Most Chinese people don't understand why some westerners don't eat meat. In China, to eat meat is a sign of wealth. If a westerner doesn't take a bite of their Peking duck, there is something wrong. But many people in Europe and America choose not to eat meat or fish -- they are known as vegetarians. In the US alone there are 12 million vegetarians and 19,000 more people stop eating meat every week. People often become vegetarians in order to lose weight or eat more healthily. A lot of research has shown that vegetarian diets are healthier than the average western diet. Fried chicken may be delicious to eat, but all that extra fat can damage your heart. There are many other reasons for "turning veggie". It could be that you cannot afford to buy meat. Or maybe you just don't like the taste of it. A large number of vegetarians choose to give up meat because they believe it is cruel to kill animals for food. They believe many animals are not allowed to live in comfort and, when they are killed, it is carried out in a very painful way. While some vegetarians are happy not to eat animals, others take it one step further and refuse to eat any animal product. They are known as vegans and will not eat cheese, yoghurt and eggs, or drink milk. Neither will they wear clothes or shoes made from animal skin, such as leather. They say that if it is wrong to kill an animal for food, it is worse to kill it for clothing. But there are some groups that go even further. Fruitarians believe it is wrong to kill any living plant or animal. Besides refusing to eat meat, they will only eat fruit and vegetables that have not been killed when harvested. This means they cannot take an apple from a tree: they must wait until the apple falls to the ground. Only then can it be considered dead. What is the main idea of the passage? A) Meat is harmful to health B) Vegetarian diets are popular C) Food and health D) Meat and health
D
(Question)
April 11, 2003 12:44 a. m. PST, Associated Press The respiratory virus known as SARS has appeared to spread in the United States only to family members of health workers with close contact to a sick person. On Thursday, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there might be a case of severe acute respiratory syndrome spreading through the workplace. Dr. Julie Gerberding said a suspected SARS virus patient who became ill after traveling to Asia might have infected a co-worker in Florida, which made her "very worried". So far, a dozen people--nine family members and three health workers--were infected after coming into close contact with the person with SARS. The rest of the 166 suspected American cases have something to do with people who were infected while traveling in Asia. In the Gainesville, Fla. area, a 47-year-old woman was believed to have been infected at work by a 60-year-old woman who was the nation's first suspected SARS case, said Tom Belcuore, director of the Alachua County health department. Since the World Health Organization announced a worldwide warning last month about SARS, the United States has started infection control in hospitals and among families of suspected cases. Florida officials said a school in Okaloosa County went through a cleaning after a 6-year-old boy suspected of having SARS appeared at school with slight symptoms. "Health officials are watching the boys' contacts at school to make sure no one else is infected," said Rob Hayes, health department spokesman, "The boy may have been infected from a family member," Hayes said, "We immediately became aware of it and had the child sent home. He's staying at home with his family until 10 days after symptoms disappear." The researchers guessed that the virus might have come from animals. However, the scientists have not ruled out the possibility that some other microbe might also help make SARS more serious or easier to catch. How many cases of suspected SARS are there in the U.S.A. according to the text? A) 166. B) 178. C) 12. D) 181.
(Answer)
A
Ques: An increase in students applying to study economics at university is being attributed to the global economic crisis awakening a public thirst for knowledge about how the financial system works. Applications for degree courses beginning this autumn were up by 15% this January, according to UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. A spokesman for the Royal Economic Society said applications to do economics at A-level were also up. Professor John Beath, the president of the society and a leading lecture at St Andrews University, said his first-year lectures which are open to students from all departments--were drawing crowds of 400, rather than the usual 250. "There are a large number of students who are not economics majors, who would like to learn something about it. One of the things I have done this year is to relate my teaching to contemporary events in a way that one hasn't traditionally done. " He added. University applications rose 70% last year. But there were rises above average in several subjects. Nursing saw a 15% jump, with people's renewed interest in careers in the pubic sector , which are seen as more secure in economic crisis. A recent study showed almost two thirds of parents believed schools should do more to teach pupils about financial matters, and almost half said their children had asked them what was going on, although a minority of parents felt they did not understand it themselves well enough to explain. Zack Hocking, the head of Child Trust Funds, said: "It's possible that one good thing to arise from the downturn will be a generation that's financially wiser and betterequipped(...) to manage their money through times of economic uncertainty." What's the main idea of the text? A) Universities have received more applications. B) Economics is attracting an increasing number of students C) college students benefit a lot from economic uncertainty D) parents are concerned with children's subject selection.
Ans: B
Adults are happy to tell their children that crusts will give them curly hair, carrots will help them see in the dark, and spinach will make them strong. Even though adults know it's not totally true, they think it's good for their children's health, a study had found. In a study about 31 per cent of adults said they once told their children the curly hair tale, and 36 per cent said they'd been told the same thing by their mother or father. Among the over-50s, almost half said they'd been promised curly hair if they ate their crusts. A quarter of the 2,000 adults questioned in the study told their children carrots would help them see in the dark. This could be true to some extent because of the high levels of vitamin A and beta-carotene in root vegetables. Another favorite among parents is that milk will make one strong. A third surveyed said their parents told them this, and about 29 per cent said they told their children the same thing. But while there is plenty of evidence to suggest milk is good for people's health, there are also a lot of scientific papers saying it isn't. Thanks to Popeye, spinach is also fed to children, along with the idea that it will make them strong. While there is also some truth in this one, scientists now believe it is not the iron, but the inorganic nitrates that improve physical power. One in seven of the surveyed admitted telling their little ones that runner beans will make them run faster, which is nothing more than wordplay and has no basis in science. Almost one in five adults were subjected to the same tale in childhood. Just over one in 10 parents told their children green food would turn them into a superhero, and a quarter admitted hiding vegetables in meals. Lyndsay Jones, spokesman for Persil Washing Up Liquid, said, "It's clear that the most persuasive stories about food are passed on from generation to generation. Our research shows that the ideas continue, and we tell our kids the same things our parents told us, even if they're not always entirely... How is the passage mainly developed? A) By following time order B) By making comparisons. C) By giving examples. D) By analyzing causes.
C