Shirley的部落格

I. Vocabulary and Derivatives

Fill in each blank with the correct word.

  equipment  1. Before you go hiking, be sure to prepare all the e      t you need, such as a good pair of hiking shoes, a water bottle, some snacks, and so on.

 complicated  2. It takes humans a long time to solve this c      d math problem, but a computer can do it in seconds.

  weakened   3. Luckily, the typhoon didn’t cause much damage to the island because it was w      ned by the mountain located on the island’s coast.

   response   4. I had called out John’s name three times, but he made no r      e and carried on with his work.

   muscles   5. Riding a bicycle thirty minutes every day can make your leg m      es stronger.

  emotions   6. Lucy is good at hiding her e      ns. Nobody knows how she really feels.

   internal   7. Amy writes her i      l thoughts in a notebook that no one is allowed to read.

   normal    8. My grandmother’s blood pressure soon returned to n      l after she took the medicine.

   mental    9. People with m      l illnesses can often become upset and lose hope very quickly. They need to see doctors for treatment and help.

   ability    10. Ted is only six months old. He doesn’t have the a      y to run yet.

 production  11. In summer, there is a drop in milk        (produce). It’s no wonder that milk is more expensive in the summer time.

  comedian  12. Billy is the class        (comedy). He always makes everyone in the whole class laugh.

 percentage  13. In Taiwan, a very large        (percent) of teenagers today use cell phones. Actually, almost everyone has one.

II. Idioms and Phrases

Fill in each blank with one of the idioms or phrases listed below. Make changes if

necessary.

1. I’d like to lose weight, but    on the other hand   , I also want to be able to eat what I want.

2. Before going camping, there are several things you should do.    First of all   , you had better make sure you’ve got everything you need.

3. I seldom take aspirin to    fight off    my terrible headaches because aspirin doesn’t work for me.

4. Mr. Chen takes good care of all his students. No wonder they often    refer to    him    as    their second father.

5. The study    backs up    the saying, “Laughter is the best medicine.” That is, the results of the study prove the saying correct.

III. Cloze Test

Choose the correct answer to fill in each blank.

Groucho Marx was a master of comedy. He once claimed, “A clown    1    aspirin, only he works twice as fast.” How can a clown work better than aspirin? This is because clowns can make us laugh. They can help us to maintain a positive attitude, which can    2    our immune system and make our body heal faster. One study shows that laughing makes people feel more relaxed than looking at beautiful pictures of nature. After a good laugh, a person’s heart beats faster    3   , and this can last for more than five minutes. Several studies have found that laughter helps produce IgA, which is    4    the body uses to fight colds and the flu. Also, although no clear link    5    laughter and pain has been reported, many people agree that they feel less pain after a good laugh. So, it seems clear that the old saying just might be true: “Laughter is the best medicine.”

(  C  ) 1. (A) likes        (B) like              (C) is like          (D) is alike

(  A  ) 2. (A) support   (B) depress        (C) upset           (D) test

(  D  ) 3. (A) as usual  (B) like usual     (C) more usual  (D) than usual

(  B  ) 4. (A) that         (B) what            (C) how                   (D) ×

(  B  ) 5. (A) for           (B) between       (C) with                   (D) at

IV. Multiple Choice

Choose the correct answers.

(  D  ) 1. Sending emails        both faster and cheaper than writing letters.

(A) has         (B) are               (C) have            (D) is

(  B  ) 2. Because of the loud noise, Ted has a hard time focusing        his reading.

(A) in            (B) on                (C) for               (D) with

(  A  ) 3. Karen had a fever. Her temperature was        above the usual one.

(A) well        (B) very                   (C) over                   (D) better

(  C  ) 4. Teachers hope that new school rules can lead to a reduction        the number of students who are late for school.

(A) for          (B) with                   (C) in                 (D) by

(  B  ) 5. Going to the dentist        to be a terrible experience.

(A) need not (B) doesn’t need      (C) don’t need   (D) isn’t needed

(  A  ) 6. People nowadays are living longer than they        before.

(A) did          (B) do                (C) would          (D) used

(  C  ) 7. The bookshelf        into the wall can store books and save a lot of space.

(A) that built       (B) was built     (C) built                   (D) which builds

(  C  ) 8. Natalie likes nothing better        taking a nice long walk on the beach.

(A) then        (B) instead        (C) than                   (D) if

(  A  ) 9. The hotel provides free Internet service        customers.

(A) for          (B) with                   (C) on                (D) at

(  D  ) 10. The first train was so crowded that we decided to take a later       .

(A) those             (B) ones                   (C) that             (D) one

V. Making Sentences

A. Rewrite the following sentences by using the given pattern.

1. The girl who carried a lot of books was Lily.

→ The girl carrying a lot of book was Lily.                                  

2. Penny is reading the letter that was written by Morris.

→ Penny is reading the letter written by Morris.                              

3. The girl who is lining up to get the ticket is my younger sister.

→ The girl lining up to get the ticket is my younger sister.                      

B. Combine each pair of the following sentences by using the given patterns.

1.  The red suitcase is 20 kilograms.

   The black suitcase is 30 kilograms. (heavy)

→ The black suitcase is heavier than the red one.                             
                                                                  

2.  I learned 2,000 English words after graduating from junior high school.

   I will learn 7,000 English words after graduating from senior high school. (many)

→ I will learn more English words after graduating from senior high school than from junior high school.                                              

3.  Jim was excited about his wedding.

   Jim was more excited about the birth of his first child. (excited)

→ Jim was more excited about the birth of his first child than about his wedding.    
                                                                  

VI. Guided Translation

Translate the following Chinese sentences into English.

1. 我們必須處理以前錯誤造成的問題。

We have to deal with the problems    resulting       from    the mistakes we made in the past.

2. 手術後，這名病患重見光明了。

After the surgery, the patient was    able       to    see again.

3. 我再同意你不過了。

I couldn’t    agree       with    you more.

4. 地震造成的損失估計已經高達兩千萬元。

The losses caused by the earthquake have been estimated to be    up       to    20 million dollars.

VII. Reading Comprehension

Read the following article and choose the correct answer to each question or statement.

Most of us feel good after a good laugh. This feeling may come from laughing at a joke, watching a funny movie or just reading a funny story.

What is considered to be humorous varies from culture to culture and person to person, but some doctors have discovered something in common about humor: it can help sick people get healthy. Medical scientists discovered long ago that laughter is good for people’s health because it can stimulate our bodies’ immune system to fight illness. It can also cause our immune system to create endorphins─the body’s natural painkillers─to reduce pain.

Moreover, doctors are learning how to use humor to heal people’s minds. For example, people who are upset for a long time can watch humorous movies as part of their treatment and then share some funny parts of these movies with someone else. Doing this can help them feel happier.

“Humor therapy” has other uses, too, including teaching people that humor and laughter are good for relieving stress. And humor is often a way of developing good communication. For example, during a difficult meeting, telling a joke can relieve stress by making people laugh. If you can laugh with people, it’s easier to talk with them.

It will be interesting to see how humor will be used in healthcare over the next few years, as doctors develop more kinds of humor therapies to make people healthier.

—Karl Nilsson

(  D  ) 1. Which of the following about endorphins is NOT true?

(A) Laughter helps produce endorphins.

(B) They are natural painkillers.

(C) They are produced by the immune system.

(D) They can make people more humorous.

(  B  ) 2. Which of the following sayings is the most suitable for the article?

(A) Laugh and the world laughs with you.

(B) Laughter is the best medicine.

(C) A man isn’t poor if he can still laugh.

(D) Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.

(  C  ) 3. Humor therapy cannot .

(A) relieve people’s stress

(B) heal people’s minds

(C) cure all diseases

(D) make people healthier