1 . Remember when your mom told you not to eat too many candy bars or sweets because they can cause tooth decay (蛀牙)? However, it turns out that chocolate can be more salutary to your teeth than you might expect. Recent studies show that chocolate can effectively fight against tooth decay, as if we need another excuse to eat chocolate.
Chocolate offers protection like fluoride, a main ingredient in most household toothpastes. Not only does chocolate protect our teeth, but it can do so very effectively. Studies show that chocolate has compounds that provide strong protection for teeth. One of the compounds in chocolate, CBH, is shown to protect even more effectively than fluoride.
Tooth decay happens when bacteria work to turn sugar into acids in our mouth. This is why eating foods with high sugar content can lead to more tooth decay. The compounds in chocolate, however, are anti-bacteria and can fight against bacteria in your mouth. The CBH compound in particular also works to strengthen tooth enamel (牙釉质), and protects against tooth decay.
Does this mean you can cat as much chocolate as you want without worrying about your teeth? It depends on the types of chocolate that you like. The protective effect of chocolate is most effective when you chew on cocoa beans. Of course, this option is not very appealing to; most people. A more tasty option is to choose dark chocolate with little sugar content, ideally no more than 6 to 8 grams per serving. For other types of chocolate with higher sugar content, the effect will be lessened. However, because of the protective compounds, it is still better for your teeth than other sweets and desserts containing the same amount of sugar.
1. The word “salutary” in paragraph 1 means?| A．Beneficial. | B．Harmful. | C．Familiar. | D．Useless. |
| A．It can help chocolate cure tooth decay. |
| B．It can effectively stop teeth from decaying. |
| C．It may protect teeth better than toothpastes do. |
| D．It may soon replace most household toothpastes. |
| A．By breaking down acids. | B．By building up compounds. |
| C．By fixing up tooth enamel. | D．By fighting against bacteria. |
| A．Chocolate plays the role of toothpaste. |
| B．Chocolate protects against tooth decay. |
| C．Chocolate is the best choice for teeth protection. |
| D．Chocolate is healthier to teeth than other sweets. |
2 . As temperatures approached 90 degrees in New York City last July 4th, three police officers went into a Whole Foods Market to get something cold to drink. What they walked into was a heated human drama.
Once inside, the police officers, Lt. Louis Sojo, Esanidy Cuevas and Michael Rivera, were approached by a store security guard who asked for help with a suspected thief. The woman in question didn’t have the look of a career criminal. She was obviously scared, and her cheeks were wet with tears.
The police officers glanced inside her bag. “All we saw was containers of food. We didn’t see anything else,” Cuevas told CBS New York.
“I’m hungry,” she explained quietly.
Caught red-handed, the woman no doubt expected to be sent to prison for the crime of being hungry while poor. But the police officers had other ideas. “We’ll pay for her food,” Sojo told the surprised security guard.
There’d been no discussion among the three men, no need to see whether they were all in. It went unsaid. Instead, they picked up the woman’s bag and accompanied her to a cash register, where each paid $10 for the food. She would not be arrested today.
All the woman could do was weep in gratitude. Covering her face with a handkerchief and drying her eyes, she repeated, “Thank you, thank you.”
She wasn’t the only one touched by this act of compassion. “It was a very beautiful, genuine moment,” says Paul Bozymowski, who was at the store. He was so taken by what he’d witnessed that he posted a photo on Twitter for all to see.
But attention was never what the officers sought. They were driven by a far more common emotion. As Sojo told CNN , “When you look at someone’s face and see that they need you and they’re actually hungry, it’s pretty difficult as a human being to walk away from something like this.”
1. Why did the woman cry at first?| A．She was grateful to the police officers. |
| B．She was sad because she had nothing to eat. |
| C．She was happy that she would not go to prison. |
| D．She was afraid because she was caught stealing. |
| A．on the spot | B．with bloody hands |
| C．in the red clothes | D．with a knife |
| A．Because he wanted to thank the police officers. |
| B．Because he was planning to seek attention from others. |
| C．Because he wanted to help the woman. |
| D．Because he was moved by what the police officers had done. |
| A．A Crime Committed | B．Trapped in the Market |
| C．Crime and Compassion | D．Poverty and Compassion |
3 . There is a fine line between a parent who is active and open-minded and one that doesn’t know when to let go. As my daughter, Nicole, prepares to leave home for college, I’m discovering how hard it is to stay on the right side of this line. When I hold onto the apron strings (围裙带) connecting, Nicole, eager to taste independence, tries to loosen my grasp. What results is an awkward mother-daughter, push-me, pull-you kind of tango.
For the past two years, it’s gone like this:
Mother’s question: “Have you thought of taking an advanced placement class so that you can earn college credit?”
Daughter’s response: “No, I’m not interested in that.”
………
I bit my lip a few times and Nicole shot me a few glares.
Two months ago, she was accepted to a great university. However, I was still the mother having a hard time letting go. The night before the introductory meeting of the university, I had read the course catalog carefully and underlined courses which I thought looked good. We met on the campus the next afternoon, and Nicole’s face lit up with excitement. “I have had my entire schedule figured out,” she said. “Already?” I was astonished, thinking she should have discussed it with me. I examined the schedule. Nicole hadn’t taken a single one of the courses I had suggested. Every course she had chosen exactly suited her interests. Just then I saw a mature, capable young woman with a sharp mind and the ability to shape her future. She no longer needed her mother evaluating every decision she made. I felt excited that she was my daughter, though still a bit sad.
I reviewed the lessons carefully. Nicole has struggled to learn over the past 18 years: responsibility, sympathy, and hard work. There have been a few holes along the way. Still, she is well-equipped and eager to embrace the future. The next step, I recognized, was mine to take: giving my daughter and myself the independence we both needed.
1. The underlined word “tango” in paragraph one means “________”.| A．dance | B．music |
| C．fight | D．peace |
| A．Because she wanted to help her daughter. |
| B．Because these courses were very important. |
| C．Because her daughter knew nothing about these courses. |
| D．Because she wanted to take these courses. |
| A．Embarrassed and hurt. | B．Proud and sad. |
| C．Serious and angry. | D．Passionate and envious. |
| A．share a story about parenting with readers |
| B．show her love to her daughter |
| C．teach readers how to choose a course |
| D．persuade readers to live a dependent life |
4 . A while back I caught a news report on something called ―couch surfing and the network of trusting souls who make this phenomenon possible. They offer to put up travelers free of charge and help them on their ways. At first, it sounded unbelievable. I mean, inviting strangers into one’s home for one or two nights? Give me a break.
However, I was intrigued. I decided to find it out. The only way to truly learn about this phenomenon was to dive in. So I planned a trip to Finland, a country I’ve always wanted to explore. I would couch surf at every stop there.
If ever any anxiety existed when stepping into the unknown, it disappeared when my first host met me at the train station. Ari looked like my idea of a typical Finn: tall and blue-eyed. Finns were also supposed to be famously reserved (寡言少语的). Ari was anything but. He was a live wire, giving me a warm welcome and walking with me to his apartment, where he showed me the sleeper sofa, served me tea, and engaged me in warm conversations. He also handed me a key to come and go as I pleased.
If this was what couch surfing was all about—trust and friendship—then I had gotten off to a good start. As I boarded my next train to continue my journey, I began to think about this couch-surfing idea. What encouraged these people to open their homes to strangers? I concluded that there was a desire to lend a hand to like-minded folks who might enrich their own lives.
Seven cities in 14 days. Seven hosts. Seven new friends. If couch surfing taught me anything, it’s this: Most people are good and generous. Where will couch surfing take me next? Who knows? But I can’t wait to find out.
1. Which of the following best explains the underlined word in the second paragraph?| A．relaxed. | B．bored. |
| C．interested. | D．pleased. |
| A．He was reserved like most Finns. |
| B．He talked less but he was friendly. |
| C．He treated the author as a friend. |
| D．He saw off the author at the train station. |
| A．To take an adventure with strangers. |
| B．To exchange houses for a short time. |
| C．To learn more about others’ family lives. |
| D．To enrich their own lives by helping others. |
| A．Travel on Trust and Couches |
| B．A Free Travel in Finland |
| C．Experiences in Strangers’ Houses |
| D．A Plan for Couch Surfing |
