.
Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note — “Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery” — and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically (魔术般) appear.
All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn’t freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.
There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk, thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete. Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practical to have a delivery service.
Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. I took it home and planted it on the back porch (门廊) . Every so often my son’s friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.
1. Mr. Basille gave the boy a quarter out of his coin changer to __________.| A．show his magical power | B．pay for the delivery |
| C．satisfy his curiosity | D．please his mother |
| A．He wanted to have tea there. | B．He was a respectable person. |
| C．He was treated as a family member. | D．He was fully trusted by the family. |
| A．Nobody wants to be a milkman now. | B．It has been driven out of the market. |
| C．Its service is getting poor. | D．It is not allowed by law. |
| A．He missed the good old days. | B．He wanted to tell interesting stories. |
| C．He needed it for his milk bottles. | D．He planted flowers in it. |
