Why do Americans struggle with watching their weight, while the French, who consume rich food, continue to stay thin? Now a research by Cornell University suggests how life style and decisions about eating may affect weight. Researchers conclude that the French tend to stop eating when they feel full. However, Americans tend to stop when their plate is empty or their favorite TV show is over. According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, a health expert, the French see eating as an important part of their life style. They enjoy food and therefore spend a fairly long time at the table, while Americans see eating as something to be squeezed between the other daily activities. Mercola believes Americans lose the ability to sense when they are actually full. So they keep eating long after the French would have stopped. In addition, he points out that Americans drive to huge supermarkets to buy canned and frozen foods for the week. The French, instead, tend to shop daily, walking to small shops and farmers' markets where they have a choice of fresh fruits, vegetables, and eggs as well as high-quality meats for each meal. After a visit to the United States, Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don't Get Fat, decided to write about the importance of knowing when to stop rather than suggesting how to avoid food. Today she continues to stay slim and rarely goes to the gym. In spite of all these differences, evidence shows that recent life style changes may be affecting French eating habits. Today the rate of obesity - or extreme overweight - among adults is only 6%. However, as American fast food gains acceptance and the young reject older traditions, the obesity rate among French children has reached 17% - and is growing. Where does this text probably come from? A) A health report B) A book review C) A TV interview D) A food advertisement
A
This is the SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, I'm Barbara Klein. Animal experts say one of the world's most beautiful and rare kinds of big cat is close to disappearing from the wild. A study earlier this year found that about thirty Amur leopards still live free. The cats are also called Far Eastern leopards. Recently, their number has been reduced by one, Some person shot a female Amur, then beat her to death. The animal's body was discovered last month in the Barsovy National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Russia. An official of the World Wildlife Fund, Darron, said this was the third such killing in the area in the past fives years. Mr, Collins said the death of even one adult female is a huge loss for the endangered cat, He noted that the killing reduces the possibility for cubs or young. It is not clear how many Amur leopards still live free. One population count was performed in February and March. Wildlife expert Dmitry Pikuuov led this study. It found evidence of seven to nine males. The study identified three to seven females without cubs, Four leopards were identified as females with cubs. In all, five or six cubs were recorded, Six to eight animals could not be identified. Most of the land where the Amur leopard once lived was in China.New roads and climate change there threatened the animals. So did hunters who kill big cats for their body parts. Mr. Pikuuov says adult Amurs need about five hundred square kilometers with good forests to survive. He said they also need a large and continuing supply of animals like deer for food. He believes the answer to saving the Amur leopard is for governments to provide protected spaces for wildlife. This passage is probably from _ . A) a magazine B) a newspaper report C) a TV report D) a film
C
Q: When Russell Lyons volunteered for the first time, he read "Goodnight Moon" to a class of San Diego preschoolers. And it wasn't reading--he'd memorized the book and was reciting it out loud. He was 4. Still, he said it felt good up there, in front of the other kids, lending a hand. He wanted more of that feeling. Thirteen years later, he's getting a lot of it. He's on a five-month road trip across America--not sightseeing, but volunteering. The University City resident has spent time at an animal reserve in Utah, a women's shelter in St. Louis, a soup kitchen in New York, a retirement home in Tucson. This week he's in Los Angeles, at a program that supports disabled youth. "I just like helping people and feeling that something I do is making a difference," he said. He resists the idea that his "Do Good Adventure" is all that unusual. It bothers him that the media often describe young people as lazy, self-centered and materialistic. So he sees his trip as a chance to make a statement, too. "About 55 percent of teens do volunteer work, higher than the rate for adults," he said, according to a 2002 study. "Not everybody knows that." Of course, some teens do volunteer work because it looks impressive on their college applications. Lyons said he mentioned his trip on his submissions. But charity work is a habit with him. Even before the crosscountry trip, he was volunteering about 200 hours a year at various places. He's made sandwiches for homeless families in Washington D.C. He's taught math to fifth-graders in Cuernavaca, Mexico. He gets some of that drive from his mother, Leslye Lyons, who has been involved in nonprofits for much of her life. She was there when her son "read" to the preschoolers--a memory of hers "that will never go away." What did Russell Lyons think of his first volunteering? A) Creative. B) Impressive. C) Persuasive. D) Imaginative.
A: B
Q: To most of us,school means classes,teachers,schedules,grades,and tests.But for the children at Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts,school is very different. Firstly,there are no lessons.All the children,aged between 4 and 19,do whatever they want.There are no teachers--only "staff members".The idea behind this is that you do not need to make children learn,because children want to learn anyway."You do not need to say to a three yearold,'Go explore your environment.'You can't stop them!" says Daniel Greenberg,a founder of the school."But if you make children do what you want all day,they will lose all taste for learning." At Sudbury Valley School,you will permit children to talk,read,paint,cook,work on computers,study French,play the piano,climb trees or just run around.Two boys spent three years just fishing! The other way that Sudbury Valley School is different is that the children can decide the rules.Every week,there is a school meeting where both children and staff have one vote each--even the fouryearolds.They decide the school rules,how to spend the school budget,and even which staff they want and do not want any more. When the school first opened in 1968,people said it would never work.But today,the school has 200 students,and 80%of its students go on to college. Even the two boys who went fishing all the time have successful careers today.One of them is a musician and the other is a computer scientist. What does the school believe? A) Teachers cannot teach children Well. B) Children learn best when they do what they want to do. C) Learning is for adults--children should only play. D) Children should only learn about one thing at a time.
A: B