Eat to Excel
How fit are you? Do you look after yourself? Do you eat healthily or do you eat anything you like? Premier League football club Aston Villa are encouraging their players and local children to eat healthy food. They know that what you eat is the key to success.
How fit is a footballer?
Could you run ten kilometers in 90 minutes? A professional footballer can. Footballers have to be strong, quick, skillful and creative in their moves. Every Premier League club makes sure it has a good coaching scheme and a well-planned fitness program. They also ensure that players have the practice and training that will prepare them for matches. What else do you think clubs pay special attention to? A good stadium? Anything else? What about the food they eat?
Eating the right thing
A good diet is a fundamental part of sport these days. Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill’s sport and health experts have chosen a secret weapon --- organic food (food grown without chemicals). Fitness manager Jim Henry eats with his players and said: “I chose to switch to organic food for Aston Villa because I’ve read studies showing that organic food has higher levels of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.” He believes that the best way to get these is to eat the very best fresh food.
What to eat after the match
Head chef at Aston Villa, lan Edge, feeds players with the best food as soon as they finish an away match. He says: “Food is very important to sports stars and particularly after a game. There is an hour of opportunity when they need to eat to get the best muscle strength, so I hand out meals on the coach on the way home. If we can make one per cent difference to the players by using organic food, then it is worth it.”
Teaching healthy eating
Everyone at Aston Villa enjoys organic food at their training ground. But the club is also worried about the unhealthy diet among local children who prefer sweets and unhealthy fast food. As part of their work in the community, Aston Villa has opened up their kitchen and invited children from local schools to come and learn how to cook with the help of the Villa head chef. Villa midfielder, Nigel ReoCoker, visited the children on the opening day. “The kitchen promotes healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle.” he said.
A final word from the kitchen
Head chef Ian says: “Footballers know how important food is to their profession and nine times out of ten, they go for the healthiest option.” Do you watch your diet? If you do and you keep yourself fit, you can be a winner!
小題1:Every Premier League Club provides footballers with ______________.

A．a good coach

B．a fitness center

C．proper practice and training

D．a delicious diet

小題2:According to Jim Henry, ___________________.

A．he believes the studies he has read about organic food

B．he will only eat organic food with his players

C．he thinks food is especially important after a game

D．he chose organic food as a secret weapon for footballers

小題3:We can learn from the passage that ___________________.

A．people can make one percent difference to players by using organic food

B．only a few footballers pay attention to the healthy eating

C．footballers in Aston Villa usually eat on their way to the match

D．footballers in Aston Villa usually eat some food within an hour after a match.

小題4:Why has Aston Villa invited children from local schools?

A．Because they want to teach kids how to cook delicious food.

B．Because they want to teach kids to play football.

C．Because they are fond of the kids in the community.

D．Because they intend to promote healthy eating.

Take a look at the following list of numbers: 4, 8, 5, 3, 7, 9, 6. Read them loud. Now look away and spend 20 seconds memorizing them in order before saying them out loud again. If you speak English, you have about a 50% chance of remembering those perfectly. If you are Chinese, though, you’re almost certain to get it right every time. Why is that? Because we most easily memorize whatever we can say or read within a two-second period. And unlike English, the Chinese language allows them to fit all those seven numbers into two seconds.
That example comes from Stanislas Dahaene’s book The Number Sense. As Dahaene explains: Chinese number words are remarkably brief. Most of them can be spoken out in less than one-quarter of a second (for instance, 4 is “si” and 7 “qi”). Their English pronunciations are longer. The memory gap between English and Chinese apparently is entirely due to this difference in length.
It turns out that there is also a big difference in how number-naming systems in Western and Asian languages are constructed. In English, we say fourteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen and nineteen, so one might expect that we would also say oneteen, twoteen, threeteen, and fiveteen. But we don’t. We use a different form: eleven, twelve, thirteen and fifteen. For numbers above 20, we put the “decade” first and the unit number second (twenty-one, twenty-two), while for the teens, we do it the other way around (fourteen, seventeen, eighteen). The number system in English is highly irregular. Not so in China, Japan, and Korea. They have a logical counting system. Eleven is ten-one. Twelve is ten-two. Twenty-four is two-tens-four and so on.
That difference means that Asian children learn to count much faster than American children. Four-year-old Chinese children can count, on average, to 40. American children at that age can count only to 15. By the age of five, in other words, American children are already a year behind their Asian friends in the most fundamental of math skills.
The regularity of their number system also means that Asian children can perform basic functions, such as addition, far more easily. Ask an English-speaking seven-year-old to add thirty-seven plus twenty-two in her head, and she has to change the words to numbers (37+22). Only then can she do the math: 2 plus 7 is 9 and 30 and 20 is 50, which makes 59. Ask an Asian child to add three-tens-seven and two-tens-two, and then the necessary equation(等式) is right there, in the sentence. No number translation is necessary: it’s five-tens-nine.
When it comes to math, in other words, Asians have a built-in advantage. For years, students from China, South Korea, and Japan --- outperformed their Western classmates at mathematics, and the typical assumption is that it has something to do with a kind of Asian talent for math. The differences between the number systems in the East and the West suggest something very different --- that being good at math may also be rooted in a group’s culture.
小題1:What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．The Asian number-naming system helps grasp advanced math skills better.

B．Western culture fail to provide their children with adequate number knowledge.

C．Children in Western countries have to learn by heart the learning things.

D．Asian children’s advantage in math may be sourced from their culture.

小題2:What makes a Chinese easier to remember a list of numbers than an American?

A．Their understanding of numbers.

B．Their mother tongue.

C．Their math education.

D．Their different IQ.

小題3:Asian children can reach answers in basic math functions more quickly because ____________.

A．they pronounce the numbers in a shorter period

B．they practice math from an early age

C．English speaking children translate language into numbers first

D．American children can only count to 15 at the age of four

              Our bodies are wonderfully skillful at keeping balance．When the temperature jumps, we sweat to cool down．When our blood pressure falls, our hearts can do something．As it turns out, though, our natural state is always changing．Researchers are finding that everything from blood pressure to brain function changes regularly with the cycles of sun, moon and seasons．And their insights （洞察力） are getting new ways for keeping away such common killers as heart disease and cancer．Only one doctor in 20 has a good knowledge of the scientific use of time in medicine．But according to a new American Medical Association, three out of four are eager to change that．“The field is exploding,” says Michael Smolensky．“Doctors used to look at us like, What spaceship did you get off ? Now they're thirsty to know more．”
In medical school, most doctors learn that people with chronic  conditions should take their medicine regularly．“It’s a terrible way to treat disease,” says Dr Richard Martin．For example, asthmatics （氣喘患者） are most likely to suffer during the night．Yet most patients try to keep a constant level of medicine in their blood day and night, whether by breathing in on an inhaler （吸入器） four times a day or taking a pill each morning and evening．In recent studies, researchers have found that a large mid afternoon dose of a bronchodilator （支氣管擴張劑） can be as safe as several small doses, and better for preventing nighttime attacks．
If the night belongs to asthma, the dawn belongs to high blood pressure and heart disease．Heart attacks are twice as common at 9 a．m．as at 11 p．m．Part of the reason is that our blood pressure falls at night, then rises as we start to work for the day．“Doctors know that,” says Dr．Henry Black of Chicago's Medical Center, “but until now, we haven't been able to do anything about it．” Most blood - pressure drugs provide 18 to 20 hours of relief （減緩）．But because they’re taken in the morning, they're least effective when most needed．“You take your pill at 7 and it's working by 9,” says Dr．William White of the University of Connecticut Health Center “But by that time you've gone through the worst four hours of the day with no protection．” Bedtime medicine would prevent high blood pressure, but it would also push blood pressure to dangerously low levels during the night．
小題1:Researchers are finding that _________ ．

A．heart disease and cancer are the most common killers of human beings

B．only blood pressure and brain function are decided by cycles of sun, moon and seasons

C．the functions of human bodies have much to do with nature

D．any change in human bodies goes with changes in the surroundings

小題2:According to the author, it is best for asthmatics to take their medicine _________ ．

A．at certain time

B．each morning and evening

C．when the disease occurs

D．at midafternoon

小題3:Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A．Doctors know more about illnesses than before．
B．Doctors in the U．S．used to be thirsty to know more about the new medical field．
C．The researchers' insights are providing new methods to prevent common killers．
D．The correct use of time in medicine attracts more attention in medical circle in the U．S．A．
小題4:The suggested title for this passage might be _________．

A．Medicine Is Everything	B．Treatment Is Everything
C．Timing Is Everything	D．Prevention Is Everything

“BANG!” the door caused a reverberation(回聲)．It was just standing there, with Father standing on one side, and I on the other side．
We were both in great anger．“Never set foot in this house again!” stormed Father．With tears welling up in my eyes, I rushed out of the flat and ran along the street．
The street lights were shining rather desolately(凄涼的)．I wandered aimlessly．
A young father who held a child in his arms walked past me．I felt as if I saw my childhood from another space: happy and harmonious．
But now… I don’t know whether it is because I have grown up or because dad is getting old．We differ in our ways of thinking．He always imposes his opinions and codes of behavior on me．Whenever I do something wrong, he never admits it．We are just like two people coming from two different worlds．It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened．
I wandered the streets, without a destination in mind．My heart was frozen on this hot summer night．As I walked on there were fewer and fewer people on the streets, until I had only the street lights to keep me company．When I finally reached the high-rise apartment block in which I lived, I saw that the light was still on．
In fact, it was nothing．Perhaps, dad was throwing away some of his old stamps．Perhaps he thought they were useless．I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps．I can’t stand his outrageous(蠻橫的) words: “ I can throw you away, let alone these old papers．”
All the lights were off except father’s．
Dad was always like this．Maybe he didn’t know how to express himself．After shouting at me, he never showed any mercy or any moments of regret．After an argument he has the habit of creeping up in my sleep and then tucking me underneath the covers．
This was how he always was．He has been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature．
The light was still on．“Am I wrong?” I whispered, maybe… With the key in hand, I was as nervous as I had ever been．At last, I decided to open the door．As soon as I opened the door, tears ran down my cheeks．I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist at all．Love is second to none．
小題1:Decide which is the best order of the following according to what happened in the passage．
a．I opened the door and entered the house．
b．Sadly I ran out into the street．
c．I reached the place where I lived and saw my house still brightly lit．
d．I thought of my father’s kindness towards me．
e．I walked about in the street without any aim．

A．b, e, d, c, a

B．b, e, c, d, a

C．b, e, a, c, d

D．b, e, c, a, d

小題2:What made the writer think of his childhood?

A．The sight of the desolate street lights．

B．The sight of the empty street．

C．The sight of a father with a child in his arms．

D．The sight of light in his own house．

小題3:Why do you think the father often shouts at his son?
A．Perhaps the father is getting older and older．
B．Perhaps the son has already grown up．
C．Perhaps they never agree with each other．
小題4:What conclusion can you draw after reading the passage?

A．The father is actually kind to his son．

B．The father treats his son in an unfair way．

C．The father is neither kind nor cruel to his son．

D．The father is always finding fault with his son．

For photographers lacking training, experience and even the ability to click a shutter button, they produce remarkable pictures．Under the sea, deep in the woods and high in the sky, furry, feathery and leathery-skinned creatures are opening up vistas（遠景）by taking cameras where no human can go．
This is the world of animal-borne imagine celebrated last month at a conference sponsored(supported) by the National Geographic Society for the 20th anniversary of its Crittercam, the device that started it all．
Since its debut（首次公開露面）in 1987 on the back of a turtle, the Crittercam and similar devices developed by others have grown smaller and more powerful．
“It’s more than just a camera now,” said Greg Marshall, the marine biologist and now filmmaker who invented the Crittercam．“We are now including more instruments to gather more data while at the same time reducing everything in size．”
The idea of attaching video cameras to animals came to Mr．Marshall in 1986 on a dive off Belize when a shark apporached him．When the animal quickly turned away, he noticed a shark with a sucker fish on its belly．He came up with the idea that putting a camera in place of the sucker fish would allow people to witness the shark’s behavior without disturbing it．
Crittercams have been attached to sharks, sea lions and other marine animals, and, more recently, to land animals．
Birds are a new addition, Mr．Marshall said．Dr．Christian Rutz of Oxford recently reported on tiny cameras called feathercams that monitor the crows in the South Pacific．It has discovered that crows are smarter than anyone knew they not only use twigs（嫩枝）and grass stems as tools to root out food, but they also save their favorite tools to use again．
Tracey L．Rogers, director of the Australian Marine Mammal Research Center in Sydney, said crittercam was a powerful tool in her work with leopard seals（豹斑海豹）in Antarctica．“In studying animals,” Dr．Rogers said at the meeting, “you want to see how our animal models align（與……一致）with reality．With a camera, you actually see what they do．You don’t have to guess．”
小題1:What’s the text mainly about?

A．The advantages of crittercam．

B．The development of Crittercams in the past 20 years．

C．How crittercam was invented．

D．How crittercam works．

小題2:What inspired Marshall to invent crittercam?

A．The sight of sucker fish clinging to a shark on a dive．

B．The thought of how to photograph animals better．

C．Noticing a shark eating a sucker fish on a dive．

D．Seeing a shark with a camera on its belly on a dive．

小題3:According to Dr．Rogers, crittercam ____．

A．can clear up all your doubts about animals

B．is the most powerful tool in studying animals

C．enabled her to observe the crows in the South Pacific closely

D．helped a lot with her research on leopard seals in Antarctica

小題4:All of the following are improvements of crittercams EXCEPT that ____．

A．the size is becoming smaller

B．more instruments are involved to gather more data

C．they allow researchers to see where and how animals live

D．they are able to be applied to smaller animals such as birds