We’ve all seen them: perfectly toned famous people on late-night television telling us that we too can develop rock-hard abdominal muscles(腹部的). It's easy! Just pay $149.99 for the Torso Track or $149.75 for the Ad-Doer and watch those unwanted inches leave your waist. Americans spend tens of millions of dollars on various products to firm up their fat around the waist.

And did they work? Not necessarily. Independent studies have concluded that most of these products — no matter who approved them or how expensive they are — shape your midsection no better than old-fashioned stomach crunches(仰卧起坐). Some can even cause injury — like the $518.99 Body Shaper-Q8SP, which left electrical burns on some researchers at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. Others, like the popular Ab-Doer, typically burn less energy than a gentle walk, according to a study to be published in September by the American Council on Exercise.

The fact is that many Americans don't have the biological makeup to develop an obvious abdominal muscles. They are either unable to get the necessary muscle mass or they can't lose enough fat to make a difference. Even if the underlying muscles are well developed, all it takes to hide it is one-sixteenth of an inch of fat. That's enough to exclude most healthy women as well as plenty of guys who do crunches every day.

So what works best? In its new study, the exercise experts researched on the results of the popular Ab-Doer. A lengthy TV advertisement promises that just 10 minutes a day performing such movements as "Body Boogies" and "Good Mornings" will "help form those muscles the fun and easy way without diets." Steven Loy, professor at California State University, Northridge, tested the promise by measuring the electrical activity produced by the abdominal muscles during three Ab-Doer movements. He and his colleagues then compared the results with those produced during traditional exercises. They determined that the muscles were no more active, and in some cases less so, when exercisers were using the Ab-Doer.

Taking a broader approach, researchers at San Diego State University compared 13 abdominal exercises for their ability to develop the central abdominal muscles. They concluded, in a report published in May, that the most effective exercises kept turning the body and worked the muscles the entire time. Among the winners: the bicycle movements — so called because it looks as if you are riding a bike while lying flat on the floor — and exercises performed on the "Captain's Chair", a product typically found in gyms that helps hold the body in the air while you raise your legs up toward your chest. Researchers suggested that a varied routine of the different exercises could deliver the best results.

1.Which of the following is the most effective in building abdominal muscles?

A.Torso Track.B.Captain's Chair.

C.Ab-Doer.D.Body Shaper-Q8SP.

2.According to the author, it's difficult for many Americans to get visible firm abdominal muscles mainly because ________.

A.how big their muscles will be is determined by birth

B.they change their exercise routine regularly

C.injuries interrupt their exercise frequently

D.they do not put in enough efforts

3.The author convinces the readers by ________.

A.describing successful cases

B.presenting findings of researches

C.offering comments directly from exercisers

D.comparing advertisements of products

4.What's the main purpose of this passage?

A.To sponsor rich healthy lifestyle based on advanced product research.

B.To indicate that diet and exercises are necessary factors for a fit midsection.

C.To promote proven exercise techniques and to advise against false advertisements.

D.To research and develop in order to create the perfect stomach and exercise machine.

阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项 (A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

My teacher organized a secret Christmas gift exchange.We were ___to open our gifts in front of our classmates and ____the name of the gift giver, who would stand up and be applauded.

Every kid tore ____a fancy package containing a new toy. Then it was my___. The teacher handed me something wrapped(包裹)in used paper. It was so wrinkled that the colors had____.With everyone watching, I removed the paper and ____ a cheap book with tom and dirty pages.

Inside was a handwritten ____ showing the girl who gave me the book. When I announced her name, my classmates started____. Her gift was another indication of how _____this girl was from the rest of us. She’ d arrive late to______, her hair wet and messy. She didn’t have friends, and the popular students made fun of her because she wore ____ clothes and shoes. Only later in life did I understand that she ____came from a terribly poor family.

As the class laughed,this 8-year-old girl ___her head to hide her tears.But I was ____ that the other kids would think that this girl and I were ____ . Only years later did I realize that what I did next was unforgivable—I _____the book in the garbage!

Months later, the girl ___ schoo1. I never saw her again. I have forgotten the ___ of many of my old classmates, but not hers. For so many years I have been trying to ____ in touch with her, but I haven’ t had any news about her yet. I owe her a sincere ____and I expect I will have such a chance some day.

1.A. warned B. forbiddenC. forced D. instructed

2.A. announceB. spell C. find D. change

3.A. over B. offC. openD. out

4.A. work B. turn C. 1uckD. program

5.A. died B. faded C. failed D. dropped

6.A. met with B. showed offC. turned on D. pulled out

7.A. book B. novel C.noteD. text

8.A. shouting B. 1aughing C. applaudingD. discussing

9.A. beautiful B. careless C. 1azyD. different

10.A. class B. office C. home D. store

11.A. good B. oldC. dryD. new

12.A. usuallyB. secretly C. obviously D. suddenly

13.A. raised B. nodded C. shook D. hung

14.A. excitedB. puzzled C. worried D. pleased

15.A. friendsB. relatives C. enemies D. twins

16.A. buriedB. threw C. chose D. found

17.A. 1eft B. attended C. communicatedD. visited

18.A. gradesB. namesC. numbersD. addresses

19.A. put B. sendC. get D. take

20.A. present B. greetingC. praise D. apology

Recently, a painting of actress Elizabeth Taylor, which was drawn by American artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol, sold for US $63 million. Another simple black-and-white image of a Coca-Cola bottle sold for US $35 million. But the all-time record for a Warhol painting is $100 million for a piece titled “Eight Elvises”. What’s amazing is not that the pieces sold for so much, but the fact that they are not what you would call traditional art. They are “pop art”, art based on simple images of things and people from advertising, movies, music and day-to-day life.

Born in the 1920s, Warhol grew up mostly separated from other children due to (由于) health problems. He spent a lot of his time alone drawing and then went on to study art in college. He began his career as a commercial (商业的) artist, creating pictures for magazine articles and newspaper ads. That inspired him to experiment with pop art and he hosted America’s first pop art exhibition in the 1960s. The show met with a lot of discussion with some people saying that what he was doing was not art.

Warhol followed his first works with a series we are all familiar with — paintings of Coca-Cola bottles, Brillo soap pad boxes, and portraits (肖像) of famous people. Soon after, Warhol stopped creating his own artwork. Instead, he had assistants and other artists create them at his studio called “The Factory”. Warhol wanted to show the world that art doesn’t have to be complex or original; it can be created by anyone using ordinary things.

Today, Warhol’s work is unmistakable in its uniqueness. No matter how you may feel about his work, one thing cannot be argued. He introduced the world to a whole new art form, inspiring future generations of artists, and eventually becoming one of the most famous and successful pop art artists in the world.

1.During his childhood, Warhol _____.

A. drew pictures for magazines

B. always lived a lonely life

C. showed no interest in art

D. liked to paint and dance

2.Calling his studio “The Factory”, Warhol tried to show _____.

A. his studio was as big as a factory

B. pop art is different from traditional art

C. artists prefer to work in a factory

D. art should be simple and easy to produce

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

A. Andy Warhol’s world of pop art

B. Women in the pop art movement

C. A fun pop-art self-portrait for kids

D. Popular paintings by Andy Warhol

In 1971 a young man who grew up very poor was travelling across the country, trying to make a new start for himself. Along the way he had completely run out of(用光) money and was forced to spend the night in his car. This continued until one morning, after a week of sleeping in his car, he walked nervously into a restaurant and ordered a big breakfast.

After eating his first good meal in weeks, he found himself lying to the waiter, telling him he had lost his wallet. The waiter, who was also the owner, walked behind the chair where the young man had been sitting. He bent down, and came up with a $20 bill that looked as if it had fallen on the floor and said, “Son, you must have dropped this,” the owner said. The young man couldn’t believe his luck! He quickly paid for the breakfast, left a tip, bought gas with the change, and headed West.

On the way out of town, he began to understand what the owner did. Maybe nobody dropped the money at all. “Maybe that fellow just knew I was in trouble and he helped me in a way that didn’t embarrass(使尴尬) me. So I just made a promise to help other people if I can.”

Later, he worked very hard and became a rich man. Now he lives near Kansas City. Each year he gives away thousands of dollars. He is known as the “Secret Santa” because at Christmas time each year, he personally hands money out to those on the street and at restaurants. Last year, he gave more than $50,000 away in Kansas City.

1.The young man was travelling across the country in 1971 to ________.

A. look for a good restaurantB. improve his life

C. show his new car to othersD. hand out dollars

2.The underline sentence implies that the young man got to know that ________.

A. it was very lucky of him to get his lost money back.

B. it was very honest of the owner to return his money

C. the owner helped him in a way that didn’t hurt his feeling

D. another person who had breakfast in the restaurant lost the money

3.From the end of the passage we can learn that ________.

A. the man did carry out his promise

B. the man was not successful in the end

C. the owner was paid back the money

D. Santa give the man money each year

4.The message of the story is“________”.

A. One good turn deserves another

B. Where there is a will,there is a way

C. He who travels far knows much

D .Give love wings(翅膀) and it may fly higher

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