Even though global warming may have made the weather more mild, many animals are still hibernating(冬眠). It’s too bad that humans can’t hibernate. In fact we almost did.
Apparently, at times in the past, farmers in France liked a semi-state of human hibernation. So writes Graham Robb, a British scholar who has studied the sleeping habits of the French farmers. As soon as the weather turned cold, people all over the France shut themselves away and practiced the forgotten art of doing nothing at all for months.
In line with this, Jeff Warren, a producer at CBC Radio’s The Current, tells us that the way we sleep has changed since the invention of lighting.
When historians began studying texts of the Middle Ages, they noticed something referred to as “first sleep”, which was not clarified, though. Now scientists are telling us our ancestors most likely slept in separate periods. The business of eight hours’ continuous sleep is a modern invention.
In the past, without the artificial light, humans went to sleep when it became dark and then woke themselves up around midnight. The late night period was known as “The Watch”. It was when people actually kept watch against wild animals, although many of them simply moved around or visited family and neighbors.
According to some sleep researchers, a short of insomnia(失眠)at midnight is not a disorder. It is normal. Humans can experience another state of consciousness(清醒状态)around their sleeping, which happens in the brief period before we fall asleep or wake ourselves in the morning. This period can be a creative time for some people.
Playing with your sleep rhythms(节奏)can be dangerous, as worry may set in. Medical science doesn’t help much in this case. It offers us medicines for a full night’s continuous sleep, which sounds natural; however, according to Warren’s theory, it is really the opposite of what we need.
【小题1】The late night was called “The Watch” because it was a time for people ______.

A.to set time to catch animals
B.to remind others of the time
C.to guard against possible dangers
D.to wake up their family and neighbors
【小题2】We can infer from the last paragraph that people should ______.
A.sleep in the way animals do
B.follow their natural sleep rhythms
C.keep to the eight-hour sleeping way
D.ask doctors for help if they can’t sleep
【小题3】What is the writer’s purpose in writing the passage?
A.To throw new light on human sleep.
B.To encourage people to sleep less.
C.To give some suggestions on insomnia.
D.To find out people’s hibernating history.

Baron Pierre de Coubertin was a Frenchman. At his time sports were not taught in French schools. De Coubertin believed that sports should go hand in hand with studies. He had an idea. His idea was to begin the Olympics all over again.

    Sports teachers of other countries liked De Coubertin ideas. So in 1896, the modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece. Since then the Olympics have been held once every four years, except three times, when there were wars.

    The modern Olympic games have many foot races and field sports programs. The longest race in the games is called marathon.

    Before the start of the Olympic Games, runners carry lighted torch(火炬) through many nations towards the stadium where the games will be held. These sportsmen are from different countries. Yet they work together to carry the Olympic torch. It is passed from runner to runner,  When the last runner enters the stadium, he or she places the torch in a special basin filled with oil. It catches fire. It is then, only then, that the Olympic Games can begin.

    The Olympic flame burns throughout the games. It is the flame of peace.

1.Before 1896 French schools didn't teach ______.  

A. match                      B. history             C. sports                                  D. physics

2.Baron Pierre de Coubertin ________.

A. was the first man to start the Olympics                       

B. helped start the modern Olympics

C. believed that sports were less important than studies  

D. failed to began the modern Olympics

3.According to this passage, the third modern Olympics should have been held________.

A. 1914           B. 1904              C. 1896                           D. 1908

4.Marathon in the passage is________.

A. a foot race             B. a jumping contest    C. a field sport                  D. a boxing match

5.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The Olympics do not begin until the basin of oil catches the fire.                                       

B. The torch is carried from runner to runner through many countries.

C. Runners who carry the torch can be men or women.                      

D. After the start of the Olympics, the Olympic flame is put out.

 

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