Most people know that a wedding ring is symbolic of the bond of love and commitment between two people. But not everyone knows about the history behind this small yet powerful symbol. The history of the wedding ring goes back not just hundreds but thousands of years. No other currently practiced wedding tradition has been around as long.

The Egyptians were the first recorded civilization to use the wedding ring. In Egyptian hieroglyphics（象形文字）a circle represented eternity. Once a woman accepted the ring she became the “property” of the person who gave it to her and she was in a sense “his”. The first wedding ring could have been made of braided grass or hay (which would have been changed often), ivory, bone, or leather. Finally, metal was used, but the first wedding bands were crude(未加工的)and rough. However, the sentiment remained the same-eternal commitment and love.

The Egyptians wore the wedding ring on the left hand because it was believed that a vein in the left hand went straight to the heart. This tradition is still commonly practiced today in most parts of the world largely for practical purposes（most people are right handed）. It is worn on the fourth finger of the left hand. But there are some countries and groups which do not follow this tradition. In the Jewish faith, the wedding ring is put on the index finger. Roman Catholics traditionally wore their wedding band on the right hand, and in many countries and regions in Europe some people still follow this tradition.

It is interesting to note that in the long history of the wedding ring that it is only in the last century that men have begun to wear them．However, now both men and women show their love and commitment by exchanging rings on their wedding day．

Once you begin shopping for rings you may be amazed by the choices. There are several different types of metals: traditional gold, white gold, platinum, and titanium. You can have an inscription put on the inside of the band if you like. Some people are even choosing a tattoo band. The styles vary from a simple, yet elegant band to an elaborate ring covered with jewels. If you do not buy the wedding and engagement rings as a set, you will want to be sure the styles are compatible(配套). Choose carefully because this choice will need to stand the test of eternity.

What’s the best title for this passage?

    A．History of Rings                B．Interesting Facts about Rings 

    C．Different Rings     D．The Meaning of the Rings

What may the word “eternity” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

    A．round        B．marriage    C．couple       D. forever

What can we infer from the passage?

    A．Men were looked upon by women for thousands years．

    B．Only women have the right to make themselves beautiful．

    C．Women wore rings thousands of years earlier than men．

    D．You could have an inscription put on the inside the band．

It was your birthday, and you just opened your biggest gift — a smooth silver laptop. You can’t wait to instant-message your friends with the news, but first you have to get rid of your old desktop computer. Do you just throw away the monitor and keyboard in the trash? Not anymore!
Three states, that is, California, Maine, and Maryland, recently passed laws prohibiting people from throwing away electronic waste, or e-waste, includes televisions, computers, and cell phones. Although they don’t make you sick when you use them, they do when they are destroyed, for they contain heavy metals that can be harmful to human bodies. For example, cell phone batteries contain a kind of chemical causing damage to kidneys and deserted computer monitors can damage brains. And flat TV screens may cause injury to the nervous system. Those metals can leak into the ground or give off pollutants when burned.
It is required that e-waste be placed at special sites rather than usual landfills. Several other states are considering similar laws and California is also pushing for a law banning the application of such dangerous substances.
Government officials are not the only people taking aim at e-waste; environmentalists are also urging people to recycle their outdated equipment.
“It is just a waste … to not recycle,” Patrick, an associate professor of occupational and environmental health at university of Iowa, told The Daily Iowan, “Allowing dangerous chemicals to leak into the environment for decades seems irresponsible.”
What Can You Do?
Reduce. Be a responsible shopper, and take care of your electronics so they will last longer.
Re-use. Donate or sell your old high-tech equipment.
Recycle. To find a responsible recycler, contact a local or state environmental group.
【小题1】What’s the best title of this passage?

Parents who smoke often open a window or turn on a fan to clear the air for their children, but experts now have identified a related threat to children's health that isn't as easy to get rid of: third-hand smoke。

That's the term being   1   to describe the invisible yet poisonous mixture of gases and particles(颗粒) clinging(依附) to smokers' hair and   2  , not to mention cushions and carpeting, that stays long after second-hand smoke has cleared from a room. The remaining   3  heavy metals, carcinogens(致癌物) and even radioactive materials that young children can get on their hands and take in,   4  if they're crawling or playing on the floor。

Doctors from MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston coined the term "third-hand smoke" to   5  these chemicals in a new study that   6  on the risks they pose to infants and children. The study was published in the  7  issue of the journal Pediatrics。

"Everyone knows that second-hand smoke is bad,  8  they don't know about this," said Dr. Jonathan P. Winickoff, the lead author of the study and an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School。

"When their kids are   9  the house, they might smoke. Or they smoke in the car. Or they strap(用带子捆扎) the kid in the car seat in the back and crack the window and   10  , and they think it's okay because the second-hand smoke isn't getting to their  11  . We needed a term to describe these tobacco toxins that aren't  12  ."

The study reported on  13  toward smoking in 1,500 households across the United States. It found that the vast majority of both smokers and nonsmokers were   14  that second-hand smoke is harmful to children. Some 95 percent of nonsmokers and 84 percent of smokers  15  with the statement that "inhaling smoke from a parent's cigarette can   16  the health of infants and children"。

But   17  fewer of those surveyed were aware of the  18  of third-hand smoke. Since the term is so new, the researchers asked people if they agreed with the statement that "breathing air in a room   19  where people smoked yesterday can harm the health of infants and children"。

Only 65 percent of nonsmokers and 43 percent of smokers agreed with that  20  , which researchers interpreted as acknowledgement of the risks of third-hand smoke。

(    ) 1. A. told                 B. discussed   C. used                 D. mentioned

(    ) 2. A. shoes                      B. clothing     C. body               D. mouth

(    ) 3. A. includes           B. covers       C. finds               D. improves

(    ) 4. A. especially        B. specially    C. immediately      D. regularly

(    ) 5. A. name                      B. call           C. explain             D. describe

(    ) 6. A. focused            B. tended       C. tried                 D. worked

(    ) 7. A. later                 B. latest        C. best                  D. previous

(    ) 8. A. but                  B. and           C. however           D. or

(    ) 9. A. alongside          B. out of            C. in                    D. beside

(    ) 10. A. cough             B. talk           C. observe            D. smoke

(    ) 11. A. cars               B. seats          C. kids                 D. windows

(    ) 12. A. visible            B. invisible    C. poisonous        D. concrete

(    ) 13. A. policies          B. attitudes    C. bans                 D. habits

(    ) 14. A. told               B. content      C. confident          D. aware

(    ) 15. A. opposed          B. agreed       C. fought              D. connected

(    ) 16. A. harm                  B. destroy      C. improve           D. confuse

(    ) 17. A. quite                  B. very          C. far                   D. too

(    ) 18. A. chances          B. risks          C. abilities            D. conditions

(    ) 19. A. tomorrow     B. today               C. yesterday          D. weekend

(    ) 20. A. statement               B. mark        C. discussion        D. Prejudice

SEE a cell phone cover that you like on Taobao? Forget about placing an order, paying the bill online and waiting for days for it to be delivered to you. In the near future, you'll be able to get it in minutes just by hit­ting "print" on your computer.
You might find it hard to believe that you could actually "print" an object like you would a picture. But it is not that hard to under­stand how it would work. Just as a traditional printer sprays (喷) ink onto paper line by line, modern 3-D printers spread material onto a surface layer by layer, from the bottom to the top, gradually building up a shape.
Instead of ink, the materials the 3-D printer uses are mainly plastic, resin (树脂)and certain metals. The thinner each layer is --- from a millimeter to less than the width of a hair ---  the smoother and finer the object will be.
This may sound like a completely new technology, but the truth is that 3-D printing has been around since the late 1980s. Back then, it was barely affordable for most people, so few knew about it.
Last year, though, saw a big change in the 3-D printing industry--- printers became much cheaper. For example, 10 years ago a desktop 3-D printer might have cost £20,000 (200,000 yuan), while now they cost only about £ 1,000, according to the BBC.
Taken out of the factory and in­troduced to more diverse and com­mon uses, 3-D printing can create just about anything you can think of ---flutes (笛子), bikinis, jewelry, aircraft parts and even human organs. In fact, scientists from Cornell Univer­sity in New York have just made an artificial ear using a 3-D printer, accord­ing to Science Daily. The fake ear looks and acts exactly like a natural one.
However, as 3-D printing becomes more commonplace, it may bring about certain problems --- such as piracy. "Once you can download a coffee maker, or print out a new set of kitchen utensils (餐具) on your personal 3-D printer, who will visit a retail (零售的) store again?" an expert in 3-D printing told Forbes News. Even more frightening, what if anyone in the world could use a 3-D printer to print out a fully functioning gun?
【小题1】According to the article, in the future, the 3-D printing technology will ___.

Are you worried by the rising crime rate? If you are, you probably know that your house and possessions are increasingly in danger of suffering from great rise in the cases of burglary(夜盗;抢劫) and attack.
Figures show an ever-increasing crime rate, but it is only too easy to imagine "It will never happen to me"．Unfortunately, statistics show that it really can happen to you and, if you live in a large city, you run twice the risk of being a victim.
Fortunately, there is something definite which you can do．Protect Alarms can help to protect your house with a burglar alarm system which is effective, simple to operate and easily affordable.
You must remember that owning a burglar alarm is no indication(暗示) that your house is packed with valuable possessions．It quite simply indicates to unwelcome visitors that yours is one house they will not break into easily, so they carry on to an unprotected house where their job is made a lot easier.
Send now for our free leaflet telling you how we can Protect Alarm your house quickly, easily and cheaply．Complete and tear off the slip below and post it to us．Postage is free．Also, telephone us on 327 6721 where we have a round-the-clock answering service．It costs nothing to find out about Protect Alarm.
【小题1】Anyone who takes an interest in the crime rate will, according to the text, be aware that ___________.