1 . Americans spend billions on vitamins, multivitamins for their health, but a review of numerous studies concluded there is little to no evidence that some of those vitamins prevent heart disease, cancer or death.
The report, released by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force last week, concluded that “recent evidence is not enough” to determine whether vitamins actually help or hurt your health, based on 84 studies, 52 of which were done since 2014. Vitamins examined included vitamins A, B, C, D and E, as well as other multivitamins.
“Our suggestion is neither for nor against taking vitamins, or combinations of those nutrients (营养物质). We just don’t have enough evidence,” said Dr. John Wong, a doctor in the Department of Medicine at Tufts Medical Center who was involved in the report.
While the finding is that vitamins don’t have any benefits to “healthy, non-pregnant (未怀孕) adults”, it doesn’t apply to “children, people who are pregnant or may become pregnant, or people who are hospitalized.”
The Task Force admitted it makes sense that people would take vitamins in hopes of health benefits, as some shortage may lead to illness. But experts agreed the best way to get good health and prevent cancer is a balanced diet and regular physical activity.
“The suggestion across all organizations about vitamins is to eat a balanced diet, and then the key tends to be on plenty of fruit and vegetables and less junk foods,” Wong said.
Wong added people should refer to their health doctors to determine if any vitamins are worth taking. He said this suggestion should also serve as a need to further research into proving the official benefits and risks for each vitamin.
1. Why can’t we say whether vitamins really benefit or harm health?| A．Because they really have no benefit. |
| B．Because many studies have proved it. |
| C．Because evidence is not enough at present. |
| D．Because Dr. John Wong wasn’t involved in the research. |
| A．Vitamins are of no benefit to anyone. |
| B．Vitamins are beneficial to healthy adults. |
| C．Children can’t take vitamins though they are in hospital. |
| D．People could take vitamins if lack of vitamin may tend to illness. |
| A．Taking enough vitamins. |
| B．Eating more packaged foods. |
| C．Following their health doctor’s advice. |
| D．Having a balanced diet and doing exercise. |
| A．Taking Vitamins: No Benefit to People |
| B．Doctor’s Advice on Buying Vitamins |
| C．Taking Vitamins: Likely to Waste Money |
| D．Americans Spending More Money on Vitamins |
2 . Parks around the world
Hyde Park, London, England
There are many parks in London. Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, which covers over 350 acres. There are paths for people on bicycles and there are often open - air concerts held in the park.
Park Güell, Barcelona, Spain
In this park, designed by Antony Gaudi, there are different houses in different colours. There are also things like a colourful dragon. At the top of the park is a terraced area where you can get a wonderful view of the city of Barcelona and the sea.
Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver is a city near the sea and mountains. There is beautiful Stanley Park in the city centre, covering an area of one thousand acres. It is the largest park in North America. There are First Nations totem poles (图腾柱) in the park.
Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan
Ueno Park is an old park in the city of Tokyo and there are hundreds of beautiful cherry trees. In April and May every year, the trees are pink or white.
Chapultepec Park, Mexico City, Mexico
This is the largest urban park in Latin America. It's a very important green space in this big city. Containing nine museums, a zoo, an amusement park, and a variety of green recreational spaces, Chapultepec Park is an invaluable place for the city residents and its visitors.
1. What can visitors do in Park Güell ?| A．Enjoy cherry trees. | B．Feed animals. | C．See the sea. | D．Ride bicycles. |
| A．London. | B．Barcelona. | C．Vancouver. | D．Mexico. |
| A．Chapultepec Park. | B．Ueno Park. | C．Stanley Park. | D．Hyde Park. |
3 . 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 |
4 . One of the most beneficial skills you can learn in life is how to consistently put yourself in a good position. But not everyone knows how we can create that foundation. The position you find yourself in today is the accumulation of the small choices that you’ve been making for years.
The ordinary choices that guarantee a strong future go unnoticed. There is no pat on the back for doing the right thing just as there is no slap on the wrist for doing the wrong thing. Reading a chapter of a great book today won’t solve your problems just as not reading it won’t make them worse. Not doing the obvious thing that positions you for future success — rarely hurts you right away. But as the days turn to weeks, weeks into years, and years into decades do the small choices create massively different results.
Whenever this idea is brought up, people are quick to interject. “I do these things and I don’t get the results.” Most of us make the right choices most of the time. But most of the time isn’t the same as all of the time.
For your choices to compound, you need to be consistent. A lack of consistency keeps ordinary people from extraordinary results. It’s like we’re Sisyphus rolling a boulder halfway up the hill, only to throw our hands in the air and go home. When we show up the next day, we see the boulder at the bottom of the hill. Not only did this undermine our progress but it makes getting started even harder.
Excelling at the small choices that compound over time perpetually (不断地) leaves you in favorable circumstances. If you want results you need to pay the price. The price is knowing that time is working on your side even when the results don’t show it yet.
When you look below the surface, giant leaps aren’t really giant leaps at all. If you look for the magic moment, you’ll miss how ordinary becomes extraordinary.
1. According to the passage, what causes most people to fail?| A．Selection difficulties. | B．Lack of perseverance. |
| C．Insufficient exterior support. | D．Shortage of social resources. |
| A．exhibit the way to get compound choices |
| B．prove that a good beginning is half success |
| C．emphasize the importance of being consistent |
| D．explain the difficulty of achieving extraordinary results |
| A．Narration. | B．Argumentation. | C．Practical writing. | D．Expository writing. |
| A．No Pains, No Gains. | B．Time Heals Everything. |
| C．Never Too Late to Mend. | D．Small Steps make Giant Leaps. |
5 . From the heartland to urban parks, school kids were released onto the baseball diamond. There was a time when baseball was the only summer game. But with competition from soccer and lacrosse, the clap of leather gloves is not as omnipresent as it used to be. Still, America’s game is a place for young boys to prove themselves.
Some boys were born athletic but Tim seemed to be growing in the opposite way: thin shoulders and no meat on his bones. But he loved baseball. And game after game, strikeout after strikeout piled up in the stat sheet. The desire was there, but the body doesn’t respond to dreams and wishes. The strikes continued.
Tim practiced his swing every day. His teammates encouraged him. His coach worked with him. Even opposing teams wished for a hit, just one hit for a boy who seemed to deserve it more than any other kid in the world.
What teammates and even the coach never saw was a gray van that pulled up each game in the parking lot adjacent to left field. Inside was Tim’s father, too weak from cancer to get out of the van. It’s a tough to watch your kid strike out, even tougher when you don’t have the strength to pitch to him.
At the end of the season, Tim stood at the plate as determined as ever. On the first pitch, the bat fell from his shoulder in a downward swing and somehow made contact. The ball dribbled down the third-base line, and Tim galloped to first. He stood on the bag wearing a smile as big as the outfield. He didn’t have the chance to advance, and when the pitcher retired the final out, Tim ran straight into left field, climbed the fence and dove into the front seat of a gray van, into the arms of a frail father whose wish for his son had finally materialized.
Sometimes it is more than a game.
1. What does the underlined word “omnipresent” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Outstanding. | B．Exciting. | C．Replaceable. | D．Common. |
| A．Tim's efforts won others’ respect |
| B．everyone believed Tim deserved a strikeout |
| C．Tim's coach was very satisfied with his performance |
| D．Tim's teammates often complained about his performance |
| A．Nobody supported Tim playing baseball. |
| B．Tim and his father love each other deeply. |
| C．Tim won the game through constant efforts. |
| D．Tim played baseball only to satisfy his own vanity. |
| A．Easier said than done. | B．One good turn deserves another. |
| C．Where there is a will, there is a way. | D．One false step makes a great difference. |
6 . Nothing says “I love you” like a homemade gift. But imagine if this specially-crafted gift actually ended up changing the world! Before they became popular items used by millions of people, these inventions were inspired by incredible acts of love.
Garbage Disposal
John W. Hammes, an architect from Wisconsin, created the In-Sink-Erator in 1935. Hammes got the idea after watching his wife spend time wrapping food in newspaper and throwing it out. The In-Sink-Erator is a device, installed under a kitchen sink between the sink’s drain and the trap. The disposal unit shreds food waste into pieces small enough generally less than 2 mm in diameter to pass through plumbing.
Magnetic Shirt Buttons
Maura Horton’s husband, Don, was a football coach who had Parkinson’s disease. One day, after Don struggled to button his shirt before a game, Horton decided there needed to be a better clothing option for people suffering from disability. So, Horton designed a shirt with magnetic buttons in 2012. It will finally allow everyone to dress, and undress themselves efficiently.
Surgical Gloves
William Stewart Halsted, M.D. (1852 – 1922) was a renowned U.S. surgeon who is often called the “Father of Modern Surgery.” Known for his strict adherence to sterile working conditions, Halsted invented a rubber glove that allowed surgeons to lessen the transfer of germs during their work. Yet the origin of why he created them is more romantic than you would think. Halsted’s wife, Caroline, was a nurse who suffered from dermatitis during her work. According to the Washinton Post, Halsted invented the gloves especially for her and gave them to her as a gift after their marriage.
1. According to Paragraph 3, we know that _____.| A．only specific groups can use magnetic shirt buttons |
| B．ordinary buttons made Horton's husband lose the game |
| C．the designer of magnetic shirt buttons had Parkinson's disease |
| D．magnetic shirt buttons were originally designed for the disabled |
| A．To treat surgical diseases. | B．To improve work efficiency. |
| C．To protect his wife from infection. | D．To be the father of modern surgery. |
| A．They were inspired by love. | B．They were designed to save time. |
| C．They were created to change the world. | D．They were invented in the 20th century. |
7 . Skeleton is one of the three sliding sports at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, alongside the luge(单雪橇)and bobsleigh(大雪橇). With only six medals up for grabs, skeleton has the fewest events at the Winter Games—which means competition will be fierce.
The sport of skeleton has its roots in the most popular winter pastime: sleighing. In the mid-19th century, British and American holidaymakers built the first toboggan(平底雪橇)run in Davos in 1882, and thus the sport of sleighing began.
Two years later, in 1884, the famed Cresta Run—a natural ice skeleton racing toboggan track—was built in St. Moritz, Switzerland(the course has hosted the annual Grand National championships since 1885).
In 1892, a new sledge made entirely of steel was introduced, and some claim that its bony appearance gave the sledge and the sport the name ‘skeleton’.
Men’s skeleton was first introduced on the Olympic program in the 1928 Games in St. Moritz. But due to the sport only being available at the Cresta Run at the time, it fell into obscurity(默默无闻)while the luge and bobsleigh grew in popularity. However, in 2002, the skeleton was reintroduced as a men’s and women’s event at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, and has remained a part of the Olympic program ever since.
While Great Britain has the most medals(nine)in skeleton competition at the Olympics, the top spot belongs to the United States(eight medals)by virtue of having four silvers to Great Britain’s one(both nations have three golds, while Britain has five bronze medals, and the United States one).
Great Britain is the only nation to have won a medal every time skeleton has featured at the Olympic Games, and has won at least one medal in each of the five contests of women’s skeleton since its introduction.
1. How many events does skeleton have in the Olympics?| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
| A．In 1882. | B．In1885. | C．In1892. | D．In 1928. |
| A．Because its material steel was rare. |
| B．Because there was only one run for it. |
| C．Because only men could take part in it. |
| D．Because it was not on the Olympic program. |
| A．The number of medals. | B．The composition of medals. |
| C．The virtue of the athletes. | D．The times of hosting the Olympics. |
8 . Cheney School is a popular, high performing school located in the heart of Oxford serving a diverse community of students who are eager to learn. The school is looking to add to its bank of exam invigilators (监考人), who will be employed on a casual basis to watch over students taking both mock(模拟) and actual GCSE / GCE exams, as necessary throughout the school year.
Full training will be provided and staff will be contacted before the exam period to discuss the invigilation schedule in relation to their own availability.
We are looking for people who
*have a command of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint
*have effective written communication skills
* are reliable and punctual
*are able to solve problems and keep calm under pressure
*enjoy working as part of a team
We can offer you
*€10.19 per hour
*reduced tuition fees for your kids
*a housing allowance
*shuttle service
If you would like to find out more, please contact Ms Marie-Anne Fischer at mf@cheney.oxon.sch.uk, or by telephone on 01865 5755270.
How to apply: Please download an application form from the school’s vacancy website: http://www.cheney.oxon.sch.uk/lnvigilators.
1. What does Cheney School offer its invigilators?| A．Flexible working hours. | B．Free staff dormitories. |
| C．A transportation allowance. | D．Free schooling for their kids. |
| A．Designing a mock exam paper. | B．Passing the GCSE or GCE exam. |
| C．Being able to use office software. | D．Enjoying working independently. |
| A．Prepare for the interview. | B．Fill in an application form. |
| C．Apply for relevant training. | D．Contact the school online or by telephone. |
9 . The ancient Babylonians （巴比伦人）are thought to have been the first people to set New Year's resolutions. They made promises to gods that they would return any objects they had borrowed from others. If they did this, then it was said that gods would protect them in the year ahead. Since then, resolutions have changed from promises to gods to promises to ourselves and others. That could be starting a new hobby, trying to be healthier or learning a new language. Given the difficulties that any people have in keeping their New Years resolutions, though, should people wait a little longer before deciding what they'll be? Is January the right time to set New Years resolutions?
Yes — it gets the year off to a good start. They're called New Year's resolutions, not Half-Year resolutions. The whole point of setting New Year's resolutions is that it's done at the start of the year.Waiting longer just defeats the purpose of it. New Year's resolutions are a fun tradition to discuss with family and friends. You won't be able to talk about it in the same way if you're all setting them at different times. Besides, the more you put it off, the less likely it is that you'll ever decide on what your resolutions are going to be. You can always set new ones, or change your goals, but it's important to start off with something. By the time you've decided on some resolutions, you'll have less time to do them — which only increases your chances of failure.
No — January isn't the right time. January is a cold and dark month. Why would you want to start something new then? During the winter months, most people just want to stay nice and warm indoors, rather than try something new. People should make resolutions to lead happier, healthier lives whenever they want, not just on 1 January. Waiting longer means that you'll have more time to plan and will have a better idea of what you want to do in the year ahead. This will result in better resolutions, which have a stronger chance of success. One study found that by 6 January, one in five people had failed to stick to their resolutions. By not rushing into it, you're less likely to get discouraged and give up if you haven't succeeded right away.
Now that you've read a bit more about it, tell us what you think by voting in our poll at theweekjunior. co. uk/polls.
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 1?| A．Babylonians returned to gods what they had borrowed from them. |
| B．Babylonians assumed that they would be permanently protected by gods. |
| C．Resolutions have been shifted into commitments to people rather than gods. |
| D．Setting New Year's resolutions in January is better than in any other months |
| A．succeed easily | B．end up with nothing |
| C．doubt the fun tradition | D．reach your ultimate aims |
| A．Happier, healthier lives | B．More time to make plans |
| C．Losing heart and quitting | D．Failure to make decisions |
| A．To call for donations | B．To build up a tradition |
| C．To introduce a practice | D．To stimulate discussions |
10 . How to change the world
There are so many things you can do at home or in your community to make the world a better place. Even the smallest things can lead to bigger changes, so don' t be afraid to get out there and start helping.
You’ve probably felt warm when someone says something nice about you, so why not return the favor? Say something that shows your appreciation for how they handle themselves emotionally or treat other people. Make sure you act sincerely when you give your praise so you come across as a truthful person.
It can be really easy to get jealous (妒忌的) of other people when they succeed, but it’s a lot more rewarding to share their excitement. Avoid comparing yourself to other people and thinking of ways you can be better than them.
Even though being kind to someone doesn’t seem like you’re making a big change, your kindness will continue to spread through them. Real kindness involves being friendly and considerate no matter the circumstances.
When people litter, the rubbish ends up in the environment and damages the natural wildlife .
| A．But do things because you’re actually interested in them. |
| B．Even a few small kind words can have a huge effect on them. |
| C．Even flashing a quick smile can brighten someone else’s day. |
| D．Stay aware of the people around you and look for opportunities to help them. |
| E．Remember to treat yourself kindly as well so you take good care of your mental health. |
| F．Instead, really look at what they’ve accomplished and appreciate the work they’ve done. |
| G．Search online to see if there are clean-up programs in your city and work as a volunteer. |
