A new study by Penn State College of Medicine research team found that honey is a better and safer treatment for children than cough medicines.

   Ian Paul, the study’s lead researcher, was motivated to test honey because treating coughs in children has recently become a sticky subject. Coughing is the body’s way of cleaning irritated (受刺激的) airways to help you breathe. But too much coughing can irritate your lungs and throat even more. It can also make it tough to get the sleep your body needs to heal. Hoping to ease the suffering of their children, parents often give them cough medicines.

But there have never been any good studies showing that they work. Cough and cold medicines may also cause serious side effects. Hundreds of kids die in the hospital each year after receiving too much cough medicine by mistake. Last October, the US Food and Drug Administration suggested that parents should not give cough medicines to children under 6.

In order to search for a different solution, Paul designed a study that involved 105 kids who were sick with coughs and other cold conditions. At bedtime, the kids took buckwheat(荞麦) honey, honey-flavored (蜜蜂味的) DM (one of the most common ingredients成分in cough medicine), or no treatment. Parents and kids in the no-treatment group knew they weren’t getting anything, but the other two groups weren’t told which treatment they were getting.

The surveys showed that kids who swallowed about 2 teaspoons of buckwheat

honey before bedtime coughed less and slept better than kids in other groups.

“When parents want something for their kids to take,” Paul says, “honey seems

 like the best option.”

But what gives honey its healing power? Substances called antioxidants(抗氧化剂) may be part of the answer. All honey contains antioxidants that protect our cells from damage. Studies show that antioxidant levels in the body rise after someone swallows honey.

Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?

A. Sweet solution to kids’ coughing

B. No cough medicines to children

   C. Best treatment for your cold

   D. Cough medicines don’t work

We can learn from Paragraph 2 that coughing ______.

   A. can cure lung and throat diseases

   B. is more harmful to children

C. sometimes does good to people 

   D. helps improve children’s die

During Paul’s experiment, the kids who received treatment __________.

   A. seemed much worse than before

B. had no idea what they swallowed

C. knew they weren’t getting anything

   D. coughed less and slept better

According to the passage, Paul’s experiment proved that ____.

A. honey may have real healing power

B. cough medicines may cause side effect

    C. cough medicines don’t really work

D. buckwheat honey contain more antioxidants

Why should I teach my children history? That sounds like a stupid question to even ask. But, as I hear different home schooling teachers discuss history, I get the idea that there may be different reasons for teaching history. Let me briefly explain the three good reasons for studying history and two bad reasons for studying history.

The major reason I see for studying history is that we can learn from the past. I am convinced that the world would be a much better place if more people understood the successes and failures of the past and the things that made these successes and failures. However, as the unfortunately true statement goes "the one thing we seem to learn from history is that we don't seem to learn from history." Perhaps at least in teaching history, to my children I can do a small part in changing this.

A second major reason for studying history is that it is hard to understand the current political climate in the absence of an understanding of its historical context. We can- not even understand why we are and where we are without history, much less (更不必说) try to figure out where we are going or how we should get where we want to be.

I teach my children history, for one more reason. I purchased a set of historical audio (录音机) tapes for our children. My seven-year-old son listened to them over and over. It was my hope that he would become inspired by the accomplishments of people like the Wright brothers to accomplish things by himself. I think that it is good that we celebrate the accomplishments of people like Martin Luther King Jr. if, in doing so, young people are called on to stand for the principles that he stood for and accomplish what he accomplishe    D．I also think that by studying people like Adolph Hitler, people can learn to stand against the things that he stood for.

What message can we get from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 ?

     A．Many people fail to make good use of history and make the same mistakes.

     B．Many people aren't clever enough to learn well from the past.

     C．Many people feel it hard to understand history.

     D．Many people have no interest in studying history.

Some historical figures are mentioned in the last paragraph to show ______________.

     A．people can be inspired to do good, while also learning to fight against evil

     B．people may also learn from bad historical figures

     C．more celebrations should be held to honor their achievements

     D．today’s people can also achieve what they achieved

What would be talked about in the following paragraph?

     A．How to teach history effectively.

     B．How to get more people to study history.

     C．Some negative reasons for studying history.

     D．Some bad historical figures.

The main purpose of this passage is to ____________.

     A．inspire the parents to teach their children history

     B．show the importance of history in politics

     C．explain the reasons why children study history

     D．introduce the writer' s own way of teaching history

It was a cold winter day that Sunday. The parking lot to the  16  was filling up quickly. I noticed, as I got out of my car, fellow church members were   17  among themselves as they walked in the church. As I got  18__, I saw a man leaning up against the wall outside the church. He was almost lying down  19   he was asleep. His hat was  20  down so you could not see his face. He wore shoes that looked 30 years old, too  21  for his feet, with holes all over them and his toes  22  out. I guessed this man was  23  and asleep, so I walked on  24  through the doors of the church. We all talked for a few minutes, and someone  25  the man lying outside. People whispered but no one took  26  to ask him to come in, 27  me. A few moments later church began. We were all waiting for the Preacher (牧师) to take his  28  and to give us the Word, __29  the doors to the church opened. In  30  the man walking down the church with his head down. People gasped（喘息）and whispered and made _31  . He made his way down the church and up onto the pulpit (讲坛) where he took off his hat and coat. My heart  32  .

There stood our preacher… he was the “homeless man”. The preacher took his Bible (圣经) and  33  it on his stand.

“ 34  , I don't think I have to tell you what I am preaching about today. If you  35  people by their appearance, you have no time to love them.”

16.   A. school               B. lecture                 C. park            D. church

17.   A. arguing             B. whispering      C. stating          D. speaking

18.   A. closer               B. clearer                 C. lower          D. farther

19.   A. even though      B. so that           C. as if            D. even if

20.   A. dragged            B. pulled         C. dropped           D. pushed

21.   A. big                   B. bad                   C. ugly                  D. small

22.   A. reached             B. went                 C. stuck                 D. ran

23.   A. homeless           B. helpless             C. hopeless            D. careless

24.   A. out                   B. by                    C. across               D. from

25.   A. invited                     B. mentioned         C. took                  D. called

26.   A. pleasure            B. measure            C. courage             D. trouble

27.   A. except               B. besides              C. without             D. including

28.   A. turn                  B. place.                C. time                  D. seat

29.   A. when                B. before               C. as                     D. after

30.   A. rushed                     B. hurried              C. came                 D. entered

31.   A. decision            B. choices              C. faces                 D. jokes

32.   A. sank                 B. fell                   C. broke                D. failed

33.   A. threw                B. set                    C. laid                   D. folded

34.   A. Brothers            B. Folks                C. Supporters         D. Members

35.   A. judge                B. hate                  C. treat                  D. test

In any family with more than one child, chidren seem to naturally compete for their parents’ love and attention. Parents say they love every child equally. But is that true?

       Susan, founder of a consulting firm in Chicago, interviewed 216 women and found that even though none of her questions asked directly about a parent favoring one child over another, about two-thirds of the women said there was a favored child. And they also remembered their experience when they were young. One of the women said, “My mother always liked my brother better, and he got to go to summer camp in 1968 and I didn’t.”

       Plumez, who interviewed parents with both biological children and adoptive children for an adoption book in 2008, found that what matters most is whether your temperaments(性情) are pleasing. “In some cases, parents would say they felt closer to their adopted children,” she says, “Some parents like the children with characters similar to theirs. Two people who are shy and withdrawn might get along well, unless the shy parent doesn’t like that aspect of themselves and they try to push the naturally withdrawn child to be more extroverted.”

       It could be a result of gender, birth order or how easy or difficult a child’s temperament may be, but a parent’s different treatment has far-reaching effects. Students have found that less-favored children may suffer emotionally, with decreased self-esteem and behavioral problems in childhood. Favoritism is a reason for the next generation not to like each other.

       Experts say it is not realistic to say everyone should be treated equally, because no two people are the same and they relate differently to others.

       “It does not mean that parent loves or likes one child more. It has to do with which one of them is independent,” says psychologist Laurie Kramer of the University of Illinois.

The study carried out by Susan shows that ______.

       A. showing favoritism is common in many families

       B. most mothers like their sons better than their daughters

       C. only two-thirds of the women interviewed have more than a child

       D. it is a favoritism that leads to absence of harmony in most families

The underlined word “extroverted” in the third paragraph means _______.

       A. independent              B. outgoing           C. clever               D. brave

What can we infer from the passage?

       A. Favoritism is not beneficial to the development of children

       B. Parents’ favoritism to a certain child can’t be avoided in families

       C. Parents may be favoring one of their children and don’t realize it

       D. People are very much shaped by how they were treated by their parents

What is the best title for the passage?

       A. Parents’ favoritism can affect children deeply

       B. Why do parents show favoritism to children?

       C. Parents should give attention to all their children

       D. Building a harmonious family is important to children

People who are outdoors in cold weather should avoid actions like suddenly lifting a heavy basket full of snow. Even walking through heavy, wet snow can strain a person’s heart.

Many people aren’t conditioned to the physical stress of outdoor activities and don’t know the dangers of being outdoors in cold weather. Those who like winter sports can suffer accidental hypothermia if they don’t make certain preparations.

Hypothermia means the body temperature has fallen below normal. It occurs when your body can’t produce enough energy to keep the internal (内部的) body temperature warm enough. It can kill you. Heart failure causes most deaths in hypothermia.

Children, the elderly and those with heart disease are at special risk. As people age, their ability to keep a normal internal body temperature often decreases. Elderly people can suffer hypothermia without knowing they’re in danger because they can’t notice the cold conditions as quickly as the young.

Besides cold temperatures, high winds, snow and rain can also steal body heat. Wind is especially dangerous because it removes the layer of heated air from around your body. At 30 degrees Fahrenheit in a 20-mile-per-hour wind, the cooling effect is equal to calm air at four degrees. Similarly dampness (湿气) causes the body to lose heat faster than it would at the same temperature in drier conditions.

To keep warm, wear more clothes. This traps air between layers. Also, wear a hat or head scarf. Much of your body’s heat can be lost through your head. Keep your hands and feet warm, too, as they tend to lose heat rapidly.

Don’t drink alcohol before going outdoors or when outside. Alcohol makes you feel warm at first because blood vessels in the skin expand. But heat is then drawn away from the body’s important organs.

The underlined word “strain” in Paragraph 1 means ________.

A. injure     B. warm      C. control    D. burn

What is implied in the passage about hypothermia?

A.    It means the body temperature falls rapidly.

B.    Most heart attacks are caused by it.

C.    It is not as scary as people think.

D.    It can threaten a person’s life.

Based on the passage, one of the reasons why the elderly are at special risk of suffering from hypothermia is that _______.

A.    they like exercising outside in cold mornings

B.    they can’t notice cold conditions if they are not told

C.    their body temperature is generally lower than young people’s

D.    their ability to keep a normal internal body temperature is not so good

What is Paragraph 5 mainly about?

A.    What causes the body to lose heat faster.

B.    The advantages of drier conditions.

C.    What else can steal body heat.

D.    Dangers of high winds.

Which of the following is NOT a result of drinking alcohol before going outdoors?

A.    Feeling warm at first

B.    The body’s heat is taken away

C.    Blood vessels in the skin expand

D.    The risk of hypothermia is reduced