1 . On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that 42% of Americans could be overweight by 2030. Our expanding bodies not only lead to a medical problem, but also endanger personal safety in some situations — in an airplane crash, for example, according to a recent article in The New York Times.

The New York Times’ Christine Negroni reports that engineers and scientists are questioning whether airplane seats are designed to protect overweight travelers. Government standards (标准) for airplane seat strength — first set more than 60 years ago — require that the seats be made for a passenger weighing 170 pounds. Today, the average American man weighs nearly 194 pounds and the average woman 165 pounds.

Negroni reports:

“If a heavier person completely fills a seat, the seat is not likely to behave as designed during a crash,” Robert Salzar, the leading scientist at the Center for Applied Biomechanics at the University of Virginia. “The energy that is built into the aircraft seat is likely to be overpowered and the passengers will not be   protected properly” .

“Nor would the injury be limited to that passenger only,” Dr. Salzar said. “If a seat or a seat belt fails,” he said, “those people who are seated nearby could not be safe from ‘the uncontrolled movements of the passenger’.”

Most complaints about airplane seats focus on their lack of comfort and high ticket price, and whether overweight passengers should be made to buy two seats. But The New York Times’ article brings up another reason to feel anxious about flying. Investigators got in touch with the airplane seat and seat belt makers, but they refused to talk about the problem. Experts agreed that crash testing should be done with over-weighted dummies (人体模型). Both airplane seats and seat belts should be tested, they said.

Fortunately, however, according to Nora Marshall, a senior adviser at the National Transportation Safety Board, the board’s investigators have never seen an accident involving a commercial plane in which the weight of a passenger was a problem.

1. What is the article in The New York Times mainly about?

A．The size of airplane seats and seat belts.

B．Safety of overweight airplane passengers.

C．Airplane crashes.

D．A medical problem caused by being overweight.

2. Robert Salzar would probably agree that ________.

A．overweight passengers should buy two seats

B．the government should help produce safer planes

C．standards for airplane seat strength should be raised

D．passengers should know how to protect themselves

3. We can learn from the text that ________.

A．airplane seat makers have taken action now

B．there are few complaints about airplane seats

C．those seated near the overweight may suffer, too

D．only a small number of airplane accidents result from the overweight

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Why do passengers Feel Anxious about Flying?

B．Will 42% of Americans Be Overweight by 2030?

C．When Will the Overweight Enjoy Their Flight?

D．Are Airplane Seats Safe Enough for the Overweight?

3 . Food companies engineer junk food to make it addictive. They label their products to make them seem much healthier than they are. And their advertisements target children.

All of this is according to a news report read recently by students in a Texas middle school. They were taking part in an experiment run by the University of Chicago and the University of Texas. Researchers had students learn about food-industry advertising strategies. They wanted to know if learning about them would change how kids feel about junk food. All over the world, kids are eating more foods that are high in salt, sugar, and fat. That is partly the result of clever ads that make junk food attractive. Companies use varying strategies. An ad with cartoon characters may make cereal seem fun to eat. A professional athlete enjoying a sugary drink may make it look cool. Advertisers know that if kids want a product, they’ll beg their parents to buy it.

Christopher J. Bryan led the study. He says that when kids question the motives behind junk-food ads, they feel like they’re fighting injustice. “The reward is knowing you’re doing the right thing,” he says. In the Texas study, Bryan had students view ads on an iPad. Their job was to write or draw on the screen, to make each ad’s message true. For example, a McDonald’s ad showed a Big Mac and the words. “The thing you want when you order salad.” To the end of the sentence, a student added “should be salad.”

The results of Bryan’s Texas study were published in April. They showed that three months after analyzing ads, students were still choosing healthier snacks: milk instead of sugary juices, fruit over cookies. “Kids are becoming aware of themselves as agents in the world,” Bryan says. “They see a chance to make the world a better place.”

1. What are the researchers trying to do with this experiment?

A．To teach kids to design unreal ads.	B．To help kids to perform better at school.
C．To draw public attention to kids’ education.	D．To change the way kids think about junk food.

2. How do food companies get kids to buy their products?

A．They sell their products at a discount.	B．They use various attractive advertising.
C．They try to influence kids’ parents.	D．They increase the quantity of their products.

3. How did students conduct the experiment led by Bryan?

A．By correcting unreal advertisements.	B．By offering suggestions to food industry.
C．By making up their own advertisements.	D．By studying industry advertising strategies.

4. How does Bryan feel about students’ choices after three months?

A．Indifferent.

B．Neutral.

C．Satisfied.

D．Critical.

4 . Every festival has its own meaning. Labor Day, for example, celebrates the value of hard work. Thanksgiving is about showing thanks to people around you. And Valentines’ Day is a time when you express love to your loved ones. But somehow it now seems that all festivals we just care about one thing — shopping. And that can be a big problem.

“In a way, over-consumption (过度消费) is the mother of all our environmental problems,” Kalle Lasn once told CNN. Lasn is the organizer of Buy Nothing Day, a day set up in Canada in 1992 to fight against unhealthy spending habits, and has now become an international event. It’s held on the day, which is known as Black Friday — a famous shopping day in the US and Canada.

You can see the irony (讽刺) here.

Even though the idea of Buy Nothing Day was brought up 26 years ago, we seem to need it now more than ever. It’s just as Lasn said, all the different kinds of pollution in our lives today — bad air quality, the reduction of forest area, endangered animal species, and plastic bags found in the ocean — seem to be the same cause: over-consumption.

The latest example is the Singles’ Day shopping craze of Nov 11, which saw a new sales record. But as Nie Li, a campaigner at Greenpeace, told Reuters, “Record-setting over-consumption means record-setting waste.” And it was reported that last year the Singles’ Day packages left more than 160,000 tons of waste, including plastic and cardboard. The Collins Dictionary has also just named “single-use” its Word of the Year, pointing out the problem that there’re too many things we tow out after only using them once.

So, Buy Nothing Day might only be here for one day a year, but it’s not just to remind us to the a break from shopping on that day, but to change our lifestyle completely, focusing on fun “with people we care about” rather than wasting money on useless things.

1. What’s the authors purpose of writing the first paragraph?

A．To express the people’s love for all festivals.

B．To talk about the meaning of the festivals.

C．To appreciate the value of the festivals.

D．To bring out the topic of the passage.

2. Why did Kalle Lasn organize Buy Nothing Day?

A．To help people save money.	B．To cut the cost for daily life.
C．To prevent over-consumption.	D．To set up a new sales record.

3. What’s Nie Li’s attitude towards the shopping craze?

A．Opposed (反对的).	B．Supportive.
C．Unknown.	D．Neutral (中立的).

4. What can be a suitable title for the passage?

A．Creating a New Lifestyle	B．Buy Nothing Day
C．Festivals Around the World	D．A Change in People’s Life

5 . Researchers from Arizona State University (ASU) published their latest report. When men expressed their opinions with anger, people considered them more believable. But when women expressed anger, they were viewed as more emotional (情绪化) and, thus, less trustable. In other words, a man could benefit from using anger in power and persuasion. A woman, however, could be ignored or hurt by her group if she expressed anger.

The study was based on the responses of 210 students. They were shown evidence online from a murder (谋杀) trial. A man was said to have murdered his wife. The students were asked to decide if the man was guilty or not. Before making their decisions, the students discussed the case online with five jurors (陪审员). But these jurors were computers responses and comments. Some of the jurors had male identities. Others had female identities.

Some male jurors were angry about the verdict (裁决). When this happened, the students reacted by doubting their own decisions about the case. Confidence in their responses on the verdict dropped. However, when female jurors seemed angry, the students became more confident in their original verdicts.

Jessica Salerno, a psychologist and co-author of the study, said, “Our results provide something important for any woman who is trying to have an influence on a decision in her workplace and everyday life.”

In a political debate, a female candidate might have less influence if she shows anger. In the entertainment world, actor Jennifer Lawrence recently wrote that women and men in Hollywood get the opposite reactions when expressing their opinions angrily. “All I hear and see are men speaking their opinions,” she wrote. “When I give mine in the quite similar manner, you would have thought I said something annoying”.

1. What’s the new finding from the ASU report?

A．Men usually do harm to angry women.

B．Women are more likely to become angry.

C．People prefer to believe the angry women.

D．Angry men appear to gain influence in a group.

2. When would the students be sure about their decisions in the study?

A．Male jurors agreed with them.

B．They became angry with the jurors.

C．Angry female jurors didn’t agree with them.

D．Angry male jurors showed opposite opinions.

3. What does Jessica Salerno think the study?

A．It helps women avoid losing influence.

B．It asks men to get away from angry women.

C．It causes men to change their attitude to women.

D．It shows men and women should be treated equally.

4. How does the author support Jessica Salerno?

A．By showing differences.	B．By giving examples.
C．By presenting research findings.	D．By setting down general rules.

6 . You’ve most likely heard the news by now: A car-commuting, desk-bound, TV-watching lifestyle can be harmful to our health. All the time that we spend rooted in the chair is linked to increased risks of so many deadly diseases that experts have named this modern-day health epidemic the “sitting disease”.

Sitting for too long slows down the body’s metabolism (新陈代谢) and the way enzymes (酶) break down our fat reserves, raising both blood sugar levels and blood pressure. Small amounts of regular activity, even just standing and moving around, throughout the day is enough to bring the increased levels back down. And those small amounts of activity add up—30 minutes of light activity in two or three-minute bursts can be just as effective as a half-hour block of exercise. But without that activity, blood sugar levels and blood pressure keep creeping up, steadily damaging the inside of the arteries (动脉) and increasing the risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other serious diseases. In essence, fundamental changes in biology occur if you sit for too long.

But wait, you’re a runner. You needn’t worry about the harm of a sedentary lifestyle because you exercise regularly, right? Well, not so fast. Recent studies show that people spend an average of 64 hours a week sitting, whether or not they exercise 150 minutes a week as recommended by World Health Organization (WHO). Regular exercisers, furthermore, are found to be about 30 percent less active on days when they exercise. Overall, most people simply aren’t exercising or moving around enough to counteract all the harm that can result from sitting nine hours or more a day.

Scared straight out of your chair? Good. The remedy is as simple as standing up and taking activity breaks.

1. What is the best way to bring down high blood sugar level and blood pressure?

A．Interrupting sitting time with light activity as often as possible.

B．Exercising for 150 minutes or more every week.

C．Getting rid of the habit of car commuting and TV watching.

D．Standing or moving around for at least two or three minutes every day.

2. What does the word “sedentary” in the third paragraph most likely meant?

A．Modern.

B．Risky.

C．Epidemic.

D．Inactive.

3. Which of the following may be inferred about those who do serious exercise?

A．They usually do not meet the standard of exercise recommended by WHO.

B．They generally spend less time sitting than those who are inactive.

C．They tend to stand or move around less on their work-out days.

D．They often live longer than those who don’t exercise.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．The threat to our health from long hours of sitting.

B．The challenges of the modern lifestyle.

C．The reasons for the spread of a modern epidemic.

D．The effect of regular exercise on our body.

7 . Keeping fit often means sharing a busy pathway with cyclists,runners and walkers,but imagine facing the task of doing it all without being able to see or hear.It is a challenge many disabled athletes face,unless someone agrees to be their eyes and ears.

Newly formed group Achilles Brisbane pairs visually and audibly impaired (视觉和听觉受损的) athletes with people who would like to guide them.

Jane Britt,president of Achilles Brisbane,who is—vision and hearing—impaired,said,“When we go out,it’s much less frightening to have someone beside us that has full hearing to listen for us and tell us what’s there.”

Ms.Cullen and Ms.Britt meet up most Saturday mornings to take part in the five-kilometer park run.Their partnership is built on trust,but Ms.Britt said that it took time to develop.

Ms.Britt said it took an unexpected storm for her to trust Ms.Cullen completely.“There was violent rain,my glasses were broken and we were walking together.I suddenly had to tell her I couldn’t see anything,and I was going to have to completely trust her.From that time I knew it was going to work because she was so good about dealing with the special situation we both found ourselves in,” she said.

Isabella Allen and her seeing eye dog Tatum are two new additions to the Achilles Brisbane.Ms.Allen kept active by rowing,running and cycling but found it difficult to keep going as her vision became worse.After nearly giving up completely,she worked up the courage to ask Achilles Brisbane to find someone to share a boat with her.

Ms.Allen said the fear of not finding anyone to row with almost stopped her from reaching out to Achilles Brisbane.“But,they found people and matched me to them,” she said.“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”

1. How does Jane Britt feel about going out alone?

A．Relaxed.

B．Excited.

C．Worried.

D．Bored.

2. What happened in the heavy rain according to Ms.Britt?

A．She developed a strong sense of teamwork.

B．She led Ms.Cullen forward on the road.

C．She began to rely on Ms.Cullen as her guide.

D．She fell down on the ground.

3. What was the best thing Ms.Allen has done?

A．Asking Achilles Brisbane for help.

B．Working in Achilles Brisbane.

C．Exercising non-stop.

D．Meeting Tatum.

4. What does Paragraph 1 try to show?

A．The danger of walking on a busy road.

B．The difficulty the disabled athletes face.

C．The exercise people do to keep fit.

D．The necessity of building roads for the blind.

9 . Most of us spend our lives surrounded by screens, which offer us convenience as well as connection and an ocean of information. But since it’s easy to feel pressured to keep up with every notification, technology may feel more like a burden than a blessing. Thus, the idea of “digital detox” is becoming increasingly inviting.

The phrase “digital detox” describes getting rid of TV, phones, computers and other forms of technology that control our lives for a period of time. Some experts advocate completely avoiding unnecessary screen time for 30 years. Others suggest using an app that will limit the amount of time one can spend on certain websites. A third option is logging out in evenings or on weekends. Others simply turn their phones off at scheduled times. Some even pay high prices to take vacations in places where they can unplug from their digital routine.

Why might you want to take a digital detox? Perhaps you find that you are spending longer than you intend on certain apps or that they distract you from more important things. Perhaps social media is depressing because you compare yourself to others or you fear missing out on things that other people are enjoying. Constant negative news can also give rise to a lot of stress.

Technology can also have physical effects. Many people experience back or neck pain as a result of bending over screens. The blue light coming from most screens can also affect people’s sleep by preventing production of melatonin(褪黑素).

Giving up all screens may not be realistic, but strategic breaks from technology may be good for your body, mind, emotions and relationships. It is high time that you picked a time to turn off your devices and focus on really important things.

1. Why does the author say “technology may feel more like a burden than a blessing” in paragraph 1?

A．To confirm a concept.

B．To present a problem.

C．To explain a rule.

D．To make a prediction.

2. What does the underlined word “unplug” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Recover.

B．Benefit.

C．preventing

D．Suffer.

3. Which could be the reason for one to start “digital detox”?

A．Apps selection difficulty.

B．Fear of missing important things.

C．Exposure to false news.

D．Pressure from social comparison.

4. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To recommend healthy lifestyles.

B．To call for reducing the use of digital devices.

C．To give instructions on starting digital detox.

D．To present different attitudes to digital products.

10 . 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。

Shanghai Disneyland, Zhejiang’s Hello Kitty Park and Dalian Discoveryland Theme Park are on the list     1     grows quickly. Theme parks are becoming big business in China. China Wanda Group has built     2     (it) 11th “Cultural Tourism City” in Guilin, Guangxi. Carnival Group is planning     3     (build) ten more theme parks in China. And Dalian Haichang Group also wants to open four theme parks in the     4     (follow) five years.

China now has 300 theme parks or so nationwide. However, modern entertainment     5     (center) for family visits are still in short supply in many cities, so     6     number of large theme parks in China will still be     7     the increase. US-based company AECOM believes China will replace America to become the largest theme park market, having 221 million visits every year, twice as many as those in 2015.

But the industry is not     8    (actual) good. 70 percent of theme parks in China     9     (suffer) economic losses at the moment and 20 percent of them have nearly gone broke, according to a survey     10     (make) by Qianzhan Industry Research Institute.