Are you sometimes a little tired and sleepy in the early afternoon? Many people feel this way after lunch. They may think that eating lunch is the cause of the sleepiness. Or, in summer, they may think it is the heat. However, the real reason lies inside their bodies. At that time – about eight hours after you wake up – your body temperature goes down. This is what makes you slow down and feel sleepy. Scientists have tested sleep habits in experiments where there was no night or day. The people in these experiments almost always followed a similar sleeping pattern. They slept for one long period and then for one short period about eight hours later.
In many parts of the world, people take naps in the middle of the day. This is especially true in warmer climates where the heat makes work difficult in the early afternoon. Researchers are now saying that naps are good for everyone in any climate. A daily nap gives one a more rested body and mind and therefore is good for health in general. In countries where naps are traditional, people often suffer less from problem such as heart disease.
Many working people, unfortunately, have no time to take naps. Though doctors may advise taking naps, employers do not allow it! If you do have the chance, however, here are a few tips about making the most of your nap. Remember that the best time to take a nap is about eight hours after you get up. A short sleep too late in the day may only make you feel more tired and sleepy afterward. This can also happen if you sleep for too long. If you do not have enough time, try a short nap – even ten minutes of sleep can be helpful.
1.Why do people feel sleepy in the early afternoon according to the text?
A. They eat too much for lunch.
B. They sleep too little at night.
C. Their body temperature becomes lower.
D. The weather becomes a lot warmer.
2.If you get up at 6:30 am, what is the best time for you to take a nap?
A. About 12:30 pm.
B. About 1:30 pm.
C. About 2:30 pm.
D. About 3:30 pm.
3.Why do employers not allow workers to take naps?
A. taking naps is no good for health.
B. taking naps may lead to heart attack.
C. taking naps may lead to low working efficiency.
D. taking naps takes up the working time and reduces production.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Just for a Rest
B. All for a Nap
C. A Special Sleep Pattern.
D. Taking Naps in Warmer Climate.
When I was about twelve,I headed to a restaurant for dinner with my family. It was winter,and on that night, the wind was really blowing hard.As my mom and I headed to the restaurant from our car, a girl about my age and her mother came up to us. They asked if we had any spare change (零钱). My mom right away asked where they lived. They pointed to an old car in a parking lot across the street. The girl said there were six of them living in that car.
My mom said she had something to do after handing the people a few dollars. She sent me inside the restaurant with my dad and my three siblings. But she didn't come. Later, I found out she had gone home and put all the food in our cupboards into a few bags. Then, she brought that food over to the car and handed the bags to the family.I wasn't there when that happened,but I can only imagine the joy it brought to those people.
A few days later , when I actually found out what she had done ,I asked her why she helped those people. She told me that they were not lucky. I remember the face of that girl who had asked us for change. She was the same age as me, yet we looked so different.
Here I stood,dressed in almost new clothes,headed to eat in a restaurant and then came back home to the bedroom I shared with my younger sister. I remember thinking that the other girl didn't have any food to eat and she was heading back to a cold car shared with five other people.
After painting this picture in my mind,I understood why my mom had done what she did. I will never forget what she did that night, and how she taught me one of the best lessons I have ever learned.
1.From the passage,we can know the writer's mother was ______ .
A.determined B.kind-hearted
C.humorous D.selfish
2.From Paragraph 2,we can learn that ______ .
A.the poor family had no place to live
B.the poor girl was older than the author
C.the writer's mother didn't know how to cook
D.the poor girl lived near the restaurant
3.Which of the following best explains “siblings” underlined in paragraph 2 ?
A.friends B.parents
C.sisters D.neighbours
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A.How to support a poor family
B.A friend in need is a friend in deed
C.The hard life of a little girl's family
D.A lesson in kindness from my Mum
Books to Read in Your 20s
The Kite Runner
By Khaled Hosseini
As a Middle Eastern and North African Studies student, I have a great interest in books about what takes place in this area. I first read this book in high school and really enjoyed it because of its accurate language. If any of you is interested in reading this book and hasn’t yet, I highly recommend (推荐) it.
Firefly Lane
By Kristin Hannah
This is my favorite book. It is a story about friendship, love and life lessons. The story covers the lives of two best friends, Tully and Kate, from childhood to adulthood. I learned so much about friendship and life. So, read Firefly Lane! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and then you’ll share this book to your best friend.
Half the Sky
By Nicholas Kristof
For any person of any age, Half the Sky is a must-read. It describes the struggle of women and the most pressing human rights problems of our time: the common oppression of women and girls.
The Little Prince
By Antoine de Saint
This children’s book is simple. It might seem like a wrong book to recommend to someone in their twenties but perhaps that’s what makes it a good choice. It sings praises to exploration and shows the importance of making friends.
1.Who is the writer of the book The Kite Runner?
A.Khaled Hosseini. B.Kristin Hannah.
C.Nicholas Kristof. D.Antoine de Saint.
2.What can you learn from Firefly Lane?
A.It’s written by Tully and Kate. B.It’s about friendship, love and life lessons.
C.It’s a simple book for children. D.It’s a book written for any person of any age.
3.Which book will you read if you want to know about human rights problems?
A.The Kite Runner. B.Firefly Lane.
C.Half the Sky. D.The Little Prince.
阅读下面短文,根据所给情节进行续写,使之构成一个完整的故事。
One fall,my wife Elli and I had a single goal:to photograph polar bears. We were staying at a research camp outside “the polar bear capital of the world”-the town of Churchill in Manitoba,Canada.
Taking pictures of polar bears is amazing but also dangerous. Polar bears-like all wild animals-should be photographed from a safe distance. When I'm face to face with a polar bear,I like it to be through a camera with a telephoto lens. But sometimes,that is easier said than done. This was one of those times.
As Elli and I cooked dinner,a young male polar bear who was playing in a nearby lake sniffed,and smelled our garlic bread.
The hungry bear followed his nose to our camp,which was surrounded by a high wire fence. He pulled and bit the wire. He stood on his back legs and pushed at the wooden fence posts.
Terrified,Elli and I tried all the bear defense actions we knew. We yelled at the bear,hit pots hard,and fired blank shotgun shells into the air. Sometimes loud noises like these will scare bears off. Not this polar bear though-he just kept trying to tear down the fence with his massive paws(爪子).
I radioed the camp manager for help. He told me a helicopter was on its way,but it would be 30 minutes before it arrived. Making the best of this close encounter(相遇),I took some pictures of the bear.
Elli and I feared the fence wouldn't last through 30 more minutes of the bear's punishment. The camp manager suggested I use pepper spray. The spray burns the bears' eyes,but doesn't hurt them. So I approached our uninvited guest slowly and,through the fence,sprayed him in the face. With an angry roar(吼叫),the bear ran to the lake to wash his eyes.
注意:1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右;
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语;
3. 续写部分分为两段,每段的开头语已为你写好;
4. 续写完成后,请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
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假定你是李华,你校来自爱尔兰的外教Peter因病回国休假。请给他写一封电子邮件,内容包括:1. 询问近况;2. 分享班级最新消息;3. 表达祝愿。
注意:1. 词数80左右;2. 可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
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阅读下面材料,在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。
Some time after 10,000 BC,people made the first real attempt to control the world they lived 1. ,through agriculture. Over thousands of years,they began to depend less on 2. could be hunted or gathered from the wild,and more on animals they had raised and crops they had sown.
Farming produced more food per person 3. hunting and gathering,so people were able to raise more children. And,as more children were born,more food 4.(need). Agriculture gave people their first experience of the power of technology 5.(change)lives.
By about 6000 BC,people 6. (discover)the best crops to grow and animals to raise. Later,they learned to work with the 7. (season),planting at the right time and,in dry areas, 8. (make)use of annual floods to irrigate(灌溉)their fields.
This style of farming lasted for quite a long time. Then,with 9. rise of science,changes began. New methods 10. (mean)that fewer people worked in farming. In the last century or so,these changes have accelerated. New power machinery and artificial fertilizers(化肥)have now totally transformed a way of life that started in the Stone Age.