HOUSTON (Reuters) — Houston tops a U.S. magazine’s annual fattest cities list for the fourth time in five years, with four other Texas cities in the top 25.

　　Fast food restaurants — Houston has twice the national average number — are partly to blame for the dishonor, Men’s Fitness editor-in-chief Neal Boulton said.

　　“Americans work long hours, don’t take vacations, and when they’re faced with the worst food choices, they indulge (沉溺于) in those,” he said.

　　High humidity, poor air quality and some of the nation’s longest commute (每天去上班的路程) times also helped Texas’ most populous city unseat Detroit, the 2003 heavy weight champion, the magazine said.

　　Houston Mayor Bill White, who has worked with a major food company to develop healthy food products and the city’s public schools to improve lunch menus, called the report “mostly ungrounded and nonsense.”

　　“On the other hand, it calls attention to real issues the mayor is trying to deal with,” his spokesman, Frank Michel, said.

　　The magazine said it looked at factors such as the number and types of restaurants, park space, air quality, weather and the number of health clubs.

　　Philadelphia, Detroit, Memphis, Tennessee, and Chicago followed Houston on the seventh edition of the fat list. Texas cities Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth and El Paso were in the top 14, which Boulton said was no surprise.

　　“It’s pure big indulgence, just living big, and that’s part of the culture,” said Boulton.

　　Seattle ranked as the fittest city. Austin and Arlington, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, were the only Texas cities on the fit list. Austin was 19th and Arlington 22nd out of 25.

What decides the magazine’s annual fattest list?

       A. The size of fat population.       B. The number of fast food restaurants.

       C. The economic growth rate of the state.    D. Things related to unhealthy ways of life.

Which city topped 2003 fattest cities list?

　    A. Houston.         B. Dallas.          C. Detroit.   D. Philadelphia.

By saying “living big” (in Paragraph 9), Boulton means people _________.

       A. are growing fatter                B. are living wastefully

　    C. eat too many fatty foods           D. are spending too much time working

Which of the following is best supported by the text?

       A. Texas has the most fat cities in the U.S.

       B. Bill White is happy with the newspaper report.

       C. People in Texas are the most hardworking in the U.S.

       D. Most school children in Houston have weight problems.

Calvin Coolidge (1872 – 1933) was the thirtieth president of the United States. He looked down on a person as being unworthy of respect who was too fond of talking about the details of others people’s actions and private lives because he had no time for small talks. The following two incidents clearly show how Collidge treasured silence.

When he was vice president, Coolidge had plenty of opportunities to participate (参加) in Washington’s social life, especially the many dinner parties. As be ignored the art of conversation, he couldn’t exactly make himself dear to his hostesses. One lady felt she could solve this problem. She placed him next to Alice Roosevelt Longworth, daughter of the former President Roosevelt. Mrs. Longworth, a very brilliant conversationalist (谈话者), began to talk in her usual charming manner, but all attempts to a wake the interest on the part of the vice president were unproductive. Finally, being shamed into anger, she said, “I’m sure that going to as many dinners as you do, you must get terribly bored.”

Without lifting his eyes from his plate, Coolidge said not very clearly, “Well, a man has to eat somewhere.”

Later, when he was president and once again at a dinner party, Collidge was seated next to an outstanding society woman, one of those busybodies, who seemed to take delight in trying to change the lives of everyone they met. “Oh, Mr. President,” she spoke with too much enthusiasm, “you are always so quiet. I made a bet (打赌) today that I could get more than two words out of you.”

President Collidge considered those people as being unworthy of respect          .

       A．who liked to talk about the affairs of others

       B．who never talked about anything serious

       C．who often spoke insincerely

       D．who talked much but did little

The hostesses thought Collidge was unfriendly because        in her eyes.

       A．he treated women coldly and rudely

       B．he paid no attention to conversational skills

       C．he was too serious to please any women

       D．he was pretty easy and quick to get angry

Mrs. Longworth got shamed and angry because         .

       A．the vice president took part in too many dinner parties

       B．the vice president didn’t lift his eyes from his plate

       C．the vice president didn’t speak exactly and clearly

       D．the vice president didn’t react to all her efforts

The underlined sentence “Well, a man has to eat somewhere” probably means        .

      A．Mr. Coolidge didn’t want to talk with Mrs. Longworth at all

       B．Mr. Coolidge had really got tired of so many social dinners

       C．Mr. Coolidge was unhappy with the dinner he was eating that day

       D．Mr. Coolidge was really hungry and had to find something to eat

       HANS Christian Andersen put Denmark on the map of the world literature with his stories The Emperor's New Clothes, The Little Mermaid （小美人鱼） and The Ugly Duckling．Now Copenhagen, the country's capital, has become the center of the world political map, with 190 world leaders attending the climate talks there, not to mention thousands of reporters．

Just how much do you know about the Scandinavian country?

Denmark is famous for its design culture．At the heart of “Danish Design” is the idea that, as poet and designer Piet Hein puts it: “There is one art, not more, nor less, [and that is] to do all things with artlessness （朴实）”．

      Danish design places equal emphasis on practicality and quality．From Lego toys to furniture, Danish products are known for their clean lines, simplicity and functionality．“Remove material where it's not needed．Keep things simple and functional and make them carefully,” explained Hans J．Wegner, the first Danish designer to achieve worldwide fame: “The aim is not to create a work of art, but to produce a good chair．”

       “The Danes have done a better job than most in promoting arts in Europe, considering their country's size and population, in the fields of architecture, sculpture and design,” writes Helena Smith, reporter with British newspaper the Guardian．

       The simplicity of Danish design may extend to the quality of life there．Some even claim that the Danes have the highest quality of life of any nation in the world．

       Kate Vial, a 55-year-old American who has lived and worked in Denmark for more than 30 years, explaining why she chooses to live in Denmark rather than the US, told Germany's biggest news weekly Der Spiegel: “I just chose a simpler lifestyle, one where I could ride my bike all over and where I don't have to make a great living to survive．”

What’s the writer’s purpose of mentioning Denmark’s literature?

     A．To show the readers that Denmark is best known for its stories．

     B．To arouse readers’ interest in Denmark．

     C．To tell the readers that this passage is related to literature．

     D．To show why Denmark can attract so many political leaders．

What is Denmark famous for according to the passage?

     A．Design culture      B．Making chairs      

       C．Writing poems      D．Climate prediction

Which statement is true according to the passage?

     A．Danish design pays more attention to arts than its function．

     B．Danish products don’t need much material．

     C．Danish people like to keep simple life．

     D．Compared with other countries in Europe, Denmark does little in promoting arts．

In Piet Hein’s opinion, the characteristic of Danish culture is _____________．

     A．Creative            B．Complicated         C．Impractical      D．Simple

What is the best title for the passage?

     A．Danes conquer the world with simple designs．

     B．Denmark—a new political center．

     C．Life in Denmark．

     D．Designer’s idea of Denmark．

Calvin Coolidge (1872 – 1933) was the thirtieth president of the United States. He looked down on a person as being unworthy of respect who was too fond of talking about the details of others people’s actions and private lives because he had no time for small talks. The following two incidents clearly show how Collidge treasured silence.

When he was vice president, Coolidge had plenty of opportunities to participate (参加) in Washington’s social life, especially the many dinner parties. As be ignored the art of conversation, he couldn’t exactly make himself dear to his hostesses. One lady felt she could solve this problem. She placed him next to Alice Roosevelt Longworth, daughter of the former President Roosevelt. Mrs. Longworth, a very brilliant conversationalist (谈话者), began to talk in her usual charming manner, but all attempts to a wake the interest on the part of the vice president were unproductive. Finally, being shamed into anger, she said, “I’m sure that going to as many dinners as you do, you must get terribly bored.”

Without lifting his eyes from his plate, Coolidge said not very clearly, “Well, a man has to eat somewhere.”

Later, when he was president and once again at a dinner party, Collidge was seated next to an outstanding society woman, one of those busybodies, who seemed to take delight in trying to change the lives of everyone they met. “Oh, Mr. President,” she spoke with too much enthusiasm, “you are always so quiet. I made a bet (打赌) today that I could get more than two words out of you.”

President Collidge considered those people as being unworthy of respect          .

       A．who liked to talk about the affairs of others

       B．who never talked about anything serious

       C．who often spoke insincerely

       D．who talked much but did little

The hostesses thought Collidge was unfriendly because        in her eyes.

       A．he treated women coldly and rudely

       B．he paid no attention to conversational skills

       C．he was too serious to please any women

       D．he was pretty easy and quick to get angry

Mrs. Longworth got shamed and angry because         .

       A．the vice president took part in too many dinner parties

       B．the vice president didn’t lift his eyes from his plate

       C．the vice president didn’t speak exactly and clearly

       D．the vice president didn’t react to all her efforts

The underlined sentence “Well, a man has to eat somewhere” probably means        .

      A．Mr. Coolidge didn’t want to talk with Mrs. Longworth at all

       B．Mr. Coolidge had really got tired of so many social dinners

       C．Mr. Coolidge was unhappy with the dinner he was eating that day

       D．Mr. Coolidge was really hungry and had to find something to eat

Habits, whether good or bad, are gradually formed. When a person does a certain thing again, he is driven by some unseen force to do the same thing repeatedly, then a habit is formed. Once a habit is formed, it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to get rid of. It is therefore so important that we should pay great attention to the formation of habits. Children often form bad habits, some of which remain with them as long as they live. Older persons also form bad habits lasting as long as they live, and sometimes become ruined by bad habits.

There are other habits which, when formed in early life, are of great help. Many successful men say that much of their success has something to do with certain habits in early life, such as early rising, honesty and so on.

Among the habits which children should not form are laziness, lying, stealing and so on. These are all easily formed habits. Unfortunately older persons often form habits which could have been avoided.

We should keep away from all these bad habits, and try to form such habits as will be good for ourselves and others.

         are formed little by little.

A. Only good habits                         B. Only bad habits

   C. Both good habits and bad habits     D. Either good habits or bad habits

The underlined word “them” in the first paragraph refers to         .

  A. bad habits        B. good habits    C. children     D. other persons

Why should we pay much attention to the formation of habits?

   A. Because habits are of great help to every one of us.

   B. Because a man can never get rid of a habit.

   C. Because it’s hard and sometimes even impossible to throw away bad habits.

   D. Because we are forced to do them again and again.

According to the passage, early rising          .

   A. has something to do with success            B. is an easily formed habit

   C. is such a habit as should have been avoided    D. is such a beneficial habit as will be kept