Amy: Hi, Gary. I haven't seen you in ages. It must be five years. Gosh, you . seem to be different.
Gary: That's true. I'm a lot healthier now. I used to have some bad habits.
Amy: Such as …
Gary: Well, for one thing, I was a couch potato. You know, one of those overweight people who sit on a sofa and eat junk food while they watch TV. That was me! I used to watch TV for six or seven hours some days. Now, I never watch TV for more than two hours. Some days I don't even turn it on.
Amy: You look much slimmer, too. Is that just a matter of giving up junk food?
Gary: Five years ago, I never used to exercise. In fact, I hated exercise! I didn't use to watch exercise programs on TV then. Now, I exercise every morning, but I don't watch those programs very often. I usually do my own routine. I love to exercise now because it makes me feel terrific.
Amy: Didn't you use to smoke?
Gary: True. I used to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day. Then three years ago I quit smoking completely. I only miss smoking when I'm nervous. So now I chew gum at those times.
Amy: Let's get back to diet. Did you do anything else to lose weight?
Gary: Oh, yeah. I used to eat lots of meat, but I don't any more. I always like fruit and vegetables so I'm mostly a vegetarian now. I still eat fish once in a while, but not meat. So, by changing my diet and getting daily exercise, I'm in much better shape than the last time you saw me.
Amy: You're a real inspiration. You make me want to change my life, too.
A. Write U next to things Gary used to do, and N next to things he does now.
eat junk food
watch exercise programs
exercise every morning
smoke cigarettes
chew gum
eat fruit and vegetables
B. Match each word with its meaning according to the conversation.
couch potato | A. attractively thin and well-shaped |
slim | B. stop doing something or give up |
quit | C. someone who never eats meat or fish |
vegetarian | D. someone who watches TV for hours |
inspiration | E. someone who makes another person want to be better |
Many people visit the Southwest stop at Santa Fe, New Mexico. There, they see long, low buildings that have flat roofs. Most houses are only one-storey high. They have beautiful small gardens with walls around them
The buildings are tan(黄褐色的)and brown like the earth because they are made of adobe. Adobe is a Spanish word that means"sun-dried brick". It is made by mixing clay(泥土), straw(稻草)and water. Its cost is low. Houses built of adobe stay cool in summer and warm in winter.
Santa Fe is one of the oldest cities in North America. Around 1610, Spanish settlers gave Santa Fe its name. Centuries before the Spanish came, the Pueblo Indians lived there. The city's adobe buildings are much like those the Indians lived in long ago. The gardens are like those built by the early Spanish settlers.
The people of Santa Fe liked their early Spanish-American buildings. So they passed a law in 1953. It said that all new buildings in the older part of the town had to look like the adobe buildings. Now a part of Santa Fe will remind people of the city's long history.