Junk food is food that has a lot of calories but few nutrients (营养物质), vitamins and minerals (矿物质). Some food does have nutrients, for example pizza, but because it contains too many calories, it is 48______ called junk food. Fruit and vegetables are the best examples of good food. 49______ contain few calories and many vitamins and minerals. A healthy diet should include a variety of food, most of 50______ should be rich in nutrients. That does not mean that we are never allowed to eat junk food. 51______ of us who love French fries, sweets, ice cream and cheeseburgers can still enjoy an unhealthy bite every now and then. All we have to do 52______ to be careful how often and how much we eat 53______ it.
If we make the right choices about 54______ we eat, we will be healthier 55______ have more energy to enjoy the good things in life. A balanced diet combined with exercise is the key to a healthy life.

Using too much water or throwing rubbish into our rivers are clear ways that humans can put our water supply in danger, but we also affect our water supply in less obvious ways. You may wonder how paving(铺砌) a road can lead to less useable fresh water. A major part of the water we use every day is groundwater. Groundwater does not come from lakes or rivers. It comes from underground. The more roads and parking lots we pave, the less water can flow into the ground to become groundwater.

  Human activity is not responsible for all water shortages. Drier climates are of course more likely to have droughts(干旱) than areas with more rainfall, but in any case, good management can help to make sure there is enough water to meet our basic needs .

  Thinking about the way we use water every day can make a big difference, too. In the United States, a family of four can use 1.5 tons of water a day! This shows how much we depend on water to live, but there’s a lot we can do to lower the number.

You can take steps to save water in your home. To start with, use the same glass for your drinking water all day. Wash it only once a day. Run your dishwasher only when it is full. Help your parents fix any leaks in your home. You can even help to keep our water supply clean by recycling batteries instead of throwing them away.

1.Which of the following is most likely to lead to less groundwater?

A. Using river water.                          B. Throwing batteries away.

C. Paving parking lots.                        D. Throwing rubbish into lakes.

2.What can be inferred from the text?

A. All water shortages are due to human behavior.

B. It takes a lot of effort to meet our water needs

C. There is much we can do to reduce family size.

D. The average family in America makes proper use of water.

3.The last paragraph is intended to     .

A. show us how to fix leaks at home

B. tell us how to run a dishwasher

C. prove what drinking glass is best for us

D. suggest what we do to save water at home

4.The text is mainly about      .

A. how human activity affects our water supply

B. how much we depend on water to live

C. why droughts occur more in dry climates

D. Why paving roads reduces our water

Self-esteem is all about how much we are valued, loved, accepted, and thought well of by others and how much we value, love and accept ourselves. People with healthy self-esteem are able to do better in school and find it easier to make friends. They tend to have better relationships with others, feel happier, find it easier to deal with mistakes and failures, and are more likely to stick to something until they succeed. People with low self-esteem may feel as if no one will like them or accept them or that they can’t do well in anything.   

The following ways may help you improve your self-esteem.

Try to stop thinking negative thoughts about yourself. If you’re used to focusing on your shortcomings, start thinking about positive aspects of yourself that outweigh them. It is good to aim high, but your goals for yourself should be within reach. That’s why you should set practical goals and never expect the impossible. Mistakes are part of learning, so view mistakes as learning opportunities. Accept that you make mistakes because everyone does.

Also, you should recognize what you can change and what you can’t. If you realize that you’re unhappy with something about yourself, you can change and start from today. If it’s something you can’t change (like your height), start to work toward loving yourself the way you are.

Feeling like you’re making a difference or that your help is valued can do wonders to improve your self-esteem. So don’t hesitate to make a contribution. You can lend a hand to a classmate who’ s having trouble, help your neighborhood clean up, or volunteer to do some other things.

Self-esteem plays a role in almost everything you do. It’s never too late to build healthy self-esteem. It takes some work, and it’s a necessary skill you’ll have for life.

1. The underlined word “them” in Paragraph 3 refers to “______”.

A. your classmates                                   B. your shortcomings

C. your strong points                                 D. your goals

2. According to the passage, which of the following can help improve your self-esteem?

A. Setting high goals similar to others’.

B. Never forgiving yourself for your mistakes.

C. Lending a hand to a classmate in trouble.

D. Changing all the things that make you unhappy.

3. We can infer from the passage that ______.

A. the old tend to have healthier self-esteem than the young

B. we should build healthy self-esteem when young

C. there are more people with low self-esteem

D. it is not easy to build healthy self-esteem

4. The passage is mainly about ______.

A. how people improve their self-esteem                  

B. what self-esteem means

C. what people with low self-esteem are like             

D. what people with healthy self-esteem are like

5. How many ways of improving your self-esteem are mentioned in the passage?

A. Five                 B. Six                          C. Seven                      D. Eight.

It’s not how much we do but how much love we put into what we do ________ counts.

A. who                                  B. which                                C. that                                   D. what

One important variable affecting communication across cultures is destiny (命运) and personal responsibility. This refers to the degree to which we feel ourselves the masters of our lives, contrary to the degree to which we see ourselves as subject to things outside our control. Another way to look at this is to ask how much we see ourselves able to change and act, to choose the course of our lives and relationships. Some have drawn a parallel between the personal responsibility in North American settings and the view itself. The North American view is vast, with large spaces of unpopulated land. The frontier attitude of “King” of the wilderness, and the expansiveness of the land reaching huge distances, may relate to generally high levels of confidence in the ability to shape and choose our destinies.

In this expansive land, many children grow up with a heroic sense of life, where ideas are big, and hope springs forever. When they experience temporary failures, they are encouraged to redouble their efforts, to “Try, try again.” Action, efficiency, and achievement are valued and expected. Free will is respected in laws and enforced by courts.

Now consider places in the world with much smaller land, whose history reflects wars and tough struggles: Northern Ireland, Mexico, Israel, Palestine. In these places, destiny’s role is more important in human life. In Mexico, there is a history of hard life, fighting over land, and loss of homes. Mexicans are more likely to see struggles as part of their life and unavoidable. Their passive attitude is expressed in their way of responding to failure or an accident by saying “ni modo” (“no way” or “tough lick”), meaning that the failure was destined.

This variable is important to understanding cultural conflicts. If someone believing in free will crosses paths with someone more passive, miscommunication is likely. The first person may expect action and responsibility. Failing to see it, he may conclude that the second is lazy, not cooperative, or dishonest. The second person will expect respect for the natural order of things. Failing to see it, he may conclude that the first is forcible, rude, or big headed in his ideas of what can be accomplished or changed.

1.The author thinks that one’s character is partly determined by ________.

A．physical senses                         B．general attitude

C．financial background                     D．geographic characteristics

2.According to the passage, Mexicans would think that Americans are ________.

A．impractical        B．dishonest          C．ambitious         D．hesitant

3.The underlined word “subject” in Paragraph 1 probably means ________.

A．a topic of a discussion                    B．a branch of knowledge

C．a person being experimented on           D．a person under the power of others

4.The author would probably agree that ________.

A．vast land may lead to a more controllable desire

B．heroic sense of life roots deeply in a small country

C．living in limited space contributes to an accepting attitude

D．fighting over land helps people gain high levels of confidence