Schedules, as the 21st century people know, simply did not exist in the 17th and 18th centuries. We are upset if a plane arrives an hour late. Our ancestors weren’t upset if an April ship didn’t show up until June. They began to worry in July and were often happy when it showed up in August. When a long-distance ship finally did get to the port, the whole city became busy and excited. Businessmen hurried down to check the goods they had ordered. The ship would probably stay in port for at least three days, often a week, to take on businessmen, give the sailors a rest, find out about the latest news, weather conditions, and so on.

Travel time could only be approximate. One never knew when the winds would be good. So even though “average sailing time” was given, time could change considerably, shortening the voyage by up to 25% or putting it off by up to 500% or more! The average run from England to Boston was about a month and a half, but there were also voyages of three months. One voyage in 1640 lasted six months!

Travel time is not the same in both directions, due to the winds and currents. This is especially true in the Caribbean, where winds are from the southeast the entire year. Ships sailing west across the Atlantic spend longer than ships sailing east, and the contrary winds can prevent a ship from actually making it to the harbor even if it gets close. One ship was held off the North Carolina coast for 17 days before being able to land!

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A. No sailor was allowed to have fun when the ship reached land.

B. People in ancient times didn’t care about other people’s safety.

C. The ship would leave for a voyage when all of the preparations were made.

D. A long-distance ship would create a lot of excitement in the place where it landed.

2. According to the passage, travel time can’t be fixed due to ___________ .

A. the people at the port                                B. average sailing time

C. the changeable climate                          D. the businessmen and the sailors

3. The underlined word “currents” in the third paragraph means __________ .

A. the movement of water                         B. the movement of winds

C. direction of the traveling ship         D. travel time of ships

The round-the-clock availability that cell phones have brought to people’s lives may be taking a toll on family life, a new study suggests. The study, which followed more than 1300 adults over 2 years, found that those who consistently used a mobile phone through out the study period were more likely to report negative “spillover” between work and home life—and, in turn, less satisfaction with their family life.

Spillover(影响，后果) actually means that the line between work and home began to become unclear. Work life may invade home life—when a parent is taking job-related calls at home, for instance—or family issues may start to take up work time. For example, a child may call Mom at work, telling her “the microwave exploded”, explained Noelle Chesley, an assistant professor of society at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and the author of the study. The problem with cell phones seems to be they are allowing for ever more spillover between work and home.

This may be especially true for working women, the study found. Among men, consistent use of mobile phones seemed not to allow more work issues to creep(潜入) into family time. But for women,  the spillover tended to go in both directions—being “connected” means that work cuts into home time, and family issues come into work life.

Cell phones seem to be opening more lines for stressful exchange among family members. But there may be ways to control the spillover, according to Chesley. Employers, she said, should look at their policies on contacting employees after working hours to make sure their expectations are “reasonable”. For their part, employees can decide that cell phones go off during family time,  Chesley said.

1.Which of the following can replace the underlined phrase “taking a toll on” in Paragraph l?

A．Explaining         B．Protecting         C．Extending         D．Damaging

2.The example “the microwave exploded” in Paragraph 2 is used to              .

A．show the microwave is of poor quality

B．indicate how dependent the child is

C．indicate family issues affect work hours

D．show work time creeps into family life

3.What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Cell phones offer 24-hour availability.

B．Cell phones get life and work mixed.

C．Women don’t use cell phones in an effective way.

D．Men are better at dealing with family problems.

4.What is the author’s attitude towards round-the-clock availability of the cell phone?

A．Curious           B．Positive           C．Subjective         D．Objective

How do you feel after you've stayed up late to finish schoolwork? Or the day after a slumber party? Scientists now say that your answers to these questions may depend on your genes.

     Genes are stretches of DNA that work like an instruction manual for our cells. Genes tell our bodies and brains what to do. People have about 40,000 genes, and each gene can have different forms. So, for example, certain forms of some genes make your eyes blue. Other versions of those genes make your eyes brown.

In a similar way, new research suggests that a gene called period3 affects how well you function without sleep. The discovery adds to older evidence that period3 helps determine whether you like to stay up late or get up early.

The period3 gene comes in two forms: short and long. Everyone has two copies of the gene. So, you may have two longs, two shorts, or one of each. Your particular combination depends on what your parents passed on to you.

Scientists from the University of Surrey in England studied 24 people who had either two short or two long copies of period3. Study participants had to stay awake for 40 hours straight. Then, they took tests that measured how quickly they pushed a button when numbers flashed on a screen and how well they could remember lists of numbers.

Results showed that the people with the short form of period3 performed much better on these tests than the people with the long form did. In both groups, people performed worst in the early morning. That's the time when truck drivers and other night-shift workers say they have the most trouble concentrating.

After the first round of experiments, participants were finally allowed to sleep. People in the group that performed well on the tests took about 18 minutes to nod off.

People with the long period3 gene, by contrast, fell asleep in just 8 minutes. They also spent more time in deep sleep. That suggests that people with the long form of the gene need more and deeper sleep to keep their brains working at top form.

We can know from the passage that genes can not ________.

 A. tell our bodies and brains what to do

 B. make our eyes blue or brown

 C. decide how well you work without sleep

 D. ensure whether you’re good at driving

Which of the following statements about the period3 is wrong?

 A. It affects whether you like to stay up late or get up early.

 B. It comes in two forms: short and long.

 C. One has either two longs or two shorts of it.

 D. Your parents determine what particular combination you have.

People with the short form of period3__________.

 A. need to go to bed early and get up early

 B. can work better than the people with long form of period3 without sleep

 C. take less time to fall asleep after they stay up late

 D. need more and deeper sleep to keep their brains working at top form

What’s the best title of the passage?

A. The Period3 Gene                           B. The Function of Genes

 C. Wake up, Sleepy Gene                                D. Stay up Late or Get up Early?

 In the United States, it is important to be on time , or punctual , for an appointment , a class, a meeting, etc. However, this may not be true in all countries. An American professor discovered the difference while teaching a class in a Brazilian（巴西的） university. The two-hour class was scheduled to begin at 10 A.M. and end at 12. On the first day , when the professor arrived on time, no one was in the classroom. Many students came after 10:30 A.M. Two students came after 11 A.M. Although all the students greeted the professor as they arrived, few apologized(道歉)for their lateness．Were these students being rude? He decided to study the students’ behavior.

    The professor talked to American and Brazilian students about lateness in both an informal and a formal situation：at a lunch with a friend and in a university class, respectively．He gave them an example and asked them how they would react, If they had a lunch appointment with a friend，the average American student defined lateness as 19 minutes after the agreed time，On the other hand．the average Brazilian student felt the friend was late after 33 minutes．

    In an American university, students are expected to arrive at the appointed hour．In contrast, in Brazil，neither the teacher nor the students always arrive at the appointed hour．Classes not only begin at the scheduled time in the United States，but also end at the scheduled time．In the Brazilian class, only a few students left the class at 12：00；many remained past 12：30 to discuss the class and ask more questions．While arriving late may not be very important in Brazil , neither is staying late．

36. The word‘punctual’most probably means________.

    A．1eaving soon after class      B．coming early

    C．arriving a few minutes late    D．being on time

37. Why did the professor study the Brazilian students’behavior?   

A．He felt puzzled at the students’ being late．  

B．He felt angry at the students' rudeness．

C．He wanted to make the students come on time later．

D．He wanted to collect data for one of his studies．

38.  It can be inferred from the professor’s study of lateness in the informal situation that____．

     A．American students will become impatient if their friend is five minutes late

     B．neither Brazilian nor American students like being late in social gatherings

     C．being late in one culture may not be considered so in another culture

     D．Brazilian students will not come thirty-three minutes after the agreed time

39.  From the last paragraph we know that in Brazil____.

A. it is important to arrive at the appointed time

B．it is rude to keep the professor staying after class

      C．it is normal for students to leave during lectures

      D．it is acceptable for professors to be late for class．  

     Fastest Time to Run 100 Miles on a Treadmill (跑步机)              BROKEN

           The fastest time to run 100 miles on a treadmill by a team (of 12) is claimed at 9hr 5 min 17 sec by a team consisting of staff and prisoners at the Young Offenders Institute in Wigan to raise money for Children in Need.   

     Largest Game of Chinese Whispers                             UNBROKEN

           Sadly, the record attempt for the largest game of Chinese Whispers was unsuccessful on 13 November 2008. The existing record of 1330 children still remains.                                         

     Fastest Mile with an Egg/Spoon in both hands                     BROKEN

           The fastest mile egg and spoon race with both hands is 8 min 25 sec and was achieved by Ashrita Furman (USA) in an attempt broadcast by ESPN 260, at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, in Orlando, Florida, USA, on 13 November 2008.   

    Longest Mexican Wave                                      UNBROKEN

           The record for the Longest Mexican Wave was attempted by 250,000 people on the streets of Adelaide on 8 November 2008 – sadly, the wave was not completed by all participants and the attempt was unsuccessful. The current record of 157, 574 remains.            

      Largest Kebab (烤肉串)                                      BROKEN

           The longest kebab measures 2047.47 m (1.27 miles) and was achieved by the ArcelorMittal Newcastle Works on occasion of the company’s annual Community Day, in Newcastle, South Africa.                 

1.The above information is _________.

A．a series of sports events

B．a list of broken and unbroken records

C．a report of funny sports items

D．a description of challenging human limits

2.Which of the following can NOT be found in the information?

A．The countries where the attempts were made.

B．The persons who made the attempts.

C．The reasons why some attempts failed.

D．The present record for each item.

3.Which item was attempted individually?

A．Fastest Time to Run 100 Miles on a Treadmill

B．Largest Game of Chinese Whispers

C．Fastest Mile with an Egg/Spoon in both hands

D．Longest Mexican Wave