Who knows about sleep? Astronauts (宇航员). They have to. Their bodies are cut off from the outside world that reminds (提醒) us what time it is. But actually, it's even worse than that. An astronaut reported in his diary that he was likely to make mistakes on days following an unusually late bedtime.
So NASA started doing some serious research. They quickly realized that we're a slave to the outside world. Without light and darkness, we' re unable to regulate (管理) sleep times.
Because of modern technology, we're all living more like astronauts now. Light is no longer a function (功能) of the sun, but of always-on indoor lights, TV and computer screens. Temperature no longer follows a cycle of cooling at night and warming during the day. Is it any wonder that a third of Americans have sleep problems?
Maybe you think this doesn't affect you — or at least not much. You're wrong. Research done on non-astronauts has shown the same thing. After two weeks of six hours of sleep a night; you're drunk. By the end of two weeks, the six-hour sleepers behaved as badly as those who hadn't slept for 24 hours.
But what did they say when asked how they felt? "It's not affecting me." So if you are performing poorly because of sleep problems, you may have no idea. This is a real problem.
So what answers did NASA come up with?
Take an hour to calm down before bed. Yes, you're busy. But your time is not more valuable than an astronaut's.
Keep your bedroom dark, cool and free from noise. Even if you think "the light doesn't affect you" or "the noise isn't that bad", it can still affect sleep quality.
Another advice: forget the alarm clock (闹钟) in the morning; set an alarm to remind you to go to bed at night. When it goes off, finish up any work on the computer, and turn off any unnecessary lights. This prevents you from cheating yourself on sleep and allows you to wake up naturally.
1. What did NASA find about people’s sleep?
A. It takes a long time to develop regular sleep times.
B. It’s strongly influenced by the outside world.
C. It remains untouched by outside influences.
D. It’s hard to change one’s sleep habits.
2.The biggest problem of those who haven’t enough sleep lies in the fact that .
A. they can’t fall asleep without the lights on
B. they don’t know whether they sleep well
C. they refuse to regulate their sleep times
D. they get too drunk to sleep well
3. What does the underlined sentence in the text mean?
A. You should make full use of your time.
B. You can find the time to get ready to sleep.
C. You can sleep later to finish your work first.
D. You should learn from astronauts’ way of sleep.
4. What’s the advice on the alarm clock?
A. Use it to remind you to sleep.
B. Put it far away from your bed.
C. Get up immediately when it rings.
D. Pay no attention to it when it rings.
At the age of 95, Olga Kotelko attracted great attention at the World Masters Athletics Championships. This 5ft-tall Canadian became the oldest recorded woman indoor runner, high jumper and long jumper at the competition.
Olga now has more than 30 world records to her name and has won more than 750 gold medals. But she sees herself as nothing special, describing herself as just a plain Jane. As one of 11 children brought up on a farm, she has always been active, milking cows and doing other housework.
She has now outlived all her brothers and sisters and most of her friends but when asked what her secret is, she says there isn’t one. “I think your age is just a number. It’s not your birthday; it’s how you age that makes the difference. It’s your attitude to all the things that happen in your life that plays the biggest part.”
So can we all turn ourselves into nonagenarian (九十多岁的) superheroes? Research from Newcastle University suggests that as every 24 hours pass, we add an extra five hours to our lives — that’s over 2 months each year—partly because of improving living conditions and medical development. And in the UK the number of people who are living into their 100th year has nearly increased by four times since the 1980s. So ageing is not a terrible thing.
While Olga’s genes (基因) might help her, we’re not all prisoners to our own. After all, 75% of our later lives could be down to the lifestyle we choose to lead. A good diet (饮食) and regular exercise are key. Besides, developing friendships in mid-life also works. Dr Holland, director of Aston University’s research centre for healthy ageing, says: “The more friends you have when you’re 50-60 years old, the less likely you’re to be lonely in later life; the less lonely you are, the less likely you’re to be ill as the years go by.”
1.Olga Kotelko was well-known at the World Masters Athletics Championships because .
A. she was the oldest sportswoman there
B. she competed in several events
C. she set a new world record
D. she won a gold there
2.What did Olga Kotelko mean by describing herself as a plain Jane?
A. She was hard-working.
B. She was once named Jane.
C. She was very active.
D. She was very common.
3. Olga Kotelko’s words suggest that .
A. we shouldn’t count our age up like numbers
B. we shouldn’t celebrate our birthday as we get old
C. we should try to have a positive attitude towards life
D. we should learn to change according to what happens
4.We can learn from the last paragraph that .
A. how long we live doesn’t completely depend on genes
B. Olga Kotelko succeeded because of her good genes
C. it’s hard for the middle-aged to make friends
D. it’s unavoidable for people to get old
Susan Williams went to a boarding school. Here is one of the letters she wrote to her parents from the school.
Dear Mom and Dad,
I’m afraid I have some very bad news for you. I have been very naughty and the school principal（校长）is very angry with me. She is going to write to you. You must come and take me away from here. She does not want me in the school any longer.
The trouble started last night when I was smoking a cigarette in bed．This is against the rules, of course. We are not supposed to smoke at all.
As I was smoking, I heard footsteps coming towards the room. I did not want a teacher to catch me smoking, so I threw the cigarette away. Unfortunately, the cigarette fell into the waste-paper basket, which caught fire. There was a curtain near the waste-paper basket which caught fire, too. Soon the whole room was burning. The principal phoned for the fire department. The school is a long way from the town and by the time the fire department arrived, the whole school was in flames. Many of the girls are in the hospital.
The principal says that the fire was all my fault and you must pay for the damage. She will send you a bill for about a million dollars.
I am very sorry about this.
Much love, Susan.
P.S. None of the above is true, but I have failed my exams. I just want you to know how bad things could have been!
1.Susan wrote home ________.
A. to tell her parents about the fire
B. to ask for a million dollars
C. to tell her parents she had failed her exams
D. to tell her parents she had to leave school
2.In the letter, Susan told her parents that the principal was angry with her for the reason that___.
A. she had failed her exams.
B. she had been caught smoking in bed.
C. it was her fault that the school had caught fire.
D. she had not phoned for the fire department in time.
3. Susan told her parents about the fire ________.
A. to warn them about what the principal would do
B. to make them feel worried
C. to make them less angry at her real news
D. to make them laugh
4. How true was the letter before the P.S.?
A. Partly true.
B. All true.
C. Completely untrue
D. The story doesn’t really tell us.
A
1.The card above is .
A. a ticket B. a postcard
C. an invitation D. an advertisement
2. The party is for .
A. a birthday B. the Queen
C. bee watching D. the National Day
3.According to the card, if you are unable to go, you can .
A. return the card B. visit the Museum
C. ignore the message D. contact Alice’s mother
A Frenchman was once traveling in England. He could not speak English at all. One day he went into a restaurant and sat down at a table. When the waiter came up, he opened his mouth, put his finger in his mouth and took it out. He wanted to showed, “Bring me something to eat.”
The waiter soon brought him a cup of tea. The man shook his head and put his finger in and out of his mouth again. The waiter understood him and took the tea away. In a moment he came back with a cup of coffee. But the man refused it. He shook his head again and again whenever the waiter brought him something to drink, for drinks were not food.
When the Frenchman was going away, he saw another foreigner came in. This new comer saw the waiter, and put his hand on his stomach（肚子,腹部）. That was enough. In a few minutes there was a large plate meat and vegetables on the table in front of him.
1.The Frenchman signed (做手势) to the waiter ______.
A. to show he was thirsty
B. to tell him bring a cup of tea
C. to refuse the coffee
D. to ask him for some food
2.The waiter took the tea away because ______.
A.the Frenchman was angry at the him
B. he was sure that the Frenchman wanted coffee
C. he understood what the Frenchman wanted
D.the Frenchman told him to bring some thing to eat
3.Another man came in. By putting his hands on his stomach, he meant ______.
A. he was quite full
B. he was hungry
C. he had a stomachache
D. he wanted something to drink
4.We can infer(推断出) from the story that ______.
A. the Frenchman went away with an empty stomach
B. the waiter could not understand what the man said
C. the Frenchman was at last able to get what he wanted
D. the other man helped bring the Frenchman the food
People have flown kites in Japan for more than 1,000 years. There are different kinds of kites there.Some look like bats（蝙蝠）；others look like birds. Most have pictures on them．There are many interesting stories about kites in Japan．One story tells about a thief（小偷）who used a kite.He wanted to steal（偷）the gold（金子）from the top of a high tower．The thief and his friends made a large kite.One dark windy night he caught hold of the kite．His friends raised（使升高）it into the air．Then they moved the kite near the top of the tower．The thief was able to steal the gold.Another story tells about a father and a son．They were in trouble on an island near Japan.The father made a large kite．His son flew in it back to Japan．
The young men of Japan have kite matches.When the kites are flying, the match starts．The young men try to break each other’s kite strings（细绳）. The last kite left in the sky is the winner．
1.Most kites in Japan________．
A. look nice with pictures B. are very small
C. look like hats D. are very large
2.In the kite match the young men try to________．
A. make their kites fly high
B. draw beautiful pictures on their kites
C. make very large kites themselves
D. stop each other’s kites from flying in the sky
3.The father in the passage made a large kite to help his son to________．
A. fly over the sea B. fly over the island
C. return home D. steal gold
4.The passage mainly（主要地）tells us________．
A. something about the kites in Japan
B. how a kite match starts
C. how to fly kites
D. what the kites look like
