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 （心理上） and physically．

    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 （營養(yǎng)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 chemicals 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 and physical harm that comes from using them．

1．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

2．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

3．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

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

A．a(chǎn)re over-consumed             B．lack basic nutrients

C．a(chǎn)re short of chemicals           D．provide too much energy

Most Americans who earned money last year are expected to pay the I．R．S． part of what they earned． Only those who earned very little are not required to make such a payment．They still must send a tax report to the government．

Most American workers have already paid all or most of their federal income taxes．This is because part of the tax goes to the I．R．S．each time a worker is paid．The government returns some of the money if too much was withheld． People who work for themselves usually send a tax payment to the I．R．S．every three months．

The federal tax rate is not the same for everyone．People who earn a lot of money pay taxes at a higher rate than those who earn less．But even people who earn the same amount do not always pay the same amount of tax．That is because of the many tax laws written by Congress．These laws were created for social or economic purposes．

For example, people who borrow money to buy a house may pay less in taxes than people who rent a home． Homeowners can subtract （減掉） the interest on the loan from their taxable income．Americans also can help reduce their taxable income by subtracting the value of money given to organizations that help the needy．

Personal income tax is not the only tax that the federal government collects．It taxes property or money left when someone dies．And it taxes earnings from the sale of some investments, such as a house．Americans also pay a federal social security tax that is used to pay retired workers．

Americans pay many other taxes, too．Most pay taxes to the state in which they live．Most states also collect sales tax．That is an amount added to the cost of goods bought in stores．

And local city and county governments collect tax on property its citizens own．Many Americans say they pay too many taxes and their taxes are too high．Others say they are willing to pay taxes to receive services from their local state and federal governments．

1．Why are some people willing to pay taxes? Because ____．

A． they want to receive services from their local state and federal governments

B．they wanted to make contributions to their country

C．part of the money goes to the I．R．S．

D．the tax laws were created for social or economic purposes

2．Why don’t the people who earn the same amount of money always pay the same amount of tax? Because ____．

A．some people are rich and others are poor              

B．they live in different areas

C．they pay the taxes according to different tax laws

D．some people don’t want to pay too much money

3．Who might pay sales tax? ____．

A．Stores          B．Consumers          C．Salesmen               D．Factories

4．Which of the following is wrong? ____．

A．The persons who earn very little may not pay personal income tax

B．People who borrow money to buy a house may pay less in taxes than people who rent a house

C．The money left by a dead person can be taxed

D．The federal tax rate is the same for everyone

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從短文后的選項中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項。選項中有兩項為多余選項。

1 They decorate （裝飾） the walls of homes and are used in stores for sales of different goods． The news is filled with pictures of fires, floods, and special events． Photos record the beauties of nature．They can also bring things close that are far away．Through photos, people can see wild animals, cities in foreign lands, and even the stars in outer space．2

Reporting the news through photos is called photojournalism． At times photojournalists tell their stories through a single picture．At other times, they use a group of pictures to tell a story． Each picture is like a chapter in a book, which can do more than record the facts．3

Jacob Riis was among the first photojournalists．He took pictures of parts of New York City where the poor lived． Riis believed that poverty （貧窮）caused crime, and he used photos to help him prove his point．A few years later, the photos of small children working in factories by Lewis Hine shocked the public． Hine’s pictures helped bring about laws to protect such children．

Hundreds of pictures may have to be taken in order to get one or two really good photos． It takes science to have the photo come out clearly and art to make a photo that has a good design and expresses feeling． Photojournalists make an actual record of what they see． 4  It can record an important event as a beautiful or exciting picture．

5 Today photojournalists still have their pictures appear in newspapers and magazines．They also publish （發(fā)表） them in books and on the Internet．

A．It can also be a strong force for social change．

    B．Photos help people improve．

C．A photo, however, can be both a work of art and an actual record．             

D．Photos are also works of art．  

E． Photos also tell stories．

F．  Photographs are everywhere．

G．As historical and artistic documents （文獻）, photos can become more important over time．

文中共有10處錯誤，每句最多兩處。錯誤涉及一個單詞的增加、刪除或修改。

增加：在此處加一個漏字符號（∧），并在其下面寫出修改的詞。

刪除：把多余的詞用斜線（＼）劃掉。

修改：在錯的詞下劃一橫線，并在其下面寫出修改后的詞。

注意：只允許修改10處，多者（從十一處起）不計分。

It is five years now since I graduate from No．3 High School．Last Saturday, the class that I was on held a get-together, which took us a long time prepare．It was indeed not easy to get in the touch with everybody and set a well time for all of us．We all enjoyed this precious day greatly, remember the time we spent together and the people they were familiar with． It was a pity which some of us were not present as they had gone to abroad for further studies, but they called back or sent greeting card from different places．                

閱讀下面一則廣告，按照要求完成寫作任務(wù)。

[寫作內(nèi)容]

假設(shè)你是李華，這則廣告引起了你的興趣，請用英文寫一封自薦信。要求如下：

1．表示對這次夏令營感興趣；

2．根據(jù)招聘要求自我介紹；

3．參加夏令營的目的。

注意：1．信的開頭和結(jié)尾已為你寫好，不計入總詞數(shù)；

2．詞數(shù)110左右。

Launching daily direct passenger flights between the mainland and Taiwan means travelers no longer need to switch ______ planes at _____third point, such as Hong Kong.

A．/; a         B．the; the          C．/; the          D．the; /

—Can I go skiing on the mountain, Mum?

—Of course. However, at no time         you do so alone.

A．could          B．might           C．need              D．must

Before the last shot, Du Li was just thinking about her competitions at home, ______ were really comfortable and relaxing.

A．what               B．where            C．which                D．that

With exports ______ a big role in its economic growth, China has been affected by the current financial storm.

A．playing             B．to play             C．played               D．play

—Have you finished reading the novel I lent you last week?

—No. I’ve just gone ______the second line on page 55.

A．a(chǎn)s long as            B．a(chǎn)s much as            C．a(chǎn)s far as                D．a(chǎn)s many as