Helen Thomas, the pioneering White House reporter known for putting presidents on the hot seat, died at 92.

To those who regularly watch presidential press conferences, Helen Thomas is a familiar figure. Usually dressed in red and always seated in the front row, she is always the first or second reporter the president calls upon. It is an honor she has earned. Besides, it affords her the perfect opportunity to do what she does best-challenge the president and other public officials to tell the plain truth. She said, “We reporters’ priority (首要事情) is the people’s right to know- without fear or favor. We are the people’s servants.”

Helen Thomas was born in Kentucky in 1920. All the nine Thomas children were brought up to value education, and all were expected to make something of themselves through working hard. She made up her mind while still in high school to become a reporter after writing for the student newspaper. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in 1942, Thomas headed straight for Washington, D. C. in search of a newspaper job. Before long, she landed one at Washington Daily News. Her duty included fetching coffee and doughnuts for the paper’s reporters and editors. The eager young woman found the atmosphere exciting and was convinced she had made the right career choice.

Her big break came when she was sent to Florida to report on the vacation of President-elect John F. Kennedy and his family. Once President Kennedy took office, Thomas changed her focus from the president’s family to his policies. She began attending the daily press briefings at the White House as well as presidential press conferences. Thomas has covered every president since Kennedy. Over the years. Thomas found her job “thrilling and inspiring”, but never boring. And she took very seriously her duty to “keep an eye on the president” and keep American people informed.

21.  What can we learn about Helen Thomas from the passage?

A. Her career took off after covering the Kennedys.

B. Her first job was to deliver doughnuts to a news agency.

C. She was born to a large family in Kentucky in 1942.

D. She decided to be a reporter while in college.

22. Paragraph 3 is written to show Helen Thomas________.

A. is always a good decision maker

B. appreciates education and hard work

C. wants to be famous by writing reports

D. has great support from her family

23. What does Helen Thomas think of her work?

A. unbearable.     B. exciting.                 C. challenging.            D. unforgettable.

24. What can be the best title for the text?

A. A Reporter Sticking to the Facts

B. A Reporter Challenging President Kennedy

C. A Reporter from an Ordinary Family

D. A Reporter for Washington Daily

To be successful in any aspect of life, you need to know when to use the carrot or the stick.

Here are a few tips to help you decide whether it’s better to use the carrot or the stick.

l        With the kids

The carrot

When it comes to raising a kid, the carrot or the stick dilemma is quickly disappearing as too many parents take the carrot approach to the extreme. In child raising, the carrot should never be materialistic things. If you want to ask for good behavior with a reward, it should be with something that can’t be bought, say, trust.

The stick

Nowadays, no one likes to use the stick any more, or in my father’s case, the belt. I’m not overlooking child abuse, if you ever want to call it that, but I am encouraging parents to toughen up a bit. You don’t want your kid to test your limits only to find out he can get away with it. If you want to raise a kid, raise the hand and let him know it comes down on the second offense.

l        At the office

The carrot

People need encouragement and motivation to perform well. However, the carrot only really works well with employees who have already proved themselves. If you’ve got someone who can’t show up at the office before noon, the promise of a raise isn’t going to do much. On the contrary, if there’s a guy with a good work moral, he’ll thrive (grow stronger) when you add a promotion to the picture.

The stick

When considering the carrot or the stick in the office, remember that, overall, the stick is the more practical method in the office. A wise man, who just happened to be an Italian, once said “It’s best to be both loved and feared.” It’s nice to have everyone love you, but running a business isn’t like running a family. You need to have the stick constantly raised.

l        With the wife

The carrot

When it comes to marriage, always use the carrot. I’ve had a lovely marriage for many years, and I’ve always stuck to the carrot approach.

Sometimes you catch more flies with honey, and sometimes it’s the crack of a whip (鞭子) that gets the horse moving. Try not to use too many sticks at home; the carrot is much more fun.

25. What is the best title of this passage?

A. The Carrot or the Stick?

B. The Introduction to the Carrot and the Stick

C. Tips in the Daily Life

D. The Advantages of the Carrot and the Stick

26. According to the passage, the author’s father_______.

       A. often abused him in his childhood.

       B. applied the Stick in raising the child.

       C. beat him a lot with a belt.

       D. overlooked child abuse

27. Which do you think is the best to be a good boss at the office?

A. Always using carrots.

B. Eating a lot of carrots.

C. Being both loved and feared.

D. Using too many sticks.

28. Which is NOT true according to the passage?

A. The author often gives more carrots to his wife to eat at home.

B. The carrot is much more fun when it comes to marriage.

C. On different occasions, the carrot or the stick is effective.

D. You need the stick to get your horses to move faster occasionally.

Sleeping in a room with too much light has been linked to an increased risk of piling on the pounds, a study shows. A team at the Institute of Cancer Research in London found women had larger waistlines if their bedroom was “light enough to see across” at night, However, they caution there is not enough evidence to advise people to buy thicker curtains or turn off lights.

The women were asked to rate the amount of light in their bedrooms at night as: Light enough to read. Light enough to see across the room, but not read. Light enough to see your hand in front of you, but not across the room. Too dark to see your hand or you wear a mask.

Prof. Anthony Swerdlow told the BBC: “In this very large group of people there is an association between reported light exposure at night and overweight and obesity. But there is not sufficient evidence to know if making your room darker would make any difference to your weight. There might be other explanations for the association, but the findings are intriguing enough to guarantee further scientific investigation.”

The light is disrupting the body clock, which stems from our evolutionary past when we were active when it was light in the day and resting when it was dark at night. Light alters mood, physical strength and even the way we process food in a 24-hour cycle. Artificial light is known to disrupt the body clock by delaying the production of the sleep hormone melatonin（褪黑素）.

Prof. Derk-Jan Dijk said there would be no harm in trying to make bedrooms darker. He told the BBC: “People in general are not aware of the light present in their bedroom. I think people should assess their bedroom and see how easy it would be to make it darker.” Street lights, some alarm clocks and standby lights on electrical equipment such as televisions could light a room, he said. ”Overall this study points to the importance of darkness,” he concluded.

29.  The passage mainly tells us________.

A. bright bedrooms link to obesity                 B. dark bedrooms link to obesity

C. people should turn off lights              D. people should buy thicker curtains

30. What does the underlined word “disrupt” (Paragraph 4) mean?

A. stop.                    B. disturb          C. improve.               D. recover.

31. What’s Prof. Derk-Jan Dijk’s attitude towards the dark room?

A. Unclear.                 B. Doubtful.       C. Negative.              D. Favorable.

I left university with a good degree in English Literature, but no sense of what I wanted to do. Over the next six years, I was treading water, just trying to earn an income, I tried journalism, but I didn’t think I was any good, then finance, which I hated. Finally, I got a job as a rights assistant at a famous publisher. I loved working with books, although the job that I did was dull.

I had enough savings to take a year off work, and I decided to try to satisfy a deep-down wish to write a novel. Attending a Novel writing MA course gave me the structure I needed to write my first 55, 000 words.

It takes confidence to make a new start-there’s a dark period in -between where you’re neither one thing nor the other. You’re out for dinner and people ask what you do, and you’re too ashamed to say, “Well, I’m writing a novel, but I’m not quite sure if I’m going to get there.” My confidence dived. Believing my novel could not be published, I put it aside.

Then I met an agent who said I should send my novel out to agents. So, I did and, to my surprise, got some wonderful feedback. I felt a little hope that I might actually become a published writer and, after signing with an agent, I finished the second half of the novel.

The next problem was finding a publisher. After two and a half years of no income, just waiting and wondering, a publisher offered me a book deal – that publisher turned out to be the one I once worked for.

It feels like an unbelievable stroke of luck – of fate, really. When you set out to do something different, there’s no end in sight, so to find myself in a position where I now have my own name on a contract of the publisher- to be a published writer- is unbelievably rewarding.

32.  What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 mean?

A. I was waiting for good fortune.

B. I was trying to find an admirable job.

C. I was being aimless about a suitable job.

D. I was doing several jobs for more pay at a time.

33. The author decided to write a novel _____.

A. to finish the writing course                    B. to realize her own dream

C. to satisfy readers’ wish                      D. to earn more money

34. How did the writer feel halfway with the novel?

A. Disturbed.             B. Ashamed    C. Confident.                  D. Uncertain.

35. What does the author mainly want to tell readers in the last paragraph?

A. It pays to stick to one’s goal.

B. Hard work can lead to success.

C. It feels like being unexpectedly lucky.

D. There is no end in sight when starting to do something.

Surprising Benefits of Having a Dog

Dogs offer more than just companionship. If you’re considering getting a pooch（杂种狗）, check out these surprising benefits of having a dog:

·        You’ll exercise more.

Owing a dog can motivate you to exercise every day. On those days when it might be easy to skip a workout, looking at your dog standing by the door waiting to go for a walk can give you the push you need to get out there.   36 

·        Your social life may improve.

Not only does walking your dog help you to get exercise, it might also help you get a date.  __37   Going to the dog park or taking your dogs to run errands can also lead to strangers striking up conversations with you about your dog.

·        Your heart will be healthier.

   Studies show that petting a dog lowers a person’s heart rate,   38   In fact, some research show that dog owners are much more likely to survive a heart attack compared to non-dog owners. Male pet owners in particular tend to experience a reduced rate of heart disease.

·        You’re less likely to feel depressed.

  39   Dog owners are less likely to be depressed. Dog owners who have been diagnosed with clinical depression aren’t likely to be as depressed as other people. Caring for a dog helps relieve symptoms of depression and encourages people to be more positive.

·          40 

Dogs can be an effective home security system. Just knowing that you’ve got a dog who can use its keen sense of hearing to detect anyone walking around can help increase your sense of security, which is good for both your mental and physical health.

A.     You’ll feel safer.

B.     Dogs can replace security system.

C.     You can never imagine your dog can be of so much benefit.

D.     Therefore, dog owners are more likely to have a healthy heart.

E.      The benefits of dog ownership extend to your mental health as well.

F.      People are more likely to stop and talk with you when you’re walking a dog.

G.     Taking your dog for a 30 minute walk every day can greatly improve your health.