Chinese students aren’t the only ones who have a sleep loss problem. In Australia, teenagers are also missing out on, on average, one hour’s sleep every night during the school week.
Organized activities and homework push bedtimes later, the first large-scale Australian study of children’s sleeping habits has revealed (显示). Their sleep deprivation (剥夺) is enough to cause “serious drop-offs in school performance, attention and memory”, and governments should consider later or flexible school start times, said the study’s leader, Tim Olds.
His survey, of more than 4,000 children aged 9 to 18, found those who slept least did not watch more television but spent their time socializing (相处) with family or friends or listening to music.
“Almost all children get up at 7 or 7:15 — they have to get to school on time,” said Olds. He favors a later start over an earlier finish because he believes organized sports and activities would still consume the latter end of the day.
Olds’ research also establishes lack of sleep as a cause of weight gain in children, and a possible source of future problems with depression, anxiety and increased susceptibility (易感性) to illness.
It was already known that overweight children sleep less, but Professor Olds found sleep duration(时长) was strongly linked to weight across the full range of body sizes. The thinnest children sleep 20 minutes more than the obese. This showed being overweight had no specific effect on sleep patterns, and it was more likely that shorter sleep times stimulate (刺激) appetite and make kids hungry.
The US National Sleep Foundation says teenagers aged 13 to 18 need eight to nine hours’ sleep a night. Younger school-aged kids need 9 to 11 hours.
On that basis, Professor Olds said, half of Australian children are under-sleeping on weekdays and a quarter on weekends.
46. The Australian students surveyed don’t sleep enough because they spend more time on the following EXCEPT _____.
A. organized activities and homework
B. communication with friends and family
C. watching television programs
D. enjoying music
47. What effects does lack of sleep directly have on the students according to the survey?
A. They become overweight but begin to eat less than before.
B. They feel more depressed and anxious about their school work.
C. They are more likely to be affected with illness in the future.
D. They pay less attention in class and their memory declines.
48. Which of the following suggestions did Mr. Olds raise?
A. The students should go to bed earlier to have longer sleeping time.
B. The students should participate less in organized activities.
C. The school should put off the start time in the morning.
D. The school should finish earlier in the afternoon.
49. What does "obese" in the sixth paragraph mean?
A. average B. fat C. sleepless D. overeating
50. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Australian students usually take part in activities in the afternoon.
B. More students are short of sleep on weekends than on weekdays.
C. Being overweight has an effect on the length of the sleeping time.
D. The survey suggests that teenagers need 8-9 hours’ sleep a night.
To extinguish （熄灭）different kinds of fires, several types of fire extinguishers have been invented. They must be ready for immediate use when fire breaks out. Most portable （手提式的）kinds operate for less than a minute, so they are useful only on small fires. The law requires ships, trains, buses and planes to carry extinguishers.
Since fuel（燃料）, oxygen and heat must be present in order for fire to exist, one or more of these things must be removed or reduced to extinguish a fire. If the heat is reduced by cooling the material below a certain temperature, the fire goes out. The cooling method is the most common way to put out a fire. Water is the best cooling material because it is low in cost and easy to get.
Another method of extinguishing fire is by cutting off the oxygen. This is usually done by covering the fire with sand, steam or some other things. A blanket may be used do cover a small fire.
A third method is call
ed separation, which includes removing the fuel, or material easy to burn, from a fire, so that it can find no fuel.
The method that is used to put out a fire depends on the type of fire. Fires have been grouped in three classes（级别）. Fires in wood, paper, cloth and the like are called Class A fires. These materials usually help keep the fire on. Such fires can be stopped most readily by cooling with water. If a fire breaks out on a bus, which of the following should be ready there for you to use?
| A．Sand | B．An extinguisher | C．A blanket. | D．Water |
To cover a small piece of burning wood with a basin in order to stop the fire i
s an example of _______.
| A．separating the fire | B．cutting off the oxygen |
| C．removing the fuel | D．reducing the heat |
In choosing how to put out a fire, we should first be clear about_______.
| A．when it breaks out | B．how it comes about |
| C．what kind it is | D．where it takes place |
What would the author probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?
| A．Another class of fires | B．Another type of extinguishers |
| C．How fires break out. | D．How fires can be prevented. |
The crowd cheered and cheered. The man with the horn（号）waved and smiled his great smile. “More! More!” cried the crowd. And Louis Armstrong took his horn and began to play again.
Here he was in England. Now a famous man, he was rich. He knew many important people. Wherever he went, people knew his name. They wanted to hear his music. As he played the sad, slow songs, Louis thought of his home in New Orleans. He lived there as a boy. It was a busy, exciting city. But Louis’s family was very poor. He went to work to help his mother. He also went to school. One of Louis’s teachers asked him to join the school band. “This horn is yours until you leave our school,” his teacher said. Louis’s music was jazz a
nd he loved it. He remembered all the music he heard. He didn’t learn to read music until he was a man.
When he left school, he played on many bands. He loved his work and people loved him. They knew that he had a wonderful talent. Louis played in little towns and in big cities. Armstrong’s horn had as many sounds as ten horns—sometimes slow and sometimes sweet; sometimes fast and hot, high and low. His music was always strong and exciting. “He does make wonderful music,” said the man who listened happily. “Yes,” said another man, “he makes that horn speak. ”
The music ended and the crowd cheered. Louis Armstrong spoke with tears in his eyes, “I think, my friends, you can listen to as much jazz as I can play. I thought jazz was my music; but now I understand it is ours. It is beautiful that music brings us together. ”Louis went to work when he was _______.
| A．a schoolboy | B．a musician | C．famous | D．a man |
Louis was very smart but he didn’t learn to read music until ______.
| A．he left school. | B．he was in the the school band. |
| C．he became a grown-up. | D．he became famous. |
He was famous for ______.
| A．his horn | B．his sad songs |
| C．his wonderful jazz music | D．his love for music |
Which of the following is the best title for this story ?.
| A．Musician | B．A beautiful horn. |
| C．The man with the horn. | D．Sweet smiles. |
Air travel is such an everyday experience these days that we are not surprised when we read about a politician having talks with the Japanese Prime Minister one day, attending a meeting in Australia the following morning and having to be off at midday to sign a trade agreement in Hong Kong. But frequent long-distance flying can be so tiring that the traveler begins to feel his brain is in one country, his digestion（消化吸收）in another and his powers of concentration nowhere---in short, he hardly knows where he is.
Air travel is so quick nowadays that we can leave London after breakfast and be in New York in eight hours, yet what really upsets us most is that when we arrive it is lunch time while we have already had lunch on the plane and are expecting dinner.
Doctors say that air travelers are in no condition to work after crossing a number of time zones. Airline pilots, however, often live by their own watches. After a long air travel, a traveler _______.
| A．finds himself in a different world |
| B．finds his brain apart from his body |
| C．finds himself in Hong Kong the following morning |
| D．has little sense about where he is |
The sentence “Airline pilots often live by their own watches. ” means______.
| A．they don’t trust others’ watches |
| B．they don’t change their watches |
| C．they make a living by their own watches |
| D．they do as they used to do |
Doctors suggest the travelers_______?
| A．should rest when they arrive in New York from London. |
| B．should work in good condition since they just finish a long journey. |
| C．rest in a place with good condition. |
| D．give up long journey since it makes them tired. |
During the school year many parents take on the role of driver as they drive their children from one lesson to 
another. It can be understood that many of us want our children to have a little taste of everything, from organized sports to music, dance and more. But we overdo it, leaving our children feeling a l
ittle tired, and according to parent educator Diane Loisie, it’s their school work that suffers the most. “After school, if they’re busy in a number of sporting events, besides they need to do their homework, then the time they’ll feel sleepy is in the classroom. Your child needs free time. So if you’re filling up that after school time, then it’s during the day they’re going to be taking a break. ”
Professor Claire McDermott agrees that there’s a lot to be gained from sometimes putting those planned lessons and activities away. “Relaxing time is important for children. It’s time just
to do the things they want to do. A child
can go up to their room, or they can play around. It doesn’t look like useful time; parents certainly wouldn’t be saying ‘Wow, are they ever learning things now?’ But this relaxing time gives both the body and the brain just a wonderful chance to relax after a day. It helps a child prepare for sleep, but it also helps to understand the learning that’s gone on that day. ”
It’s hard to prevent signing our kids up for some activities and lessons. After all, many of us want our children to have a head start in life and the chance to join in great activities in the arts or sports is a part of that. However, Loisie feels that in the long run most children feel better with just a few key activities because it gives them an opportunity to master them. “When we get our children in too many activities because we want our children to experience everything, then what we’re doing is setting them up not to be good at one thing or gaining a skill. ” So choose your children’s activities wisely. It may be one of the best things you’ve ever done for your kids… and for the family driver!What is the biggest disadvantage for children to attend too many lessons after school?
| A．They can get bored easily about everything. |
| B．They might have no time to do the homework. |
| C．They might not pay much attention to learning. |
| D．They cannot easily focus on learning during the day. |
What should we think of children’s playing around aimlessly?
| A．It is simple. |
| B．It is helpful. |
| C．It is a bad habit. |
| D．It is a waste of time. |
Why should parents limit the activities our children attend?
| A．Because children have no time. |
| B．Because children cannot learn many things. |
| C．Because children do not have enough sleep. |
| D．Because children cannot focus on too many activities. |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Don’t be children’s drivers after school. |
| B．Choose activities for your children wisely. |
| C．Make your children learn as much as possible. |
| D．Let children learn something from various subjects. |
Pupils are ordered not to wade into ankle-deep water unless teachers first carry out a full risk assessment and put “proper measures in place”.
Staff are expected to check rivers, ponds and the sea for currents and rocks before allowing children to dip their feet.
Guidance issued to schools warns that any “impromptu (事先无准备的) water-based activities” could pose dangers to children.
The recommendations were outlined in a document-available to all 21,000 schools in England — to help teachers organize more school trips. Advice from the DepartmentforChildren, Schools and Families is intended to cut red tape (官样文章) and give staff practical tips.
But the guidance caused argument after teachers were presented with a series of orders surrounding swimming and the use of minibuses.
It said: “Swimming and padding or otherwise entering the waters of river, canal, sea or lake should never be allowed as an impromptu activity. The pleas of young people to bathe — because it is hot weather, for example, should be resisted where bathing has not been prepared for.”
“In-water activities should take place only when a proper risk assessment has been completed and proper measures put in place to control the risks.”
Teachers are urged to check the weather, currents, weeds, rip tides, river or sea beds and breakwaters before allowing children into the water. No child should be able to swim deeper than waist height, the guidance added.
Margaret Morrissey, from campaign group Parents Outloud, said: “Wading out into the ocean is one thing but there’s nothing wrong with padding where the waves break.”
“Part of children’s learning is to walk along the water’s edge and get your feet wet. There are dangerous currents further out and you stay at the edge.”
She added: “I want to see schools and youth groups taking advantage of opportunities that learning outside the classroom can provide.”
But the Department for Children, Schools and Families said teachers had to plan activities carefully.
“We are not banning padding,” said a spokeswoman. “We have seen cases in the past where things have not been planned and assessed for the risk. Unplanned activities around water can be dangerous.”Guidance issued to schools in England gives the information that _________.
| A．school trips to oceans are forbidden in the country |
| B．school swimming pools should be surrounded with fence |
| C．school staff must plan water-based activities carefully |
| D．school children shouldn’t have a walk along river banks |
Advice from the Department for Children, Schools and Families shows us that _________.
| A．they are strongly against the guidance |
| B．they are fond of the outline of the guidance |
| C．they don’t understand the aim of the guidance |
| D．they want the guidance to become more useful |
To the guidance, Margaret Morrissey holds the opinion that _________.
| A．oceans are dangerous place for children to visit |
| B．young people should be encouraged to learn outside |
| C．children should learn padding in rough ocean alone |
| D．schools should stop students from walking along beaches |
Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?
| A．No padding on school trips, children told. |
| B．No walking along the rivers, teachers told. |
| C．No swimming after school, parents told. |
| D．No learning out of school, students told. |