Looking for a new weight loss plan? Try living on top of a mountain. Mountain air contains less oxygen than air at lower altitudes, so breathing it causes the heart to beat faster and the body to burn more energy. A handful of studies have found that athletes training at high altitudes tend to lose weight. Doctor Florian Lippl of the University Hospital Of Ludwig-Maximilians-university Munich wondered how the mountain air would affect overweight individuals if they weren’t doing any more physical activity than usual.
Lippl and his colleagues invited 20 overweight men to an environmental research station about 300 meters below the summit of Zugspitze, a mountain around 2,970 meters near the Austrian border. They were allowed to eat as much as they liked. The men also gave blood so that researchers could test for hormones linked to appetite and fatness. At the end of the week, the men, whose mean weight starting out was 105kg, had lost on average about l.5kg. The men’s blood pressure also dropped, which the researchers believed was due to weight lost.
Exactly what caused the weight loss is uncertain. Loss of appetite is common at higher altitudes, and indeed the men ate significantly less than usual—about 700 calories fewer per day. Lippl also notes that because their consumption was being recorded, they may have been more self-conscious about what they ate. Regardless, eating less accounts for just l kg of the l.5 kg lost, says Lippl. He thinks the increased metabolic (新陈代谢的) rate, which was measured, also contributed to weight loss but cannot separate the different effects with the given data.
Appetite loss at high altitudes could certainly be key, notes Damian Bailey, a physiologist at the University of Glamorgan, UK, who recently lost 11 kg during a 3-month expedition to the Andes in Chile.   
Unfortunately, for the average person there is no treatment that can resemble living at high altitude, says Lippl. The only alternative is hypobaric chamber, which exposes subjects to low oxygen and isn’t practical as a treatment. He says, half- jokingly, “If fat people plan their holidays, they might not go to the sea, but maybe to the mountain.”
【小题1】What contributes the most to one’s heart rates according to the first paragraph?

A.our bodyweightB.the consumption of energy
C.the rates of our breathingD.the amount of oxygen provided
【小题2】Hormones are tested in the research because they can affect ______.
A.one’s bodyweightB.one’s blood pressure
C.one’s way of livingD.one’s metabolic rate
【小题3】What was found about the 20 overweight men in the process of the research?
A.They controlled what to eat self-consciously.
B.They took in much fewer calories than usual.
C.They lost appetite because of lack of physical activity.
D.They were provided with a healthier diet than before.
【小题4】Why does Damian Bailey agree with the idea of appetite loss at high altitudes?
A.He experimented with the new weight loss plan in the Andes.
B.He found no other reasons for his loss of weight in the Andes.
C.He researched the related subject in the Andes.
D.He lost much weight in the high altitude Andes.
【小题5】In what manner does Lippl talk about the way of losing weight by spending holidays on mountains?
A.casualB.inaccurateC.uncertainD.confident

Two years ago my grandmother was going to turn 75. My family discussed what the best way to celebrate was. Should we throw her a party? Should we take her on a trip? We remembered that she had touched so many people's lives, and there were so many people for her to consider. Then someone got the idea that we should include everyone in the celebration by turning it into a tribute(献礼) to my grandmother.

We secretly sent out letters to the people in Grandmother's address book and asked them to send a letter with a memory that they had shared with her. People sent us letters with poems, stories and pictures. The deep feeling that was shared through the response (回应) surprised us. We compiled(编辑)these letters into a memory book and amazed her with it on the morning of her birthday.

The unusual thing about my grandmother's friends was not the number that she had, but the connection they shared. In many ways this book of friendship was the greatest achievement of my grandmother's life.

I believe that developing true friendships is one of the most important things that anyone can do in one's lifetime. It is not a matter of the number of friends one has, but the quality of the bonds. If one has had at least one true friendship before dying, then one can say one has lived a successful life. I have made many friends and I believe I have begun to develop the same types of friendships my grandmother kept up over her lifetime. I only hope that I will be as successful as she has been.

1.How did the author's family celebrate Grandmother's birthday ? 

A.They took her on a trip across the country.

B.They gave her a memory book of friendship.

C.They invited all her friends to her birthday party.

D.They asked all her friends to send her cards.

2.When receiving her birthday gift, the author's grandmother probably felt _____. 

A.disappointed and lonely                  B.sorry and sad

C.surprised and pleased                    D.nervous and excited

3.The underlined word “bonds” in the last paragraph probably means________

A.relationships       B.works            C.successes         D.celebrations

4.According to the passage, the author probably agrees that _____. 

A.the more friends you have, the better

B.friends are more important than family

C.understanding leads to greater success

D.true friendship is very important to us

5.Which of the following words can best describe the author's grandmother ? 

A.Famous           B.Great.            C.Polite            D.Pleasant

 

I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by blaming themselves. One January, I had to hold two funerals on successive days for two elderly women in my community. Both had died “ full of years”, as the Bible would say. Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence(吊唁) calls on the two families on the same afternoon.

At the first home, the son of the deceased(已故的)woman said to me, “ If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today. It’s my fault that she died.” At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said, “ If only I hadn’t insisted on my mother’s going to Florida, she would be alive today.. that long airplane ride, the sudden change of climate, was more than she could take. It’s my fault that she’s dead.”

You see that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out bad, they believe that the opposite course—keeping Mother at home, putting off the operation—would have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse?

There are seem to be two elements involved in our willingness to feel guilty. The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens that leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist and where they exist only in our minds.

The second element is the view that we are the cause of what happens , especially the bad things that happen. It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believe that every disaster is our fault. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood.

A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and summons the rest of the world to its tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him , and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we do not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.

1.What is said about the two diseased elderly women?

A.They lived out a natural life

B.They died of exhaustion after the long plane ride

C.They weren’t used to the change in weather.

D.They died due to lack of care by family members.

2.The author had to conduct the two women’s funerals probably because ______.

A.he wanted to comfort the two families

B.he was an official from the community

C.he had great pity for the deceased

D.he was minister of the local church

3.People feel guilty for the deaths of their loved ones because _____.

A.they couldn’t find a better way to express their sorrow

B.they believe that they were responsible

C.they had neglected the natural course of events

D.they didn’t know things often turn in the opposite direction

4.According to the passage, the underlined part in paragraph 4 probably means that_____.

A.everything in the world is predetermined

B.the world can be interpreted in different ways

C.there is an explanation for everything in the world

D.we have to be sensible in order to understand the world

5.What’s the idea of the passage?

A.Life and death is an unsolved mystery.

B.Every story should have a happy ending.

C.Never feel guilty all the time because not every disaster is our fault.

D.In general, the survivors will feel guilty about the people who passed away.

 

I told my friend Graham that I often cycle two miles from my house to the town centre but unfortunately there is a big hill on the route. He replied, “You mean fortunately.” He explained that I should be glad of the extra exercise that the hill provided.

My attitude to the hill has now changed. I used to grumble as I approached it but now I tell myself the following. This hill will exercise my heart and lungs. It will help me to lose weight and get fit. It will mean that I live longer. This hill is my friend. Finally I comfort myself with the thought of all those silly people who pay money to go to a gym and sit on stationery exercise bicycles when I can get the same value for free. I have a smile of satisfaction as I reach the top of the hill.

Problems are there to be faced and overcome. We cannot achieve anything with an easy life. Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to gain a university degree. Her activism and writing proved inspirational. She wrote, “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can vision be cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.”

One of the key factors of success in life is our attitude towards adversity (逆境). From time to time we all face hardships, problems, accidents, afflictions and difficulties. Some are of our making but many confront us through no fault of our own. While we cannot choose the adversity we can choose our attitude towards it.

Douglas Bader was 21 when in 1931 he had both legs cut off following a flying accident. He was determined to fly again and went on to become one of the leading flying aces in the Battle of Britain with 22 aerial victories over the Germans. He was an inspiration to others during the war. He said, “Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you can’t do this or that. That’s nonsense. Make up your mind, and you’ll never use crutches (拐杖) or a stick, and then have a go at evening. Go to school, and join in all the games you can. Go anywhere you want to. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible.”

The biographies of great people are full of examples of how they took steps to overcome the difficulties they faced. The common thread is that they did not become depressed. They chose their attitude. They chose to be positive. They took on the challenge. They won.

Nevertheless, there is still the problem of how you change your attitude towards adversity.

1.The underlined word “grumble” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to ________.

A.tremble           B.complain          C.speed up          D.slow down

2.Which of the following is true according to the author of the passage?

A.Climbing hills on bicycles is the best way to take exercise.

B.People are wise to pay to go to the gym.

C.Those who want to achieve success can’t expect to live an easy life.

D.People’s attitude towards adversity is the only factor that determines whether they will succeed.

3.By quoting what Douglas Bader said, the author intends to tell us “________”.

A.Failure is the mother of success.

B.A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit.

C.If you venture nothing, you will have nothing.

D.Nothing is difficult to the man who will try.

4.Following this passage, the author will further talk about ________.

A.how his friend helped him to change his attitude towards the adversity he faced

B.what steps to take to change your attitude towards the adversity you face

C.what great people have in common

D.why it is important to keep optimistic in face of adversity

5.Which of the following can best function as the title of the passage?

A.Face adversity with a smile

B.Different attitudes towards adversity

C.Nothing is impossible

D.Life is full of adversity

 

“This is the BBC News at Eight O’ Clock.”

“Chinese people spent about 120 billion yuan during the first three days of the May Golden Week last year. This year it has increased to 140 billion yuan.”

“The children of Beijing No.2 Middle School sang with students from Toronto in Canada to celebrate the 20thanniversary. They had been sister schools since 1986. They spent about two weeks together in Beijing. They visited the Great Wall and the Summer Palace. They took a lot of photos in Beihai Park.”

“Have you ever got tired of heavy shopping bags? A new shopping assistant robot which was invented by Japanese company could be the answer. The helpful robot can follow you around and carry several bags. The robot was tested at a shopping center in February 2006. ”

“About 500 people from different countries were in the 2006 “Rock Paper Scissors(剪刀)” World Match in Canada. This event was founded in 1842. It is said playing this game is fun, and also a good way to solve problems among people.”

“And now it’s time for Morning Music.”

1.The students from Canada and Beijing No. 2 Middle School didn’t ________.

A.take photos

B.visit the Great Wall

C.visit the Summer Palace

D.have a football match

2.This year during the first three days of the May Golden Week, it cost Chinese people ___________ yuan more than that of last year.

A.260 billion

B.120 billion

C.140 billion

D.20 billion

3.Which of the following is not talked about in the news?

A.The robot can help with shopping bags.

B.A Japanese company invented the robot.

C.The robot was tested at a shopping centre.

D.There are such robots in people’s homes now.

4.The underlined word “anniversary” means           .

A.founding

B.yearly return of the date of an event

C.university

D.the new beginning of something important

5.Which of the following is a game?

A.Rock Paper Scissors

B.May Golden Week

C.Shopping assistant robot

D.A visit to the school

 

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