The first time I remember noticing I remember noticing the crossing guard was when he waved to me as I drove my son to school. He1me with a puzzle ---- all because he waved to me like someone does2seeing a close friend. A big,3smile accompanied his wave. For the next few days I tried to4his face to see if I knew him. I didn't. Perhaps he had5me for someone else. By the time I contented myself with the6that he and I were strangers, we were greeting each other warmly every morning like old friends.
Then one day the7was solved. As I8the school he was standing in the middle of the road9his stop sign. I was in live behind four cars.10the kids had reached the safety of the sidewalk, he lowered his sign and let the cars11. To the first he waved and12in just the same way he had done to me over the last few days. The kids already had the window down and were happily waving their reply. The second car got the same13from the crossing guard, and the driver, a stiff-looking（表情刻板的） businessman, gave a brief, almost14wave back. Each following car of kids on their way to school15more heartily.
Every morning I continued to watch the man with16.So far I haven't seen anyone17to wave back. I find it interesting that one person can make such a（n）18to so many people's lives by doing one simple thing like waving and smiling warmly. His19armed the start of my day. With a friendly wave and smiling face he had changed the20of the whole neighbourhood.
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American researchers have discovered that human brains and sleep patterns are confused by devices(装置) that give out bright lights. Electronics, such as laptops, mislead our minds into thinking that it is still daytime, preventing sleep and increasing the risk of insomnia.
Sleep experts say human's natural body clock begins to rest and relax from the day between 9 and 10 pm but the use of computers confuses it.
A person's brain biologically becomes awake when the sun is out because bright light after dark causes the brain to stop producing the hormone (荷尔蒙) called melatonin that makes us sleepy.
Researchers say blue light from devices such as iPads, which is expected to become a popular reading tool when it comes out later this month, is particularly disruptive (干扰的)during the night when the brain thinks it should be dark.
Experts say a good book is a far better way of resting the brain and ensuring a good night's sleep because the bedside lamp(灯) light doesn't affect the brain as it does not look straight into a person's eyes.
“Potentially, yes, if you're using an iPad or a laptop close to bedtime... that light can be stimulating (刺激) to the brain to make it more awake and delay your ability to sleep，” Phyllis Zee, a professor at Northwestern University and director of the school's Centre for Sleep & Circadian Biology, told CNN.
“And I think more importantly, it could also be enough to affect your circadian (昼夜节律的) rhythm. This is the clock in your brain that determines when you sleep and when you wake up. ”
Alon Avidan, associate director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of California Los Angeles, added, “I wish people would just take a boring book — an oldfashioned book — and read by a lamp.”The underlined word “insomnia” in the first paragraph probably means “________”．
| A．being unable to eat properly |
| B．brain injury |
| C．being unable to fall sleep |
| D．lack of energy |
Melatonin is the hormone that ________.
| A．makes us sleepy |
| B．helps us relaxed |
| C．prevents us from waking up |
| D．makes us excited |
The bedside lamp light doesn't affect the brain because ________.
| A．it doesn't give out blue light |
| B．it's not as bright as your laptop |
| C．it doesn't enter your eyes directly |
| D．it is adjustable |
We can conclude from the passage that ________.
| A．one who uses his laptop often before bedtime can have his body clock disturbed |
| B．using a laptop before bedtime is more harmful than using an iPad |
| C．we'd better not do anything before going to bed |
| D．the best time to go to bed is before 9 pm |
Camping wild is a wonderful way to experience the natural world and, at its best, it makes little environmental influence. But with increasing numbers of people wanting to escape into the wilderness, it is becoming more and more important to camp unobtrusively (不引人注目地) and leave no mark.
Wild camping is not permitted in many places, particularly in crowded lowland Britain. Wherever you are, find out about organizations responsible for managing wild spaces, and contact them to find out their policy on camping and shelter building. For example, it is fine to camp wild in remote parts of Scotland, but in England you must ask the landowner’s permission, except in national parks.
Camping is about having relaxation, sleeping outdoors, experiencing bad weather, and making do without modern conveniences. A busy, fully equipped campsite(野营地) seems to go against this, so seek out smaller, more remote places with easy access to open spaces and perhaps beaches. Better still, find a campsite with no road access：walking in makes a real adventure.
Finding the right spot to camp is the first step to guaranteeing a good night’s sleep. Choose a campsite with privacy(隐秘) and minimum（最小的） influence on others and the environment. Try to use an area where people have obviously camped before rather than creating a new spot.
When camping in woodland, avoid standing dead trees, which may fall on a windy night. Avoid animal runs and caves, and possible homes of biting insects. Make sure you have most protection on the windward(迎风的) side. If you make a fire, do so downwind of your shelter. Always consider what influence you might have on the natural world. Avoid damaging plants. A good campsite found, not made—changing it should be unnecessary. You needn’t ask for permission when camping in________.
| A．national parks in England | B．most parts of Scotland |
| C．crowded lowland Britain | D．most parts of England |
The author thinks that a good campsite is one________.
| A．with easy access | B．used previously（以前） |
| C．with modern conveniences | D．far away from beaches |
The last paragraph mainly deals with________.
| A．protecting animals |
| B．building a campfire |
| C．camping in woodland |
| D．finding a campsite with privacy |
The passage is mainly about________.
| A．the protection of campsites |
| B．the importance of wild camping |
| C．the human influence on campsites |
| D．the dos and don’ts of wild camping |
It’s well known that our human memory can fail us. People can be forgetful, and they can sometimes also “remember” things incorrectly, with damaging consequences in the classroom, courtroom, and other areas of life. Now, researchers show for the first time that bumblebees(大黄蜂) can be unreliable witnesses too.
Bumblebees are rather clever animals, which explains why Chittka has been studying learning and memory in the insects for the last 20 years.
Most times when people have studied memory in animals, errors in performance have been taken to mean that the animals failed to learn the task or perhaps learned it and then forgot. But what if animals can experience a more interesting type of memory failure?
To find out, Chittka first trained bumblebees to expect a reward when visiting a yellow artificial flower followed by one with black-and-white rings. During subsequent tests, bees were given a choice between three types of flowers. Two were the types they’d seen in the training before. The third had yellow-and-white rings, representing a mixed-up version of the other two. Minutes after the training, the bees showed a clear preference for the flower that recently rewarded them.
One or three days later, however, something very different happened when the bumblebees’ memory was put to the test. At first, the bees showed the same preference displayed in the earlier tests, but as the time went on, they began selecting the flower with yellow rings, even though they’d never actually seen that one in training before.
Chittka says that insects make similar errors in the conjunction (结合) of long-term memories as humans do. The ability to extract (提取) common features between different events in the environment might come at the expense of remembering every detail correctly. In bees, with their limited brain capacity (容量), the pressure to store main features of several objects rather than each individual object might be much greater, compared with humans.Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
| A．Human memory can fail sometimes. |
| B．Bumblebees make false memories too. |
| C．Humans are not as clever as bumblebees. |
| D．Bumblebees have extraordinary memory. |
Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined word “subsequent”?
| A．scientific | B．accurate |
| C．following | D．exceptional |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Memory failure influences students’ study effects. |
| B．Bumblebees’ memory is complicated and worth studying. |
| C．The bees couldn’t make out which flower had rewarded them days later. |
| D．Bumblebees are stupid insects with limited brain capacity. |
What does the test mentioned in Paragraph 4 tell us?
| A．Short-term memories serve the bees well. |
| B．The yellow artificial flower appeals to the bees. |
| C．Bumblebees like the flowers with yellow-and-white rings. |
| D．Bees have remarkable abilities to distinguish colors. |
We can infer from the passage that ______.
| A．Chittka thinks that bumblebees failed to remember the color of the flowers |
| B．Researchers have learned that bumblebees are unreliable animals |
| C．There exist no similarities between the memory errors in humans and bees. |
| D．It is less challenging for humans than bees to store main features of several objects. |
“BANG!” the door caused a reverberation (回声). It was just standing there, with father standing on one side, and me on the other side.
We were both in great anger. “Never set foot in this house again!” stormed father. With tears welling up in my eyes, I rushed out of the flat and ran along the street.
The street lights were shining, causing rather sad feelings. I wandered aimlessly.
A young father who held a child in his arms walked past me. I felt as if I saw my childhood from another space: happy and carefree.
But now
I dont know whether it is because I have grown up or because dad is getting old. We differ in our ways of thinking. We are just like two people coming from two different worlds. It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened.
I wandered the streets, without a destination in mind. My heart was frozen on this hot summer night. As I walked on, there were fewer and fewer people on the streets, until I had only the street lights to keep me company. When I finally reached the high-rise apartment block in which I lived, I saw that the light was still on.
I thought to myself: Is father waiting for me, or is he still angry with me?
In fact, it was nothing. Perhaps, dad was throwing away some of his old stamps. Perhaps he thought they were useless. I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps.
All the lights were off except fathers.
Dad was always like this. Maybe he didnt know how to express himself. After shouting at me, he never showed any mercy or any moments of regret.
This was how he always was. He has been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature.
The light was still on. Am I wrong? I whispered, maybe
With the key in my hand, I was as nervous as I had ever been. At last, I decided to open the door. As soon as I opened the door, tears ran down my cheeks. I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist at all. Love----its second to none.Which is the correct order of the following events according to the passage?
a. I opened the door and entered the house.
b. I ran out into the street angrily.
c. I reached the place where I lived and saw my house still brightly lit.
d. I recalled my happy childhood.
e. I began to walk about in the street without any aim.
| A．e, b, d, c, a | B．b, e, d, c, a |
| C．b, e, c, d, a | D．e, b, c, a, d |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The author fully understood why he and his father had different thinking. |
| B．The author’s father didn’t approve of his stamp collecting. |
| C．The author and his father lacked communication. |
| D．The author’s father opened the door for him when he came back. |
According to the author, why did his father often shout at him?
| A．Perhaps the father was getting older and older. |
| B．Perhaps the son had already grown up. |
| C．Perhaps they never agreed with each other. |
| D．Perhaps the father had been used to doing that. |
What did the author mean by the underlined sentence “My heart was frozen on this hot summer night”?
| A．He felt lonely because there were so few people on the street. |
| B．He felt uncomfortable because it was a very hot night. |
| C．He was completely disappointed with his father. |
| D．He was at a loss because he had nowhere to go. |
What was the author’s attitude towards his father at the end of the story?
| A．He loved his father. |
| B．He was frustrated with his father. |
| C．He was afraid of his father. |
| D．He was dissatisfied with his father. |
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) ---- About 140 pilot whales that stranded(使...搁浅) themselves on a remote stretch of New Zealand beach have died, but conservation workers and volunteers are hoping the remaining 60 or so will survive after they managed to get them refloated, an official said Saturday.
The geography of Farewell Spit on the South Island seems to work against whales, which regularly become stranded there. The stranding of 198 whales on Friday was one of the largest in recent years and inspired 80 workers and volunteers to help out.
By late Saturday, 140 of the whales had died, said Department of Conservation area manager Andrew Lamason.
He said the workers and volunteers worked throughout the day to keep the surviving whales watered and covered before refloating them during Saturday night’s high tide.
“We’ve had a really good crew of volunteers, and people have been wanting to come from all over the country,”Lamason said.
He said the surviving whales had moved to deeper water. But he cautioned that although hopes for their survival were high, whales had been refloated in the past only to return and get stranded again.
Lamason said the scale(规模) of the stranding has been tough on the helpers, both physically and mentally.
“It’s very sad, they’re very intelligent animals,” he said. “The common view is that it’s part of nature.”
The focus will now turn to the dead whales, and the enormous task of dealing with the remains, Lamason said, adding that in the past helpers have typically buried them in the sand, but that he’s not sure what the approach will be this time.
He said the department had been experimenting with moving the the dead whales into the water, which has the advantage of providing food for other sea creatures.What is the exact number of whales stranded last Friday?
| A．140. | B．60. | C．80. | D．198. |
Why did the volunteers have to wait until Saturday before they could refloat the whales?
| A．Because they were very busy on Friday. |
| B．Because they had to wait for the sea water to rise. |
| C．Because the whales were too intelligent. |
| D．Because the whales were buried deep in the sand. |
Which of the following words can be used to describe Lamason’s attitude towards the result of refloating the whales?
| A．Doubtful. | B．Optimistic. |
| C．Positive. | D．Careless. |
What did Lamason say about the feelings of the workers and volunteers?
| A．They were very happy to see so many whales. |
| B．They thought refloating the whales was not a hard job. |
| C．They were physically tired and emotionally hurt. |
| D．They believed that this is very natural. |
How will the volunteers deal with the dead whales this time according to Lamason?
| A．They will bury them in the sand. |
| B．They will throw them into the ocean. |
| C．They do not have any exact idea yet. |
| D．They will feed them to other sea creatures. |