Ever feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day?A group of time-challenged Canadian women are wishing for a 25-hour clock．
Jessie Behan，president of the 25th Hour Coalition(联盟)which is a group of Canadian women who have changed to a longer day，said the struggle for women to maintain work-1ife balance motivated her to research the body’s natural clock．“Many of my girlfriends are having kids，getting married，and I see the sufferings of dealing all that when you’re a working woman，”she said．“Women like myself are sick of living their lives by a 24-hour clock．”
A 2007 study by Charles Czeisler found a switch to longer days could be beneficial，especially for frequent travelers，shift workers，astronauts and those who experience trouble sleeping or waking．
In a similar study，Czeisler showed the body’s natural clock averages 24 hours and 11 minutes in both young and older people．The current 360-degree clock has 720 minutes，giving each minute 0．5 degree．With the new 25-hour day，30 minutes is added to each 12-hour period making each minute 0.48 degree．
While still a relatively small movement—the 25th Hour Coalition has 160 Facebook members，Behan is hoping for large changes．“The goal is to get as many women on board；there’s no harm in just trying it out and seeing．If it gets big，maybe the government will decide to standardize it．”
A recent online survey by Reader's Digest，which included 150 people in each of the 13 countries，suggests it's not just Canadians looking for longer days．Readers were asked“what would you do with an extra hour”if given a choice between sleep，work，exercise and family time．In Spain，half of respondents(被访者)said they’d like an extra hour in the day to devote to family time．The same was found for respondents in Brazil，the US and Britain，who chose family time over sleep，which came in at a close second．Only in India did work top the list with 50 percent of respondents claiming they could use an extra hour at the office．
1.Some Canadian working women are campaigning for the 25-hour day in order to_______．
A．have more chances at work
B．keep a balance between life and work
C．experience something new
D．have a better sleep
2.Jessie Behan want more women to join the 25 th Hour Coalition because she________．
A．intends to make more Facebook friends
B．hopes to get benefits from more people
C．considers it is harmless to form such an organization
D．thinks it can help those women to realize their dreams
3.What is implied in the last paragraph?
A．Respondents from most nations want more family time．
B．Respondents from developed countries experience more stress．
C．Most Canadian respondents claim that they need more family time．
D．Indians are the most hardworking of the 13 nations．
Economists have studied how markets work for a long time．Generally，they work well．But markets do not always perform as expected．Jean Tirole of France won the Nobel Prize in Economics for studying why markets are imperfect，or inefficient，and what governments can do to regulate them．
The Nobel prize committee announced the $1．1 million prize in Stockholm to Jean Tirole．It called Mr.Tirole“one of the most influential economists of our time”．The organization said he had done important research in a number of areas．But it said，“most of all he has clarified how to understand and regulate industries with only a few powerful firms．”
Mr．Tiro1e works at the Toulouse School of Economics in Toulouse，France．He is 61 years old．For about 30 years，Mr．Tirole has researched periods when markets failed，that is，when they did not provide good results in price and competition．He looked at how a small number of large companies，or even a single company，can strongly influence industries. Banking and telecommunications were among the industries he studied．
The Nobel committee said that unregulated markets often produce socially undesirable results. They can result in higher prices or companies that use their market position to block others· The committee said it chose Mr．Timle because he thought about how best to regulate markets．For example，Tore Ellingsen，Chairman of the committee that awards the economics prize，says Mr·Tirole showed the need to develop better rules for the banking industry．This became urgent after the world financial crisis of 2008—2009．
The economics Drize is called the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alflred Nobel．Alfred Nobel did not establish the prize．It was first presented in 1969．
1.The passage tells us that Jean Tirole______________.
A．has studied the economics in Sweden
B．is the first to win the Nobel Prize in Economics
C．is highly praised by Chairman of the committee
D．has made regulations for large companies
2.We can learn from the passage that___________________.
A．Jean Tirole's research made the markets imperfect or inefficient
B．banking and telecommunications are strongly influential industries
C．the world financial crisis of 2008—2009 regulated the markets
D．Alfred Nobel was unwilling to establish economics prize
3.The underlined word“undesirable”in Paragraph 4 can best be，replaced by_________.
A．harmful B．unbelievable
C．beneficial D．convincing
4.What is the article mainly about?
A．The 1ife of Jean Tirole．
B．The research of Jean Tirole．
C．The history of Nobel Prize in Economics．
D．Jean Tirole Wins Nobel Economics Prize．
Even the hardest days contain lessons that will help you be a better person．Feeling down?Consider these things to remember when you’re having a bad day．
No one promised life would be perfect．If you look for perfection，you’11 never be content．Don’t condition your happiness on meeting every expectation you set for yourself．It is good to be ambitious，but you’11 never be perfect．If you expect otherwise，your life will be filled with disappointments．
Success doesn’t happen overnight．Trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit．Don’t kid yourself into thinking success will come quickly．It isn’t easy to be patient，but anything worth doing requires time．If you get frustrated，remind yourself why your goal is important．
There is a lesson in every struggle．And once the storm is over，you won’t remember how you made it through or how you managed to survive．But one thing is certain．When you come out of the storm，you won’t be the same person who walked in．That’s what this storm’s all about．Don’t complain about how terrible your life is．If you search for the lesson in your present struggle，you’11 be able to make positive changes that would prevent similar situations in the future．
Without hard times，you wouldn’t appreciate the good ones．Strength does not come from winning．Your struggles develop your strengths．When you go through hardships and decide not to give in，that is strength．It is hard to find much to smile about when you fail，but how else would you improve yourself?If you look at failure as a part of your evolutionary process，you’11 stay positive and pursue your goals for as long as it takes．
1.Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
A．Every person has to go through hard times
B．We can learn a lot from our struggles
C．We should accept the fact that life is not perfect
D．Things to remember when you are having a bad day
2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 mean?
A．Success will come quickly．
B．Hard work leads to success．
C．Success calls for patience．
D．Confidence is the first step to success.
3.We can learn from Paragraph 4 that____________．
A．1essons from struggles make us stronger
B．all things are difficult before they are easy
C．we should forget how we managed to survive
D．similar situations in the future will never appear
4.What can we infer from Paragraph 5?
A．Hard times make us lose heart and be short of courage.
B．Perseverance in time of hardships develops our strengths．
C．Smiles when you fail will not help to improve yourself．
D．We should try to avoid failures in the evolutionary process.
Using a computer or smartphone at night can cause us to pile on the pounds，new research has revealed．
The study found a link between blue light exposure(blue light is produced by smartphones and computers)and increased hunger．It found that exposure to blue light increases hunger levels for several houus and even increases hunger levels after eating a meal．Blue light exposure has also already been shown to cause decreased sleepiness in the evening，increasing the risk of sleeplessness．
The leading researcher，Ivy Cheung，from Northwestern University in Chicago，said，“A single three-hour exposure to blue-enriched light in the evening greatly affected hunger and metabolism(新陈代谢)．These results are important because they suggest that controlling environmental light exposure for humans may represent a novel approach of influencing food intake patterns and metabolism．”
The study group consisted of 10 healthy adults with regular sleep and eating schedules. They completed a four-day trial under dim(昏暗的)light conditions，which involved exposure to less than 20 lux(勒克斯，照明单位)during 16 hours awake and less than 3 lux during eight hours of sleep．On the third day they were exposed to three hours of 260 lux，blue-enriched light starting10.5 hours after waking up, and the effects were compared with dim light exposure.
Ivy Cheung said more research is needed to determine the functions involved in the relationship between light exposure，hunger and metabolism．
1.What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?
A．How blue light exposure affects hunger．
B．Why blue light exposure influences sleepiness．
C．What is the link between blue light exposure，hunger and sleepiness．
D．Who has found the effects of blue light exposure on hunger and sleepiness．
2.The underlined word“novel”in the third paragraph probably means“___________”.
A．unusual B．unforgettable
C．temporary D．controversial
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A．Blue light exposure can make us lose weight at night．
B．Blue light exposure has no effect on sleeplessness．
C．The researchers drew their conclusion by comparison．
D．Ivy Cheung has found the relationship between light exposure and hunger．
4.Where would you be most likely to find the passage?
A．On a notice board． B．In a health magazine．
C．On a business website． D．In a college newspaper．
最近，刘翔通过个人微博宣布退役。请你根据以下内容写一篇报道。
【写作内容】
运动员 | 刘翔，中国最优秀的跨栏运动员 |
退役时间 | 2015年4月7日 |
退役原因 | 伤病和长期不能参加赛事 |
成就 | 2001年赢得东亚运动会和世界大学生运动会110米跨栏，从此登上世界舞台；2004年以12.91秒夺得雅典奥运会冠军； 2006年打破男子110米跨栏世界纪录。他的取胜证明了在男子跨栏项目上亚洲运动员也有能力跟西方运动员竞争。 |
退役后打算 | 完成剩余学业去充实自己；做一些对提升国人健康体质有利的事;提升中国田径的国际影响力。 |
参考词汇：雅典 Athens 田径 track and field
【写作要求】
只能用5个句子表达全部内容
【评分标准】
句子结构准确，信息内容完整，篇章连贯
以下是网址为http://www.argos.co.uk上所发布的Apple iPod手机销售信息：
AA | Apple iPod Touch 64GB 5th Generation - Pink. £299.99 Was £304.99 Save £5.00 + 1 special offer + Free Delivery iPod touch is more fun than ever. It has an ultrathin design, a 4-inch Retina display, a 5MP iSight camera on the 32GB and 64GB models, iOS 7, Siri, iMessage, FaceTime, iTunes and the App Store, iTunes Radio, and more. |
B B | Apple iPod Touch 16GB 4th Generation - White. £129.99 + 1 special offer The world’s most popular portable gaming device is now even more fun. Listen to your favourite albums. Send text messages over Wi-Fi with iMessage. Record HD video. Make FaceTime calls. iPod touch even works with iCloud, which stores your content and pushes it to all your devices. |
CC | Apple iPod Touch 32GB 5th Generation - Pink. £219.99 + 1 special offer iPod touch is more fun than ever. It has an ultrathin design, a 4-inch Retina display, a 5MP iSight camera on the 32GB and 64GB models, iOS 7, Siri, iMessage, FaceTime, iTunes and the App Store, iTunes Radio, and more. |
DD | Apple iPod Touch 64GB 5th Generation - Blue. £299.99 Was £304.99 Save £5.00 + 1 special offer + Free Delivery iPod touch is more fun than ever. It has an ultrathin design, a 4-inch Retina display, a 5MP iSight camera on the 32GB and 64GB models, iOS 7, Siri, iMessage, FaceTime, iTunes and the App Store, iTunes Radio, and more. |
EE | Apple iPod Touch 32GB 4th Generation - White. £159.99 + 1 special offer The world's most popular portable gaming device is now even more fun. Listen to your favourite albums. Send text messages over Wi-Fi with iMessage. Record HD video. Make FaceTime calls. iPod touch even works with iCloud, which stores your content and pushes it to all your devices. |
FF | Apple iPod Touch 32GB 5th Generation - White. £219.99 + 1 special offer iPod touch is more fun than ever. It has an ultrathin design, a 4-inch Retina display, a 5MP iSight camera on the 32GB and 64GB models, iOS 7, Siri, iMessage, FaceTime, iTunes and the App Store, iTunes Radio, and more. |
请将以下五位Apple iPod手机购买者的信息与网上所发布的手机销售信息匹配起来。
1.Jack, aged 28, is the manager of a company. He wants to get a blue Apple iPod of the 5th generation with free delivery and doesn’t mind how much it may cost.
2.Sara’s birthday is in two weeks’ time and she would like to spend less than 250 pounds to buy herself a white Apple iPod with an ultrathin design and a 4-inch Retina display.
3.Alice works as a waitress in a small restaurant and likes listening to her favourite albums. She wants to spend less than 200 pounds to buy herself an Apple iPod of 32GB.
4.John is a college student and often sends text messages over Wi-Fi iMessage and records HD video. He wants to get an Apple iPod, but would like it to cost him less than £150.
5.Betty has just graduated from university and doesn’t earn much a month. She wants to get a pink Apple iPod of the 5th generation, but she would like to spend less than £250 on it.
