Many facts suggest that children are overweight and the situation is getting worse, according to the doctors. I feel there are a number of reasons for this.

    Some people blame the fact that we are surrounded by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods, such as fried chicken and ice cream, at low prices. This has turned out a whole generation of grown-ups who seldom cook a meal for themselves. If there were fewer of these restaurants, then probably children would buy less take-away food.

There is another argument that blames parents for allowing their children to become overweight. I agree with this, because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food shops. If children are given fried chicken and chocolate rather than healthy food, or are always allowed to choose what they eat, they will go for sweet and salty foods every time, and this will carry on throughout their lives.

There is a third reason for this situation. Children these days take very little exercise. They do not walk to school. When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play computer games. Not only is this an unhealthy pastime(???), it also gives them time to eat more unhealthy food. What they need is to go outside and play active games or sports.

The above are the main reasons for this problem, and therefore we have to encourage young people to be more active, as well as steering them away from fast food shops and bad eating habits.

1.According to the text, what kind of children may eat more unhealthy food?

A. Those who often do sports.

B. Those who often watch television.

C. Those who often have meals at home.

D. Those who often walk to school.

2.The author thinks that children are becoming overweight because ______.

A. they can't choose what to eat

B. they are too busy to go out and play

C. their parents often cook meals for them

D. there are too many fast food shops around

3.The word "steering" underlined in the last sentence most probably means ______.

A. forcing

B. guiding

C. driving

D. moving

4.The main purpose of the text is to ______.

A. tell a story

B. provide facts

C. give advice

D. compare opinions

 

Festivals play an important role in a culture’s identity. I can’t think of a better way of appreciating a new culture than by taking part in one of its festivals. Here are some special festivals around the world.

★ Boryeong Mud Festival--Boryeong, South Korea

    For two weeks in July, millions gather in Boryeong to experience the grey pools and slides. What began as a way of promoting the region’s mineral-rich mud has turned into a festive party , complete with music and fireworks. While the mud is usually only available in cosmetic products, here you can cake yourself in grey as you want.

★ Holi--lndia

Holi, the Festival of Colors, is a Hindu celebration full of joy and one of India’s most important holidays. During the day of the last full moon of the lunar month, usually late February or early March, the air is full of bright colored powder. The festival is celebrated differently throughout the country, but the cheerful spirit is common throughout Hindu communities around the world.

★ Koninginnedag--The Netherlands

Although their current Queen’s birthday is really during the winter, the Queen still celebrates it on April 30th,the country’s official “Queen’s Day” since 1949. Orange is the national color, and the streets become a sea of feather boas（长围巾）and body paint as crowds gather in the plazas（广场）. Amsterdam is the center of this outdoor party, with many live music acts, but nearly every town is alive with orange on this day.

★ National Elephant Day in Thailand

In Thailand, March 13 is regarded as National Elephant Day to show that the Thai elephant plays an important role in the Thai history. Thai Elephant Day has been held on an annual basis since the idea was first approved by the Thai government in 1998. Special events are held at a number of venues in northern Thailand. At the Mae Sa Elephant Camp, it has become a tradition on March 13 for the dozens of elephants there to be treated to a huge feast of fruits and sugarcane.

1.What we can learn from the passage is that ________.

A. Boryeong Mud Festival was originally held to advertise for their mineral resources

B. people around the world celebrate Holi differently to promote their religions

C. Koninginnedag--The Netherlands was celebrated on their current Queen’s birthday

D. it is an international custom for the Thai elephant to eat all kinds of fruits and sugarcane

2.What is the purpose of the festival held on March 13 in Thailand?

A. To call on people to protect these endangered elephants.

B. To give the Thai elephant a chance to eat fruits and sugarcane.

C. To stress the importance of the elephant in the Thai history.

D. To help people relax themselves by feeding the Thai elephant.

3.You can experience the Festival of Colors in _______.

A. South Korea    B. Thailand         C. the Netherlands    D. India

4.What is the main purpose of the text?

A. To tell people how to enjoy and relax themselves.

B. To introduce some unique festivals around the world.

C. To get people to celebrate different kinds of customs.

D. To show the importance of celebrating different festivals.

 

In the past few years, quite a number of men and women have chosen to do something less competitive. They are afraid that the stress and strains of work will rob them __1___ _____ joy and happiness and __2  ______ them harm both physically and mentally.

     In fact, however, stress isn’t the bad thing __3________ it is often supposed to be. Above all, __4______ it gets out of control, a certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and challenge, and to give purpose and significance to _5_______, otherwise meaningless, idle life. __6__________, people under stress tend to express their full range of potential and to actualize their own __7__  ______(person) worth — the very aim of a human life.

 Stress is a natural part of everyday life and __8______ ___ is no way to avoid it. What we can do is __9_________(develop) our adaptive abilities to deal with it rather than to escape _10____________ it.

It has always been said that women are not good drivers, because they simply don't have very good driving ability. On the other hand, most car accidents happen to men; very few happen to women.

From this, we can see that women are much more careful while driving. Another very interesting fact that we should point out is that in the past, women preferred to let their husbands be the only driver in the family rather than have a driving license. Somehow they were prevented from making this step in their lives, but nowadays there are many women that want to pass their driving tests from an early age.

However, we have to admit that men are more skillful drivers than women, but this does not mean that a woman cannot become a good driver by accumulating (积累) experience. So more and more teenagers and women around the age of thirty now want to pass their driving tests. While taking their driving lessons, they also have a number of special lessons with their parents or somebody in the family that has a driving license, this is just to improve their driving abilities and help them to pass the tests more easily.

To conclude, we can say that women are not such bad drivers. They just need more experience than men in order to be able to drive well. And on the other hand, there are a number of women that show better driving skills than the men around them.

1. Compared with the past, nowadays many women___.

A. prefer to have a driving license

B. have more accidents while driving

C. are somehow prevented from driving

D. are the only driver in the family

2.What advantage do women have over men in driving?

A. They have more skills.

B. They are much more careful

C. They know more traffic rules

D. They have more driving experience

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A. Teenage girls cannot take driving tests.

B. Men didn't allow women to drive in the past.

C. With enough experience, women can become good drivers.

D. Women can easily pass their tests by taking driving lessons.

4.The passage mainly talks about___.

A. women and their driving ability.

B. men and their driving ability.

C. why men are better drivers than women.

D. why more women like to have a driving license

 

It was a cold December, and Mrs. Bell wanted to do a lot of shopping. She waited until it was Saturday, when her husband was free, and she took him to the shops with her to pay for everything and to carry for her what she had bought. They went to a lot of shops, and Mrs. Bell bought everything she could think of.

She often stopped and said, “Look, Peter! Isn’t that beautiful?”

“All right, my dear. How much is it?” answered Mr. Bell, and then he took money out to buy it for her.

It was almost dark when they came out of the last shop, and Mr. Bell was tired. He was thinking about a nice drink by the side of a warm fire home. Suddenly his wife looked up at the sky and said, “Look at that beautiful moon, Peter!”

Without stopping, Mr. Bell answered at once. “All right, dear. How much is it?” Then he took his wallet out of his pocket.

1.Mrs. Bell did shopping ________.

A．alone                                B．together with her husband

C．every day                             D．in the morning

2.Mrs. Bell took her husband to the shops because ________.

A．he liked beautiful things                  B．he liked to do shopping too.

C．she wanted him to pay money              D．he was always free

3.Mrs. Bell bought ________ in the shops.

A．nothing                               B．a drink

C．the most beautiful thing                  D．a number of things

4.Mr. Bell _______ shopping.

A．was addicted to                         B．was thinking about

C．was tired of                            D．was very interested in

5.According to the last paragraph, we know Mr. Bell _______.

A．wanted to buy the moon

B．did not really know what his wife was saying

C．was a millionaire

D．did not like the idea of buying the moon