Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in no more than ten words:

Just Ask Grandma

We read and hear a lot about healthy eating in newspapers and on TV nowadays. Experts and nutritionists tell us what to eat, when to eat and how to eat to stay healthy, Some of the their advice seems reasonable. Some just sounds strange. Who can we rely on?

Well, ask yourself another question: How did people choose foods and stay healthy before there were nutrition experts? We relied on culture, which is another way of saying: on tradition and common sense.

All of us carry around rules of thumb about eating that have been passed down in our families or plucked（采集） from culture. Earlier this year, US writer Michael Pollen posted a request about these rules on The New York Times website. Within days, he received more than 2,500 responses. Not all of them have stood the test of time or been confirmed by science, but all of them have something to teach us, Pollen said.

Here are some of Pollen’s favorites:

My parents are both from Italy, and one of our family rules was that you could not leave the table until you had finished your fruit. It was a great way to put fruit into our diets and also helped satiate（满足）our sweet tooth, keeping us away from less healthful sweets. – Marta C. Larusso

From my Romanian grandmother: “Breakfast, you should eat alone. Lunch, you should share with a friend. Dinner, give to your enemy.” – Irina A. Dumitrescu

Don’t eat anything that took more energy to ship than to grow. – Carrie Cizauskas

“It’s better to pay the grocer（食品商） than the doctor” was the saying that my Italian grandmother would frequently use to remind us of the love and attention to detail that went in to her cooking – John Forti

If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you are not hungry. – Emma Fogt

“Make and take your own lunch to work.” My father has always done this, and so have I. It saves money and you know what you are eating. – Hope Donovan Rider

Never eat something that is pretending to be something else, e.g.: chocolate-flavor sauce that doesn’t contain chocolate. – Sonya Legg

Other than health experts, which other sources are there for us to turn to for advice on diet?

What does the underlined sentence imply?

According to Marta C. Larusso, we can both satiate our sweet tooth and keep away from less healthful sweets by_________________________________

What did John Forti’s grandmother mean when she said, “It’s better to pay the grocer than the doctor.”?

B

Our listener question this week comes from Abdullahi Farah, who wants to know about the life and work of Doctor Benjamin Carson.

Doctor Carson is an internationally recognized doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He has been the director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the hospital for twenty-five years. At the age of thirty-three, he became one of the youngest doctors in the United States to hold that position. And he was the first African-American to have that position at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Ben Carson is known for his work as a brain surgeon for children. For example, in nineteen eighty-seven, he led a team of seventy doctors and nurses in an operation to separate two babies joined at the head. Earlier attempts by other surgeons on other babies had failed. Doctor Carson successfully performed the operation. Both babies were able to survive independently.

Doctor Carson has written four books. His first book, "Gifted Hands," tells the story of his life. Benjamin Carson was born in nineteen fifty-one in Detroit, Michigan.

As a boy, Ben was not a good student. In fact, he was the worst in his class. When his mother learned of his failing grades she asked her sons to read two library books every week. She limited the amount of time they watched television. And she told them to respect every person.

Ben Carson soon became the top student in his class. He went on to study at Yale University, one of the best universities in the country, and later to medical school at the University of Michigan.

Doctor Carson has received many awards and honors. Last year he received the nation's highest civilian honor. Former President George W. Bush presented Benjamin Carson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a ceremony at the White House.

45. The passage is probably taken from _____.

A. a radio              B. a magazine        C. TV            D. a paper

46. What does the word “surgeons” in paragraph 3 mean?

A. nurses        B. doctors              C. hospitals     D. points

47. Benjamin Carson’s change in study was largely because of ______

A. his hard work           B. his teacher

C. his mother                D. his father

48. What’s the aim to write the passage?

A. To call on us to learn from Benjamin Carson.

B. To praise Benjamin Carson for his achievements.

C. To show us how Benjamin Carson succeeded

D. To introduce Benjamin Carson’s life and work

Move Earth – it’s no science fiction

LONDON – Scientists have found an unusual way to prevent our planet from overheating: move it to a cooler spot. All you have to do is send a few comets (彗星) in the direction of Earth, and its orbit will be changed. Our world will then be sent spinning into a safer, colder part of the solar system.

This idea for improving our climate comes from a group of US National Aeronautics and Space Administration（NASA）engineers and American astronomers. They say their plan could add another six billion years to the useful lifetime of our planet—effectively doubling its working life.

The plan put forward by Dr Laughlin, and his colleagues Don Korycansky and Fred Adams ,needs carefully directing a comet or asteroid so that it passes close by our planet and sends some of its gravitational energy to Earth.

“Earth’s orbital speed would increase as a result and we would move to a higher orbit away from the Sun,” Laughlin said.

Engineers would then direct their comet so that it passed close to Jupiter or Saturn. The comet would pick up energy from one of these giant planets. Later its orbit would bring it back to Earth, and the process would be repeated. In the short term, the plan provides an ideal way to global warming, although the team was actually concerned with a much greater danger. The sun is certain to heat up in about a billion years and so “seriously compromise” our biosphere（生物圈）— by cooking us.

That’s why the group decided to try to save Earth.

The plan has one or two worrying aspects, however. For a start, space engineers would have to be very careful about how they directed their asteroid or comet towards Earth. The smallest miscalculation（误算）in orbit could fire it straight at Earth—with deadly consequences.

There is also the question of the Moon. As the current issue of Scientific American magazine points out, if Earth was pushed out of its current position it is “most likely the Moon would be stripped away from Earth,” it states. This would greatly change our planet’s climate.

What makes the scientists plan to move Earth?

       A．A few comets are moving to the direction of Earth.

       B．Earth’s working life is coming to an end soon.

       C．Earth will become too hot for mankind to keep alive.

       D．The moon is moving farther and farther away from Earth.

If the plan is successful, Earth will have a working life of ______years.

       A．12 billion B．6 billion   C．18 billion  D．24 billion

What serious problems might the plan cause according to the passage?

       A．The comet might hit Earth and man might lose the moon.

       B．Earth might be moved too far away and man might be frozen to death.

       C．The comet might hit Jupiter or Saturn and never return to Earth.

       D．Earth’s working life might be greatly shortened.

What does the underlined word “compromise” mean?

       A．provide    B．benefit    C．share D．endanger

Time magazine named Russian President Vladimir Putin its  "Person of the Year" for 2007 on Wednesday, saying he had returned his country from chaos（混乱）to "the table of world power" though at a cost of democratic principles.

He doesn't care about civil liberties; he doesn't care about free speech; he cares about stability. But Putin, 55, is enormously popular in Russia, presiding over a resurgent economy based on income from oil and natural gas. On the other hand, stability is what Russia needed and that's why Russians adore（爱戴）him.

Time magazine said on its Web site that Putin, the son of a factory worker had led Russia with persistence, a sharp vision and a sense that he showed the spirit of "Mother Russia".

The selection came days after Putin announced a plan to hold onto power after his term ends next year. Putin said on Monday that if his close ally(盟友），Dmitry Medvedev, won the presidency, he would serve as Medvedev’s prime minister. "Putin has put his country back on the map.  And he intends to redraw it himself,"Time said. "He will continue to lead his country as its prime minister and attempt to transform it into a new kind of nation, beholden to neither East nor West."

Time said the person of the year distinction, which it has awarded since 1927, is not an endorsement（支持）or a popularity prize but a recognition of the individuals and forces that shape the world. "At significant cost of, the principles and ideas that free nations prize, (Putin) has performed an extraordinary feat of leadership in placing stability on a nation that has rarely known it and brought Russia back to the table of world power. For that reason, Vladimir Putin is Time's 2007 Person of the Year," the magazine said.

Time had earlier selected four other Kremlin leaders for the distinction:  Stalin, who was chosen twice, Nikita Khrushchev, Yuri Andropov and Mikhail Gorbachev.

What does the underlined word "feat" in Para 5 probably mean?

A. Style.           B. Level.          C. Standard.           D. Achievement.

What's the major reason why Putin becomes popular in Russia?

A. His successful economy policy

B. His outstanding ability of politics

C. His great contributions to Russian economy and social stability.

D. His wisdom of changing the world.

What may be the best title of the passage?

A. Putin－Time magazine’s person of the year 2007

B. Putin－a world power leader

C. Putin－a beloved Russian president

D. Putin－an honorable Russian president

What can we inter from the passage?

A. Russia, including the former Soviet Union, has been one of the major countries named person of the Year so far.

B. Only an individual can be named Person of the Year nowadays.

C. Putin played an important role in Russian social and economic troubles.

D. Medvedev will certainly be elected Russian President on March 3.

Rabbits are easy to raise. They are clean and quiet. They don’t need a lot of room. And it costs a small amount of money to feed them, but you can get a big return.

       One male and two females will produce as many as fifty more rabbits in a year. That is enough to provide enough meat for a family. Rabbit meat is high in protein and low in fat.

       You don’t have to be a farmer to raise rabbits. You can raise them in the city.

       Rabbit houses are easy to make with wood and wire. They don’t have to be very big. But each rabbit must have its own little room in the house. This is very important. Each room should be about 75 centimeters wide, 60 centimeters high and one meter deep.

       Fencing is used for the sides and floor of the rabbit house. The holes in the wire fencing should be about one centimeter square. Waste from the animals will drop through the holes. This keeps the rabbit house clean and dry.

       Rabbits need a lot of fresh air and sunlight. Cover the sides of the rabbit house only to protect it from rain.

       Rabbits eat mostly grass and leaves. Hang feeding containers on the outside of the house to let the rabbits eat whenever they want. They simply pull the grass and leaves through the holes in the fence.

       Each room should have fresh water. The water containers should be heavy so the rabbit cannot turn them over. Or you can tie the containers to the fence.

       One month after mating(交配), female rabbits give birth to about eight babies. In two months, a baby rabbit should weigh about two kilograms. This is big enough to make a meal for a small family.

       Rabbits are also valuable for their fur. It takes time, skill and money to prepare the fur and skin for use. If you have only a few rabbits, it probably would be best to let a tanner(制革工) prepare the fur for you. Skill is also needed to remove the fur from the rabbit.

       But rabbits do not have to be dead to be valuable. Many people enjoy keeping rabbits as friendly pets. And rabbit waste makes an excellent fertilizer(肥料). It can be mixed directly into the soil to improve the growth of vegetables, trees, and flowering plants.

The text is written mainly_______.

A. to explain why rabbits are clean and quiet   B. to let people know more about rabbits

C. to tell readers how to raise rabbits         D. to introduce a small friendly animal pet

What is important if you raise rabbits?

A. Holes are needed for waste to drop through.

B. Each rabbit must be given a separate room.

C. Each room must have clean water every day.

D. Feeding containers are hung on the fence.

Why should the holes in the wire fence be about one centimeter square?

A. Because the holes let in sunlight.    

B. Because rabbits like these holes.

C. Because rabbits get food from them.

D. Because waste of rabbits drops through the holes.

What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?

A. You don’t have to kill rabbits to make more money.

B. Rabbits cannot be sold to make money when they are alive.

C. Rabbits are more valuable when they are alive.

D. Rabbits have to be killed to be more valuable.