We all have ideas about what kinds of foods are good to eat. We also have ideas about what kinds of foods are bad to eat. As a result, people from one culture often think the foods that people from another culture eat are nauseating(令人作呕的).When the famous boxer Muhammad Ali visited Africa, for example, one member of his group became quite sick when he saw someone pick up a butterfly and eat it. Many people would find it disgusting to eat rats, but there are forty-two different cultures whose people regard rats as appropriate food.
Food likes and dislikes do not always seem related to nutrition. For example, broccoli is first on a list of the most nutritious common vegetables, but it is twenty-first on a list of vegetables that Americans like most to eat. Tomatoes are sixteenth on the list of most nutritious vegetables, but they are first on the list of vegetables that Americans like most to eat.
But dislike is not the only reason why some cultures will not eat a certain food. In some cultures, certain foods are taboo. Some foods are taboo in certain religions, but there are also other food taboos that are not connected to a religion. We do not usually think about why certain things are taboo in our culture. We may not even know why they are taboo. Anthropologists(人类学家) try to discover the hidden reasons for taboos.
Anthropologists believe that most food likes and dislikes are a result of the ways of life of different people. Some people live in areas where there are both large animals and many insects. It is difficult for these people to kill large animals, and it requires a lot of energy. It is easier for them to use insects for food because it is not difficult to catch insects and it does not require a lot of energy. Nomadic(游牧的) people who move around will not want to keep pigs for food. People will not eat pets such as dogs. Americans eat a lot of beef because there is plenty of land for raising cattle and the me
at can be shipped cheaply for long distances by railroads.
【小题1】 What’s the main topic of this passage?
| A.Food and religion. | B.Food and culture. |
| C.Nutrition of different foods. | D.Different ways of life. |
| A.They are seldom related to nutrition. |
| B.They are mostly associated with people’s taste. |
| C.They are mostly connected with people’s life styles. |
| D.They are usually related to cultures or religions. |
| A.something undiscovered | B.certain religions |
| C.something forbidden | D.certain foods |
| A.It is believed that brcoccoli is more nutritious than tomatoes. |
| B.Americans prefer tomatoes to beef. |
| C.People in Inner Mongolia would probably like to keep pigs for food. |
| D.The famous boxer Muhamm Ali would like to eat rat rather than butterfly. |
| A.Because beef provides a lot of energy people require. |
| B.Because beef is on the list of the most nutritious foods. |
| C.Because they have the ideal condition to keep and ship cattle. |
| D.Because cattle are large animals. |
HOW TO QUIT SMOKING
When thinking about quitting…
List all the reasons why you want to quit. Every night before going to bed, repeat one of the reasons 10 times. Decide surely that you want to quit. Try to avoid negative(消极的)thoughts about how difficult it might be. Develop strong personal reasons in addition to your health and duties to others. For example, think all the time you waste taking cigarette breaks, rushing out to buy a pack, hunting a light, etc. Set a date for quitting—perhaps a special day like your birthday, or a holiday. If you smoke heavily at work, quit during your vacation. Make the date seriously, and don’t let anything change it. Begin to prepare yourself physically: start a modest(适度的)exercise, drink more water, get plenty of rest.
Immediately after quitting…
The first few days after you quit, spend as much free time as possible in places where smoking is forbidden, e.g. libraries, museums, theatres, department stores, etc. Drink large quantities of water and fruit juice. Try to avoid wine, coffee, and other drinks, which remind you of cigarette smoking. Start a conversation with someone instead of asking for a match for a cigarette. If you miss the sensation(感觉)of having a cigarette in your hand, play with something else—a pencil, a pen, or a ruler. If you miss having something in your mouth, try toothpicks or a fake(假的)cigarette.
【小题1】Which of the following statements is best supported by the author?
| A.When you want a cigarette, try to forget it by starting a conversation with someone. |
| B.Try to drink wine, coffee, and other drinks instead of a cigarette. |
| C.If you miss the sensation of having a cigarette in your mouth, play with a pen. |
| D.Every night before going to bed, repeat the reasons 10 times. |
| A.spend a lot of time breaking the habit of smoking |
| B.have to stop to smoke from time to time |
| C.had better quit smoking during their holiday |
| D.start a modest exercise every day |
| A.all kinds of drinks be avoided |
| B.drinking water and fruit juice |
| C.trying low-tar(低焦油)cigarettes |
| D.spending as much free time as possible in public places |
| A.Sports. | B.News. | C.Health. | D.Culture. |
Staying positive through the cold season could be your best defense against getting ill, new study findings suggest.
In an experiment that exposed healthy volunteers to a cold or flu virus, researchers found that people with a generally sunny character were less likely to fall ill. The findings, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, build on evidence that a “positive emotional style” can help to protect us from suffering the common cold and other illnesses.
Researchers believe the reasons may be both objective — as in happiness improving immune function — and subjective — as in happy people being less troubled by a sore throat or runny nose. “People with a positive emotional style may have different immune responses to the virus,” explained lead study author Dr Sheldon Cohen of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. “And when they do get a cold, they may interpret their illness as being less severe.”
Cohen and his colleagues had found in a previous study that happier people seemed less likely to catch a cold, but some questions remained as to whether the emotional style itself had the effect.
For the new study, the researchers had 193 healthy adults complete standard measures of personality characteristics, self-felt health and emotional style. Those who had a tendency to be happy, energetic and easy-going were judged as having a positive emotional style, while those who were often unhappy, tense and aggressive had a negative style.
The researchers gave them nasal (鼻腔的) drops containing either a cold virus or a particular flu virus. Over the next six days, the volunteers reported on any aches, pains or sneezing they had, while the researchers collected objective data. Cohen and his colleagues found that based on objective measures of nasal troubles, happy people were less likely to develop a cold.
【小题1】Which is the best title for the passage? ______
| A.Stay Away from Being Negative |
| B.Positive or Negative?It’s Up to You. |
| C.Emotional Style and Flu. |
| D.Optimistic People Likely to Keep Diseases Away. |
| A.their cheerful mood benefits the immune system |
| B.they have developed a certain way against flu virus |
| C.they are less likely to have a sore throat and runny nose |
| D.they have got a stronger self-confidence in their health |
| A.getting volunteers in one emotional group and analyzing them |
| B.conducting a medical experiment on volunteers of different emotional styles |
| C.co |
| D.having volunteers answer questions on personality, health and emotions |
Did you ever wonder how some of your favorite foods, products or toys came about? Believe it or not, they may have been an accident, or a failure of some other intention. Below, we found three mistakes we’re thankful for turned out to be what they are.
1. Most historians hold that the Chinese invented fireworks in the 9th century when they
discovered how to make gunpowder. Story has it that a Chinese cook accidentally mixed together what were then considered common kitchen items and noticed they burnt. When put tightly in a bamboo tube and lit, it blew up.
2. In May of 1886, a law led John Pemberton, a pharmacist(药剂师), to rewrite the formula(配方) for "Pemberton’s French Wine Coca,” his popular headache treatment. Containing sugar instead of wine as a sweetener, the outcome became something for Coke, which was later mixed with carbonated water. His bookkeeper suggested the name Coca-Cola because he thought the two C’s would look good together, which is how what we call Coca-Cola, a world –wide drink came into being.
3. During World War II, scientists at the University of Birmingham invented the magnetron—an important heat-producing part of the microwave oven(微波炉). While working for Raytheon Corporation after the war, the American engineer Percy Spencer was testing the magnetron when a chocolate bar in his pocket melted. He went on to test other foods including popcorn kernels, and found it to be a much more efficient way to cook. In 1947 Raytheon came out with the first restaurant microwave oven, which was six feet tall and weighed 750 lbs.
【小题1】The right time order of the three inventions, according to the passage, should be_________.
| A.fireworks, the microwave and Coca-Cola |
| B.fireworks ,Coca-Cola and the microwave |
| C.Coca-Cola , fireworks and the microwave |
| D.the microwave, Coca-Cola and fireworks |
| A.looking for a way to melt his chocolate |
| B.trying to know how a magnetron could cook |
| C.working to know how the magnetron works |
| D.asked to invent a restaurant microwave oven |
| A.Experiments make great inventors of our time. |
| B.Nothing is impossible if one tries each day. |
| C.Inventors come out of hard work at any time. |
| D.A small incident may lead to a great invention. |
| A.What great inventions they are! | B.Inventions from Three Countries. |
| C.Stories of Accidental Inventions. | D.The Human Inventions of time. |