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In the United States, 30 percent of the adult population has a weight problem. To

many people, the cause is obvious: they eat too much. But scientific evidence does little to

support the idea.

Going back to the America of the 1910s, we find that people were thinner than today,

yet they ate more food. In those days people worked harder physically, walked more, used

machines much less and didn’t watch television.

Several modern studies, moreover, have shown that fatter people do not eat more on

average than thinner people. In fact, some investigations, such as the 1979 study of 3,545

London office workers, report that, on balance, fat people eat less than slimmer people.

Studies show that slim people are more active than fat people. A study by a research

group at Stanford University School of Medicine found the following interesting facts:

The more the men run, the more body fat they lost. The more they ran, the greater amount

of food they ate. Thus, those who run the most ate the most, yet lost the greatest amount of

body fat.

11. The physical problem that many adult Americans have is that ________.

A. they are too slim B. they work too hard

C. they are too fat D. they lose too much body fat

12. According to the article, given 500 adult Americans, ________ will have a weight

problem.

A. 30 B. 50 C. 100 D. 150

13. Is there any scientific evidence to support that eating too much is the cause of a weight

problem?

A. Yes, there is plenty of evidence.

B. Of course, there is some evidence to show this is true.

C. There is hardly any scientific evidence to support that.

D. We don’t know because the information is not given.

14. In comparison with the adult American population today, the Americans of the 1910s

_______.

A. ate more food and had more physical activities.

B. ate less food but had more activities

C. ate less food and had less physical exercise

D. had more weight problems

15. Modern scientific researchers have reported to us that ________.

A. fat people eat less food and are less active

B. fat people eat more food than slim people and are more active

C. fat people eat more food than slim people but are less active

D. thin people run less, but have greater increase in food intake

Man has always wanted to fly. Some of the greatest men in history had thought about

the problem. One of them, for example, was the great Italian artist, Leonardo Da Vinci. In

the 16 th century he made designs for machines that would fly, but they were never built.

Throughout history, other less famous men had wanted to fly. An example was a man

in England 800 years ago. He made a pair of wings from chicken feathers. Then he fixed

them to his body and jumped into air from a tall building. He did not fly very far. Instead,

he fell to the ground and broke every bone of his body and rested in peace.

The first real step took place in France, in 1783. Two brothers, the Montgolfiers,

made a very large “hot air balloon”. They knew that hot air rises. Why not fill a balloon

with it? The balloon was made of cloth and paper. In September of that year, the King and

Queen of France came to see the balloon. They watched it carry the very first air

passengers into the sky. The passengers were a sheep and a chicken. We do not know how

they felt about the trip. But we do know that the trip lasted eight minutes and that the

animals landed safely. Two months later, two men did the same thing. They rose above

Paris in a balloon of the same kind. Their trip lasted twenty-five minutes and they traveled

about.

6. Leonardo Da Vinci _______.

A. said that man would fly in the sky one day

B. built a kind of machine which never flew

C. made designs for flying machines

D. drew many beautiful pictures of birds

7. Eight hundred years ago an Englishman _______.

A. made a kind of flying machine

B. tried to fly with wings made of chicken feathers

C. wanted to build a kind of balloon

D. tried to fly on a large bird

8. In fact, the Englishman who tried to fly _______.

A. got badly wounded B. succeeded in flying

C. lost his life D. flew only 8 minutes

9. The very first air passengers in the balloon were _______.

A. two animals B. the Montgolfiers

C. two Frenchmen D. the King and Queen

10. When did two Frenchmen rise above Paris?

A. In December 1783. B. In September 1783.

C. In the 17 th century. D. In November 1783.

Today anyone will accept money in exchange for goods and services. People use

money to buy food, furniture, books, bicycles and hundreds of others they need or want.

When they work, they usually get paid in money.

Most of the money today is made of metal pr paper. But people used to use all kinds

of things as money. One of the first kinds of money was shells. Shells were not the only

things used as money. In China, cloth and knives were used. In the Philippine Islands, rice

was used as money. In parts of Africa, cattle were one of the earliest money. Other animals

were used as money too.

The first metal coins were made in China. They were round and had a square hole in

the center. People strung them together and carried them from place to place. Different

countries have used different metals and designs for their money. The first coins in

England were made of tin. Sweden and Russia used copper to make their money. Later,

other countries began to make coins of gold and silver.

But even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy something expensive.

Again the Chinese thought of a way to improve money. They began to use paper money.

The first paper money looked more like a note from one person to another than paper

money used today.

Money has had an interesting history from the days of shell money until today.

1. Which of the following can be cited as an example of the use of money in exchange for

services?

A. To sell a bicycle for $20.

B. To get some money for old books at a garage sale.

C. To buy things you need or want.

D. To get paid for your work.

2. Where were shells used as money in history?

A. In the Philippines. B. In China.

C. In Africa. D. We don’t know.

3. Why did ancient Chinese coins have a square hole in the center?

A. Because it would be easier to put them together and carry them around.

B. Because it would be lighter for people to carry from place to place.

C. Because people wanted to make it look nicer.

D. Because people wanted to save the expensive metal they were made from.

4. Why does the author say that even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy

something expensive?

A. Because they are difficult for people to obtain.

B. Because they themselves are expensive, too.

C. Because they are not easy to carry around.

D. Because they are easy to steal.

5. Which do you choose as the best title for this passage?

A. Money and Its Use

B. Different Things Used as Money

C. Different Countries, Different Money

D. The History of Money

A. killed

B. is killed

C. was killed

D. was killing

A. has been always complaining

B. is always complaining

C. always complain

D. has always complain

A. During three weeks

B. since three weeks

C. three weeks ago

D. for three weeks

A. comes

B. will come

C. shall come

D. has come

A. is

B. has been

C. have been

D. was

A. Had left; would come

B. left; had come

C. had left; came

D. has left;Comes

A. envying

B. missing

C. miss

D. envy