I have to admit: I don’t flush the toilet every time I go to the bathroom. In fact, I firmly believe “If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.”

I’m sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that I work at home. Alone (well, except for the cats and dogs). All day. And I drink a lot of water, which makes for many trips to the bathroom.

Another thing I have to admit: I also try to use very little toilet paper. I wash my hands after, though. Every time. (So maybe the water I don’t use flushing makes up for the water used to wash my hands?)

Ironically, my husband, who only uses toilet paper when necessary, always flushes. But he doesn’t seem to mind that I don’t flush every time. Or, at least not enough to file for divorce yet.

 Posted by Juliet Farmer

 Jun 14, 2010 at 10:21 PM

阅读理解

　　Where did you see a polar bear? At a zoo, perhaps If you had attended a winter activity in New York a few years ago, you would have seen a whole polar bear club. These “Polar Bears” are people who meet frequently in the winter to swim in freezing cold water. That day, the air temperature was 3℃, and the water temperature was a bit higher. The members of the Polar Bear Club at Coney Island , New York are usually about the age of 60. Members must satisfy two requirements. First, they must get along well with everyone else in the group; this is very important because there are so many different kinds of people in the club. Polar Bears must also agree to swim outdoors at least twice a month from November through February.

　　Doctors do not agree about the medical effects of cold-water swimming. Some are worried about the dangers of a condition in which the body's temperature drops so low that finally the heart best stops. Other doctors, however, point out that there is more danger of a heart attack during summer swimming because the difference between the air temperature and water temperature is much greater in summer than in winter.

　　The Polar Bears themselves are satisfied with the benefits of cold-water swimming. They say that their favourite form of exercise is very good for the circulatory system （循环系统） because it forces the blood to move fast to keep the body warm. Cold-water swimmers usually turn bright red after a few minutes in the water. A person who turns blue probably has a very poor circulatory system and should not try cold-water swimming.

　　The main benefits of cold-water swimming are probably mental. The Polar Bears love to swim all the year round; they find it fun and relaxing. As one 70-year-old woman says, “When I go into the water, I pour my troubles into the ocean and let them float away.”

1．Which of the following is NOT necessary for members of the Polar Bear Club? ________.

[　　]

A．They should be easy to make friends with

B．They must swim outdoors at least 8 times in the four cold months

C．They must agree to swim outdoors from November through February

D．They must have reached the age of 60

2．Doctors ________.

[　　]

A．encourage people to take part in cold-water swimming actively

B．point out the possible danger of blood illness during cold-water swimming

C．believe swimming is helpful both in winter and in summer

D．have different ideas about the medical effects of cold-water swimming.

3．According to the passage, some doctors believe it is true that ________.

[　　]

A．you are healthy if cold-water swimming turns your skin color blue

B．there is more danger of a heart attack during summer swimming

C．cold-water swimming can make the body temperature dangerously high

D．Polar Bears are bears swimming in freezing water

4．The Polar Bears like to swim all the year round because ________.

[　　]

A．they can remain young

B．it is an easy way to keep the body warm in winter

C．they find it enjoyable and interesting

D．they might meet fewer troubles in life

5．The passage is mainly about ________.

[　　]

A．a group of cold-water swimming lovers

B．the Polar Bears' life in New York

C．doctors' ideas about cold-water swimming

D．the requirements of the Polar Bear Club

I have to admit: I don’t flush the toilet every time I go to the bathroom. In fact, I firmly believe “If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.”

I’m sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that I work at home. Alone (well, except for the cats and dogs). All day. And I drink a lot of water, which makes for many trips to the bathroom.

Another thing I have to admit: I also try to use very little toilet paper. I wash my hands after, though. Every time. (So maybe the water I don’t use flushing makes up for the water used to wash my hands?)

Ironically, my husband, who only uses toilet paper when necessary, always flushes. But he doesn’t seem to mind that I don’t flush every time. Or, at least not enough to file for divorce yet.

 Posted by Juliet Farmer

 Jun 14, 2010 at 10:21 PM

Comments (2)                                                     

When I’m at home alone I do not flush every time I pee(小便).  My husband hates that, though, so when he’s home, I flush a little more often.  I grew up doing that because I had a family that lived with huge tanks and you have to do it that way because it’s easier on the system, so it doesn’t bother me.  I do flush when I’m out in public, at people’s houses that don’t have big tanks and when we have company!

CherBearCM, Jun 15, 2010 at 4:21 PM

Not always. But I have 4 children who are always hanging from the door knob（球形捏手） while I pee anyway. So I’m lucky I have time to wash my hands after. The average toilet uses 8 gallons of water per flush! Much less than what it takes to wash my hands after. (just saying)

luvbnmomnwife, Jun 15, 2010 at 4:32 PM

CherBearCM doesn’t flush the toilet every time she pees ______.

A. because she can’t afford so much water

B. because her husband doesn’t like that

C. when she is with her friends

D. when she is alone

luvbnmomnwife seems to enjoy ________.

A. washing hands after using the toilet

B. taking care of her four children

C. peeing with her kids watching

D. flushing the toilet after peeing

The text is taken from ________.

A. a newspaper           B. a website

C. a magazine            D. a handbook

Which of the following titles best suits the text?

A. Stop flushing your toilet!

B. Do you flush the toilet every time?

C. Don’t forget to flush the toilet after peeing!

D. Do you realize the importance of saving water?

Tim Welford, aged 33, and Dom Mee, aged 30, both from England, were keen on (=like... very much) rowing boats. They made a plan to row across the Pacific Ocean from Japan to San Francisco. The name of their rowboat was “Crackers”. It was about seven meters long.

     They set out from Japan on May 17,2001. They had rowed nearly 5,500 miles when their boat was hit by a fishing ship on September 17,2001. Luckily they both escaped unharmed, but their boat was badly damaged and they had to abandon( = stop)their journey.

　 　In a radio interview, Dom expressed his disappointment and explained how the accident took place.

　　“A fishing ship came towards us with nobody on the bridge and ran us down. It all happened so quickly. I managed to dive into the water. Tim felt it would be safer to stay on board. He was trapped inside as the boat was driven under the water. Finally some people appeared on the ship and saw me in the water. I shouted at them to stop the ship and to get Tim out. When the ship stopped, I eventually saw Tim, and I was very, very happy that we were still alive. We were very disappointed that we couldn’t reach San Francisco. But we are alive. That above everything is the most important. ”

41. How long had Tim and Dom been at sea when their boat was hit by a fishing boat?

A. For one month　 　           B. For two months. 

C. For three months.　　        D. For four months.

42. According to Dom, the main reason for the accident was that________.

A. Tim and Dom were too careless

B. the speed of the fishing ship was too fast

C. nobody on the fishing ship saw them

D. their rowboat was not strong enough

43. Dom said that the most important thing in this accident was that________.

A. their rowboat was not damaged

B. both of them existed after a dangerous time

C. they enjoyed this journey

D. they failed to reach San Francisco

44. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

A. Some people on the fishing ship saved them.

B. Tim and Dom were going to San Francisco in the rowboat because they had no money to buy airplane tickets.

C. Dom dived into the water when the accident happened because he thought it would be dangerous to stay on board.

D. Dom told people about their dangerous experience when he was interviewed on the radio.

It was early in the morning, on a lonely road. It's 1  heavily. A 9-year-old boy was in the car with his mother, who was 2  him to school. Suddenly, the car went off the road, rolled  several times, and came to rest upside down in a ditch (沟渠) filled with water.
Luckily, both the mother and son were 3  seatbelts. The mother suffered a blow to her head and was unable to move. The boy was frightened but 4 . As water came through broken windows in the car, he 5  unbuckled (解开) himself, climbed out of the  passenger  window, made his way around to the driver's side, and reached inside the 6  to free his trapped mother. With great effort, he managed to 7  her, pull her through the window and up to the road, where they were soon 8  .
His mother later recalled her experience of the 9  . Being unable to move or even  speak   to offer instructions (指导) or encouragement to her son, she was  10  by her little son's action. She recalled hearing  her boy saying out loud as he pulled her through the water, “I think I can, I think I can!”
It seemed clear    that this little boy's act of courage was from one of his favorite books: The Little Engine that Could. In that  11  , when everyone else had  12  hope, the Little Engine carried the heavy load of toys and good things to eat over the hill to the children waiting on the other side. He had 13  and took action. Obviously this book had left a 14  impression before the accident that rainy 15  and motivated (激励) the son to take action if the terrifying moments.