The reason why science exists is to improve our lives. Sometimes science can ruin our small guilty pleasures we nature to be happier, though. These four little truths are just some of those.

   Sleeping with pets is a good way to catch the plague(瘟疫), or some other bacterial infections, as is claimed in the study done in February 2011 in Emerging Infectious Diseases magazine. The study shares a case of a nine-year-old boy whose cat caught the plague and gave it to its owners while they were sharing a bed. A regular visit to the vet can greatly reduce the risk of your pet catching any disease that may infect the owner as well.

   A recent study done on 200,000 people has shown that vitamin supplements do nothing to improve our lives, and what is worse—they actively increase our death risk. This conclusion from 2010 was so unbelievable that it made researchers do even more studies. Each study had the same result. People who choose vitamin supplements over fruit and vegetables are the same as people who choose to eat a burger over a healthy salad.

   People who use the solarium(日光浴室)experience certain changes to their brains that are very similar to many caused by drug addiction. According to a study, our brain can in fact recognize the difference between the natural UV light and the solarium.

   Long exposure to artificial light during the night is directly linked to a higher risk of breast cancer, obesity and depression. Exposure to artificial light before sleeping disturbs the natural biorhythms(生物节奏)of our bodies, which leads to restriction on the hormone(荷尔蒙)melatonin, which is the hormone that helps us fall asleep.

 最近，你们班英语课上老师组织一次主题为“Does beauty really make much sense?”的讨论。根据下面同学们的讨论结果用英语写一篇120字左右的短文并谈谈自己的观点。

1.学生观点1：一副好面孔就是一张通行证,在社交、求职、竞争中起着重要作用。

2.学生观点2：漂亮不等于胜任工作,只有追求内在完美才是真正的美。

3.你的观点……

参考词汇：通行证：pass     社交: social communication

内在美：spiritual beauty.

Does beauty really make much sense?

Last week in our English class, we had a very heated discussion on the topic—does beauty really make much sense?                                                            

A businessman had been on a long flight between meetings. After a while, a calm voice said, “We shall not be serving the drinks at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence(漩涡). Please be    1    your seat belt is fastened.”

As the businessman looked around in the aircraft, it became obvious that many  passengers were becoming a bit    2   . Later, the voice said, “We are so sorry that we are unable    3    the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us.”

Lightning    4    the darkening skies, and within moments that great plane was like a _  5    moving around on an ocean. One moment the airplane was    6    on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash. All the passengers were upset and scared. Some were praying. The future seemed terrible and many were wondering if they would    7    it through the storm.

Then, he suddenly saw a little girl. Obviously the storm meant    8     to her. She was reading a book and everything within her small world was    9    and orderly. Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would    10    again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her    11   . All the adults were scared half to __12___, but the great child wasn’t afraid at all.

The businessman could hardly believe his eyes. When the plane finally    13    its destination, he asked why she had not been afraid. The child replied, “Because my Daddy’s the pilot, and he’s flying the plane to take me home.”

There are many kinds of storms that    14    us physically, mentally and financially. And many storms can easily and quickly darken our skies and    15    out planes into uncontrollable movement.

Let us remember: Our Father is the pilot. He is in control and taking us home. So don’t worry!

1.A. quick            B. sure              C. true               D. worried

2.A. excited           B. curious           C. happy             D. nervous

3.A. to serve          B. to take            C. to finish            D. to produce

4.A. broke out         B. lit up             C. came across        D. gave off

5.A. bird             B. boat              C. plane              D. person

6.A. lifted            B. squeezed          C. knocked            D. dropped

7.A. make            B. get               C. carry              D. finish

8.A. something        B. anything           C. everything         D. nothing

9.A. funny            B. easy              C. moving            D. calm

10.A. lie              B. read              C. play              D. smile

11.A. book            B. world             C. story             D. body

12.A. death            B. cry               C. smile             D. madness

13.A. came            B. arrived            C. got               D. reached

14.A. wound           B. warn             C. trouble            D. kill

15.A. reduce           B. throw             C. make             D. destroy

Laugh and the world laughs with you. Even better, you might live longer, an American researcher reports.

“Adults who have ___1.___ sense of humor live longer than those who don’t find life funny, and the survival edge is ___2.__ (particular) large for people ___3.___ cancer,” says Richard Smith of the Columbia University of Science and Technology.

He ___4.___ (present) his study of about 54,000 Americans, ___5.___ he had followed for seven years, at the American Psychosomatic Society meeting last Monday.

At the start, patients filled out questionnaires on how easily they found humor in real-life situations __6.___ how important a ___7.___ (humor) idea was.

The study showed next the greater role humor played in their lives, the greater their chances were in ___8.___（survive）the seven years. Adults scoring in the top one-quarter for humor appreciation were 35% more likely to be alive ___9.__ those in the bottom quarter. In a smaller group of 2,015 people who had a cancer diagnosis(诊断) at the start, the study found ___10.__ important that a great sense of humor cut the chances of dying by about 70%.

For their nick-of-time acts, Toby, a 2-year-old dog, and Winnie, a cute cat, were named Dog and Cat of the Year by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.   

As Amy Paul choked(哽住) on a piece of apple at her home, her dog jumped up, landing hard on her chest and forcing the piece in her throat out. When the Keesling family of Indiana was about to be killed by carbon monoxide, their cat clawed at the wife Cathy’s hair until she woke up and called for help.

No one could explain their timely heroics.

Both pets were rescued by their owners in infancy-----Toby as a 4-week-old thrown into a garbage bin to die, and Winnie as a week-old orphan hiding under a barn, so helpless that Cathy’s husband, Eric, had to feed her milk with an eyedropper.

As the Keeslings recalled it, a gas-driven pump being used broke down, spreading carbon monoxide through the house. By the time Winnie went to rescue, the couple’s 14-year-old son was already unconscious. “Winnie jumped on the bed and was clawing at me, with a kind of angry sound,” Cathy Keesling said. The state police responding to her 911 call said the family was only minutes from death, judging by the amount of poisonous gas in the house.

Amy Paul’s husband was at his job when she took a midday break from making jewelry and bit into an apple. “Normally I peel them, but I read in Good Housekeeping Magazine that the skin has all the nutrients, so I ate the skin, and that’s what caused me to choke,” she recalled. “I couldn’t breathe and I was in panic when Toby jumped on me. He never does that, but he did, and saved my life.”

Both Toby and Winnie accompanied their owners to the awards luncheon.

1.What would be the suitable title for the passage?

A. Great Honors for Cat and Dog

B. Dog and Cat Honored for Saving Their Masters

C. Unforgettable Experiences

D. So Smart Animals Are

2.Winnie saved the lives of its owner’s whole family in an accident by __________.

A. jumping onto its owner                    B. calling for help

C. making some strange noises                D. clawing at Cathy’s hair

3.Which of the following has the similar meaning to the underlined word “infancy” in Paragraph 4?

A. babyhood         B. Youth       C. Middle age        D. agedness

4.What caused the carbon monoxide spreading through the house?

A. A pump breaking down.                  B. A driver breaking into the house.

C. The burning gas.                        D. The poisonous gas.

5.Why did Amy Paul choke on a piece of apple?

A. She was too young to care for herself.

B. She had a big bite.

C. She didn’t peel the skin as usual.

D. The apple was too hard.

One day, Mary asked her mother, “Mum, what do people mean by saying they have a skeleton(骨架）in the closet(衣橱)?” Her mother paused thoughtfully and said, “Well, it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else know about. For example, if in the past, someone in Dad’s family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be a skeleton in his family’s closet. He really wouldn’t want any neighbor to know about it.”

“Why pick my family?” Mary’s father said with anger. “Your family history isn’t so good, you know. Wasn’t your great-great-grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?”  “Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners.” “Gosh, sorry I asked. I think I understand now.” Mary cut in before things grew worse.

After dinner, the house was quiet. Mary’s parents were quite angry with each other. Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read. When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Mary’s closet. Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor. Mary’s mother sank into a faint(晕倒), waking only when Mary put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead. She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter.

“What happened? Where am I?” she asked. “You just destroyed the school’s skeleton, Mum,” explained Mary. “I brought it home to help me with my health project. I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad.” Mary looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly. “They’re crazy,” she thought. 

1.According to Mary’s mother, “a skeleton in a closet” means _______.

A. a family honor                    B. a family wealth

C. a family story                     D. a family secret

2.What can we learn about some Australians’ ancestors from Paragraph 2?

A.They were brought to Australia as prisoners.

B. They were the earliest people living in Australia.

C. They were involved in some crimes in Australia.

D. They were not regarded as criminals in their days.

3.Mary’s mother fell down into a faint because she was_________.

A. knocked           B. terrified     C. injured      D. surprised

4.Why did Mary bring a skeleton home?

A. She was curious about it.           B. She planned to keep it for fun.

C. She needed it for her school task.     D. She intended to scare her parents.

5.Mary’s parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because________.

A. They were mentally ill.

B. They were over happy.

C. They understood what had really happened.

D. They both thought they had won the quarrel.

It started off as part of French military training and has since evolved as a sport, founded by Sebastian Foucan and David Belle, to encompass a wide variety of techniques, philosophies and exercises. Park-our now enjoys the devotion of many die-hard fans across the world and has been the source for much inspiration.

But what is park-our? It is the art of using only your body to navigate from Point A to B in the least time possible, which involves besides leaping, climbing and sprinting, various unusual and complex movements to overcome barriers. Just like the James Bond in the movie Casino Royale? Bond jumps down from a roof to a windowsill and then runs several blocks over obstacles on the way. It is just because of Bond’s wonderful performances that the sport has become popular worldwide.

Yes, that’s pork-our, an extreme street sport aimed at moving from one point to another as quickly as possible, getting over all the obstacles in the path using only the abilities of the human body. Park-our is considered an extreme sport. As its participants dash around a city, they may jump over fences, run up walls and even move from rooftop to rooftop.

Park-our can be just as exciting and charming as it sounds, but its participants see much more in park-our than that.

To overcome all the obstacles on the course and in life is part of the philosophy(理念)behind park-our. This is the same as life. You must determine your destination, go straight, jump over all the barriers as if in park-our and never fall back from them in your life to reach the destination successfully. A park-our lover said, “I love park-our, because its philosophy has become my life, my way to do everything.”

Another philosophy we’ve learned from park-our is freedom. It can be done by anyone, at any time, anywhere in the world. It is a kind of expression of trust in yourself so that you earn energy and confidence.

1. Park-our has become popular throughout the world because of ________.

A. its founder, David Belle                   B. the film, Casino Royale

C. its risks and tricks                        D. the varieties of participants

2.The underlined word “obstacles” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “________”.

A.streets              B. objects           C. barriers        D. roofs

3.As its participants move around a city, _________.

A. they can ask for help                     B. they may choose to escape

C. they should run to extremes                D. they must learn to survive

4.Which of the following is TRUE about park-our?

A. It challenges human abilities.               B. It is a good but boring sport

C. It needs special training                   D. It is a team sport

5.Which of the following is the philosophy of park-our?

A. Sports and extremes.                      B. Excitement and freedom.

C. Dreams and success.                      D. Self-confidence and freedom.

Winners Club

You choose to be a winner!

The Winners Club is a bank account specially designed for teenagers. It has been made to help you better manage your money. The Winners Club is a transaction account (交易账户） where you receive a key-card so you can get to your money 24/7----that’s 24 hours a day, 7days a week!

It’s a club with impressive features for teenagers:

·No account keeping fees!

You’re no millionaire so we don’t expect you to pay large fees. In fact, there is no account keeping or transaction fees!

·Excellent interest rates!

You want your money to grow. The Winners Club has a good rate of interest which gets even better if you make at least two deposits（储蓄） without taking them out in a month.

·Convenient!

Teenagers are busy. You may never need to come to a bank at all. With the Winners Club you can choose to use handy tellers and to bank from home using the phone or the Internet...You can have money directly deposited into your Winners Club account. This could be your pocket money or your pay from your part-time job!

·Maga magazine included!

Along with your regular report, you will receive a FREE magazine full of good ideas to make even more of your money. There are also fantastic offers and competitions only for Winners Club members.

The Winners Club is a great choice for teenagers. And it is so easy to join. Simply fill in an application form. You will have to get permission from your parents or guardians (so we can organize that cool key-card) but it is easy. We can’t wait to hear from you. It’s the best way to choose to be a winner!

1.The Winners Club is a bank account intended for__________.

A. parents         B. teenagers          C. winners            D. adults

2.Which of the following is TRUE about the Winners Club?

A. Special gifts are ready for parents.

B. The bank opens only on work days.

C. Services are convenient for its members.

D. Fees are necessary for the account keeping.

3.If you want to be a member of the Club, you must__________.

A. be an Internet user.           B. be permitted by your parents.

C. have a big sum of money.      D. be in your twenties.

4.What is the purpose of this text?

A. To set up a club.             B. To provide part-time jobs.

C. To organize key-cards.        D. To introduce a new banking service.

5.The Winners Club provides magazines which________.

A. encourage spending             B. talk about the management of the bank

C. are full of adventure stories       D. help to make more of your money

Pacha London: www.pachalondon.com

The world’s most historic club is set in a building with the 1920s beautiful decoration in its original oak paneling and features an impressive glass ceiling. You can enjoy beauty, style and elegance when clubbing at London’s most historic night club Pacha and appreciate works of some famous musicians.

B. Amika London: www.amikalondon.com

   Amika plays host to the new super elite who are seeking the latest fashion trends. A unique playground designed for fun. It is the final destination for major players and glitterati(上层人士) alike. It features table reservation & bookings, events and corporate bookings.

C. Seone Club London: www. seonelondon.com

   SeOne is one of London’s largest music clubs. Situated in the north of London, SeOne consists of five rooms. It can be broken down into smaller space and can be used for parties of as small as 100 people. SeOne Club has attracted all kinds of promoters and event organizers, from corporate giants to dance promoters.

D. Koko Club: www.koko.uk.com

   Located at 1A Camden High Street, Central London, Koko Club represents a versatile, 21^st century club. It’s very adaptable so it can be used for anything---from small comedies to international music awards. A must visit!

E. Bar Rumba: www.barrumba.uk.com

   Located in London’s western end, Bar Rumba is one of London’s leading late night clubs, playing funk, jazz, Afro-beat, salsa, drum& bass, break beat. It has an amazing sound system for dance music. Every night it delivers a different beat---from hip hop to Latin dance, from grime to jazz.

F. Club Colosseum: www.clubcolosseum.com

   Situated in 1 Nine Elms Lane, Vauxall, London, Club Colosseum won the world’s best club award in 1999. Now it features a new VIP room, a spectacular riverside bar with a view all over London & the River Thames.

以下是几位人员的情况简介，请匹配他们感兴趣的休闲场所:

1.Michael is a great painter and has just moved to London from America. On his arrival, Michael was struck by a famous night club where he can easily appreciate the unique view of the river.

2.Nancy comes from Japan and wants to go to a world-famous night club with a long history to help her know more about the British culture. Besides, Nancy likes to listen to great musical masterpieces.

3.Laura is crazy about dancing and enjoys different dances with fascinating dance music. Now she is in search of a night club that can offer her quality dance diversity.

4.Lily would like to celebrate her eighteenth birthday at a proper night club next week. She intends to invite over a hundred friends and relatives to her birthday party, most of whom are working in northern London and are true music lovers.

5.Harry is general manager of a large company in London and he would like to go to a night club which is fashionable. What’s more, it should be suitable for someone of his status.

近日你的外国朋友Mike写信向你咨询H7N9禽流感的事情并询问该如何预防禽流感，请你根据以下信息写信告诉他:

H7N9禽流感是一种禽类传染疾病，症状是高热、咳嗽和呼吸困难, 但可防可治：

1. 勤洗手;

2. 每天打开门窗通风一到两次；

3. 不要接触病的或病死的家禽和畜类,肉类一定要煮熟后吃；

4. 经常锻炼身体，增强个人体质；

5. 有症状时及时就医。

【写作要求】

只能使用5个句子表达全部内容。回信的开头与结尾已给出，不计入5个句数内。

【参考词汇】

传染infect  禽类 poultry  畜类cattle   咳嗽 cough

Dear Mike,

I am glad to hear from you again. In your last letter, you asked me about H7N9 avian influenza and how to prevent ourselves falling into such a disease. Now let me tell you something about it. ___________________________________________________________     ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Best wishes to you!

                                                        Yours,

                                                              Li Hua