If you dream in color, you’re not alone: the majority of people today claim to have colorful dreams. But it wasn’t always thus. Research conducted in the early part of the last century consistently found that people reported dreaming most often in black and white.

According to Eva Murzyn at the University of Dundee, there are at least two possible explanations for this strange situation.

The first is the methods used in the researches. The early studies tended to use questionnaires（问卷）, while more modern studies use dream diaries (filled in upon rising in the morning) or so-called “REM-awakening”, which involves interrupting people’s dream-filled periods of sleep to find out what they were dreaming about. People’s memories of their dreams are likely to be less accurate by using the questionnaire approach and they are more likely to reflect their beliefs about the form dreams generally take in an unclear way.

The second explanation has to do with black and white television and film. It's possible that the sudden increase in black and white film and television during the first half of the last century either affected the form of people’s dreams at that time, or affected their beliefs about the form dreams generally take.

According to Murzyn’s findings, it’s the explanation based on media exposure that carries more weight. She used both questionnaire and diary methods to study the dreams of 30 older (average age 64) and 30 younger people (average age 21).

The methodological technique made no difference to the type of dreams people reported. However, the extremely important thing was that, across both questionnaires and diaries, the older participants (who had had significant early life exposure to black and white media) reported experiencing significantly more black and white dreams over the last ten days than the younger participants (22 per cent vs. 4 per cent).

Another finding was that older participants reported black and white dreams and colorful dreams to be of equal clearness. By contrast, the younger participants reported that the quality of black and white dreams was poorer. This raises the possibility that the younger participants didn’t really have any black and white dreams at all, but were simply regarding poorly remembered dreams as black and white.

1.We learn from the text that ______.

       A. people in the first half of the last century never had colorful dreams

       B. older people are more likely to have black and white dreams

       C. the dreams of younger people are always colorful

       D. people today don’t have white and black dreams any more

2.What did Murxyn do to find out the explanations for the colors in people’s dreams?

       A. She applied both questionnaire and diary methods to study people’s dreams.

       B. She used diary methods to record people’s dreams.

       C. She chose 60 people to answer her questions about their dreams.

       D. She woke people up to record the colors of their dreams.

3.What does the underlined expression “carry more weight” in paragraph 5 mean?

       A. be heavier  B. be more powerful      C. be more important     D. be more useful

4.From Murxyn’s findings we can infer that ______.

       A. both older people and younger people could report colorful dreams clearly

       B. young people don’t have any black and white dreams in fact

       C. the color of a person’s dream is decided by one’s age

       D. it is probably the color of media that affects the color of one’s dream

Every year on my birthday, from the time I turned 12, a white gardenia was delivered to my house. No card came with it. Calls to the flower-shop were not helpful at all. After a while I stopped trying to discover the sender’s name and just delighted in the beautiful white flower in soft pink paper.

But I never stopped imagining who the giver might be. Some of my happiest moments were spent daydreaming about the sender. My mother encouraged these imaginings. She’d ask me if there was someone for whom I had done a special kindness. Perhaps it was the old man across the street whose mail I’d delivered during the winter. As a girl, though, I had more fun imagining that it might be a boy I had run into.

One month before my graduation, my father died. I felt so sad that I became completely uninterested in my upcoming graduation dance, and I didn’t care if I had a new dress or not. But my mother, in her own sadness, would not let me miss any of those things. She wanted her children to feel loved and lovable. In truth, my mother wanted her children to see themselves much like the gardenia－lovely, strong and perfect with perhaps a bit of mystery (神秘).

1.My mother died ten days after I was married. I was 22. That was the year the gardenia stopped coming.

Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. A Childhood Dream               B. A Mother’s Love

C. A Graduation Party               D. A Special Birthday

2.The mother insisted that her daughter go to the graduation dance because ________.

A. she could take care of things herself

B. she hoped she would find a boyfriend

C. she wanted her to be happy and strong

D. she thought education was the most important

3.Who was the sender of the flower?

A. A boy the writer had run into.     B. One of the writer’s neighbors.

C. One of the writer’s classmates. D. The writer’s mother.

A new study says one part of the human brain may become smaller as the result of a condition known as jet lag. Jet lag results from flying long distances in an airplane. People with jet lag may feel extremely tired for several days. They may also have problems thinking clearly and remembering.?

Recently a researcher at the University of Bristol in Britain reported the findings of his jet lag study, which involved twenty young women who worked for international airlines. They had served passengers on airplanes for five years. These flight attendants flew across many countries and at least seven time zones. In the study, the flight attendants had different amounts of time to recover from jet lag. Half the women spent five days or fewer in their home areas between long flights. The other half spent more than fourteen days in their home areas.?

The researcher took some saliva from the women's mouths to measure levels of a hormone(荷尔蒙) that increases during stress. He tested them to see if they could remember where black spots appeared on a computer screen. And he took pictures of their brains to measure the size of the brain's temporal lobes(脑叶).?

It was found that the women who had less time between flights had smaller right temporal lobes. This area of the brain deals with recognizing and remembering what is seen. The same group performed worse and had slower reaction times on the visual memory test. And their saliva samples showed higher levels of stress hormones.?

The researcher believes the brain needs at least ten days to recover after a long trip. He says airline workers told him their ability to remember got worse after working on planes for about four years. Other studies have shown that increased feelings of stress can cause a loss of cells in the part of the brain that controls memory.?

Scientists say more tests are needed to study the effects of jet lag on the brain. They want to find out if too much jet lag could permanently affect memory.?

According to the text, jet lag _______.?

A. can cause difficulties in speaking

B. can make people feel tired for a few weeks?

C. can be only found in flight attendants

D. can be caused by flying over several time zones?

It can be inferred from the text that _______.

A. the conclusion is refused by many scientists?

B. scientists fear that this research is not done properly?

C. every scientific conclusion needs the support from many tests?

D. the women who were examined in the research were not healthy?

From the result of the research we can see that _______.

A. the women who have longer rest at home show better memory?

B. the women who fly in short time have smaller right temporal lobes?

C. the women who have longer flights fail the memory test?

D. the women who rest more than 14 days produce less hormones?

What is the subject discussed in the text??

A. The cause of jet lag.?

B. A story of a group of flight attendants.?

C. The importance of having enough rest after flights.?

D. A research about the effects of jet lag on the brain.??

A new study says one part of the human brain may become smaller as the result of a condition known as jet lag. Jet lag results from flying long distances in an airplane. People with jet lag may feel extremely tired for several days. They may also have problems thinking clearly and remembering.?

Recently a researcher at the University of Bristol in Britain reported the findings of his jet lag study, which involved twenty young women who worked for international airlines. They had served passengers on airplanes for five years. These flight attendants flew across many countries and at least seven time zones. In the study, the flight attendants had different amounts of time to recover from jet lag. Half the women spent five days or fewer in their home areas between long flights. The other half spent more than fourteen days in their home areas.?

The researcher took some saliva from the women's mouths to measure levels of a hormone(荷尔蒙) that increases during stress. He tested them to see if they could remember where black spots appeared on a computer screen. And he took pictures of their brains to measure the size of the brain's temporal lobes(脑叶).?

It was found that the women who had less time between flights had smaller right temporal lobes. This area of the brain deals with recognizing and remembering what is seen. The same group performed worse and had slower reaction times on the visual memory test. And their saliva samples showed higher levels of stress hormones.?

The researcher believes the brain needs at least ten days to recover after a long trip. He says airline workers told him their ability to remember got worse after working on planes for about four years. Other studies have shown that increased feelings of stress can cause a loss of cells in the part of the brain that controls memory.?

Scientists say more tests are needed to study the effects of jet lag on the brain. They want to find out if too much jet lag could permanently affect memory.?

According to the text, jet lag _______.?

A. can cause difficulties in speaking

B. can make people feel tired for a few weeks?

C. can be only found in flight attendants

D. can be caused by flying over several time zones?

It can be inferred from the text that _______.

A. the conclusion is refused by many scientists?

B. scientists fear that this research is not done properly?

C. every scientific conclusion needs the support from many tests?

D. the women who were examined in the research were not healthy?

From the result of the research we can see that _______.

A. the women who have longer rest at home show better memory?

B. the women who fly in short time have smaller right temporal lobes?

C. the women who have longer flights fail the memory test?

D. the women who rest more than 14 days produce less hormones?

What is the subject discussed in the text??

A. The cause of jet lag.?

B. A story of a group of flight attendants.?

C. The importance of having enough rest after flights.?

D. A research about the effects of jet lag on the brain.??

I needed to get some money so, after Christmas, I took a job in the clothes department at Graham's for the first fortnight of the January sale．I can't say that I enjoyed it, but it was an experience I'll never forget．

       I could never understand why there were so many things in the sales, where did they all come from? Now I know the secret! Firstly, there is the special winter stock （货物） and the stock that people buy all the year round;  some of these things are slightly reduced．Secondly, there are the summer clothes they couldn't sell last year; these are heavily reduced to clear them．Thirdly, there are cheap clothes bought in specially for the sales; these are put out at high prices ten days before the sale begins and then are reduced by 60% in the sale．Clever! Lastly, they buy in “seconds”（clothes not in perfect condition） for the sale and they are sold very cheaply．

       When I arrived half an hour before opening on the first day of the sale, there was already a queue around three sides of the building．This made me very nervous．

       When the big moment arrived to open the doors, the security guards looking less confident than usual, came up to them, keys in hand．The moment they had unlocked the doors, they hid behind the doors for protection as the noisy crowd charged in．I couldn't believe my eyes; this wasn't shopping, it was a battlefield! One poor lady couldn't keep her feet and was knocked over by people pushing from behind．

       Clothes were flying in all directions as people searched for the sizes, colours and styles they wanted．Quarrels broke out．Mothers were using their small children to crawl through people's legs and get hold of things they couldn't get near themselves．

       Within minutes I had half a dozen people pushing clothes under my nose; each wanting to be the first served．Where had the famous English queue gone? The whole day continued like that, but I kept my temper81 was taking money hand over fist and began to realize why twice a year, Graham's were happy to turn their expensive store into a battlefield like this．

       In the sale fever; people were spending money like water without thinking whether they needed what they were buying．As long as it was a bargain it was OK．You won't believe this．But as soon as I got home I crashed out for four hours．Then I had dinner and went back to bed, fearing the sound of the alarm which would tell me to get ready for the second day of the sale.

What kind of clothes is likely to be s0ld 5% cheaper?

A．Last summer's clothes,     

B．Clothes not in perfect condition．

C．Clothes bought in specially for the sales．

D．Clothes for winter．

Which of the following statements is true?

A．The customers gave up the queuing, for which the English are famous．

B．The customers kept their temper while looking for clothes they wanted．

C．Small children enjoyed crawling though people's legs．

D．The security guards were fearless of the crowd．

In the author's opinion, why were Gradhani's happy to make, their expensive store into a "battlefield"?                

A．There were too many clothes and they wanted to clear them in the sales．

B．They were eager to show that they were clever at doing business．

C．They could take the chance to raise the prices of all their clothes．

D．They wanted to make more money by having sales．

The expression "crashed out" means _____．

A．chatted with her friends       B．slept soundly

C．broke down                 D．dined out

What would be the best title for the passage?

A．The Best Bargain．       B．Hunting for a Job．

C．Sale Fever．               D．A Pleasant Fortnight．