I know what you’re thinking：pizza? For breakfast? But the truth is that you can have last night’s leftovers in the a. m. if you want to.

I know lots of women who skip breakfast, and they have a ton of different excuses for doing it. Some say they don’t have time, others think they’re “saving” calories（卡路里）, still others just don’t like breakfast food.

But the bottom line is that eating in the morning is very important when you’re trying to lose weight. “Eating just about anything from 300 to 400 calories would be better than nothing at all，”says Katherine Brooking, R. D.，who developed the super-easy eating plan for this year’s“SELF CHALLENGE”. And even pizza can be healthy if it’s loaded with vegetables, and you stick to one small piece.

Breakfast is one meal I never miss, and the same goes for most weight loss success stories. Research shows that eating breakfast keeps you from overeating later in the day. Researchers at the University of Southern California found that breakfast skippers have a bigger chance of gaining weight than those who regularly have a morning meal.

So eat something in the morning, anything. I know plenty of friends who end up having no breakfast altogether, and have just coffee or orange juice. I say, try heating up last night’s leftovers-it may sound crazy, but if it works for you, do it! I find if I tell myself', “You can always eat it tomorrow, ”I put away the leftovers instead of eating more that night. Try it…you may save yourself some pre-bedtime calories. And watch your body gain the fat-burning effects.

1.The word “leftovers” in Paragraph 1 probably means __________.

A. pizza topped with fruit

B. things left undone

C. meals made of vegetables

D. food remaining after a meal.

2.According to the last paragraph, it is important to__________.

A. eat something for breakfast

B. be careful about what you eat

C. heat up food before eating it

D. eat calorie-controlled food

3. What can we infer from the text?

A. Working women usually have breakfast in a hurry.

B. Many people have wrong ideas about breakfast.

C. There are some easy ways of cooking a meal.

D. Eating vegetables helps save energy.

4.The text is written mainly for those__________.

A. who go to work early              B. who stay up late

C. who want to lose weight           D. who eat before sleep

5.What does the author advise the readers to do?

A. Better eat up all the food at dinner in the night.

B. Better eat less in the night.

C. Better eat leftovers in the morning.

D. Better get up late and eat nothing in the morning in order to burn more calories.

Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there are a whole lot of antique(古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception (接待). I was quite wrong. The man wouldn’t even look at my chair. The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth－so I decided that my approach must be wrong.

I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, "Would you like to buy a chair?" He looked it over carefully and said, "Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?" "Twenty pounds," I said. "OK," he said, "I’ll give you twenty pounds." "It’s got a slightly broken leg," I said. "Yes, I saw that, it’s nothing."

Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. "What will you do with it?" I asked. "Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done." "I’ll buy it," I said. "What do you mean? You’ve just sold it to me," he said. "Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I am sorry. I’ll give you twenty-seven pounds for it." "You must be crazy," he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. "I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair." "You’re right," I said. "And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, “ Would you mend this chair for me?”. “I wouldn’t have agreed to do it," he said. "We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver (five pounds)?" He was a very nice man and was greatly amused (感到有趣) by the whole thing.

1.We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer _____.

A. was rather impolite

B. was warmly received

C. asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair

D. asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair

2.The underlined word "approach" in the second paragraph means _____.

A. plan for dealing with things

B. decision to sell things

C. idea of repairing things

D. way of doing things

3.The expression "the penny dropped" in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper _____.

A. changed his mind

B. accepted the offer

C. saw the writer’s purpose

D. decided to help the writer

4.How much did the writer pay?

A. ￡5.     B. ￡7.     C. ￡20.       D. ￡27.

5.From the text, we can learn that the writer was _____.

A. honest      B. careful      C. smart      D. funny

Finding a friend doesn’t seem like a difficult job. However, bad friends are easier to find than good friends these days. If you’re sitting there and wondering if you have a bad friend, let me define it for you.

A bad friend is someone whose jealousies and insecurities outweigh their love for someone. They night want to be a good friend but they’re too messed up in their own head to ever actually do it. They wonder if their friends are going out without them or if they’re being forgotten and left behind. People who are violently insecure don’t have what it takes to be the quality of a friend.

Bad friends are narcissistic(自恋的). They look for any opportunity to bring the conversation back to them. Worse, they might not even be aware that they’re doing it. In their mind, they might think they are the best friend ever, which is truly frightening.

Bad friends are quick-change. They’re by your side when you’re fun and you have something to give them but as soon as you’re going through a difficult time, they will become indifferent quickly. They won’t bring you cold medicine. They won’t give you a ride to the doctor, everything they do is self-serving.

If you find a friend who has these same characteristics, send them to your bad friend list immediately. Your friends are supposed to be the solution to your problems, not the source.

I believe your twenties are a time when you need positive and helpful friends. In such a time, friendships aren’t easy to maintain like they once were in school. Now we actually have to put work into it, we have to make a conscious effort to keep the friendship going. You need to ask yourself, “Is this person worth it? Do they treat me like a fool or what?” if your have doubts, try to make them clear by considering the past experiences. Toxic(有毒的) friendships do nothing but drag you down. My point is that you have to take care of yourself and stop getting in touch with your bad friends. Only surround yourself with people who bring out the best qualities in you. It may sound cruel but it’s true,.

1.The author believes that we can easily find a         .

A. close friend B. poor friend C. good friend D. bad friend

2.Bad friends give the author the following impressions EXCEPT being         .

A. outgoing     B.insecure

C. narcissistic D. self-centred

3.We can infer from the passage that a bad friend will         when you have trouble.

A. feel worried as you do  B. try hard to help you out

C. do nothing but leave you D. pay more attention to you

4.In the last paragraph, you are advised         .

A. not to treat your friends like fools B. not to keep a terrible friendship

C. not to be a bad friend of others D. not to doubt but ask yourself

5.What is the purpose of the passage?

A. To tell us finding a friend is not an easy job for everyone.

B. To help us know about bad friends and get rid of them.

C. To encourage us to make more friends in school.

D. To advise us not to treat our close friends badly.

Mother’s Day is coming. It is a time to let Mom know she’s special to you. Finding the right for Mom on that day is not always easy. We often want something personal and thoughtful. But how can we make it? These following ideas may help you.

Gift of Time

Moms just want to spend time with their children so make it a Mother-Daughter/Son day. Spend the whole day with her. Do the things she likes doing with her.

Home Video

Take your family videos and make them a short home video. She can enjoy it whenever she misses you. Although it may take a lot of time, the process(过程) can be great fun and the result is often priceless(无价).

Mom Mix

Make a CD for her. It’s a collection of all the songs that remindher of you and your growing up.

Write a Letter

Write a letter instead of a simple card. Write about all the good memories you have with her and all the things she has done for you.

Flowers

People send carnations(康乃馨) on Mother’s Day. You can easily spend a lot of money on them. If you have flowers in your garden, or can handpick them, it can be a great gift.

Dinner

Make a dinner and invite her over. You can also take it over to her house and surprise her. Just don’t’ forget to wash the dishes after the dinner.

1.Why is it not easy to find a right gift on Mother’s day?

A．Because we want to save money

B．Because mothers don’t like gifts.

C．Because we always want to get something special

D．Because mothers are very difficult to deal with

2.Making a home video may be _______.

A．fun              B．boring            C．easy             D．nothing

3.What does the underlined word “remind” mean in Chinese?

A．使……防范       B．使……想起        C．使……经过        D．使….. 痛苦

4.How many kinds of ideas have been mentioned here for Mother’s Day?

A．4                B．5                C．6                D．7

5.From the passage we know _________.

A．you can buy a big cake for your mom on Mother’s day

B．writing a letter is better than sending a simple card to your mom on Mother’s Day.

C．inviting your mom to eat in a restaurant is a good gift for her.

D．buying carnations for her is a good way.

Children have their own rules in playing games. They seldom need a referee (裁判) and rarely trouble to keep scores. They don’t care much about who wins or loses, and it doesn’t seem to worry them if the game is not finished. Yet, they like games that depend a lot on luck, so that their personal abilities cannot be directly compared. They also enjoyed games that move in stages, in which each stage, the choosing of leaders, the picking-up of sides, or the determining of which side shall start, is almost a game in itself.

Grown-ups can hardly find children’s game exciting, and they often feel puzzled at why their kids play such simple game again and again. However, it is found that a child plays games for very important reasons. He can be a good player without having to think whether he is a popular person, and he can find himself being a useful partner to someone of whom he is ordinary afraid. He becomes a leader when it comes to his turn. He can be confident, too, in particular games, that it is his place to give orders, to pretend to be dead, to throw a ball actually at someone, or to kiss someone he has caught.

It appears to us that when children play a game they imagine a situation under their control. Everyone knows the rules, and more importantly, everyone plays according to the rules. Those rules may be childish, but they make sure that every child has a chance to win.

1.What is true about children when they play games?

A. They can stop playing any time they like.

B. They can test their personal abilities.

C. They want to pick a better team.

D. They don’t need rules.

2.To become a leader in a game the child has to _________.

A. be a useful partner

B. wait for his turn

C. be confident in himself

D. be popular among his playmates

3. Why does a child like playing games?

A. Because he can be someone other than himself.

B. Because he can become popular among friends.

C. Because he finds he is always lucky in games.

D. Because he likes the place where he plays a game.

4.Which is the best title for this passage?

A. Rules in Children’s Games

B. Advantages of Playing Games for Children

C. Reasons for Children’s Games  

D. How to Be a Popular Game Player

Nutrition influences not only students' grades at school but their growth and development. Improper nutrition is one of the causes of childhood obesity. What can you do to help your child avoid childhood obesity?

My first piece of advice is to look in your fridge. What are you buying at the grocery store? Think about it: if you don't buy junk food or snacks, your kids won't eat them at home. Now if you're like me — both of your kids are at school, you'll know you can't police them every second of the day. This is the time when you'll need to talk to your children about their food choices. If you don't know the right food choices, there are so many free resources on-line to guide you.

Try new things. I was very surprised to find out my 4-year-old daughter likes balsamic vinegar — she calls it the "black sauce". She likes to have it with tomatoes and cucumbers. You just never know what your kids might like.

Don't get stressed if you can't always prepare something healthy. You may sometimes leave the house and forget to take something out for dinner, or you are running late and there's no time to cook before you have to take one of the kids somewhere. However, you can still make healthy choices while dining out. Many of the fast food restaurants offer fruit and milk instead of soda. I like to buy organic frozen pizzas from the organic market — for a quick dinner solution(解决办法). All the ingredients are natural. What I do is to serve the pizza with something raw: lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, or fruit to try to give the kids something healthy with that meal.

In closing, take baby steps. Don't try to change your family's eating habits in one go, or you'll go nuts.

1.This passage is written mainly to          us

A．explain why today’s kids are overweight

B．tell us the importance of healthy eating

C．give parents some healthy eating tips

D．teach parents what to cook at home

2. The writer believes it is very important for parents to          

A．make sure their fridge is full of food.

B．teach their children how to eat healthily

C．check their children’s grades at school

D．provide their children with their favorite food

3. Paragraph 4 tells parents they should           .

A．never take their kids to a fast food restaurant

B．eat out in a nice restaurant with their kids at times

C．choose healthy food while eating out with their kids

D．cook healthy food for their kids however busy they are

4.According to the passage, it does NOT seem to be a good idea to        .

A．tell children what to eat at school

B．find free resources on healthy eating online

C．put balsamic vinegar on tomatoes or cucumbers

D．try to change a family’s eating habits in a very short time

When 19­year­old Sophia Giorgi said she was thinking of volunteering to help the Make­A­Wish Foundation(基金会), nobody understood what she was talking about. But Sophia knew just how important Make­A­Wish could be because this special organization had helped to make a dream come true for one of her best friends. We were interested in finding out more, so we went along to meet Sophia and listen to what she had to say.

Sophia told us that Make­A­Wish is a worldwide organization that started in the United States in 1980. “It's a charity(慈善机构) that helps children who have got very serious illnesses. Make­A­Wish helps children feel happy even though they are sick, by making their wishes and dreams come true，” Sophia explained.

We asked Sophia how Make­A­Wish had first started. She said it had all begun with a very sick young boy called Chris, who had been dreaming for a long time of becoming a policeman. Sophia said lots of people had wanted to find a way to make Chris's dream come true—so, with everybody's help, Chris, only seven years old at the time, had been a “policeman” for a day. “When people saw how delighted Chris was when his dream came true, they decided to try and help other sick children too, and that was the beginning of Make­A­Wish，” explained Sophia.

Sophia also told us the Foundation tries to give children and their families a special, happy time. A Make­A­Wish volunteer visits the families and asks the children what they would wish for if they could have anything in the world. Sophia said the volunteers were important because they were the ones who helped to make the wishes come true. They do this either by providing things that are necessary, or by raising money or helping out in whatever way they can.

1.Sophia found out about Make­A­Wish because her best friend had ________.

A．benefited from it  B．volunteered to help it

C．dreamed about it  D．told the author about it

2.According to Sophia, Make­A­Wish ________.

A．is an international charity

B．was understood by nobody at first

C．raises money for very poor families

D．started by drawing the interest of the public

3.What is said about Chris in Paragraph 3?

A．He has been a policeman since he was seven.

B．He gave people the idea of starting Make­A­Wish.

C．He wanted people to help make his dream come true.

D．He was the first child Make­A­Wish helped after it had been set up.

4.Which of the following is true about Make­A­Wish volunteers?

A．They are important for making wishes come true.

B．They try to help children get over their illnesses.

C．They visit sick children to make them feel special.

D．They provide what is necessary to make Make­A­Wish popular.

They can be seen more frequently than ever before on college campuses, wearing flannel(法兰绒) and thick­framed glasses while listening to music. One might find them playing unusual musical instruments, shopping at second­hand stores or expressing themselves in other unique ways.

They call themselves hipsters. Being “hip” used to mean following the latest fashion. But gradually the word has become a sign of “being cool, unique and unusual”．

Hipsters value independent thinking, progressive politics, an appreciation of creativity and intelligence. Hipsters take pains and pride in not being mainstream. However, their culture has become quite trendy. This irony(讽刺) is central to their culture and offers an interesting conflict.

“I do take things in the mainstream with a positive attitude，” says Ben Polson, a college student at Brown University. “But sometimes I also question what determines popularity, especially regarding music.” Polson represents many hipsters.

When less­known bands become popular, they often lose their former fan base in exchange for a new one. There is a famous hipster saying that goes, “I used to like that band before it got popular，” Polson quoted.

According to Polson, bands' music changes when they go mainstream. They become less experimental, doing things just to save popularity and fans. The original elements that we were drawn to slowly disappear for the sake of popularity.

Many young adults have started to view hipsters' outlook as cool and they are adopting hipsters' anti­mainstream culture mind to themselves. This has led to specialized brands, stores and music for the hipster consumers. But on the other hand, some such stores, including clothing labels Urban Outfitters and American Apparel, have gained mainstream popularity. This has seemingly made the anti­mainstream culture become weaker.

“A lot of people that are self­defined hipsters aren't really hipsters. They're just trying to act as hipsters to seem cooler，” says Amanda Leopold, a college student from Oberlin College, US. Although Leopold has many unusual tastes and seems quite individualist, she refuses to classify herself as a hipster.

1.In the passage, hipsters refer to people ________.

A．who are fans of pop music

B．who study in different colleges

C．who appear cool and unusual

D．who try to attract others

2.According to the author, ________.

A．hipsters are the pioneers of the mainstream

B．hipsters are unhappy with the mainstream

C．hipsters' culture exists mainly in music field

D．hipsters' culture can also become popular

3.What is the main idea of the seventh paragraph?

A．Urban Outfitters and American Apparel are famous clothing labels.

B．Hipster consumers have more specialized brands, stores and music.

C．Anti­mainstream culture can gain mainstream popularity.

D．The culture of hipsters is becoming more and more terrible.

4.When describing hipsters, the author speaks ________.

A．in an ironic voice  B．in an objective voice

C．in an angry voice  D．in a funny voice

Internet dating has become one of the biggest and most successful business ventures on the Internet. Basically, Internet dating is a way to meet people for either friendship or dating without actually having to meet them in person first.

The first thing to do if you decide to try Internet dating is to build your profile(简介) which can include your hobbies, hopes for the future, and so on. A photograph is optional, but many sites claim that a photograph increase the number of people who look at your profile. Many Internet dating sites will charge a one-time registration(注册) fee to use their services.

Internet dating makes it possible to meet people from all over the world. You can even narrow the search down to your area by zip code. Another advantage is that you can communicate by email before you meet in person. Thousands of people have met, fallen in love, and married through Internet dating. It is an excellent way for shy people to meet. It is also a way for people with busy lives to connect with others, and an easy way to meet people who share your interests.

Just as in conventional(传统的) dating and love, there are some pitfalls to be aware of in Internet dating. The person you have been talking to on the net may not be who they say they are. Be very aware that there are some people who misrepresent their appearance or private details, such as marital(婚姻) status, income, and so on, for their own reasons. It would not be the first time that someone has been taken in, and talk shows are full of cheating partners who have been caught dating over the Internet in their spare time. Nevertheless, taking a few simple precautions should help ensure that your Internet dating experience is fun.

1. The purpose of writing the passage is to________.

A．persuade readers to go dating on the Internet.

B．inform us how to date on the Internet.

C．warn readers against web love.

D．introduce Internet dating to us.

2.Which of the following is a must to make an Internet dating possible?

A．A photo                              B．A profile

C．Registration fee                         D．Business experience

3. One advantage of Internet dating is that_______.

A．you can avoid a face-to-face meeting in the beginning.

B．you’re sure to find a partner with the same interests.

C．you’ll find absolutely reliable information of others.

D．you’ll gain fame and money overnight

4.The underlines word “pitfalls” in Paragraph 4 most probably means________.

A．rules             B．trends            C．problems          D．skills

5. What is probably talked about following the last paragraph?

A．Conventional dating.                     B．Hidden advantages.

C．Safety measures.                        D．Romantic love.

Rockwatch—The Best Club on Earth

If you are young and interested in geology(地质学), then Rockwatch is the club for you. When you apply for membership, you'll receive a Rockwatch Rox file each. It has the information and top tips you will need to start enjoying geology. It's designed to serve as your own field notebook as well.

In it you will find your

·membership card

·full­colour minimap

·thumbs­up guide

·fact cards

Rockwatch Magazine

Our lively magazine is mailed to members three times a year. They can read reports and news from around the world, and articles on everything from diamonds to dinosaurs, earthquakes to erosion(侵蚀)．

Rockwatch Events

With each magazine you will receive a Rockwatch events calendar. Rocky activities suitable for families are listed and include road shows and guided walks.

The Rockwatch Rock Artist

Are you an artist, or a photographer? This is your chance to turn Rockwatch Rock Artist of a year and win amazing prizes in our annual competition.

Special Offer

Rockwatch members can have specially discounted Wildlife Watch membership. Wildlife Watch is the biggest environmental action club for young people, with 100 groups across the country. You can join both clubs together by filling in the boxes in the membership form.

1.Rockwatch Magazine mailed to its members tells about things related to ________.

A．geology  B．agriculture

C．politics  D．economics

2.What activities are specially arranged for Rockwatch members interested in photography?

A．Guided walks.  B．Rocky activities.

C．Yearly competitions.  D．Academic workshops.

3.When applying for Wildlife Watch membership, a Rockwatch member can enjoy ________.

A．free membership  B．a special discount

C．a Rock Artist prize  D．guided road shows

4.You may join both Rockwatch and Wildlife Watch clubs by ________.

A．calling the two clubs  B．providing references

C．applying separately  D．filling in one form