Do you know what couch-potato means? Well, in America, the word is now often used. The American couch-potato becomes maybe even a part of the American tradition (传统)! You see, in America, many people often spend their free time sitting on a couch (沙发) watching TV. As there are many channels (频道) to choose, the TV can be quite interesting and very addictive (上瘾的). One may sit and watch TV for hours and hours without stop! Well, these people who do nothing all day except watch TV are called couch-potatoes.

In America, when one watches TV, one is most often sitting on a couch. While watching TV,  most of these people look so frozen (冻僵的) that they almost look like dead things! Everyone is sitting still with eyes looking right into the same black box. Also because these people are addictive to TV, they don’t take exercise and usually get very fat. So in many ways, these people look like real potatoes! Well, because they look so still and fat, and watch TV on a couch, they are all called couch-potatoes. Now that you know what a couch-potato means, the next time if you see someone watching TV too long, just say, “What a couch-potato!”

(   ) 35. The word “couch-potato” is used in _____.

        A. China        B. America         C. Japan         D. France

(   ) 36. If a person is called “couch-potato”, he or she ______.

       A. likes sitting on a couch         B. does nothing all day

       C. must be very fat and short        D. only watches TV in his free time

(   ) 37. The passage mainly tells us ______.

       A. how to watch TV                                  B. why couch-potatoes are very fat

       C. what a couch-potato means        D. where the new word is used

(   ) 38. Which of the following should be the writer’s suggestion?

       A. Take more exercise.               B. Never watch TV.

       C. Don’t sit on a couch.           D. Don’t watch TV too much.

Do you know what couch-potato means? Well, in America, the word is now often used. You see, in America, many people often spend their free time sitting on a sofa watching TV. As there are many channels (频道) to choose, the TV can be quite interesting and very addictive (使人上瘾的). One may sit and watch TV for hours and hours without stop! Well, these people who do nothing all day except watch TV are called couch-potatoes.

In America, while watching TV, most often sitting still with eyes looking right into the TV set. Also because these people are addictive to TV, they don’t take exercise and usually get very fat. So in many ways, these people look like real potatoes! Well, because they look fat, and watch TV on a couch, they are all called couch-potatoes. Now you know what a couch-potato means. The next time if you see someone watching TV too long, just say, “What a couch-potato!”

6. The word “couch-potato” is often used in ______.

A. China        B. America      C. France     D. Germany

7. If a person is called a couch-potato, he or she ______.

A. does nothing all day            B. must be very fat

C. often watches TV in his free time  D. often listens to music

8. Why does a couch-potato look like a real potato? Because he or she ______.

A. is fat and can’t take exercise    B. likes eating potatoes

C. is fat and round              D. almost never moves while watching TV and gets fat

9. The passage mainly (主要) tells us ______ .

A. how to watch TV               B. what couch-potato means

C. why couch-potatoes are very fat   D. where you can find couch-potatoes

10. Which of the followings do you think may be the writer’s suggestion?

A. Never watch TV.                B. Don’t sit on a couch.     

C. Don’t watch TV too much.        D. Don’t eat too much

What do you want to be when you grow up? A teacher? A doctor? How about an ice-cream taster?
Yes, there really is a job where you can get paid to taste ice cream. Just ask John Harrison, an “Official Taste Tester” for the past 2l years. Harrison’s job has been responsible for approving（批准）large numbers of the sweet ice cream – as well as for developing over 15 flavors（味道）.
Some people think that it would be easy to do this job; after all, you just have to like ice cream, right? No – there’s more to the job than that, says Harrison, who has a degree in chemistry. He points out that a dairy or food-science degree would be very useful to someone wanting a job in this “cool field”.
In a typical morning on the job, Harrison tastes and grades 60 ice-cream samples. He lets the ice cream warm up to about 12^oF. Harrison explains, “You get more flavor from warmer ice cream, which is why some kids like to stir it, creating ice-cream soup.”
While the ice cream warms up, Harrison looks over the samples and grades each one on its appearance. “Tasting begins with the eyes,” he explains. He checks to see if the ice cream is attractive and asks himself, “Does the product have the colour expected from that flavor?” Next it’s time to taste!
Continuing to think up new ideas, try out new flavors and test samples from so many kinds of ice cream each day keeps Harrison busy but happy – working at one cool job.
【小题1】What is John Harrison’s job?