You’re lost in the world of dreams and sleep. You roll over, smiling as you come across a swimming pool filled with chocolate. And then, your wonderful dream becomes a nightmare when someone is screaming, “Get up!” It’s just what every teenager goes through each morning!

Now, there seems to be one school that finally understands that requiring teens to show up at 9 am is not just cruel but also harmful to both the kids and the school.

The Monkseaton High School in North Tyneside, Britain, recently decided to experiment to see if there is any difference in student behavior if they just pushed back the start of their day by one hour, from 9 am to 10 am. And the results are surprising.

Since carrying out the later start, Monkseaton has seen a 28% drop in truancy, even hardly any lateness, and best of all, higher test scores. One of the reasons is that the teenagers are much happier to have the extra hour of sleep, but there is also a scientific reason behind why they need the extra sleep.

The school’s decision to push back the time was based on the research done by Oxford Professor Russell Foster, who pointed out that teenagers and adults have different sleep cycles, explaining why teenagers go to bed late and wake up late.

While adults are wide awake and ready at 8 am, teenagers are not fully awake until 10 am, sometimes even noon. Teachers may argue that their students perform better in the morning, but in fact, it is because they are in the zone while their students are still sleepy, making the students easier to control. Memory tests prove that the more difficult classes should be in the afternoon when teenagers are most wide awake.

The Monkseaton school officials are encouraged by the results and plan on voting to make it a permanent change.

What’s the best title of this passage?

       A. Get up early, teenagers!

       B. Finally, a school understands teenagers.

       C. Why do teenagers stay up late?

       D. Difference between teens and adults.

What’s the meaning of the underlined word “truancy”?

       A. grades                      B. subject       s                    C. absence                    D. classes

What can we learn from the passage?

       A. Teenagers and adults have the same sleep cycle.

       B. Teenagers are fully awake at 10 am.

       C. Teenagers are much happier to sleep than study.

       D. Teenagers need the extra sleep also for a scientific reason.

Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. The Monkseaton school is satisfied with the result of experiments.

       B. It is cruel for the teenagers to show up at 9 am.

       C. The Monkseaton school plans to change the school time forever.

       D. Teenagers perform better in the morning than in the afternoon.

The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare’s time is estimated(估计) to have been about five million. Today it is estimated that some 260 million people speak it as a native language, mainly in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas, there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and written forms.

In fact, it is impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate(足够的) working knowledge of English in addition to their own languages. The purpose for English learning and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to explain and still more difficult to judge what forms an adequate working knowledge for each situation.

The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present-day importance as a world language. Besides serving the indefinite needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers. It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications, international conferences, and the spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations. It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies. Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, commerce, industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West.

1.What would be the best title for this passage?

A.The Difficulties of Learning English

B.International Communications

C.The Standard Varieties of English

D.English as a World Language

2.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A.Some 260 million people in the world have an adequate working knowledge of English.

B.There are some 260 million native speakers of English in the world.

C.It is almost impossible to estimate the number of people with an adequate working knowledge of English.

D.People learn English for a variety of reasons.

3.According to the passage, what is the main reason for the widespread use of English?

A.It was popular during Shakespeare’s time.

B.It is used in former British colonies.

C.It serves the needs of its native speakers.

D.It is a world language that is used for international communication.

4.What forms an adequate working knowledge of English?

A.The ability to read a newspaper.

 

B.It is difficult to judge because it differs for each situation.

 

C.Being able to speak several languages.

D.Being a native speaker.

5.What type of developing countries would be most likely to use English?

A.Those geographically close to the United States.

B.Those interested in the culture of the United States.

C.Former colonies of Great Britain.

D.Countries where international conferences are held.

6.C。细节题。根据文章最后一段倒数第2句可推知此题

As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art of relaxation. Once you are in the habit of rushing through lift, being on the go from morning till night, it is hard to slow down. But relaxation is essential for a healthy mind and body.

Stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it. In fact, it is not the bad thing it is often supposed to be. A certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and give purpose to life. It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health.

The amount of stress a person can withstand depends very much on the individual. Some people are not afraid of stress, and such characters are obviously prime material for managerial responsibilities. Others lose heart at the first signs of unusual difficulties. When exposed to stress, in whatever form, we react both chemically and physically. In fact we make choice between "fight" or "flight" and in more primitive days the choice made the difference between life or death. The crises we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme, but however little the stress is, it involves the same response. It is when such a reaction lasts long, through continued exposure to stress, that health becomes endangered. Such serious conditions as high blood pressure and heart disease have established links with stress. Since we cannot remove stress from our lives (it would be unwise to do so even if we could), we need to find ways to deal with it.                                                              

1.People are finding less and less time for relaxing themselves because_____.                                                 

    A.they do not know how to enjoy themselves

    B.they do not believe that relaxation is important for health

    C.they are travelling fast all the time

    D.they are becoming busier with their work

2.According to the writer, the most important character for a good manager is his ________.

    A.not fearing stress              B.knowing the art of relaxation

    C.high sense of responsibility    D.having control over performance

3.Which of the following statements is true?

    A.We can find some ways to avoid stress.

    B.Stress is always harmful to people.

    C.It is easy to change the habit of keeping oneself busy with work.

    D.Different people can withstand different amounts of stress.

4.In the last sentence of the passage, "do so " refers to ______.

    A."expose ourselves to stress"

    B."find ways to deal with stress"

    C."remove stress from our lives"

    D."established links between diseases and stress"

 

Who is there among us who hasn’t dreamed of having his or her own small (maybe , several years later , even big )business , and having wonderful freedom , both from a boss and from the time clock ; the freedom to make up our own rules for our work , and our own plans —arranging our own hours of work ? That way work would be both painless and fun. Or, so we imagine.

Well, in fact it isn’t quite as simple as that. Yes , it is true that being the boss has its satisfactions and that you can arrange your working hours freely if you own your own small business . But in those early years of starting your own business, you shouldn’t think of a free day, not to mention flying off for a month’s vacation. It is not unusual for new business owners to work seventy or eighty hours a week , and if there is a day off , that day might need to be devoted to accounting (算账).

But this negative picture doesn’t destroy the beautiful hopes. The possibility of getting something wonderful in return—both material and mental—continues to drive that large number of people who start up small businesses each year in the United States.

1.From the first paragraph, we know that everybody hopes  ________ .

A.to rule others

B.to be his or her own boss

C.to get a time clock

D.to be free from work

2.Most new business owners have to  ________  .

A.work more than 10 hours a day

B.devote himself to accounting

C.fly to some places in the world

D.have a day off in a week

3.The expression “negative picture” most probably means “  ________ “.

A.a terrible experience

B.a poor picture

C.limited freedom

D.unpleasant situations

4.The beautiful hopes will never be destroyed because  ________ .

A.people love beautiful things by nature

B.people have a strong desire to seek personal gains

C.small businesses make big money each year in the US

D.small businesses have advantages over big companies

 

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