You can’t see your sleeping pets brain waves, but its behavior can tell you when your cat might be dreaming. If you watch closely, you’ll see that as she falls asleep, her breathing becomes slow and regular with her body still. She has entered the first stage of sleep, called slow-wave sleep. After about 15 minutes you’ll notice a change in her breathing. Her eyes move under her closed lids, her paws twitch (抽动) and she flicks (尤指用手指或手快速地轻抚) an ear. She has entered dreaming. Although she twitches and makes little grunting (嘟嘟) noises, messages from her brain to the large muscles in her legs are blocked, so she can’t run about. She is in a state of “sleep paralysis (麻痹)”.
Michel Jouvet, a French scientist, interrupted their sleep paralysis. Even though they were completely asleep, the dreaming cats began to run for balls that Jouvet couldn’t see and arched (弓起) their backs at unseen enemies. He figures he was watching them act out their dreams! Obviously, the dreaming cats seemed to be practising important cat skills: following, pouncing (猛扑), and fighting.
In another study, Matt Wilson recorded rats brain waves while they learned mazes (迷宫). One day, he left the brain-wave-recording machine on while the rats fell asleep. The pattern of brain waves in the sleeping rats matched the pattern from the maze so closely that Wilson could figure out exactly which part of the maze each rat was dreaming about!
Many researchers now think that in both people and animals, one purpose of dreams is to practise important skills and figure out recent caning. This may explain why so many people dream about fighting and escaping, skills that were probably important to our ancestors, and why dreaming affects our ability to learn.
Do all animals dream? From looking at the brain waves of sleeping animals. How often animals dream seems to be tied to body size. Cats dream about every 15 minutes, mice every 9 minutes, and elephants every 2 hours. And though cows and horses usually sleep standing up, they only dream when lying down.
1.What does Michel Jouvet find in his study?
A. The dreaming cats are in a state of body paralysis.
B. The dreaming cats often practise their important skills.
C. The eyes of dreaming cats moved while bodies are still.
D. The muscles of the dreaming cats are blocked to move.
2.What can you know about dreaming from the passage?
A. Dreaming a lot can help humans learn more.
B. Learning mazes is the basic skill for cats to learn.
C. Rats often dreams to make certain their recent learning
D. Fighting and escaping are not important skills for ancestors.
3.Which animal may dream most frequently?
A. Rats. B. Dogs.
C. Cows. D. Elephants
4.How does the author develop his passage?
A. By making comparisons. B. By using figures
C. By telling stories D. By showing facts
When the tornado (龙卷风) passed, Lewis returned to her house after that awful night, and the Bible was the first thing she looked for. She had bought it 35 years earlier, at the start of her marriage. Like many folks, she’d used it to preserve the family’s history: decades-old photos, newspaper obituaries (讣告) of loved ones, a handkerchief from her great-grandmother, even a piece of a scarf her uncle bad brought back from the Korean War.
The Bible was not where she d last seen it, on top of an antique dresser in her bedroom. The only thing left was the solid pieces of marble that had been on the top of the furniture. After an hour of searching, one of the volunteers ran up to her and found the bible while clearing through ruins. She had tears streaming down her cheeks. It had flown about ten feet from the dresser. Surprisingly, while many books had been destroyed beyond recognition, the Bible was still intact, even though it had sat in the rain for days. “It was a miracle,” says Lewis.
A few of the Bible’s treasures did go missing. Yet ever so slowly, they, too, began reappearing in Lewis’s life. Days after the Bible was found, volunteers discovered one of the newspaper obituaries outside the home. Two weeks later, a neighbor found another newspaper clipping (剪辑) by her house. “It was a shock,” say Lewis.
Now the Bible already has its well-deserved place of honor, on the dresser. She knows that while every good book tells stories of disastrous weather and unlikely survival, this one actually lived it.
1.Why was the Bible the first thing to look for?
A. It is a book telling good stories.
B. It was a valuable gift for her marriage.
C. It records her family’s trees and history.
D. It keeps things recalling family’s stories.
2.What does the underlined word “intact” probably mean?
A. Unfolded B. New
C. Undamaged D. fragile
3.What is the best title for tie text?
A. The Bible Beats a Tornado.
B. The Bible Blesses Lewis’ Family
C. Antique Treasures Are Never Gone.
D. Family Treasures Are Along With Us.
Bright Side did some research on many places throughout the world where you can buy a house for 1 dollar or for free!
Roubaix, France
If you like France, Roubaix located in the north of France is just for you. The local authorities want it to be populated and attractive. You can buy a small house in the industrial district for just $1. The buyer is supposed to live in this house for 3 years.
Buffalo. USA
Buffalo offers whoever qualifies to buy a house for $1. All you need is to be a lawful citizen of the city and invest amount of money into its decoration. Doing this, the authorities are hoping to make the city beautiful again without spending money.
Liverpool, Great Britain
In Liverpool, most of houses were abandoned by the working class during the years of unemployment. The government is trying to sell the houses for just $1. If you want to buy such a house, it has to be your first deal on buying property (不动产).
Candela, Italy
If you still have any doubts about spending SI on a house, you should know: the government will pay you some money, if you move to Candela. In order to be paid, you need to become a permanent citizen and have an income of $7500 per year. If moving a, ne, you will get S800, and if you are going with your family, the pay can be four times as much as only one person.
For more information of other cities, please Click Here.
1.Why do the authorities of Buffalo provide a house for people with 1$?
A. To improve the lives of poor people.
B. To make the city attractive at no cost.
C. To solve the problems of employment.
D. To attract people to the industrial areas.
2.What is required to buy a house for 1 dollar in Liverpool?
A. You need to be an unemployed citizen.
B. You should live in the house for 3 years.
C. You must make the first house purchase.
D. You have to repair and decorate the house.
3.How much money can you get if moving to Candela with a whole family?
A. $3200 B. $1
C. $800 D. $7500
4.Where does this passage come from?
A. a textbook. B. a magazine.
C. the Internet. D. an announcement.
假设你是晨光中学学生李津，你的美国朋友Chris从某网站得知中国外交部在4月16日为天津举办了主题为“新时代的中国：活力天津，走向世界”全球推介活动，希望你能介绍相关情况。为了让Chris更好的了解天津，请根据以下提示给他写一封电子邮件。
（1）简单介绍“外交部天津全球推介活动”引起的反响；
（2）介绍天津风景名胜和丰富多彩的历史文化；
（3）希望他有机会来访天津。
参考词汇：中国外交部MFA
Dear Chris,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Jin
阅读短文，并按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
After we all came to the conclusion that our family could responsibly care for a dog, my husband and I started our search at a local animal shelter.
We discovered a medium-sized male dog named Duke. This dog was approximately only two years old and seemed to have the sweetest character. He looked at us through intelligent eyes and already knew how to fetch a ball. My husband and I immediately adopted him Duke quickly fit into our family's lifestyle . And he quickly learned the tricks like “sit”，“stay”，and “come”.
But there was one skill that Duke could not seem to grasp — that of a watchdog. My husband was trying to teach him to remind us by giving a single warning bark when someone came into the yard. Duke would listen carefully to my husband's commands, but would cock (竖起) his head to one side in confusion and disappointment as if to tell his master that he just didn't understand what my husband was asking him to do. My husband would give his “watch” command. Duke would stand up -- muscles tightened in readiness, but would not have a clue as to what he was in readiness for.
One morning we heard the garbage collectors come up the driveway to get our garbage. My husband went to the open bedroom window so Duke could hear and see the men through the screen .
“Watch!” my husband commanded. Duke rose up in readiness, looked at my husband as sudden comprehension dawned on him, gave a quick tail wave, and leaped through the window screen, jumping happily out to greet the garbage men.
Seeing that, I couldn't help laughing. My laughter did nothing for my husband's mood when he found what was happening and he just went away to repair the screen with no expression on his face.
Duke brought our family so much fun. We never scolded or beat him. He was one of our family members.
1.What was Duke like when the author adopted him? (no more than l0 words)
2.What did Duck learn after being adopted by the author's family? (no more than 15 words)
3.What is the meaning of the underlined part in Paragraph 5? (no more than 10 words)
4.How did the author and her husband feel about Duke's leaping through the window? (no more than 10 words)
5.How do you think people should treat their pets? (no more than 20 words)
Albert Einsein said，“Only a life lived for others is worth living.”
How does this job offer sound? You’ll need to be available on short notice，including late at night and on weekends. You could be asked to do anything from helping at community events to responding to life-threatening emergencies (sometimes putting your own safety at risk). This job also involves a lot of regular training. Oh, and you won't be paid for any of this. Would you take the job?
This job might not necessarily appeal to everyone, but if this sounds like an opportunity you’d eagerly accept，then you’d fit right in with Western Australia’s 26,000 emergency service volunteers. The emergency services aren't the only industry benefiting from volunteers. Across both Australia and America, between a quarter and half of the population volunteer each year in areas including education, sports, health, religion, and social services.
What motivates people to volunteer? Yes, volunteers don't get paid. But it doesn't mean people don't get benefits from volunteering. Indeed, research shows there are significant mental health benefits coming with volunteering. It can be a means to make new friends, build new skills or try things out of your comfort zone. It can also be a means to help loved ones. A case is someone close to me who recently lost her husband to a disease. When her husband was admitted to a nursing facility, she decided to volunteer for the patient advocacy committee. She found great support and felt she could make a difference in the lives of the patients. After her husband's passing, she decided to continue volunteering for the committee not only as a way to show gratitude for the great care her husband received but also because she made friends there. She found a way to put her career skills to use for the common good and keep active after retirement.
There are countless ways to volunteer. No matter how you do it, it is definitely worth every minute you put into it.
1.If we are committed to “this job” described in Para. 2, we are _______.
A. always in danger of losing our lives
B. on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
C. busy providing first-aid training in communities
D. going to work on weekends and rest on weekdays
2.What does the author mainly tell us in the third paragraph?
A. Not everyone is fit to be a volunteer.
B. Many industries in the world need volunteers.
C. Many emergency services exist in Western Australia.
D. Many people devote themselves to volunteering in Australia and America.
3.We can come to the conclusion that volunteering _______.
A. is a win-win situation
B. benefits both the body and the mind
C. spreads quickly among people
D. is hard to stick to without rewards
4.The author's friend kept volunteering after her husband's death _________.
A. for her interest to learn career skills
B. to stay helpful and related to people
C. as a means to get over her great loss
D. because it was her husband's last will
5.What is the author's purpose in writing this passage?
A. To encourage volunteering.
B. To advertise a job opportunity.
C. To express gratitude to volunteers.
D. To give advice on volunteering.
