People living in the country enjoy several advantages that people living in the city cannot enjoy.

They are in close contact (接触) with nature. They make friends with trees and stones. They breathe fresh air. They fight with strong winds. They listen to the song of birds. This contact with nature is good for health. There are many diseases that are common in the city, but are not to be found in the country, For example, near---sightedness is almost unknown to country people. Because of the absence of cars, one can walk more freely in the country than in the city. There are no rules of the road nor traffic signs to obey. People living in the country can easily get fresh vegetables, fresh fruit and fresh milk, and they get them at lower prices than in the city. Country life is economical (节俭的) in other ways, too. There are practically no temptations to waste money.

Country people are mostly honest. They say what they mean, and make and keep promises with sincerity (诚意). They do not put on air (摆架子). They do not pretend to have those ridiculous (荒谬的) manners which are necessary in what we call polite society.

1.What is probably more expensive in the country than in the city?

A. Vegetables.

B. Beer.

C. Milk.

D. Fruit.

2.What is NOT true of country life?

A. The traffic accident rate is very high in the country.

B. Living in the country saves one a lot of money.

C. Country people enjoy better health than the city people.

D. Country people are honest.

3.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A. People living in the country enjoy no advantages.

B. People living in the city are in close contact with nature.

C. People living in the country suffer from more diseases than those living in the city.

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. The Disadvantages of Living in the Country.

B. The Expenses of Living in the Country.

C. Country Life.

D. Healthy Country People.

Some colors people see late at night could cause signs of clinical(临床的)depression (沮丧). That was the finding of a study that builds on earlier study findings. They show that individuals (个人) who live or work in low levels of light overnight (整夜) can develop clinical depression. Doctors use the word “clinical depression” to describe severe form of depression. Signs may include loss of interest or pleasure in most activities, low energy levels and thoughts of death or suicide.

In the new study, American investigators designed an experiment that exposed hamsters(仓鼠)to different colors. The researchers chose hamsters because they are nocturnal(夜行的), which means they sleep during the day and are active at night.

The animals were separated into four groups. One group of hamsters was kept in the dark during their night-time period. Another group was placed in front of a blue light, a third group slept in front of a white light, while a fourth was put in front of a red light.

After four weeks, the researchers noted how much sugary water the hamsters drank. They found that the most depressed animals drank the least amount of water.

Randy Nelson heads the Department of Neuroscience at Ohio State University. He says animals that slept in blue and white light appeared to be the most depressed. “What we saw is that these animals didn’t show any sleep uneasiness (不安) at all but they did mess up biological clock genes and they did show depressive sign while if they were in the dim(微弱)red light, they did not.”

Randy Nelson notes that photosensitive(感光)cells in the eyes have little to do with eyesight. He says these cells send signals to the area of the brain that controls what has been called the natural sleep-wake cycle.

He says there’s a lot of blue in white light. This explains why the blue light and white light hamsters appear to be more depressed than the hamsters seeing red light or darkness.

1.Researchers use hamsters in the experiment because __________.

A. they are similar to humans in dealing with colors

B. they are easy to observe and study

C. they are sensitive to colors like human beings

D. they are active at night and sleep during the day

2.What sign shows that the hamsters are being depressed?

A. They drink less sugary water. B. They don’t sleep well.

C. Their eyesight becomes worse. D. Their energy level becomes low.

3.What can help people who work late at night to avoid being depressed?

A. Not being exposed to dim red light when using computers.

B. Equipping their computer screens to put it more in the reddish light.

C. Living or working in low levels of light overnight.

D. Going to see doctors of clinical depression regularly for help.

When I was a boy we had several gardens around our old house. The largest one of all was used just for __ potatoes. I can still remember those potato __ days. The whole __ helped.

__ my Dad had tilled(耕地)the soil, my Mom, brothers, and I went to work. It was my job to __ the little seed potatoes in the rows while my Mom dropped __ of fertilizer (肥料)beside them. My brothers then covered them all __ the freshly turned earth.

For months afterward I would __ over at the garden while I played outside and wonder what was going on underneath the ground. When the harvest time came I was __ at the huge size of the potatoes my Dad pulled out of the soil.

Those little seedlings had grown into sweet food. They would be __ meal after meal of baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, and my __ favorite: potatoes cooked in spaghetti sauce.

They would __ the entire family well fed throughout the whole year. It __ was a miracle to be held.

Thinking back to those special times makes me wonder how many other __ I have planted in tills life that have grown ___in the hearts and minds of others.

How many times has God used some little thing that I said __ did to grow something beautiful? How many __ has Heaven used these little seedlings to __ another's soul with sweet food?

I hope then you always __ the garden around you with care. I hope that you plant only goodness, peace, and___ in the lives of everyone you help. I hope that everyday you help miracles to grow.

1.A. selling B. growing C. cooking D. cutting

2.A. planted B. planting C. being planted D. to plant

3.A. committee B. group C. family D. class

4.A. Before B. Since C. Until D. After

5.A. drop B. throw C. pull D. drive

6.A. boatfuls B. housefuls C. handfuls D. mouthfuls

7.A. at B. with C. by D. on

8.A. see B. notice C. glance D. glare

9.A. encouraged B. annoyed C. tired D. amazed

10.A. run into B. broken into C. looked into D. turned into

11.A. personal B. practical C. pure D. powerful

12.A. know B. knock C. keep D. kick

13.A. truly B. bitterly C. frequently D. conveniently

14.A. rows B. gardens C. seeds D. potatoes

15.A. unmade B. unseen C. unprotected D. untouched

16.A. and B. or C. so D. For

17.A. gardens B. rows C. days D. times

18.A. provide B. shut C. approach D. view

19.A. promote B. take C. close D. tend

20.A. love B. hate C. anger D. sadness

French writer Frantz Fanon once said: “To speak a language is to take on a world, a culture.” Since the world changes every day, so does our language.

More than 300 new words and phrases have recently made it into the online Oxford Dictionary, and in one way or another they are all reflections of today’s changing world.

After a year that was politically unstable, it’s not hard to understand the fact that people’s political views are one of the main drives of our expanding vocabulary. One example is “clicktivism”, a compound of “click” and “activism”. It refers to “armchair activists” — people who support a political or social cause, but only show their support from behind a computer or smartphone. And “otherize” is a verb for “other” that means to alienate (使疏远) people who are different from ourselves — whether that be different skin color, religious belief or sexuality.

Lifestyle is also changing our language. For example, “fitspiration” — a compound of fit and inspiration — refers to a person or thing that encourages one to exercise and stay fit and healthy.

The phrase “climate refugee” — someone who is forced to leave their home due to climate change — reflects people’s concern for the environment.

According to Stevenson, social media was the main source for the new expressions. “People feel much freer to coin their own words these days,” he said.

But still, not all newly-invented words get the chance to make their way into a mainstream (主流的) dictionary. If you want to create your own hit words, Angus Stevenson, Oxford Dictionaries head of content development, suggests that you should not only make sure that they are expressive (有表现力的) and meaningful, but also have an attractive sound so that people will enjoy saying them out loud.

1.What is the article mainly about?

A. Some new word that got included into the online Oxford Dictionary.

B. The application of new words and phrases.

C. How a language mirrors the changing world.

D. The impact of social media on our language.

2.The underlined word “coin” in the second-to-last paragraph probably means ________.

A. use B. record

C. change D. create

3.How is the article mainly developed?

A. By giving examples. B. By making comparisons.

C. By following a timeline. D. By presenting research findings.

4.According to Stevenson, to make the words you invent popular, they should ________.

A. be easy to remember B. have unique meanings

C. reflect the changing world D. be meaningful, expressive and catchy

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