Are morning people born or made? In my case it was definitely made．In my early 20s, I rarely went to bed before midnight, and I would almost always get up late the next morning．
But after a while I couldn’t ignore the high relationship between success and rising early．On those rare occasions when I did get up early, I noticed that my productivity was almost always higher．So I set out to become a habitual early riser．But whenever my alarm went off, my first thought was always to stop that noise and go back to sleep．Eventually some sleep research showed me that I was using the wrong strategy．
The most common wrong strategy is this: you assume that if you’re going to get up earlier, you’d better go to bed earlier．It sounds very reasonable, but will usually fail．
There are two main schools（流派） of thought on sleep patterns．The first is that you should go to bed and get up at the same time every day．The second school says you should go to bed when you’re tired and get up when you naturally wake up．However, I have found both of them are wrong if you care about productivity．If you sleep at set hours, you’ll sometimes go to bed when you aren’t sleepy enough．You’re wasting time lying in bed awake and not being asleep．
If your sleep is based on what your body tells you, you’ll probably be sleeping more than you need．Also, your mornings may be less predictable if you’re getting up at different times．
The solution for me has been to combine both methods．I go to bed when I’m sleepy and get up with an alarm clock at a fixed time．So I always get up at the same time （in my case 5 am）, but I go to bed at different times every night — sometimes at 9:30pm, and other times at midnight．Most of the time I go to bed between 10-11 pm．
However, going to bed only when I’m sleepy, and getting up at a fixed time every morning is my way．If you want to become an early riser, you can try your own．According to the passage, the underlined phrase refers to ________．
| A．people who stay up until the next morning |
| B．people who feel sleepy in the morning |
| C．people who get up early in the morning |
| D．people whose productivity is the highest in the morning |
Why did the author want to become a habitual early riser?
| A．Because he / she wanted to form the habit of going to bed early and getting up early． |
| B．Because he / she wanted to see which of the two main schools of thought on sleep patterns was right． |
| C．Because he / she had found that his / her productivity was higher when he / she got up early． |
| D．Because he / she was told the high relationship between success and rising early． |
The passage is mainly about ________．
| A．how to have good sleep |
| B．how to become an early riser |
| C．wrong strategies for getting up early |
| D．main schools of thought on sleep patterns |
How can we measure animals’ emotions? A new study of animal’s emotions suggests that, as in humans, emotions can tell animals about how dangerous their world is, and guide the choices that they make. The article of the study by Bristol University’s professor Mike Mendl was published online.
An animal living in an environment where it is often threatened by predators(捕食者）will develop a negative emotion or “mood”, such as anxiety. However, one in an environment with plenty of opportunities to get resources for survival will be in a more positive mood state.
The researchers say that these emotional states not only show the animal’s experiences, but also help it decide how to make choices, especially in unclear situations. This could have good or bad results. An animal in a negative mood state will make a safety-first with a “pessimistic” response to an unclear event. For example, it considers a noise in the grass as a signal of the predator. At the same time, an animal in a positive mood state will benefit from a more “optimistic” response. It considers the noise as a signal of prey(猎物）.
Professor Mike Mendl, head of the Animal Welfare and Behavior Research Group at Bristol University’s School of Clinical Veterinary Science said, “ We can use “optimistic” or “pessimistic”decision-making as a symbol of an animal’s emotional state. Recent studies by our group and others suggest that this is a meritorious new approach to studying a variety of animal species.”
“Public interest in animal welfare remains high, with widespread concern about the way in which animals are treated, used and included in society. To understand how animals should be treated, we need to better understand their emotional lives,” Mike Mendl said. The researchers believe Mike Mendl’s study can help them to better understand and assess an animal’s emotions.When an animal is in a negative mood state, _______.
| A．its response to an unclear event is pessimistic |
| B．it will pay little attention to an unclear event |
| C．it is easy for it to make right decisions |
| D．it has more opportunities to get food |
The underlined word “meritorious” in Paragraph 4 can be replaced by “_______”.
| A．valuable | B．useless | C．fashionable | D．hopeless |
We can infer from the passage that ________.
| A．the animals with positive emotions live longer |
| B．there is no way to assess an animal’s emotions |
| C．few people care about animal welfare nowadays |
| D．the environment can influence animal’s emotions |
Mike Mendl advised people to better understand animal’s emotions in order to _____.
| A．tell people to build more protected areas for animals |
| B．explain animals should be regarded as people’s friends |
| C．raise people’s interest in studying animals |
| D．make people know how to treat animals properly |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Different kinds of Animals’ Emotions |
| B．Emotions Helps Animals to Make Choice |
| C．The Living Environment of Wild Animals |
| D．The Best Way to Measure Animals’ Emotions |
The Winners Club is a bank account specially designed for teenagers. It has been made to help you better manage your money. The Winners Club is a transaction account（交易账户）where you receive a key-card so you can get to your money 24/7—that’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
It’s a club with impressive features for teenagers：
No account keeping fees！
You ’re no millionaire so we don’t expect you to pay large fees. In fact, there are no account keeping or transaction fees!
Excellent interest rates!
You want your money to grow. The Winners Club has a good rate of interest which gets even better if you make at least two deposits（储蓄）without taking them out in a month.
Convenient!
Teenagers are busy—we get that. You may never need to come to a bank at all. With the Winners Club you can choose to use handy tellers and to bank from home using the phone and the Internet…You can have money directly deposited into your Winners Club account. This could be your pocket money or your pay from your part-time job!
Magazine included!
Along with your regular report, you will receive a FREE magazine full of good ideas to make even more of your money. There are also fantastic offers and competitions only for Winners Club members.
The Winners Club is a great choice for teenagers. And it is so easy to join. Simply fill in an application form. You will have to get permission from your parent or guardian (so we can organize that cool key-card) but it is easy. We can’t wait to hear from you. It’s the best way to choose to be a winner!Which of the following is TRUE about the Winners Club?
| A．Special gifts are ready for parents. |
| B．The bank opens only on work days. |
| C．Services are convenient for its members. |
| D．Fees are necessary for the account keeping. |
The Winners Club provides magazines which_______.
| A．encourage spending |
| B．are free to all teenagers |
| C．are full of adventure stories. |
| D．help to make more of your money |
If you want to be a member of the Club, you must _________.
| A．be an Internet user | B．be permitted by your parent |
| C．have a lot of money | D．be in your twenties |
What is the purpose of this text?
| A．To set up a club. | B．To provide part-time jobs. |
| C．To organize key-cards. | D．To introduce a new banking service. |
I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be canceled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn't care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone, "Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?"
At that time I didn't realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, "Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!" And she swept it into the wastebasket.
I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth?
She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, "Now hear this! All objects in this room—if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!"
Then she turned to me, kissed me, and said calmly, "Honey, you just have to learn how to take control." With that, she left the room.
After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly.Why did the author shout at the telephone?
| A．He was mad at the telephone. |
| B．He was angry with his agent. |
| C．He was anxious about his wife. |
| D．He was impatient with the secretary. |
What did the author’s wife do after she heard his shouting?
| A．She said nothing. | B．She shouted at him. |
| C．She called the agent. | D．She threw the phone away. |
What made the author laugh?
| A．His own crazy behavior. | B．His wife’s suggestions. |
| C．His changeable feeling. | D．His wife’s sweet kiss. |
What does the underlined word “ antics” refer to?
| A．Smart words | B．Unusual actions. | C．Surprising looks. | D．Anxious feelings |
Many animals recognize their food because they see it. So do humans. When you see an apple or a piece of chocolate you know that these are things you can eat. You can also use other senses when you choose your food. You may like it because it smells good or because it tastes good You may dislike some types of food because they do not look, smell or taste very nice. Different animals use different senses to find and choose their food. A few animals depend on only one of their senses, while most animals use more than one sense.
Although there are many different types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type.The giant panda eats only one particular type of bamboo. Other animals eat only one type of food even when given the choice. A kind of white butterfly will stay on the leaves of a cabbage, even though there are plenty of other vegetables in the garden. However, most animals have a more varied diet. The bear eats fruits and fish. The fox eats small animals, birds and fruits. The diet of these animals will be different depending on the season.
Humans have a very varied diet. We often eat food because we like it and not because it is good for us. In countries such as France and Britain, people eat foods with too much sugar. This makes them overweight, which is bad for their health. Eating too much red meat and animal products, such as butter, can also be bad for the health. Choosing the right food, therefore, has become an area of study in modern life.We can infer from the text that humans and animals ________.
| A．depend on one sense in choosing food |
| B．are not satisfied with their food |
| C．choose food in similar ways. |
| D．eat entirely different food |
Which of the following eats only one type of food?
| A．The white butterfly. | B．The small bird. |
| C．The bear | D．The fox |
Certain animals change their choice of food when ______.
| A．the season changes |
| B．The food color changes |
| C．They move to different places |
| D．They are attracted by different smells. |
We can learn from the last paragraph that _____.
| A．food is chosen for a good reason. |
| B．Some people care little about healthy diet |
| C．some people have few choices of food |
| D．French and British food is good. |
Most young people enjoy some forms of physical activity. It may be walking, cycling, swimming, or in winter, skating or skiing. It may be a game of some forms—football, basketball, hockey, golf or tennis. It may be mountaineering.
Those who have a passion for climbing high and difficult mountains are often looked upon with astonishment. Why are men and women willing to suffer cold and hardship, and to take risks in high mountains? This astonishment is caused, probably, by the difference between mountaineering and other forms of activity to which men give their leisure.
Mountaineering is a sport and not a game. There are no man-made rules, as others, as there are for such games as golf and football. There are, of course, rules of different kinds which would be dangerous to ignore, but it is this freedom from man-made rules that makes mountaineering attractive to many people. Those who climb mountains are free to use their own methods.
If we compare mountaineering with other more familiar sports, we might think that one big difference is that mountaineering is not a “team game”. We should be mistaken in this. There are, it is true, no “matches” between “teams” of climbers, but when climbers are on a rock face linked by a rope on which their lives may depend, there is obviously teamwork.
The mountain climber knows that he may have to fight forces that are stronger and more powerful than man. He has to fight the forces of nature. His sport requires high mental and physical qualities.
A mountain climber continues to improve in skills year by year. A skier is probably past his best by the age of thirty. But it is not unusual for men of fifty or sixty to climb the highest mountains in the Alps. They may take more time than younger men, but they perhaps climb with more skills and less waste of effort, and they certainly experience equal enjoyment.What sports are popular among people in winter in the passage?
| A．Soccer and golf. | B．Skiing and skating. |
| C．Cycling and hockey. | D．Mountaineering. |
The underlined word “passion” in Paragraph 2 could best be replaced by ______.
| A．strong emotion | B．good way |
| C．better feeling | D．enough affection |
Mountaineering is a sport, not a game because_______.
| A．it has man-made rules |
| B．it is too dangerous for climbers |
| C．it can’t bring people joy or leisure |
| D．it is free for climbers to use their own methods |
We know from the passage that _______.
| A．mountaineering has no appeal for people |
| B．physical quality is more important than mental one for climbers |
| C．a mountain climber passes his best by the age of thirty |
| D．it is possible for an old man of fifty or sixty to climb the Alps |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Sports in winter | B．Team work in climbing |
| C．Mountaineering | D．The quality for mountaineering |