Ⅰ.阅读理解
“Old wives' tales” are beliefs passed down from one generation to another. For example, most of us remember our parents' telling us to eat more of certain foods or not to do certain things. Is there any truth in these teachings? Some of them agree with present medical thinking, but others have not passed the test of time.
Did your mother ever tell you to eat carrots because they are good for your eyes? Scientists now report that eating carrots can help prevent a serious eye disease called macular degeneration. Eating just one carrot a day can reduce the possibility of getting this disease by 40%. Garlic (蒜) is good for you, too. It can kill the type of virus that causes colds.
Unfortunately, not all of Mom's advice passed the test of medical studies. For example, generations of children have been told not to go swimming within an hour after eating. But research suggests that there is no danger in doing so. Do sweets cause tooth problems? Well, yes and no. Sticky sweets made with grains tend to cause more problems than sweets made with simple sugars.
Even though science can tell us that some of our traditional beliefs don't hold water, there is still a lot of truth in the old wives' tales. After all, much of this knowledge has been accumulated (积累) from thousands of years of experience in family health care. We should respect this body of knowledge even as we search for clear scientific support to prove it true or false.
语篇解读：本文是一篇说明文。文章主要讲述了我们大多数人都记得父母告诉过我们要多吃某些食物或者不要去做某些事情。实际上，其中一些告诫是与现在的医学思想相符的，而另外一些却是经不起考验的。
1．Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
A．Eating garlic is good for our eyes.
B．Sticky sweets are damaging our teeth.
C．Swimming after a meal is dangerous.
D．Carrots prevent people from catching colds.
解析：选B 细节理解题。由第三段最后一句Sticky sweets made with grains tend to cause more problems ... simple sugars.可以看出，sticky sweets的确对牙齿有害。
2．The author develops the third paragraph mainly ．
A．by cause and effect B．by order in space
C．by order in time D．by examples
解析：选D 推理判断题。第三段第一句是主题句。接着举了“饭后一小时内游泳”和“吃糖”这两个例子来支持主题句。因此，这一段主要是通过举例来论述的。
3．The phrase “hold water” in the last paragraph most probably means “ ”．
A．to be believable B．to be valuable
C．to be admirable D．to be suitable
解析：选A 词义猜测题。根据画线词所在句中的Even though 可知，don't hold water与there is still a lot of truth意义相对立，那么hold water与there is still a lot of truth意义相似，因此A项正确。
4．What is the author's attitude towards “old wives' tales” in the text?
A．Subjective. B．Objective.
C．Dissatisfied. D．Curious.
解析：选B 观点态度题。综合全文，作者既指出了一些传统说法是正确的，又说明了一些传统观念是没有科学依据的。最后一段作者表明了对这些观念的尊重，因此可以看出作者的态度是客观的。
