Of course, she wasn’t really my aunt and, out of fear, I never called her that to her face. I only referred to her as “My Aunt Fannie” because the name always made my father laugh quietly and gave my mother cause to look strictly at both of us—at me for being disrespectful of my elder and at my father for encouraging my bad behavior. I enjoyed both reactions so I looked for every opportunity to work the name into as many conversations as possible.

As a young woman, my mother had worked in the kitchen of a large Victorian farmhouse. During those years my mother helped Aunt Fanny make the best blueberry jam (蓝莓酱) ever tasted by anyone in Glenfield. She was well-known for her jam and for never sharing the recipe with others. Even though my mother knew the recipe by heart, as long as Aunt Fannie was alive, she never made the jam without Aunt Fannie in our kitchen to direct the process and preserve the secret.

Each August, my mother would prepare me for Aunt Fannie’s visit. One year, after I had helped with the jam process Aunt Fannie gave me a coin and then made me promise that I would never spend it. “Hold onto this coin,” she said, “and someday you will be rich. I still have my very first coin, given to me by my grandmother.” So I kept the coin in a small box and waited to become rich.

I now have the blueberry jam recipe and the coin from Aunt Fannie. In people’s eyes Aunt Fannie's success resulted from that secret recipe. But to me, it was just a common recipe. Neither have significantly made me become a rich person, but I keep them as reminders to hold onto the valuable things in life. Money can make you feel rich for a while, but it is the relationships and the memories of time spent with friends and family that truly leave you wealthy. And that is a fortune that anyone can build.

1.Why did the author always use the name “My Aunt Fannie” in conversations?

A. She was frightened of Aunt Fannie.

B. She liked Aunt Fannie’s recipe.

C. She enjoyed her parents’ reactions.

D. She greatly respected “Aunt Fannie”.

2.The underlined word “she” in Paragraph 2 refers to ______.

A. Aunt Fannie

B. the author’s grandmother

C. the author’s mother

D. Aunt Fannie’s grandmother

3.In the last paragraph, the author encourages readers to______.

A. hold onto the first coin in life

B. make as many friends as possible

C. make money with their own hands

D. spend more time with family and friends

4.What could be the best title for this passage?

A. The Key to Success

B. Blueberry Jam Recipe

C. A Fortune Built from a Coin

D. A Relationship of Trust

On August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley saved me.

The previous afternoon, I played with my six-year-old peers in Heather Peters’ backyard. I was enjoying my cake, when Heather asked me where my sleeping bag was. Only then did I know this party was a sleepover. The word “sleep-over” to a six-year-old bed-wetter is like what “cancer” means to an adult. But what if I told them I was a bed-wetter? At least with cancer, people gather at your bedside instead of running from it.

I thought of a way to escape. I would explain that I needed my mother's permission to spend the nights. But as I called my Mom, Heather stood beside me to listen. She granted permission! Then I would be sleeping in the same living room as the other girls. I didn't bring my own pajamas (睡衣),so Mrs. Peters offered me Heather's pajamas.

As the other girls drifted into their sweet dreams, I tried to stay awake. “Do I need to go again? I'll stay up to go one more time.. .”.Of course , I finally fell asleep.

The next morning , I was the first to wake up. I was warm! I lay in panic for what seemed like hours before the other girls started to wake up. I did the only thing I could do — I pretended that the bed-wetting didn't happen. I got up, took off Heather's pajamas and changed into my clothes like the other girls.

Mrs. Peters walked into the room, and before she could say anything, she stepped right onto the pile of my wet pajamas. My heart stopped as I watched her face burn red. “WHO DID THIS?” She screamed, with a look so frightening. Should I answer? And that was when it happened — Mr. Peters came in and grabbed his wife , ‘‘Elvis Presley died!”

The news of the King's death overtook Mrs. Peters, and I ,was spared. I got home without the other girls knowing what had happened.

1.The author had to spend the night at Peters' because ________.

A. she enjoyed her cake there

B. the famous singer Elvis Presley died that night

C. her mother allowed her to do so

D. It was a routine of the party

2.Mrs. Peters got angry because ________.

A. she found the wet pajamas

B. Elvis Presley passed away

C. her husband was rude to her

D. all the girls slept at her house

3.From the story, we know Mrs. Peters was ________.

A. a bad-tempered woman

B. a fan of Elvis Presley

C. a woman for perfection

D. a woman who hated to wash pajamas

4.The passage is mainly about ________.

A. an embarrassing childhood incident

B. a fan-purchasing experience

C. the shocking death of a famous singer

D. an unfriendly hostess

A glass a day keeps obesity(肥胖) at bay. Alcohol has always been thought to cause weight gain because of its high sugar content(含量),but new research suggests a glass a day could form part of a diet. Looking at past studies they found that, while heavy drinkers do put on weight, those who drink in moderation can actually lose weight.

A spokesman for the research team at Navarro University in Spain says, “Proper alcohol intake, especially of wine, may be more likely to protect against, rather than promote, weight gain”. The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research reviewed the findings and agreed with most of the conclusions, particularly that current data do not clearly indicate if moderate drinking increases weight.

Boston University’s Dr. Harvey Finkel found that the biologic mechanisms(生物学机制) relating alcohol to changes in body weight are not properly understood. His team pointed out the strong protective effects of moderate drinking on the risk of getting conditions like diabetes(糖尿病),which relate to increasing obesity. Some studies suggest that even very obese people may be at lower risk of diabetes if they are moderate drinkers.

The group says alcohol provides calories that are quickly absorbed into the body and are not stored in fat, and that this process could explain the differences in its effects from those of other foods. They agree that future research should be directed towards assessing the roles of different types of alcoholic drinks, taking into consideration drinking patterns and including the past tendency of participants to gain weight.

For now there is little evidence that consuming small to moderate amounts of alcohol on a regular basis increases one’s risk of becoming obese. What’s more, a study three years ago suggested that resveratrol, a compound present in grapes and red wine, destroys fat cells.

1.The passage is mainly for those ______.

A. who produce wine B. who are eager to gain weight

C. who go on a diet D. who have a drinking habit

2.The underlined phrase “in moderation” in the first paragraph means_______.

A. properly B. carefully C. excitedly D. never

3.Why has alcohol been thought to cause weight gain?

A. Because its calories are stored in fat.

B. Because it is rich in sugar.

C. Because it changes drinking patterns.

D. Because it increases the risk of diabetes.

4.What can we learn from the text?

A. The specific roles of different types of alcoholic drinks are very clear.

B. Resveratrol is proved to increase the risk of becoming fat.

C. The research found moderate drinking has a strong protective effect.

D. Current data clearly show that moderate drinking increases weight.

5.What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?

A. How to do some easy experiments.

B. How to prove the findings mentioned above.

C. How to make wine in a healthy way.

D. How to reduce the calories contained in wine.

When times get tough, we all look for ways to cut back. When we’re hungry, we eat at home instead of going out. We take buses instead of taxis. And we wear our old designer jeans just a few months longer. With college expenses at all-time highs, high school students are eager to do anything to cut the cost of a university education.

One cost-cutting proposal is to allow college students to get a bachelor’s degree in three years instead of four. Educational institutions have been actively exploring ways to make the learning process more efficient. But there’s a question: Would the quality of undergraduate education suffer? Few US universities have formally approved a “three-year degree” model.

I doubt that mainstream North American colleges will carry out a three-year curriculum any time soon. For one thing, most universities already allow highly qualified students to graduate early by testing out of certain classes and obtaining a number of college credits. In addition, at famous universities, the committee who determine which courses are required and which courses are electives are unlikely to suddenly “throw out” one quarter of the required credits. Professors will resist “diluting(稀释)”the quality of the education they offer.

In my opinion, a quality four-year education is always superior to a quality three-year education. A college education requires sufficient time for a student to become skilled in their major and do coursework in fields outside their major. It is not a good idea to water down education, any more than it’s not a good idea to water down medicine. If we want to help students find their way through university, we should help them understand early on what knowledge and skills they need to have upon graduation. We should allow students to test out of as many courses as possible. We should give them a chance to earn money as interns(实习生)in meaningful part-time jobs that relate to their university studies, such as the five-year co-op program at Northeastern University.

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

A. It’s time to shorten the learning process

B. Best learning takes place over time

C. University education should be watered down

D. College education calls for reform

2.In most US universities, ________ .

A. some excellent students can graduate ahead of time

B. college students are offered the co-op program

C. electives’ credits make up one quarter of the required credits

D. all students are required to finish four-year education before graduation

3.We can infer that ________ .

A. the author is a college professor

B. the author considers the university education quality very important

C. the author thinks the cost of a university education is too high for people to afford

D. the author pays special attention to the all-round development of college students

4.The first paragraph serves as a(n) ________ .

A. explanation B. Definition C. Comment D. introduction

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