Do you drink water that's been left sitting out overnight or even for another day? Have you noticed it tastes different?

Tap water that has been left to sit out slowly begins to acquire an off taste. Many people think that this is because of microorganisms(微生物). But that's not what makes old water taste not fresh. For that we can thank carbon dioxide. After about 12 hours, tap water starts to go flat as carbon dioxide in the air starts to mix with the water in the glass, lowering its pH and giving it an off taste. But it's most likely safe to drink.

However, back to those microorganisms. If you use a dirty glass day after day, there is more of a chance of bacteria making themselves known; a risk that increases if you share the glass with another mouth as well. But assuming you use a fresh glass every few days, you probably won't have a problem unless the glass has been touched by dirty fingers, and especially if those dirty fingers went unwashed after using the bathroom.

As for plastic water bottles that have been left out in the sun or in the car, step away from the bottle, warns Dr. Kellogg Schwab, director of the Johns Hopkins University Water Institute. "A chemical called bisphenol-A, or BPA, along with other things used to make plastic can leach(过滤) into your water if the bottle heats up or sits in the sun," he explains. BPA, as you probably know, has been linked to everything from heart disease to cancer.Schwab also adds that plastic used for commercial bottled water isn't meant to be washed or refilled, so use only one time and recycle. Or don't buy them at all; use refillable water bottles instead.

1.Tap water begin to acquire an off taste because of .

A. BPA B. the glass

C. the microorganism D. carbon dioxide

2. According to Paragragh 2 , tap water that's been left sitting out for 12 hours____.

A. tastes better B. is still safe to drink

C. contains few microorganisms D. is most likely undrinkable

3. What should we do with plastic water bottles that have been left out in the sun or in the car?

A. Throw them away. B. Refill them with fresh water.

C. Use them after they cool down. D. Clean them and use them again.

4.Which of the following is true about BPA?

A. It is safe for people to use.

B. It is a kind of new material.

C. It can cause great harm to people.

D. It is the main material to make plastic.

根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项,有两项为多余选项。

●Does failure really exist?

If you believe you have failed, then you have. If you believe you don’t have the ability to succeed, then you don’t. 1. The moment you decide to give up or stop working toward your goals, failure is born.

2.

Most people give themselves an out without even realizing it. They are willing to work hard on reaching their goals, but only until the going gets too rough or their energy dies down. Don’t do that! 3. Never quit, never admit failure, and never lose heart.

●Don’t believe in a clear finish line for goals.

It’s a good idea to set a general timeline, but remember that something will be beyond your control. 4. If you lock yourself into a given timeline, you might make yourself feel like a failure! Instead, get a general idea of when you’d like your goal to be completed. Then take it one day at a time and focus on making progress instead of reaching the finish line in as little time as possible.

●Be sure that you don’t see difficulties as failures.

Difficulties mean only one thing: it’s not time for your goal to be completed yet. That’s it! It doesn’t mean you failed; it doesn’t mean you’re weak; it doesn’t mean you’ll never achieve your goals. 5. You’ve got to keep moving forward and find a way over, around, or through the difficulties.

A. Never give up on yourself.

B. Failure only exists in your own mind!

C. That’s exactly how failure makes us feel.

D. It simply means you have not done enough yet.

E. You can never say exactly when your goal will be reached.

F. Instead, make up your mind to make your goal happen, no matter what!

G. Work hard towards your goal, and you will be likely to get good results.

A Groundbreaking Event

It was an unforgettable field trip. Twenty-six fifth-graders from George Bancroft Elementary School, in Washington, D.C., went to the White House on Friday. They used shovels, rakes and wheelbarrows to help First Lady Michelle Obama break ground on a new vegetable garden.

This White House garden is the first since World War Ⅱ. In the 1940s, First lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted a White House “Victory Garden” to encourage Americans to grow gardens at home. Mrs. Obama’s new garden is an L-shaped patch near the fountain on the South Lawn. Vegetables to be planted include lettuce, peas, collard greens, onions and spinach. A herb garden will grow garlic, sage and cilantro. These herbs are used in Mexican food, an Obama family favourite. White House chefs will prepare meals for the First Family with food from the garden and some of the produce will be donated to Miriam’s Kitchen, a soup kitchen near the White House.

Health food is important to Mrs. Obama. She said that the purpose of the garden is to make sure that her family, the White House staff, and guests eat fresh vegetables. Mrs. Obama has also said that she hopes the new White House garden will help educate Americans about the importance of fresh, nutritious food at a time when obesity is a national crisis. A diet high in natural, unprocessed foods helps people maintain a healthy weight.

Mrs. Obama said she has found that her daughters, Malia, 16, and Sasha, 13, like vegetables more if they have been involved in growing them. “If they have been involved in planting and picking the vegetables, they are much more curious about giving them a try,” she said. When Bancroft students go back to the White House this summer they will get to taste the vegetables they helped to grow. After they help to harvest the crops, they will cook them in the White House kitchen and then eat them.

1.What did the Bancroft students do outside the White House?

A. They gave shovels, rakes and wheelbarrows to the First Lady.

B. They did research on what life is like for the First Lady.

C. They helped First Lady Michelle Obama to plant a garden.

D. They gave fruit and vegetables to the First Lady.

2.The reason why First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted a “Victory Garden” was that _________.

A. she did it just for fun.

B. she wanted other citizens to follow her example.

C. she wanted to please her husband.

D. she wanted to get some gardening experience.

3.Why did Mrs. Obama plan to plant the garden?

A. Because she wanted her children to become gardeners.

B. Because she wanted to know what gardening is like.

C. Because she wanted to become a second Eleanor Roosevelt.

D. Because she wanted people in the white house to eat a healthy food.

It was once common to regard Britain as a society with class distinction. Each class had unique characteristics.

In recent years, many writers have begun to speak the ‘decline of class’ and ‘classless society’ in Britain. And in modern day consumer society everyone is considered to be middle class.

But pronouncing the death of class is too early. A recent wide-ranging society of public opinion found 90 percent of people still placing themselves in particular class; 73 percent agreed that class was still a vital part of British society; and 52 percent thought there were still sharp class differences. Thus, class may not be culturally and politically obvious, yet it remains an important part of British society. Britain seems to have a love of stratification.

One unchanging aspect of a British person's class position is accent. The words a person speaks tell her or his class. A study of British accents during 1970s found that a voice sounding like a BBC newsreader was viewed as the most attractive voice. Most people said this accent sounded ‘educated’ and ‘soft’. The accents placed at the bottom in this study, on the other hand, were regional(地区的)city accents. These accents were seen as ‘common’ and ‘ugly’. However, a similar study of British accents in the US turned these results upside down and placed some regional accents as the most attractive and BBC English as the least. This suggests that British attitudes towards accent have deep roots and are based on class prejudice.

In recent years, however, young upper middle-class people in London, have begun to adopt some regional accents, in order to hide their class origins. This is an indication of class becoming unnoticed. However, the 1995 pop song ‘Common People’ puts forward the view that though a middle-class person may ‘want to live like common people' they can never appreciate the reality of a working-class life.

1.A recent study of public opinion shows that in modern Britain ________. A. it is time to end class distinction

B. most people belong to middle class

C. it is easy to recognize a person’s class

D. people regard themselves socially different

2.The word stratification in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ________.

A. variety B. division C. authority D. qualification

3.British attitudes towards accent _________.

A. have a long tradition

B. are based on regional status

C. are shared by the Americans

D. have changed in recent years

4.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. The middle class is expanding

B. A person’s accent reflects his class

C. Class is a key part of British society

D. Each class has unique characteristics.

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