13. Diet products indirectly harm people physically because such products ______.

A. are over-consumed

B. lack basic nutrients

C. are short of chemicals

D. provide too much energy

12. In Paragraph 3, “gain comes without pain” probably means ______.

A. losing weight is effortless

B. it costs a lot to lose weight

C. diet products bring no pain

D. diet products are free from calories

11. One psychological effect of diet products is that people tend to _____.

A. try out a variety of diet foods

B. hesitate before they enjoy diet foods

C. pay attention to their own eating habits

D. watch their weight rather than their diet

10. From Paragraph 1, we learn that ________.

A. diet products fail to bring out people’s potential

B. people have difficulty in choosing diet products

C. diet products are misleading people

D. people are fed up with diet products

9.　　　 The theme of this article is 　　　.

A. women are naturally more helpful

B. men and women talk different languages

C. men talk most and interrupt other speakers more

D. little girls’ conversation is less definite

Key: ACBDB

(C)

The Diet Zone: A Dangerous Place

　 Diet Coke, diet Pepsi, diet pills, no-fat diet, vegetable diet… We are surrounded by the word “diet” everywhere we look and listen. We have so easily been attracted by the promise and potential of diet products that we have stopped thinking about what diet products are doing to us. We are paying for products that harm us psychologically and physically(身体上).

　 Diet products significantly weaken us psychologically. On one level, we are not allowing our brain to admit that our weight problems lie not in actually losing the weight, but in controlling the consumption of fatty, high-calorie, unhealthy foods. Diet products allow us to jump over the thinking stage and go straight for the scale(秤)instead. All we have to do is to swallow or recognize the word “diet” in food labels.

　 On another level, diet products have greater psychological effects. Every time we have a zero-calorie drink, we are telling ourselves without our awareness that we don’t have to work to get results. Diet products make people believe that gain comes without pain, and that life can be without resistance and struggle.

　 The danger of diet products lies not only in the psychological effects they have on us, but also in the physical harm that they cause. Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because consuming them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients(营养成分). Diet foods and diet pills contain zero calorie only because the diet industry has created chemicals to produce these wonder products. Diet products may not be nutritional, and the chemical that go into diet products are potentially dangerous.

　 Now that we are aware of the effects that diet products have on us, it is time to seriously think about buying them. Losing weight lies in the power of minds, not in the power of chemicals. Once we realize this, we will be much better able to resist diet products, and therefore prevent the psychological harm that comes from using them.

8.　　　 In private conversation, women speak 　　　.

A. the same things as men　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. less than men

C. more than men　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. as much as men

7.　　　 Some scientists believe that brain is pre-programmed for language. The word “pre-programmed” means 　　　.

A. programmed already　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. programmed before one is born

C. programmed early　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. programmed by women

6.　　　 There are 　　　　in little girls’ conversation than in boys’.

A. fewer doubts　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. more demands

C. more doubts　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. fewer uncertainties

5.　　　 In the opinion of the writer, women encourage men to talk more because　　 .

A. it will lead to more intimacy and help to establish a relationship

B. it well help to establish status with their listeners

C. it well help to express more clearly

D. it well help to communicate better

4. Charlotte King became well known because she _______.

A. timed an earthquake to within 12 minutes

B. correctly predicted a big volcanic eruption

C. can make sounds other people cannot hear

D. is smarter than many doctors and scientists

Key: ACDB

(B)

　 　According to the latest research in the United States of America, men and women talk such different languages that it is like people from two different cultures trying to communicate. Professor Deborah Tannen of Georgetown University has noticed the difference in the style of boys’ and girls’ conversations from an early age. She says that little girls’ conversation is less definite than boys’ and expresses more doubts. Little boys use conversation to establish status with their listeners.

These differences continue into adult life, she says. In public conversations, men talk most and interrupt other speakers more. In private conversations, men and women speak in equal amounts-although they say things in a different style. Professor Tannen believes that, for women, private talking is a way to establish and test intimacy(亲密，亲近). For men, private talking is a way to explore the power structure of a relationship.

　 Teaching is one job where the differences between men’s and women’s ways of talking show. When a man teaches a woman, says Professor Tannen, he wants to show that he has more knowledge, and hence(因此，所以)more power in conversation. When a woman teaches another woman, however, she is more likely to take a sharing approach and to encourage her student to join in.

　 But Professor Tannen does not believe that women are naturally more helpful. She says women feel they achieve power by being able to help others. Although the research suggests men talk and interrupt people more than women, Professor Tannen says, women actually encourage this to happen because they believe it will lead to more intimacy and help to establish a relationship.

　 Some scientists who are studying speech think that the brain is pre-programmed for language. As we are usually taught to speak by women, it seems likely that the brain must have a sexual bias(倾向性)in its programming, otherwise male speech patterns would not arise at all.