1 . When I was living in New York, I decided it was time to get my middle-aged self back in shape. The gym near my house was tiny. I was the weakest person there and I felt _________ as I did my pull-ups (引体向上). However, nobody really seemed to _________ me.

One day I was on the assisted pull-up machine when a huge guy walked up to me and _________, “Why are you always doing assisted pull-ups?” I looked at him, embarrassed, searching for a(n) _________.“Because I can’t do real ones,” I finally _________. “Yes, you can. You are strong,” he smiled. “Get over here, and I’ll _________ you.” We walked over to the “real” pull-up bar, and he _________ how to do it. He told me, “_________ practicing and by the end of the month, you will be _________ to knock out four or five.”   

After that day, I started to love going there. I was __________ the weakest one there. But I could do pull-ups: First two, then nine. When I stopped __________ looking foolish, I started asking others questions.

There were __________ everywhere in that gym, once I was willing to ask for __________. By the time I left New York, I could complete 10 pull-ups and I had been certified as a personal __________, so I could teach other women what I’d __________ in that gym.

1.

A．out of place

B．out of shape

C．out of order

D．out of trouble

2.

A．hate

B．understand

C．notice

D．believe

3.

A．wondered

B．reminded

C．asked

D．suggested

4.

A．answer

B．aid

C．topic

D．chance

5.

A．agreed

B．promised

C．nodded

D．admitted

6.

A．persuade

B．show

C．contact

D．expose

7.

A．shouted

B．repeated

C．explained

D．stressed

8.

A．Keep

B．Avoid

C．Risk

D．Forget

9.

A．ready

B．willing

C．likely

D．certain

10.

A．yet

B．still

C．ever

D．never

11.

A．talking about

B．going on

C．worrying about

D．depending on

12.

A．teachers

B．friends

C．professors

D．athletes

13.

A．support

B．choice

C．challenge

D．guidance

14.

A．trainer

B．lawyer

C．assistant

D．doctor

15.

A．experienced

B．suffered

C．learned

D．hidden

2 . Clara Barton packed her things at the office and went to her boss. “It’s been a pleasure working with you, but I’m leaving my job,” she turned and left.

“Why do you get home so early?” asked her sister Sally.

“The Civil War is taking its toll on the Union soldiers. I need to help them.” Sally looked around the room. “I’m going with you.” The two volunteered at a hospital where soldiers received treatment.  

After several months, Clara became worried. “Sally, this isn’t enough. I need to help the soldiers in the field and on the front line. I’m leaving in the morning.”

Sally looked surprised. “Clara! You can’t. It’s too dangerous!”

“The front-line soldiers who need help are in greater danger.”

Clara got donations (捐赠物) from wherever she could and used her own savings to buy things that soldiers need. She also organized men to give help, carry water, and prepare food for the wounded.

Months later, Clara eventually made it to the front line. The wounded soldiers were so thankful for what she had done; she was regarded as the Angel of the Battlefield.

After the Civil War ended, Clara went to Europe to rest her body and mind. So many years of helping soldiers and their family had worn her down.

While visiting Switzerland, Clara learned of the International Red Cross. Its aim of helping the victims (受害者) of war around the world created interest and excitement in Clara. It also encouraged an idea. When she returned home, Clara worked to start an American Red Cross. She even met with President Hayes to discuss it. Finally, on 21 May 1881, the American Red Cross was formed. A month later, Clara was made president of the organization.

1. What does the underlined phrase “taking its toll on” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Calling for.

B．Taking control of.

C．Having a bad effect on.

D．Making an impression on.

2. What is the right order of the events?
①Clara paid a visit to Switzerland.   
②Clara officially started the American Red Cross.   
③Clara learned about the International Red Cross.   
④Clara went to the front line to help wounded soldiers.   
⑤Clara quitted her job to volunteer at a hospital for soldiers.

A．⑤④③①②	B．⑤④①③②
C．④⑤③①②	D．④⑤①③②

3. Which of the following can best describe Clara?

A．Kind and smart.

B．Honest and generous.

C．Strict and narrow -minded.

D．Brave and warm -hearted.

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

A．To describe how cruel the Civil War was.

B．To tell how the International Red Cross was formed.

C．To explain the role that women played in the war.

D．To introduce an important woman in American history.

5 . People from East Asia tend to have more difficulty than those from Europe in distinguishing facial expressions — and a new report published online in Current Biology explains why.

Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow researcher, said that rather than scanning evenly (均匀的) across a face as Westerners do, Easterners fix their attention on the eyes.

“We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions,” Jack said. “Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favor the eyes and neglect the mouth.”

According to Jack and her colleagues, the discovery shows that human communication of emotion is more complex than previously believed. As a result, facial expressions that had been considered universally recognizable cannot be used to reliably convey emotion in cross-cultural situations.

The researchers studied cultural differences in the recognition of facial expressions by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of expressive faces and put them into categories: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral. They compared how accurately participants read those facial expressions using their particular eye movement strategies.

It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more errors than Westerners did. “The cultural difference in eye movements that they show is probably a reflection of cultural difference in facial expressions,” Jack said. “Our data suggest that whereas Westerners use the whole face to convey emotion, Easterners use the eyes more and mouth less.”

In short, the data show that facial expressions are not universal signals of human emotion. From here on, examining how cultural factors have diversified these basic social skills will help our understanding of human emotion. Otherwise, when it comes to communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in translation.

1. The discovery shows that Westerners ________.

A．pay equal attention to the eyes and the mouth

B．consider facial expressions universally reliable

C．observe the eyes and the mouth in different ways

D．have more difficulty in recognizing facial expressions

2. What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 6 refer to?

A．The participants in the study.

B．The researchers of the study.

C．The errors made during the study.

D．The data collected from the study.

3. In comparison with Westerners, Easterners are likely to ________.

A．do translation more successfully

B．study the mouth more frequently

C．examine the eyes more attentively

D．read facial expressions more correctly

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

A．The Eye as the Window to the Soul

B．Cultural Differences in Reading Emotions

C．Effective Methods to Develop Social Skills

D．How to Increase Cross-cultural Understanding

6 . A British friend told me he couldn’t understand why Chinese people love eating sunflower seeds (磕瓜子) as a snack so much. “I’ve met a lot of older Chinese and many have a crack in their front teeth; I believe that’s from cracking the seeds,” he said.

I had never noticed the habit, but once he mentioned it, I suddenly became more aware. I realized that whenever I’m watching TV or typing a report, I always start mindlessly cracking sunflower seeds. My friend doesn’t like sunflower seeds, and, to him, it seems unnecessary to work so much just to get one small seed.

When we were young, the whole family would usually get together for Chinese New Year. Then, we all lived close to one another, usually in a small city, and sometimes even neighbors would go door-to-door on Chinese New Year’s Eve to check out what every household was making.

I remember my parents would be in the kitchen cooking. Out in the living room, a large table would already be laid out, complete with fancy tablecloth, ready-made dumpling fillings, and dishes full of candy, fruits and sunflower seeds. Some of the dishes were to be offered to our ancestors later, while others were for neighbors and children to eat before the evening feast. I must have learned how to crack sunflower seeds back then.

I don’t think it’s right to criticize one’s choice in food or eating habits, no matter how strange they may seem.

It’s not only in China. When I went abroad, I found people had all kinds of strange habits when it came to food. In Denmark, they put salted red fish on bread and eat it for dinner, no matter how much it ruins your breath. They think it’s a delicacy (美味佳肴), and it’s connected to their certain culture. I think it’s a wonderful tradition.

1. What did the writer become aware of?

A．She had ever typed a report about seeds.	B．She had various snacks while watching TV.
C．She damaged her teeth by eating sunflower seeds.	D．She had a habit of cracking sunflower seeds.

2. What does the writer prove by mentioning Chinese New Year?

A．The traditions of celebrating it disappear.	B．Eating sunflower seeds is related to it.
C．The families get together for it.	D．Children can eat delicious food on that day.

3. The writer’s attitude to Denmark’s way of eating bread is _________.

A．neutral(中立的)

B．critical(批评的)

C．acceptable

D．doubtful

4. What lesson can we learn from the story?

A．One kind of food doesn’t necessarily suit everyone.	B．It is good to form healthy eating habits.
C．Eating habits come from a certain culture.	D．Changing your eating habits will change your life.

7 . What can be both red or green, round or sharp, big or small, and more importantly, loved or hated by someone? Yes, the answer is chilies (辣椒).

Many of us in China enjoy adding chilies to our food but did you know that this spicy vegetable could also be dangerous? “A 34-year-old US man recently ended up in hospital after eating a Carolina Reaper, the spiciest chili people have known so far. After taking just a single bite of one, the man suffered from serious headaches in the following days,” reported BBC News.

In fact, eating spicy food causes stomachache and headaches. But if chilies are harmful, why do people like to eat this vegetable? So what makes people love chilies so much? “The human body is influenced by natural chemicals that produce a sense of happiness,” noted BBC News.

And chilies do good to people in another way. Scientists found that the death rate of those who eat spicy food once or twice a week is 10 percent lower than those who eat it less than once a week. The death rate is 14 percent lower for those who eat spicy food six to seven times a week. This encourages people to eat more spicy food to improve health and bring less death risk at an early age. So, don't worry if you love spicy food. It seems that chilies are actually good for us.

1. What is the main idea of the second paragraph?

A．Eating chilies can be dangerous.	B．The US man died in hospital.
C．The US man often had headaches.	D．The Chinese enjoy eating chilies.

2. People like to eat chilies because _____.

A．chilies do no harm to people	B．the chili is a kind of vegetable
C．they can get personal enjoyment	D．chemicals in chilies make them mad

3. What is true about the last paragraph?

A．The more chilies you eat, the longer you live.

B．Scientists encourage us to add chilies to our food.

C．We should eat spicy food six times a week.

D．Proper spicy food may improve our health.

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

A．Eating chilies, a healthy lifestyle

B．A loved and hated vegetable

C．Chili — a harmful vegetable

D．Causes of stomachache

8 . The benefits of regular exercise are well documented but there’s a new bonus to add to the ever-growing list. New researchers found that middle-aged women who were physically fit could be nearly 90 percent less likely to develop dementia in later life, and as they did, it came on a decade later than less sporty women.

Lead researcher Dr. Helena Horder, of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said : "These findings are exciting because it’s possible that improving people's cardiovascular （心血管的）fitness in middle age could delay or even prevent them from developing dementia. "

For the study, 191 women with an average age of 50 took a bicycle exercise test until they were exhausted to measure their peak （最大值的） cardiovascular capacity. The average peak workload was measured at 103 watts.

A total of 40 women met the criteria for a high fitness level, or 120 watts or higher. A total of 92 women were in the medium fitness category; and 59 women were in the low fitness category, defined as a peak workload of 80 watts or less, or having their exercise tests stopped because of high blood pressure, chest pain or other cardiovascular problems.

These women were then tested for dementia six times over the following four decades. During that time, 44 of the women developed dementia. Five percent of the highly fit women developed dementia, compared to 25 percent of the women with medium fitness and 32 percent of the women with low fitness.

"However, this study does not show cause and effect between cardiovascular fitness and dementia, it only shows an association. More research is needed to see if improved fitness could have a positive effect on the risk of dementia and also to look at when during a lifetime a high fitness level is most important. " She also admitted that a relatively small number of women were studied, all of whom were form Sweden, so the results might not be applicable to other groups.

1. What is on the ever-growing list mentioned in the first paragraph?

A．Positive effects of doing exercises.

B．Exercises suitable for the middle-aged.

C．Experimental studies on diseases.

D．Advantages of sporty woman over man

2. Why did the researchers ask the women to do bicycle exercise?

A．To predict their maximum heart rate.

B．To assess their cardiovascular capacity

C．To change their habits of working out

D．To detect their potential health problems

3. What do we know about Dr Horder's study?

A．It aimed to find a cure for dementia.

B．Data collection was a lengthy process.

C．Some participants withdrew from it.

D．The results were far from satisfactory.

10 . Larry and I have always had our basic values in common, but our interests are as far apart as opera and basketball. I love art, and he is a huge sports fan. His big passion is seeing basketball games. He has been sharing season tickets with his friends for years. I must admit I’ve been always invited to see the games together.

This morning, I called my brother, Larry, and said, “I have a piece of good news and a piece of bad news. Which do you want to hear first?” “Good news first,” Larry answered. “You can go to sleep early tonight,” I said. “Okay. What’s the bad one?” he asked. “We’re going to the opera!” I answered, laughing loudly.

There was a reason for the joke. The last time I invited him to go to the opera, he fell asleep in the theater. I had to admit it was always boring for him, but when I gave him a ticket for my favorite opera, I really thought he might enjoy it. I woke him up, but soon he fell asleep again. When Larry found I was joking, he breathed a sigh of relief on the other end. He said, “But I want you to go to see the last basketball game this autumn with me.” I promised and complained, “Not again!” Actually, most of the time, when the game was on, I’d be texting or daydreaming. Sometimes, my telephone messages would be interrupted when the home team scored. I knew they scored because everyone jumped up and exchanged high- fives and fist bumps.

However, today, as I looked around at thousands of people cheering and getting increasingly excited, I decided to at least give it a try—for my brother’s sake, if not for my own. The game was intense, and I was fascinated soon. When the other team scored, I eventually felt a bit disappointed with the rest of my crowd. My brother was surprised to see me getting involved. I was astonished myself! I didn’t keep glancing at the clock, counting the minutes until we got out. Time flew. The game was over before I knew it.

1. Why does the author quote his conversation with Larry in paragraph 2?

A．To show their common values.	B．To show their sense of humour.
C．To show the trust between them.	D．To show the difference in their interests.

2. What was the author’s original reaction to basketball games?

A．He was casual about it.	B．He was pleased to watch it.
C．He felt puzzled about it.	D．He was curious about it.

3. What does the underlined word “fascinated” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Bored.

B．Disappointed.

C．Addicted.

D．Satisfied.

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

A．Art and Sport	B．From Opera to Basketball
C．Cheering for the Home Team	D．Developing a Passion for Opera