1、This isnt the first time that researchers have discovered that coffee and smiles might go hand-in-hand. A 2011 study found that women who drink coffee cut their risk of depression by 15 percent compared to those who dont. Michel Lucas, the head researcher of the most recent study, told The Huffingto
2、n Post that coffee addicts can thank caffeine for the good news. The drug may actually act like a mild anti-depressant by tweaking levels of happy hormones .Of course, theres plenty of research out there that doesnt look so kindly upon coffee drinkers. Recently, the New Yorker published an article a
3、rguing that while coffee may heighten focus, that means it also puts a squeeze on creativity. And of course, coffees well-known negative effects like insomnia（失眠症） and disturbed sleep cycles still hold.Regardless, well raise our mugs to this most recent study for justifying our coffee addictions onc
4、e again.1.Which of the following is not mentioned as a possible benefit of drinking coffee ? A.reducing heart failure risksB.protecting liver health C.preventing skin cancer D.improving eyesight2.According to a study performed by the Harvard School of Public Health , people are less likely to commit
5、 suicide if they A.drink fewer than two cups of coffee each dayB.drink more than four cups of coffee each dayC.drink two to four cups of coffee each dayD.don t drink any coffee each day3.The reason why coffee can cut the suicide risk lies in that A.it can heighten focusB.it can cure skin cancerC.it
6、may help to prevent depressionD.it may make people less creative4.One of the negative effects of coffee is that it A.costs a lot of moneyB.disturbs sleepC.makes people fatD.causes coffee addictions5.What might be the writer s attitude toward coffee drinking ? A.PositiveB.Hostile C.Indifferent D.Toug
7、hPassages 2Polar bears are classified as marine mammals（哺乳动物）, like a seal or a whale, which might come as a surprise given that theyre usually pictured on land.But polar bears spend a lot of their time in the waters of the Arctic（ 北 极 ）,fishing or swimming among the sea ice.They may look awkward in
8、 the water , but no creature with paws is a better swimmer.Theyd better be.Arctic sea ice is declining fast,robbing the polar bear of its prime habitat and forcing them to swim longer and longer distances to reach solid ground . No other animal seems to be such a direct victim of warming, which is o
9、ne reason why the polar bear has emerged as the symbol of climate change . （ Another is that they look so cute and cuddly . ） It s a simple narrative to grasp :carbon warms the climate, Arctic sea ice melts and baby polar bears down.But it turns out it might not be that simple .A new study by scient
10、ists at the U. S. Geological Survey （USGS ） underscores the fact that polar bears really are amazing swimmer. In fact they are so good that biologists were able to document 50 swims that cover an average length of 96 miles. the research provides clues that polar bears may be able to keep treading（ 踩
11、 ） water even as climate change melts their habitat.The researchers published their work in the Canadian journal of zoology . they followed 52 female polar bears in the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska from 2004 to 2009,using radio collars that could track the movements of the animals . They then compar
12、ed the paths taken by the bearswith maps of shifting sea ice over the same period of time , and found that the polar bears were world - class marathon swimmers and those long , long dips in the ocean werent outliers while the really long -distance swims were relatively rate, 38 % of the bears survey
13、ed took at least one such marathon swim .6. People may feel surprised to know that polar bears are classified as marine mammals becauseA.polar bears cannot live in the seaB.polar bears have paws and can walkC.polar bears are usually seen on landD.polar bears are rarely pictured by people7. what does
14、 the writer mean saying no creature with paws is a better swimmer in the first paragraph ?A.polar bears are the best swimmers in the worldB.polar bears swim better than other animals with pawsC.no other creatures with paws can swimD.creature with paws can swim better than any fish8. The second parag
15、raph is mainly about A.the danger the baby polar bears will faceB.the reason why polar bears are so popularC.the causes of climate changeD.the effects of warming on polar bears9.The underlined word underscores （Paragraph3 ） is the closest in meaning to“ ”A.emphasizes B.denies C.understand D.accepts1
16、0.What did the researchers use to track the movements of the 52 female polar bears ? A.GPSB.Airplanes C.Radio CollarsD.Maps of shifting sea icePassage 3How many hundreds of heroes go unheralded（未宣布的）from the days of the Underground Railroad? While we celebrate such important figures as Harriet Tubma
17、n and Frederick Douglass, numerous others were needed to make the operation of the railroad a success. Runaway slaves had to be given shelter from weather and from search parties. The tale of this awesome phenomenon is one of cooperation, coordination, and brotherly love. The Underground Railroad op
18、erated as a secret organization dedicated to assisting runaway slaves from the South.The Railroad should not be thought of, however, as one cohesive body. It was in fact an ever-evolving organization devoted to one cause: protection of ones fellow men and women. It actually began during the colonial
19、 period.However, it reached its height in the decades preceding the American Civil War. Acts such as the “Fugitive Slave Act of 1850”（1850 年逃奴追缉法案） increased railroad activity and popularity. The ultimate goal of the Underground Railroad was to accomplish the safe arrival of runaway slaves to Canada
20、 where the long arm of the law could not reach them. Laws such as the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850 allowed slave owners to recapture escaped slaves and bring them back to bondage in the South.Some historians believe this courageous organization was began by Quakers（贵格会教徒） in Pennsylvania and
21、 New Jersey.Over time, the backbone of this organization became the numerous free blacks of the North. They were essential to the successful operation of the Underground Railroad. In most cases, fleeing slaves traveled by any means necessary and often on their own in an effort to reach freedom in th
22、e North. After arriving in the North the people of the Underground Railroad would provide assistance and supplies in an effort to get them to the guaranteed freedom of Canada.11.Which of the follo wing stateme nts abou t t he underground r ailroad is t rue ? A.It was a railroad built underground lik
23、e subwayB.It was a railroad operated by the us governmentC.It operated as a secret organization to help runaway slavesD.It served as a secret route only known to slave owners in the south12.From paragraph 2 , we know that the runaway slaves . A.could not afford to buy their train tickets .B.could be
24、 recaptured by slave ownersC.could not get any shelter from bad weatherD.might reach Canada with the help of search parties13 . The Underground Railroad began A.during the American Civil WarB.after the declaration of independence .C.during the colonial periodD.between 1793 and 185014.Who were essent
25、ial to the successful operation of the underground railroad ? A.Slaves in the SouthB.Quakers in CanadaC.White people of the southD.Free blacks of the North15.The tone of the passage can be described as A.objective B.delightful C.pessimisticD.humorousPassage 4We are in the midst of a heated public de
26、bate over the benefits of online education. I think that the incidents of cheating have increased for two interconnecting reasons .The first is the trend of packing as many students as possible into course sections as a means of saving money .The second is the structure of the online courses themsel
27、ves . It is evident that these twointertwining（结） trends can serve to produce academic cheating and plagiarism（剽窃）.In the wake of the Great Recession and the following budget crisis , the dean of one of the colleges I teach in increased class size by as many as 50 students in an attempt to save mone
28、y.One of the non - online courses I teach was intended for 32 to 35 pupils . But when I taught the course last semester , it was composed of 82 students.Online courses serve to exacerbate（ 加 剧 ）the trend toward larger class sizes.The primary motive for the increase in online courses is that they do
29、not require physical classroom space .This allows campus administrators t o cut costs by increasing the number of students enrolled in a particular course section even if they don t have classrooms .Whats more,when students take classes online,the professor does not have face-to-face contact with the vast majority of the students enrolled in the course.As a result , one can never be sure that the students are doing their own work for there is little to stop them from
