“Old wives’ tales” are beliefs passed 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 your 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.
【小题1】The author develops the third paragraph mainly .A．by cause and effectB．by order in spaceC．by examplesD．by order in time【小题2】Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?A．Eating garlic is good for our eyes.B．Carrots prevent people from catching colds.C．Swimming after a meal is dangerous. D．Sticky sweets are damaging to our teeth.【小题3】What is the author’s attitude toward “old wives’ tales” in the text?A．Objective.B．Subjective.C．Dissatisfied.D．Curious.【小题4】The phrase “hold water” in the last paragraph most probably means “ .”A．to be valuableB．to be believableC．to be admirableD．to be suitableC
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(答案→)C
解析：我们大多数人都记得父母告诉我们要吃某些食物或者不要去做某些事情。这些告诫是对的吗？实际上，其中一些是与现在的医学思想相符合的，而另外一些却经不起考验。文章举了例子，并指出即便当我们寻找明确的科学证据来证明它的对错时，我们也应该尊重这类知识
【小题1】推理判断题。第三段第一句是主题句。随后，举了饭后一小时内游泳和吃糖这两个例子来证明主题句。因此，这一段是通过举例来构成段落的。答案C
【小题2】事实细节题。从第三段最后一句 Sticky sweels made with grains tend tocause more problems than sweets made with simple sugars.可以看出，sticky sweets的确可以对牙齿造成危害。答案D
【小题3】推理判断题。纵观全文，作者既指出了一些传统说法的正确性，又说明了一些传统观念没有科学依据。尤其是文中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。答案A
【小题4】猜测词义题。从最后一段第一句可知，虽然科学告诉我们有一些传统观念不可信，但是这些老妈妈们的说法还是有一些正确的地方。hold water 指“可信的”。答案B