Theaudiencestartstoscreamandyo-优题课

They tell us when to get up or when we’re running late for work and whether we are in danger of missing our favourite TV programme. But while our daily routines rely on clocks that tell us the time, science is discovering that our well-being is influenced by a very different kind of timepiece. Circadian rhythms---the human body’s own internal clock---have a powerful influence on our health and behaviour. They are programmed from birth and control functions ranging from temperature and blood pressure to sleep patterns.
In recent years researchers have also discovered that this built-in mechanism can influence everything from the way we react to medicines to how well we learn music.
The latest example, from experts at Harvard University in the US, shows that the human body clock can even dictate whether or not we are likely to tell the truth. Researchers found it was easier for people to fib（撒小谎） in the afternoon because, as they were tired, the self control that would normally prevent them from lying started to break down. Tiredness made it harder to resist the temptation to tell lies---especially if it meant they got a financial reward at the end.
“The body clock has a great effect on us all,” says Professor Jim Horne from the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University. “Most people tend to feel good around late morning and then decline in the early afternoon. But the time most of us will feel our sharpest is between 6pm and 8pm. That’s because sleepiness tends to build up throughout the day. By early evening our body clock kicks in to wake us up. One reason may be to ensure we get home safely. When our ancestors were coming home after hunting all day their internal clocks kicked in to get them home in one piece.”
So what effects do circadian rhythms have and what’s the best time of day to take advantage of them?
The underlined word “They” in the first paragraph refers to.

A．our clocks	B．scientists and experts
C．our daily routines	D．circadian rhythms

The research referred to in Paragraph 3 found that people tend to.

A．tell lies when they are tired

B．tell lies if they are rewarded

C．lose temper as they become tired

D．break down because they are tired

According to the passage, when are people most quick-thinking?

A．In the morning.	B．Around midday.
C．In the late afternoon.	D．In the early evening.

What information will the writer probably present following the last paragraph?

A．Some practical suggestions to prevent people from lying.

B．Examples of how the human body clocks control the body.

C．Examples of the most suitable time to do different activities.

D．An explanation of how the human body clock controls the body.

What is the best title for the passage?

A．Rebuild your body clock	B．Timing is everything
C．Sleep more, lie less	D．Your time is limited

A newly-wedded couple on a four-month honeymoon were hit by six natural disasters, including the Australian floods, Christchurch earthquake and Japanese tsunami (海啸).
Stefan and Erika Svanstrom left Stockholm, Sweden, on December 6 and were immediately stuck in Munich, Germany, due to one of Europe's worst snowstorms.
Travelling with their baby daughter, they flew on to Cairns in Australia which was then struck by one of the most violent cyclones in the nation's history.
From there, the couple, in their 20s, were forced to shelter for 24 hours on the cement (水泥) floor of a shopping centre with 2,500 others.
“Trees were being knocked over and big branches were put down across the streets, ” Mr. Svanstrom told Sweden's Expressen newspaper. “We escaped by the skin of our teeth.”
Mr. Svanstrom said they then headed south to Brisbane but the city was experiencing massive flooding, so they crossed the country to Perth where they narrowly escaped burning bush fires.
The couple then flew to Christchurch, New Zealand, arriving just after a massive magnitude (震级) 6.3 earthquake attacked the city on February 22.
Mrs. Svanstrom said, “When we got there the whole town was like a war zone. We could not visit the city since it was completely blocked off, so instead we travelled around before going to Japan.”
But days after the Svanstroms arrived, Tokyo was rocked by Japan's largest earthquake since records began.
“The trembling was horrible and we saw roof tiles fly off the buildings,” Mr. Svanstrom said. “It was like the buildings were swaying back and forth.”
The family returned to Stockholm on March 29 after a much calmer visit to their last destination China.
But Mr. Svanstrom --- who also survived the destructive Boxing Day tsunami that hit southeast Asia in 2004 --- said the marriage was still going strong.
He added, “I know marriages have to experience some difficulties, but I think we have been through most of them. We've certainly experienced more than our fair share of disasters, but the most important thing is that we're together and happy.”
In Svanstrom's opinion, a marriage.

A．has to go peacefully and happily for all time

B．has to experience many disasters at the beginning

C．must always allow the couple be together and happy

D．should experience difficulties to make it steady

Why were Stefan and Erika Svanstrom stopped in Munich?

A．Christchurch earthquake stopped them.

B．Because of Europe's worst snowstorm.

C．The plane was damaged.

D．The trains broke down.

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．The family were stuck in a mall of Australia for twenty-four hours.

B．The family didn't experience any disaster in China.

C．During their stay in New Zealand, they also visited a war zone in the town.

D．The earthquake the family experienced in Tokyo was the largest one recorded in Japan.

The Svanstroms thought that Christchurch of New Zealand was.

A．disordered	B．interesting
C．beautiful	D．shaking

The best title for this passage is.

A．Meeting Disasters During Honeymoon

B．Six Natural Disasters

C．Newly-wed Couple Met Australian Floods

D．Japanese Tsunami

I guess I always knew about the little fish treat, but this past summer it was all I could see. Pipin and Nemo were balancing on one front flipper(鳍), flying through hoops, dancing with the trainer, and we were all applauding — the little kids screaming with delight. That’s when the trainer, who wore a little treat bag on her belt, slipped Pipin and Nemo a fish. Each time they successfully performed a trick, they’d get an immediate reward.
These creatures weren’t really dancing, of course. They were performing a series of movements that they knew would produce a fish. It’s such a good show because the sea lions look like they’re having such fun. These talented performers who love to be in front of an audience seem almost human.
Somewhere in our faith journey, we all have a sea lion moment. You see how you’ve spent years jumping through hoops, balancing a ball on your nose, not because it’s really who you are, but because you’ve always done it and the system rewarded you for your performance. But when you’ve done that for ten or twenty years, you start to ask yourself, “Whose approval am I working for? What do I really believe?” Suddenly you see it: you’ve spent most all your life taking direction from other people. They’ve told you what to believe in, what to work for, what to value, how to live your life. You don’t want to end your life like Sinclair Lewis’s George Babbitt, the middle-aged real-estate broker(经纪人) who has everything and reached the top. But on the last page of Babbitt, George is speaking to his son Ted, who cannot follow in his father’s steps. He wants to leave college and head off on his own way. “Dad, I can’t stand it any more,” the boy says. “Maybe it’s all right for some fellows. Maybe I’ll want to go back some day, but now, I want to get into mechanics.” Babbitt, seeming old and subdued, says, “I’ve never done a single thing I’ve wanted to in my whole life!”
The Good-Bye Gate brings us naturally to a second passage, leading from dependency to self-possession. As you start separating from the whole worn-out system, you discover that where there is supposed to be a self, there really isn’t.
The sea lions were pleased to perform in front of the audience because they ____.

A．will be punished if it refuses it

B．wants to win the trainer’s favor

C．wants to get audiences’ applauses

D．can get food as a reward that way

While watching the sea lions’ performance, the author ____.

A．realized an important life philosophy

B．recalled the similar scene of last year

C．couldn’t help shouting and dancing

D．was happy to see them living freely

By saying “we all have a sea lion moment”, the author means that ____.

A．anyone can make it so long as they work hard

B．sometimes we don’t act following our own will

C．we can also get rewarded if we do something well

D．every human being also has his happy moment

What do you learn about George Babbitt?

A．He has been living a free life of his own.

B．His son ends up Babbitt family’s business.

C．He tends to agree to his son’s choice of life.

D．His son decides to follow his father’s steps.

Which can be the best title for this passage?

A．Challenge Yourself	B．Summer Vacation Fun
C．No Pains, No Gains	D．Now I Become Myself

No opera smells of the sea quite like Britten’s Peter Grimes. The music makes us constantly aware of the sea’s immensity, it’s potential for threat, and the play of light on its waves. But the sea isn’t just a special background, it weighs on the lives of the characters, offering them a living, but at a price. In the first act the laboured sound of the strings evokes (引起) the complete heaviness of the sailor’s work, as they haul(用力拉) the boats up the shingle (鹅卵石). Then a storm gathers which rages(肆虐) through the scene at the Inn, and stirs up an orchestral hurricane. Even when it’s calm and favorable, the sea is inescapable.
In the comfortable enclosed world of the opera house, this can only be suggested. In the production of Peter Grimes about to open at the Aldeburgh Festival, it will be really present, because the opera is taking place on the beach, the setting for much of the narrative of Britten’s opera, and also the poem by the Suffolk poet George Crabbe that inspired it.
This won’t be the first opera production to be set in the actual landscape in which the action takes place. There’s a well-known filmed production of Tosca shot in Castel Gandolfo in Rome, and a production of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena was once mounted in the moat(护城河) surrounding the Tower of London. But those were manageable urban landscapes, with comfortingly solid buildings to act as wind shields and acoustic blocks.
On the Aldeburgh beach there’s actually nothing, apart from a few boats, some whole, some wrecked. Here anything more complicated than walking the dog is hard to solve. The wind blows away one’s words, so conversation is hard, and anything not tied down tends to blow away. The sliding shingle turns one’s steps into a drunken stagger.
The idea of performing an opera in these conditions seems quite barmy — an accusation Aldeburgh director Jonathan Reakie takes cheerfully on the chin. Why has he done it? “Well, Grimes is the opera of Britten’s that’s most associated with Aldeburgh, but it’s never been produced at the Festival which he founded. There just isn’t the space for it. In his anniversary year we wanted to focus on Britten’s connection with Suffolk, and this seemed the boldest way to do it.”
Having had the mad idea, Reakie found his colleagues were not just accepting, but enthusiastic. “We spent a long time thinking about ways to do it. One idea we had was to do all the scenes at the right time of day. There’s one scene at dawn, another at midday, and a lot of action at night, but that was too complicated. Then we thought about doing a few scenes on the beach. But in the end, we thought hell, let’s just do the whole thing.”
Which of the following can best describe the sailor’s work in the first act?

A．Pleasant.	B．Hard.
C．Comfortable.	D．Attractive.

How is Paragraph 2 mainly developed?

A．By giving descriptions.	B．By following time order.
C．By analyzing causes.	D．By making comparisons.

What does Paragraph 4 mainly tell us?

A．The benefits of the actual landscape.

B．The actual landscape of Aldeburgh beach.

C．The location of the Aldeburgh beach.

D．The hardship of performing opera in Aldeburgh beach.

The underlined word “barmy” (in Paragraph 5) is closest in meaning to ____.

A．crazy	B．impossible
C．wonderful	D．terrible

Reakie’s partners’ attitude towards his opera on a beach is ____.

A．eager	B．cautious
C．doubtful	D．unfavorable

If you’re travelling in the following cities, these exciting events may drag you out of the house.
CONCERTS
Mayday Noah’s Ark World Tour
Info: Jul 13, Xiamen; Jul 19/20, Shanghai; Aug 3, Shenzhen; Aug 17, Beijing
The rock band Mayday is about to bring their attractive tour to an end — and, as usual, it’s going to happen in a grand way. On Aug 17, they will rock the National Stadium, or the Bird’s Nest Stadium, and hold their last Noah’s(诺亚方舟) Ark concert in China, before heading to Europe in September.
Tanya Chua 2013 Concert Tour
Info: Aug 10, Shanghai; Aug 31, Beijing
In her music career of more than 15 years, the 38-year-old Singaporean singer-songwriter has never been short of popular songs that astonish the heart. Now, for the first time since 2008, when she played a small Christmas concert in Shanghai, Chua is visiting China as part of a concert tour.
THEATER
What is Success?
Director: Edward Lam
Performers: Chu Hung-chang, Ethan Wei, Shi Yi-hsiu
Info: Aug 9-10, Guangzhou; Aug 16-17, Chongqing; Aug 29-Sept 1, Beijing
In Part Three of Edward Lam’s Four Great Classics Series, which looks back at Luo Guanzhong’s novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it is sure to give you a surprise. Will it be true? Find out for yourself!
To Live
Director: Meng Jinghui
Performers: Huang Bo, Yuan Quan
Info: Jul 30-Aug 4, Beijing; Aug 6-7, Tianjin; Aug 9-11, Hangzhou; Aug 13-18, Shanghai
After their world show in September, theater director Meng Jinghui and his team are back for another tour around China. While audiences can renew their memories of Yu Hua’s new realism works, film stars Huang Bo and Yuan Quan will also impress audiences with their excellent performance.
EXHIBITIONS
Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal(永恒)
Info: Apr 29-Jul 28, Shanghai
Launched in 2012 — the 25th anniversary of the pop artist Andy Warhol’s death — the exhibition brings the largest ever collection of Warhol’s work to Asia. It includes more than 300 paintings, photographs, drawings and 3-D art, including his works such as Marilyn Monroe, Mao, Campbell’s Soup and Self-Portrait.
You may find the above advertisements ____.

A．in a newspaper	B．in a school magazine
C．in a store window	D．on a company notice-board

The rock band Mayday is going to give concerts in ____ after they perform in Beijing.

A．Australia	B．Japan
C．Europe	D．the USA

Tanya Chua 2013 Concert Tour is her ____ concert in China.

A．third	B．Fourth
C．first	D．second

Travelling in Hangzhou on Aug 10, you can watch film star Huang Bo’s works ____.

A．What is Success	B．To Live
C．Campbell’s Soup	D．Self-Portrait

The main purpose of the advertisements is to tell you ____ when you are in these cities.

A．how to enjoy these activities	B．how to improve your artistic level
C．how to amuse yourselves	D．what to enjoy