Have you winterized your horse yet? Even though global warming may have made our climate more mild, many animals are still hibernating(冬眠) .It’s too bad that humans can’t hibernate. In fact, as a species, we almost did.

Apparently, at times in the past , peasants in France liked a semi-state of human hibernation . So writes Graham Robb, a British scholar who has studied the sleeping habits of the French peasants. As soon as the weather turned cold people all over France shut themselves away and practiced the forgotten art of doing nothing at all for months on end.

In line with this, Jeff Warren, a producer at CBC Radio’s The Current, tells us that the way we sleep has changed fundamentally since the invention of artificial(人造的) lighting and the electric bulb.

When historians began studying texts of the Middle Ages, they noticed something referred to as “first sleep”, which was not clarified, though.  Now scientists are telling us our ancestors most likely slept in separate periods. The business of eight hours’ uninterrupted sleep is a modern invention.

In the past , without the artificial light of the city to bathe in, humans went to sleep when it became dark and then woke themselves around midnight. The late night period was known as ”The Watch” It was when people actually kept watch against wild animals ,although many of them simply moved around or visited family and neighbours .

According to some sleep researchers, a short period of insomnia(失眠) at midnight is not a disorder .It is normal . Humans can experience another state of consciousness  around their sleeping, which occurs in the brief period before we fall asleep or wake ourselves in the morning .This period can be an extraordinarily creative time for some people .The impressive inventor, Thomas Edison , used this state to hit upon many of his new ideas.

Playing with your sleep rhythms can be adventurous  ,as anxiety may set in. Medical science doesn’t help much in this case. It offers us medicines for a full night’s continuous sleep, which sounds natural ; however, according to Warren’s theory,it is really the opposite of what we need.

67.The example of the French peasants shows the fact that________.

  A. people might become lazy as a result of too much sleep

  B. there were signs of hibernation in human sleeping habits

  C.people tended to sleep more peacefully in cold weather

  D. winter was a season for people to sleep for months on end

68. The late night was called “The Watch”because it was a time for people______.

  A. to set traps to catch animals

  B. to wake up their family and neighbours

  C. to remind others of the time

  D.to guard against possible dangers

69. What does the author advise people to do ?

  A. Sleep in the way animals do.

  B.Consult a doctor if they can’t sleep.

  C.Follow their natural sleep rhythm.

  D.Keep to the eight-hour sleep pattern.

70.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A.To give a prescription for insomnia.

B.To urge people to sleep less.

C.To analyze the sleep pattern of modern people.

D.To throw new light on human sleep.

The Same Story, Different Reports

Belton and Canfield are two seashore towns, not far apart. Both towns have many hotels, and in summer the hotels are full of holiday- makers and other tourists(观光者).

Last August there was a fire at the Sea breeze Hotel in Belton. The next day, this news appeared on page two of the town’s newspaper, The Belton Post:

FIRE AT SEABREEZE

Late last night firemen hurried to the Sea breeze Hotel and quickly put out a small fire in a bedroom. The hotel manager said that a cigarette started the fire. We say again to all our visitors: “Please don’t smoke cigarettes in bed.” This was Belton’s first hotel fire for five years.

The Canfield Times gave the news in these words on page one.

ANOTHER BELDON HOTEL CATCHES FIRE

Last night Belton firemen arrived just too late to save clothing, bedclothes and some furniture at the Sea breeze Hotel. An angry holiday-maker said, “An electric lamp probably started the fire. The bedroom lamps are very old at some of these hotels. When I put my bedside light on, I heard a funny noise from the lamp.” We are glad to tell our readers that this sort of adventure does not happen in Canfield.

What are the facts, then? It is never easy to find out the exact truth about an accident. There was a fire at the Sea breeze Hotel last August: that is one fact. Do we know anything else? Yes—we know that firemen went to the hotel.

Now what do you think of the rest of the “news”?

Which of the following best gives the main idea of this text?

A. Belton and Canfield are both good places for tourists in summer.

B. A fire broke out one night in Sea breeze Hotel last summer.

C. It was not easy to find out exact truth from newspapers.

D. Two newspapers gave reports on the same matter.

Which of the following are probably facts?

a. The fire broke out in a bedroom at the hotel.

b. A cigarette started the fire.

c. An old lamp started the fire.

d. The fire broke out at night.

e. There has never been a fire in Canfield.

A. b and c      B. a and d

C. c and e       D. a and c

The Canfield Times used the headline (标题) like this in order to make its readers think _______.

A. hotels in Belton often catch fire

B. hotels in Belton don’t often catch fire

C. this was the second fire at the Sea breeze Hotel

D. Belton was a good place except that hotels there are not quite safe

The Canfield newspaper gave a report just the opposite to the Belton Post by saying that _______.

A. the bedroom lamps were very old at the Sea breeze Hotel

B. the bedroom lights made funny noise when the fire took place

C. the firemen failed to save clothing, bedclothes and other things

D. such accidents never happened in Canfield for the past 5 years


The concept of solar power satellites, or SPS, first put forward in the 1960s, is still not widely known by the general public. For example, at many public exhibitions about energy, SPS is not even mentioned. This is mainly because very little money has been spent on SPS research
There are people who claim that SPS is unrealistic - because launch costs are much too high today; or because it is too far away. So why do we believe that it is important to continue to do researches on SPS? The reason is very simple.
Humans are going to need huge amounts of electric power in coming decades. Within 50 years the world population is expected to double, while economic growth will continue around the world, especially in the poorer countries. But existing energy sources already face serious problems. They are limited; they are polluted; they are dangerous. So 50 or 100 years from now, where is our power going to come from? Nobody knows. And so we believe that new large-scale possibilities should be studied further.
We must remember that humans have some choices concerning our future. To some extent we can choose the direction in which our civilization develops. And choices that are made in the coming decades - such as the energy sources that we will or will not use, will have major, long-term meaning for human life on earth. We believe that if research continues to show that SPS is environmentally and economically attractive, SPS will open the door to a much more attractive future for human civilization than any ground-based energy source, and one that the public will support and that young people will find challenging and exciting. Furthermore energy from SPS can be readily used in developing countries, as the SPS 2000 project will show, thus aiding economic development worldwide. In addition, by creating large commercial fund for space engineering, SPS will open the frontier of space to economic development, thus creating a limitless new field for the growth of the world economy.
【小题1】Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?

A.The Future Energy- SPSB.The Concept of SPS
C.Humans and SPSD.Advantages of SPS
【小题2】Which of the following statements about SPS is TRUE?
A.The research on SPS started in the 1960s is still not appreciated by the public.
B.The research is showing SPS can benefit environment and economy at present.
C.The energy from SPS is now being used in some developing countries.
D.The public don’t know about SPS because little time is devoted to the research.
【小题3】Paragraph 3 mainly talks about ______.
A.the present serious energy problems
B.where to get energy sources in the future
C.the importance of controlling world population
D.the need to explore new energy sources
【小题4】The writer’s attitude towards the research can best be summarized by the saying “______”.
A.In time of peace prepare for war
B.Put the cart before the horse
C.One man’s meat is another man’s poison
D.Easier said than done

.

第三部分阅读理解 (共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)

请认真阅读下列短文,从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Why You Should Celebrate Your Mistakes

When you make a mistake, big or small, cherish (珍视) it like it’s the most precious thing in the world. Because in some ways, it is.

Most of us feel bad when we make mistakes, beat ourselves up about it, feel like failures, get mad at ourselves.

And that’s only natural: most of us have been taught from a young age that mistakes are bad, that we should try to avoid mistakes. We’ve been scolded when we make mistakes—at home, school and work. Maybe not always, but probably enough times to make feeling bad about mistakes an unconscious reaction.

Yet without mistakes, we could not learn or grow. If you think about it that way, mistakes should be cherished and celebrated for being one of the most amazing things in the world: they make learning possible; they make growth and improvement possible.

By trial and error—trying things, making mistakes, and learning from those mistakes—we have figured out how to make electric light, to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, to fly.

Mistakes make walking possible for the smallest toddler, make speech possible, make works of genius possible.

Think about how we learn: we don’t just consume information about something and instantly know it or know how to do it. You don’t just read about painting, or writing, or computer programming, or baking, or playing the piano, and know how to do them right away. Instead, you get information about something, from reading or from another person or from observing usually … then you construct a model in your mind … then you test it out by trying it in the real world … then you make mistakes … then you revise the model based on the results of your real-world experimentation … and repeat, making mistakes, learning from those mistakes, until you’ve pretty much learned how to do something. That’s how we learn as babies and toddlers, and how we learn as adults. Mistakes are how we learn to do something new—because if you succeed at something, it’s probably something you already knew how to do. You haven’t really grown much from that success—at most it’s the last step on your journey, not the whole journey. Most of the journey was made up of mistakes, if it’s a good journey.

So if you value learning, if you value growing and improving, then you should value mistakes. They are amazing things that make a world of brilliance possible.

56. Why do most of us feel bad about making mistakes?

A. Because mistakes make us suffer a lot.

B. Because it’s a natural part in our life.

C. Because we’ve been taught so from a young age.

D. Because mistakes have ruined many people’s careers.

57. According to the passage, what is the right attitude to mistakes?

A. We should try to avoid making mistakes.

B. We should owe great inventions mainly to mistakes.

C. We should treat mistakes as good chances to learn.

D. We should make feeling bad about mistakes an unconscious reaction.

58. The underlined word “toddler” in Paragraph Six probably means _______.

A. a small child learning to walk             B. a kindergarten child learning to draw

C. a primary pupil learning to read                     D. a school teenager learning to write

59. We can learn from the passage that _______.

A. most of us can really grow from success

B. growing and improving are based on mistakes

C. mistakes are the most precious things in the world 

D. we read about something and know how to do it right away

 

During the twentieth century, cars, electric lights, space travel and amazing advances in medicine changed people’s lives. So what might this new century bring? There are hundreds of predictions flying around — let’s have a light-hearted look at some of them.

In a recent UK survey, teenagers were asked to make predictions about the year 2020. One of the most common predictions was that school uniforms won’t be around. They also predicted that both girls and boys will wear make-up more often, and more than 75% of men will wear skirts regularly. My dad is 65 next Saturday — I think I’ll buy him a skirt as a birthday present and tell him he’ll soon be in fashion!

Other predictions involve changing roles of men and women. By 2017, some people say that single men of working age will form more than 10% of all families. It is also predicted that washing powder advertisements will include more men because more of them will do housework. I’ll tell that to my husband when he gets home and see how keen he is to wash the dishes!

Many predictions are about crime and safety problems. Some people think that crime will improve and the world will become a more peaceful place. Others believe that crime is going to worsen and that people will stay at home becoming completely dependent on the Internet for shopping and work. It is also predicted that you will need an electronic card to get into parks as parents demand safe play areas for their children. This is old news for me --- our local government is going to introduce one this summer.

Technology is predicted to play an even more important role in our lives in the future. Some parents might have cameras at home so they can keep an eye on their children while they are out. Quick, kids, turn off the TV and do your homework!

Here’s another prediction. Researchers have concluded that cultural activity may add years to your life. The cinema, theatre and concerts may give us a longer life because they encourage strong feelings. Well, we’re watching Bridget Jones’ Diary this Friday night. Will that help us live longer?

Let’s finish up with my favourite prediction. In the future, elderly people are going to make up a larger proportion of the world’s population than ever before. In Britain, an estimated 100,000 people now in their thirties may live to be 100. And that includes me! I’ll have a big, big party, I promise!

1. The writer’s father ________ .

   A. has just turned sixty-five

   B. wears skirts

   C. is very fashionable

   D. is about to turn sixty-five

2.Why might more men do housework in the future?

   A. Washing powder advertisements suggest it.

   B. Men won’t want to work in offices any more.

   C. Traditional roles of men and women will change.

   D. Women will refuse to wash the dishes.

3.According to the passage, people might ________ , if crime worsens.

   A. need electronic cards to get into their homes

   B. stay at home and depend on the Internet

   C. help to make the world a more peaceful place

   D. work harder and make more money

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

   A. It’s likely that the writer is to live to be 100.

   B. The writer promises that she is going to hold a big, big party soon.

   C. Without an electronic card, you can’t get into a park freely in the future.

   D. The writer holds a positive attitude towards the changes in the new century.

5.From the passage, we may infer that the writer is probably ____ .

   A. a professional news reporter.

   B. a young and attractive sales girl.

   C. a middle-aged British housewife.

   D. a responsible government official.

 

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