Putting in water fountains (飲水器) at schools, and teaching children about the health benefits of water, could reduce their risk of getting extra pounds, reports a new study that is published in the latest issue of the journal Pediatrics.

The findings are based on a survey in 32 elementary schools of two German cities, Dortmund and Essen. The researchers, led by Rebecca Muckelbauer, a nutritionist(營(yíng)養(yǎng)學(xué)家) at the Research Institute of Child Nutrition Dortmund, weighed about 3,000 children, and asked them about their beverage consumption(飲料消費(fèi)量).

At the beginning of the school year, the experts had water fountains added to 17 of the schools. The scientists also worked with teachers to carry out educational programs that promote the benefits of drinking water. In contrast to schools in the United States, there are very few schools in Germany that have water fountains.

At the beginning of the study, there were no big differences in the number of overweight children in the different groups. But by the end of the school year, children in the schools with water fountains were 31 per cent less likely to gain extra pounds, compared to kids who went to other schools, where water drinking was not encouraged.

Children in the schools with fountains increased their water consumption from about 3 up to 4 glasses a day, while those in the other schools continued to drink an average of 3 glasses. Over the research, the number of overweight kids upped from 384 to 385 out of 1,641 at the schools with water fountains. In comparison, the number of overweight kids at the other schools increased from 339 to 364 out of 1,309, Dr. Muckelbauer said.

The experts cannot make any final conclusions and explain why the students who were encouraged to drink water were less likely to gain extra weight. Dr. Muckelbauer noted that according to a few other studies, drinking of water increases the rate at which calories are burned, while some other research suggested that water may temporarily decrease appetite (食欲). 

1.What do we know about the survey from the passage?

A. The teachers were also encouraged to drink water.

B. The students surveyed were all overweight.

C. It surveyed children in the countryside.    

D. It lasted for a whole school year.

2. What can be learned from the last paragraph?

A. Drinking water certainly decreases appetite.

B. Further research is needed to confirm the finding.

C. The experts will encourage all the students to drink water.

D. Why students drinking more get less pounds will be clear soon.

3. What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Schools with water fountains          

B. Drink more water and become thinner

C. Water fountains at schools help kids stay thin

D. Water consumption at some German schools

While I was looking out of the window, I saw an old homeless man crossing the street, carrying a suitcase.
Many times I looked on far away, feeling  36  for the homeless, but did nothing. I did  37 some money to homeless people when I walked by, but never really interacted (互動(dòng)) with them.
Though we  38  doing something, yet we push it into the deep corners of our heart because we’re too busy, too  39  , or too afraid of strangers.
Today I did what I  40  thought I could. I walked out and ran after the old man. When I  41 him, I asked him if I could buy him  42 . He looked surprised, but accepted it  43 , warning me that he had a good appetite！
I was  44  and excited at the same time. We went to a 45  nearby. I told the waiter to give him whatever he wanted and I would  46  it.
I sat down for a moment asking the old man where he 47 . He told me he was sleeping behind the court house  48  it was warm there. I promised to give him a few jackets to keep him warm. To my surprise, he 49  some inexpensive jewelry on the table and chose a glass necklace for me,  50 someone else had given it to him.
I told him I bought him lunch not to get something  51 . But he insisted on my having it.
When it was time to go back to work, I  52 for not being able to stay with him and promised to sit down with him for lunch next time and  53  more.

A major source of teen stress is school exams, and test anxiety is not uncommon. When you recognize your teen is under stress, how can parents help your teen stay calm before an exam?

Be involved. Parents need to be involved in their teen's work.    1.  What they look for is your presence - to talk, to cry, or simply to sit with them quietly. Communicate openly with your teen. Encourage your teen to express his worries and fears, but don't let them focus on those fears.

Help them get organized.   2.   Together, you and your teen can work out a time-table in which she can study for what she knows will be on the test.

Provide a calm setting. Help your teen set up a quiet place to study and protect his privacy. Give them a nutritious diet. It's important for your teen to eat a healthy, balanced diet during exam times to focus and do her best.    3.   If this happens, encourage your teen to eat light meals or sandwiches. A healthy diet, rather than junk food, is best for reducing stress.

  4.  Persuade your teenager to get some sleep and/or do something active when she needs a real break from studying. Making time for relaxation, fun, and exercise are all important in reducing stress. Help your teen balance her time so that she will feel comfortable taking time out from studying to spend time with friends or rest.

Show a positive attitude.   5.  Your panic, anxiety and blame contribute to your teen’s pressure. Make your teen feel accepted and valued for her efforts. Most importantly, reassure your teen that things will be all right, no matter what the results are.

A．A parent's attitude will dictate their teen's emotions.

B．Exam stress can make some teens lose their appetite.

C．They will only make the situation worse.

D．Encourage your teen to relax.

E. The best thing is simply to listen.

F. Help your teen think about what she has to study and plan accordingly.

G. Your teen may also make negative comments about themselves.

閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的A、B、C和D項(xiàng)中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)。

A

Imagine landing in a foreign country where you cannot speak the language, understand the culture and don’t know anybody. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a friend who could help you out?

John Smith, an English explorer who landed in America in 1607, found the best friend ever. She was a Native American named Pocahontas (1595-1617). And she did more than teach Smith the language: she saved his life, twice.

Smith was captured by members of Pocahontas’s tribe (部落) and was going to be killed. But for some reason, the Chief’s daughter, Pocahontas, felt sorry for Smith (who was probably the first white man she had ever seen) and threw her body over his to protect him. Smith returned safely to the small village he was living in.

During the winter the English settlers did not know how to get food from nature. Pocahontas often brought food for Smith and his friends.

A year later Pocahontas’s father tried to kill Smith again because the Native Americans were very scared the English would try to take over their land. Pocahontas warned him and he was able to escape.

Later she became a Christian and eventually married an Englishman named John Rolfe.

She spent the last year of her life in London.

Pocahontas has become an American legend (傳奇). Her life story has been re-created in many books and films, including Disney’s 1995 film, Pocahontas.

One of the reasons she is so popular is that many Europeans look at Pocahontas as an excellent example of how a minority can adjust into the majority. Pocahontas is also respected because of her selfless love. She proved that people can be kind and loving even to people of a different race or culture. John Smith was very different from Pocahontas but she could see he was a good man and that was all that mattered. No race or country owns goodness, love and loyalty.

1.What difficulties might early European settlers meet in America EXCEPT ______?

A. the fierce conflict with Native Americans

B. bad-tempered natives who enjoyed killing

C. unfamiliarity with a foreign land

D. lack of food in winter

2.Pocahontas saved John Smith twice because ______.

A. he was the first white man she had ever seen in her life

B. she wanted to become a Christian and marry an Englishman

C. she believed in general kindness even to people of a different race

D. she was on the settlers’ side and against her cruel father

3.Which is NOT an element to make Pocahontas a legend?

A. Her tribal background and her marriage to a white settler.

B. Her selfless help to people regarded as enemy of her tribe.

C. Her complicated life story different from common people’s.

D. The recreation of her life story in the 1995 Disney film.

4.According to the text, Europeans think Pocahontas _____.

A. was brave to break away from her own tribe

B. set a good example for other natives to accept the white settlers

C. was a selfless Christian who can love her enemy

D. was open to a more advanced culture

5.What can we infer from the passage?

A. The battles between early settlers and Native Americans resulted from their               fighting for land.

B. The Europeans think the early settlers should have learned to adjust to the local cultures.

C. The creation of America is based on the settlers’ victory over the Native  Americans.

D. People from different cultures can never really get along well with each other.

B

Chinese students aren’t the only ones who have a sleep loss problem. In Australia, teenagers are also missing out on, on average, one hour’s sleep every night during the school week.

Organized activities and homework push bedtimes later, the first large-scale Australian study of children’s sleeping habits has revealed (顯示). Their sleep deprivation (剝奪) is enough to cause “serious drop-offs in school performance, attention and memory”, and governments should consider later or flexible school start times, said the study’s leader, Tim Olds.

 His survey, of more than 4,000 children aged 9 to 18, found those who slept least did not watch more television but spent their time socializing (相處) with family or friends or listening to music.

“Almost all children get up at 7 or 7:15 — they have to get to school on time,” said Olds. He favors a later start over an earlier finish because he believes organized sports and activities would still consume the latter end of the day.

Olds’research also establishes lack of sleep as a cause of weight gain in children, and a possible source of future problems with depression, anxiety and increased susceptibility (易感性) to illness.

It was already known that overweight children sleep less, but Professor Olds found sleep duration (時(shí)長(zhǎng)) was strongly linked to weight across the full range of body sizes. The thinnest children sleep 20 minutes more than the obese. This showed being overweight had no specific effect on sleep patterns, and it was more likely that shorter sleep times stimulate (刺激) appetite and make kids hungry.

The US National Sleep Foundation says teenagers aged 13 to 18 need eight to nine hours’ sleep a night. Younger school-aged kids need 9 to 11 hours.

On that basis, Professor Olds said, half of Australian children are under-sleeping on weekdays and a quarter on weekends.

6. The Australian students surveyed don’t sleep enough because they spend more time on the following EXCEPT _____.

A. organized activities and homework

B. communication with friends and family

C. watching television programs

D. enjoying music 

7. What effects does lack of sleep directly have on the students according to the survey?

A. They become overweight but begin to eat less than before.

B. They feel more depressed and anxious about their school work.

C. They are more likely to be affected with illness in the future.

D. They pay less attention in class and their memory declines.

8. Which of the following suggestions did Mr. Olds raise?

A. The students should go to bed earlier to have longer sleeping time.

B. The students should participate less in organized activities.

C. The school should put off the start time in the morning.

D. The school should finish earlier in the afternoon.

9. What does "obese" in the sixth paragraph mean?

A. average      B. fat     C. sleepless   D. overeating

10. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Australian students usually take part in activities in the afternoon.

B. More students are short of sleep on weekends than on weekdays.

C. Being overweight has an effect on the length of the sleeping time.

D. The survey suggests that teenagers need 8-9 hours’ sleep a night.

C

By day he is just a normal cat but when the lights go out, he glows (發(fā)光) in the dark.

Scientists have genetically modified (更改) a cat as part of an experiment that could lead to treatments for diseases.

Named Mr. Green Genes, he looks like a six-month-old cat but, under ultraviolet (紫外線的) light, his eyes, gums (牙齦) and tongue glow green. That is the result of a genetic experiment at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species in New Orleans, US.

Mr. Green Genes is the first fluorescent (熒光的) cat in the US and probably the world, said Betsy Dresser, the center's director.

The researchers made him so they could learn whether a gene could be introduced harmlessly into a cat's genetic sequence (次序).

If so, it would be the first step in a process that could lead to the development of ways to treat diseases via gene therapy (治療).

The gene, which was added to Mr. Green Genes' DNA, has no effect on his health, Ms Dresser said.

Cats are ideal for this project because their genetic makeup is similar to that of humans, said Dr Martha Gomez, a scientist at the center.

To show that the gene went where it was supposed to go, the researchers settled on one that would glow.

The gene "is just a marker"，said Leslie Lyons, an assistant professor at the University of California, Davis. Lyons is familiar with the center's work.

 "The glowing part is the fun part," she said.

 Glowing creatures made international news earlier this month when the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists who had discovered the gene through their work with jellyfish (水母).

11.Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A. A Glowing Cat                  B. Mr. Green Genes

C. One Cat’s Life                  D. An experiment on cats

12. What can we conclude from the passage?

A. Fortunately, scientists have found ways to treat diseases via gene therapy.

B. Scientists think cats’ genetic makeup is the same as that of human beings.

C. Three scientists who had discovered the gene were given Nobel Prize in  Physics.

D. Scientists have managed to introduce a gene into a cat’s genetic sequence.               

13. What does “settled on” most probably mean in Paragraph 9?

A. chose         B. killed        C. took          D. raised

14. From the passage we can see that ____.

A. Mr. Green Genes was made by researchers to treat diseases

B. the cat named Mr. Green Genes can glow when it is dark

C. Mr. Green Genes is the first fluorescent cat in the world

D. Mr. Green Genes is a cat of seven months old up to now

15. Which of the following is WRONG according to the text?

A. The gene added to Mr. Green Genes’ DNA doesn’t affect its health at all.

B. The scientists came up with the idea of the glowing genes totally for fun.

C. Earlier this month glowing creatures became news all through the world.

D. Scientists had discovered the gene from the jellyfish they worked with.

閱讀下面短文，按照句子結(jié)構(gòu)的語(yǔ)法性和上下文連貫的要求，在空格處填入一個(gè)適當(dāng)?shù)脑~或使用括號(hào)中詞語(yǔ)的正確形式填空。

Why is pink or purple a color for girls and blue or brown for boys?

The answer depends largely ?? 1.?? cultural values as well as personal experiences. To the Egyptians, green was a color ?? 2.?? represented the hope and joy of spring, while for Muslims, it means heaven. Red is a symbol of good luck in many cultures. During the Spring Festival in China, children ?? 3.?? (give) money in a red envelope to bring good fortune in the New Year. For many nations, blue is a symbol of protection and religious beliefs. Greek people often wear a blue necklace hoping to protect ?? 4.?? against evils（災(zāi)禍）.

People’s ?? 5.?? (choose) of colors is also influenced by their bodies’ reactions toward them. Green is said to be ?? 6.?? most restful color. It has the ability to reduce pain and relax people both mentally ?? 7.?? physically. People ?? 8.? (work) in green environment have been found to have fewer stomach aches.

Red can cause a person’s blood pressure to rise and increase people’s appetites（食欲）. Many decorators will include different shades of red in the restaurant. And many commercial websites will have a red “Buy Now” button because red is a color that ?? 9.?? (easy) catches a person’s eye.

Blue is another calming color. Unlike red, blue is believed to cause people to lose appetite. So ?? 10.?? you want to eat less, some suggest that eating from blue plates can help.