You’re lost in the world of dreams and sleep. You roll over, smiling as you come across a swimming pool filled with chocolate. And then, your wonderful dream becomes a nightmare when someone is screaming, “Get up!” It’s just what every teenager goes through each morning!
Now, there seems to be one school that finally understands that requiring teens to show up at 9 am is not just cruel but also harmful to both the kids and the school.
The Monkseaton High School in North Tyneside, Britain, recently decided to experiment to see if there is any difference in student behavior if they just pushed back the start of their day by one hour, from 9 am to 10 am. And the results are surprising.
Since carrying out the later start, Monkseaton has seen a 28% drop in truancy, even hardly any lateness, and best of all, higher test scores. One of the reasons is that the teenagers are much happier to have the extra hour of sleep, but there is also a scientific reason behind why they need the extra sleep.
The school’s decision to push back the time was based on the research done by Oxford Professor Russell Foster, who pointed out that teenagers and adults have different sleep cycles, explaining why teenagers go to bed late and wake up late.
While adults are wide awake and ready at 8 am, teenagers are not fully awake until 10 am, sometimes even noon. Teachers may argue that their students perform better in the morning, but in fact, it is because they are in the zone while their students are still sleepy, making the students easier to control. Memory tests prove that the more difficult classes should be in the afternoon when teenagers are most wide awake.
The Monkseaton school officials are encouraged by the results and plan on voting to make it a permanent change.
【小题1】What’s the best title of this passage?

A successful scientist is generally a good observer.  He makes full 36  of the facts he observes.  He doesn’t accept ideas which are not  37   on obvious facts,  and therefore refuses to accept authority as the only   38   for truth.  He always  39    ideas carefully and makes experiments to prove them.

The rise of    40    science may perhaps be considered to    41   as far back as the    42    of Roger Bacon,  the wonderful philosopher of Oxford,  who live    43    the years 1214 and 1292.  He was probably the first in the Middle    44    to suggest that we must learn science    45    observing and experimenting on the things around us,  and he himself    46   many important discoveries.

Galileo,  however,  who lived more than 300 years later (1564-1642),  was the greatest of several great men,     47    in Italy,  France,  Germany,  or England,  began by    48    to show how many important    49    could be discovered by observation.  Before Galileo,  learned men believed that large bodies fell more    50    towards the earth than small ones,     51    Aristotle said so.  But Galileo,  going to the    52     of the leaning Tower of Pisa,  let fall two   53    stones and proved Aristotle was wrong.  It was Galileo’s    54    of going direct to Nature,  and proving our    55    and theories by experiment,  that has led to all the discoveries of modern science.

1.A.use                B.time           C.speed               D.trust

2.A.worked        B.based          C.lived                     D.written

3.A.reason        B.cause           C.advice               D.result

4.A.thinks          B.checks          C.has             D.learn

5.A.natural         B.physical         C.ancient          D.modern

6.A.date            B.keep           C.look                D.take

7.A.study           B.time            C.year                       D.birth

8.A.both                 B.each                           C.between                           D.among

9.A.Schools                 B.Ages                    C.Days                          D.Count

10.A.in                         B.with                          C.on                        D.by

11.A.did                 B.made                C.took                                   D.gave

12.A.who         B.when            C.that               D.where

13.A.ways         B.degrees       C.levels              D.chance

14.A.truths        B.problems       C.people            D.subjects

15.A.slowly       B.rapidly           C.lightly             D.heavily

16.A.although      B.because          C.when                        D.If

17.A.place                     B.foot                     C.top                                     D.ceiling

18.A.big                B.small                            C.equal                        D.unequal

19.A.spirit                      B.skill                     C.theory                      D.discovery

20.A.plans                      B.opinions       C.world          D. ability

People often view the “last” moments of an event positively simply because they signal the end of an experience, say experts.

University of Michigan researchers found that even if an experience is painful or negative, but ends on a good note, people will consider it to be positive.

“Endings are powerful,” said Ed O’Brien, a graduate student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan.

O’Brien and colleague Phoebe Ellsworth, the Frank Murphy Distinguished Professor of Law and Psychology, conducted a chocolate tasting experiment with 52 college students to test the theory.

Volunteers could taste five different Hershey’s Kisses chocolates—milk, dark, cream, caramel and almond – but did not know in advance how many pieces they would eat or the type. Participants rated how much they enjoyed the chocolate and described each flavor so that the researchers could record the order in which the randomly (随机的) selected treats were eaten.

Volunteers were assigned to the “next” or the “last ” condition by chance.

In the “next” condition, the experimenter said “Here is your next chocolate” before offering each chocolate, including the fifth.

For the “last” condition, the experimenter said “Here is your last chocolate” before offering  the fifth chocolate.

These participants rated the fifth chocolate more enjoyable than volunteers in the “next” condition.

As predicted, participants who knew they were eating the final chocolate of a taste test enjoyed it more.

In fact, when asked to pick their favorite chocolate, the majority of “last” participants chose the fifth – even though the flavor of the fifth was randomly chosen.

They also rated the overall experience as more enjoyable than volunteers who thought they were just eating one more chocolate in a series.

O’Brien says these findings may have far-reaching implications. For example, the last book or film in a series or the last speaker in a symposium (研讨会) may receive unwarranted praise.

The last job applicant, meanwhile, may look more qualified.

1.Which of the following is TRUE about the experiment?

A．The majority of “last” participants chose the almond flavor as their favorite.

B．Some participants enjoyed the experiment more because the last flavor tasted better.

C．The result would be different if researchers had used another brand of chocolate.

D．Some participants didn’t know it was their last chocolate when offered the fifth one.

2.What does the underlined word “unwarranted” in the second-to-last paragraph mean?

A．Fake.             B．Unwanted.         C．Unreasonable.      D．Insincere.

3.Which of the following is the best title for the article?

A．“Last” is the best.

B．Why “last” matters most.

C．It is the last step that is the hardest.

D．He who laughs last laughs best.

 Perhaps the only test score that I remember is the 41 when I was in high school. The test was the final for the class which was rather  36  . I didn’t know how well I had done but I knew there were things on it that I didn’t know.

   I remember anxiously  37  the result. When Mr. Bales dropped my paper on my desk, I was  38  .There in big red numbers, circled to  39  attention, was my grade---41.

   I moved my paper where it wasn’t in  40  . A 41 isn’t something that you wanted your 41  to see.

Finally, Mr. Bales stood behind the worn desk and addressed the class., “The  42  were not very good; none of you passed. The  43  grade in the class was a 41, so all of you  44  .”

A 41. That’s me.

  45  my dismal(阴沉)face didn’t look quite so bad. I had the highest grade. I felt a lot 46 .

I walked home with the low but high grade. My  47  knew that I had a big test that day and asked me as soon as I got home. “How did you do on your test?”

“I made a 41,” I said.

My mother’s expression  48  . A frown(皱眉) now stood where a smile was a few  49  earlier.

“But I had the highest grade in the class!” I  50  replied. I thought that statement would make a difference.

“I don’t  51  what everyone else had, but you failed. It doesn’t matter if everyone else failed too, what matters is what you do,” my mother  52  answered.

For years, I thought that was a harsh(苛刻的)  53  . My mother was always that way. It didn’t  54  what others did, it only mattered what I did and if I did it excellently.

We often don’t  55  the wisdom of good parents until we ourselves stand in the parenting shoes. My mother’s philosophy has carried me throughout life.

36. A. unfair         B. unimportant    C. difficult          D. strict

37. A. looking into    B. waiting for     C. referring to       D. finding out

38. A. shocked       B. pleased        C. excited           D. annoyed

39. A. avoid         B. turn           C. pay             D. draw

40. A. place         B. scene          C. view            D. spot

41. A. workmates   B. parents         C. teachers         D. classmates

42. A. papers       B. grades         C. situations        D. memories

43. A. lowest       B. standard        C. highest          D. average

44. A. failed       B. completed       C. cheated          D. survived

45. A. Lately      B. Nearly          C. Slowly          D. Suddenly

46. A. calmer       B. better          C. hotter           D. cleverer

47. A. father       B. mother          C. brother         D. sister

48. A.improved    B. answered        C. changed         D. disappeared

49. A. months      B. days           C. hours           D. seconds

50. A. proudly     B. angrily          C. bravely         D. curiously

51. A. care         B. hate           C. agree           D. know

52. A. effectively    B. softly          C. honestly         D. firmly

53. A. punishment   B. judgment       C. arrangement     D. experiment

54. A. concern       B. matter        C. show            D. mean

55. A. understand    B. remember     C. prove            D. believe