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Doctors sometimes use light therapy to treat a form of depression in people who get too little morning sun. But too much light at other times may actually cause such mood disorder. Long-lasting exposure to light at night brings depression, a new study finds, at least in animals.
The new data confirm observations from studies of people who work night shifts, says Richard Stevens of the University of Connecticut Health Center. Mood disorders join a growing list of problems, including cancer, obesity and diabetes that can occur when light throws life out of balance by disturbing the biological clock and its timing of daily rhythms.
In the new study, Tracy Bedrosian and Randy Nelson of Ohio State University exposed mice to normal light and dark cycles for four weeks. For the next four weeks, half of the mice remained on this schedule, and the rest received continuous dim light throughout their night. Compared with mice exposed to normal night-time darkness, those getting dim light at night lost their strong preference for sweet drinks. “A sign that they no longer get pleasure out of activities they once enjoyed,” Bedrosian says.
In a second test, mice were clocked on how long they actively tried to escape a pool of water. Those exposed to night lights stopped struggling and just floated in the water, a sign of “behavioral despair”, 10 times as long as the mice that had experienced normal night-time darkness. All symptoms of depression disappeared within two weeks of the mice returning to a normal light-dark cycle, the researchers report. The scientists could also quash the behavioral symptoms by injecting the brains of animals with a drug that prohibits the activity of certain molecules linked with human depression. This finding further suggests that light at night may cause something related to depression.
Human studies linking night-time light and mood disorders are important but can not easily detect molecular underpinnings(分子基础) as animal studies can, says George Brainard of Thomas Jefferson University. The new work, he says, suggests that the change of the biological clock by light at night can be “an extremely powerful force in regulating biology and behavior”.
After being exposed to continuous night-time light, the mice __________.

A．changed their preferences

B．escaped from the water more eagerly

C．remained active as before

D．showed less interest in their favorites

What does the underlined word “quash” in paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．study	B．predict
C．ease	D．cause

We can learn from the last paragraph that _______________.

A．light at night may have practical value

B．the biological clock is beneficial to humans

C．human mood disorders cannot be healed easily

D．human studies are more important than animal studies

What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Night-time light may cause depression.

B．A drug has been found to cure mood disorders.

C．The study on animals can be applied to humans.

D．Human biological clock can be controlled by light.

I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch(养马场). He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events. The last time I was there he introduced me by saying: “I want to tell you a story. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.
“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.
“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, ‘See me after class.’
“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, ‘Why did I receive an F?’ The teacher said, ‘This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, ‘If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’
“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, ‘Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’ Finally, after a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He stated, ‘You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.’ ”
Monty then turned to the group present and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, “The best part of the story is that two years ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week. When the teacher was leaving, he said, ‘Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough courage not to give up yours.’ ”
“Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what,” Monty at last concluded.
The teacher asked the boy to rewrite the paper because __________.

A．the boy was too poor to achieve his dream

B．the teacher doubted his chance of success

C．the boy was not good enough to achieve his goal

D．the teacher looked down on the boy absolutely

Which of the following could best express the teacher’s feelings when she said the words before leaving the ranch two years ago?

A．Regretful and proud.	B．Regretful and guilty.
C．Honest and sorry.	D．Embarrassed and proud.

From the passage we can conclude that __________.

A．the boy was an unrealistic person

B．the boy’s father was irresponsible for his education

C．the boy had great courage and determination

D．the teacher often found fault with his students

What would be the best title of the passage?

A．Set a practical goal

B．Try to be realistic

C．Prove yourself through success

D．Keep your dream

When Jane put out the idea of homeschooling to her parents, the first reaction they gave was, “You are cutting the child off the world.’’ “Did the child really get cut off or did the child socialize better?”
The moment we hear of homeschooling, we think the child will have no opportunities to interact with peers. However, in my friend’s opinion, we forget that when attending a regular school, the child is not into socializing all the while. The child is restricted to so many other activities. Studies take a major role in a child’s life. The child hardly has the time to interact at school.
The child might be meeting and studying along with many peers; however, how many kids interact with all the kids in a class? But in homeschooling system, as my friend mentioned, the kid has all the time and can plan his day accordingly. During the day the child studies just like other school-going kids but with no burden of homework and project work, the child has so much free time in the evening as to effectively interact and play with peers. The quality time the child spends in education is really impressive.
Homeschooled kids have the opportunity to socialize more often as they have a lot of time in their hands. They can also make socializing a regular habit. Just as my friend said, her child goes to a neighboring park almost every day and has a set of friends who go there daily. Other children get back home to finish off homework and project work whereas her child who is already through with studies gets the opportunity to spend time with family members.
When I heard this, I really felt how lucky the child was. Definitely the child had a better opportunity to socialize when compared with my kid. However, I might not consider homeschooling for my kid, as I am so used to the conventional schooling system and feel regular schooling the safest bet.
The author’s purpose in writing the passage is to_____________.

A．express his views on homeschooling

B．explain what homeschooling is

C．share his ways of teaching his children

D．promote homeschooling

What is the biggest advantage of homeschooled children?

A．They will become braver.	B．They can be more popular.
C．They can socialize better.	D．They will know how to arrange time.

What do we know about homeschooled children?

A．They don’t interact with their peers often.

B．They have more spare time to play.

C．They are restricted to certain activities

D．They can’t gain enough knowledge.

How does the passage mainly develop?

A．By following the order of importance.

B．By following the order of time.

C．By making comparisons.

D．By presenting data.

Disease, poverty, hate, love－Charles Dickens’ stories opened his readers eyes to the most important themes of his age. Two hundred years on, his stories still speak volumes across the world, proving that Dickens’ legacy（遗产）was far greater than just “great-literature”.
February 7 marks the 200^th anniversary of the writer’s birthday. To mark this date, BBC writer Alex Hudson listed six things Dickens gave the modern world. Let’s take a look at two of them.
A White Christmas
Dickens is described as “the man who invented Christmas” － not the religious festival, but the cultural aspects that we associate with the festive season today.
In the early 19^th century, Christmas was barely worth mentioning, according to critic and writer Leigh Hunt. The committee which ran the Conservative Party even held ordinary business meetings on Christmas Day－unthinkable in the West nowadays, when everyone but the most necessary workers takes at least three days off.
Many people believe that Dickens’ popular descriptions of the festive period became a blueprint for generations to come. In his classic novel, A Christmas Carol, he not only put forward the idea of snow at Christmas, but also painted a picture of glowing warmth－“home enjoyments, affections and hopes”.
In his biography of Dickens, Peter Ackroyd wrote: “Dickens can be said to have almost single-handedly created the modern idea of Christmas.”
“Dickens” poverty(贫穷)
Dickens was one of the first to take an honest look at the underclass and the poor of Victorian London.He helped popularize the term “red tape” to describe situations where people in power use needless amounts of bureaucracy(官僚作风) in a way that particularly hurts the weaker and poorer members of society.
“Dickensian” has now become a powerful word for describing an unacceptable level of poverty. In 2009, when the president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in the UK wanted to talk about poverty in some areas of Britain, she did not use words like “terrible” or “horrific”, but rather described it as “life mirroring the times of Dickens”.
The article is mainly about____________

A．a brief introduction to Charles Dickens

B．Charles Dickens’ influence on the world

C．the characters in Charles Dickens’ stories

D．Charles Dickens’ achievements in literature

Why is Dickens called “the man who invented Christmas”?

A．Because he created both religious and culture festival.

B．Because all his novels have something to do with Christmas.

C．Because one of his novels helped to shape Christmas celebrations.

D．Because he was the first man to have proposed celebrating Christmas.

We can learn from the passage that______.

A．Dickensian is widely used to describe the Christmas

B．Charles Dickens’ novels reflect the true life at his age

C．Every person can take three days off for Christmas

D．The theme of Charles Dickens’ stories is about poverty

For centuries, the body’s blood has been linked closely with the emotions. People who show no human emotions or feelings, are said to be cold-blooded killer. For example, the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer. He seems to kill for no reason, and no emotion, as if taking someone’s life as nothing.
Cold can affect other parts of the body. The expression “get cold feet” has nothing to do with cold or your feet. The expression means being afraid to do something you have decided to do. For example, you agree to be president of an organization. But then you learn that all the other officers have resigned, and all the work of the organization will be your responsibility. You are likely to get cold feet about being president when you understand the situation.
The expression “give someone the cold shoulder” probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone, instead of speaking to him face to face. You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you. Or, to someone who has lied about you to others.
A cold fish is not a fish.It is a person.But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth. A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone.Someone who is a cold fish could be cold-hearted. Now a cold-hearted person is someone who has no sympathy.Several popular songs in recent years were about cold-hearted men or cold-hearted women who, without feelings, broke the hearts of their lovers.
Out in the cold means not getting something that everybody else got.A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise---he was left out in the cold.And it is not a pleasant place to be.
When you refuse to speak to a man and treat him in a distant way, you may express by “____”.

A．I think he is a cold fish

B．I give him the cold shoulder

C．I think he is a cold-blooded man

D．I’m likely to get cold feet

If Sue shows absolutely no reaction to those awful pictures of starving children in Africa, you will say _________.

A．she is a cold fish	B．she is out in the cold
C．she is a cold-blooded killer	D．she gets cold feet

We can use the expression “__________” to describe a man who abandons or hurts his lover without mercy.

A．cold feet	B．cold shoulder
C．cold-hearted	D．cold-blooded

The topic of this passage is about _________.

A．some expressions about friendship

B．how cold weather comes into being

C．some expressions connected with cold

D．the relationship between cold and our body

A．are well-known all over the world	B．require at least three years’ experience
C．offer excellent pay and sick pay	D．prefer to hire a man manager

A．get in touch with the Personal Manager by telephone
B．get the result on TV	C．be interviewed in a city
D．write to Box 3526 to get more information