A teenage girl from Zimbabwe is caring for a homeless baby squirrel (松鼠) in her hair.

Abby Putterill, l6, whose parents run an animal sanctuary (保护区) 40km from the capital Harare, says that Hammy, a squirrel, climbed into her tied-up hair one day and decided to stay. The schoolgirl and her friend have been together for two months.

Hammy was just about ten days old when he was found on the cold office floor of the Bally Vaughan Wildlife Sanctuary. Abby’s mother, Debbie Putterill, who co-owns the park with her husband, Gordon, took the baby back to her home. To the family’s surprise, Hammy liked her daughter very much because he climbed onto her head and got into her hair.

Abby wears her hair in a ponytail (马尾) which she usually has tied up at the back, making a wonderful home for Hammy. Except for sleeping and showering, the squirrel and the schoolgirl cannot be separated.

Mrs. Putterill said: “He’s doing really well and is growing up so quickly. When we first found him he was lying on the floor of the office. He must have fallen out of the thatched roof (茅草屋顶). If we hadn’t taken him in, he would have died because he was only around ten days old.

The baby squirrel was nursed back to health on a good diet, getting back his strength and quickly becoming a member of the family.

Mrs. Putterill added: “When he was tiny he refused to sleep anywhere else but on the palm of my hand, but as he got older he started treating us like trees, hiding in our clothes. But one day he was playing with Abby and he managed to climb into her hair. He seemed to make himself at home and still does it now. We’ve never had a squirrel do this before and it’s really quite funny to see but he’s happy enough to lie there and watch the world go by.”

Bally Vaughan Wildlife Sanctuary was founded in the early l980s by Debbie’s mother and father, fulfilling their dream of caring for sick and injured African wildlife.

2l. What is special about Abby Putterill?

A. She has a squirrel living in her hair.       B. She likes squirrels very much.

C. Her pet is a homeless squirrel.           D. Her hair is always a bit dirty.

22. What is Hammy’s relationship with the Putterills like?

A. As he gets older, he wants to leave the Putterills.

B. He wants to go everywhere with Abby Putterill, even when she has a shower.

C. He is very comfortable with them, especially Mr. Putterill and Mrs. Putterill.

D. He has become their close friend, but he is closest to Abby Putterill.

23. At first, Hammy made a home for himself ________.

A. under the Putterills’ clothes

B. on the palm of Mrs. Putterill’s hand

C. on the floor of the Putterills’ house

D. on the roof of Mr. and Mrs. Putterill’s office

24. Where does this passage probably come from?

A. A news report.                                     B. A travel magazine.

C. A science fiction novel.                 D. An advertisement.

There is an old saying in China that goes, “The days of the Sanjiu period are the coldest days.” “Sanjiu period” , which is in Minor Cold(小寒), refers to the third nine-day period (the l9th to the 27th day) after the day of the Winter Solstice(冬至). There are many different customs related to Minor Cold in China.  

Eating hotpot

During Minor Cold people should eat some hot food to benefit the body and defend against the cold weather. Winter is the best time to have hotpot and braised mutton with soy sauce. But it is important to notice that too much spicy food may cause health problems.

Eating huangyacai

In Tianjin, there is a custom to have huangyacai, a kind of Chinese cabbage, during Minor Cold. There are large amounts of vitamins A and B in huangyacai. As huangyacai is fresh and tender, it is fit for frying, roasting and braising.

Eating glutinous rice (糯米饭)[学科]

According to tradition, the Cantonese eat glutinous rice in the morning during Minor Cold. Cantonese people add some fried preserved (腌制的) pork, sausage and peanuts and mix them into the rice.

Eating vegetable rice

In ancient times, people in Nanjing took Minor Cold quite seriously, but as time went by, the celebration of Minor Cold gradually disappeared. However, the custom of eating vegetable rice is still followed today. The rice is steamed and is unspeakably delicious. Among the ingredients (原料), aijiaohuang (a kind of green vegetable), sausage and salted duck are the specialties in Nanjing.

25. What do we know about Minor Cold?

A. It refers to the Winter Solastice.                   B. The Sanjiu period is in Minor Cold

C. It lasts twenty-seven days.                           D. It marks the first day of winter.

26. What is a special custom in Tianjin in Minor Cold？

A. Eating hotpot.                                     B. Having huangyacai. 

C. Having vitamin A and B pills.                D. Buying cabbage.

27. How do the Cantonese eat glutinous rice?

A. They fry and toast it.                                   B. They eat it for dinner.

C. They mix it with many other things.              D. They steam it with soy sauce.

28. This text may be taken from the ________ column (栏目) of a newspaper.

A. travel                B. culture                            C. fashion                    D. science

Over the years, Dawn followed many different weight loss plans. Each plan worked for a while, but eventually her weight would go back up again. So when Dawn’s employer decided to offer a one-year-long healthy weight program that focused on making lasting changes instead of a short-term diet, Dawn was eager to try it. She lost 35 pounds in a year on the healthy weight program. However, more importantly, she learned many new eating habits that she liked and could continue with.

An important part of Dawn’s program was setting realistic goals that she could turn into long-term habits. She recognized small changes she could make, such as eating an apple instead of a piece of bread for a morning snack.  

Changing how she thought about food also helped Dawn go from diet to healthy eating. Dawn doesn’t refuse desserts and other types of food that might be considered bad for people on a diet. Instead, she has learned to take smaller amounts. Dawn also learned to pay attention to her hunger and fullness signals. Instead of eating until she feels full, she eats just enough to feel satisfied.

Having someone she could turn to for support helped Dawn a lot. As part of her healthy weight program, Dawn was assigned (指派) a health coach. This person helped Dawn eliminate things that might prevent her from staying with her healthy eating habits. And when she felt it was difficult for her to keep on her healthy eating habits, she would turn to her health coach for help.

Dawn now realizes that it is her behaviour, such as eating well and being physically active, that really makes her healthy, not her weight.

29. What is the difference between the new weight loss plan and the plans that Dawn tried before?

A. The new plan costs more money.

B. The new plan lasts for a longer period of time.

C. The new plan is more focused on a short-term diet.

D. The new plan is more focused on developing new eating habits.

30. Which of the following activities is NOT part of Dawn’s new weight program?

A. Eating food cooked by her coach.     B. Turning to a health coach for help.

C. Changing her thoughts on food.      D. Setting goals that can be achieved easily.

31. The underlined word, “eliminate”, in the fourth paragraph means ________.

A. collect            B. record                   C. expect                 D. remove

32. What is the most important thing that Dawn’s story tells us?

A. Dawn’s new weight program is very useful.

B. Good eating habits are the key to losing weight.

C. Other people’s support can help one lose weight.

D. Fat people should join Dawn’s new program.

People tend to become more personal and hide less of themselves when using e-mail. Researchers from Open University in Britain have found in a recent study that there are good reasons for this.

       The team of researchers asked 83 pairs of students, all strangers to each other, to solve a problem. They had to discuss this question: If only five people in the world could be saved from a world disaster, who should they be? The pairs of students had to talk over the problem either face to face or by computers. Dr. Johnson said, “They told their partners four times as much about themselves when they talked over the Internet as when they talked face to face. When the computers were fitted with (安装) cameras so that students could see each other, this limited the personal side of the conversation.”

       Generally the information was not extremely personal. It was mainly about things such as where they went to school, or where they used to live. But some students discussed their love stories, and personal childhood experiences.

       Dr. Johnson believes that e-mailing encourages people to focus on (专注于) themselves. And when they do this, they become more open, especially if there are no cameras. “If you cannot see the other person, it becomes easier to talk about yourself. This is because you are not thinking what the other person is thinking of you. So e-mailing has become the modern way of talking,” said Dr. Johnson. However, this style of talking is not entirely new. “In the 19th century people started to use the ‘telegraph’ to communicate. Now the same kind of thing has happened and people ended up speaking more freely.”

       Dr. Johnson thinks that e-mailers need to know about these effects of e-mailing, especially when they start work in a company. “If you don’t know about it, you could find yourself saying more about yourself than you wanted to.”

33. The subject discussed in this passage is ________.

A. how people open up when emailing             B. how people do research studies

C. how to communicate at work               D. how to discuss and solve a problem

34. The reason that some couples talked freely about themselves is that ________.

A. they didn’t talk about very personal things    　　B. they couldn’t see each other

C. the cameras on the computers were turned on     　　D. they had to discuss a question

35. In the writer’s opinion, one should ________.

A. focus on oneself when e-mailing              B. talk more freely in e-mails than usual

C. discuss any subject that one wants to             D. consider how one uses e-mail at work

When your children become teenagers, it’s time to start considering an after-school job.

   36  , so why shouldn’t our children? When your child has a job, he/she is responsible for getting to work on time and doing his/her job correctly. An after-school job is a good way to teach your teenager about responsibility.

By allowing your teenagers to have an after-school job you allow them to learn about money management.    37   , they will have to manage how much money they can spend. They will realize that they can’t spend every dollar they make if they want to reach their goal.

You are probably saying, “Teens will get into trouble whether they have a job or not.”

   38   . Depending on the distance from work to home, you could allow your children some extra time to get home after work. This will ensure that they don’t feel rushed but can still get home on time.

It’s a good idea to show your teenagers that hard work is what it takes to finish everything in their lives.    39   . What will they expect when they are out on their own if they have never had to work hard for what they want?

   40   . All teenagers, no matter what their parents’ financial situation is, should have a job. They will need the experience before they do get out in the real world.

A. If they are saving up for their first car

B. When they refuse to have an after-school job

C. It is a good idea for all teenagers to have an after-school job

D. The majority of adults in the U.S. had a job during their teenage years

E. They can’t learn the meaning of hard work if everything is handed to them

F. Having an after-school job will help your teenagers know their direction

G. But it is less likely that your children will get into trouble if they are working five evenings a week.