First lady’s campaign brings change

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wal-Mart（沃尔玛） is putting special labels（标签）on some  products to help shoppers quickly notice healthier ones. Millions of schoolchildren are helping themselves to vegetables from salad bars in their lunchrooms, and kids’ meals at Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants come with a side of fruit or vegetables and a glass of low-fat milk.

These changes are taking place due to the campaign against childhood fatness, for which the first lady Michelle Obama began fighting three years ago.

Fatness has become a serious problem in the country. About one-third of U.S. children are overweight, which puts them at increased risk for any number of deadly illnesses, including high blood pressure and heart disease.

Still, Mrs. Obama faces challenge. Not everyone welcomes her effort. Some blame her for going too far and say she has no right to tell what people should and shouldn’t eat. But nutrition supporters and others praise her for using her influence to help bring interests to the table. They said the first lady has raised public awareness about fatness, which will help decrease childhood fatness rates.

There is evidence of small decrease in childhood fatness rates in some parts of the country. New York reported a 5.5 percent drop in fatness rates in kindergarteners through eighth-graders between the 2006-07 and 2010-11 school years. In Philadelphia, the drop was 4.7 percent among students in grades K-12.

Fighting against children fatness is hard work, but it’s well worth the effort. The first lady is planning a promotional tour. She has been talking up the campaign against childhood fatness on daytime and late-night TV shows and on the radio. She also plans discussions next week on Google and Twitter.

“We’ve been spending a lot of time educating and re-educating families and kids on how to eat, what to eat,” the first lady said. “We’re starting to see some changes and we’re starting to show some improvement.” 

21. What is the purpose of the campaign started by the first lady?

A. To call on healthy eating.    B. To educate people how to avoid illness.

C. To show the harm caused by fatness. D. To reduce childhood fatness rate.

22. What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A. The popularity of healthy food. 

B. The importance of balanced diet.

C. The changes brought out by the campaign.

D. Children’s preference for vegetables.

23. What can we learn from the passage about Mrs. Obama?

 A. She is an expert in healthy eating.

 B. She shows great concern about childhood fatness.

 C. She has won support of the whole nation. 

 D. She makes good use of media to increase her influence.

    Before my first summer vacation at college, my roommate Ted asked to me to work with him on his father’s farm in Argentina. The idea of spending two months in Argentine was exciting. Then I began having second thoughts. I had never been far from New England, and I had been homesick my first few weeks at college. What would it be like in a strange country? What about the language? The more I thought about it, the more the idea worried me.

    In the end I turned down the invitation. As soon as Ted asked somebody else to go, I began kicking myself. I had turned down something I wanted to do because I was scared, and had ended up feeling depressed. That unhappy summer taught me a valuable lesson out of which I developed a rule for myself: do what makes you anxious; don’t do what makes you depressed.

    At the end of my senior year, I began to think about becoming a writer. But my professor was urging me to aim at teaching. I hesitated. The idea of trying to live by writing was a lot scarier than spending a summer in Argentina. Back and forth I went, making my decision, unmaking it. Suddenly I realized that every time I gave up the idea of writing, that downhearted feeling went through me.

    Giving up on what I really wanted to do depressed me. Right then I learned another lesson. To avoid that kind of depression meant having to bear a certain amount of worry and concern.

    When I first began writing articles, I was frequently required to interview big names. Before each interview I would get butterflies in the stomach and my hands would shake. One person I particularly admired was the great composer Duke Ellington. On the stage and on television, he seemed the very model of confidence. Then I learned Ellington still got stage fright. If the highly honored Ellington, who had appeared on the bandstand some 10,000 times over 30 years, had anxiety attacks, who was I to think I could avoid them? I went on doing those frightening interviews. Then I realized to my astonishment that I was even looking forward to the interviews. What had happened to those butterflies?

    Well, in truth, they were still there, but there were fewer of them. I had benefited, I discovered, from a process psychologists call “extinction”. If you put an individual in an anxious situation often enough, he will eventually learn that there isn’t anything to be worried about, which brings me to a conclusion: you’ll never get rid of anxiety by avoiding the things that caused it.

    The point is that the new, the different, is definitely scary. But each time you try something, you learn, and as the learning piles up, the world opens to you.

24. We can infer from the passage that the author________.

A. finds it difficult to make decision 

B. was inspired by Duke Ellington’s stage fright

C. has found out what causes anxiety

D. no longer feels anxious about new experiences 

25. The underlined word “extinction” in Paragraph 6 means ________.

A. a person’s gradual loss of confidence

B. the process of losing fear by keeping facing anxiety

C. the inborn tendency to avoid anxious situations

 D. the natural development of a child’s abilities

26. Which of the following opinions does the author probably accept?

A. Hesitation leads to depression.

B. Avoiding anxiety reduces depression.

C. Anxiety can be a positive drive

D. Depression is a signal that one is growing up.

27. What’s the best title of the passage?

A. Confidence: Key to Success

B. Success: A Trip Through Anxiety and Depression

C. Depression: A Psychological Phenomenon

D. Anxiety: Challenge by Another Name

  China is a land of bicycles. At least it was back in 1992 when I traveled the country. Back then everyone seemed to be riding a bicycle. Millions of them, all black. Cars were rare. Yet since my arrival in Beijing last year, I’ve found the opposite is true . There are millions of cars. However, people still use their bicycles to get around . For many, it’s the easiest and cheapest way to travel today. Bicycles also come in different colors—silver, green, red, blue, yellow, whatever you want.

    It’s fun watching people biking. They rush quickly through crossroads, move skillfully through traffic, and ride even on sidewalks(人行道). Bicycles allow people the freedom to move about that cars just can’t provide.

    Eager to be part of this aspect of Chinese culture , I decided to buy a bicycle. Great weather accompanied my great buy. I immediately jumped up on my bicycle seat and  started home.

    My first ride home was orderly(守秩序的) . To be safe , I stayed with a ”pack” of bikers while cars on the streets came running swiftly out of nowhere at times. I didn’t want to get hit . So I took the ride carefully.

    Crossing the streets was the biggest problem. It was a lot like crossing a major highway back in the United States. The streets here were wide, so crossing took time, skill and a little bit of luck.

    I finally made it home . The feeling on the bicycle was amazing . The air hitting my face and going through my hair was wonderful. I was sitting on top of the world as I passed by places and people. Biking made me feel alive.

28．According to the author, why are bicycles still popular in China today?

A．Because they are traditional and safe．  

       B．Because they are colorful and available．

C．Because they are convenient and inexpensive．

D．Because they are fast and environment friendly．

29．The author decided to buy a bicycle because he intended ______________．

A．to ride it for fun  B． to experience local skills   

C．to use it for transport D．to improve his riding skills

30．How did the author feel about his street crossing?

A．It was boring．     B．It was wonderful   C．It was lively．D．It was difficult．

31．Which of the following best describes the author’s biking experience?

A．The author enjoyed showing off his biking skills．

B． The author took great pleasure in biking．

C．The author was praised by the other bikers．

D．The author was annoyed by the air while riding．

    Store shelves are filling up with so-called “green” products promising to benefit the environment. A recent argument shows that it can be as difficult for buyers to confirm such statement as for producers to defend them.

    The argument concerns the Green Plug Electricity Saver. The Green Plug is supposed to prevent energy waste by electrical equipment whose constant -speed motors operate at less full load---as is especially true of older refrigerators. Research showed that such motors can be made to do the same work with less heat, noise, and power consumption just by lowering the voltage（电压）of the power supply.

John and Wyck Hay, started Green Technologies to apply that finding to home appliances. In the USA, there are more than 140 million refrigerators in use, accounting for an average of 16% of the household electric bill. Two years of research resulted in the Green Plug. Connecting between wall socket and refrigerator, the equipment contains a minicomputer that gives a motor full power (120 volts on average) for start-up, then reduces the power to 106 volts.

    Older refrigerators are the most overpowered and, thus, save the most energy with a Green Plug. Refrigerators less than two years old are already energy-saving that a Green Plug actually makes them waste electricity. The higher the voltage, the larger the difference a Green Plug makes. Higher power costs shorten the payback time. The population-weighted national average is 10 cents per kilowatt-hour. But some residents in Washington State pay 1.5 cents. Some in Alaska pay 41.6 cents. Then come highly individual household differences like the number of children or refrigerator-opening age. All in all, the Green Plug should save the average consumer $20 a year.

    Although the Green Plug lowered the voltage as it was designed to do, Consumer Reports , an influential magazine, questioned how quickly---if ever---electricity savings due to the plug would repay its cost. People would be better off buying a new, high-efficiency refrigerator, the magazine advised.

    Consumer Reports also said that the Green Plug didn’t give a promised 25% savings worth $50 a year. The savings on the oldest model was the best at 8.6%, worth $20 a year.

    Green Technologies ordered tests of the Green Plug on up to 2,800 refrigerators through next year. The company will not put that data in stores. Instead, potential buyers will call to learn how their model of refrigerator performed.

    Meanwhile, there is little evidence of consumer dissatisfaction. Sales topped 45,000 units last month. The return rate is less than 0.2%.

32. The Green Plug on store shelves are due mostly to __________.

A. an increased concern about the environment

B. a demand for money-saving technology

C. the high cost of electrical power  

D. the shortage of power supply

33. What do we know about the Green Plug?

A. It is especially designed for old refrigerators

B. It can’t guarantee lower electric bills

C. It works well with all home appliances

D. It doesn’t function with lower voltage

34. In the Green Plug argument, the magazine Consumer Reports __________.

A. advocates for the Green Plug 

B. suggests Green Technologies never tell the truth

C. doubts the effect of the Green Plug 

D. informs the public of different opinions

35. We can infer from the passage that the author ___________.

A. feels optimistic about the future of Green Plug.

B. believes the Green Plug has cheated customers.

C. encourages further investigation.

D. holds an objective attitude to the issue.

Kids’ health:Four steps for fighting stress

Everybody gets stressed from time to time.　36　 Some ways of dealing with stress—like screaming or hitting someone—don’t solve(解决) much.But other ways,like talking to someone you trust,can lead you to solving your problem or at least feeling better. 

Try taking these four steps the next time you are stressed:

(1)Get support.When you need help,reach out to the people who care about you.Talk to a trusted adult,such as a parent or other relatives.　37　 They might have had similar problems,such as dealing with a test,or the death of a beloved pet. 

(2)Don’t take it out on yourself.Sometimes when kids are stressed and upset they take it out on themselves.Oh,dear,that’s not a good idea.Remember that there are always people to help you.Don’t take it out on yourself.　38　 

(3)Try to solve the problem.After you’re calm and you have support from adults and friends,it’s time to get down to business.　39　 Even if you can’t solve it all,you can solve a piece of it. 

(4)Be positive. Most stress is temporary(暂时的).Remember stress does go away, especially when you figure out the problem and start working on solving it.

These steps aren’t magic, but they do work. And if you can stay positive as you make your way through a tough time, you’ll help yourself feel better even faster.　40　 

A.Ask for a helping hand to get you through the tough situation.

B.Notice your friends’ feelings and find a way to help them.

C.Different people feel stress in different ways.

D.Ah,it feels so good when the stress is gone.

E.You need to figure out what the problem is.

F.And don’t forget about your friends.

G.Then,find a way to calm down.