"If your preschoolers turn up their noses at carrots or celery,a small re?ward like a sticker for taking even a taste may help get them to eat previously disliked foods," a UK study said.

  Though it might seem obvious that a reward could encourage young chil?dren to eat their vegetables,the idea was actually controversial,researchers wrote in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. "That's because some studies have shown that rewards can backfire and cause children to lose interest in foods they already liked," said Jane Wardle,a researcher at University Col?lege London who worked on the study. Verbal praise,such as "Brilliant!You're a great vegetable taster. ” did not work as well.

  The study found that when parents gave their small children a sticker each time they took a "tiny taste" of disliked vegetables,it gradually changed their attitudes. The children were also willing to eat more of the vegetables— either carrots,celery,cucumber,red peppers,cabbage or sugar snap peas― in laboratory taste tests,the study said.

  Researchers randomly assigned (分派) 173 families to one of these groups. In one,parents used stickers to reward their children each time they took a tiny sample of disliked vegetables. The second group of parents used verbal praise. The third group,where parents used no special vegetablepro?moting methods,served as a "control".

  Parents in the reward groups offered their children a taste of the "target" vegetables every day of 12 days. Soon after,children in the sticker group were giving higher ratings to the vegetables―and were willing to eat more in the re?search lab,going from an average of 5 grams at the start to about 10        grams af?ter the 12-day experience. The turnaround also seemed to last,with pre?schoolers in the sticker group .still willing to eat more of the once disliked veg?etables three months later.

  Why didn't the verbal praise work? Wardle said the parents' words may have seemed' "insincere" to their children.

1. The purpose of writing the passage is         .

   A. to introduce a practical method of making children eat vegetables

   B. to show the procedure of an experiment on children's diet

   C. to explain why children hate to eat vegetables

   D. to present a proper way of verbal praise to parents

2. The underlined word "backfire" in Paragraph 2 probably means "         ”.

   A. shoot from behind the back

   B. make a fire in the backyard

   C. produce an unexpected result

   D. achieve what was planned

3. How did the researchers get their conclusion from the experiment?

   A. By comparison.

   B. By asking questions.

   C. By giving examples.

   D. By discussion.

4. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

   A. Children like rewards,not verbal praise.

   B. Parents should praise their children in a sincere tone.

   C. Children are difficult to inspire.

   D. Parents should give up verbal praise.

  I am serving in a company in Cheyenne. The work has been challenging,but the 1        are big,and I have been given a rise. The weather has been cold lately. 2       walking has been excellent exercise,I have realized that I need an?other form of 3       for the winter.

  My boyfriend Mike knew of this 4        and he researched some local sites for cheap cars. The minute he 5        me the information about a 1978 Ford Fairmont,I 6      this car was meant to be!I began communicating with the 7       ,a man named Dale Meyer. I found out that the car was bought by his grandfather and was still in good 8       . He and his two brothers had 9        learned to drive using this car.

  We 10       a price of $ 400,and fixed a time for a test drive. The day be?fore the test drive,I received a phone call from Dale. He 11       a little nerv?ous,but also excited. He asked simply, " You really 12        this car,don't you?"

  "Of course. I couldn't love it more," I gave an enthusiastic 13        He then said to me,"How about me giving it to you for a dollar?" His offer left me 14       . At that time words 15        me.

  I picked up my new Fairmont last night. Dale walked me around the car,16       its bumps and nicks (碰撞和裂紋) .As he was telling me the 17        of the car,it seemed that he was losing an old friend. As I was pulling 18       the driveway,he stopped me and said,"Don't forget to pass this 19        on."

  It was truly a 20       end.

  Never underestimate the kindness of strangers.

1. A. presents   B. awards   C. honours   D. rewards

2. A. Because   B. Although   C. If   D. When

3. A. entertainment   B. pleasure   C. transportation   D. training

4. A. habit   B. purpose   C. goal   D. desire

5. A. found   B. sent   C. asked   D. taught

6. A. knew   B. wondered   C. doubted   D. promised

7. A. producer   B. owner   C. customer   D. stranger

8. A. situation   B. state   C. operation   D. condition

9. A. slowly   B. actually   C. naturally   D. hardly

10. A. thought of   B. referred to   C. settled on   D. talked about

11. A. looked   B. sounded   C. felt   D. behaved

12. A. like   B. repair   C. drive   D. use

13. A. refusal   B. description   C. reply   D. attitude

14. A. careless   B. lifeless   C. motionless   D. speechless

15. A. left   B. failed   C. forgot   D. beat

16. A. searching   B. checking   C. explaining   D. touching

17. A. sufferings   B. stories   C. materials   D. troubles

18. A. away from   B. into   C. by   D. out of

19. A. car   B. custom   C. kindness   D. experience

20. A. sudden   B. perfect   C. foolish   D. forced  

5. Linda didn't get there on time because of the bad weather.       ，her car was in poor condition.

4. Don't look down upon the ugly little worm. In a few weeks,it       a beautiful butterfly.

3.       I met her,she was crying.

2.       you are tired;you have been painting the house all day.

1. It's        to open doors for ladies.

10. She wore a dress with a        (pattern) of flowers on it.

9. He picked out the        (ripe) peach of all and handed it to me.

8. He has 80       (cattle) on the farm.