阅读下面短文，在空白处填入 1 个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
Why do many of us find 1. difficult or impossible to fall asleep in a bed other than our own? Is it because the bed is 2. (comfort)? According to a new study published in Current Biology, a significant reason is 3. the scientists call “first night effect”. They believe that one side of the brain acts as a “night watch” to warn us about potential dangers. It forces us 4. (stay) awake on the first night in a new environment.
For the study, 35 young volunteers 5. (ask) to sleep in a sleep lab for several days. Meanwhile, researchers watched their brain activities.
According to the researchers, on their first night, the left brains were 6. (active) than the right brains and people had a hard time sleeping. However, left-brain activity decreased as days went by, 7. (fall) even to the point of complete calm. In this process, the participants got an increasingly better sleep experience.
The 8. (finding) suggest that the different rhythms of the sides of the brain affect our sleep. When the two sides work 9. (different), the balance between them is broken. Thus, the brain can’t relax and is sensitive to anything strange in the surroundings, just 10. it is in the daytime.
A true apology is more than just an admission of a mistake. It is the ____ that something you have said or done has damaged a relationship — and that you care enough about the relationship to want it ___.
It’s never easy to admit you are in the _____. Being human, we all _____to know the art of apologizing. Look back with _____and think how often you’ve judged cruelly, said unkind things, or pushed yourself ahead at the ____ of a friend. Then count the moments when you showed clearly and truly that you were ____. A bit frightening, isn’t it? Frightening because some deep wisdom in us knows that when ____ a small wrong has been done, some mysterious moral feeling is ____; and it stays out of balance until the fault is admitted and regret ____.
I remember a doctor friend, Clarence Lieb, ____ me about a man who came to him with a variety of ____ : headaches, restlessness and stomach sickness. No ____ cause could be found. Finally Dr. Lieb said to the man, “Unless you tell me what’s ___ you, I can’t help you.”
After he ____ for some time, the man admitted that, as executor (遗嘱执行人) of his father’s will, he had been ____ his brother, who lived overseas, of what their father had left him. Then and there the wise old doctor made him write to his brother asking for ____ and enclosing (附入) a cheque as the first___ in repayment. He then went with him to the mail box in the passage. As the ____ disappeared, the man burst into tears. “Thank you,” he said. “I think I’m ____.” And he was.
1.A. assessment B. belief C. criterion D. recognition
2.A. restored B. formed C. reserved D. abandoned
3.A. distance B. way C. dark D. wrong
4.A. remember B. demand C. need D. learn
5.A. delight B. honesty C. sorrow D. relief
6.A. mercy B. invitation C. sight D. expense
7.A. careless B. foolish C. sorry D. thankful
8.A. still B. rather C. hardly D. even
9.A. controlled B. disturbed C. ignored D. protected
10.A. exposed B. evaluated C. expressed D. exchanged
11.A. questioning B. consulting C. telling D. reminding
12.A. troubles B. feelings C. thoughts D. questions
13.A. spiritual B. physical C. likely D. common
14.A. worrying B. inspiring C. disappointing D. embarrassing
15.A. wandered B. hesitated C. observed D. prayed
16.A. warning B. cheating C. suspecting D. accusing
17.A. apology B. blame C. excuse D. forgiveness
18.A. step B. trend C. success D. rise
19.A. box B. passage C. letter D. cheque
20.A. cured B. released C. involved D. refreshed
Artists might have sunk into a state where they forgot themselves, didn’t need to think and lost track of time, and inspirations would “just flow out”. Such a state of total involvement and effortless concentration is called “flow”. 1.. It is accompanied by physical changes such as deepened breathing and slow heart beats.
The benefits of being in the flow state stretch beyond the experience itself. Flow is associated with subjective happiness, satisfaction with life and inner peace. At work, it’s linked to productivity, motivation and responsibility. 2.. In fact, we all can experience flow whenever we are fully devoted to our work or hobbies or relationships, in mountains and cities alike. If you don’t experience flow every day, here are ways to trigger (触发) it.
Create best conditions
Avoid noisy environments and opportunities for interruptions. 3., so you’ll need to experiment to find what works best for you.
4.
You need to engage in activities that are meaningful, that you find challenging and for which you have the skills required to come out as winners. The level of difficulty should also be just right — not so easy that you find yourself bored, but not so hard that you get stressed.
Stay highly aware of yourself
Practice staying highly aware of your breath, your presence, your thoughts and your actions, and you will live fully each second of the present and be completely yourself. Gradually the world around melts away and what you are doing becomes worth doing for its own sake. 5..
A. Decide on a proper activity
B. Flow is more than a state of mind
C. Fortunately, flow is not unique to artists
D. Flow is a happy accident when it happens
E. Then you will be already in the flow state before you know it
F. The most desirable environment varies from person to person
G. Take whatever calm you can get, be yourself and the observer of yourself
Imagine you enter a car with no steering wheel, no brake or accelerator pedals ( 踏 板 ). Under a voice-activated command, you say an address. “The fastest route will take us 15.3 minutes. Should I take it?” You say “yes” and you are on your way. The car responds and starts moving all by itself. All you have to do is to sit back and relax.
How strange would it be if, one day in the future, everyone had such a car? No crazy driving, no quarrels, no cutting in; traffic laws would be respected and driving much safer. On the other hand, imagine the cost savings for local police enforcement (强制执行) and town budgets without all those speeding and parking tickets.
A new technology has the potential to change modern society thoroughly. There’s no question that self-driving vehicles could be an enormous benefit. The potential for safer cars means accident statistics would drop: some 94% of road accidents in the U.S. involve human error. Older drivers and visually- or physically-disabled people would gain a new level of freedom. Maintaining safe speeds and being electric, self-driving cars would sharply reduce pollution levels and dependency on non-renewable fuels. Roads would be quieter, people safer.
But we must also consider the impact of the new technology on those who now depend on driving for their living. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in May 2015 there were 505,560 registered school bus drivers. The American Trucking Association lists approximately 3.5 million professional truck drivers in the U.S. The companies developing self-driving vehicles should be partnering with state and federal authorities to offer retraining for this massive workforce, many of whom will be displaced by the new technology.
New technologies will, and should, be developed. This is how society moves forward. However, progress can’t be one-sided. It is necessary for the companies and state agencies involved to consider the moral consequences of these potential changes to build a better future for all.
1.What would be the effect of the wide use of driverless cars?
A. More policemen would inspect the streets.
B. People would never feel angry about the traffic.
C. It would save local governments a lot of money.
D. Traffic regulations would be a thing of the past.
2.How would the elderly and the disabled benefit from driverless cars?
A. They would get rid of air pollution. B. They could enjoy greater mobility.
C. They would suffer no road accidents. D. They could go anywhere they want.
3.What would be the negative effect of driverless cars?
A. The conflict between labor and management would sharpen.
B. Many drivers would have to find new ways of earning a living.
C. Drivers would have a hard time adapting to new road conditions.
D. The gap between various departments of society would be widened.
4.What does the author suggest businesses and the government do?
A. Enable everyone to benefit from new technologies.
B. Keep pace with technological developments.
C. Make new technologies affordable to everyone.
D. Popularize the use of new technologies and devices.
In spring, chickens start laying eggs again, bringing a welcome source of protein at winter’s end. So it’s no surprise that cultures around the world celebrate spring by honoring the egg.
Some traditions are simple, like the red eggs that get baked into Greek Easter breads. Others upgrade the egg into a fancy art, like the heavily jewel-covered “eggs” that were favored by the Russians starting in the 19th century.
One ancient form of egg art is egg painting, which comes to us from Ukraine. For centuries, Ukrainians have been drawing complicated patterns on eggs. Contemporary artists have followed this tradition and adapted the traditional methods to create eggs that speak to the anxieties of our age: Life is precious, and delicate. Eggs are, too.
“There’s something about their delicate nature that crazily appeals to me,” says New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast. Several years ago, she became interested in egg painting and learned the traditional Ukrainian technique to draw her very modern characters. “I’ve broken eggs at every stage of the process — from the very beginning to the very, very end.”
But there’s an appeal in that vulnerability. “There’s part of this sickening horror that I kind of like, the horror of knowing you’re walking on the edge with this, knowing that it could all fall apart at any second.” Chast’s designs, such as a worried man alone in a tiny boat, reflect that delicateness.
Traditional Ukrainian decorated eggs also spoke to those fears. The complex and detailed patterns were believed to offer protection against evil.
Egg painting art, dating back to 300 B.C., was later absorbed into the Christian church. The old symbols, however, still survive. A decorated egg with a bird on it, given to a young married couple, is a wish for children. A decorated egg thrown into the field would be a wish for a good harvest.
1.What do we learn about the decorated “eggs” in Russia?
A. They are shaped like jewel cases. B. They are heavily painted in red.
C. They are favored as a form of art. D. They are valued by the rich.
2.Why have contemporary artists continued the tradition of egg painting?
A. Because eggs serve as a symbol of the coming of spring.
B. Because eggs provide a source of protein in winter’s end.
C. Because eggs provide a unique surface to paint on.
D. Because eggs reflect the anxieties of people today.
3.Which of the following best explains “vulnerability” underlined in paragraph 5?
A. Delicateness. B. Technique. C. Fear. D. Anxiety.
4.What is the main idea of the text?
A. Egg painting art preserves traditional and popular symbols.
B. Different cultures have different ways of honoring the egg.
C. Ukrainian egg painting art appeals to contemporary artists.
D. Egg painting art continues and develops in pace with time.
A math and physics teacher from rural Kenya, who gives away 80% of his monthly income to help the poor, has won a $1 million prize.
Peter Tabichi was awarded the Global Teacher Prize on Sunday. He teaches at a rural Kenyan school in Pwani Village, with only one computer, poor Internet and a student-teacher ratio (比率) of 58:1. Nearly all his students are from poor families, and almost a third of them have no parents or only one parent alive.
Tabichi gets online educational content by visiting Internet cafes and uses it offline in class. He guided the school’s science club, in which students now compete in national and international competitions. The mathematical science team qualified to compete in the INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair this year in Arizona. His students also won an award from the Royal Society of Chemistry after using local plant life to produce electricity.
“This prize does not recognize me but recognizes this great continent’s young people,” Tabichi said. His students face many challenges, including food shortage, drug abuse, teenage pregnancies and young marriages. Yet at the Keriko Mixed Day Secondary School where Tabichi teaches, the number of students has doubled over three years and more of the students are going on to college.
Tabichi was chosen from 10,000 applicants in 180 countries. He accepted the award from actor Hugh Jackman. The annual Global Teacher Prize was first launched in 2014 by Sunny Varkey, founder and chairman of GEMS Education. Now in its fifth year, the Global Teacher Prize is the largest of its kind. The $1 million award is presented to an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to their profession.
1.What do we know about Peter Tabichi?
A. He enjoys a high enough income to help the poor.
B. He makes a difference to many of his students’ life.
C. He does online teaching in Internet cafes sometimes.
D. He helps take care of parentless students’ daily life.
2.What do we know about Peter Tabichi’s students?
A. They solved the problem of electricity supply in Pwani.
B. They are trained to compete for various academic awards.
C. They show great potential with the help of Peter Tabichi.
D. They persuade their friends to go to school together.
3.What does the author intend to do in the last paragraph?
A. Summarize the previous paragraphs.
B. Provide some advice for the readers.
C. Add some background information.
D. Introduce a new topic for discussion.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. A Rural Kenyan Teacher Guides Students in Competitions
B. A Rural Kenyan Teacher Changes Students’ Life Path
C. A Rural Kenyan Teacher Donates Money to the Poor
D. A Rural Kenyan Teacher Is Awarded a $1 Million Prize
