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 take exercise
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. their parents often cook meals for them
B. they are too busy to go out to play
C. they can't choose what to eat
D. there are many fast food shops around

3. The word steering 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

     "High income is not as good as high age, and high age is not as good as high spirits."
     Generally speaking, the rich are happier because money can purchase goods and services and it is the
consumption (消費) of these materials that increases one's enjoyment of life. Especially nowadays, money
seems to be one thing that drives the people around. "Human beings live for money while birds die for food."
-a well-known Chinese saying is quite quotable (適宜引用的) to interpret the present society. Some people
try every means to make money at the expense of others interests. These people harm others to benefit
themselves. They think the more money they make, the happier they will be.
     In addition to money, people's happiness was affected by other factors. High age is what many Chinese
are dreaming of. Longevity (長壽) is the very term that the people often use to pray for their dears and elders.
So there are many books and theories that introduce the way of living longer. Dancing, jogging, dieting, even
singing and shouting together are said to do good to one's health.
     Nevertheless, some people think that high spirits is vital to the quality of one's life. If you are in high spirits,
you'll find everything pleasing and comfortable in life: warm sunshine, blue sky, white clouds, happy birds,
comfortable breeze, sweet smiles, and so on. You seem to have the friends across the world. Your life will
be happy at every moment. You will have a good health and can make more money if you live longer.
     In one word, let's keep ourselves in high spirits, thus we could keep longevity and make considerable
money at the same time.

1. The rich are happier because _____.

A. they have the hobby of saving money
B. they can gain all the things in the world
C. they help the poor by giving them a lot of money
D. the consumption can increase their enjoyment of life

2. What does the Chinese saying "Human beings live for money while birds die for food" tell us?

A. It tells us that people try every means to make money at the expense of everything.
B. It tells us that the more money people make, the longer they will live.
C. It tells us that to live is to make more money.
D. It tells us that people will die for making more money, just as birds die for food.

3. The author thinks that _____ is the most important.

A. high income
B. high age
C. high spirits
D. the quality of one's life.

     Celia was shocked. She had always been in good shape during high school, but now, in her first year
of college, she was suddenly ten pounds heavier. "My friends and I often had pizza or ice cream when
we studied late at night," she said, "and I was always drinking Coke to stay awake."
     Celia's experience is common. Many students enter college and find it so different that they cannot
deal with changes properly. They're away from their parents and in a new stressful (壓力的) environment.
Pressures (壓力) together with freedom to sleep and eat however they please cause many students to
experience the "Freshman 15": gaining weight suddenly in their freshman year of college.
     Most students do not realize that the "Freshman 15" can cause some serious health problems. Of
course, college-age adults are still developing bone mass,so gaining some weight is normal. Sudden weight
gain, however, puts too much strain (負擔(dān)) on the heart and lungs,resulting in little energy and some
difficult thinking and remembering. In later life, it can lead to heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and possibly
cancer.
     The solution to the"Freshman 15" is simple-pay attention to developing good habits! In general:
     ● Eat normal-sized meals at regular times. Eat slowly and enjoy it,so you don't need to go back for more. 
     ● Keep only healthy snacks in your room-and don't snack too often!
     ● Control drinking and smoking. Alcohol has a lot of calories, and smoking too much makes exercise
        difficult.
     ● Exercise regularly! Even just 30 minutes a day-such as walking quickly to class from your dorm-will
        make a big difference!

1. What happened to Celia in her first year of college?

A. She had sleep problems
B. She put on weight suddenly
C. She always studied late
D. She went on diet so as to keep in good shape

2. What do many students think of their freshman year of college?

A. They find it quite different
B. They find it not quite difficult
C. They find it very free
D. They find it simple

3. What do most college students fail to realize?

A. Gaining some weight is normal
B. They have grown up
C. They have gained a lot of weight
D. Sudden weight gain may result in serious health problems

4. What are students advised to do?

A. Eat slowly and exercise regularly
B. Eat all foods slowly and regularly
C. Keep enough healthy snacks in the room
D. Eat healthy snacks as much as possible

5. What are students advised not to do?

A. Don't drink
B. Don't smoke
C. Don't exercise too long
D. Don't eat snacks too often

     _____. Fifty years ago, only 4 out of every 100 people in the United States were 65 or older. Today, 10
out of every 100 Americans are over 65. The aging of the population will affect American society in many
ways: education, medicine, and business. Quietly, the growing of America has made it a very different society,
one in which people have a quite different idea of what kind of behavior is suitable at various ages.
     A person's age no longer tells you anything about his or her social position, marriage or health. There's no
longer a particular year in which one goes to school or goes to work or gets married or starts a family. The
social clock that kept us on time and told us when to go to school, get a job, or stop working isn't as strong
as it used to be. It doesn't surprise us to hear of a 29-year-old university president or a 35-year-old grandmother,
or a 70-year-old man who has become a father for the first time. Public ideas are changing.
     Many people say, "I am much younger than my mother or my father was at my age." No one says, "Act
your age" any more. We've stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.

1. What is mainly talked about in the passage? (Within 12 words)
    _____________________________________________________________________________
2. Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one? We no longer feel astonished when
    older people behave as young people.
    _____________________________________________________________________________
3. Fill in the blank with proper word to complete the sentence. (Within 6 words)
    _____________________________________________________________________________
4. What does "Act your age" mean?
    _____________________________________________________________________________
5. Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.
    _____________________________________________________________________________

     How can you find out what is going on inside a person's body without opening the patient up? Regular
X-rays can show a lot. CAT scans can show even more. They can give three-dimensional (三維) view of
body organs(器官).
     What is a CAT scan? CAT stands for Computerized Axial Tomography (層面X線照相術(shù)). It is a special
X-ray machine that gets a 360 - degree picture of a small area of a patient's body.
     Doctors use X-rays to study and examine diseases and injuries within the body. X-rays can find foreign
objects inside the body or to take pictures of some organs inside if special things as dyes or special liquids
are added to the organs to be X-rayed.
     A CAT scanner, however, uses a beam (光束) of X-rays to give a cross-sectional view of a particular
part of the body. A fine beam of X-rays is scanned across the body and circled around the patient from many
different angles (角度). A computer analyzes (分析) the information from each angle and produces a clear
cross-sectional picture on the screen. This picture is then photographed for later use. Several cross-sections,
taken one after another, can give a clear "photo" of the entire body or of any body organs. The newest CAT
scanners can even give a clear picture of active, moving organs just as a fast-action camera can "stop the
action" giving clear pictures of what appear only mistily (模糊) to the eye. And because of the 360-degree
pictures, CAT scans show 3-dimensional views of organs in a manner that was once only seen during surgery
or autopsy (examining a dead body).

1. According to the first two paragraphs, doctors can see the inside of a patient's body by _____.

A. giving the patient an operation
B. checking body organs
C. getting a 360-degree picture of a small area of a patient's body
D. examining the CAT

2. From the last paragraph, we can infer that _____.

A. the newest pictures become more misty
B. many pictures can be taken at the same time
C. the information about the scanned patient is not highly valued
D. some pictures of the scanned parts of the body are developed for further examinations in the future

3. The best title of this passage might be _____.

A. Modern X-ray
B. Three-dimensional View
C. Fast - moving Camera
D. CAT Scan

     The hole in the Earth's ozone layer (臭氧層) has until now protected Antarctica from the worst effects of
global warming. But scientists have warned that as the hole closes up in the next few decades, temperatures
on the continent could rise by around 3oC on average, with melting ice contributing to a global sea level
increase of up to 1.4 metres.
     In the past decades the western Antarctic has seen rapid ice loss as the world has warmed, but the other
parts of the continent have, paradoxically, been cooling, resulting in a 10% increase in ice in the seas around
the region. This is because the hole in the ozone layer has increased cold winds in Antarctica, making much
of the continent surface colder than usual.
     But now that the gasses that cause the ozone hole have been banned, scientists expect the hole to repair
itself within the next 50 to 60 years. By then the cooling effect will have faded out and the Antarctic will face
the full impact of global warming. This means an increase in average air temperatures of around 3OC and a
reduction in sea ice by around a third.
     The biggest threat to the continent comes from warming seas. Robert Johnson, a scientist who monitors
Antarctica ice sheets, said, "The ice sheets in Antarctica are hundreds of metres thick. But once warm ocean
waters start flowing underneath, the ice will begin thinning and could break up very quickly." Thinning ice
sheets cause ice to break away from the continent and to melt even faster. Escaping ice from western
Antarctica has already resulted in a 10% rise in global sea level in recent decades.
     Johnson believes that international action to reduce global warming is required immediately or it may be too
late. "Everything is connected-Antarctica may be a long way away but it is an important part of the Earth's
system," said Johnson. "It contains 90% of the world's ice, 70% of the world's fresh water and that is enough,
if it melts completely, to raise sea levels by 63 metres."
     Even in a worse-case situation scientists don't expect the ice to entirely disappear, but predict that, because
of the melting ice sheets, average sea level rise will be around 1.4 metres higher by the end of the century.

1. The underlined word "paradoxically" (in Paragraph 2) most probably means "_____".

A. rapidly
B. approximately
C. contradictorily
D. apparently

2. What is the effect of the hole in the ozone layer on Antarctica?

A. It is causing the ice to melt faster.
B. It is making much of the continent colder.
C. It is making the effects of global warming in the region worse.
D. It is reducing the amount of water in Antarctica.

3. What do scientists think is the biggest danger facing Antarctica?

A. Rising sea levels.
B. Warming sea water temperature.
C. Water pollution.
D. Growing ice sheets.

4. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Antarctica is currently experiencing the full effects of global warming.
B. The average temperature has increased by 3OC in recent decades.
C. Antarctica contains most of the world's fresh water.
D. Ten percent of Antarctica's ice has already been lost.

5. The best title for the passage is _____.

A. Our planet in danger
B. Antarctica melting away
C. Action plan to save Antarctica
D. Let's save the ozone layer

     Alzheimer's disease affects millions of people around the world. American researchers say the disease
will affect more than one hundred million people worldwide by the year twenty fifty. That would be four
times the current (現(xiàn)在的) number. Researchers and doctors have been studying Alzheimer's patients for
a century. Yet the cause and cure for the mental (智力的) sickness are still unknown. However, some
researchers have made important steps towards understanding it.
     Several early signs of the disease involve (涉及) memory and thought processes. At first, patients have
trouble remembering little things. Later, they have trouble remembering more important things, such as the
names of their children.
     There are also some physical tests that might show who is at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
The tests look for proteins (蛋白質(zhì)) in brain and spinal cord fluid (脊髓). The proteins appear to be found
only in people with the disease. The protein tests correctly identify (確定) the presence of the disease in
about ninety percent of patients.
     Now, a much simpler physical test to predict Alzheimer's risk has been developed. Researchers found
that trouble with the sense of smell can be one of the first signs of Alzheimer's disease. Using this information,
they developed a test in which people were asked to identify twelve familiar smells. These smells included
cinnamon (桂皮), black pepper, chocolate, paint thinner (涂料稀釋劑), and smoke.
     The study continued for five years. During this period, the same people were asked to take several tests
measuring their memory and thought abilities. Fifty percent of those who could not identify at least four of
the smells in the first test had trouble with their memory and thinking in the next five years.
     Another study has shown a possible way to reduce a person's chances of developing Alzheimer's disease
in old age. Researchers in Chicago found that people who use their brains more often are less likely to develop
Alzheimer's disease. Those who read a newspaper, or play chess or word games are about three times less
likely to develop the condition.
     Researchers say they still do not know what causes Alzheimer's disease. But they say these findings might
help prevent the disease in the future.

1. What's the main idea of the passage? 

A. Some early signs of the Alzheimer's disease.
B. Some physical tests about Alzheimer's disease.
C. The research about Alzheimer's disease.
D. The patients of Alzheimer's disease.

2. How many Alzheimer's patients now around the world?

A. 100 million
B. 25 million
C. 400 million
D. 20million

3. What is not the early sign of the Alzheimer's disease according to the passage?

A. Poor memory.
B. Proteins exist in the brain.
C. Trouble with the sense of smell.
D. Less use of the brain.

4. What does the underlined word "it" in paragraph 1 refer to?

A. Alzheimer's disease.
B. Alzheimer's patients.
C. The cause and cure.
D. The research.

5. According to the passage, we can learn that _____.

A. there are no proteins in the brains of the people with no Alzheimer's disease
B. the people who often use their brains will not get Alzheimer's disease
C. researchers and doctors have found ways to cure Alzheimer's disease
D. the people who have the trouble with the sense of smell will certainly suffer from Alzheimer's disease

     Trees are useful to man in three very important ways: they provide him with wood and other products;
they give him shade, and they help to prevent droughts (干旱) and floods.
     Unfortunately, in many parts of the world man has not realized that the third of these services is the most
important. In his eagerness (渴望) to draw quick profit from the trees, he has cut them down in large numbers,
only to find that without them he has lost the best friends he had.
     Two thousand years ago a rich and powerful country cut down its trees to build warships, with which to
gain itself an empire (帝國). It gained the empire but, without its trees, its soil became hard and poor. When
the empire fell to pieces, the country found itself faced by floods and starvation.
     Even though a government realizes the importance of a plentiful supply of trees, it is difficult for it to
persuade the villager to see this. The villager wants wood to cook his food with, and he can earn money by
making charcoal (木炭) or selling wood to the townsman (城市居民). He is usually too lazy or too careless
to plant and look after trees. So unless the government has a good system of control, or can educate the people,
the forests will slowly disappear.
     This does not only mean that the villager's sons and grandsons have fewer trees. The results are even more
serious. For where there are trees their roots break the soil up-allowing the rain to sink in and also hold the soil,
thus preventing it being washed away easily, but where there are no trees, the soil becomes hard and poor. The
rain falls on hard ground and flows away on the surface, causing floods and carrying away with it the rich
topsoil, in which crops grow so well. When all the topsoil is gone, nothing remains but a worthless desert.

1. The purpose that the writer wrote this article is to _____.

A. tell people the use of wood
B. tell people the function of tree roots
C. warn that man mustn't destroy forests any more
D. explain how trees help to prevent droughts and floods

2. Which function of trees is the most important?

A. Giving shade to human.
B. Preventing droughts and floods.
C. Providing charcoal (木炭).
D. Offering wood to human.

3. In the writer's opinion, _____, or the forests will slowly disappear.

A. measures must be taken
B. people shouldn't draw benefit from the trees
C. government must realize the serious results
D. unless trees are never cut down

4. According to the article we know it is _____ to prevent the forests from slowly disappearing.

A. necessary but impossible
B. necessary but difficult
C. impossible and unimportant
D. difficult and impossible

5. In the last two paragraphs, the writer wanted to make it clear that _____.

A. where there are no trees, the soil becomes poor but soft
B. where there are many trees, there are more floods
C. where there are no trees, the land might become desert slowly
D. floods will make the land become desert

     A quarrel at home may result in you falling ill. Don't laugh, it's true. Family matters including living habits
and even the way we speak have a big effect on our health, doctors say.
     Wang Xiaoyu, a Senior 2 girl from Xichang, Sichuan Province, fainted (暈倒) in class when she heard
her classmates quarrel at the top of their voices. Quarrels between her parents also put the girl into a coma.
It is because she is suffering from depression (抑郁癥), caused by bad relations at home, doctors explained.
     "We don't get sick or stay well by ourselves," says Dr Robert Ferrer from the US. Ferrer shows that family
forces may explain up to a quarter of health problems, in his recent research. The genes you get from your
family may cause illness. If one of your parents has a heart attack, your risk of being affected may double.
But effects on health are not only written in our DNA.
     Unrelated people who live under the same roof also get similar problems. Diet, lifestyle and environment
affect our health, too. Ferrer's research also found that if teenagers feel they are ignored or unimportant at
home they are more likely to get sick.
     We may never fully understand all the effects that families have on our health. But just as individual (個別
的) problems can have effects on others, a small improvement can have big benefits, Ferrer said.

1. Which of the following can best explain why Wang Xiaoyu fainted in class?

A. Because her classmates often quarreled in class.
B. Because her parents used to quarrel.
C. Because of her depression caused by bad family relations.
D. Because her classmates shouted loudly at her.

2. According to Dr Ferrer, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. We get sick or stay well by ourselves.
B. Only the genes we get from our family have a big effect on our health.
C. Our health has nothing to do with diet, lifestyle and environment.
D. Teenagers who are ignored at home get sick more easily than those who are not.

3. The underlined word "coma" in Paragraph2 probably means _____.

A. surprise
B. faint
C. tiredness
D. sadness

4. The best title for this passage is _____.

A. Family relations
B. The reasons why we get sick
C. Family-another cause to health
D. A research about health