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 . Picture the scene: you’ve spent years working towards a very specific goal. You’ve put in countless hours of work and made many efforts along the way, but now that you’ve got there it doesn’t feel quite like you imagined. Instead of celebration, you feel emptiness, confusion and doubt.
Welcome to the anti-climax. The often-experienced but seldom-discussed downside of achieving life’s biggest milestones. Many of us work tirelessly towards our goals. We may spend our lives dreaming of the day we get married, publish our first hook or buy our first home. However, oftentimes, when we achieve these things it doesn’t feel quite as expected. In fact, the achievement of these goals feels a bit of a letdown.
So why do we often experience an anti-climax with big goals, even though we’re happy to achieve them? “An anti-climax can be an unexpected by-product of a milestone achievement. Usually, the more significant the milestone, the greater the anti-climax may be. The intensity（强度）of an anti-climax often relies on what we expect of this achievement.” says Rachel Vora. a psychotherapist（心理治疗师）.“The journey to achieving a milestone can he exciting and tiring in addition to giving us a sense of purpose and focus. Therefore, when this disappears overnight. we can often feel lost and confused, in spite of feeling proud of our achievement.
When this happens it can contribute to a mixture of emotions. We often falsely believe that we’ll feel completely different afterwards or that our feelings of low self-worth will disappear, but this is rarely the case. “Clients（客户）often present to me with an extremely great sense of ‘is this it?’ and ‘what now?’.” says Vora. “These feelings of confusion and disappointment, if let ignored, have the potential to cause clients to be in low spirits, or even worse.”
1. Why does the author mention the examples in paragraph 2?| A．To present a fact. | B．To prove a rule. |
| C．To explain a term. | D．To make a prediction. |
| A．Low self-worth. | B．High expectations. |
| C．Sense of purpose. | D．Unexpected achievements. |
| A．Amy felt empty before giving a speech. |
| B．Jack felt lost after his first novel came out. |
| C．Mary felt proud when she joined a ballet club. |
| D．Tom felt doubtful about taking further education. |
| A．How to hold back feelings. |
| B．How to improve self-worth. |
| C．Hon to identify the anti-climax. |
| D．How to deal with the anti-climax. |
3 . As more people move into their golden years, many families are welcoming their senior parents into their homes. While most seniors claim to prefer to age in their own homes, safety and health concerns don’t always make this possible.
If you are preparing to welcome a senior parent into your home, everyone will have an adjustment period. This type of move will have physical, emotional, and mental influences for the whole family. Here’re a few tips to help you open your heart and home to your senior parents.
You may be excited about having your senior parent move in, but that doesn’t mean they will share your enthusiasm. Being asked to move out of their own home can be very upsetting for your parents. So it’s important to be patient with them and allow them the time to adjust to their new environment.
It’s also important to give your parents a space of their own. Before you decide to bring a senior parent into your home, you need to consider if you have enough space for them.
Then, for adult children, offering a senior parent a safe home is a priority. Before moving, you will need to make some changes around your home to help your parents stay safe. For example, install grab bars in the bathroom, repair all stairways, add anti-slip mats to the kitchen and so on. And arm yourself with knowledge like First Aid courses.
In addition, your senior parent will be used to being in charge of their own home and is likely to feel like a bother as they begin to settle in your home. One effective way is to assign them a household responsibility. Ask your parents to look after the dog or cook a meal to make them feel like an active and important part of the family.
1. Who may be the intended readers of the text?| A．People moving into their golden years. |
| B．People having senior parents to take care of. |
| C．People wanting to age in their own homes. |
| D．Senior people having safety and health concerns. |
| A．Being patient with your parents. |
| B．Giving them enough space. |
| C．Making sure of their safety. |
| D．Assigning them a household responsibility. |
| A．To make them feel like a bother. |
| B．To make them think themselves useful. |
| C．To make them in charge of the family. |
| D．To encourage them to exercise actively. |
| A．Troubles to live with senior parents. |
| B．A good way to age for senior people. |
| C．Take your responsibility to adjust yourself. |
| D．Open your heart and home to your senior parents. |
| A. boom B. enthusiastically C. voiced D. finds E. sharply F. racing G. fortune H. distinctly I. venturing J. deals K. joined |
Eight months ago, Meng Hu, 27, quit her job as a flight attendant in Guangzhou, China. She is now working full-time as a live-streaming host on Taobao.
“I’ve been talking nonstop,” Hu said, laughing. “My throat gets really hoarse. You need to talk a lot, because your mood is contagious (有感染力的). Only when you talk
Hu is part of a rising class of creators in China who are
Even the Chinese government has
Live-stream shopping is a combination of entertainment and e-commerce. Viewers buy goods online from people who show off their latest
Part of the allure(吸引力) of
For people like Hu, the live-stream host in Guangzhou, the ongoing
“Viewers might have doubled, but there’s probably about seven or eight times more new live-streamers now,” she estimated. “So many people like me have
Will you eat everything in your lunch box today? If not, will you save it for another time or just throw it away?
A recent study
Food waste in homes
Cultural habits could also lead to waste at home,
Food was
6 . Food waste is a growing problem both in America and across the globe. In North America alone about 30-40% of food ends up as rubbish each year. While much ends up as rubbish, over 48 million Americans live in households that do not have enough food! Now, concerned citizens are trying to raise awareness of the issue with some creative ideas.
In New York’s Westchester County, students at 18 schools join in a program called We Future Cycle. Started by Anna and Ashley in 2014, it teaches kids to recycle, compost (堆肥), and most importantly control food waste in an easy and efficient manner.
Lunch areas at those schools are equipped with three clearly marked bins— compost, recycle and share. While the first two are common in schools, the third is rare. This is the bin where kids can put their unwanted drinks, fruits, and even untouched sandwiches. Food there is available for any student that wants them. Whatever remains at the end of the day is given to the local soup kitchen or food bank. Anna says the three bins have helped reduce the number of trash bags produced at the mid-day meal from an average of 22 to just 2!
To ensure kids form similar habits at home, the non-profit has created plans to educate families about the importance of sorting waste into the proper streams of recycling, composting, and food to donate. They also urge parents to have open conversations with their kids about food choices.
Kids are not the only ones that waste food. Adults are equally bad, if not worse! To fight that, Brooklyn-based Josh founded Salvage Super Club in 2014. The randomly organized dinners promise customers a multi-course meal for merely 50 dollars per person. The delicious food is made from perfectly safe ingredients (成分) that are past their prime and, therefore, headed for the compost or trash bin.
1. The underlined word “awareness” in Paragraph 1 probably means__________?| A．understanding | B．hope |
| C．doubt | D．value |
| A．Use dustbins instead of plastic bags for left-over food. |
| B．Put their unwanted food in the bins and learn to share. |
| C．Get the children to educate their parents at home. |
| D．Only get single-course food for 50 dollars when eating out. |
| A．Parents are to blame for the children’s bad habits. |
| B．Parents do not encourage children to save food. |
| C．Parents are as wasteful as children about food. |
| D．Parents have set an example for the children. |
| A．More information about food bank. | B．How to improve food production. |
| C．The importance of saving food. | D．Other creative ways to save food. |
7 . Climate breakdown threatens to cause a global food production crisis. The UN forecasts that by 2050, feeding the world will require a 20% expansion in global water use for agriculture. It is hard to see how agriculture can feed the population of the planet, let alone toward the end of the century and beyond. Agriculture is a major cause of climate breakdown, and both river and air pollution. Industrial fishing is similarly driving ecological collapse in seas around the world.
However, at this critical time, farming (a new kind of food technology) is creating astonishing possibilities to save both people and the planet. Farming will enable the return of vast areas of land and sea to nature, greatly reducing carbon emissions (排放物). It means an end to the employment of animals, a stop to overfishing, and a dramatic reduction in cutting down forests and the use of pesticides (杀虫剂). It is the best hope for stopping the destruction of the planet and, if it is done right, it means cheap and abundant food for everyone.
We are about to welcome one of the biggest economic transformations, of any kind, for 200 years. Arguments continue about plants against meat-based diets; however, new technologies will soon make these arguments irrelevant. Before long, most food will come neither from animals nor plants, but from micro-organisms (微生物).
Not only will food be cheaper, it will also be healthier. Due to the fact that farming creates food products built up from simple components rather than broken down from complex ones, hard fats and other unhealthy components can be screened out. Meat will still be meat, but it will be grown in factories rather than in the bodies of animals. Fats will still be fats, but food is likely to be better, cheaper and much less damaging to the living planet.
1. What is the major cause of sea ecological breakdown?| A．Food production. | B．Global farming. |
| C．Industrial fishing. | D．Climate breakdown. |
| A．Its benefits. | B．Its security. | C．Its research. | D．Its limits. |
| A．Sea animals. | B．Wild plants. | C．Micro-organisms. | D．Farm products. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Positive. | C．Disapproving. | D．Unclear. |
8 . Home fires can happen quickly, destroying lives and property, but unlike other disasters, most home fires can be prevented. Read on to learn 4 unexpected home fire dangers.
Having old smoke alarms
An effective smoke alarm can make much difference when it comes to surviving a house fire. It’s not enough to change the batteries twice a year, you also need to replace your alarms every decade. “You should test your smoke alarms every month,” says Lorraine Carli, vice president of the National Fire Protection Association. “But also don’t forget to check the dates and replace an alarm that is more than 10 years old.”
Leaving the kitchen while you cook
One in five Americans admitted leaving food cooking unattended on the stove, which was found an American Red Cross survey. Walking away from food cooking in the kitchen is a serious fire risk. “The leading cause of home fires is cooking and the leading cause of those fires is unattended cooking,” says Carli. “If you need to use the stove or oven, be sure to keep an eye on it.”
Turning the heat too high when you cook
Turning up the heat too high can be deadly, even if you’re in the kitchen while you cook. Kevin Kelley, senior director of the American Red Cross, recommends paying close attention and turning off the burner if you see smoke or grease (油脂) starting to boil while frying food.
Having a dirty stove while you cook
If your stove is covered with grease, a small kitchen fire can get out of hand quickly. Clean and clear the area around the stove before turning on the heat, or the result will be dangerous.
1. How long should a smoke alarm usually last?| A．2 years. | B．10 years. | C．12 years. | D．8 years. |
| A．Having a dirty stove. | B．Keeping burners at high temperatures. |
| C．Using old smoke alarms. | D．Cooking with nobody in charge. |
| A．Replacing stoves regularly. | B．Cleaning the stove area often. |
| C．Checking the smoke alarms yearly. | D．Making less fried food. |
Have you ever asked yourself why children go to school? You will
We send our children to school to prepare them
Actually, there is more in education than just
10 . Many of us live with a roommate at some stage. Sometimes, there can be problems. Who hasn’t had an argument about whose turn it is to take out the rubbish or who should be the one to clear up after dinner? However, living with another person also comes with many benefits.
You know that there’s always someone else around, which can help you feel safer. There is always someone to talk to, so you never feel lonely. Besides these obvious benefits, there are some you may not notice. For example, we’re actually more likely to eat healthier food when living with others.
To examine the effect of living alone, Australian university researchers did much research and found that people living alone tended to eat less fresh food, which can have a significant negative effect on long-term health. However, those living with others generally benefited from a more varied diet compared to those living alone.
What could explain these findings? The researchers believe the social and cultural roles played by cooking, food preparation and eating may be important considerations. For example, those living with friends have someone else to go shopping with, and thus are likely to buy higher-quality fresh food regularly.
Cooking skills may be another factor. If people living alone find they do not have the knowledge required to prepare a particular dish or cook a certain food, they may fall back on ready-made, less healthy food. However, if they live with at least one other person, they may be able to ask for help.
In addition, people living alone can eat whatever they want at any time of the day or night. However, it’s helpful to have someone around who questions your decision to eat frozen pizza at 3 am. In other words, roommates can draw your attention to unhealthy routines.
So, if you now live alone and find yourself fighting a losing battle against poor eating habits, why not consider sharing a home with someone else? You could encourage one another to be healthier and more well-being.
1. The author uses the first paragraph to________.| A．introduce the topic of the text |
| B．remind readers of their roommates |
| C．show the problems of living with others |
| D．recall the experience of sharing a room |
| A．the reasons for living with others |
| B．the benefits of having a roommate |
| C．the way of dealing with a roommate |
| D．the importance of communicating with others |
| A．hunt for | B．cut down on |
| C．depend on | D．give up |
