Research suggests that a newly-identified gene known as insomniacs(失眠症患者) may play a role in keeping us asleep. By cloning and testing this gene in about 21,000 fruit flies, Rockefeller University researchers say they have discovered an entirely new mechanism (机制) by which sleep is controlled.
By studying these flies, the researchers discovered that mutations(变异) in the insomniac gene were associated with a great reduction in sleep. While a typical fruit fly slept for an average of 927 minutes a day, the mutant flies slept for just 317. They also slept for shorter periods of time, and slept and woke more frequently.
“The results showed a great loss of both the time that the flies’ sleep lasted and their ability to remain asleep after they slept,” says researcher Nicholas Stavropoulos.
The researchers also examined the link between sleep and lifespan, finding that flies with mutations to the insomniac gene lived only about two-thirds as long as unchanged flies. But when the scientists removed insomniac only in neurons（神经细胞）---allowing it to remain in the rest of the flies’ bodies---this difference disappeared; the resulting animals slept poorly but lived just as long.
“This suggests that reduced sleep can be ‘uncoupled’(分开) from reduced lifespan, supporting the idea that some interruptions of sleep do not affect overall health, at least as far as lifespan is concerned,” Stavropoulos says.
Although flies and humans would appear to have little in common when it comes to lifestyle, scientists say that the mechanisms of sleep and wakefulness are likely to be quite similar.
“Sleep is a fundamental behavior in all animals, and it is poorly understood from a scientific standpoint, says Stavropoulos. This work could prove useful in understanding and treating sleep disorders”The text is mainly about____.
| A．the progress in cloning fruit flies |
| B．the methods of cloning fruit flies |
| C．the link between gene and lifespan |
| D．the influence of a gene on the ability to sleep |
According to paragraph2, the mutant flies________.
| A．slept about 5 hours a day |
| B．had problems waking up |
| C．didn’t seem sleepy at all |
| D．could not fall asleep |
We can conclude from the text that________.
| A．sleep and health go hand in hand |
| B．sleep can be controlled by humans |
| C．research into sleep is very fruitful |
| D．the findings are useful in medical treatment |
Usually, when your teacher asks a question, there is only one correct answer. But there is one question that has millions of current answers. That question is “What’s your name?” Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct.
Have you ever wondered about people’s names? Where do they come from? What do they mean?
People’s first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents. Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used. Some parents choose the name of a well-known person. A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones.
Some people give their children names that mean good things. Clara means “bright”; Beatrice means “one who gives happiness”; Donald means “world ruler”; Leonard means “as brave as a lion”.
The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names. A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near brook(小溪)；someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road. The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest.
Other early surnames came from people’s occupations. The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals. In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village. Some other occupational names are: Carter — a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter —a person who made pots and pans.
The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village. The Carpenter’s great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture.
Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities. When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray. Or the John was very tall could call himself John Tallman. John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer.
Some family names were made by adding something to the father’s name. English-speaking people added –s or –son. The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family’s ancestor was Robert. Irish and Scottish people added Mac or Mc or O. Perhaps all of the MacDonnells and the MacDonnells and the O’Donnells are descendants of the same Donnell.Which of the following aspects do the surnames in the passage NOT cover?
| A．Places where people lived. | B．People’s characters. |
| C．Talents that people possessed. | D．People’s occupations. |
According to the passage, the ancestors of the Potter family most probably _______.
| A．owned or drove a cart | B．made things with metals |
| C．made kitchen tools or contains | D．built houses and furniture |
Suppose and English couple whose ancestors lived near a leafy forest wanted their new-born son to become a world leader, the baby might be named _______.
| A．Beatrice Smith | B．Leonard Carter |
| C．George Longstreet | D．Donald Greenwood |
The underlined word “descendants” in the last paragraph means a person’s _____
| A．later generations | B．friends and relatives |
| C．colleagues and partners | D．later sponsors |
Usually, when your teacher asks a question, there is only one correct answer. But there is one question that has millions of current answers. That question is “What’s your name?” Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct.
Have you ever wondered about people’s names? Where do they come from? What do they mean?
People’s first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents. Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used. Some parents choose the name of a well-known person. A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones.
Some people give their children names that mean good things. Clara means “bright”; Beatrice means “one who gives happiness”; Donald means “world ruler”; Leonard means “as brave as a lion”.
The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names. A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near brook(小溪)；someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road. The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest.
Other early surnames came from people’s occupations. The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals. In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village. Some other occupational names are: Carter — a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter —a person who made pots and pans.
The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village. The Carpenter’s great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture.
Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities. When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray. Or the John was very tall could call himself John Tallman. John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer.
Some family names were made by adding something to the father’s name. English-speaking people added –s or –son. The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family’s ancestor was Robert. Irish and Scottish people added Mac or Mc or O. Perhaps all of the MacDonnells and the MacDonnells and the O’Donnells are descendants of the same Donnell. Which of the following aspects do the surnames in the passage NOT cover?
| A．Places where people lived. | B．People’s characters. |
| C．Talents that people possessed. | D．People’s occupations. |
According to the passage, the ancestors of the Potter family most probably _______.
| A．owned or drove a cart | B．made things with metals |
| C．made kitchen tools or contains | D．built houses and furniture |
Suppose and English couple whose ancestors lived near a leafy forest wanted their new-born son to become a world leader, the baby might be named _______.
| A．Beatrice Smith | B．Leonard Carter |
| C．George Longstreet | D．Donald Greenwood |
The underlined word “descendants” in the last paragraph means a person’s _____
| A．later generations | B．friends and relatives |
| C．colleagues and partners | D．later sponsors |
YOUR mom might cook a bowl of noodles for you on your birthday. But in the US, a mom makes a cupcake for her children on their birthday.
Cupcakes are small, round cakes topped with frosting (糖霜). It has been an American tradition that moms bring cupcakes to the classroom to celebrate their child’s birthday.
But recently some doctors have called for this to be banned. They believe cupcakes contribute to child obesity.
Despite their good intentions, however, some people believe that experts are interfering (妨碍) with American culture. The cupcake is seen as American as apple pie — only prettier.
According to Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, the cupcake is the most democratic (民主的) of desserts. As they are small enough for one person, you don’t have to share your cupcake with anyone — it’s all yours. They are also all the same size, so there can’t be any cries of “she got the bigger piece!”
Each bite can taste different depending on how much icing you have. It is a lesson in self-determination. Some people eat only a little of the frosting every time, others have it all in just one bite.
In recent years, eating a cupcake has become as trendy as having a cup of Starbucks coffee.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton jokingly promised on a talk show that if she was elected president, she would give everyone a cupcake on her birthday.
Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, explains that the rise of the cupcake is very much about going back to American national identity in food, which is all about comfort. “People want to think about when they and their country were innocent,” she said. According to the passage, it has been an American tradition that ___________.
| A. a party for children on their birthday |
| B. A mom cooks a bowl of noodles for her children on their birthday |
| C. A mom makes a cupcake for her children on their birthday and brings it to the classroom |
| D. parents go travelling with their children on their birthday |
Why do doctors ask people to ban cupcakes on children’s birthday?
| A. Because they themselves don’t like cupcakes. |
| B. Because they think cupcakes are not so delicious. |
| C. Because they believe cupcakes will cause cries of “She got the bigger piece”. |
| D. Because they believe cupcakes are one of the causes to make children become fat. |
Which of the following is Not true according to Marion Nestle?
| A. The cupcake is more democratic than any other deserts in the US. |
| B. The cupcake is too small to share with others. |
| C. The sizes of cupcakes are the same so it’s equal to everyone. |
| D. Cupcakes will lead to child obesity so they should be banned. |
The underlined word “trendy” in paragraph 7 probably means ________.
| A. popular |
B. gentle |
C. delicious |
D. different |
Why did the writer mention Hillary Clinton and Ruth Reichl?
| A. To arouse the readers’ attention. |
| B. To show that cupcakes are becoming a popular to show kindness and comfort. |
| C. To make a comparison between them. |
| D. To give readers a general idea of cupcakes. |
Police fired tear gas and arrested more than 5,000 passively resisting protestors Friday in an attempt to break up the largest antinuclear demonstration ever staged in the United States. More than 135,000 demonstrators confronted police on the construction site of a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant scheduled to provide power to most of southern New Hampshire. Organizers of the huge demonstration said, the protest was continuing despite the police actions. More demonstrators were arriving to keep up the pressure on state authorities to cancel the project. The demonstrator had charged that the project was unsafe in the densely populated area, would create thermal pollution in the bay, and had no acceptable means for disposing of its radioactive wasters. The demonstrations would go on until the jails and the courts were so overloaded that the state judicial system would collapse.
Governor Stanforth Thumper insisted that there would be no reconsideration of the power project and no delay in its construction set for completion in three years. “This project will begin on time and the people of this state will begin to receive its benefits on schedule. Those who break the law in misguided attempts to sabotage the project will be dealt with according to the law,” he said. And police called in reinforcements from all over the state to handle the disturbances.
The protests began before dawn Friday when several thousand demonstrators broke through police lines around the cordoned-off construction site. They carried placards that read “No Nukes is Good Nukes,” “Sunpower, Not Nuclear Power,” and “Stop Private Profits from Public Peril.” They defied police order to move from the area. Tear gas canisters fired by police failed to dislodge the protestors who had come prepared with their own gas masks or facecloths. Finally gas-masked and helmeted police charged into the crowd to drag off the demonstrators one by one. The protestors did not resist police, but refused to walk away under their own power. Those arrested would be charged with unlawful assembly, trespassing, and disturbing the peace.What were the demonstrators protesting about?
[A] Private profits.
[B]Nuclear Power Station.
[C] The project of nuclear power construction.
[D] Public peril.Who had gas-masks?
[A] Everybody.
[B]A part of the protestors.
[C] Policemen.
[D] Both B and C..Which of the following was NOT mentioned as a reason for the demonstration?
[A] Public transportation.
[B]Public peril.
[C] Pollution.
[D] Disposal of wastes..With whom were the jails and courts overloaded?
[A] With prisoners.
[B]With arrested demonstrators.
[C] With criminals.
[D] With protestors.What is the attitude of Governor Stanforth Thumper toward the power project and the demonstration?
[A] stubborn.
[B]insistent.
[C] insolvable.
[D] remissible.
Vocabulary
1.tear gas 瓦斯
2.passively resisting protestor 不抵抗的抗议者
3.stage 发起，举行，上演
4.break up 驱散，终止
5.cordon 警戒线，警戒
6.nuke （美俚）核武器，核电站
7.defy 公然蔑视/反抗
8.canister 罐，筒，榴霰弹筒
9.islodge 赶走
10.charge 冲锋，向前冲
11.trespass 非法侵入，扰乱
What can help you make a fortune in the future? Graduating from a top university might not be enough. A new study from the University of Essex in Britain has shown that the more friends you have in school, the more money you'll earn later.
The idea that popularity could have a serious impact on one's earning potential shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. The researchers noted that if you want to get ahead in life, social skills and networking are easily as powerful as talent and hard work.
“If a person has lots of friends, it means that he or she has the ability to get along with others in all kinds of different situations," said Xu Yanchun, 17, from Nantou High School in Shenzhen, who totally agreed with the recent finding. "Also, friends always help each other. They not only create wider social circles for you but lift your mood when you occasionally feel depressed," said Xu. She believed that all this helps you "earn a higher salary”.
Maybe that's why some people think the younger generations are in the age of Friendalholism (交友狂症). A woman even complained that the networking website Face book's 5,000-friend limit was too low for her large reserve of social contacts.
But what does a friend mean? Should friends be regarded as a form of currency?
“Call me uncoil, but I think of a friend as an actual person with whom I have an actual history and whom I enjoy actually seeing. It seems, however, that this is no longer the definition (定义) of ‘friend',” said Meghan Daum, who works with The Los Angeles Times in the US.The new study from the University of Essex in Britain shows that _________.
| A．if you have more friends you will not live happily. |
| B．the more friends you have in school, the more money you'll earn in your late life. |
| C．the less friends you have, the poor lives you will live. |
| D．friends can make more money for you. |
According to Xu Yanchun, when you have lots of friends, it means_____
| A．You have the ability to earn more money. |
| B．You will not feel lonely. |
| C．You are quite content with your life. |
| D．You have the ability to get along with others in various situations. |
What’s the main idea of the passage ?
| A．The passage mainly tells us something about the friendship. |
| B．Friends plays an more important part in our daily life than anything else. |
| C．Friends are currency. |
| D．Friends give you success. |
We can learn from the passage that _________.
| A．If you have more friends, you can make a fortune in the future. |
| B．Graduating from college means that you can make a fortune in the future. |
| C．Friends means a form of currency. |
| D．Friends can make you wider social circle and make you feel better when you feel depressed. |