Most American schools have boys and girls in the same classroom. But a public high school in the small, rural town of Boonsboro, Maryland, offers a special program called the Academy. Top students in the ninth and tenth grades can attend single-sex classes for math, science, English and social studies.

The aim is to help teenagers keep their mind on their work by keeping males and females apart. What they really want to do is to take that top group of kids and to take them to the very highest level they can achieve there, so that they’re prepared for college.

Students are invited to enter this program after they finish middle school, and placement in the Academy is voluntary. However, they need high marks and test scores and strong teacher recommendations. They also need to be involved in activities. Almost 350 students have taken part in the Academy. It began as an experiment in 2010.

Michael Bair has been at Boonsboro High for twenty years and directs the Academy. His ninth-grade English class for boys centers on books that he believes boys find interesting. He says that the novels the students are reading now are very manly novels. These novels deal with the arrogance (傲慢) of man and the pride of man which finally leads to man’s downfall.

One of those books, for example, is The Call of the Wild by Jack London. This classic story tells of a dog stolen from his home and sold to work as a sled dog in Canada’s Klondike Gold Rush.

Morgan Fleet, a senior at Boonsboro High, likes being in the Academy. She says boys and girls act differently when they are together in a classroom. She believes this difference seems to prevent her from developing herself because she’s more focused on thoughts like “Oh, I wish they would shut up. Oh, what do they think of me?’’ instead of focusing on “What’s the homework? What’s going on in this class? What’s the lesson?”

There is one activity that girls and boys in the Academy do together. At the end of the day, many of them stay and help tutor students who are having trouble in school.

26.  What is the purpose of the Academy program?

A. To offer a special program in high school.    

B. To start learning college courses earlier.

C. To strengthen sex education for teenagers.   

D. To help students concentrate on study.

27. To enter the Academy program, students are NOT required to _________.

A. have worked as volunteers            B. be recommended by teachers

C. take part in some activities                 D. do well in their study

28. The Call of the Wild is given as an example to show that male students _________.

A. should learn more about literature

B. are reading more manly novels

C. should have a sense of protecting the wildlife

 D. are interested in stories on animals

29. Which is likely to be Morgan Fleet’s opinion?

A. Boys and girls act the same in separate classrooms.

B. Single-sex classes should be stopped.

C. Girls are more focused when studying with boys.

D. A girl cares about the boys’ opinions of her.

30. The passage is intended to _________.

A. persuade students to enter the Academy program    

B. explain the differences between boys and girls

C. introduce the single-sex class project

D. urge students to work hard in their study

Most American schools have boys and girls in the same classroom. But a public high school in the small, rural town of Boonsboro, Maryland, offers a special program called the Academy. Top students in the ninth and tenth grades can attend single-sex classes for math, science, English and social studies.

The aim is to help teenagers keep their mind on their work by keeping males and females apart. What they really want to do is take that top group of kids and take them to the very highest level they can achieve there, so that they’re prepared for college.

Students are invited to enter this program after they finish middle school, and placement in the Academy is voluntary. However, they need high marks and test scores and strong teacher recommendations. They also need to be involved in activities.

   Almost 350 students have taken part in the Academy. It began as an experiment in 2010.

Michael Bair has been at Boonsboro High for twenty years and directs the Academy. His ninth-grade English class for boys centers on books that he believes boys find interesting. He says that the novels the students are reading now are very manly (男子气概的) novels. These novels deal with the arrogance (傲慢) of man and the pride of man which finally leads to man’s downfall.

One of those books, for example, is The Call of the Wild by Jack London. This classic story tells of a dog stolen from his home and sold to work as a sled dog in Canada’s Klondike Gold Rush.

Morgan Fleet, a senior at Boonsboro High, likes being in the Academy. She says boys and girls act differently when they are together in a classroom. She believes this difference seems to prevent her from developing herself because she’s more focused on thoughts like “Oh, I wish they would shut up. Oh, what do they think of me?’’ instead of focusing on “What’s the homework? What’s going on in this class? What’s the lesson?”.

There is one activity that girls and boys in the Academy do together. At the end of the day, many of them stay and help tutor students who are having trouble in school.

1.What is the purpose of the Academy program?

A. To offer a special program in high school.

B. To help students concentrate on study.

C. To strengthen sex education for teenagers. 

D. To start learning college courses earlier.

2.To enter the Academy program, students are NOT required to _________.

A. do well in their study                  B. be recommended by teachers

C. take part in some activities           D. have worked as volunteers

3.The Call of the Wild is given as an example to show that male students ___.

A. should learn more about literature

B. should have a sense of protecting the wildlife

C. are reading more manly novels

D. are interested in stories on animals

4.Which is likely to be Morgan Fleet’s opinion?

A. A girl cares about the boys’ opinions of her. 

 B. Single-sex classes should be stopped.

C. Girls are more focused when studying with boys.

D. Boys and girls act the same in separate classrooms.

5.The passage is intended to _________.

A. introduce the single-sex class project

B. explain the differences between boys and girls

C. persuade students to enter the Academy program

D. urge students to work hard in their study

Some people can stay up all night and still get work done the next day. I’m not one of them. After a night without enough sleep, I feel bad-tempered. I have trouble remembering things. And all I want to do is go to bed.

How do you feel after you’ve stayed up late to finish schoolwork or the day after an overnight party? Scientists now say that your answers to these questions may depend on your genes.

New research suggests that a gene called “period 3” influences how well you function without sleep. The “period 3” 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 “period 3”. Study participants (参与者) had to stay awake for 40 hours straight. Then, they took tests that measured how quickly they pushed a button when numbers flashed (闪过) on a screen and how well they could remember lists of numbers.

Results showed that the people with the short form of “period 3” performed much better on these tests than the people with the long form did. In both groups, people performed worst in the early morning.

After the first round of experiments, participants were finally allowed to sleep. People in the group that performed well on the tests (those with the short form of “period 3”) took about 18 minutes to nod off.

While people with the long “period 3” gene fell asleep in just 8 minutes. They also spent more time on deep sleep. That suggests that people with the long form of the gene need more and deeper sleep to keep their brains working in top form.

I think I must have the long form of “period 3”. What about you?

The purpose of this passage might be ___________

A.   to tell us the importance of plenty of sleep.

B.   to tell the result of a research on sleepy gene.

C.    to inform the harm of lacking sleep.        

D.   to announce the sleeping rules of humans.

What kind of people need less sleep according to the research?

A.   Those with two short copies of the gene.

B. Those with two long copies of the gene. 

C. Those with one short and one long copy of the gene.

D. Those with three short copies of the gene.

If one lacks enough sleep, one should avoid doing important or dangerous things ___________.

A. at noon            B. at night    

C. in the afternoon        D. at dawn

Why did the writer think he or she had the long form of “period 3”?

A.   Because the writer could remain energetic without enough sleep.                 

B. Because the writer could do things correctly at dawn.   

C. Because the writer needed more sleep to keep energetic.

D. Because the writer recovered quickly after sleep.  

Some people can stay up all night and still get work done the next day. I’m not one of them. After a night without enough sleep, I feel bad-tempered. I have trouble remembering things. And all I want to do is go to bed.

How do you feel after you’ve stayed up late to finish schoolwork or the day after an overnight party? Scientists now say that your answers to these questions may depend on your genes.

New research suggests that a gene called “period 3” influences how well you function without sleep. The “period 3” 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 “period 3”. Study participants (参与者) had to stay awake for 40 hours straight. Then, they took tests that measured how quickly they pushed a button when numbers flashed (闪过) on a screen and how well they could remember lists of numbers.

Results showed that the people with the short form of “period 3” performed much better on these tests than the people with the long form did. In both groups, people performed worst in the early morning.

After the first round of experiments, participants were finally allowed to sleep. People in the group that performed well on the tests (those with the short form of “period 3”) took about 18 minutes to nod off.

While people with the long “period 3” gene fell asleep in just 8 minutes. They also spent more time on deep sleep. That suggests that people with the long form of the gene need more and deeper sleep to keep their brains working in top form.

I think I must have the long form of “period 3”. What about you?

1.The purpose of this passage might be ___________

A.    to tell us the importance of plenty of sleep.

B.    to tell the result of a research on sleepy gene.

C.     to inform the harm of lacking sleep.           

D.    to announce the sleeping rules of humans.

2.What kind of people need less sleep according to the research?

A.    Those with two short copies of the gene.

B. Those with two long copies of the gene. 

C. Those with one short and one long copy of the gene.

D. Those with three short copies of the gene.

3.If one lacks enough sleep, one should avoid doing important or dangerous things ___________.

A. at noon               B. at night      

C. in the afternoon           D. at dawn

4.Why did the writer think he or she had the long form of “period 3”?

A.    Because the writer could remain energetic without enough sleep.                

B. Because the writer could do things correctly at dawn.    

C. Because the writer needed more sleep to keep energetic.

D. Because the writer recovered quickly after sleep.