A

It was a hot summer day. My dad and I were getting ready to go out for a ride on the boat with my friend Katie and the dog. That’s when the phone call came, the call that made that bright, beautiful day a cold, dark, gloomy (阴暗的) one.

I had just put on my suit, shorts, and tank top, and packed my bag with sunscreen and everything else I would need for the day. I ran into my parents’ room to find Dad. When I saw him on the phone, he was crying. I’d never seen my dad cry before. My heart sank. What possibly could have happened?

“Max, I’m so sorry,” I heard him say. That’s when it hit me. I knew that Suzie had died.

Max has been my dad’s best friend for years. Suzie, his daughter, had a rare disease that mainly affected her body. Her brain was OK. She knew what was going on; she knew that she had problems and was different than other kids. Once she told her dad that she wished she could die and be born in a different body. Yet although she couldn’t live a normal life, she was still happy.

When Suzie and I were little, we spent quite a bit of time together. As we grew up, we grew apart. She lived in New York, and I lived in the Midwest. When Suzie was ten she had to live in a hospital in Virginia. About eight months before she died, Max gave us her number at the hospital and we talked at least twice a week until the end. Suzie was always so excited to talk to us and wanted to know every detail about my life. She wanted to know everything I did and everything I ate. In a way, she lived through me.

After we found out about her death, we made our plans to go to New York for the funeral. When she was alive, I sent her a Beanie Baby and she sent one back to me. I had bought her another one but never had the chance to send it to her, so I took it to put in her casket (棺材).

Her funeral was very different than any funeral I’d ever been to. After they lowered her casket, each one of us put a shovelful of dirt over her. I remember crying so hard, I felt weak. My cheeks burned from the tears. My whole body was shaking as I picked up the shovel, but I’m glad I did it.

When Suzie and I first started calling one another, I thought it would be more of a burden on me, but I was completely wrong. I learned so much from her. She gave me more than I could ever give to her. I will never forget her or the talks we had. I now know that I must never take anything for granted, especially my health and the gift of life.

1. The author’s family cancelled their ride because _______.

A. the author’s friend Katie couldn’t join them for the ride

B. the weather was too terrible for a ride

C. Max’s daughter passed away

D. they couldn’t find their dog

2. What does the underlined part “In a way, she lived through me.” mean?

A. Suzie got to know what life outside hospital is like by sharing my experience.

B. Suzie was financially dependent of me.

C. Suzie was too weak to live her own life.

D. Suzie managed to pull through her illness with the sympathy from the author.

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A. Suzie was the only person helping the author with difficulties.

B. The author feared that she might also get the same disease as Suzie.

C. The author didn’t understand Suzie was her true friend until Suzie’s death.

D. The author enjoyed talking on the phone with Suzie.

4. What is the most important lesson the author learned from Suzie’s death?

A. Never let go of a friend even if you are apart.

B. Talking with a friend can cure your illness.

C. Be thankful for what we have in our life.

D. We can learn more from our friends than they do from us.



B

There is a famous story about British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He was writing a poem when he was interrupted by a knock at the door.

This was an age before telephones. Someone was delivering a message. When Coleridge got back to his poem, he had lost his inspiration. His poetic mood had been broken by the knock on his door. His unfinished poem, which could otherwise have been a masterpiece, would now never be more than a fragment (片段).

This story tells how unexpected communication can destroy an important thought. Which brings us to the cellphone.

The most common complaint about cellphones is that people talk on them to the annoyance of people around them. But more damaging may be the cellphone’s disruption (中断) of our thoughts.

We have already entered a golden age of little white lies about our cellphones, and this is by and large a healthy, protective development. “I didn’t hear it ring” or “I didn’t realize my phone had shut off” are among the lies we tell to give ourselves space where we’re beyond reach.

The notion of being unreachable is not a new concept – we have “Do Not Disturb” signs on the doors of hotel rooms. So why must we feel guilty when it comes to cellphones? Why must we apologize if we decide to shut off the phone for a while?

The problem is that we come from a long-established tradition of difficulty with distance communication. Until the recent mass deployment (使用) of cellphones, it was easy to communicate with someone next to us or a few feet away, but difficult with someone across town, the country or the globe. We came to take it for granted.

But cellphones make long-distance communication common, and endanger our time by ourselves. Now time alone, or a conversation with someone next to us which cannot be interrupted by a phone, is something to be cherished. Even cellphone devotees, myself usually included, can’t help at times wanting to throw their phone away, or curse the day they were invented.

But we don’t and won’t, and there really is no need. All that’s required to take back our private time is a general social recognition that we have the right to it.

In other words, we have to develop a healthy contempt (轻视) for the rings of our own phones. Given the ease of making and receiving cellphone calls, if we don’t talk to the caller right now, we surely will shortly later.

A cellphone call deserves no greater priority (优先考虑的事) than a random (随机的) word from the person next to us. Though the call on my cellphone may be the one–in–a–million from Steven Spielberg–who has finally read my novel and wants to make it his next movie. But most likely it is not, and I’m better off thinking about the idea I just had for a new story, or the slice of pizza I’ll eat for lunch.

By Paul Levinson

5. What is the point of the anecdote about the poet Coleridge in the first three paragraphs?

A. To direct readers’ attention to the main topic.

B. To show how important inspiration is to a poet.

C. To emphasize the disadvantage of not having a cellphone.

D. To encourage readers to read the works of this poet.

6. What does the writer think about people telling “white lies” about their cellphones?

A. It is a way of signaling that you don’t like the caller.

B. It is natural to tell lies about small things.

C. It is basically a good way to protect one’s privacy.

D. We should feel guilty when we can’t tell the truth.

7. According to the author, what is the most annoying problem caused by cellphones?

A. People get so obsessed with the cellphone rings that they fail to notice anything else.

B. People feel guilty when they are not able to answer their cellphones.

C. Cellphones interrupt people’s private time.

D. With cellphones it is no longer possible to be unreachable.

8. What does the last paragraph suggest?

A. A person who calls us from afar deserves more of our attention.

B. Steven Spielberg once called the author to talk about the author’s novel.

C. You should always finish your lunch before you answer a call on the cellphone.

D. Never let cellphones interfere too much with your life.

C

People are always saying that you should make friends with native speakers to practice the language. Now in the Internet age, that’s much easier.

The best way to strike up a friendship with English speakers online is to find those you share a common interest with. If you’re able to discuss a hobby like movies or basketball together it will be much easier to start those friendships.

Get personal

Getting involved in a forum based on your interests is also a great way to learn words that you might never have met in class.

Describe your personal interests

So, where do you go to find English speakers with like-minded interests? The most obvious places to look are Google and Yahoo. These popular Internet sites are bursting with groups and forums.

Once you’ve found a group that suits you, spend some time thinking about what you want to say in your first post. It’s a good idea to introduce yourself, give your nickname and age, say where you’re from, and tell what your interests are.

Ask a question

This is generally the fastest way to get involved in a forum and to introduce yourself to others. On a movie forum you could ask something like, “I’ve just seen the movie Revolutionary Road. I thought it was brilliant. Has anyone read the book?”

Then after you’ve met and bonded with an English speaker in a forum or group, try suggesting a time when you could chat using Skype. This free software allows you to make a telephone call over the Internet.

Websites to check out

●www.englishforums.com: To find someone to talk to using Skype, check out this site. Simply put Skype in the search engine and that will bring up the many people who have posted a desire to

practice their English using Skype. Its chatrooms are also good places to find English speakers.

●mylanguagexchange.com: The website is an online language exchange community. There are even lesson plans to help structure the conversation.

●www.englishonline.org.cn/en: The British Council’s English online website is another place with lively forums worth checking out. Or you could join a Facebook group. There are thousands on the website.

Online dos and don’ts

One common mistake people make when they approach English speakers online is to begin by saying that they want to be friends to improve their English.

While this may be the truth, don’t say it. It suggests you have little interest in a real friendship.

Be imaginative in approaching people. Perhaps you see that someone is from a certain country that you would like to visit. Tell them so, and then ask if they can tell you a bit about it. Then tell them about yours.

9. Who are most likely target readers for this article?

A. Native English speakers.

B. All Facebook users.

C. People wanting to make friends online.

D. English learners looking for ways to improve their language skills.

10. The point of “Online dos and don’ts” is to _______.

A. advise readers to hide their real purposes

B. suggest suitable ways of starting a dialogue

C. instruct readers on how to learn English

D. inform readers of specific web surfing rules

11. Where could you go if you wanted to learn how to start a conversation in English in a systematic way?

A. Google or Yahoo

B. mylanguagexchange.com

C. www.englishforums.com

D. www.englishonline.org.cn/en

12. According to the text, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Asking questions is the only way to get involved in a forum or a group.

B. Speaking with people with similar interests helps build up friendship.

C. Online chatting will replace traditional ways of language learning.

D. When introducing yourself to a forum or a group, you should explain why you want to take part.

D

Take a lot of junk food, feed it to some rats, and see what happens.

Scientist Paul Johnson and his team did just that to try to understand how parts of the brain play a role in obesity (肥胖).

The scientists observed that the more junk food the rats ate, the more they wanted to eat – a behavior very similar to that of rats addicted to heroin, a dangerous drug. Johnson said the experiment shows that the brain chemistry of obesity and drug addiction may be quite similar.

In their experiment, Johnson and his team studied the “pleasure center” of rats’ brains. The pleasure center is a complicated network of nerve cells. If the animal exercises or eats, the cells reward the animal by releasing chemicals into the body that make it feel good. And when the body feels good, the animal – or person – will want to do the behavior again.

Pleasure centers can release these chemicals in less healthy ways, too. Drugs like heroin can cause the pleasurable chemicals to be released.

For the experiment, Johnson fed foods like cheesecake to one group of rats. Food like this is high in calories and fat. Another group of rats got a regular diet. The rats that ate junk food started to eat more and more.

“They’re taking in twice the amount of calories as the control rats,” says Paul Kenny, one of Johnson’s colleagues.

Kenny and Johnson wanted to know what was going on in the brains of these rats. They first devised a way to deliver a small electrical charge to the rats’ brains. This electrical charge would stimulate the pleasure centers to release pleasure-causing chemicals. The rats could control how much stimulation – and how much pleasure – they received by running on a wheel. The more the rat ran, the more pleasure it received.

The rats that had been eating junk food started running more and more. This behavior suggested that the junk-food-eating rats needed more brain stimulation to feel good compared with rats on a normal diet. In other words, their pleasure centers were becoming less sensitive and the junk food didn’t make them feel good unless they ate more and more.

Experiments like this one could help scientists understand how chemicals in the brain contribute to obesity. With that information, they may be able to help people avoid obesity in the first place.

13. What was the purpose of the experiment mentioned in the article?

A. To find out how much junk food a rat can eat.

B. To understand the role the brain plays in obesity.

C. To learn about what makes people happy.

D. To study the effects of junk food on people.

14. According to the scientists, rats want to eat more and more junk food because _______.

A. junk food tastes really good

B. they need more nutrients to stay healthy

C. they need more junk food to stimulate their pleasure centers

D. the more junk food they eat, the hungrier they are

15. The scientists suggest it is actually _______ that makes the rats feel good.

A. chemicals in the brain

B. a large amount of calories

C. doing lots of sports

D. some kinds of food

16. According to the article, which of the following is TRUE?

A. Eating junk food makes the brain’s pleasure center more sensitive and release more chemicals.

B. The more the junk-food-eating rats ran, the more their obesity declined.

C. Scientists may invent ways to change the role the brain plays in obesity.

D. Taking regular exercise doesn’t help with obesity.

E

Italians like to say that when it comes to alcohol, they have a sipping (小酌) culture rather than a drinking culture. That means that while Italians may enjoy a glass of wine or beer, they don’t usually get very drunk.

That’s not true anymore. The new study by the Italian National Health Institute found that 63 percent of Italians under age 18 get drunk on the weekends. Now, the city of Milan has created a law that will stop anyone under 16 from buying alcohol. Anyone who sells or gives alcohol to a person under 16 can be fined up to $700.

Young people who feel that the new law is unfair should go to the US for some perspective (观点). The US has the highest drinking age in the world: It’s illegal for anyone under 21 to buy alcohol, and stores or restaurants that are caught selling alcohol to people under the legal age risk losing their licenses.

Many young Americans complain that the drinking laws are unfair: They are allowed to vote in elections and join the military (军队) at age 18, so why wait another three years just to buy a bottle of beer?

These young people have found help in an unusual place. Last year, more than 100 presidents of US universities joined together to ask lawmakers to consider changing the drinking age. They argued that the law doesn’t stop underage college kids from getting drunk – it just makes them want to drink more.

For now, the law seems unlikely to change. But US teenagers who want alcohol can go north to Canada, where the drinking age is 18-19, or south to Mexico where the legal age is 18. Throughout much of Asia, Africa and Europe, the legal drinking age ranges 16-18.

In plenty of places though, the official drinking age is ignored, and even young children can buy alcohol if they have the money to pay for it.

No matter how old you are, you should always be responsible with alcohol. Teenagers in Milan are now learning that their reckless (不顾后果的) drinking behavior may come at a high price.

By Ariel Lown Lewiton, 21st Teens Staff

17. The new law by the city of Milan _______.

A. aims to keep Italy’s sipping culture alive

B. forbids selling alcohol to people under 16

C. is welcomed by Italian young people

D. has reduced the number of underage youths getting drunk

18. Which of the following places has the lowest drinking age?

A. Milan  B. New York

C. Mexico   D. Canada

19. Many US university presidents want lawmakers to consider changing the drinking age because _______.

A. they have received complaints from many young Americans about the unfairness of the laws

B. they agree that people old enough to vote and join the army should be allowed to drink

C. they believe that the law is pushing underage youths toward alcohol instead of stopping them

D. they don’t want to see US teenagers going to neighboring countries for a drink

20. What can we infer from the passage?

A. Restaurants in the US don’t sell alcohol to people under 21 for fear of a $700fine.

B. The author thinks that US teenagers should go to Canada or Mexico to drink.

C. In many places around the world, shop owners don’t mind selling alcohol to underage customers.

D. Teens in Milan have to pay a lot of money for their reckless drinking behavior.

KEY to P6-7

1-4 CADC 5-8 ACCD

9-12 DBBB 13-16 BCAC

17-20 BACC

上期参考答案

D1 1-4 BCCD D2 1-5 CBGFE

D3 1-4 ABAC D4 1-4 DCCD

D5 1-5 DDCBC 6-10 DABDC

11-15 CBDCB 16-20 ACCBD