Good nutrition and a balanced diet will help your children grow up healthily. No matter how old your kids
are, you can take steps to improve nutrition and to encourage smart eating habits. Here are some suggestions.
     Family Meals
     Family meals are comforting for both parents and kids. Children like to guess what they are going to have
and parents get the chance to introduce new foods to children and to find out which foods they like and which
ones they don't.
     Teens may turn up their noses at your plan of a family meal. It is not surprising because they're trying to
establish independence. Yet studies find that teens still want their parents' advice, so they use the mealtime as
a chance to reconnect.
     Stocking Up on Healthy Foods
     Kids, especially younger ones, will eat mostly what they can get at home. That's why it's important to
control the supply lines-the foods which you serve for meals and have on hand for snacks. You should have
enough fruits, vegetables, lean meat and other good sources of protein, such as eggs and nuts, and healthy
snacks, such as yogurt, peanut butter and whole-grain biscuits.
     Being a Good Example
     The best way for you to encourage healthy eating is to eat well yourself. Kids will follow the lead of the
adults they see every day. By eating fruits and vegetables and avoiding fast food and sugary drinks, you'll be
sending the right message.
     No Conflicts over Foods
     Parents might find themselves shouting at children to get them to have healthy foods in front of them. This
in fact can make children dislike what they are asked to eat.
     Get Kids Included
     Most kids will enjoy making the decision about what to make for dinner. Talk to them about making choices
and planning a balanced meal. It can help prepare them to make good decisions on their own about the foods
they want to eat.

1. Family meals provide the chances for parents to do the following things EXCEPT _____.

A. guessing what kids are going to have
B. finding what kids like and dislike
C. introducing new foods to kids
D. reconnecting with kids

2. The underlined sentence in the third paragraph probably means _____.

A. teenagers may be interested in your plan of a family meal
B. teenagers may help you to make a plan of a family meal
C. teenagers may show no interest in your plan of a family meal
D. teenagers may refuse to help you to make a plan of a family meal

3. According to the article, which should NOT be done by parents?

A. Forming a healthful eating habit themselves.
B. Forcing kids to have vegetables.
C. Stocking up on some fruits at home.
D. Making meal plans with kids.

4. What's the best title for the passage?

A. How to eat healthily.
B. How to grow up healthily.
C. Help kids form healthful eating habits.
D. Help kids know what a healthful meal is.

     Most rain forest lie close to equator (赤道), where the climate is often mild and there are long hours of
sunshine. The warmth of the land heats the air above, causing it to rise and tiny drops of water to fall as rain.
The rainfall can reach at least 98 inches a year. This wet, warm world with plenty of sunlight is perfect for
plants to grow, so the trees grow fast with green leaves all the year round. The trees themselves also have an
effect on the climate. They gather water from the soil and pass it out into the air through their leaves. The wet
air then forms clouds, which hang over the treetops like smoke. These clouds protect the forest from the
daytime heat and night-time cold of nearby deserts, keep temperatures fit for plant growth.
     Rain forests slightly farther away from the equator remain just as warm, but they have a dry season of
three months or more when little rain falls. Tree leaves fall during this dry season and new leaves grow when
the wet season or monsoon (雨季) begins. Thus these areas are known as the "monsoon forest".
     Another type of rain forest grows on tropical mountains. It is often called the "cloud forest" because clouds
often hang over the trees like fog.
     The rain forest is the ideal place for the growth of many different trees. Most of them depend on animals
to eat their fruits and spread their seeds. When the fruits are eaten, the seeds inside them go undamaged through
animals, stomachs and are passed out in their droppings. The seeds lying on the forest floor then grow into
new trees.

1. The climate of the rain forests near the equator is _____.

A. mild, wet and windy
B. hot, rainy and foggy
C. warm, wet and sunny
D. hot, wet, cloudy

2. We can learn from the passage that _____.

A. tree leaves are green all the time in the monsoon forest
B. there is a dry season in the cloud forest on tropical mountains
C. clouds help the plants in the rain forest near the deserts to grow
D. the formation of climate in the rain forest has little to do with the trees

3. According to the passage _____ play the most important role in the spreading of seeds.

A. animals
B. droppings
C. fruits
D. winds

4. This passage is most likely to be found in _____.

A. a travel guide
B. a storybook
C. a technical report
D. a geographical book

     Not all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences. Violence
and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars. Often they relive these
experiences.
     Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which help people forget bad memories.
The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce, or
possibly erase the effect of painful memories.
     In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body releasing
chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far, the research has suggested that only the emotional effects
of meomories may be reduced, not that the memories are erased.
     The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it.
Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers' troubling memories after wars.
     They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories. "Some memories can ruin people's
lives. They come back to you when you don't want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually
come with very painful emotions," said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry (精神病学) at Harvard
Medical School. "This could relieve( 减轻) a lot of that suffering."
     But those who are against the research say that changing memories is very dangerous because memories
give us our identity. They also help us avoid the mistakes in the past. "All of us can think of bad events in our
lives that were horrible at the time but make us who we are. I am not sure we'd want to wipe those memories
out." said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist.

1. What's the main idea of this passage?

A. People often suffer from bad memories.
B. American researchers are trying to develop a pill.
C. Forget bad memories, and be happy.
D. The research has caused a heated argument.

2. The underlined word "it" in Paragraph 4 refers to "_____".

A. the new drug
B. the research into the drug
C. the bad memory
D. the chemical in the drug

3. Which of the following is NOT the opinion of the opponents (反对者)?

A. Our memories give us our identity.
B. The memories help human avoid mistakes of the past.
C. The drug should be used in only very serious cases.
D. People may not be sure whether they want to wipe the memories out.

     Scientists are trying to make the deserts into good land again. They want to bring water to the deserts, so
people can live and grow food. They are learning a lot about the deserts. But more and more of the earth is
becoming desert all the time. Scientists may not be able to change the desert in time.
     Why is more and more land becoming desert? Scientists think that people make deserts. People are doing
bad things to the earth.
     Some places on the earth don't get much rain. But they still don't become deserts. This is because some
green plants are growing there. Small green plants and grass are very important to dry places. Plants don't let
the sun make the earth even drier. Plants do not let the wind blow the dirt away. When a bit of rain falls, the
plants hold the water. Without plants, the land can become desert more easily.

1. Deserts _____.

A. never have any plants or animals in them
B. can all be turned into good land before long
C. are becoming smaller and smaller
D. get very little rain

2. Small green plants are very important to dry places because _____.

A. they don't let the sun make the earth even drier
B. they don't let the wind blow the soil away
C. they hold water
D. All of the above

3. Land is becoming desert little by little because _____.

A. plants can't grow there
B. there is not enough rain
C. people haven't done what scientists wish them to do
D. scientists know little about the deserts

4. After reading this passage, we learn that _____.

A. plants can keep dry land from becoming desert
B. it is good to get rid of the grass in the deserts
C. all places without much rain will become deserts
D. it is better to grow crops on dry land than to cut them

     There is an English saying, "Laughter is the best medicine." Until recently, few people took the saying
seriously. Now however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body.
They have found that laughter really can improve people's health.
     Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while
doctors checked their heart, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar
effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, makes the heart beat quicker and makes people
breathe deeper; it also works several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter
exercises the body, it must be beneficial.
     Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effect of pain on the body. In one
experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programmes. The
group that tolerated (忍耐) the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny programme.
The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemical in the brain
which diminishes both stress and pain.
     As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they
help to improve their patients' condition by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their
patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to
those caused by laughter.

1. According to the passage, which of the following statements is WRONG?

[     ]

A. Laughter is good for health.
B. Laughter can make you become old quickly.
C. Laughter helps to reduce pain.
D. Laughter, just like physical exercise, is good for our body.

2. The underlined word "diminishes" in the third paragraph means "_____".

[     ]

A. delays
B. prevents
C. increases
D. reduces

3. Why do doctors hold laughter clinics?

[     ]

A. Because they want to earn more money.
B. Because they think they will help the patients recover from illnesses.
C. Because they want to improve their patients' health.
D. Because they want their patients to laugh more.

4. What would be the best title for this passage?

[     ]

A. Both laughter and physical exercise are good for health.
B. Laughter clinics can help patients improve their condition.
C. Laughter can reduce the effect of pain.
D. Laughter is the best medicine.

     The cost of medical care in the United States is very high. The time and money that doctors spend on their
medical education are probably one reason for this problem. 1_____, so some people think it is impossible to
pay for the medical care. 2_____. Most doctors, however, disagree. They say that they were required to study
medicine for a long time. Tuition (学费) for many years of medical education costs a lot of money. Doctors
say that most medical students had to borrow money from a bank to pay their tuition. 3_____, young doctors
need a lot of money for their work. 4_____. Because high tuition is one cause of high costs, 5_____.

A. It is possible for the poor people to see the doctor in America
B. Many people in the United States think that doctors are overpaid
C. One way to lower costs would be to have medical schools that are free or have low tuition
D. They are not willing to pay high tuition for the doctors
E. A visit to a doctor's office costs from fifteen to fifty dollars
F. Because this money must be repaid to the bank
G. So, they charge people high prices for medical care

     American doctors say that mothers who smoke before their babies are born may slow the growth of their
babies' lungs. They say reduced lung growth could cause the babies to suffer breathing problems and lung
diseases later in life. Doctors in Boston, Massachusetts studied 1,100 children. The mothers of some of the
children smoked, the other mothers did not. Doctors found that the lungs of the children whose mothers
smoked were 8% less developed than the lungs of the children whose mothers did not smoke, and that the
children whose mothers smoked developed 20% more cold and breathing diseases than other children later
in life.
     Another recent study found that children had a greater chance of developing lung cancer if their mothers
smoked. The study also showed that the danger of lung cancer increased only for sons and not for daughters,
and that the father's smoking did not affect a child's chance of developing lung cancer.

(     )1. Doctors in Boston studied 1,100 children to look into the effect mother's smoking had on their children.
(     )2. Mothers who smoked did not reduce the growth of their children's lungs.
(     )3. The lungs of the children whose mothers smoked were 8% less developed than those of other children.
(     )4. Suppose John's father was a heavy smoker, so was Mary's mother. According to the text, neither John
            nor Mary has the chance to develop lung cancer.
(     )5. The text is to warn us of the danger of smoking before children.