As a kid, I can remember going to the supermarket and grabbing any random cardboard carton of eggs off the shelf. I would run them home (top speed!) to my mother because they were usually going into a delicious coffee cake or batch of corn bread. Times have changed. Cage-free? Organic? Brown? White? Omega-3s? Help! Here are some tips to help you figure out which eggs you should be eating:

◇Brown or white? In fact, color is simply an indication of the particular type of hen. Find the freshest egg with the most flavor and let color be a secondary concern.

◇Extra Omega-3s? Omega-3 eggs come from a hen whose diet has added flaxseed (亚麻籽), which produces an egg containing an average of 225 mg of Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E. The countless health benefits for humans make these eggs a tempting purchase. My opinion? Eat a piece of fresh fish — salmon or sardines or Atlantic mackerel, for example — and get a pure dose of Omega-3’s. Let eggs be eggs.

◇Does your egg need exercise? Cage-free and free-range eggs are from hens raised without the limits of a cage, though they may or may not have spent much time outdoors. Organic eggs are from hens that are raised with the following approach: their feed must meet organic standards, they must be raised with sympathy, kindness and understanding, and they must be given access to the outdoors. Hey, happier hens do lay tastier eggs.

◇Does local make a difference? Nothing is better than local eggs. They may have a feather or two stuck to them or a slightly imperfect shape and they may or may not be certified organic; however, they have one quality I prize: I know exactly where my food came from and how it came to be! In some cases I can even ask the farmer when the eggs were laid and what they were fed. At $2.20 for a dozen large eggs and all the information I could want about my food, I call it a bargain! I refrigerate the eggs the minute I return from the market.

1. The author seems to think highly of the local eggs just for their _______.

A. colour　　　　 B. shape　　　　　　 C. exercise　　　　 D. quality

2. The underlined sentence “let color be a secondary concern” (Paragraph 2) mostly means _______.

A. colour really matters a lot 　 　 B. colour isn’t so important

C. colour indicates its flavour　　 　 D. colour is as important as its flavour

3. We can infer from the passage that ________.

A. the author doesn’t like local eggs very much

B. we should choose the eggs with our favorite color

C. cage-free hens are happier and lay tastier and healthier eggs

D. Omega-3 eggs are from eggs which have eaten fish like salmon

—I'm not finished with my dinner yet.

—But our friends　　 for us.

A. will wait　　 　 B. wait　 　　　　C. have waited 　　 D. are waiting

I don’t know why she’s looking at me ________ she knew me.

A. as　　　　　 B. although　　　 C. even if　　　 D. as if

　　　 environmental damage is done, it takes many years for the ecosystem to recover.

　 A.Even if　　　 B.If only　　　 C.While　　　　 D.Once

This is a true story from Guyana. One day, a boy took a piece of paper from a box. He made a paper ball and pushed it into his nose. He couldn’t get it out. He ran crying to his mother. His mother couldn’t get the paper out, either. A week later, the paper was still in the boy’s nose. His nose began to have a bad smell.

So his mother took the boy to a hospital. The doctor looked up at the child’s nose, but she couldn’t get the paper out. She said she had to cut the boy’s nose to get the paper out.

The boy’s mother came home looking sad. She didn’t want her child to have his nose cut. The next day she took the boy to her friend Sidney who lived in a house with an old lady called May. May wanted to see the child, so the child let her look up his nose.

“Yes, I can see it,” May said. “It will be out soon.”

As she spoke, she shook some black pepper on the child’s nose. The child gave a mighty sneeze and the paper flew out. His mother was surprised. May told his mother to take the boy to the seaside for a swim, for the salt water would go up his nose and stop the bad smell.

So the lucky boy didn’t have to go to the hospital to have his nose cut.

1. After the boy pushed a paper ball into his nose, ____.

　 A. he took it out　　　　　　　 B. his mother took it out

C. he did nothing but cry　　　　 D. he tried to take it out but failed

2. The paper ball stayed in the boy’s nose for ____.

　 A. at most seven days　　　　　　 B. less than seven days

　 C. more than seven days　　　　　 D. exactly seven days

3. According to the story, _____ was most worried about the boy’s accident.

　 A. the boy’s mother　　 B. Sidney　　　 C. May　　　 D. the doctor

4. Which of the following is TRUE?

　 A. The doctor helped to take the paper ball out of the boy’s nose.

　 B. May succeeded in taking the paper out.

　 C. The boy’s mother found some black pepper to solve the problem.

　 D. The boy had to have his nose cut at last.

5. The boy should be taken to the seaside for a swim because ____.

　 A. he needed to learn to swim

　 B. the sea water would stop the bad smell of his nose.

　 C. the sea water would wash out the paper ball.

　 D. he needed a rest

— I don’t know whether I should go abroad or not, Mum.

— I leave _______ to your own judgment whether you should do it.

A. that　　　　　　　　　　 B. it

C. this　　　　　　　　　　 D. what