Reading Comprehension
A
Living on just an apple a day, Beth Cowan pushed herself to the edge. But now the 19-year-old girl has fought back to fitness, and is likely to be crowned(为……加冕) Miss British Empire 2015.
As a result of her eating disorders, Beth was classed as dangerously underweight. The girl said, “I don’t know how it started — there was no special cause. Looking in the mirror, I couldn’t believe how skinny I was. People used to say I looked like I was dying.” Her condition became so dangerous that Beth could no longer attend school and had to be home tutored. “The disease took everything away from me, and everything was out of my control. I knew I needed to do something, so I went to the doctors in the hope of getting my life back on track.”
With the help of the doctors, Beth managed to gain more weight. Now she is getting healthier, and can live a normal life. After standing out at the Miss Bijoux beauty competition, Beth will take part in Miss British Empire.
Beth convinces other young people not to take the path she chose, and hopes her participation would inspire others to fight the illness. She urged other girls in the same boat as her to seek help. She said, “I used to promise I would start tomorrow, but tomorrow never comes. It was a habit I could not break. I didn’t get better until I was 19. I’m 114 pounds now, but I’m still not where I want to be, and I want to put more weight on. I just want other girls out there to know it’s not impossible to beat. There is a way out. I would not be here now if I hadn’t chosen to beat it. Never give up.”
1. What can we learn about Beth?
A. She got a serious illness which led to eating
disorders.
B. She was once classed as dangerously underweight.
C. She goes on a diet without vegetables now.
D. Her weight is the standard weight for the beauty competition.
2. From the text, we get to know that ____.
A. Beth was satisfied with the way she looked
B. Beth benefited a lot from her being skinny
C. though Beth had a dangerous condition, she refused to see a doctor
D. Beth was once too weak to go to school because of her dangerous condition
3. What will Beth do next, according to Para. 3?
A. She will take action to lose weight.
B. She will seek a cure to overcome her illness.
C. She will compete in Miss British Empire.
D. She will offer advice on losing weight.
4. What Beth said in the last paragraph aims to tell us ____.
A. we should treat other people as we hope they will treat us
B. we can’t make something out of nothing
C. living without an aim is like sailing without a compass
D. we should never put off till tomorrow what we can do today
B
Night terrors are caused by over-arousal (过度反应) of the central nervous system(CNS)during sleep. Some kids may inherit (遗传) a tendency for this over-arousal—about 80% who have night terrors have a family member who also experiences them.
Night terrors have been noted in kids who are overtired, stressed or ill, taking a new medication or sleeping in a new environment.
Almost every child will have night terrors occasionally. Night terrors usually occur in kids aged 4 to 12, but have been reported in kids as young as 18 months. They seem to be a little more common among boys.
A child might have a single night terror or several before they stop altogether. Most of the time, night terrors simply disappear on their own as the central nervous system matures.
Night terrors can be very upsetting for parents, who might feel helpless at not being able to comfort their child. The best way to handle a night terror is to wait it out patiently and make sure the child doesn’t get hurt by thrashing (剧烈扭动) around. Kids usually will settle down and return to sleep on their own in a few minutes.
It’s best not to try to wake kids up during a night terror. Attempts usually don’t work, and kids who do wake are likely to be confused, and may take longer to settle down and go back to sleep.
There’s no treatment for night terrors, but you can help prevent them. Try to reduce your child’s stress; establish and stick to a bedtime routine that’s simple and relaxing; make sure your child gets enough rest and prevent your child from becoming overtired by staying up too late.
Understanding night terrors can reduce your worry and help you get a good night’s sleep yourself. But if night terrors happen repeatedly, talk to your doctor.
1. Night terrors usually happen in children who ____.
A. take medicine every day
B. are under pressure
C. don’t sleep with parents
D. are far away from home
2. What can we know about night terrors?
A. Kids usually suffer several night terrors in one night.
B. It is very difficult to prevent night terrors at present.
C. Night terrors usually disappear when the CNS matures.
D. Night terrors are an inherited problem and occur in few kids.
3. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Night terrors are common for children.
B. Night terrors are more likely to happen in boys.
C. Don’t wake kids up when they are experiencing a night terror.
D. The best way to handle a night terror is to see a doctor at once.
4. We can infer from the passage that ____.
A. avoiding staying up late is important for kids
B. a proper bedtime routine is the most important for kids
C. understanding night terrors can help you prevent them
D. there is no need for parents to worry about night terrors of kids
C
Who doesn’t love potato chips? They’re crispy, they’re tasty, and they come in different flavors! But you should know every bag of potato chips also has calories, fat, and unhealthy amounts of salt, the combination of which is so bad for your health that you could die from it!
Chips are high in fat and calories, the two things that make you more likely to gain weight and become obese. One serving of about 15 to 20 potato chips contains 154 calories and 10 grams(g) of fat. A whole bag has more than a serving, so you can imagine the damage that it can do to your body. Potato chips were stronger compared to other factors that caused weight gain like high-sugar drinks, processed meats, and bad diet. Being overweight and obese is like giving diseases such as heart disease, and cancer a free pass to your body.
Frequent consumption of potato chips also leads to increased cholesterol (胆固醇) levels. They are full of Trans fat (反式脂肪), the deadliest type known to man, since most of them are deep-fried. In Britain, a study shows that eating a packet of potato chips every day is equal to drinking nearly 5 liters (L) of cooking oil every year. The oils used to fry potato chips are usually saturated (饱和) fat which will drive your cholesterol to dangerous levels. A previous study which appeared in medical journals associated high cholesterol levels with a higher risk of coronary heart disease (冠心病).
The sodium (Na) content of potato chips is also high. Each serving has 120 to 180 milligrams(mg) of sodium. Sodium consumption must be limited within 2,300 mg a day for healthy people and a big bag of potato chips has enough to cover your daily limits. Much sodium intake can lead to high blood pressure, which in turn can cause coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke (中风), and kidney (肾脏) problems.
1. Fat, together with calories and unhealthy amounts of salt, can lead to ____.
A. death
B. becoming thin
C. getting healthy
D. putting on weight
2. Which is the deadliest in the opinion of the writer?
A. Calories.
B. Trans fat.
C. Salt.
D. Sugar.
3. Why are all the deep-fried foods bad for people’s health?
A. They can lead to a common cholesterol level.
B. The oils used to fry them are cheap and dirty.
C. The foods that are deep-fried have no nutrition.
D. They are fried in oils that are saturated fat.
4. We can learn from this passage that ____.
A. people fond of chips should pay attention to the sodium intake
B. it is easier for those who are unhealthy to develop heart disease
C. a bag of potato chips contains 154 calories and 10 grams of fat
D. high-sugar drinks can cause gain more weight than potato chips
5. The writer writes this passage mainly to tell readers that __
A. potato chips are deadly food
B. a lot of people love potato chips
C. potato chips contain enough sodium
D. people shouldn’t eat potato chips too much