Do you love holidays but hate the increase weight that follow? You are not alone.
      Holidays are happy days with pleasure and delicious foods. Many people, however, are worried about the
weight that comes along with these delicious foods. 
      With proper planning, though, it is possible to control your weight. The idea is to enjoy the holidays but
not to eat too much. You don't have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy. The following suggestions
may be of some help to you.
      Don't miss meals. Before you leave home for a feast (宴會), have a small, low-fat snack. This may help
to keep you from getting too excited before delicious foods. 
      Begin with clear soup and fruit or vegetables.
      A large glass of water before you eat may help you feel full.
      Use a small plate; a large plate will encourage you to have more than enough.
      Better not have high-fat foods. Dishes that look oily or creamy have much fat in them.
      Choose lean meat. Fill your plate with salad and green vegetables.
      If you have a sweet tooth, try mints (薄荷) and fruits. They don't have fat content as cream and chocolate.
      Don't let exercise take a break during the holidays. A 20 minute walk after a meal can help burn off excess
calories.

1. Holidays are happy days with pleasure but they may ______.

A. bring weight problems
B. bring you much trouble in your life
C. make you worried about your foods
D. make you hate delicious foods

2. In order to really enjoy your holidays without putting on weight, you d 'better ______.

A. drink much water and have vegetables only
B. not eat too much food in high fat
C. not accept invitations to feasts
D. turn away from delicious foods

3. According to the passage, ______ is a necessary part to stop you from putting on weight.

A. vegetables
B. water
C. calorie of energy
D. physical exercise

4. Many people can't help putting on weight after the holidays because they ______.

A. can't control themselves
B. go to too many feasts
C. enjoy delicious foods
D. can't help turning away from the foods

5. Excess calories can be found in your body in the form of ______.

A. energy
B. fat
C. food
D. something invisible

      Where and how you eat are just as important as what you eat. Take this test to find your eating style
to make sure you're getting the nutrition (營養(yǎng)) you need.
      Which statements sound like you? 
      ● Group 1:
      □ I like to make my plate look pretty before I dig in for the first bite.
      □ I often help my parents make recipes.
      □ I could win the first prize in the "World's Slowest Eater" contest.
      ● Group 2:
      □ The crumbs (面包屑) in the sofa are mine-I eat while watching TV.
      □ I can finish a whole box of snacks quickly while I'm doing something else.
      □ Sometimes I'm surprised to find my plate empty. Where did all the food go? 
      ● Group 3:
      □ Sometimes I eat my dinner standing up. 
      □ I spend more time in the drive-through than at the dinner table.
      □ Breakfast? Who has time for breakfast?
      If you answered mostly Group 1: You enjoy everything about food, from cooking it to enjoying it at
the table. Eating slowly is a good thing-it gives your brain time to know when you are full.
      If you answered mostly Group 2: You can do lots of things at once. But if you eat while you're
distracted (精神不集中), you won't really enjoy your food and might eat more than you need. Instead of
snacking while you watch TV or do homework, look for other things to do with your hands.
      If you answered mostly Group 3: You're really busy. Try to make time for at least one sit-down meal
a day. When you're on the go, don't eat salty, high-fat foods just because they're convenient. Pack healthy
snacks in small bags that you can eat on your way out the door.

1. The passage is mainly about _____.

A. how to keep healthy
B. whether you eat a balanced diet
C. what your eating style is
D. how to form a good eating habit

2. Which of the following matches Group 1?

A. I like washing plates.
B. I love buying cookers.
C. I enjoy doing cooking by myself.
D. I do everything slowly and carefully.

3. If Tom answered mostly Group 2, which advice will you give him?

A. Place healthy snacks at hand while doing homework.
B. Hold a ball in his hand while watching TV.
C. Eat high-fat foods slowly and carefully.
D. Help his parents make recipes now and then.

4. The underlined word "drive-through" (in Group 3) refers to _____.

A. a place where you can buy food without leaving your car
B. a dining car from which you can buy food
C. a company which can send food to your home
D. a restaurant where people eat at the dinner table

     The island nation of Tuvalu (圖瓦盧) in the Pacific Ocean wants the bigger countries of the world to do
something about climate change. And it's not just for the good of the planet: Tuvalu could be covered by the
sea in less than 50 years if the planet gets much hotter.
     Tuvalu has no industry, burns little petrol, and creates less carbon pollution than a small town in America.
However, this tiny place is on the front line of climate change. The increase in ocean temperatures and the
rising sea level -all resulted from a warming atmosphere-are making trouble for Tuvalu.
     Sea level rise is the greatest problem. With an average elevation (高度) of 6 feet above sea level, Tuvalu
doesn't have far to go. Tuvalu's highest elevation is 4.6 meters-15 feet-but most of it is no more than a meter
above the sea. Several times each year the regular lunar cycle of tides (潮水), riding on the ever higher sea
level, brings the Pacific waters over onto roads and into neighborhoods. Sometimes a high tide can flood roads
and run across the whole land. You can never separate the sea from the land, so some natives warned visitors,
"You'd better not run after dark, for you may fall into the sea."

1. What is the greatest problem Tuvalu is facing now?

A. It has no industry at all.
B. It has little petrol to burn.
C. It will sink into the sea in the near future.
D. The climate there has changed much.

2. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. Tuvalu is a small country.
B. Tuvalu doesn't create much carbon pollution.
C. Most of Tuvalu is no more than a meter above the sea.
D. A small town in America is on the front line of climate change.

3. What is the title of this passage?

A. Endangered Tuvalu
B. Tuvalu, an Island Nation
C. Flooded Tuvalu
D. Global Warming

     Early rising is helpful in more than one way. First, it helps us to have good health. We all need fresh air.
It makes our health better to take morning exercises. The air is never so fresh as early in the morning. Early
rising helps us in our studies. In the morning we learn more quickly and find it easy to learn something by
heart.
     Early rising makes people able to plan the work for the day. We can't work well without a good plan. Just
as the plan for the year should be made in the spring, the plan for a day should be made in the morning. Early
rising gives us enough time to get ready for our work, such as to wash our hands and eat our breakfast. So
the popular saying says, "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."

1. What does "early rising" mean in the passage?

A. waking up
B. getting up
C. have breakfast
D. making a day's plan

2. Why does the passage advise us to take exercises early in the morning?

A. Because we can save much time.
B. Because we are not busy in the morning.
C. Because air in the morning is very fresh.
D. Because we don't need to prepare for breakfast.

3. We can work well with _____.

A. enough time
B. a good reading
C. clean hands
D. a good plan

     This is not a diet. It's a simple way to lose weight And you don't even have to give up the food you love
or join a gym. You just follow some habits that thin people have. Keep them, and you'll become thin.
      (1)Wake-up
      When you wake up in the morning, sit up slowly without using your hands. With legs straight out, bend
(彎曲) forward until you feel sore in your back. It will burn about 10 calories (熱量單位, 卡路里).
      (2)Start with soup
      When you have a meal, order a clear soup, and have it before having the main food. In this way, you'll
feel fuller, so you'll eat less when the main food comes. 
      (3)An apple (or more) a day
      Apples are full of fiber (纖維) and water, so your stomach will want less. The study shows that people
who eat at least three apples a day lose weight.
      (4)Stand up and walk around
      Every time you use the mobile phone, stand up and walk around. Heavy people sit on average (平均) two
and a half hours more each day than thin people. This skill is very important as standing up and walking
around will burn 50 or more calories.
      Use these skills, and you will have a big weight loss.

1. What should we have first if we want to eat less main food?

A. Soup.
B. Ice cream.
C. Salad.
D. Cheese.

2. Why does eating apples make one's stomach want less food?

A. Because apples are delicious.
B. Because apples are full of fiber and water.
C. Because apples are sour.
D. Because only apples are filled with calories.

3. Which of the following may the author disagree?

A. Sitting up slowly without using your hands helps burn calories.
B. Eating apples every day is good for people's health.
C. You have to join a gym if you want to lose weight.
D. It' s good to walk around while talking on the mobile phone.

4. What's the purpose of the passage?

A. To give some advice on how to lose weight.
B. To advise people to eat apples every day.
C. To tell people how to enjoy a better life.
D. To advise people to give up bad habits.

5. In which part of a newspaper would you most probably read the passage?

A. Shopping.
B. Teaching.
C. Family.
D. Health.

Dear Editor (編輯),
     I used to be a doctor in a children's hospital. Sometimes I treated children who had been poisoned (中毒)
by medicines for older family members. The children didn't know the medicine was dangerous; they just knew
it tasted sweet. Children easily opened the bottle that we now use in China.
     Some days ago I talked about medicine with an American. He showed me a kind of plastic bottle. The
design was very quite simple and I'm sure our Chinese factories could produce these bottles. The top of the
bottle locks but can be opened by pressing down on it while turning. This is difficult for most young children
to do, though grown-ups can open these bottles very easily.
     I'm certain that the price of making such tops would be very low. As a doctor, I'd love to see this done.
And most parents would be grateful.
                                                                                                                                               Yours,
                                                                                                                                                Li Hua

1. The writer's job in the hospital was mainly to _____.

A. treat sick children
B. treat poisoned children
C. give medicine to people
D. give medicine to children

2. The doctor seems to be _____.

A. happy about China's hospital
B. angry with what has happened
C. anxious to solve the problem
D. pleased with his invention

3. The doctor thinks that we should _____.

A. study the Americans
B. buy that kind of bottle
C. produce this kind of plastic bottle
D. turn to Americans for help

4. The letter was written to the editor to ask for _____.

A. money from the newspaper
B. the plastic bottles from the readers
C. medicine from the editor
D. support from the public

     On a rainy day, you will see many streams of muddy (多泥的) water running down the slopes (山坡) of
a hill. The water is muddy because it washes away soil from the hill slopes.
      Sometimes soil is blown away by strong winds. When the soil is carried away by water or wind, we say
that the land is eroded (侵蝕). This is known as soil erosion.
      Plants cannot grow on eroded land. There is not enough soil on eroded land to give them the things they
need. Plants need water and salts from the soil. 
      We can do a number of things to stop soil erosion. This is called soil conservation (保護(hù)).
      One way of soil conservation on flat, open ground is to grow small plants such as grasses. Their roots
hold the soil tightly together. Another way is to plant trees around an open field. Thus soil erosion by strong
winds cannot take place. Rows of trees act as a very big wall.
      Soil erosion on slopes can be stopped by cutting "steps" called terraces (梯田). Water carrying soil cannot
run straight down the slope now. It has to run down the terraces. This slows down the flow of the water.
Most of the soil in the water is left behind on the terraces.
      There are some other ways of soil conservation.

1. On a rainy day the water running down the slopes of a hill is muddy because _____.

A. there is no terrace on the slopes
B. there is no small plant on the slopes
C. it washes away soil from the slopes
D. there is too much soil on the slopes

2. Plants cannot grow on eroded land because _____.

A. there is a lot of sand
B. there is not enough water and salts
C. there is no water
D. the land is too hard

3. One way of soil conservation on flat, open ground is _____.

A. to grow small plants such as grasses
B. to plant trees around an open field
C. to add fertilizer to the soil
D. A and B

4. From the passage we learn that there are _____ ways to reserve soil.

A. only three
B. two
C. more than three
D. six

     Do you know about a series of books that say they are "for dummies"? These American self-help books
have been translated into more than thirty-nine languages including Chinese, Arabic, Russian, French, German,
Greek and Spanish.
     "Dummy" is a word for a stupid person. The dummies books are not really for stupid people. They are
designed to show people how to do something they may never have tried before, like painting a house or
learning a language. The books all say in a funny way that they are for dummies, such as World History for
Dummies, Rabbits for Dummies, Chinese Cooking for Dummies, and Wedding Planning for Dummies. The
first such book, DOS for Dummies, was published in 1991. It helped people learn how to use the DOS
operating system for computers. Since then, more than one hundred fifty million dummies books have been
sold.
     The dummies.com website explains the idea behind the books. It says that they show that people can be
taught to do anything. First they can make fun of ideas that are difficult to understand. Then they show how
the information can be interesting and easy. The publishers say that the books do not provide more information
than necessary. They give readers just enough information to do what they want. They say that the dummies
books give the best and easiest way to do something. And the books use simple and easy language.
     There are more than one thousand different dummies books. A report in New York Times says that the
top-selling dummies books are those that explain technology and personal finance.
     The publishers say that the best-selling dummies books are those providing information many people need-
like information about diseases, education and cooking. People interested in opera, car repair and wine can also
find dummies books to help them. And there are even more dummies books to come. The publishers say that
they publish about two hundred new dummies books every year.

1. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A. Books for Dummies
B. The Easiest, the Best
C. Self-Help Books
D. New Ideas behind the Books

2. According to the dummies.com website, people can _____ with the help of dummies books.

A. simplify some personal things
B. do anything they want
C. become expert in any field
D. learn any foreign language

3. The dummies books have been popular because _____.

A. they provide just what is needed and are easy to understand
B. they provide abundant information on the concerning subject
C. people can learn to do anything with just one copy
D. people can save lots of money through self-teaching

4. According to New York Times, we know that books on _____ sell best.

A. technology and personal finance
B. opera and car repairing
C. diseases and education
D. cooking and world history

    The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and modern communication means.
Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. One of the
biggest problems is pollution. To pollute means to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We
see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.
     Man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problem
was not so serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was
dirty in one place, man moved to another place. But this is no longer true.
     Man is now slowly polluting the whole world.
     Air pollution is still the most serious. It's bad for all living things in the world, but it is not the only one
kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us
angry more easily.
     Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop people from burning coal in houses and
factories in the city, and from putting dirty smoke into the air. Pollution by SO₂ is now the most dangerous
kind of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic. We are sure that if there are fewer people driving, there
will be less air pollution. 
     The earth is our home. We must take care of it. That means keeping the land, water and air clean. And
we must take care of the rise in pollution at the same time.

1. _____, our world is becoming much smaller.

A. Because of the rise in pollution
B. Thanks to science development
C. Because the earth is being polluted day and night
D. Because the earth is blown away by the wind every year

2. Hundreds of years ago, life was _____ it is today.

A. much easier than
B. as easy as
C. much harder than
D. as hard as

3. Pollution comes in many ways. We can even hear it. Here "it" means _____.

A. rubbish (垃圾)
B. noise pollution
C. air pollution
D. water pollution

4. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Many countries are making rules to fight pollution.
B. The pollution of the earth grows as fast as the world population does.
C. The problem of pollution is not so serious because there are not so many people living on the earth.
D. If people could go to work by bus or bike instead of car or motorbike, it would be helpful in fighting
     against the problem of SO₂.

     What is "S" Plan? If you don't know the "coined word," you are dropped behind. Reflecting (反映) a
series of new ideas towards health, "S" Plan, the new trend in 2009's healthy project, is made up of several
words with "S" as the initial letter (首字母).
     Sleep better
     Sleeping is very important in our daily life. Good sleep means a good beginning next day. That's why
sleeping is considered as the first step among all "S" steps. To get the aim, you'd better give up bad living
habits like smoking and overdrinking, and do more exercise, such as Yoga and Pilates to relax yourself.
     Be strong
     The word strong here does not mean a powerful body only; it also refers to a strong personality (性格).
Today, no matter whether you are male or female, you have to bear lots of pressures. So in 2009, you have
to be a strong person to adapt the busy modern life.
      Become slim
      How to become slim has always been a hot topic among office ladies. However, here "slim" doesn't
mean bony but refers to a kind of fit shape. We all know that obesity (肥胖) arouses many diseases, while
too bony causes health problems as well. So, do some exercise to become slim and keep yourself healthy.
      Smile confidently
      Smile is a good way to release your pressure and get more confidence.
      Have a sunny heart
      Many people want to know how to get rid of the gloomy (郁悶的) mood and have a sunny heart. There
are lots of ways, such as going out with friends, taking a short trip, having a get-together with your family.
Sometimes, even a small thing, such as a flower can light you up! 
     Smart adds your charms
     It is said that girls are praised beautiful because they are smart and intelligent. As time goes, this concept
(觀念) has been approved by more and more people. No matter you're male or female, learning as much as
you can, grasping as many skills as you can. Knowledge makes you more attractive.

1. "S" Plan is actually _____.

A. a kind of word game with some words beginning with "S"
B. some new ideas towards health in both mind and body
C. a new program of making up new words in 2009
D. a plan that keeps you to follow the trend of 2009

2. What does the underline sentence in the first paragraph mean?

A. It is a fashion to make up new words in 2009.
B. To keep up with times you should know what the trend is at the moment.
C. If you don't know what is "S" Plan, you are out of date.
D. If you don't know the meaning of coined words, you are behind the times.

3. To be a beautiful girl, you should _____ according to the passage.

A. keep thin as much as possible
B. have enough sleep
C. smile attractively
D. have a lot of knowledge

4. Why do you need to be strong?

A. There are lots of pressures in busy modern life.
B. Obesity causes a lot of serious diseases.
C. It can make you smile at difficulties in life.
D. It can help you to get rid of bad mood.