New research shows that overweight or even mildly obese people have a lower risk of early death than people considered to be normal weight.

Researchers examined the results of 97 studies. Most of the studies were less than 10 years old. They included almost three million adults from around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Taiwan, Brazil, India and Mexico.

The researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics found that people who are considered overweight or slightly obese were five to six percent less likely to die from all causes than people of normal weight. People with higher obesity ratings, however, had almost a 30 percent greater risk of death compared to normal-weight individuals.

Katherine Flegal was the lead author of the study. She says she was not surprised that overweight people would not have a higher risk of death.

“Because we’d actually already read a lot of this literature and realized it was likely that mortality rates (死亡率) for overweight would be at least not higher than normal weight. I guess I was a little bit surprised that it was definitely lower. And I was also surprised that the lower rates of obesity also didn’t seem to differ from normal weight.”

But she says the difference in death rates appears to be small between normal-weight people and those who are overweight or mildly obese.

The study has raised new questions about “body mass index,”（体重指数） or BMI. This is a measurement of body fat as a ratio（比率） of height to weight. In recent years, many public health experts have promoted body mass index as a way to predict the risk of health problems. Bu t a person's BMI can be misleading in some cases.

Steven Heymsfield ,the executive director of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, says people can be physically fit and in good health, but might weigh more because they are more muscular.

Still, Dr. Heymsfield says people should not think gaining extra weight is OK just because of the new findings. He says being at a healthy weight lowers the risk for heart disease and diabetes（糖尿病）.

1.According to the new findings, the researchers found that __________ .

A.People with high obesity have a lower risk of early death than people with low obesity

B.People with overweight have a greater risk of early death than people of normal weight.

C.People with mild obesity are less likely to die than people of normal weight.

D.People with obesity live much longer than people of normal weight.

2.What does the underlined word “literature” in paragraph 6 mean ?

A.works like novels and poems

B.books and articles on a particular subject

C.printed material

D.magazines and newspapers

3.Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage?

A. BMI is commonly used to measure body fat as a ratio of height to weight.

B. Not all people with a little higher BMI are fat .

C. Many public health experts encourage more people to use BMI as a way to predict the risk of health problem

D. Because of the ne w findings, people should think about gaining extra weight.

Looking back on  my childhood, I am convinced that naturalists are born and not made.  Although we were all brought up in the same way,my br others and sisters soon abandoned their pressed flowers and insects. Unlike them,I had no ear for music and languages. I was not an early reader and I could not do mental arithmetic.

Before World War I we spent our summer holidays in Hungary. I have only the dim memory of the house we lived in, of my room and my toys. Nor do I recall clearly the large family of grandparents,aunts, uncles and cousins who gathered next door. But I do have a clear memory of the dogs, the farm animals, the local birds, and above all, the insects.

I am a naturalist, not a scientist. I have a strong love of the natural world and my enthusiasm had led me into varied investigations. I love discussing my favorite topics and enjoy burning the midnight oil reading about other people's observations and discoveries. Then something happens that brings these observations together in my conscious mind. Suddenly you fancy you see the answer to the riddle, because it all seems to fit together. This has resulted in my publishing 300 papers and books, which some might honor with the title of scientific research.

But curiosity,a keen eye,a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist: one of the outstanding  and essential qualities required is self?discipline, a quality I lack. A scientist, up to a certain point,can be made. A naturalist is born. If you can combine the two,you get the best of both worlds.

1.The first paragraph tells us the author .      

A.was interested in flowers and insects in his childhood 

B.lost his hearing when he was a child

C.didn’t like his brothers and sisters    

D.was born to a naturalist’s family

2.The author can’t remember his relatives clearly because         .

A.he didn’t live very long with them   

B.the family was extremely large

C.he was too young when he lived with them  

D.he was fully occupied with observing nature

3.It can be inferred from the passage that the author was         .

A.a scientist as well as a naturalist   

B.a naturalist but not a scientist

C.no more than a born naturalist        

D.first of all a scientist

4.The author says that he is a naturalist rather than a scientist probably because he thinks he         .

A.has a great deal of trouble doing mental arithmetic

B.lacks some of the qualities required of a scientist

C.just reads about other people’s observations and discoveries

D.comes up with solutions in a most natural way

根据短文内容，从以下A～F选项中选出能概括每一段主题的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑,其中E涂A和B，F涂A和C,选项中有一项为多余项。

A. To be seen and noticed by the leaders

B. Learn and use new skills

C. Do what you should do

D. Get useful information and advice

E. Look for someone to guide you

F. Keep it in mind: work hard

56. ___________

Keep in mind that those who play a lot and hard can loose but those who play smart will always win the day. These tips when employed well will be your tickets to the top. The first thing you need to do is look at your performance. Are you doing what you are supposed to be doing? When you know what is expected, you will acquire a momentum that will lead you to the right direction. Otherwise, there is no need to do yourself and others when you are not delivering the right results.

57. ___________

The other tip that will make you stand out from the rest is hard work. You need to do extra and ask for more. The workload might be overwhelming but promotion only comes to those who are excellent or do things that are out of the ordinary or beyond expectation. You must employ extreme dedication to make sure that even as you ask for more, you do not compromise on the quality of work you deliver.

58. ___________

Another tip for promotion(晋升) is that the workplace is to have a presence. You must be seen at work not just by your colleagues(同事) but by leaders in your line of work. Take advantage of every chance to interact and know that people on top keep a keen eye looking out for those who stand out.

59. ___________

Do not be shy to accept new skills and look for more. Promotions only come to those who know that this is a dynamic world that smiles on those who are willing to use new skills. Devote yourself to doing things that are considered extra and do not be afraid of this. This will go a long way in making you the person for consideration when it comes to promotions in the workplace.

60.___________

Another tip is to get information first hand from those who are on top. Talk to those who have been promoted in your organizations and seek advice. Remember, you do not have to learn through what they say but can learn through their character and how they do their stuff. Action will speak louder than words. However, you need to be aware that you are doing this to make yourself important and not to become another person. Often times, many workers seeking promotion will pretend to be something they are not.

If you look for a book as a present for a child. You will be spoiled for choice even in a year when there is no new Harry Potter. J.K Rowling’s wizard is not alone: the past decade has been a harvest for good children’s books, which has set off a large quantity of films and in turn led to increased sales of classics such as The Lord of the Rings.

Yet despite that, reading is increasingly unpopular among children. According to statistics, in 1997 23% said they didn’t like reading at all. In 2003, 35% did. And around 6% of children leave primary school each year unable to read properly.

Maybe the decline is caused by the increasing availability of computes games. Maybe the books boom has affected only the top of the educational pile. Either way, Chancellor Gordon Brown plans to change things for the bottom of the class .In his pre-budget report, he announced the national project of Reading Recovery to help the children struggling most.

Reading Recovery is aimed at six-year-olds, who receive four months of individual daily half-hour classes with a specially trained teacher. An evaluation earlier this year reported that children on the scheme made 20 months’ progress in just one year, whereas similarly weak readers without special help made just five months’ progress, and so ended the year even further below the level expected for their age.

International research tends to find that when British children leave primary school they read well, but read less often for fun than those elsewhere. Reading for fun matters because children who are keen on reading can expect lifelong pleasure and loving books is an excellent indicator of future educational success. According to the OECD, being a regular and enthusiastic reader is of great advantage.

1.Which of the following is true of Paragraph 1?

A．Many children’s books have been adapted from films.

B．Many high-quality children’s books have been published.

C．The sales of classics have led to the popularity of films.

D．The sales of presents for children have increased.

2.Statistics suggested that               .

A．the number of top students increased with the use of computers

B．a decreasing number of children showed interest in reading

C．a minority of primary school children read properly

D．a large percentage of children read regularly

3.What do we know about Reading Recovery?

A．An evaluation of it will be made sometime this year.

B．Weak readers on the project were the most hardworking.

C．It aims to train special teachers to help children with reading.

D．Children on the project showed noticeable progress in reading.

4.Reading for fun is important because book-loving children _________.

A.      take greater advantage of the project

B．show the potential to enjoy a long life

C．are likely to succeed in their education

D．would make excellent future researchers

5.The aim of this text would probably be _________.

A．to overcome primary school pupils’ reading difficulty

B．to encourage the publication of more children’s books

C．to remind children of the importance of reading for fun

D．to introduce a way to improve early children reading

根据括号里的中文提示用单词的适当形式填空。（每空0.5分，共5分）
1. Animals become __________ (漠不关心的) to their young as soon as their young can look after themselves, but human beings find this difficult.
2. We should __________ (谴责) any attempts to break into company networks to obtain users’ information
3. The __________ (执行的) director of board assumes the responsibility of managing financial, productive and marketing affairs.
4. Our __________ (可持续的) levels of happiness are up to our life circumstances and our everyday activities.
5. Students from all over the world take a major step along their life's journey when they __________ (参与) in an advanced education.
6.Care must be taken that each task ends with a sensible state, because there is no __________ (保证) when the next step will be carried out.
7. In this book, Adam Smith's emphasis that the ________ (无形的) hand usually leads markets to allocate resources efficiently.
8. If you have a keen __________ (欣赏) for good art, you may have a strong interest in cultural activities or entertainment.
9. Getting the best out of digital __________ (广播电视) will probably mean replacing, or at least repositioning, the indoor or rooftop aerial.
10. The eruption of volcano __________ (伴随) by an earthquake caused great damage to the living things around.