Few laws are so effective that you can see results just days after they take effect. But in the nine days since the federal cigarette tax more than doubled-to $1.01 per pack-smokers have jammed telephone "quit lines" across the country seeking to kick the habit.

This is not a surprise to public health advocates. They've studied the effect of state tax increases for years, finding that smokers, especially teens, are price sensitive. Nor is it a shock to the industry, which fiercely fights every tax increase.

The only wonder is that so many states insist on closing their ears to the message. Tobacco taxes improve public health, they raise money and most particularly, they deter people from taking up the habit as teens, which is when nearly all smokers are addicted. Yet the rate of taxation varies widely.

In Manhattan, for instance, which has the highest tax in the nation, a pack of Marlboro Light Kings cost $10.06 at one drugstore Wednesday. In Charleston, S.C., where the 7-cent-a-pack tax is the lowest in the nation, the price was $4.78.

The influence is obvious.

In New York, high school smoking hit a new low in the latest surveys-13.8%, far below the national average. By comparison, 26% of high school students smoke in Kentucky. Other low-tax states have similarly depressing teen-smoking records.

Hal Rogers, Representative from Kentucky, like those who are against high tobacco taxes, argues that the burden of the tax falls on low-income Americans "who choose to smoke".

That's true. But there is more reason in keeping future generations of low-income workers from getting hooked in the first place. As for today's adults, if the new tax drives them to quit, they will have more to spend on their families, cut their risk of cancer and heart disease and feel better.

1.The text is mainly about .

A. the price of cigarettes

B. the rate of teen smoking

C. the effect of tobacco tax increase

D. the differences in tobacco tax rate

2.What does the author think is a surprise?

A. Teen smokers are price sensitive

B. Some states still keep the tobacco tax low

C. Tobacco taxes improve public health

D. Tobacco industry fiercely fights the tax rise

3.Rogers' attitude towards the low-income smokers might be that of .

A. tolerance B. unconcern

C. doubt D. sympathy

4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A. The new tax will be beneficial in the long run

B. Low-income Americans are more likely to fall ill

C. Future generations will be hooked on smoking

D. Adults will depend more on their families

Elephants don’t forget-at least, female(雌性的) elephants don’t. Elephant families are matriarchal. And the social knowledge gained by the oldest females is the key to a family group's survival (生存), according to a study published in April by Karen McComb, a biologist at Sussex University in England.

Elephants announce their presence by making a deep, long sound, a practice referred to as contact calling(联络呼叫). An unfamiliar call may mean that an elephant from outside the family group is nearby. A stranger can cause trouble. Interrupting feeding or disturbing the young. So an elephant matriarch signals the family to gather around her; then they all lift their trunks in the air to smell the unfamiliar caller. False alarms can disturb the group and take time and energy away from feeding, so survival may depend in part on getting it right.

Working with Cynthia Moss, who founded the Amboseli Elephant Research Project in Kenya 30 years ago, McComb tested the social knowledge of 21 Amboseli elephant families with matriarchs 27 to 67 years old. She played recordings of contact calls to each family and found that the oldest matriarchs were much better at picking out unfamiliar calls. In fact, a group with a matriarch in her fifties was several thousand times more likely to form into a group upon hearing an unfamiliar contact call than when hearing a familiar call. However, families with younger matriarchs were less than twice as likely to gather together upon hearing an unfamiliar contact call as compared with a familiar call. And they gathered together a lot. Moreover, the social knowledge of older matriarchs translated into favorable results: Families with older matriarchs produced more baby elephants in each female-reproductive year.

This finding shows how difficult it is to protect the oldest members of elephant families. As elephants age, they continue to grow larger, as do their much wanted tusks(象牙). So the older-and wiser-a matriarch is, the greater the chance she will be killed. About 800,000 elephants have been killed by people in the past 20 years.

1.What does the underlined word in Para 2 "matriarch" mean?

A. An old member of an elephant family

B. A female head of an elephant family

C. A wise elephant

D. A large elephant

2.The research with recordings of contact calls shows .

A. How fast elephants form into groups

B. How important the age of a leading elephant is

C. How frightened elephants are when hearing a strange call

D. How frequently old elephants call other members of the family

3.When do elephants form into a group?

A. When they are feeding the young.

B. When they see a familiar elephant.

C. When they are giving birth to baby elephants.

D. When the leading elephant gives out a warning.

4.The older a female elephant is, _____.

A. the stronger she will be

B. the poorer memory she will have

C. the more useless her tusks will be

D. the more likely she will be killed

How Teens Can Stay Fit

Any type of regular, physical activity can improve your fitness and your health. Doing physical exercise is easy, but the difficult thing is that you keep moving!1., like brushing your teeth, eating, and sleeping. It can be in gym class, joining a sports team, or working out on your own. Keep the following tips in mind:

2.. A good mental attitude is important. Find an activity that you think is fun. You are more likely to keep with it if you choose something you like. A lot of people find it’s more fun to exercise with someone else, so see if you can find a friend or family member to be active with you.

Take it one step at a time.3.. For example, walk or ride your bike to school or to a friend’s house instead of getting a ride. Get on or off the bus several blocks away and walk the rest of the way. Use the stairs instead of taking the elevator or escalator.

Get your heart pumping(跳动). Whatever you choose, make sure it includes aerobic(有氧的) activity that makes you breathe harder and increases your heart rate. This is the best type of exercise because it increases your fitness level and makes your heart and lungs work better.4.. Examples of aerobic activities are basketball, running, or swimming.

Don’t forget to warm up with some easy exercises or stretching(拉伸) before you do any physical activity.5.. Stretching makes your muscles and joints more flexible too. It is also important to stretch out after you exercise to cool down your muscles.

A. It also burns off body fat

B. Stay positive and have fun

C. Physical exercise can help prevent diseases

D. Small changes can add up to better fitness

E. Exercise should be a regular part of your day

F. This warms your muscles up and may help protect against injury

G. Do the activity as often as possible, but don’t exercise to the point of pain.

Some people are afraid of starting a casual conversation with a stranger because of a fear of not having anything interesting to say. Fear of rejection is also a ______ for keeping silent. Small talk in a conversation can ______ as a way of warming up and getting to ______ each other. Most people, no matter ______ successful they are at work, will find the process of ______ small talk uncomfortable, even pointless.______, you will have a pretty small world ______ you refuse to let others in. Starting off with a casual comment or question will make others ______, and even just greeting them with a simple “hello” will often be enough.

Once you have made the first ______, there is no turning back. You need to keep things ______ before you can gracefully say goodbye. Think about what you would like to ______ with a new friend and that is what you can ask the other person about. Work, family, hobbies or interests are some ______ points of discussion. To keep the ball rolling, you can show that you are really ______ in what they are saying. Once you find common ______ of interest, things will definitely ______ off from there.

Small talk can ______ out to be a pleasant experience. The conversation ______ be brief and casual without turning into a long and boring discussion. Do not let yourself ______ the conversation where other people have no chance to talk. Stop worrying about how big of a fool you may appear to be. You may ______ find out later on that you have the “______” of getting people to open up to you by engaging them in small talk.

1.A. right B. reason C. result D. sign

2.A. take B. use C. mean D. serve

3.A. know B. learn C. recognize D. help

4.A. what B. whether C. why D. how

5.A. giving B. leaving C. making D. forcing

6.A. So B. Instead C. However D. Besides

7.A. unless B. until C. if D. Though

8.A. comfortable B. upset C. nervous D. satisfied

9.A. dream B. plan C. wish D. move

10.A. changing B. rising C. improving D. going

11.A. know B. share C. do D. show

12.A. private B. present C. important D. general

13.A. careful B. surprised C. interested D. encouraged

14.A. ideas B. experiences C. points D. actions

15.A. take B. put C. get D. set

16.A. come B. turn C. find D. figure

17.A. should B. can C. will D. may

18.A. start B. complete C. consider D. control

19.A. still B. even C. ever D. almost

20.A. right B. belief C. talent D. habit

Tom was one of the brightest boys in the year,with supportive parents.But when he was 15 he suddenly stopped trying.He left school at 16 with only two scores for secondary school subjects.One of the reasons that made it cool for him not to care was the power of his peer(同龄人)group.

The lack of right male role models in many of their lives—at home and particularly in the school environment—means that their peers are the only people they have to judge themselves against.

They don't see men succeeding in society so it doesn't occur to them that they could make something of themselves.Without male teachers as a role model,the effect of peer actions and street culture is all-powerful.Boys want to be part of a club.However,schools can provide the environment for change,and provide the right role models for them.Teachers need to be trained to stop that but not in front of a child's peers.You have to do it one to one, because that is when you see the real child.

It's pointless sending a child home if he or she has done wrong.They see it as a welcome day off to watch television or play computer games.Instead,schools should have a special unit where a child who has done wrong goes for the day and gets advice about his problems—somewhere he can work away from his peers and go home after the other children.

1.Why did Tom give up studying?

A. He disliked his teachers.

B. His parents no longer supported him.

C. It's cool for boys of his age not to care about studies.

D. There were too many subjects in his secondary school.

2.What seems to have a bad effect on students like Tom?

A. Peer groups.

B. A special unit.

C. The student judges.

D. The home environment.

3.What should schools do to help the problem schoolboys?

A. Wait for their change patiently.

B. Train leaders of their peer groups.

C. Stop the development of street culture.

D. Give them lessons in a separate area.

4.A teacher's work is most effective with a schoolboy when he .

A. is with the boy alone

B. teaches the boy a lesson

C. sends the boy home as punishment

D. works together with another teacher

Silence is unnatural to man.He begins life with a cry and ends it in stillness.In between he does all he can to make a noise in the world,and he fears silence more than anything else.Even his conversation is an attempt to prevent a fearful silence.If he is introduced to another person,and a number of pauses occur in the conversation,he regards himself as a failure,a worthless person,and is full of envy of the emptiest-headed chatterbox(喋喋不休的人). He knows that ninety nine percent of human conversation means no more than the buzzing of a fly,but he is anxious to join in the buzz and to prove that he is a man and not a waxwork figure(蜡塑人像).

The aim of conversation is not,for the most part,to communicate ideas;it is to keep up the buzzing sound.There are,it must be admitted,different qualities of buzz;there is even a buzz that is as annoying as the continuous noise made by a mosquito.But at a dinner party one would rather be a mosquito than a quiet person.Most buzzing, fortunately,is pleasant to the ear,and some of it is pleasant even to the mind.He would be a foolish man if he waited until he had a wise thought to take part in the buzzing with his neighbors.

Those who hate to pick up the weather as a conversational opening seem to me not to know the reason why human beings wish to talk.Very few human beings join in a conversation in the hope of learning anything new.Some of them are content if they are merely allowed to go on making a noise into other people's ears,though they have nothing to tell them except that they have seen two or three new plays or that they had food in a Swiss hotel.At the end of an evening,during which they have said nothing meaningful for a long time.They just prove themselves to be successful conservationists.

1.According to the author,people make conversation to .

A. exchange ideas B. prove their value

C. achieve success in life D. overcome their fear of silence

2.By “the buzzing of a fly”(Para.1),the author means “ ”.

A. the noise of an insect B. a low whispering sound

C. meaningless talks D. the voice of a chatterbox

3.According to the passage,people usually talk to their neighbors .

A. about whatever they have prepared B. about whatever they want to

C. in the hope of learning something new D. in the hope of getting on well

4.What is the author's purpose in writing the passage?

A. To discuss why people like talking about weather.

B. To encourage people to join in conversations.

C. To persuade people to stop making noises.

D. To explain why people keep talking.

As kids,my friends and I spent a lot of time out in the woods,"The woods" was our part-time address, destination,purpose,and excuse.If I went to a friend's house and found him not at home,his mother might say, "Oh,he's out in the woods,"with a tone of airy acceptance.It's similar to the tone people sometimes use nowadays to tell me that someone I'm looking for is on the golf course or at the gym,or even "away from his desk."For us ten-year-olds,"being out in the woods" was just an excuse to do whatever we feel like for a while.

We sometimes told ourselves that what we were doing in the woods was exploring.Exploring was a more popular idea back then than it is today.History seemed to be mostly about explorers.Our explorations,though,seemed to have less system than the historic kind: something usually came up along the way.Say we stayed in the woods, throwing rocks,shooting frogs,picking blackberries,digging in what we were briefly persuaded was an Italian burial mound.

Often we got "lost" and had to climb a tree to find out where we were.If you read a story in which someone does that successfully,be skeptical: the topmost branches are usually too skinny to hold weight,and we could never climb high enough to see anything except other trees.There were four or five trees that we visited regularly—tall beeches,easy to climb and comfortable to sit in.

It was in a tree,too,that our days of fooling around in the woods came to an end.By then some of us had reached seventh grade and had begun the rough ride of adolescence.In March,the month when we usually took to the woods again after winter,two friends and I set out to go exploring.We climbed a tree,and all of a sudden it occurred to all three of us at the same time that we really were rather big to be up in a tree.Soon there would be the spring dances on Friday evenings in the high school cafeteria.

1.The author and his fiends were often out in the woods to .

A. spend their free time

B. play gold and other sports

C. avoid doing their schoolwork

D. keep away from their parents

2.What can we infer from Paragraph 2?

A. The activities in the woods were well planned.

B. Human history is not the result of exploration.

C. Exploration should be a systematic activity.

D. The author explored in the woods aimlessly.

3.How does the author feel about his childhood?

A. Happy but short. B. Lonely but memorable.

C. Boring and meaningless. D. Long and unforgettable.

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