Advice to “sleep on it” could be well founded, scientists say. After a good night’s sleep a problem that seemed impossible to solve the night before can often appear more manageable, although no evidence has proved this by now. But researchers at the University of Luebek in Germany have designed an experiment that shows a good night’s sleep can improve insight (洞察力) and problem-solving.
“If you have some newly acquired memories in your brain, sleep acts on these memories and restructures (重构) them, so that after sleep the insight into a problem which you could not solve before increases,” said Dr. Jan Born, a neuroscientist (神经科学家), at the university. To test the theory, they taught volunteers two simple rules to help them put a string of numbers into a new order. There was also a third, hidden rule, which could help them increase their speed in solving the problem. The researchers divided the volunteers into two groups: half were allowed to sleep after the training while the rest were forced to stay awake. Born and his team noticed that the group that had slept after the training were twice as likely to figure out the third rule as the other group. “Sleep helped.” Born said in a telephone interview. “The important thing is that you have to have a memory representation in your brain of the problem you want to solve and then you sleep, so it can act on the problem.” But Born admitted that he and his team don’t know how restructuring of memories occurs or what governs it. Pierre Marquette and Pierre Ruby of the University of Liege in Belgium said the experimental evidence supports the suggestion that sleep can help develop creative thinking. Although the role of sleep in human creativity will still be a mystery, the research gives people good reason to fully respect their periods of sleep, they added.
68. The underlined phrase “sleep on it” in Paragraph 1 probably means _____.
A. to put something to be solved aside until the next day
B. to get as much sleep as possible
C. to go on sleeping without being disturbed
D. to sleep till you usually get up the next morning
69. Jan Born and his team carried out the experiment through _____.
A. interview B. comparison C. survey D. imagination
70. It can be inferred from the passage that _____.
A. sleep is the only way to solve hard problems
B. people should sleep so long as they have time
C. people know how sleep reconstructs memories
D. people have various periods of sleep
71. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. How Sleep Works B. No Evidence, but Well Founded
C. Sleep Helps Solve Problems D. Born’s Discovery On Sleep
Both warm-blooded and cold-blooded desert animals have ways to escape the desert heat. Warm-blooded desert animals, such as rats and mice, rest during the day, often staying in cool underground burrows. At night they search for food. Animals that are out during the day, such as cold-blooded lizards and snakes, are active only for short periods. As their body temperature rises, these reptiles move into the shade in order to cool down. In the early evening, when the sun grows weaker, the reptiles become more active and begin their search for food again.
Getting enough water to survive is a major problem for all desert animals. Some desert animals, such as the kangaroo rat and the related jerboa, get water only from the food that they eat. Because these animals eat mainly dry seeds, they must survive on a tiny amount of water.
Most deserts have only a small number of frogs and toads because these animals must be near water to survive. Yet even these creatures have adapted to desert conditions. When small amounts of water collect in temporary streams, the desert-living frogs and toads become active. After a rainfall, they lay their eggs. The eggs grow into tadpoles in a few days and into adults in just four weeks. When the puddles dry up, the adult frogs or toads dig into the ground. Their metabolism(新陈代谢) slows, and they stay beneath the ground until the next rain, which may be as good as a year away. Until then, their bodily activities continue at a reduced rate.
The camel---often called the ship of the desert---is one of the most successful desert animals. Camels can go for long periods without water, but eventually they must drink. When water becomes available to them after a long drought, they may drink 95 liters of water or more. When water is not available, what helps camels survive the desert heat is the fat stored in their humps. A camel’s hump contains about 12 kilograms of fat. Fat is rich in hydrogen. As the fat is digested, hydrogen from the fat combines with oxygen in the air that the camel breathes. The result is H2O, or water. Each kilogram of fat that a camel digests produces about a liter of water.
71. Desert animals are usually more active at night because ______.
A. it is cooler at night B.it is easier to find water
C.they like the dark D. they are less likely to be attacked at night
72. Which of the following desert animals can get water only from the food?
A. The camel. B. The kangaroo rat. C. The frog.D. The toad
73. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. All the desert animals rest during the day.
B. All the desert animals don’t rest during the day.
C. Cold-blooded desert animals don’t rest during the day.
D. None of the cold-blooded desert animals go out during the day.
74. The title for this passage could probably be ________.
A. Hot DesertsB. Desert Animals
C. How Desert Animals Get Water D. Ways To Escape the Desert Heat
75. The underlined word “burrows” in the first paragraph can be replaced by _________.
A. holes B. caves C. rooms D. openings
He was 11 years old and went fishing every chance he got from the dock at his family's cabin on an island in the middle of a New Hampshire lake.
On the day before the bass（鲈鱼） season opened, he and his father were fishing early in the evening, catching sunfish and bass with worms. Then he tied on a small silver lure（鱼饵）and practiced casting. The lure struck the water and caused colored ripples in the sunset, then silver ripples as the moon rose over the lake.
When his pole doubled over, he knew something huge was on the other end. His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully worked the fish alongside the dock.
Finally, he very gingerly lifted the exhausted fish from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass. The boy and his father looked at the handsome fish, gills playing back and forth in the moonlight. The father lit a match and looked at his watch. It was 10 P.M.--- two hours before the season opened. He looked at the fish, then at the boy.
"You'll have to put it back, son," he said.
"Dad!" cried the boy.
"There will be other fish," said his father.
"Not as big as this one," cried the boy.
He looked around the lake. No other fishermen or boats were anywhere around in the moonlight. He looked again at his father. Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know what time he caught the fish, the boy could tell by the clarity of his father's voice that the decision was not negotiable. He slowly worked the hook out of the lip of the huge bass and lowered it into the black water.
The creature swished its powerful body and disappeared. The boy suspected that he would never again see such a great fish.
That was 34 years ago. Today, the boy is a successful architect in New York City. His father's cabin is still there on the island in the middle of the lake. He takes his own son and daughters fishing from the same dock.
He was right. He has never again caught such a magnificent fish as the one he landed that night long ago. But he does see that same fish---again and again---every time he comes up against a question of ethics（道德规范）.
67. The underlined word “negotiable” in the passage refers to _________.
A. transferable B. reasonable C. acceptable D. reliable
68. When does the architect (the father’s son) think of that bass put back?
A. When he takes his own son and daughters fishing from the same dock.
B. When he builds many famous buildings.
C. When he faces some problems about ethics.
D. When he pays a visit to his old father.
69. Which word can not be used to describe the boy’s father?
A. honest B. noble-minded C. generous D. caring
70. From the passage, we can learn _________.
A. how we have a chance to beat the system and take it
B. how we do the right thing and are strengthened
C. how we master some skills of going fishing
D. how we understand our parents’ words is very important
Anyone who works in an office knows the power of technology. When it works, life is wonderful. Information files across the world in seconds. It saves time and makes our jobs easier. But when technology goes wrong, everyone hates it.
In March, Peter Golota received a gas bill for $0.00. He threw it away. In April, he received another bill for $0.00. He threw that one way, too. In May, the gas company sent him a letter which said he had to pay his gas bill. If he didn’t pay it, they were going to cut off his gas. He called and told them the bill was for $0.00. They said it was a computer error. But the bills continued. Finally, he sent a check for $0.00. This caused the bank’s computer to crash. After a lot of angry phone calls and the letters between the man, the gas company, and the bank, the case went to court. The gas company lost, and had to pay Peter Golota $8,000. It all happened because of a bill for $0.00.
A man from Colorado appeared on the news when he shot his computer because it crashed all the time. The man, who owned a bar, put the “dead” laptop on the wall for everyone to see. The police said, “It’s the first time someone shot a computer because he was angry with it.” They arrested him.
In December, Margaret Smart, of Energies Solutions, stood up in front of 2,000 people in Taxes. As she began to speak, her microphone stopped working. They found another one. After two minutes, that one also died. When she decided to show her notes on PowerPoint, the computer refused to start up. The title of her presentation was “Technology: The way Forward”.
64. Why did the bank’s computer crash?
A. Because it kept sending gas bills for $0.00.
B. Because Peter Golota sent a check for $0.00.
C. Because the gas company sent a letter to the bank.
D. Because the gas bill case went to court.
65. Who got angry with his computer and shot it?
A. A bar owner. B. A policeman.
C. Peter Golota. D. A bank manager.
66. Margaret Smart’s computer refuses to start up probably because ________.
A. there was a power failure B. it worked too long
C. it went wrong D. someone shot her computer
Besides calling 911, here is what to do in some life-threatening emergencies when no one is
around to help.
Lost in the wilderness
First, you’ve got to acknowledge you’re in trouble. Stay where you can be seen clearly and remember to rest. Keeping a sense of humor helps too—it reduces stress and helps creative thinking.
In a wide open area, make a colorful cross out of rocks to show your present position.
Choking
Aim to hit the top of the chair against your stomach, in the soft part below the bony upside-down V of the ribs（肋骨）. Make a sudden push against the chair. If you still can’t breathe after six tries, call 911, even if you can’t talk. Write the word choking somewhere nearby, and leave the line open until help arrives.
Severe bleeding
Use your hand or clean cotton, or paper towels, or a scarf, or any cloth you can find, and push down on the wound until the bleeding stops. But if you put a band around your leg tightly, you’re going to close the vessels（血管）to the entire leg. In this way, you could lose your foot.
Bear attack
If you surprise a bear, don’t run away. That invites an attack. Instead, stand up and back away slowly, without looking the bear in the eyes. If it does charge at you, stick out your chest, raise your arms, and spread your legs. Shout at the bear, to frighten it. If it’s going to attack, lie facedown, with your handsheld firmly behind your neck. Play dead until you’re sure the bear is gone.
60. When you see a colorful cross made of rocks in the wilderness, you know .
A. someone is bleedingB. someone is choking
C. someone is attacked by a bear D. someone is lost
61. If you are still choking after six tries, you should .
A. call 911 and leave the line open B. keep a sense of humor
C. use your hand our clean cotton D. lie down with your hands behind your neck
62. Don’t tie around your bleeding leg tightly, or you could.
A. stop bleeding B. reduce stress C. cause breathlessness D. lose our foot
63. The passage is mainly teaching us how to .
A. avoid a bear attack B. survive the emergencies
C. deal with a choke D. find our way
第三部分阅读理解 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Watching television more than two hours a day early in life can lead to attention problems later in adolescence, according to a study released on Tuesday.
The roughly 40 percent increase in attention problems among heavy TV viewers was observed in both boys and girls. The link was established by a long-term study of the habits and behaviors of more than 1,000 children born in Dunedin, New Zealand, between April 1972 and March 1973.
The children aged 5 to 11 watched an average of 2.05 hours of weekday television. From age 13 to 15, time spent in front of the tube rose to an average of 3.1 hours a day.
"Those who watched more than two hours, and particularly those who watched more than three hours, of television per day during childhood had above-average symptoms of attention problems in adolescence," Carl Landhuis of the University of Otago in Dunedin wrote in his report, published in the journal Pediatrics.
Young children who watched a lot of television were more likely to continue the habit as they got older, but even if they did not the damage was done, the report said.
"This suggests that the effects of childhood viewing on attention may be long lasting," Landhuis wrote.
Landhuis offered several possible explanations for the association.
One was that the rapid scene changes common to many TV programs may over stimulate（刺激）the developing brain of a young child, and could make reality seem boring by comparison. "Hence, children who watch a lot of television may become less tolerant of slower-paced and more mundane tasks, such as school work," he wrote.
It was also possible that TV viewing may supplant other activities that promote concentration, such as reading, games, sports and play, he said.
Previous studies have linked the sedentary固定不动的）habit of TV watching among children to obesity and diabetes, and another study in the same journal cited the poor nutritional content of the overwhelming majority of food products advertised on the top-rated US. children's television shows.
Up to 98 percent of the TV ads promoting food products that were directed at children aged 2 through 11 "were high in either fat, sugar, or sodium," wrote Lisa Powell of the University of Illinois in Chicago.
56. The recent survey shows that _________.
A. watching TV can cause all kinds of diseases for children
B. Watching TV over 2 hours a day early in life can cause attention problems later in adolescence
C. TV sets have played an important part in our daily lives
D. watching TV has side effects on children’s future
57. People used to think that _________.
A. the sedentary habit of TV watching among children could easily lead to obesity and diabetes
B. watching TV more than 2 hours every day did good to children’s health
C. the children wasn’t patient with their homework because of watching TV too much
D. it was very important for children to watching TV early in life
58. The underlined word “Hence” means _________.
A. In that case B. And yet C. For this reason D. On the contrary
59. In Landhuis’ opinion, _________.
A. how to develop children’s attention problems is a lasting problem
B. attention problems caused by watching TV during childhood may be hard to get rid of
C. the key of settling attention problems is not watching TV.
D. there shouldn’t have many food products ads on children's television shows