1 . Is It Worth Buying Organic Food?

Organic food, grown without artificial chemicals, is increasingly popular nowadays. Consumers have been willing to pay up to twice as much for goods with organic labels (标签). However, if you think paying a little more for organic food gets you a more nutritious (有营养的) and safer product, you might want to save your money. A study led by researchers at Stanford University says that organic products aren’t necessarily more nutritious, and they’re no less likely to suffer from disease-causing bacteria, either.

The latest results, published in the Annuals of Internal Medicine, suggest that buyers may be wasting their money. “We did not find strong evidence that organic food is more nutritious or healthier,” says Dr. Crystal Smith-Spangler from Stanford. “So consumers shouldn’t assume that one type of food has a lower risk or is safer.”

For their new study, Smith-Spangler and her colleagues conducted a review of two categories of research, including 17 studies that compared health outcomes between consumers of organic against traditional food products, and 223 studies that analyzed the nutritional content of the foods, including key vitamins, minerals and fats.

While the researchers found little difference in nutritional content, they did find that organic fruit and vegetables were 20% less likely to have chemicals remaining on the surfaces. Neither organic nor traditional foods showed levels of chemicals high enough to go beyond food safety standards. And both organic and traditional meats, such as chicken and pork, were equally likely to be harmed by bacteria at very low rates. The researchers did find that organic milk and chicken contained higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, a healthy fat also found in fish that can reduce the risk of heart disease. However, these nutritional differences were too small, and the researchers were unwilling to make much of them until further studies confirm the trends.

Organic food is produced with fewer chemicals and more natural-growing practices, but that doesn’t always translate into a more nutritious or healthier product. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that “Whether you buy organic or not, finding the freshest foods available may have the biggest effect on taste.” Fresh food is at least as good as anything marketed as organic.

1. The new research questions whether organic food ________.

A．should replace traditional food

B．has been overpriced by farmers

C．is grown with less harmful chemicals

D．is really more nutritious and healthier

2. Smith Spangler and her colleagues found that ________.

A．organic food could reduce the risk of heart disease

B．traditional food was grown with more natural methods

C．both organic and traditional food they examined were safe

D．there was not a presence of any forms of bacteria in organic food

3. Which of the following is relatively healthier according to the passage?

A．Organic chicken and pork.

B．Organic milk and chicken.

C．Traditional chicken and pork.

D．Traditional fruit and vegetables.

4. What is the author’s attitude toward organic food?

A．Doubtful.

B．Positive.

C．Unconcerned.

D．Approving.

4 . By now, most people know they should be eating more vegetables. But are there ways to get more from the vegetables you already eat? A research shows that when it comes to vegetables, it’s not only how much we eat, but also how we prepare them, that decides the vitamins and other nutrients that enter our body.

Many studies show that people who eat lots of vegetables have less heart disease, and eye problems and even cancer. But raw vegetables are not always best. The researchers found that 198 Germans who eat raw food were short of lycopene, the matter found in tomatoes and other red vegetables. “There is an idea that raw foods are always going to be better,” says Steven K. Clinton, a professor at Ohi o State University. “For fruits and vegetables, sometimes a little bit of cooking can be helpful.”

A number of factors decide how the vegetables do good to people’s health before they reach the table, including where and how they were grown and stored before being bought. No single cooking way is best. Some nutrients are easily lost in cooking if they are cooked in different ways.

Vitamins C and B are often lost. In January, another report said that boiling was better for carrots than frying or serving them raw. Frying was the worst way to cook.

What cooked with the vegetables can also be important? When the vegetables were cooked with fat, the diners can get more nutrients. Fat can also make the taste of vegetables better, meaning that people will eat more of them. Putting on some other things that make it taste better—a little salt—can make the food taste better.

1. The writer mainly wants to tell us that ________.

A．people should eat more vegetables

B．the way people eat vegetables is important

C．eating vegetables is good for us

D．how much vegetables one should eat

2. The people who eat the raw vegetables for a long time will ________.

A．have the eyes problems	B．have heart disease
C．be in need of lycopene	D．hate eating tomatoes

3. The following decide how the vegetables do good to people EXCEPT ________.

A．the place where the vegetables are grown

B．the way how the vegetables are stored

C．the way how the vegetables are prepared

D．the price at which the vegetable are sold

4. From the last paragraph, we can know ________.

A．It’s better to cook vegetables with fat

B．the more fat in the cooking, the fewer vegetables people will eat

C．It’s better to cook the vegetables without salt

D．the fat will increase the nutrition of the vegetables

5 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

We all know that water is the source of life on Earth. No plant, insect, animal    1    human can survive without it. A new study from the National Institutes of Health highlights how important it is to our health. Researchers find that people    2    drink a lot of water everyday tend to stay     3    (fit) and live longer than those who don’t. The research team say drinking enough water is helpful to people     4    (affect) by illnesses related to ages, like heart and lung diseases. They add that it is more likely for adults    5    (poor) hydrated(补充水分) to show signs of ageing and even die at a younger age.

The researchers look at the health data from about 12, 000 adults over a 30-year period. They studied the information of patients who    6    (visit) a hospital five times in the past ten years. The first three times were when the patients were in    7    (they) 50s, and the last two times were when they were between 70 and 90. Dr. Natalia Dmitrieva, lead researcher of the study, said, “The    8    (result) suggest that proper hydration may slowdown ageing and make a disease-free life longer,” She calls    9    consuming more water, juice, fruit and vegetables with high water content. She said that half of the people worldwide didn’t drink enough in their daily life. According to her     10    (recommend), the average adult needs to drink at least 1.5 liters of water every day.

6 . People who frequently eat fruit are more likely to report greater positive mental health and are less likely to report symptoms of depression than those who do not, according to new research from the College of Health and Life Sciences, Aston University. The team also found that people who eat savoury (咸味的) snacks such as crisps (薯片), which are low in nutrients (营养) , are more likely to report greater levels of anxiety.

Published in the British Journal of Nutrition, the study surveyed 428 adults from across the UK and looked at the relationship between their consumption of fruit, vegetables, sweet and savoury snacks, and their psychological(心理的) health. The research found that both nutrient-rich fruit and nutrient-poor savoury snacks appeared to be linked to psychological health. They also found that there was no direct association between eating vegetables and psychological health. Based on the survey, the more often people ate fruit, the lower they scored for depression and the higher for mental health, independent of the overall quantity of fruit intake. By contrast, there was no link between these everyday memory lapses (差错) and fruit and vegetables intake or sweet snacks, suggesting a unique relationship between these nutrient-poor savoury snacks, everyday mental lapses, and psychological health.

Lead author, PhD student Nicola-Jayne Tuck commented, “Very little is known about how diet may affect mental health, and while we did not directly examine causality here, our findings could suggest that frequently snacking on nutrient-poor savoury foods may increase everyday mental loss, which in turn reduces psychological health.”

“It is possible that changing what we snack on could be a really simple way to improve our mental health. It is also possible that the future limit of processed (特殊处理的) snacks at checkouts, could not only improve the country’s physical health, but mental health too.”

“Overall, it’s definitely worth trying to get into the habit of reaching for the fruit bowl.”

1. Which may lead to greater level of anxiety?

A．Savoury snacks.

B．Fruit.

C．Vegetables.

D．Grain.

2. What can we learn from paragraph 2?

A．Rich fruit appears not to be linked to psychological health

B．The more fruit people eat, the lower they score for depression

C．There is a relation between the nutrient-poor snacks and mental health.

D．There is a direct link between eating vegetables and psychological health

3. What does the underlined word “causality” in paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The relation between fruit and vegetables.

B．The relation between exercise and health.

C．The relation between snacks and mental health.

D．The relation between diet and mental health.

4. Which is the most suitable title for the text?

A．Eating habits can prevent disease

B．Eating unhealthy snacks often is harmful to health

C．Eating vegetables often can improve mental health

D．Eating fruit often may contribute to mental health

7 . I used to overeat. I’ve never been significantly overweight, so people are surprised to hear this. When you think of overeating, you think of someone who is above their natural weight range, right? Well, I used to purposefully undereat as well. I was able to keep my weight within some control, but only through a lot of physical and mental pain.

Here’s a glimpse(一瞥)into my life as a first-year university student:

Friday: Go to a party and eat a lot of chips. Feel guilty and regretful. Vow(发誓)to wake up and run an extra mile.

Saturday: Run 6 miles, come home and only eat a tiny breakfast. Eat like a bird for the rest of the day. Feel proud of myself.

Sunday: Study and snack on chocolate chips all day. Feel sick.

Monday: Head to class with no snack and no money so that I can’t buy any food. Feel hungry but full of willpower. Go home and overeat at dinner. Feel out of control.

My feelings were changing regularly. I was proud and in control one moment, and then full of regret and out of control the next. It was exhausting.

As I studied nutrition and human anatomy(人体解剖学)in university, I started to learn just how amazing the human body is! The human body is an amazing, self-regulatory system. It knows exactly how much food it needs. When I learned this, my whole world changed. I stopped trying to manage my eating with willpower. Instead of trying to power through my hunger, I would provide my body with healthy foods, so I would feel hungry less often.

This process definitely took some work and reflection, but after a while it became second nature. Eating has become a joyful experience, instead of a source of stress and worry in my life. All my eating is now guilt-free! I shamelessly eat unhealthy snacks without regret. Of course, the majority of my food intake does come from whole, healthy foods that are close to nature.

1. What can we know about the author’s weekly life as a freshman?

A．Run extra mile on Friday.

B．Only eat breakfast on Saturday.

C．Eating nothing but chips on Sunday.

D．Eat nothing with willpower on Monday.

2. What did the author do after studying nutrition and human anatomy?

A．She exercised in order to lose weight.

B．She began to listen to her body’s needs.

C．She stopped eating unhealthy food.

D．She started to go on a diet.

3. Which is the most suitable title to this passage?

A．Have a balanced diet

B．Control your weight

C．Enjoy snacks without guilt

D．Eating can be a pleasant thing

4. How does the author develop the text?

A．By giving instructions.

B．By explaininga process.

C．By discussing research findings.

D．By sharing a personal experience.

8 . Eating chips, chocolates and cakes may damage a child’s intelligence, according to researchers at Bristol University. Their study suggests a link between diet high in processed(加工的) food and a slightly lower IQ. Writing in the journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, they suggest poor nutrition may affect brain development.

The eating habits of 3,966 children taking part in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children were recorded at the ages of three, four, seven and eight and a half. The researchers said three types of diet appeared: processed diet which was high in fat and sugar and fast food, traditional diet of meat, potatoes and vegetables, and healthy diet of salads, fruit and fish. The children all took IQ tests when they were eight and a half.

The researchers found a link between IQ and diet, even after taking into consideration other factors such as the mother’s level of education and the social class. Diet high in processed food at the age of three was related to a slightly lower IQ at the age of eight and a half, suggesting early eating habits had a long-term influence. Dr Pauline Emmett, who carried out the study at Bristol University, said, “Brain development is much faster in early life, and it’s when it does most of its growing.”

Although the relationship between diet and IQ was very strong, the influence was quite small. Processed food was linked with IQs only a few points lower. Experts in the field said the results had shown common sense was right. Fiona Ford, spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, said, “It’s well worth looking at the long-term influence of diet, for everyone’s familiar with the short term. The research agrees with the type of advice we already know, but that’s not always enough. Sometimes a society has to help a person change; we need to educate more young parents about healthy eating.”

1. All the following can lead to a slightly lower IQ except _______.

A．birthday cakes	B．fruit salads
C．chocolates	D．KFC food

2. The longest period of the research on eating habits might reach _______.

A．one year and a half	B．two years and a half
C．four years and a half	D．five years and a half

3. Which of the following agrees with Fiona Ford’s opinion?

A．Diet affects people’s intelligence greatly.

B．The research has shown the short-term influence of diet.

C．The British Dietetic Association has known the results of the research.

D．The British Dietetic Association has a duty to encourage young parents to adopt healthy diet.

4. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．Processed food reduces children’s intelligence.

B．Healthy food makes children grow rapidly.

C．Eating habits change children’s intelligence.

D．Proper diet makes children wise and healthy.