When doctors urge overweight kids to pick up more activities，reading probably isn’t what they have in mind.    Yet a new study by fatness researchers at Duke University finds that the simple act of reading—depending on the choice of material—can cause weight loss in teenage girls.

The study’s experimental group included 31 fat girls aged 9 to 13，who took part in the Healthy Lifestyles Program at Duke Children’s Hospital. The girls read a novel called Lake Rescue，whose protagonist (主人公) is an overweight teenager who struggles with low self­esteem，feelings of loneliness and teasing because of her size. A group of 33 girls read a different book called Charlotte in Paris，which did not have an overweight character，and another group of 17 girls read neither book.

At the end of the six­month experiment，all the girls who read books had lost weight，but the girls who read Lake Rescue lost more. They lowered their body mass index (BMI) by 0.71，compared with 0.33 in the Charlotte group，an average 0.05 increase among the nonreaders.

The idea behind the study，says Dr Sarah Armstrong，director of Healthy Lifestyles，was to find a way to encourage the girls without adopting the restrictive and often authoritative voice of so many other nutrition and diet programs. Lake Rescue was the perfect instrument，says Armstrong；it presents a likable character to whom the girls could relate and whom they could learn from. As the book progresses，its protagonist learns to make healthier lifestyle choices and finds an adviser to help keep her on track. Armstrong says，“She learns that she can become healthier，and the ‘I can do it’ feeling resonates (产生共鸣) with the teenage girls.”

1.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．There are different ways to help overweight kids lose weight.

B．Lifestyle is important for kids.

C．Lake Rescue is the perfect weight­losing instrument.

D．Reading can help kids lose weight.

2.How many girls took part in the experiment?

A．31.              B．33.               C．64.              D．81.

3.What does the underlined word “She” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．Armstrong.                            B．The protagonist in Lake Rescue.

C．A character in Charlotte in Paris.            D．A girl in the first group.

4.According to the passage we can know that ________.

A．overweight girls are living unhappily

B．reading is the best way to lose weight

C．different reading materials play different roles in losing weight

D．people will become fat if they don’t read

5.In which part of a newspaper can we read the above passage?

A．Education.         B．Entertainment.      C．Health.           D．Advertisement.

 

Sagrada Familia ( 2,056,448 visits/year)

Opening hours: 09:00—18:00 (October—March); 09:00—20:00 (April—September)

Admission: $ 11, or $ 10 with the Barcelona Card.

Disabled Access: Yes.

The temple have been under construction since 1882 and they’ve still got another 30 to 80 years to go before it will be finished. The project’s vast scale and its special design have made it one of Barcelona’s top tourist attractions for many years.

La Pedrera (1,133,220 visits/year)

Opening hours: November—February: 09:00—18:30; March—October: 09:00—20:00

Admission: $ 9.50. Save 20% with the Barcelona Card.

Disabled Access: No.

This building used to be called Casa Mila but nowadays it’s more commonly known as La Pedrera. It is a unique modernist building in Barcelona and was made of bricks and had colorful tiles (瓦). It was built between 1906 and 1912 by famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi (1852—1926) and in 1984 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site with other Gaudi buildings in Barcelona. Visitors to La Pedrera can see the amazing 800 square meters attic with 270 brick arches that give you a feeling that you are walking inside the skeleton (骨架) of a whale. The roof is equally impressive and is preserved exactly the way that it was built in 1912 with six staircases and seven chimneys each made in a unique style.

Barcelona FC Museum (1,032,763 visits/year) 

Opening hours: 6^th April—4^th October: (Monday to Saturday) 10:00—20:00; the rest of the year: 10:00—18:30

Admission: $ 8.50 for entry to the museum and $ 17 for a guided tour.

Disabled Access: Yes.

   When you buy your ticket you have two options. You can buy a ticket for the museum to see the football stadium or you can buy a dual (双的) ticket for $ 15 where you get to see the museum and the scenes at the club.

Miro Museum (518,869 visits/year)

Opening hours: Check the web site for details as they vary depending on the time of the year.

Admission: $ 8. Save 20% with the Barcelona Card.

Disabled Access: Yes.

This museum has a wide range of Miro’s work dating back as far as 1914. This artwork collection not only includes his paintings but also a good selection of sculptures (雕塑).

L’Aquarium de Barcelona (1,375,271 visits/year)

Opening hours: 09:00—19:00 (October—March); 09:00—20:00 (April—September)

Admission: $ 7. Save 10 % on the entrance fee to the aquarium with the Barcelona Card.

Barcelona Aquarium is a popular Barcelona attraction to take the kids and young ones. I have to admit I love the aquarium.

Picasso Museum (887,958 visits/year)

Opening hours: Check the website for details as they vary depending on the time of the year.

Admission: $ 9 for main exhibition—extra for special showings. Save 50% with the Barcelona Card.

Disabled Access: Yes. The museum has arranged Picasso’s paintings in chronological order from his early days to his final works. Arranging the paintings in this way gives you a fascinating insight into the development of Picasso thinking over time and shows how he developed the distinctive designs that he is famous for today. Very popular art gallery.

1.Which of the following attractions is the most popular with people?

A. Sagrada Familia                     B. La Pedrera

C. Barcelona FC Museum            D.Picasso Museum

2.What do we know about the tourist attractions mentioned in the above passage?

A. Sagrada Familia is the largest building in Barcelona.

B. La Pedrera is well-known for its colorful material.

C. Barcelona FC Museum may attract football fans.

D. Miro Museum was built in 1914.

3.If you visit the stadium and the club with a tour guide in Barcelona FC Museum, you should pay ________.

A. $ 25.5                               B. $ 32                         C. $ 42.5                                 D. $ 34

4.What do the attractions have in common?

A. They are all famous for their architectural style.

B. They are available for the disabled people.

C. Their opening hours are changeable in different seasons.

D. Tourists can have a discount of 20% with the Barcelona Card.

 

When my brother and I were young, my mom would take us on Transportation Days.

It goes like this: You can’t take any means of transportation more than once. We would start from home, walking two blocks(街区) to the rail station. We’d take the train into the city center, then a bus, switching to the tram, then maybe a taxi. We always considered taking a horse carriage in the historic district, but we didn’t like the way the horses were treated, so we never did. At the end of the day, we took the subway to our closest station, where Mom’s friend was waiting to give us a ride home—our first car ride of the day.

The good thing about Transportation Days is not only that Mom taught us how to get around. She was born to be multimodal (多方式的). She understood that depending on cars only was a failure of imagination and, above all, a failure of confidence—the product of a childhood not spent exploring subway tunnels.

Once you learn the route map and step with certainty over the gap between the train and the platform, nothing is frightening anymore. New cities are just light-rail lines to be explored. And your personal car, if you have one, becomes just one more tool in the toolbox—and often an inadequate(不适当的) one, limiting both your mobility and your wallet.

On Transportation Days, we might stop for lunch on Chestnut Street or buy a new book or toy, but the transportation was the point. First, it was exciting enough to watch the world speed by from the train window. As I got older, my mom helped me unlock the mysteries that would otherwise have paralyzed my first attempts to do it myself: How do I know where to get off? How do I know how much it costs? How do I know when I need tickets, and where to get them? What track, what line, which direction, where’s the stop, and will I get wet when we go under the river?

I’m writing this right now on an airplane, a means we didn’t try on our Transportation Days and, we now know, the dirtiest and most polluting of them all. My flight routed me through Philadelphia. My multimodal mom met me for dinner in the airport. She took a train to meet me.

1.Which was forbidden by Mom on Transportation Days?

A．Having a car ride.

B．Taking the train twice.

C．Buying more than one toy.

D．Touring the historic district.

2.According to the writer, what was the greatest benefit of her Transportation Days?

A．Building confidence in herself.

B．Reducing her use of private cars.

C．Developing her sense of direction.

D．Giving her knowledge about vehicles.

3.The underlined word “paralyzed” (in Para. 5) is closest in meaning to “_______”.

A．displayed

B．Justified

C．Ignored

D．destroyecl

4.Which means of transportation does the writer probably have a dislike of?

A．Subway.

B．Airplane.

C．Tram.

D．Car.

 

Some comedians feel like telling jokes __________ the reaction of the audience.

A．depending on      B．depends on        C．to depend on      D．depended on

 

French lessons in France

Whatever your level is, choosing to take French lessons in France is the best way to learn French. Place yourself in the local culture and practice your newly found skills in your free time.

You will be taught by native (本地的) French speakers who have a love for teaching and use excellent teaching techniques. Lessons are interesting and you will speak French on the first day both inside and outside the classroom.

Learners

● Suitable for all levels from beginners to advanced (高级的)

● Over 18 years old

Class Schedule (课表)

● Classes start on Mondays and run throughout the summer.

● Please arrive at the school by 8:15 am on your first day for a short level test. It will help to place you in the right class.

● Classes run from Monday to Friday each week.

● Classes start at 8:45 am each day depending on your level.

● You will have 3 classes per day lasting 55 minutes each.

● You will have a short break between classes.

Free Time and Tours

● The school offers a lot of cultural activities throughout the week. These activities can include cooking lessons, wine and cheese tasting, visits to Paris, cycling, movies and much more.

● You will have plenty of free time to explore (探索) the local area and practice your newly found language skills or just relax on this learning holiday with a difference.

Other Information

● You should bring a small dictionary, pens and paper with you.

Get more from your holiday, have fun, meet new people and take home a new language skill that will stay with you forever.

1.What is special about the French courses?

A．They are taught in small groups.

B．The teachers are young French speakers.

C．People learn French in and out of class.

D．They will offer a wine tasting license.

2.On the first day, the students should ______.

A．take a language test                     B．pay for their study

C．do a survey                            D．introduce themselves to the class

3.How many lessons are there in a week?

A．21.              B．30.               C．15.              D．12.

4.We can learn from the text that the course ______.

A．is not suitable for teenagers               B．offers cooking classes as well

C．provides dictionaries for students           D．has a short game between classes