1 . At most schools in the U. S., it’s customary to have a cheer squad (啦啦队) to support athletics. Cheerleaders drum up excitement before games, put on jaw—dropping routines at games, and provide support on the sidelines of most events. But students who participate in performing and visual arts seldom receive the same displays of support as athletes do. A group of students at Mountain View High School in Orem, Utah, decided to change that fact by creating a cheer squad just for the arts.

Their school’s athletics cheer squad is called the Bruin Crazies, so they named their artistic cheer squad the Bruin Classies! This is a new brand with which they could create something for all of the arts, whether it is band, dance show, photography and art galleries—to give them some publicity and cheer them on.

Classies wear a “uniform” of bow ties to indicate the “sense of class”artistic efforts bring their school. They carry around signs to advertise the upcoming play, musical, or dance performance. Hoping to drum up ticket sales, they encourage their fellow students to come out to support the hard work of others. They also attend performances and displays at school to cheer their classmates on.

After years of discussion to make a cheer squad for the arts, this is the first time they’ve been able to pull it off. More than 90 students have already signed up to be a Bruin Classy! “The students have poured their time and energy into their arts, and it is worthy to be celebrated. ”Caleb Stay, the cheer squad leader, said, “If you worked really hard on something and no one showed up, it would be disappointing. We just want to make sure that no one feels that way. ”

This is such an amazing idea! We can’t believe no one has come up with it before, but hopefully these thoughtful teens have started a new trend to support the arts in other schools, too.

1. Why did the students in Mountain View high school set up the Bruin Classies?

A．To support the arts in their schoo1.	B．To compete with the Bruin Crazies.
C．To participate in the art performing.	D．To cheer the athletes on in the games.

2. How do Classies make the art performances appealing to students at school?

A．By offering free tickets to students.

B．By popularizing the art performances.

C．By inviting students to attend performances.

D．By wearing a special uniform for art festivals.

3. What can be inferred from Caleb Stay’s words?

A．More students will sign up the Bruin Classy.

B．Few students like to attend the art performance.

C．The artistic cheer squad will become a new trend.

D．The students’artistic efforts deserve to be admired.

4. What is the best title of the text?

A．Move over, “Crazies,” the “Classies” are here

B．“Crazies” keep up, never give in to “Classies”

C．The Bruin Crazies, a “uniform” of bow ties

D．The Bruin Crazies, a big hit in Orem, Utah

3 . Are you relatively skinny but growing a “beer belly”?

Then don’t be surprised at your next checkup if the nurse measures your waistline to determine your healthy weight. That’s because research is showing that a protruding (鼓出的) belly may be a sign of VAT — a dangerous form of fat around organs deep inside your body. “Studies confirm that visceral (内脏的) fat is a clear health risk,” said Dr. Tiffany Wiley, a senior expert at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Unlike the fat just under your skin, visceral fat raises your risk for heart disease. Experts think that’s because visceral fat raises blood pressure and inflames (使发炎) tissues and organs.

However, you can’t assume you’re safe from visceral fat if your overall weight is healthy, experts stress. That’s because you can have dangerous visceral fat even if you’re not considered overweight — and not have any visceral fat even if you are overweight.

How do you know if your stomach is protruding into dangerous size? Do a check. Non-pregnant women with a waist size greater than 88 cm and men with a waist larger than 102 cm, are at higher risk according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you’re Asian, it drops to 80 cm for women and 90 cm for men. But it is only a rough measure. “The only sure way to know is to check your visceral fat levels on a CT scan or MRI,” say experts.

According to the AHA committee, the most salutary physical activity to “shrink” belly is aerobic exercise. Aerobic means “with oxygen”, so aerobic exercise increases your breathing rate and promotes the circulation of oxygen through the blood. This type of exercise makes the heart work more effectively and improves its ability to move oxygen-carrying blood with every beat. Speed walking, jogging, stair climbing, cycling and swimming are all examples of aerobic exercise.

“However, more studies are needed to determine the best physical activity, food and other lifestyle changes to reduce heart disease risk,” Dr. Tiffany Wiley added.

1. What would a “beer belly” cause?

A．Enlarged organs inside the body.	B．Higher risk of heart disease.
C．Raised mental pressure.	D．Inflamed stomach.

2. Who would be relatively healthier according to the experts?

A．A white man with a waist size of 120 cm.

B．A white woman with a waist size of 90 cm.

C．An Asian man with a waist size of 102 cm.

D．An Asian woman with a waist size of 75 cm.

3. Which word can replace the underlined word “salutary” in paragraph 5?

A．Beneficial.

B．Difficult.

C．Enthusiastic.

D．Useless.

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

A．Doing aerobic exercise can remove visceral fat completely.

B．Heart ability improves when one does speed walking.

C．Further studies are needed to reduce heart disease risk.

D．Food and life style determine one’s body shape.

8 . How to Be a Good Upstairs Neighbor

One must remember to be polite when living in an apartment building. You may unintentionally bother your neighbors with actions that you think to be harmless.     1     Living upstairs, you must always be aware that everything you do may be heard by those who live below. This doesn’t mean that you have to completely change your lifestyle, though.

    2     This will greatly reduce the sound of your footsteps, thus limiting the sound your downstairs neighbor will hear. You should always remember to change your shoes when entering your apartment to ensure that your downstairs neighbor doesn’t hear you walking around.

Place carpets in your apartment if you have hardwood floors. Doing so is another way to decrease the sound of steps coming from an upstairs apartment. You can also put your furniture on these carpets.     3    

Close your windows when you can. A floor is usually about three meters high, so it’s quite easy to hear your conversations.     4     Therefore, whenever you are watching TV or listening to a radio, try to keep your windows closed as much as possible.

Do your cleaning on weekend afternoons.     5     Doing such housework at 3:00 pm on a Saturday is much better than doing so at 9:30 on a Tuesday night.

A．Wear slippers while in your upstairs apartment.

B．It becomes much easier when your windows are open.

C．No matter what you do, consider your neighbor’s requirements.

D．There’ll be a time when you will run a cleaner to clean your room.

E．This is especially true for those people who live above an apartment.

F．It will disturb your downstairs neighbor who has to work the next morning.

G．This keeps your furniture from moving around, thus limiting noise a downstairs neighbor may hear.