No one would much like the idea of eating 61 pounds of tomatoes a day. But if their goodness was put into an easy-to-swallow pill that you were told might prevent strokes(中风) and heart attacks you would probably be putting in an order tomorrow.

Researchers believe they may have come up with just that after trials. The daily pill contains a chemical called lycopene which makes tomatoes red and is known to break down fat in the vessels(血管). A Cambridge University study found taking the pills improved blood flow and the lining of vessels in patients with pre-existing heart conditions. It also increased the flexibility(灵活性) of their vessels by 50 percent. The scientists believe it could limit the damage caused by heart disease—responsible for 180,000 deaths a year—and help cut the 49,000 deaths a year from strokes. They also hope it could benefit those with arthritis(关节炎), diabetes(糖尿病) and even slow the progress of cancer.

Each pill is equal to eating around 61 pounds of ripe tomatoes. Studies have shown eating a Mediterranean-style diet rich in tomatoes fish, vegetables, nuts and olive oil can significantly reduce cholesterol(胆固醇) and help prevent cardiovascular disease.

Preliminary results from a two-month trial, in which the pill was given to 36 heart disease patients and 36 healthy volunteers with an average age of 67, were presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association. It was shown to improve the function of the endothelium—the layer of cells lining blood vessels. It also improved their sensitivity to nitric oxide, the gas which causes the enlargement of the vessels in response to exercise.

Ian Wilkinson, head of Cambridge University’s clinical trials unit, said “These results are potentially very significant and it meets the goal, but we need more trials to see if they translate into fewer heart attacks and strokes.”

Further studies are planned, with researchers hoping it could offer a choice for heart disease sufferers who can not take the cholesterol-lowing drugs.

Mike Knapton, head of the British Heart Foundation, said, “Although this showed lycopene improved blood flow in people with heart disease, that’s a long way from demonstrating that taking it could improve outcomes for people with heart disease. The best way to get the benefits of a good diet is to eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.”

1.What can we infer from Paragraph 1?

A. We can eat too much tomato food.

B. Tomatoes are helpful to strokes and heart attacks.

C. Tomatoes will lose healthy elements were put into pills.

D. We had better not eat tomatoes.

2.We can learn from the passage that the pills ________.

A. are at the experiment stage

B. can cure all the disease

C. are widely used among patients

D. cost patients so little money

3.Who were the volunteers by taking part in the trial?

A. Children. B. Youth.

C. Working people. D. Old healthy people.

4.What was Ian Wilkinson’s opinion on the trial?

A. Disappointing. B. Surprising.

C. Satisfactory. D. Terrible.

完形填空。

My grandfather dug water wells in Indiana and started his business during the great depression.

Although nearly everyone was out of work, people still needed ______ , so he didn’t lack jobs. ______, in those days, it was awfully hard to get paid for what you did. One morning, a farmer showed up with a ______ —a whole side of fresh beef on his shoulder. “I ______ this ought to make us equal on that digging,”he said to my grandfather. Grandfather ______.

It was wintertime, so the beef stayed fresh under damp cloth on the cold back porch(门廊). Each day, Nana stepped out onto the porch, ______ good piece of the meat, and carried it into the kitchen ______ it were pure gold.

After a few days. Nana noticed the ______ had been moved.She asked grandfather if he had touched the beef. He hadn’t. “Well, then. ”she said. “somebody’s been eating our meat. Do you always lock the back door?” My grandfather told her not to ______. She probably had moved the cloth herself, and had ______ forgotten.

This ______ for many days. Nana was ______ that someone was taking their meat, and grandfather just insisted she was ______ things. It wasn’t until much later that we learned the real story.

On the morning after grandfather set the meat out on the back porch door, he ______ some footprints near the door. He ______ followed the footprints to where they began. Soon the footprints in the snow led my grandfather to a house he instantly ______.It was the home of a poor single mother with two young children. Grandfather ______ turned around and walked back home. He didn’t say a word about it to anyone.

From then on, Nana would carefully ______ the lock on the porch door each night to make sure it was ______ . Then grandfather, after waiting for Nana to go to bed, would return to the porch and ______ the lock again. Nana never knew about the family they were helping to feed that winter.

1.A.beef B.water C.money D.food

2.A.Otherwise B.Thus C.However D.Besides

3.A.payment B.praise C.delivery D.gift

4.A.doubt B.claim C.discover D.expect

5.A.suspected B.hesitated C.agreed D.argued

6.A.selected B.bought C.preserved D.moved

7.A.now that B.even if C.as if D.so that

8.A.gold B.cloth C.tool D.porch

9.A.disappoint B.forget C.interrupt D.worry

10.A.suddenly B.simply C.exactly D.rarely

11.A.went on B.went over C.went by D.went up

12.A.reliable B.accurate C.strange D.certain

13.A.understanding B.remembering C.imagining D.enjoying

14.A.noticed B.marked C.guided D.chased

15.A.quickly B.finally C.curiously D.coldly

16.A.convinced B.recognized C.observed D.removed

17.A.hopelessly B.quietly C.gradually D.painfully

18.A.watch B.control C.mend D.check

19.A.safe B.free C.perfect D.open

20.A.exchange B.replace C.release D.adjust

阅读理解。

A dog, it is said, is a man’s best friend. Put a dog, a kid and a book together, and you have a struggling reader’s best friend.

The therapy dogs of R.E.A.D. – Reading Education Assistance Dogs – have been helping children improve their reading skills since 1999, when Intermountain Therapy Animals (ITA) began the program in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Today, tens of thousands of R.E.A.D. teams – dogs and their owners – volunteer to spend time with youngsters in schools and libraries across the United States and around the world. The idea is that sharing a book with a nonjudgmental (不带评论的) partner encourages students’ confidence and helps develop a love of reading.

Izzy, a Havanese therapy dog, is a regular visitor to Public School 57 in East Harlem, New York. Students meet him in the library, pick out a book and sit down on the carpet. Izzy snuggles (依偎) up to them and gets ready to hear a story.

“I love reading to Izzy because he listens to me, and he doesn’t make fun of me when I make a mistake,” says third-grader Aelane Vasquez. The 9-year-old, whose parents are from Mexico, is one of 15 Latin-American students at the school who were selected for the program.

“All the students that we work with in the R.E.A.D. program were behind reading levels at the beginning of the year,” Bridget McElroy, who teaches English as a Second Language, explained. “Now most of them have reached the average level, if not above it.” That’s important, because achieving proficiency (熟练) in reading is vital for kids to succeed. Studies have shown that students who can’t read at grade level by the end of third grade are four times less likely to graduate high school by the age of 19.

The R.E.A.D. teams from New York Therapy Animals work with 175 kids at Public School 57 and nine other schools.

McElroy said she sees a marked difference in Aelane and her classmates, and not just in study. “Not only do the kids have time to practice reading, what we are really seeing is that they are excited to read and practice even when Izzy is not here,” she said.

1.According to this passage, dogs are the best friend of kids because ____.

A. they keep kids company through therapy

B. they can protect kids from danger

C. they are helpful to encourage kids to read

D. they are struggling and work hard

2.What does the example of Aelane Vasquez show?

A. Kids from Mexico love reading to Izzy.

B. Only Latin-American students can be chosen for the program.

C. The R.E.A.D. teams are responsible for the selection.

D. Listening without judgment is inspiring for the kids.

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

A. The students in the R.E.A.D. program improve a lot only in study.

B. Without proficiency in reading, it’s difficult for kids to succeed.

C. All the students in the R.E.A.D. program can be above the reading level.

D. When not accompanied by the dog, kids will stop practicing reading consequently.

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