A man bought a donkey at the market one day and took him home. Now the man owned several donkeys already and he knew each one’s character very well. One of the donkeys was very strong and brave. Another always wanted to make people happy by working quickly but soon got tired. One donkey was very lazy. He hated going to work in the morning and he did as little as he       possibly could all day long. When the other animals were being loaded up(装载), he always tried to be the last so that he would get the lightest load.
The man led the new donkey into the yard. For a moment the new donkey stood sniffing(闻，嗅) at his new friends. Then, without hesitation, he came up to the lazy donkey and began eating comfortably at his side.
Though it was late in the day, the man immediately led the new donkey out of the yard, straight back to the market.
“You can’t have given him a fair trial yet,” said the seller, “It is only ten minutes since you bought him.”
“I don’t need to try him any more,” replied the man, “I know just what he is like from the friend he chose for himself. Take him away and give me my money back. I can do without donkeys like him.”
【小题1】Why did the man buy a new donkey in the market?

A student newspaper reports that most students go to sleep at 1:30 am. Even if that’s an overstatement (夸张), it’s close to the truth. Scientists say teens should sleep nine hours each night. But that’s hard. Some are even “pulling all-nighters” (开夜车). These students must hand in their homework the next day but they haven’t done it. In the morning they don’t look healthy and you can tell who’s been doing it. One of my classmates did a survey on the topic. She found that most kids pull all-nighters to finish homework, but some do it for other reasons, such as playing computer games!
Maybe our lack(缺乏) of sleep is because of laziness — I think I’m a rather lazy student — or maybe it’s because we have too much to do in American high schools. I usually go to bed around midnight. If I stayed up past 1:30 am, I wouldn’t get any work done. I’d be falling asleep at my computer. My classes begin at 7:30 am. I’m partly awake in my first class. By the second, I’m a little sleepy. By my third class, I’m sleepy. By midday I’m finally fully awake. But by 3:00 pm, I’m slowing down again. Yet I get more sleep than usual students.
Most American high schools seem to have a similar(相似的) problem with sleepy students. High school classes start at 7:30 am, so students have to get up one and a half hours before that to get ready and catch the bus. It’s believed that lack of sleep can be bad for both grades and health. Some schools are paying attention. Classes in those schools start at 8:30 am.
【小题1】What does the underlined sentence “it’s close to the truth” mean?

A student newspaper reports that most students go to sleep at 1:30 am. Even if that’s an overstatement (夸张), it’s close to the truth. Scientists say teens should sleep nine hours each night. But that’s hard. Some are even “pulling all-nighters” (开夜车). These students must hand in their homework the next day but they haven’t done it. In the morning they don’t look healthy and you can tell who’s been doing it. One of my classmates did a survey on the topic. She found that most kids pull all-nighters to finish homework, but some do it for other reasons, such as playing computer games!

    Maybe our lack(缺乏) of sleep is because of laziness — I think I’m a rather lazy student — or maybe it’s because we have too much to do in American high schools. I usually go to bed around midnight. If I stayed up past 1:30 am, I wouldn’t get any work done. I’d be falling asleep at my computer. My classes begin at 7:30 am. I’m partly awake in my first class. By the second, I’m a little sleepy. By my third class, I’m sleepy. By midday I’m finally fully awake. But by 3:00 pm, I’m slowing down again. Yet I get more sleep than usual students.

    Most American high schools seem to have a similar(相似的) problem with sleepy students. High school classes start at 7:30 am, so students have to get up one and a half hours before that to get ready and catch the bus. It’s believed that lack of sleep can be bad for both grades and health. Some schools are paying attention. Classes in those schools start at 8:30 am.

1.What does the underlined sentence “it’s close to the truth” mean?

A. It doesn’t tell the truth.         B. It is quite true.

C. It is impossible.              D. I don’t think it’s right.

2.Why do most of the teens have to stay up late?

A. They play computer games.             B. They watch videos late.

C. They have to do a lot of housework.      D. They have to do a lot of homework.

3.When do students in most American high schools have to get up?

A. At 7:30 am.     B. At 6:00 am.    C. At 9:00 am.    D. At about 7:00 am.

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the reading?

A. The writer usually stays up past 1:30 am.

B. The writer usually goes to bed around midnight.

C. The writer usually does a survey.

D. Many American students don’t get enough sleep, so they can have high grades.

5.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. Something has to be done to solve the problem of students’ lack of sleep.

B. Many American high school students are sleepy in class.

C. Many kids have too much homework to do.

D. Students can’t play computer games.