New York (Reuters Health) —Want to lower your risk of having heart attack? Drink more water, and less of everything else, new research reports.

Researchers at Loma Linda University in California found that people who drank at least five glasses of water each day were less likely to die from a heart attack than those who drank two or fewer glasses per day. In contrast(相反), people who drank a lot of other fluids(流体) were more likely to die from heart attack than those who drink less, with high levels of non-water drinking in women connected with a more than twice increased risk of death.

The results are based on lifestyle surveys(调查) sent out in 1976 to people living in California. This analysis(分析) is based on answers from 8 820 men and 12 017 women, who were all aged 38 years or older in 1976.

The authors, led by Dr. Jacqueline Chan, followed the participants(参与者) for 6 years and noticed their rates of coronary heart disease(冠心病). A total of 246 respondents(响应者) died from heart disease during the follow-up period.

Chan and her team found that women who drank more than five 8-ounce glasses of water each day were 41% less likely to die from heart attack during the study period than those who drank two or fewer glasses daily. In high water drinking men, that risk decreased by 54%.

But when they looked at drinking of other fluids, including coffee, tea, juice, milk and alcohol, the risk was reversed(相反的), with heavy drinking women showing a more than twice higher risk of dying of heart attack. Heavy non-water drinking in men was connected with a 46% increase in the risk of heart attack death.

1. About __________people in California took part in the survey started from the 1970s.

A. 12 017　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    　　   B. 8 820

C. 246　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. 20 000

2. The aim to carry out the survey is to find out__________.

A. the most delicious and healthful kind of fluid in America

B. the condition of different kinds of lifestyle and their effects

C. the relation between drinking water and the heart attack risk

D. the reason why people are often likely to have a heart attack

3. Researchers found that women who drank over five glasses of water each day__________.

A. were 41% less likely to die from heart attack than those who drank other fluids

B. would decrease 54% the risk of suffering from heart attack than those who drank less water

C. were less likely to die from a heart attack than those who drank two or fewer glasses per day

D. would reduce 46% the risk of heart attack than men who drank the same amount of water

4. The conclusion that the researchers drew from the survey is that__________.

A. the more water one drinks, the fewer diseases he’ll have

B. drinking more water daily can reduce the risk of heart attack

C. fresh water must be better to our health than any other food

D. fluids like coffee, tea, juice, milk and alcohol are all harmful

People often ask why“Uncle Sam”is a nickname（绰号）for the United Stated of America. The reason is strange but simple.

Once there was a man called Samuel Wilson. He was born in Arlington, Massachusetts, on September 3, 1766. He was called“Uncle Sam”. When Sam Wilson was 14 years old, he joined the army and fought in several battles. At the end of the war, he went to live in Troy in the state of New York. He opened a meat-packing（肉食品包装）business there.

Sam Wilson worked hard and loved his country. Everyone in the city liked him. One day in 1812, a reporter from a newspaper visited his business. The reporter looked at some boxes of meat. He saw the letters“EAUS”on the sides of the boxes.

“What do those letters mean?”he asked one of the workers.

“The EA stands for ‘Edward Anderson’,”the workman replied.“The boxes of meat are for him.”“What about the letters US?”the reporter asked.

These letters really stood for “United States”, but the workman wanted to have a laugh.“Oh,”he said .“They stand for Sam Wilson. He owns this company. We call him ‘Uncle Sam’.”

The worker did not think that the reporter would believe him. But the reporter wrote a story about his visit to Sam Wilson’s business. He wrote that his workers called him“Uncle Sam”and that“Uncle Sam”meant the United States.

Many people liked using the name“Uncle Sam”as a nickname for the United States and soon everyone was using it. In 1961, almost 150 years later, the United States government made the nickname“Uncle Sam”official（官方的）.

1. This passage is mainly about_____.

A. why the USA is called“Uncle Sam”

B. how to carry boxes with goods to other countries

C. a businessman in Troy, New York State

D. why people called Sam Wilson“Uncle Sam”

2. Many people liked Samuel Wilson because_______.

A. a reporter wrote a story about him

B. his nickname was “Uncle Sam”

C. he worked hard and loved his country

D. he had a meat-packing business

3. The reporter became important in this story because he________.

A. visited Sam Wilson’s business

B. wrote about Sam Wilson and the letters“US”

C. was Sam Wilson’s best friend

D. was good at advertising Sam’s business

4. From this passage, we can infer that________.

A. most Americans don’t like the nickname“Uncle Sam”

B. the British soldiers liked calling Americans“Uncle Sam”

C. the reporter made Americans nicknamed“Uncle Sam”on purpose（故意地）

D. the United States government has agreed to use the nickname“Uncle Sam”

Stanley Fields, who wrote “Sad, Sad Cowboy”, which won this year’s Philip’s Prize as the best song of the year, might have had a very different job if his parents had had their way.

In an interview, Fields said, “When I was a child, my father always told me I should put down my guitar and do my homework. He wanted me to go to college and become a teacher as he and his brother were.”

Fields explained that he made a great effort to please his father, but often his love of music became too great and he would steal into a garden behind his house and play his guitar and make up song.

“I made it to Stanton College,” he laughed,“but I took accounting（会计）instead of teaching. And to pay my own way, I played the guitar and sang at a local nightclub.”

While Fieldswas still in his senior year（大学四年级）, an executive（总裁）of a record company came into the club as he was singing one of his own songs. The executive liked what he heard and signed the man to a contract（合同）.

Since graduating from Stanton College in 1973, Fields has spent his full time writing and singing songs. “My Heartache,”a song he wrote while in college, reached number seventeen in the top twenty hit songs of 1974 and in 1977 his song “Rambling”was the song for the movie of the same name.

1. According to the passage, Stanley Fields’__________.

A. parents were teachers

B. mother and brother were teachers

C. father and uncle were teachers

D. aunt and uncle were teachers

2. From this passage, we can learn that Fields_________.

A. wrote no songs before entering college

B. made up songs before entering college

C. began writing songs after attending college

D. had songs published before attending college

3. The underlined phrase “had their way” in Paragraph 1 most probably means“_______”.

A. done as they wished

B. found their way of punishing Fields

C. made conditions easy for Fields’ future

D. prevented Fields from going to college

4. What do you know about “My Heartache”?

A. It was a very popular song.

B. It was a song for the movie of the same name.

C. Fields’ heart was badly hit by someone.

D. Fields’ heart ached when he graduated.

In 1918, after four years of war which had left millions of people dead, the people alive began to look for a better and happier world. The cinema supplied an answer. For little money, people could forget their unhappy lives and dream of better ones. In the years between 1918 and 1939, going to the cinema became the most popular family free-time activity.

Hollywood, in America, made more films than any other film centre in the world. The warm climate and long hours of sunlight meant that film-making was easy and quite cheap. This was also a rich part of America and there were many businessmen who wanted to make money from the film industry. At first short cowboy(牛仔) films were popular because they added excitement and adventure to people’s lives. Later comedy films were made so that people could laugh and forget their troubles.

Charlie Chaplin was probably the most liked of all comedy actors.

1. The reason why people began to look for a better and happier life is that __________.

A. millions of people had died in the war

B. many people were still alive

C. they wanted to forget the war and their sufferings

D. they want to enjoy life before another war started

2. Cinema became the most popular in people’s free time because __________.

A. it was cheap

B. it was safe

C. it could make people happy

D. both A and C

3. Which, according to the writer, is true?

A. Hollywood made more films than some film centers in the world.

B. Many businessmen came to Hollywood in order to make films.

C. Hollywood was not the biggest producer of films in the world.

D. No other film centre made more films than Hollywood did.

4. Hollywood became a film centre because __________.

A. film-making there was cheap and easy

B. it enjoyed long hours of sunlight

C. it was a rich part of America

D. many businessmen went there

5.A “comedy” is something that is __________.

A. funny　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. exciting

C. full of danger　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. sad

We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. It seems as if a single unimportant event may cause a number of things to happen. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time. The telephone rings and this means your troubles are beginning. While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the table-cloth off the table, destroying your half prepared meal. You hang up hurriedly and attend to your baby. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if this were not enough to bring you to tears, your husband arrives, unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.

Things can go wrong on a number of people on the road. During the rush hour one evening two cars hit each other and both drivers began to argue. The woman driver behind the two cars happened to be a learner. She suddenly went into a panic and stopped her car. This made the driver following her stop suddenly. His wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake. As she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the window and landed on the road. Seeing a cake flying through the air, a truck-driver had to stop his truck all of a sudden. The truck was carrying empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the truck on to the road. This led to yet another angry argument. Meanwhile, the traffic piled up behind. It took the police nearly an hour to get the traffic on the move again. In the mean while, the truck-driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two dogs were enjoying themselves from the accident, for they were happily having what was left of the cake. It was just one of those days!

1. According to the author’s opinion, __________.

A. a small matter may cause great trouble　　　　　　　　　　   

B. accidents may happen any time

C. troubles always come in groups

D. anyone may have trouble any day

2. When the telephone rings,__________.

A. you’d better have your baby a little distant from your table before going to answer the phone

B. your trouble is sure to come

C. you’d better just let it ring all the way

D. you should never go to answer it in a hurry

3. What did the police do after the accident?

A. They helped the driver clean up the road.

B. They helped the drivers to go on with their journey.

C. They tried to stop the people from arguing.

D. They would find out who should be responsible

4. From the story we can see __________.

A. such accidents are rather common

B. such accidents are rather strange

C. no one can explain why such accidents happen

D. some drivers are too careless

One of the most popular items in the school newspaper is the advice column. No one knows who writes it. The students think their teacher does, but it might be a student using a false name. The students enjoy thinking up problems for advice column. Here are some of them and their answers.

ASK THE WISE OWL

Q: I’m always late for school. I try not to be, but I can’t help it. Please advise me what to do. Tommy.

A: You are probably late for school because you don’t really like school. My advice to you is to try and enjoy school more, and then you won’t be late so often.

Q: I find it difficult to make friends. What do you think I should do? Sara.

A: I can’t advise you until I know more about you. Yourproblem may be that you are shy. On the other hand, it may be the opposite. You may be too bold. Write and tell me more about yourself.

Q: I’m always at the bottom of the class. What do you advise me to do? Molly.

A: I advise you to concentrate on (专注于) improving your grades in one subject to start with. If you can do this, you should move a little way up from the bottom. Next, try to improve your grades in another subject, and so on. If you concentrate on one subject at a time, by the end of the year you should be quite a long way up from the bottom in all your classes.

Your Friend: The Wise Owl

1. The Wise Owl thinks that Tommy is always late for school because he________.

A. dislikes his school

B. dislikes his teacher

C. spends too much time studying

D. wants to stay at home all day

2. The Wise Owl wants Sara to_____.

A. stop being so shy

B. stop being so bold

C. make more friends

D. give more information about herself

3. We can infer that Molly may_______.

A. have made many friends

B. have greatly improved her grades

C. be very poor at all her lessons

D. have been working hard at school

4. What’s the main idea of this passage?

A. The school newspaper has an advice column.

B. Tommy wrote to the school newspaper for advice.

C. The students enjoy thinking up problems for the advice column.

D. The advice column in the school newspaper is very popular.

Last summer I went through a training program and became a literacy volunteer(扫盲志愿者).The training I received, though excellent, did not tell me how it was to work with a real student, however. When I began to discover what other people’s lives were like because they could not read, I realized the true importance of reading.

My first student Marie was a 44-year-old single mother of three. In the first lesson, I found out she walked two miles to the nearest supermarket twice a week because she didn’t know which bus to take. When I told her I would get her a bus schedule(时刻表),she told me it would not help because she could not read it. She said she also had difficulty once she got to the supermarket because she couldn’t always remember what she needed. Since she did not know words, she could not write out a shopping list. Also, she could only recognize items by sight, so if the product had a different label(标识),she would not recognize it as the product she wanted.

As we worked together, learning how to read built Marie’s self-confidence(自信心),which encouraged her to continue in her studies. She began to make rapid progress and was even able to take the bus to the supermarket. After this successful trip, she reported how self-confident she felt. At the end of the program, she began helping her youngest son, Tony, a shy first grader, with his reading. She sat with him before he went to sleep and together they would read bedtime stories. When his eyes became wide with excitement as she read, pride was written all over her face, and she began to see how her own hard work in learning to read paid off. As she described this experience, I was proud of myself as well. I found that helping Marie to build her self-confidence was more rewarding than anything I had ever done before.

As a literacy volunteer, I learned a great deal about teaching and helping others. In fact, I may have learned more from the experience than Marie did.

1. What did the author do last summer?

A. She worked in the supermarket.

B. She helped someone to learn to read.

C. She gave single mothers the help they needed.

D. She went to a training program to help a literacy volunteer.

2. Why didn’t Marie go to the supermarket by bus at first?

A. Because she liked to walk to the supermarket.

B. Because she lived far away from the bus stop.

C. Because she couldn’t afford the bus ticket.

D. Because she couldn’t find the right bus.

3. How did Marie use to find the goods she wanted in the supermarket?

A. She knew where the goods were in the supermarket.

B. She asked others to take her to the right place.

C. She managed to find the goods by their looks.

D. She remembered the names of the goods.

4. Which of the following statements is true about Marie?

A. Marie could do things she had not been able to do before.

B. Marie was able to read stories with the help of her son.

C. Marie decided to continue her studies in school.

D. Marie paid for her own lessons.

Americans like to travel on their yearly holiday. Today, more and more travelers in the United States are spending nights at small house or inns（客栈）instead of hotels. They get a room for the night and the breakfast the next morning.

Rooms for the night in private（私人的）homes with breakfast have been popular with travelers in Europe for many years. In the past five to ten years, these bed-and-breakfast places have become popular in the United States. Many of these America’s bed-and-breakfast inns have only a few rooms; others are much larger. Some inns do not provide telephones or televisions in the rooms, others do.

Staying at a bed-and-breakfast inn is much different from staying at a hotel. Usually the cost is much less. Staying at an inn is almost like visiting someone’s home. The owners are glad to tell about the areas and the interesting places to visit. Many vacationers say that they enjoy the chance to meet local families.

1. Americans take a holiday trip_________.

A. all the year round

B. for years

C. every year

D. every other year

2. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A. Some Americans like to stay at bed-and-breakfast homes instead of at hotels.

B. The bed-and-breakfast inns are private homes open to vacationers.

C. The bed-and-breakfast inns have been popular in America for a long time.

D. The bed-and-breakfast inn owners provide a morning meal for their visitors and a room for the night.

3. Why do American travelers prefer staying at bed-and-breakfast inns?

A. It is like visiting someone’s home.

B. The money they spend there is much less.

C. They can meet local families.

D. All of the above.

4. Staying at the bed-and-breakfast inns, __________.

A. the travelers needn’t pay anything

B. the travelers don’t have to pay for the telephone or television

C. the travelers can meet and talk with the local people

D. the owners will show the travelers around the area

5. Which is TRUE according to the passage?

A. European and American vacationers like staying at bed-and-breakfast inns.

B. All Americans enjoy traveling.

C. These bed-and-breakfast inns are all old historic buildings.

D. Staying at a bed-and-breakfast inn is just like at the traveler’s home.

I have a rule for travel: Never carry a map. I prefer to ask for directions(方向).

Foreign visitors are often puzzled in Japan because most streets there don’t have names. In Japan, people use landmarks in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go pass a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”

In the countryside of the American Midwest, usually there are not many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat(平坦的). In many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distance. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”

People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map: They measure(测量) distance by means of time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “It’s about five minutes from here.” you say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know.

People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions because visitors seldom(很少) understand the Greek language. Instead of giving you the direction, a Greek will often say, “Follow me.” Then he’ll lead you through the streets of the city to the post office.

Sometimes a person doesn’t know the answer to your question. What happens in this situation(情形)? A New Yorker might say, “Sorry, I have no idea.”But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers, “I don’t know.”People in Yucatan think that “I don’t know” is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A visitor can get very, very lost in Yucatan!

One thing will help you everywhere—in Japan, in the United States, in Greece, in Mexico,  or in any other place. You might not understand a person’s words, by maybe you can understand his body language. He or she will usually turn and then point in the correct direction. Go in that direction, and you may find the post office!

1. The passage mainly tells us that __________.

A. never carry a map for travel

B. there are not many landmarks in the American Midwest

C. there are different ways to give directions in different parts of the world

D. New Yorkers often say, “I have no idea,” but people in Yucatan, Mexico, never say this

2.The passage says, “In Japan, people use landmarks in their directions.” The word “landmarks” means __________.

A. building names

B. street names

C. hotels, markets and bus stops

D. buildings or places which are easily recognized

3. In which place do people tell distance by means of time?

A. Japan.　　　　　　　

B. American Midwest.

C. Los Angeles, California.

D. Greece.

4. In the passage, __________ countries are mentioned by the writer.

A. seven　　　　　　 B. four　　　　　　　　  C. eight　　　　   D. five

5. Which of the following is wrong?

A. Travelers can learn about people’s customs by asking questions about directions.

B. A person’s body language can help you understand directions.

C. People in some places give directions in miles, but people in other places give directions by means of time.

D. People in different places always give directions in the same way: They use street names.

Americans can travel almost anywhere they choose. But to protect its people, the government lists a few dangerous places where Americans cannot go. These places are unfriendly countries or countries at war. There, the travelers might not be safe. These countries are listed in a small book called a passport(护照).

This passport is a government request for the safety of its traveling people. It is also a government’s pledge(保证) that the people will obey the rules of the host country(东道国).

To receive a passport from the government, a traveler must prove(证明) that he is an American citizen(公民). An American can not go overseas(外国) without a passport. Only certain close countries such as Canada and Mexico do not ask for passports.

Pasted inside the passport is the traveler’s picture. Children traveling with their parents are included in one parent’s book.

Thousands of people from the United States visit other countries every year. An American traveler might carry plane tickets, money, clothing and many other things. But the most important that he carries in another country is his passport.

1. A passport is not needed when an American goes to __________.

A. foreign countries　　　

B. dangerous areas

C. Canada or Mexico

D. countries overseas

2. From the passage we can see that __________.

A. children can’t travel to foreign countries

B. Americans like to travel

C. a traveler is not safe in most countries

D. Americans like to travel to close countries

3. Why does a traveler need a passport?

A. He needs something more to carry when he travels.

B. It helps the country to protect the people.

C. He needs to have his picture taken more often.

D. It helps the traveler to know where he will go.

4. Which statement does the passage lead you to believe?

A. People should take care of their passports.

B. It is not important to have a passport to travel.

C. Children are never included in a passport.

D. When you are in another country, money is more important than a passport.

5. Which of the following is true?

A. When Americans are traveling in another country, they must obey the rules of the country.

B. The American government sometimes allow its people to travel to dangerous places.

C. A passport is needed wherever an American is traveling.

D. Everyone who lives in the United States can get a passport from the American government.