题目内容
It is March now，but the rivers still________frozen.
A. stays B. keeps C. remain D. become
C
frozen 为形容词，前面需要使用系动词，另外注意主语和谓语在数上的一致，由于主语the rivers 是复数，所以排除A. B；另外在此处需要表示“维持，仍然处于……的状态”的动词，所以排除D
Mark Ramirez, a senior executive at AOL, could work in the comfortable leather chair, if he wanted. No, thanks. He prefers to stand most of the day at a desk raised above stomach level.
“I’ve got my knees bent. I feel totally alive,” he said. “It feels more natural to stand.”
In the past few years, standing has become the new sitting for 10 percent of AOL employees at the firm’s Virginia branch. Part of a standing popularity is among accountants, programmers, telemarketers and other office workers across the nation.
GeekDesk, a California firm that sells desks raised by electric motors, says sales will triple this year.
Standers give various reasons for taking to their feet: It makes them feel more focused, prevents drowsiness(困倦睡意), and makes them feel like a general even if they just push paper. (Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfels works standing up. So does novelist Philip Roth.)
But unknown to them, a debate (辩论) is spreading among ergonomics experts（人类工程学家） and public-health researchers about whether all office workers should be encouraged to stand—to save lives.
Doctors point to surprising new research showing higher rates of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and even mortality among people who sit for long stretches. A study earlier this year in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that among 123,000 adults followed over 14 years, those who sat more than six hours a day were at least 18 percent more likely to die during the time period studied than those who sat less than three hours a day.
“Every rock we turn over when it comes to sitting is astonishing,” said Marc Hamilton, a leading researcher on inactivity physiology at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana. “Sitting is harmful. It’s dangerous. We are on the cusp (尖端) of a major revolution.” He calls sitting “the new smoking”.
Not so fast, other experts say. Standing too much at work will cause more long-term back injuries. Incidences of varicose veins(静脉曲张) among women will increase. The heart will have to pump more.
Hedge, the Cornell professor, isn’t a fan of all this standing. “Making people stand all day is dumb,” he said.
The sensible and most cost-effective strategy（策略）, he said, is to sit in a neutral posture（姿势）, slightly reclined(下弯的), with the keyboard on a tray above the lap. This position promotes positive blood flow. Workers should occasionally walk around, stretch and avoid prolonged periods at the desk. The key, he said, is movement, not standing.
【小题1】Marc Hamilton said “Every rock we turn over when it comes to sitting is astonishing” to show that________.
| A．the result of the study about sitting too long is shocking |
| B．we need to remove many rocks |
| C．we need to smooth away many difficulties |
| D．sitting on a rock is necessary |
| A．It will cause more long-term back injuries |
| B．it will raise the burden of heart |
| C．incidences of varicose veins among women will increase |
| D．standing too much at work per day is too tiring |
| A．it is better not to stand more than 6 hours |
| B．sitting too long can arouse illnesses easily |
| C．sitting long is specially harmful to adults |
| D．standing much is better than sitting long |
| A．Standing is not better than sitting |
| B．Standing more does no harm to people |
| C．Standing will promote the efficiency |
| D．More office workers take standing against sitting |
Ban Fur? Then Why Not Leather?
Much to the displeasure of some local businesses, the City Council in West Hollywood, California, voted without opposition last week to ban the sale of fur products. Should laws be involved in this issue? Is it unfair to ban sales of fur, but not sales of leather and hides (兽皮)?
Animals Do Not Have Rights
By Tibor R. Machan
My view is that animals do not have basic rights. It is a matter of ethics (伦理学) and not of the laws of human societies. If animals had such rights as human beings do, they would have to be held responsible for killing fellow animals in the wild. That way of thinking about animals makes a category mistake. Using animals, including their fur or organs, to improve people's lives is acceptable.
A Small Step Against Cruelty
By Kate Carter
Both fur and leather are the skins of dead animals. Why should we think that the lovable furry ones deserve more of a life than the less pleasing ones? Some say leather is less cruel because it's a byproduct (副产品) of the meat industry. But this isn't really true. Some cheap leather may be a byproduct of the meat industry, but often it's the other way round. In South Africa, where there is a developing market for ostrich(鸵鸟)farms, the skins account for roughly 80 percent of the slaughtered (宰杀)birds' value, a mere 20 percent of which comes from the meat.
"Who" Are You Wearing?
By Marc Bekoff
West Hollywood's ban is a move in the right direction. However, we must work to ban the sales of leather and hides, too. Furs come from animals who are attacked to become clothing, while some leather and hides come from slaughterhouse(屠宰场) animals. We must remember that when people choose to wear fur, leather and hides, they are wearing formering conscious beings. So it's a matter of who they are wearing, not what they are wearing because these animals must be referred to as who and not what or that.
【小题1】What is the passage mainly about?
| A．West Hollywood's ban on fur products. |
| B．Differences between fur and leather sales. |
| C．The government's role in protecting animals. |
| D．The ecological imbalance in West Hollywood. |
| A．Both are decided by the meat industry. |
| B．There is little distinction (区别) between them. |
| C．Wearing fur is generally more acceptable. |
| D．Wearing leather is cheaper than wearing fur. |
| A．Sympathetic. | B．Careless. | C．Tolerant. | D．Opposed. |