Television has changed the lifestyle of people in every industrialized country in the world. In theUnited States, where sociologists have studied the effects, some interesting observations have been made.

Television, although not essential, has become an important part of most people’s lives. It alters people’s ways of seeing the world; in many ways, it supports and sustains (维持) modern life.

Television has become a baby-sitter, an introducer of conversations, the major transmitter of culture, and a keeper of tradition. Yet when what can be seen on TV in one day is critically analyzed, it becomes evident that television is not a teacher but a sustainer; the poor quality of programming does not elevate (提高) people into greater understanding, but rather maintains and encourages the life as it exists.

The primary reason for the lack of quality in American television is related to both the history of TV programming development and the economics of TV. Television in America began with the radio. Radio companies and their sponsors first experimented with television. Therefore, the close relationship which the advertisers had with radio programs became the system for American TV. Sponsors not only paid money for time within programs, but many actually produced the programs. Thus, in American society, television is primarily concerned with reflecting and attracting society rather than experimenting with new ideas. Advertisers want to attract the largest viewing audience possible. To do so requires that the programs be entertaining rather than educational, attractive rather than challenging.[

Television in America today remains, to a large extent, with the same organization andstandards as it had thirty years ago. The hope for further development and true achievement toward improving society will require a change in the entire system.

1.According to the author, American television is poor in quality because _________.

A. it is controlled by radio companies

B. the programs have to be developed partly for economic reasons

C. advertisers are interested in experimenting with new ideas

D. it is still at an early stage of development, compared with the radio

2.In the author’s view, American TV should _________.

A. be entertaining and attractive

B. reflect society and attract society

C. maintain and encourage the life as it exists

D. change with the development of society

3.Based on the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. TV has become a must in the American’s life.

B. One can expect to improve his understanding significantly from watching TV.

C. American TV is important to most people as it affects their life in many ways.

D. American TV nowadays has some different standards from the past.

4.The author’s attitude towards American television is _________.

A. negative B. positive

C. indifferent D. sympathetic

Lakshmi grew up in India in the first half of the twentieth century, seeing many people around her who did not get enough food, were often sick and died young.

In the 1960s, was asked to help manage a program to improve nutrition in her country. At that time, most advice on nutrition came from North American and European countries. Nutritionists suggested foods that were common and worked well for people who lived in these nations.

For example, they told poor Indian women to eat more meal and eggs and drink more orange juice. But Lakshmi knew this advice was useless in a country like India. People there didn’t eat such foods. They weren’t easy to find. And for the poor, such foods were too expensive.

Lakshmi knew that for the program to work, it had to fit Indian culture. So she decided to adjust the nutrition program. She first found out what healthy middle-class people in India ate. She took note of the nutrients (营养物)available in those foods. Then she looked for cheap, easy-to-find foods that would provide the same nutrients.

She created a balanced diet of locally grown fruits, vegetables, and grains. These foods were cheap and could be cooked with simple equipment. Her ideas were thought unusual in the 1960s. For example, she insisted that a diet without meal could provide all major nutrients. Now we know she was right. But it took her continuous efforts to get others to finally accept her diet about 50 years ago. Because of Lakshmi’s program, Indian children almost doubled their food intake. And many children who would have been hungry and ill grew healthy and strong.

1.Why did Lakshmi think European nutritionists’ advice was useless?

A. It worked well for European people.

B. It suggested too many foods for Indians.

C. It was not practical in India at that time.

D. It included foods that didn’t exist in India.

2.Lakshmi studied healthy middle-class people’s diet in order to .

A. know about their eating habits B. learn about Indian culture

C. find out nutrients in their food D. write a report on food nutrients

3.Lakshmi’s balanced diet was considered unusual because people thought .

A. those foods were too cheap B. it should include some meat

C. it provided all major nutrients D. it enabled kids to grow healthy

4.What can we infer about Lakshmi?

A. She came from a rich family.

B. She disliked middle-class people.

C. She worked with European nutritionists.

D. She was a determined scientist.

Staying positive through the cold season could be your best defense against getting ill,a new American study suggests.

In an experiment that exposed healthy volunteers to a cold or flu virus,researchers found that people with a generally sunny character were less likely to fail ill.The findings,published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, build on evidence that a “positive emotional style” can help ward off the common cold and other illness.

Researchers believe the reasons may be both objective―as in happiness improving immune function―and subjective―as in happy people being less troubled by a sore throat or runny nose.“People with a positive emotional style may have different immune responses to the virus,” explained lead study author Dr Sheldon Cohen of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.“And when they do get a cold,they may interpret their illness as being less severe.”

Cohen and his colleagues has found in a previous study that happier people seemed less likely to catch a cold, but some questions remained as to whether the emotional quality itself had the effect.

For the new study,the researchers had 193 healthy adults complete standard measures of personality qualities, physicals health,and emotional “style”.Those who tended to be happy,energetic and easy –going were judged as having a positive emotional style,while those who were often unhappy,tense,and hostile had a negative style.

Afterwards,the researchers gave them nose drops containing either a cold virus or a particular flu virus.Over the next six days,the volunteers reported on any aches,pains,sneezing they had,while the researchers collected objective data.Cohen and his colleagues found that happy people were less likely to develop a cold.

What’s more,when happy folks did develop a cold,their symptoms were less severe than expected based on objective measures.

On the contrary,people with negative characters were not at increased risk of developing a cold based on objective measures,though they did tend to get down about their symptoms.

“We find that it’s really positive emotions that have the big effect,” Cohen said,“not the negative ones.”

So can a bad-tempered person fight a cold by deciding to be happy?

1.The purpose of Cohen’s new study was to .

A. find effective ways to fight illnesses

B. test people’s different immune responses to cold virus

C. tell differences between happy people and unhappy people

D. examine whether health was related to emotional styles

2.The underlined phrase “ward-off” in Paragraph 2 means “ ”.

A. get close to B. keep way from C. get used to D. go on with

3.How did Cohen reach his conclusion?

A. By comparing the experimental results of different groups.

B. By asking the volunteers to complete a form.

C. By collecting data among people with a cold.

D. By observing the volunteers’ symptoms.

4.Cohen’s new study showed that .

A. an emotional style is difficult to change B. happy people are immune to cold virus

C. people attitudes towards illnesses are different D. happiness itself helps protect people from cold

Many teenagers wants to look cool.1.Chloe Murray,an eighth-grader at Jefferson Middle School in the US, realized this problem and established a charitable clothes closet(衣橱)to help her peers.

2.The school let her use a room for the project.Chloe’s classmates joined her as well.Last month,the charitable clothes closet,called Chloe’s Closet,opened.3.“Confidence is a real issue in middle school,especially when it comes to clothing,”Chloe told the Chicago Tribune,a daily newspaper in Chicago,US.

4.Many people from the school’s community and neighboring schools donated used and new clothes.The clothes closet is only open after school.Students can “buy” these clothes by earning “money” when they turn in their schoolwork on time,make corrections on homework,participate in a school activity or express helpfulness to their peers and teaches.Since the first week in March,about 100 items have been “sold” to students.

5.Then,they will be better able to focus on the learning material rather than paying too much attention to what they are wearing,”Shannon Arko,a language arts teacher at the school,said about the mission(使命)of the closet.“Feeling good about yourself translates into a better learning experience overall.”

A.Where are the clothes from.

B.Her school supported the idea too.

C.Fashion has already became an important part of students’ lives.

D.You need to supply children with basic needs,such as clothing.

E.But everyone can afford to keep up with the changing fashion trends.

F.But not everyone can afford to keep up with the changing fashion trends.

G.It’s filled with trendy clothes for girls and boys to help students look their best.

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