Margaret, married with two small children, has been working for the last seven years as a night cleaner, cleaning offices in a big building.
She trained as a nurse, but had to give it up when her elder child became seriously ill. “I would have liked to go back to it, but the shifts(工作班次) are all wrong for me, as I have to be home to get the children up and off to school.”
So she works as a cleaner instead, from 9 p.m. till 6 a.m. five nights a week for just £90, before tax and insurance. “It’s better than it was last year, but I still think that people who work ‘unsocial hours’ should get a bit extra.”
The hours she's chosen to work meant that she sees plenty of the children, but very little of her husband. However, she doesn't think that puts any pressure on their relationship.
Her work isn't physically very hard, but it's not exactly pleasant, either. “I do get angry with people who leave their offices like a place for raising pigs. If they realized people like me have to do it, perhaps they'd be a bit more careful.”
The fact that she's working all night doesn't worry Margaret at all. Unlike some dark buildings at night, the building where she works is fully lit, and the women work in groups of three. “Since I've got to be here, I try to enjoy myself——and I usually do, because of the other girls. We all have a good laugh, so the time never drags.”
Another challenge Margaret has to face is the reaction of other people when she tells them what she does for a living. “They think you're a cleaner because you don't know how to read and write,” said Margaret. “I used to think what_my_parents_would_say_if_they_knew_what_I'd_been_doing,_but I don't think that way any more. I don't dislike the work though I can't say I'm mad about it.”
【小题1】Margaret quit her job as a nurse because________

A.she wanted to earn more money to support her family
B.she had suffered a lot of mental pressure
C.she felt tired of taking care of patients
D.she needed the right time to look after her children
【小题2】Margaret gets angry with people who work in the office because________.
A.they never clean their offices
B.they look down upon cleaners
C.they always make a mess in their offices
D.they never do their work carefully
【小题3】When at work, Margaret feels________.
A.Light­hearted because of her fellow workers
B.happy because the building is fully lit
C.tired because of the heavy workload
D.bored because time passed slowly
【小题4】The underlined part in the last paragraph implies that Margaret's parents would________.
A.help care for her children
B.regret what they had said
C.show sympathy for her
D.feel disappointed in her

Tears came into this mother’s eyes when she talked about waking up her son. Every morning, her ten-year-old boy puts up one finger with his eyes still closed, begging for one more minute to sleep.

Why is he so sleepy? Because, like thousands of student “early birds” in China, he has to get up before 6 a.m. every morning.

School students usually need eight to ten hours’ sleep a night. But in Shanghai, it’s reported that 90% of the students do not get enough sleep. And studies show that without a good night’s sleep, students seem to be weaker than they should be. Many become near-sighted as a result.

Li Ming, a student at Qinghua High School, said that he usually goes to bed after 11 p.m. But when he has exams coming up, he can stay up as late as midnight. This “night bird” lifestyle has made many students nod off in class. Li Ming said that it is during afternoon classes that he feel most sleepy. “My parents are usually happy to see me studying so late,” he said. “They think I work very hard and they make me cups of coffee.”

However, not all parents are happy about this. “My daughter gets up so early. She looks tired and it really hurts me.” said one of the parents. Why don’t so many students get enough sleep? Now many members of society began to think about it.

1.Why did the ten-year-old boy’s mother talk about waking up her son with tears in her eyes?

A. Because her son’s lack of sleep hurt her but she had to wake him up.

B. Because her son wasn’t good at lessons.

C. Because she thought her son was too lazy.

D. Because her son was badly ill.

2.Which is NOT the result of lack of sleep?

A. The body’s weakness.                              B. Nodding off in class.

C. Near-sighted eyes.                                D. Poor academic developments.

3.How does Li Ming’s mother feel to see him studying late?

A. Sorry.               B. Worried.        C. Not unhappy.            D. Angry.

4.Which one is True according to the passage?

A. All the parents hope their children stay up.

B. No students complain about their lack of sleep.

C. Most students watch TV or play computer games deep into night.

D. Some parents are worried about the fact that most of the students don’t have enough sleep.

 

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