One reason Americans eat so many calories is that we tend to eat large portions(分量). Studies find that hamburgers and fries are generally offered in serving sizes two to five times larger than the appropriate meal size. Researchers find we usually clean our plates no matter how high they're piled, even if we already feel satisfied. See the suggestions below to further master the fine art of sizing up（估量） your snacks and suppers.

Extremely large portions are one possible reason Americans continue getting fatter even as the percentage of our total calories from fat has gone down in recent years. Fortunately, portions are relatively simple to control because it's easier to count cookies than calories or grams of fat.

Pre-picture portions. Use familiar objects to picture how much you should eat of a food before you pick up your fork or spoon. For example, a half cup of low-fat granola is about the size of your fist. A half cup of low-fat ice cream equals half an orange.

Use a smaller dish. This tip might sound ridiculous, but it works. First and most obvious is that you can't put as much food on, say, a salad plate. But psychologically, you're just not as prone to eat as heartily and quickly if your plate will be empty in 45 seconds.

Have raw vegetables at every meal. Raw cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and peppers have few calories and lots of nutrients. A plate of them in the middle of the table almost always gets eaten up, cutting down appetite for the more calorie-dense meat.

Start your meal with soup. Studies show that a bowl of soup at the start of the meal reduces overall meal consumption, since they are lowest in calories and highest in nutrients.

Manage your fork. After every bite of food, put your fork down. Don't pick it up until you have thoroughly chewed and swallowed the previous bite. The goal is both to slow down your eating and to eat less. Remember: Your body needs 20 minutes of digestion before it sends signals to your brain that you are no longer hungry.

Helpful hints on how to get a handle on the how-much factor
Facts	Hamburgers and fries served in restaurants are generally two to five times the1.______of the proper ones. Americans usually clean their plates 2.______high they're piled, even if they are already satisfied
Effects	Americans continue getting fatter even as they have eaten3.______calories from fat in recent years.
4.______	a. Use5.______objects to imagine how much you should eat of a food before a meal. b. Use a smaller dish and thus eat 6._____. c. Have raw vegetables at every meal to cut down 7.______    for the more calorie-dense meat. d. Start your meal with 8.______to reduce meal consumption. e. Put down your fork at9.______to make sure your brain receives10.______that you’re full.

 

Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a small pool of water ahead on the path．I angled my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn't covered by water or mud．As I reached the pool, I was suddenly attacked! Yet I did nothing for the attack．It was so unpredictable and from somewhere totally unexpected．I was surprised as well as unhurt though I had been struck four or five times．I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me．Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing．And I was laughing．After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!
Having stopped, laughing, I took a step forward．My attacker rushed me again．He charged towards me at full speed, attempting to hurt me but in vain．For a second time, I took a step backwards while my attacker paused．I wasn't sure what to do．After all, it's just not everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly．I stepped back to look the situation over．My attacker moved back to land on the ground．That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments earlier．He had a mate and she was dying．
Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her．I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate．He had taken it up on himself to attack me for his mate's sake （缘故）, even though she was clearly dying and I was so large．He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I have been careless enough to step on her．His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate's safety seemed admirable．I couldn't do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the pool．He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed．    
Since then, I've always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly whenever I see huge barriers facing me.
【小题1】Why did the writer change his direction while walking down a path?

A．To get close to a butterfly.	B．To look over the bad situation.
C．To escape a sudden attack.	D．To avoid getting his shoes dirty.

【小题2】What made the man feel funny?

A．Making the attacker pause.	B．Being attacked by a butterfly.
C．Being stepped on by his mate.	D．Discovering the energetic butterfly.

【小题3】From this experience the man learned       .

A．what he should do when faced with trouble	B．people should show sympathy to the weak
C．how he should deal with attacks	D．people should protect butterflies

【小题4】Which of the following words can best describe the butterfly?

A．Careless．

B．Amusing．

C．Courageous．

D．Aggressive.

  It looks like a mobile phone, but the service is much cheaper. It acts like a mobile phone, but only in your own city. Beyond the city walls, it’s useless.

“Little Smart”, also called “xiaolingtong”, has always been compared to mobile phones. But actually, it is more like one of those cordless phones(无绳电话) used around the home. The only difference is that this one reaches much further than from the bathroom to the living room. It can travel across an entire city.

Cheap costs are the main reason for the success of Little Smart. It costs 25 yuan a month for the line and about 0.1 yuan per minute to use. A mobile phone, on the other hand, can cost four or five times as much. What’s more, unlike mobile phones, there’s no fee(费) for incoming calls. So these low charges have attracted many users.

But, Little Smart is not really that smart. Users often complain about its bad voice quality. And there are not as many stations to pick up its signals as there are for mobiles. “I couldn’t receive a phone call if I was on a bus,” said Li Ping, a user in Hangzhou. “It worked fine when I stood still, but there were breaks in signal when I was moving.”

Scientists are trying to make Little Smart more user-friendly. Messaging and Internet access(接入) have been added to the service. And the latest Little Smart handset even has color screen.

1.Why is Little Smart popular in China?

A．It looks like a mobile phone.	B．The service is much cheaper.
C．There is no fee for incoming calls.	D．All of the above.

2. How is the charge of Little Smart?

A．About 10 fen per minute to use.

B．It costs four or five times more than a mobile phone.

C．It only costs 25 yuan each month.

D．There’s no fee for calls.

3. Why are users not satisfied with Little Smart?

A．They can’t hear each other clearly out of the city.

B．There are so few stations for Little Smart to pick up its signals.

C．When you use it, you must stand up.

D．The charges are low.

4. The underlined word “handset” in the last paragraph means “______”.

A．the hand bag

B．telephone

C．service

D．mobile phone

5. What can we infer from the passage?

A．It’s wrong to say that Little Smart is smart.

B．Scientist are trying to make Little Smart smaller.

C．Little Smart will be better than today.

D．People will change Little Smart into a mobile phone.

 

It was  Monday.  Mrs Smith’s dog was hungry, but there was not any meat in the house.Considering that there was no better way,  Mrs. Smith took a piece of paper,  and wrote the following words on it “Give my dog half a pound of meat. ” Then she gave the paper to her dog and said gently:“  Take this to the butcher and he’s going to give you your lunch today.”

Holding the piece of paper in its mouth, the dog ran to the butcher’s. It gave the paper to the butcher. The butcher read it carefully, recognized that it was really the lady’s handwriting and soon did it as he was asked to. The dog was very happy, and ate the meat up at once.

At sunset, the dog came to the shop again. It gave the butcher a piece of paper again. After reading it. he gave it half a pound of meat once more.

The next day, the dog came again exactly at noon. And as usual, it brought a piece of paper in the mouth. This time, the butcher did not take a look at paper, and gave the dog its meat, for he had regarded the dog as one of his regular customers .

　However, the dog came again at four o’clock. And the same thing happened once again. At six o’clock,, it came for more meat, and brought with it a third piece of paper. The butcher felt a bit puzzled. He said to himself, “This is a small dog. Why does Mrs Smith feed it with so much meat today?”

Looking at the piece of paper, he found that there was a piece of blank paper. He laughed and phoned Mrs Smith.

1.The little dog went to the butcher’s _____ during the period.

A．there times

B．four times

C．five times

D．six times

2.The butcher didn’t give any meat to the dog ________.

A．until he made sure the words were really written by Mr Smith

B．when he found there was no words on the paper

C．before he was paid by the lady

D．because he sold out all the meat

3.From the story, we can reach a conclusion(结论) that the dog was ____.

A．honest and loyal

B．brilliant

C．amusing

D．amazing

4.At the end of the story, you’ll find _______.

A．the dog was clever enough to write on the paper

B．the dog dare not go to the butcher’s any more

C．the butcher was told not to give meat to the dog

D．the butcher found himself tricked by the dog

 

Attempt a guess at the following question: In the English-speaking world, which country has the least affordable homes? You are wrong if you guessed the US, even with the housing bubble (气泡) and main sadness. Nor is it the UK, where prices have risen because demand is far from supply. According to a recent survey of 227 cities around the globe, you must go south of the equator (赤道) to Australia to find the priciest homes.

The report measured a city’s housing market along the following guidelines. An “affordable” home required three times or less of the average family’s income to purchase. At four times earnings, a home fell into the “unaffordable” category. And a “seriously unaffordable” home needed five times a family’s income. In Australia, homes in the least affordable city cost just about 9.5 times the average income. Sydney, Perth, and Melbourne were only a little under this figure.

Australian officials offered little comment, apart from a general statement on the dismal findings. These prices make the possibility that many Australians will one day own a home largely unbelievable. Land rationing (配给制) and excessive development charges have raised prices, and the problem will only be solved through urgent action by the Rudd government.

Some American cities were also included on the least affordable list, four of which were in California. America is still involved in a mortgage（抵押）crisis, though, affecting the affordability of homes. Yet a number of US cities garnered “affordable” status, namely Dallas and Kansas. Australia had no cities listed in the top fifty places with affordable homes.

The survey suggests that you can find affordable homes in most places, just not if you’re Australian and choose to live down under.

To buy an affordable house, you should pay _____.

A. 3 times or less of the average family’s income

B. 4 times or less of the average family’s income

C. 5 times or less of the average family’s income

D. 9.5 times or less of the average family’s income

What caused the prices of houses to increase in Australia?

   A. The rising family’s income.

   B. The demand over supply.

   C. The excessive development charges.

   D. The decrease of land.

The underlined word “dismal” in Paragraph 3 may mean _____.

   A. cheerful       B. satisfactory       C. difficult        D. gloomy 

What might be the most suitable title for the passage?

A. Affordable Houses

B. A House is a Dream First

C. Housing Bubble

D. Homes Too Expensive