Warm weather and sunny days mean it’s barbecue (烧烤) season in the US. These days, when people say they’re going to a barbecue, they usually mean that they’re going to an outdoor event where food is cooked over a grill (烤架). Popular foods barbecue include hamburgers, hot dogs, and grilled vegetables.
    Barbecue fans say that this is not real barbecue; it’s just grilling. True barbecue – also called BBQ – is an American tradition that is as old as the country itself.
    The first president of the United States, George Washington, wrote about going to a barbecue. Barbecue refers to meat that is cooked for a very long time (sometimes as long as 24 hours) over low heat from a wood fire. The smell of the burning wood adds flavor(味道) to the meat, which becomes soft as it cooks.
    Different parts of the US have different ways of making barbecue. In Texas, people often use beef. In North and South Carolina, pork is the most common. In Kansas City, pork ribs (猪肋排) are the specialty. Each region says that its own barbecue is the best. There are barbecue contests every year, and even whole magazines about the art of making  great barbecue.
    Most Americans don’t have the time or patience(耐心) to dig a hole, fill it with special wood, light a fire and then cook meat carefully over it all day and night. So when they want real barbecue, they go to restaurants that do the hard work for them. For those who want to have their own, easy barbecues, there’s always grilling.

56. Popular barbecue foods include ___________.
  A. hamburgers          B. hot dogs         C. grilled vegetables         D. all of these
57. Which of the following is TRUE?
  A. BBQ means pork cooked only on an open fire.
  B. When we cook food on the grill we call it barbecue.
  C. People go to restaurants to have barbecue because it’s more delicious.
  D. In Texas, people don’t often have a barbecue.
58. ___________ adds a special flavor to the meat.
  A. Burning wood    B. Cooking a short time  C. Cooking outdoors             D. Digging a hole
59. What does the underlined word “region” mean?
  A. house             B. place           C. people                D. meat
60. What does this text mainly talk about?
  A. How to grill foods.                B. Barbecue culture in the US.
  C. A president and a barbecue.         D. The differences between barbecue and grilling.

阅读短文完成下列任务

Thank you for watching CCTV’s Around China.  I’m Quan Ling,  a reporter from CCTV.  Now,  we’re in Penghu,  Taiwan.  The beach here is really beautiful and clean.  It’s raining these days,  today is sunny,  but the weather is hot and humid.  But there are lots of people here on vacation.  Some people are taking photos;  some are swimming in the sea,  and others are    4    on the beach.  Look at this group of young men playing beach soccer. 3. They are only wearing sports shorts and sunglasses.  They are running barefoot(光脚).  They really look cool.  I’m    5    that they can play so well in this heat.  This is a very beautiful and interesting place.  It’s also a good place to relax.  I like here so much that I really don’t want to leave.

任务一   选择最佳答案

1.What does Quan Ling do?

A. A soccer player.   B. A reporter.    C. A tourist.           D. An actor.

2.What’s the weather like today?

A. Rainy. B. Sunny.   C. Hot and humid.  D. Sunny, but hot and humid.

任务二   把划线句子翻译成汉语

3.________________________________________________________________

任务三   从方框中选择适当的动词并用其适当形式补全短文

4.________ 5. ________  

Weather has a strong effect(影响) on people. It influences health, intelligence (智力) and feelings. In August, it is very hot and wet in the southern part of the United States. People there easily have heart trouble and other kinds of health problems during this month. In the Northeast and the Middle West, it is hot at some times and very cold at other times. People in those states will have heart trouble after the weather changes in February or March.

The weather can also influence intelligence. For example, in a 1983 study by scientists, the IQ scores of some college students were very high during storm, but after the storm, their scores were low. Storms can increase intelligence. Very hot weather, on the other hand, can decrease(减少) it. Students in many schools of the United States often do badly in exams in the hot months of the year(July and August).

Weather also has a strong effect on people's feeling. Winter may be a bad time for thin people. They usually feel cold during these months. They might feel depressed during cold weather. In hot summer weather, on the other hand, fat people may feel unhappy. At about 65F, people become stronger.

Low air pressure(气压) makes people feel free, but it also increases forgetful- ness. People leave more bags and umbrellas on buses and in stores on low pressure days. There is a“perfect weather”for work and health. People feel best at a tempera- ture of about 64F with 65 percent humidity(湿度).

Are you feeling sick, sad, tired, forgetful, or very intelligent today? The weather may be the reason.

1.Intelligence may be lower______.

A. during a storm                B. when it is sunny

C. on a very hot day             D. when you take in an exam

2. In the third paragraph,“depressed”means         .

    A. 兴奋的          B. 愉快的          C. 忧郁的          D. 担心的

3. In“perfect weather”,          .

    A. both the fat and the thin are healthy

    B. the students do very well in examinations

    C. the air pressure is low

    D. the humidity is 65 percent and the temperature is about 64F