Celebrating sleep
World Sleep Day, observed on 21 March, was created to bring attention to the growing number of sleep problems worldwide. Sleep is a natural part of human life, but many people in the modern world ignore its importance. As a result, sleep problems are increasingly common.
In 2002, scientists at the University of Athens in Greece conducted a survey of over 35,000 people in 10 countries around the world, including China, Belgium and South Africa. Of the people that responded to the survey, 24 percent said that they did not sleep well, and based on their responses, 31.6 percent were diagnosed (诊断)with insomnia（失眠）and another 17.5 percent were diagnosed with borderline insomnia. In addition, 30.7 percent of survey respondents reported visiting a doctor for help with sleep problems and 11.6 percent said that they felt very sleepy during the day.
Overall, the survey found that ninny people suffer the effects of poor quality sleep, some examples of which are being unable to fall asleep and waking up in the middle of the night. The main factors causing these problems are pressure from school or work and a fast pace of life, but noise pollution and light pollution also interfere with sleep and contribute to poor quality sleep. The survey’s findings are particularly troubling because large numbers of people were found to have difficulty sleeping at night. The short-term effects of this are tiredness and trouble concentrating. If this happens for a long time, the risk of putting on weight and having a heart attack may increase.
There are many things you can do to improve the quality of your sleep. First, you should have regular sleep habits. Try to go to bed and wake up around the same time each day. You also need to make your bedroom a cool, dark, quiet place to sleep so that heat, light and noise do not disturb you. At night, you should also avoid things that contain caffeine, such as chocolate, coffee, tea and many soft drinks, as caffeine may keep you from sleeping.
Getting a good night’s sleep is important for everyone. By following the advice above, you can rest better at night and work better during the day.
Title: Celebrating Sleep
| Topic |
Context |
| World Sleep Day |
Due to ignorance of the importance of sleep problems, people observe Mar. 21, World Sleep Day to bring (78) ▲ to the problem. |
| Responses of the survey |
1). Of 3, 5000 people in 10 countries in the world, there were 24 percent of the people saying they didn’t sleep well. 2). 31.6 percent were diagnosed with insomnia and another 17.5 percent were on the borderline of sleeplessness. 3). The (79) ▲ of the people feeling sleepy during the day is 11.6. 4) 30.7 percent reported (80) ▲ to a doctor for sleep problems. |
| (76) ▲ causing sleep problems & their consequences |
1).Under (81) ▲ from school or work, people may have sleep problems. 2). Noise or light pollution（82) ▲ to poor quality sleeps. 3).Sleepless people may easily (83) ▲ weight and have a heart attack. 4). Feeling fired and sleepy, people find it (84) ▲ to concentrate. |
| (77) ▲ to take to improve sleep quality |
1). Have regular sleep habits. 2). Make your bedroom cool, dark and quiet. 3). Avoid things (85) ▲ caffeine. |
In 1891, a man named James Naismith was teaching physical education at a school in Springfield. One long, cold winter, he had to create a game for 18 young men to play indoors. So the Canadian-born Naismith wrote some rules.
Rule number one: “The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands.” Two: “The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands (never with the fist).”
In all, there were 13 rules— the original rules of basketball. James Naismith is recognized as the inventor of basketball.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches established the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States in 1949. It opened in 1968 at Springfield College. A new, larger building opened in 1985. And, four years ago, the Hall of Fame moved into a newer building, just south of its former home. The new building increased the size by almost one hundred percent.
Honors ring in Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Basketball Hall of Fame is a museum and entertainment center. It combines history with technology. And it tries to capture the energy and excitement of the game. In the Center Court area, for example, visitors can play interactive games of basketball and take part in skill competitions.
The Hall of Fame explores basketball at every level of the game. Visitors learn about professional basketball in the United States and other countries. They learn about women’s teams and how the game is played at the college level. They also learn about basketball for disabled people.
The Hall of Fame honors the best players, teams, coaches and officials in basketball. Earlier this month, six more honorees joined the more than 250 people in the Hall of Fame. The six new members are Geno Auriemma, Charles Barkley, Joe Dumars, Sandro Gamba, David Gavitt and Dominique Wilkins.
40. James Naismith is considered to be the forerunner of basketball mainly because ____.
A. he discovered the first basketball
B. he created the earliest basketball games
C. he set up the Basketball Hall of Fame
D. he organized the earliest basketball games
41. From the passage, we can infer that ____.
A. the Hall of Fame only honors the best basketball players
B. James Naismith was employed as a coach in the Hall of Fame
C. visitors can compete with the professional players in the hall
D. a variety of basketball games are developed by the Hall of Fame
42. James Naismith made some rules in order to ____.
A. organize an indoor basketball game
B. improve physical education at school
C. train his students for the Hall of Fame
D. invent the game of basketball for the young
43. The passage talks mainly about ____.
A. the Basketball Hall of Fame B. the first basketball games
C. the original 13 basketball rules D. the players in the Hall of Fame
How old was I? I can’t recall. Maybe I was only 10, about to turn 11, making it the first Christmas after my father left, and left me to fill that sad, shattered place in my mother’s heart. Whenever it was, it was the Christmas the magic changed: the year I stopped being a wide-eyed child and tried eagerly to play Father Christmas myself. It was the Christmas of the coat.
Mom first saw the coat at Tobias, one of the nicer women’s stores in our town’s little mall. It was a deep forest green. A long, heavy, wool dress coat with side pockets. Mom pulled it out from the rack（架） and held it up. “Long enough,”she murmured and slipped it on.
“I need a new coat,” Mom smiled before the three-way mirror. She made any clothing look good, and this coat hugged her just right. She glanced at the price tag, then hung the coat back on the rack, pausing once more to feel the smooth brush of wool.
Eighty-seven dollars. But I didn’t think twice. As we moved on through the mall, I found some excuse to come back and ask one of the Tobias ladies to hold the coat.
At last I had the coat. The store ladies wrapped it in their biggest box with bright blue paper and a thick silver ribbon. I don’t remember how I got it home, but I can still feel the bursting excitement and pride that filled me each time I glimpsed at the beautifully wrapped gift hiding under my sweater. I would occasionally dig it out just to hold the box, to imagine the big space it would take up under our tree. Here it was ─ joy, peace, and love ─ all wrapped up, waiting for Mom’s loving gratitude.
36. That the writer’s mother felt the coat before they left the store showed that ____.
A. the coat was of good quality B. the coat was too expensive
C. she liked the coat very much D. she’d get it in the end
37. The writer tried to act as Father Christmas in order to ____.
A. show he grew up B. show he missed his father
C. bring his mother a surprise D. enjoy himself
38. The writer hid the coat under his sweater in order to ____.
A. imagine the space taken up under the Christmas tree
B. feel the strong feeling to his mother on Christmas
C. give his mother a big surprise on Christmas Day
D. keep the new coat tidy and orderly in the box
39. What can be the best title of this passage?
A. A Merry Christmas B. Christmas of the Coat
C. A Deep Green Coat D. Mother’s Merry Christmas
It is impossible to think about “growing up” in modern America without considering “youth culture” which every young person—even those who do not attend public schools—is confronted by and must deal with. It is impossible to be so isolated that we are untouched by the surrounding culture. Nor should we wish to be—as we are called to be—salt and light in a very confused and broken world. Popular culture deserves neither uncritical acceptance nor knee-jerk rejection, but thoughtful critique（批评）.
On the contrary, China paid too little attention to youth culture in the past. However, with society developing, more and more people have realized the importance of analyzing, understanding and promoting youth culture.
About 100,000 young Chinese people from all over the world will attend the first China Youth Culture Week scheduled to open Saturday in Shenzhen’s China Folk Culture Villages, a press conference was told Thursday.
A series of cultural activities will be staged from Saturday to Wednesday, including a huge performance expected to challenge for a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records.
About 10,000 young people will attend the opening ceremony Saturday. A final list of the Chinese Youth Idol Award to five outstanding young Chinese was announced at the conference. They are the country’s first astronaut, Yang Liwei, Chinese NBA star, Yao Ming, IT entrepreneur, Ding Lei, anchorperson, Wu Xiaoli, and Olympic Games gold medalist, Deng Yaping. The youth idols were selected by
Chinese teenagers with 380,000 votes cast nationwide.
During the past two months, the organizers received more than 3,000 applications from young people in Hong Kong and Macao who wanted to take part in the performance.
52. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “confronted by”?
A. Concerned about. B. Thought of. C. Confused with. D. Faced with.
53. Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 1?
A. People can be isolated from the surrounding culture.
B. The American youth accept popular culture without any thought.
C. People shouldn’t refuse popular culture totally.
D. Americans ignore cultures at all while growing up.
54. The list of the five Chinese youth idols indicates that ____.
A. success is considered the most important factor in the Chinese youth’s values
B. the Chinese youth don’t care about their idols’ personalities
C. there are only five people admired by the Chinese youth
D. the parents want to set those people as examples
55. What can we infer from this passage?
A. America paid too much attention to youth culture.
B. China pays more attention to youth culture nowadays.
C. Chinese youth admire movie stars and regard them as their idols.
D. America thinks their youth are more important than the Chinese youth.
You may have never heard of Ladislao Biro, but you have certainly heard of the pen he invented—the ballpoint pen, or biro. Before Biro invented his pen, people wrote with fountain pens. The ink smudged(弄脏) and blotted and the pens sometimes leaked. In the 1930s Biro was a magazine editor in Budapest in Hungary. He noticed that the inks which the magazine’s printers used dried very quickly. Biro wondered if quick-drying inks could be used in pens. He came up with the idea of a tube of ink with a free-moving ball on the end. As a person wrote, the ball collected ink from the tube and rolled it on to the paper. The pen would be cheap and could be thrown away when the ink ran out.
Biro began to work on his invention, but before he could patent it the Second World War broke out. Biro left war-torn Europe and fled to Buenos Aires in Argentina. There, he and his brother Georg, who was a chemist, began to improve the pen. In the early 1940s Biro began to manufacture his new pen, the biro. In 1944, he sold his invention to another company, who began to mass-produce the pen for the British and American armed forces.
Biro was pleased that his pen was popular, but he did not gain much from his invention. The biro was later sold to the French firm, Bic, who now sell twelve million pens a day. Biro sank into obscurity in South America. His name, however, has become a household word.
48. The reasons for the popularity of ballpoint pens are these EXCEPT that_______.
A. the inks dried very quickly B. they were cheap
C. they were easy to carry around D. they were mass-produced
49. Which of the following is the correct order of the events that happened to Biro?
a. applied for patent for first ballpoint pen
b. began to manufacture pens
c. fled from Hungary to escape Nazis
d. sold his invention
A. a c d b B. c d a b C. a c b d D. c a b d
50. The underlined part “sank into obscurity”(last paragraph) is closest in meaning to“_______”.
A. became unknown to many people B. became popular with people
C. lost interest in business D. lost a lot of money
51. What does the passage mainly tell us about Biro?
A. He is successful in business. B. He is an important inventor.
C. He is a famous magazine editor. D. He is a popular writer.
Although the weathermen’s forecasts for a month ahead are only little better than guesswork, they are now making long-term forecasts into the next century with growing confidence. The main trend in the world’s climate in the coming years will, scientists say, be a predictable result of man’s activities.
At the start of the industrial revolution nearly two centuries ago, man set off a big experiment in planetary engineering. Unaware of what he was doing, he spared no thought for the consequences. Today the possible outcome is alarmingly clear, but the experiment is unstoppable. Within the lifetime of many of us, the Earth may become warmer than it has been for a thousand years. By the middle of this century it may be warmer than it has been since the last Ice Age.
A warmer climate may seem welcome, but it could bring many dangers： damages to crops in the world’s main food-producing areas, famine(饥荒), economic instability, civil unrest and even war.
In the much longer term, melting of the great ice-caps of Greenland and Antarctica could raise sea-levels throughout the world. The average sea-level has already risen a foot since the turn of the last century, and if the ice-caps disappear completely, it would rise by nearly 200 feet. Complete melting might take many centuries, but even a small increase in sea-level would threaten low-lying parts of the world such as the Netherlands.
44. Long-term weather forecasts beyond the year 2050 may seem strange because ____.
A. none of us will be alive then
B. weathermen can even forecast next month’s weather correctly
C. weathermen can forecast much better than they used to
D. no one can stop engineering experiments
45. Weathermen believe that our future climate will be the direct result of ____.
A. the big scientific experiment B. clever long-term forecasts
C. the melting of the ice-caps D. planets changing course
46. One of the results of a warmer world climate could be ____.
A. an increase in food production
B. greater co-operation between countries
C. the death of millions of people from starvation
D. a reduction in the amount of oil we use
47. Scientists are fairly sure that by the year 2050, _______.
A. the sea-level will have risen obviously
B. there will have been the Third World War
C. most countries will have been flooded
D. the polar ice-caps will have melted completely