Passage Four

 Couples are restricting the size of their families in the UK because of cash worries brought on by the financial crisis and the subsequent decline. We’re now up to nearly 3.7 million families where there is an only child,a rise from about 3.3 million in 2005.That means nearly half of all parents have only one child.

 Financial worries aren’t the only driver. The trend towards later motherhood has been mentioned as a cause,as have soaring costs of raising a child,which have been calculated as￡222,500 from birth to 21 years of age. This is an increase of nearly 40%in 10 years.

 The increasing availability of IVF(试管婴儿)is also a factor and an interesting one. Couples who might have remained childless in the past now invest in IVF and get pregnant. And because of the cost they stop after one child.

 It may not be a bad thing; there are outstanding examples of talented only children. Some argue that being an only child promoted their success. These include actors Natalie Portman and Al Pacino,golfer Tiger Woods and even Queen Victoria. A study from the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex also showed that the fewer brothers and sisters a child has, the happier they are. It seems fighting for parental attention and affection--which sometimes descends into physical fights--is more stressful than any adult had previously thought. And it's not compensated(弥补)by having a playmate. 

The smaller size of UK families is mainly related to ______.

你(Li Yuan)的班级即将组织一次郊游(picnic),请你给你的外籍教师(Steve)写封信,内容包括：

·邀请他参加此项活动;

·介绍活动的具体安排和内容(如时间、地点等);

·告知需要做的准备(如着装、自备午餐等);

·希望他参加并尽快给予答复。

60______

58______

59______

57______

Father: How's your day at school, Costa? 

Costa: ___56___, Daddy! It's a day I will never forget. 

Father:Oh,is it? ___57___,my son? 

Costa:I have been made the chairman of the Students' Association. 

Father:That's great.___58___ ! 

Costa: ___59___. 

Father:That's really nice. You stood first in the examination and now you have won the chairmanship, ___60___, my son. 

Costa : Thank you, Daddy. 

56______

What column of a newspaper is most likely to have this article?

Which of the following suggests that you have pre-diabetes?

To prevent or delay a diabetes diagnosis,people with pre-diabetes should pay most attention to ______.

Passage Five

 About 79 million Americans have pre-diabetes(糖尿病前期).That means they have blood sugar that's higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed(诊断)with type 2-at least not yet. One long-term study reposed by the American Diabetes Association found that 11%of people with pre-diabetes develop the full-blown disease each year. Another study shows that pre-diabetes will probably become type 2 in lo years or less.

 Yet,that process is not inevitable. Last year,scientists in Colorado found that people with pre-diabetes who lowered their blood sugar to normal levels--even briefly--were 56% less likely to reach type 2 levels. 

If you have pre-diabetes, here are four steps to help prevent or delay a diabetes diagnosis：Lose 7%of your body weight. That is about 15 pounds for the persons who weigh 200. Dropping that small percentage has been shown to lower the risk of developing type 2 by close to 60%. 

Exercise 30 minutes five days a week. Whether you do the 30 minutes in one shot or in three 10-minute sessions,the benefit is the same. Choose certain exercises,such as fast walking, playing tennis or lifting weights. Physical activity such as sweeping floors works,too.

 Turn to your doctor. In some cases,pre-diabetes raises the risk of heart disease and stroke by 50%. Your doctor may use some medicine to control your glucose(葡萄糖)levels and keep your blood pressure in check. 

Know your numbers. To see if your pre-diabetes is improving,have your blood sugar checked regularly. A fasting blood sugar of 100 to 125 mg/dl suggests pre-diabetes;126 mg/dl or above is diabetes;and below 100 is normal. Other tests,including glucose tolerance and AIC,also are used to monitor blood sugar. 

What do we learn from the two studies mentioned in Paragraph 1?