YOUR mom might cook a bowl of noodle for you on birthday. But in the US, a mom makes a cupcake for her children on their birthday.

Cupcakes are small, round cakes topped with frosting. It has been an American tradition that moms bring cupcakes to celebrate their child’s birthday.

But recently some doctors have called for this to be banned. They believe cupcakes contribute to child obesity.

Despite their good intentions, however, some people believe that experts are interfering with American culture. The cupcakes is seen as American as apple pie only prettier.

According to Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York university, the cupcakes is the most democratic of desserts. As they are small enough for one person, you don’t have go share your cupcake with anyone –it’s all yours. They are also all the same size, so there can’t be any cries of “she got the bigger piece!”

Each bite can taste different depending on how much icing you have. It is a lesson in self determination. Some people eat only a little of the frosting every time, other have it all in just one bite.

In recent years, eating a cupcake has become as trendy as having a cup of Starbucks coffee.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton jokingly promised on a talk show that if she was elected president, a he would give everyone a cupcake on her birthday.

Ruth Reichl, editor---in----chief of gourmet magazine, explains that the rise of the cupcake is very much about going buck to American national identity in food, which is all about comfort. “People want to about when they and their country were innocent,” she said.

According to the passage, it has been an American tradition that_______.

A. a party for children is held on their birthday

B. A mom cooks a bowl of noodles for her children on their birthday

C. A mom makes a cupcake for her children on their birthday and brings it to the classroom

D. parents go traveling with their children on their birthday

Why do doctors ask people to ban cupcake on children’s birthday?

A. Because they themselves don’t like cupcake

B. Because they think cupcakes are not so delicious

C. Because they believe cupcakes will cause cries of “she got the bigger piece”.

D. Because they believe cupcakes are one of the causes to make children become fat.

The following are true according to Marion Nestle expect that ______

A. the cupcake is more democratic than any other deserts in the US

B. the cupcake is too small to share with others

C. the sizes of cupcakes are the same so it is equal to everyone

D. cupcakes will lead to child obesity so they should be banned

Why did the writer mention Hillary Clinton and Ruth Reichl?

A. To arouse the readers’ attention _O

B. To show that cupcakes are becoming a popular to show kindness and comfort.

C. To make a comparison between them

D. To give readers a general idea of cupcakes

YOUR mom might cook a bowl of noodle for you on birthday. But in the US, a mom makes a cupcake for her children on their birthday.
Cupcakes are small, round cakes topped with frosting. It has been an American tradition that moms bring cupcakes to celebrate their child’s birthday.
But recently some doctors have called for this to be banned. They believe cupcakes contribute to child obesity.
Despite their good intentions, however, some people believe that experts are interfering with American culture. The cupcakes is seen as American as apple pie only prettier.
According to Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York university, the cupcakes is the most democratic of desserts. As they are small enough for one person, you don’t have go share your cupcake with anyone –it’s all yours. They are also all the same size, so there can’t be any cries of “she got the bigger piece!”
Each bite can taste different depending on how much icing you have. It is a lesson in self determination. Some people eat only a little of the frosting every time, other have it all in just one bite.
In recent years, eating a cupcake has become as trendy as having a cup of Starbucks coffee.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton jokingly promised on a talk show that if she was elected president, a he would give everyone a cupcake on her birthday.
Ruth Reichl, editor---in----chief of gourmet magazine, explains that the rise of the cupcake is very much about going buck to American national identity in food, which is all about comfort. “People want to about when they and their country were innocent,” she said.
1. According to the passage, it has been an American tradition that_______.
A. a party for children is held on their birthday
B. A mom cooks a bowl of noodles for her children on their birthday
C. A mom makes a cupcake for her children on their birthday and brings it to the classroom
D. parents go traveling with their children on their birthday
2. Why do doctors ask people to ban cupcake on children’s birthday?
A. Because they themselves don’t like cupcake
B. Because they think cupcakes are not so delicious
C. Because they believe cupcakes will cause cries of “she got the bigger piece”.
D. Because they believe cupcakes are one of the causes to make children become fat.
3. The following are true according to Marion Nestle expect that ______
A. the cupcake is more democratic than any other deserts in the US
B. the cupcake is too small to share with others
C. the sizes of cupcakes are the same so it is equal to everyone
D. cupcakes will lead to child obesity so they should be banned
4. Why did the writer mention Hillary Clinton and Ruth Reichl?
A. To arouse the readers’ attention  
B. To show that cupcakes are becoming a popular to show kindness and comfort.
C. To make a comparison between them
D. To give readers a general idea of cupcakes

YOUR mom might cook a bowl of noodles for you on your birthday. But in the US, a mom makes a cupcake for her children on their birthday.
Cupcakes are small, round cakes topped with frosting (糖霜). It has been an American tradition that moms bring cupcakes to the classroom to celebrate their child’s birthday.
But recently some doctors have called for this to be banned. They believe cupcakes contribute to child obesity.
Despite their good intentions, however, some people believe that experts are interfering (妨碍) with American culture. The cupcake is seen as American as apple pie — only prettier.
According to Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, the cupcake is the most democratic (民主的) of desserts. As they are small enough for one person, you don’t have to share your cupcake with anyone — it’s all yours. They are also all the same size, so there can’t be any cries of “she got the bigger piece!”
Each bite can taste different depending on how much icing you have. It is a lesson in self- determination. Some people eat only a little of the frosting every time, others have it all in just one bite.
In recent years, eating a cupcake has become as trendy as having a cup of Starbucks coffee.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton jokingly promised on a talk show that if she was elected president, she would give everyone a cupcake on her birthday.
Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, explains that the rise of the cupcake is very much about going back to American national identity in food, which is all about comfort. “People want to think about when they and their country were innocent,” she said.
【小题1】According to the passage, it has been an American tradition that ___________.

A．the family holds a party for children on their birthday

B．a mom cooks a bowl of noodles for her children on their birthday

C．a mom makes a cupcake for her children on their birthday and brings it to the classroom

D．parents go travelling with their children on their birthday

Your smartphone can do a lot of things. It can call people. It connects to the Internet. It enables you to play fun games. But there is a dark side to this smart little equipment of yours----- it might also spread disease.
“People are just likely to get sick from their phones as from handles of the bathroom, ” Jeffrey Cain, the president of the American Academy of Family Physicians , told The Wall Street Journal.
This may be hard to believe, but scientists reached this conclusion after they tested eight cell phones from an office in Chicago. All the tested phones showed high numbers of coliforms (大肠菌), a kind of bacteria found in human waste , with about 2700 to 4200 units of the bacteria on each phone. The bacteria can cause flu, pinkeye and other diseases . That is right --- your phone is covered in our human waste.
Although computers, keys and pens carry germs (细菌) , our phones get far dirtier. They touch a lot of things, including our hands and the inside of our pocket or purse. We take them almost everywhere: the bus, the subway and who hasn’t played Angry Birds or Fruit Ninja while sitting on the toilet?
“Some things that we think are personal are actually more public than we imagine,” Cain said.  What is even worse is that after the phone returns from its dirty trip, it then spends most of its time cozying up to our faces. You don’t think about how often you touch your phone to your face, do you? Our noses, mouths and ears are all warm and rich in grease (油脂) , an environment that germs really like.
So how do you keep your phone clean? Alcohol is effective when used to kill germs from the back and side of your phone. But it might harm the screen. There is one simple and reliable way you can reduce the germs on your phone’s surface: wash your hands regularly.
【小题1】The underlined word “dark” in the first paragraph means _______

Your peers are people your age or close to it who have experiences and interests similar to yours. You and your friends make dozens of decisions every day, and you influence each other’s choices and behavior. This is often ________ --- it’s human nature to listen to and learn from other people in your age group.

Sometimes, though, the stresses in your life can actually come from your peers. They may pressure you into doing something you’re uncomfortable with, such as shoplifting, doing drugs or drinking, or taking dangerous risks when driving a car.

The pressure to conform（随潮流） can be powerful and hard to resist. A person might feel pressure to do something just because others are doing it. Peer pressure can influence a person to do something that is relatively harmless--- or something that has more serious consequences.

People may feel pressure to conform, so they fit in or are accepted, or so they don’t feel awkward or uncomfortable. When people are unsure of what to do in a social situation, they naturally look to others for cues（暗示）about what is and isn’t acceptable.

The people who are most easily influenced will follow someone else’s lead first. Then others may go along, too --- so it can be easy to think, “It must be OK. Everyone else is doing it. They must know what they’re doing.” Before you know it, many people are going along with the crowd --- perhaps on something they might not otherwise do.

Responding to peer pressure is part of human nature --- but some people are more likely to give in, and others are better able to resist and stand their ground.

It’s not always easy to resist negative peer pressure. But when you do, it is easy to feel good about it afterwards. And you may even be a positive influence on your peers who feel the same way --- often it just takes one person to speak out or take a different action to change a situation.

1.Which of the following is a kind of peer pressure?

A.Your teachers give you a lot of homework.

B.Your parents expect high scores from you.

C.Your classmates persuade you to cut class.

D.Your relatives invite you to attend a party.

2.Which is most likely to be filled in the blank in Paragraph 1?

A.negative

B.impossible

C.positive

D.uncertain

3.Most people tend to do what others are doing in order to _________.

A.feel a sense of achievement

B.get a feeling of being accepted

C.set a good example for others

D.stand out in a crowd

4.What can we know according to the author?

A.Giving in to peer pressure is unavoidable.

B.Peer pressure usually leads to serious results.

C.Going along with the crowd usually means making a right choice.

D.Everyone can make a difference by resisting negative peer pressure.

5.This passage is mainly about _______.

A.thoughts on peer pressure

B.different types of peer pressure

C.ways to deal with peer pressure

D.the influence of peer pressure on people