How much sleep is enough?
To stay in good health, some expert in the US say, adults should get seven to eight hours of sleep. Teenager need nine to ten hours. And pre-school children need more than 10 hours of sleep a night.
Experts say the quality(质量) of our sleep becomes poor as we grow older. This happens because the brain unit that controls sleep begins to weaken slowly as we age.
Experts say the change starts in our 30s. By the time we reach our 50s, a person may have lost 50 percent of their ability to have a restful sleep.
These people have trouble failing and staying asleep through the night. From middle age on, these problems only get worse, and they can have a bad effect on their health.
Signs that show you may not be getting enough sleep:
You’re always hungry or you’ve got unwanted weight. If you are in short of sleep, certain chemicals in your body will not work well and tell your brain in time that you have eaten enough.
You have trouble making decisions. Not having enough sleep may make your brain work slower in problem solving.
You have trouble remembering things. Sleep helps prepare the brain for new memories.
Your feeling changes unreasonably. People who don’t sleep well may feel unable to control their feelings.
You are having trouble seeing. If there is a shortage of sleep, you may not be able to see thing as clearly as usual.
How to improve your sleep? Here are a few things people can do to get better sleep.
Health experts say that exercise and avoiding work on computers make people go to sleep more easily. A cool room is also a good choice for sleeping well.
1.What can we learn from the passage?
A.With the help of medicine, we can sleep better.
B.People begin to have sleep problems in their 40s.
C.Teenagers usually need more sleep than adults.
D.Few people have sleep problems in their late years.
2.The underlined word “effect” in the passage is close in meaning to .
A.knowledge B.influence C.excuse D.activity
3.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT a sign that you are not sleeping well?
A.You often get hungry. B.Your eyesight is falling.
C.You have poorer memory. D.You always feel tired.
4.It is possible that the article is taken from .
A.a middle-school textbook B.a scientific report
C.a magazine on health D.an ad in the newspaper
Have you ever been on a student exchange program? How useful was it? We asked three people for their opinions.
Ellen
I spent 8 days in Germany when I was studying for my Level A. I went to school every day, and spent the evenings with a family. It was great because I had to speak German all the time. However, the most useful thing was that I was paying more attention to communicating in the language, instead of speaking perfectly correct German. I was really glad that people could understand what I was saying. I’d certainly introduce it to other students studying languages.
Frank
I went on an exchange with my class for a week in Japan. Before the exchange, I thought my understanding of grammar was pretty good, but I had much trouble listening and speaking. So, what I thought most meaningful was that I had no choice but to use everyday language skills, rather than the language from books. If I had the opportunity, I’d certainly take part in another language exchange.
Alice
I took part in a French exchange. It lasted two weeks and I stayed with my exchange family in a small town just outside Paris. I’m quite a shy person, so in the first few days, I was kind of nervous, but then it was fine. I love French and my French has always been good. But the exchange really helped develop my speaking skills, and made me a much more confident person. It felt great to be able to talk with French people. I also found that everyone who took part in the exchange did a lot better in their end-of-year exams.
1.How long did Frank stay in Japan?
A.A week B.Eight days. C.Two weeks. D.Half a year.
2.What did Alice think about her exchange?
A.It developed her listening skills. B.It made her more confident.
C.It taught her exam skills. D.It took too much of her time.
3.All three people would most likely describe their exchange as .
A.tiring B.exciting C.boring D.helpful
4.Who will be interested in the passage above?
A.Students who are learning a foreign language.
B.Students who want to work as teachers later.
C.Students who are interested in traveling abroad.
D.Students who are not doing well in their studies.
It was the final game for my eight-year-old son’s soccer team. Near the end of the match, the score was two to one, my son's team being ahead. Parents surrounded the playground, offering _________.
There were less than ten seconds_________and the ball stopped in front of my son's teammate, Mickey. With cheering shouts_________the field, Mickey went back a little and kick the ball with everything he had. All around me the crowd became crazy and _______.Mickey had___________
Then there was a complete_________.Mickey had scored, but in the wrong gate, the_________went into the gate of my son’s team, ending the game in a draw(平局). You see, Mickey has a serious_________in his head, which makes his IQ lower than that of normal children of the same age. And for him, he didn’t understand what a wrong goal was. All goals were_________by a happy hug from Mickey. He had been known to hug the players whom he was fighting against when they scored.
The silence was__________broken when Mickey, his face________with joy, caught my son, hugged him and shouted,“I scored! I scored. Everybody won! Everybody won!”For a moment I held my breath, not sure how my son would do or say. In fact, I didn’t __________to worry at that time. I watched through tears. When I found my son raised his hand and started call out__________,“Well done, Mickey!” Soon, members from both teams got around Mickey, __________him on his goal．
Later that night, when my daughter asked __________ had won, “Everybody won”. I smiled and replied.
1.A.encouragement B.instruction C.management D.competition
2.A.useful B.alive C.gone D.left
3.A.between B.against C.across D.past
4.A.excited B.interested C.surprised D.embarrassed
5.A.checked B.scored C.returned D.tired
6.A.independence B.victory C.silence D.relation
7.A.ball B.guide C.player D.crowd
8.A.idea B.mistake C.illness D.sense
9.A.wasted B.celebrated C.remembered D.reminded
10.A.partly B.seriously C.deeply D.finally
11.A.covered B.filled C.appeared D.shared
12.A.choose B.forget C.mean D.need
13.A.strongly B.softly C.wildly D.privately
14.A.pushing B.complaining C.interviewing D.congratulating
15.A.who B.which C.when D.where
—How do you find the TV play In the Name of People?
—___________.
A.Just a minute B.That’s right C.By chance D.It’s fantastic
We'd better when he is thinking, as he prefers to solve problems on his own.
A. let him down
B. cheer him up
C. leave him alone
D. ring him up
The program has helped out thousands of homeless children since the government ________it
A.starts B.had started C.will start D.started
