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 (紧张). 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 (永久性的) 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 few years ago, when I was still in high school, I met a wonderful and warm teacher. At that time in my life, there were many changes to adjust to, apart from the usual teenage troubles. My parents had divorced, so my elder brother and I had chosen to stay with my dad. Due to the fact that he was keeping the house, we didn’t have to move.

During this time, my teacher took a special interest in me. Being my English teacher, she encouraged my mind to travel to creativity I had long given up. She brought me out of the shell I built.

She became my mother, my older sister, my friend and my teacher. The one thing she couldn’t do though was to make me more girly as growing up with only my dad and brother made me a real tomboy.

Sometimes, I would be really immature（不成熟的）, especially if she was scoring me less than others on purpose. She knew I could do better than what I was handing in and so pushed me to extend further than limits.

When I finished school and then after college I was about to leave my hometowns she gifted me a watch that every second, with my pulse, should remind me of the one person who will forever wait and love me without reservation.

Time has passed and our friendship is distant, but in my heart, soul and mind, she is the closest I ever got.

The writer and her elder brother chose to live with their father simply because _________.

A. their mother was expecting to have another baby

    B. they didn’t have to move out of their house

    C. they hated their mother remarried

    D. they had a closer relationship with their father

How did the writer get along with her studies before she met her English teacher?

    A. She was hopeless and had given up her studies.

    B. She was getting along well with her studies.

    C. She had some trouble with her studies.

    D. She lacked interest in creativity.

The writer behaved herself like a boy because ________.

    A. she needed the love of mother

    B. she wanted to learn from her father and brother

    C. she lived with only men all the time

    D. her English teacher didn’t care about her

What was the writer’s attitude to the watch given by the teacher?

    A. She considered it to be very useful.

    B. She valued it very much.

    C. She kept it very well.

D. She wanted to do something later in return for it.

Few of us make money by losing sleep．But three graduate students at Brown University in Providence built a company around sleep deprivation （睡眠不足）．

       Jason Donahue, Ben Rubin and Eric Shashoua were working late nights in Brown's business and engineering schools．They began thinking about ways to sleep better．They discovered they weren't alone in burning the midnight oil．Around 20% of Americans get less than six hours of rest a night．

       The friends imagined a smart alarm clock that could track how much time people spend in the most restorative （有回复作用的） stages of the sleep cycle: REM （rapid eye movement） and deep sleep．What would it cost to design such a thing? Five years of research, 20 employees, $14 million and a whole lot of doubting from investors and scientists．

       Their company, Zeo, based in Newton, Mass, launched its product in June, 2009．The Zeo device uses a headband with tiny sensors （传感器） that scan your brain for signs of four sleep states- REM, light, deep and waking sleep．The smart alarm clock displays a graph of your sleep pattern and wakes you as you're not in REM sleep （which is when you're least groggy）．In the morning you can upload the data to the company's Web site, and so track your sleep over time．Most of the feedback comes in the form of Zeo's ZQ score showing how well you've slept．

       "Zeo allows people to unlock this black box of sleep," says Dave Dickinson, a health-care CEO．

       Whether any of this actually improves sleep is up to the consumer, who will also need to make lifestyle changes like cutting out alcohol before bedtime or caffeine after 3 pm．

       For now the company is selling Zeo online only．Dickinson also plans to spread it to countries such as Australia, where sleep deprivation approaches US levels．

Who will support Zeo?

       A．People full of imagination．          B．People suffering sleeping problems．

       C．People having access to the Internet． D．People having bad lifestyles．

Why did the three graduate students imagine a smart alarm clock?

       A．To wake them up on time in the morning．

       B．To earn enough money for their study．

       C．To improve the quality of people's sleep．

       D．To enjoy their life while working at night．

To design the Zeo device, the three graduate students ____．

       A．spent much time and money           B．were widely supported by scientists

       C．worked by themselves all the time       D．attracted many investors

What can we know from the passage?

       A．Zeo has a direct effect on users' lifestyles．

       B．It needs more personal efforts to make Zeo function better．

       C．A large quantity of Zeo devices have been sold in Australia．

       D．Consumers can go to the Zeo company to purchase Zeo in person．

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.??