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B
Peanuts to This
Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”
Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real talk I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; flip (掷) a coin. Heads—the commander,  and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.
Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quite! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?
Obviously, my grade was awful. Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade. I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance. Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade.       Justice is sweet!
24. What did the author’s classmates think about his report?
A. Controversial.          B. Ridiculous.    C. Boring.     D. Puzzling.
25. Why was the author confused about the task?
A. He was unfamiliar with American history.     B. He followed the advice and flipped a coin.
C. He forgot his teacher’s instruction.           D. He was new at the school.
26. The underlined word “burning” in Para. 3 probably means _______.
A. annoyed         B. ashamed     C. ready       D. eager
27. In the end, the author turned things around _______.
A. by redoing his task                  B. through his own efforts 
C. with the help of his grandfather   D. under the guidance of his headmaster
C
You may have heard adults say they are uncomfortable in the morning without a cup of coffee. One reason they may feel that way is that coffee contains caffeine(咖啡因). Caffeine occurs naturally in coffee, tea, and cocoa beans, which are used to make chocolate. But now food makers are adding it to many products, from potato chips to water.
The US government is especially worried about the problem. That’s why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is studying the health effects of caffeine on young people. Studies show that too much caffeine can make people nervous and unable to sleep. What’s more, caffeine is habit-forming. Those who consume it regularly and stop suddenly may experience headaches and feel tired. 
One of the biggest concerns is the large amount of caffeine added to so-called energy drinks, like Red Bull. A 12-ounce can of cola has about 35 milligrams of caffeine. A similar serving of Red Bull contains more than three times that amount. 
The Institute of Medicine is also working on caffeine-safety measures. “Teenagers should not drink beverages that contain caffeine. They should be aware of caffeine’s effects on health and on how the brain works. Take, for example, teenagers who consume caffeine to stay awake and study for a test. They will remember less of what they just studied,” said Stallings, a member of the institute.
Companies that make products with added caffeine claim they do not advertise them to kids. However, there is no law to stop children from buying them. So the FDA needs to set limits on caffeine, especially in energy drinks. As for added caffeine in foods, the government should just say no. If not, the amount of caffeine should be printed on food labels to remind consumers. The government must do that. 
Doctors say kids should avoid caffeine. If you need extra energy, try these natural boosters: eat right, exercise, and get plenty of sleep.
28. What is the US government particularly concerned about?
A. The fact that coffee contains caffeine.        B. The practice of adding caffeine to foods.
C. The measures of avoiding caffeine’s effects.   D. The practice of using caffeine to make chocolate.
29. Red Bull is listed in the third paragraph as an example of _____.
A. caffeine’s effects on health           B. teenagers’ addiction to caffeine
C. drinks which contain much caffeine    D. people’s concern about teenagers’ health
30. Paragraph 5 is mainly about _____.
A. the measures of protecting teenagers from caffeine’s effects
B. the process of the government’s controlling the use of caffeine
C. the government’s responsibility of taking care of teenagers
D. the risk of buying products containing caffeine nowadays
31. The author may agree that _______.
  A. headaches and feeling tired are common in teenagers
  B. food makers don’t add much caffeine to many products now
C. caffeine is good and useful for teenagers’ study
D. getting enough sleep can make people energetic
D
Texting（发短信）walkers aren't just an annoyance to other walkers, Australian researchers armed with movie special-effects technology have determined scientifically that they're threats to themselves. Using motion-capture technology similar to that used for films, researchers concluded that texting while walking not only affects balance but also the ability to walk in straight line.
“Some people like checking emails while walking to work in the morning” said the study co-author Hoorn, “but they may not know it has a serious effect on the safety of themselves”. Other facts have also proved this. A tourist from Taiwan walked off a pier near Melbourne last month while checking Facebook, bringing a sudden and icy end to a penguin-watching visit. Another person who was too wrapped up in his phone to notice dangers walked straight into the fountain in front of a shopping mall.
    The Australian study involved 27 volunteers, a third of whom admitted having knocked into objects while texting. They were asked to walk 8.5 meters three times—once without phones, once while reading text and once while writing text, when eight cameras recorded their actions.
    They found the volunteers using the phone walked slower, and, more seriously, they locked their arms and elbows in like “robots”, which forced their heads to move more, throwing themselves off balance. “In a pedestrian（步行的）environment, inability to maintain a straight path would be likely to increase potential for traffic accidents”, said Mr. Hoorn. “The best thing to do is to step aside and stop, or keep off the phone.”
    Authorities world-wide have taken note. Signs on Hong Kong's subway system advise passengers in three languages to keep their eyes off their phones. Police and transport authorities have highlighted the danger in Singapore, where the Straits Times newspaper recently declared cellphone-distracted road crossing as “bad habit No. 2” contributing to the rising number of road deaths. Some U.S. states, including New York and Arkansas, are considering bans on what they're calling phone jaywalking.
32. According to the passage, people texting while walking usually____________.
A. do not influence other walkers             B. do harm to their eyes
C. put themselves in danger D. can still walk straight
33. Which of the following words has the closest meaning to “wrapped up” in Paragraph 2?
A. absent-minded       B. annoyed       C. confused        D. absorbed
34. About the Australian study, we know that___________.
A. the volunteers using phones while walking moved normally
B. ten volunteers admitted having bumped into things while texting
C. the volunteers were divided into three groups during the study
D. texting walkers are exposed to greater possibility of traffic accidents  
35. The last paragraph suggests that_________.
  A. actions have been taken against texting while walking
B. Hong Kong’s subway system forbids texting walkers to take the train
C. New York has made laws to ban phone jaywalking
D. cellphone-distracted road crossing is considered the worst habit in Singapore
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