In recent years, there has been a steady attack on salt from the doctors: salt is bad for you—regardless of your health. Politicians also got aboard. “There is a direct relationship,” US Congressman Neal Smith said, “between the amount of sodium(鈉) a person consumes and heart disease, circulatory(循環(huán)的) disorders, stroke and even early death.”

Frightening, if true! But many doctors and medical researchers are now beginning to feel the salt scare has gone too far. “All these remarks and cry about salt is unnecessary,” Dr. Dustan insists. “For most of us it probably does not make much difference how much salt we eat.” Dustan’s most recent short-term study of 150 people showed that those with normal blood pressure experienced no change at all when placed on an extremely low-salt diet, or later when salt was reintroduced. Of the hypertensive(高血壓的) patients, however, half of those on the low-salt diet did experience a drop in blood pressure, which returned to previous level when salt was reintroduced.

“An adequate to somewhat excessive(過度的) salt intake has probably saved many more lives than it has cost in the general population,” said Dr. John H Laragh. “So an opinion that the whole population should avoid salt makes no sense.”

Medical experts agree that everyone should practice reasonable “moderation”(節(jié)制) in salt consumption. For the average person, a moderate amount might run from four to ten grams a day, or roughly 1/2 to 1/3 teaspoons. One to two grams of salt would come from the natural sodium in food. The rest would be added in processing, preparation or at the table.

“Na is not your enemy,” says Comek’s Dr. Laragh. “Salt is the No.1 natural component of all human tissue, and the idea that you do not need it is wrong. Unless your doctor has proven that you have a salt-related health problem, there is no reason to give it up.”

1.Why is salt attacked by doctors and politicians?

A. It’s unnecessary.

B. It does no good to human health.

C. It is hated by most people.

D. It will always lead to heart disease and circulatory disorders.

2.From Dr. Dustan’s study in Paragraph 2 we can infer that _____.

A．a low-salt diet may be good to some patients

B．the amount of salt intake has nothing to do with one’s blood pressure

C．the reduction of salt intake can completely cure a hypertensive patient

D．an extremely low-salt diet makes no difference to anyone

3.In the 3rd paragraph, Dr. Laragh implied that _____.

A．people should not be afraid of taking much excessive salt

B．doctors should not advise people to avoid salt

C．an adequate to somewhat excessive salt intake is suggested to ill people

D．excessive salt intake has killed some patients in the general population

4.What is the experts’ advice for average people on salt consumption?

A．They should increase salt intake through sodium pills.

B．They should avoid salt as often as possible.

C．They should consume 1/2 to 1/3 teaspoons of salt a day.

D．They needn’t care about how much salt they consume.

5.What is the main idea of the passage?

A．The salt scare is not reasonable.

B．The cause of hypertension is disclosed.

C．The moderate use of salt is recommended.

D．Salt consumption is to be avoided.

閱讀表達（共5小題，每小題2分，滿分10分）

[1] The Canadian scientists say that getting older really does make one wiser. The over-55s use their brains more efficiently (高效率地) than younger people, as they are much more likely to get rid of mistakes. Younger people, ________, give the impression of being sharper, simply by coming up with answers more quickly. But this may be a sign of inexperience rather than wisdom.

[2] According to their experiment on sorting words into pairs, scientists found surprising differences between the brains of the older and younger participants when they made a mistake. To the younger ones, the mistake immediately activated(激活) several different parts of the brain to help them decide what to do next. The older people, however, didn’t start thinking about what they were going to do until the game restarted.

[3] Dr Oury Monchi said, “When the young participants made a mistake and had to plan and take a new measure to get the right answer, various parts of their brains were used even before the next task began. However, when the older participants learned that they had a mistake, they decided to make adjustments(調整) only when completely necessary. The older brain had experience and knew that nothing was gained by taking action too soon.”

[4] Dr Monchi compared the results to Aesop’s fable of the tortoise and the hare, saying, “Being able to run fast does not always win the race --you have to know how to best use your abilities.” This saying is a defining characteristic of ageing. It is as though the older brain is more unaffected to criticism and more confident than the young brain. Overall, the older group, who were aged between 55 and 75, took longer to complete the game but did roughly as well as those aged 18 to 35.

1.What’s the main idea of the passage? (no more than 8 words)

_____________________________________________________

2.Fill in the blank in Paragraph I with proper words. (no more than 4 words)

_____________________________________________________

3.What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 2 refer to? (no more than 6 words)

_____________________________________________________

4.what did the older participants do after they learned that they had made a mistake? (no more than 10 words)

_____________________________________________________

5.Complete the following statement with proper words according to Paragraph 4. (no more than 10 words)

____________________________________ are the two likely advantages of the older brain.

書面表達（滿分25分）

進入高中以后，同學們的學習任務加重，對于參加課外活動，同學們有著兩種不同的看法。請以After-school activities 為題，用英語寫一篇120 詞左右的短文。要點如下：

一些同學積極參加課外活動：學到實踐知識；

另外一些同學不愿參加課外活動：學業(yè)緊；

你的觀點和理由。

注意：開頭已經給出，但不計入總詞數。

After-school activities

When it comes to after-school activities, students hold different views…

The son tried to persuade his father _________ smoking.

A. to give up B. to give in

C. giving up D. giving in

We were put in a position ___ we had to answer violence with violence.

A. when B. where C. which D. why

Only if you practice more _________ English well.

A. you can learn B. can you learn

C. do you learn D. you do learn

__ number of people who___ killed or injured reached more than 400,000.

A. The ; were B. A ; were

C. A ; was D. The ;was

The building used to be splendid but now it is _____.

A. in ruins B. in the ruins

C. with the ruin D. by ruin

It was in the garden of the old house _____ he bought last year ______he dug up a pot of gold.

A. which; which B. that; which

C. what; that D. that; that

I have two tickets to Beijing. I _________ my Mom.

A. take B. am taking

C. have taken D. took