The West is full of fast food and large amounts of food which contribute to many women’s being fat. While many are fat, thin women are admired and seen as healthier. This has led to a culture of gym-going, strange dieting methods and, frequently, eating disorders. In the East, women tend to be smaller and many women take pills to keep their slim figures as they get older. However, you’re mistaken if you think thinness is the beauty standard all over the world. The BBC reports that in Mauritania, Africa, the opposite is true.

In Mauritania, mothers force their daughters to eat a lot of food so that they get as fat as possible. The fatter they are, the more likely they are to marry well. Fat is also considered healthy, because in a country where HIV/AIDS is a very real problem, thin people are often sick and dying. However, “healthy” fat women are suffering from some problems of their own and many are dying in their 40s of weight-related diseases.

The Mauritanian government is trying to warn its people of the dangers of being overweight but it’s not easy to change cultural views. Many women worry that if they lose weight, their husbands will leave them for fatter, more attractive women.

       It seems that while education about the dangers of being too thin and too fat is very important, what the world really needs is to become less pre-occupied with the size, shape and weight of women’s bodies. The promotion of healthy practices is easy but changing cultural beauty standards takes more time, imagination and effort.

52. According to the article, why are women usually fatter in the West?

       A. They don’t exercise enough.  
       B. Large food portions and fast food are common.

       C. They use unhealthy dieting methods. 
       D. They believe that being fat is beautiful.

53. What examples does the writer give of unhealthy weight-loss methods in the East and West?

       A. Strange dieting methods, exercising, taking pills and eating too much.

       B. Taking pills, watching what you eat and exercising.

                  C. Strange dieting methods and warning people about the dangers of  

            being overweight.

       D. Gym-going, strange dieting methods, eating disorders and taking pills.

54. Why are girls forced to eat a lot of food in Mauritania?

       A. They believe that fat people won’t get HIV/AIDS.

       B. They believe that they can lead healthier lives.

       C. They believe if they grow fat, they may possibly marry good husbands.

       D. They believe that they won’t get sick very often.

55. According to the article, why do some women in Mauritania not want to lose weight even though they know being fat is unhealthy? 

       A. They worry that their husbands will leave them if they’re thin.

       B. They really like being beautiful.

       C. They really like eating a lot of food and being fat.

       D. The government forces them to eat a lot so they won’t get sick.

56. Does the writer think it’s important to educate people about the dangers of eating too much or too little?

       A. Yes, the writer thinks it should be taught in schools.

       B. No, the writer thinks that people should learn for themselves.

       C. Yes, but the writer thinks that other changes are also necessary.

                     D. No, the writer thinks it’s more important to change cultural beauty                      standards.

“Time is a problem for children,” states a news report for a new Swiss watch. Children in some countries “learn time slowly” because “they don’t wear watches” and “parents don’t really know how to teach them time.” The children grow up with this handicap and become adults-and then can’t get to work on time. Is there an answer to this problem? Of course-it’s the Flick Flak, made by a famous Swiss watch company.

The Flick Flak is being marketed as something teaching watch for children aged 4 to 10. The watch itself does not teach children how to tell time, of course; it merely “takes their imagination” by presenting the “hour” hand as a beautiful red girl named Flak and the “minute” hand as a tall blue boy named Flick. Flick points to related “blue” minutes on the dial, while Flak points to “red” hour numbers. The characters and colors combined with parental help, are supposed to teach young children how to tell time.

The watch comes equipped with a standard battery and a nylon band (尼龙表带). Peter Lipkin, the United States sales manager for the Flick Flak, calls it “childproof: if it gets dirty you can throw the whole watch in the washing machine.” The product is being sold in select department stores in Europe, Asia and the United States for a suggested price of $25. Parents who buy the watch may discover that it is one thing to tell time; it’s quite another for them to be on time.

1.From the news report we know that ______.

A．parents are patient when teaching children time

B．parents have little idea of how to teach children time

C．children are likely to learn time quickly

D．children enjoy wearing the Flick Flak watch

2.The author doesn’t seem to believe ______.

A．children will be on time if they have not learnt how to tell time

B．a Flick Flak can help parents teach their children how to tell time

C．the Flick Flak can take children’s imagination

D．children usually have trouble telling time if they don’t wear watches

3.The underlined word handicap (Para. 1) means ______.

A．displeasure        B．discouragement     C．disappointment     D．disadvantage

4.The United State sales manager calls the new watch “childproof” because ______.

A．it is designed to teach children to be on time

B．it proves to be effective in teaching children time

C．it is made so as not to be easily damaged by children

D．it is the children’s favorite watch

In Canada you can find dogs, cats, horses, etc. in almost every family. These are their pets. People love these pets and have them as their good friends. Before they keep them in their houses, they take them to animal hospitals to give them injections(注射) so that they won't carry disease. They have special animal food stores, though they can get animal food in almost every kind of stores. Some people spend around two hundred Canadian dollars a month on animal food. When you visit people's houses, they would be very glad to show you their pets and they are very proud of them. You will also find that almost every family has a bird feeder in their garden. All kinds of birds are welcomed to come and have a good meal. They are free to come and go and nobody is allowed to kill any animal in Canada. They have a law against killing wild animals. If you killed an animal, you would be punished. If an animal happened to get run over by a car, people would be very sad about it.

People in Canada have many reasons to like animals. One of them might be: Their family ties are not as close as ours. When children grow up, they leave their parents and start their own life. Then the old will feel lonely. But pets can solve this problem. They can be good friends and never leave them alone.

The passage mainly talks about ________ .

A. how to keep disease from pets      B. pets in Canada

C. how to take good care of pets       D. life of the old in Canada

They give their pets injections before keeping them at their houses because ___ .

A. the pets are sick        

B. the pets are wild

C. they want to stop them from carrying disease

D. they want them to sleep on the way home

This passage shows that Canadians ________ .

A. hate animals           B. often kill animals

C. love animals           D. don't keep pets inside house

In Canada, children leave their parents when they grow up because _____ .

A. they don't love their parents any more

B. they can only find jobs far from their parents

C. their parents' houses are too small

D. they wouldn't depend on their parents any more

As I understand, if scientists produced a human clone, there would be a great risk of it having a disease. Nobody seems to understand the ageing process of a clone. It would be terrible if a baby was the age of its parent at     31   . Its cells would grow old fast and it would die young.    32    until the technique is perfectly safe, it should be     33   .

I'd love to have a clone of     34   . I often wish I had a twin sister, someone who    35   me in everything. So why not a clone? Well, the idea    36   be fun but I'm not sure if it would be     37   . I think we would be playing with fire if we let scientists go ahead with     38   cloning. There are so many     39   

involved that all research in this area should be strictly controlled.

There are so many arguments     40    cloning that it is difficult to get anyone to consider the possible benefits. I am     41    that it is a technique which could be beneficial. The most obvious use would be for childless     42   . They would be able to have babies with their own genetic material. I don't see what's wrong with that.

Imagine a child     43    up knowing that his or her mother is really a sister or a brother. The emotional     44    on the child would be     45   . Or a child who was cloned from a dead brother or sister. What kind of emotional pressure would they feel, knowing they were made as a replacement for another? The whole idea

    46    me!

It's all very good to ban human cloning but scientists should be allowed to   47   

research. If they don't, we may     48    important benefits for our society, such as producing body organs. A clone is an     49    copy of a person with the same gene. Therefore, it is the     50    donor for an organ(器官) transplant.

We convince ourselves that life will be better once we are married, have a baby, then another. Then we get frustrated because our children are not old enough, and that __1__ will be well when they are older. Then we are frustrated __2__ they reach adolescence and we must deal with them. Surely we’ll be __3__ when they grow out of the teen years.

We tell ourselves our __4__ will be better when our spouse(配偶)gets his/her act together, when we have a nicer car, when we can take a __5__， when we finally retire. The truth is that there is no better time to be happy than __6__.If not, then when? Your life will always be full of challenges. It is better to admit as much and to decide to be happy __7__it all. For the longest time, it seemed that life was about to start—real life.

But there were always some obstacles along the way, an ordeal(苦难) to __8__， some work to be finished, some time to be given, a bill to be __9__.Then life would start. It finally dawned on me that those __10__ were part of life. Little by little, that point of __11__ also helped me see that there isn’t any road to happiness.

Happiness is the road. So, enjoy every moment. And bear in mind that __12__ waits for no one. So stop __13__ school to end, for a return to school, to lose ten pounds, to __14__ ten pounds, for work to begin, to get married，...before deciding to be happy.

Happiness is a voyage, not a destination. There is no __15__ time to be happy than...NOW! Live and enjoy the moment.

1.A.we                  B．they             C．all              D．nothing

2.A.because             B．but          C．so           D．and

3.A.luckier             B．happier      C．older        D．healthier

4.A.life            B．study        C．children         D．condition

5.A.rest            B．bath             C．breath       D．vacation

6.A.before              B．ever             C．just then    D．right now

7.A.instead of          B．in addition to  C．in spite of  D．up to

8.A.meet with       B．go ahead     C．turn to      D．get through

9.A.paid            B．got              C．asked        D．printed

10.A.achievements  B．obstacles        C．duties      D．opinions

11.A.view           B．life             C．position         D．condition

12.A.happiness          B．time             C．age          D．road

13.A.asking for         B．supposing        C．waiting for      D．hoping for

14.A.gain           B．reduce       C．weigh        D．enjoy

15.A.worse              B．better       C．more         D．less