All of us, at some point, experience nights where we have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. The National Institute of Health estimates that one in three adults has bouts of infrequent sleeplessness or insomnia, while one in 10 sufferes from chronic insomnia. Being unable to get a good night's sleep can cause disruptions in our daytoday life. But persistent sleeplessness can lead to physical and emotional health problems.
The body needs sleep to rejuvenate itself and rebuild the cells necessary to keep the immune system strong and the brain functioning properly. Everyone's body requires a different amount of sleep to accomplish these goals. The average amount of sleep needed by an adult is around seven or eight hours a night. However, some people can function quite well with less than that, while others need more to be at peak performance.
Sleeplessness can be caused by many different things. Most people experience sleeplessness for a short period of time due to an outside stimulus such as stress, improper diet, a poor sleeping environment or an acute medical concern such as the flu. Once the stimulus passes, the ability to sleep will usually return. Chronic sleeplessness may be caused by ongoing health concerns such as the physical pain of arthritis or the emotional pain of anxiety and depression.
Prolonged sleeplessness can have a negative effect on the way the body performs daily tasks. Those that suffer from sleepless nights may find themselves feeling drowsy or fatigued during the day. The ability to concentrate or focus on a task diminishes and you are less mentally alert. Because the body needs sleep to support a healthy immune system, those that are sleepdeprived may be more susceptible to both acute and chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
Sleeplessness not only takes a toll on your physical self but also your emotional wellbeing. Being unable to sleep well for a few nights may only produce minor irritability. However, if sleeplessness becomes chronic, the price could be much higher in the form of anxiety, depression and possibly substance abuse. Those with chronic sleeplessness may turn to controlled substances such as sleeping pills and alcohol to aid them in their quest for a good night's sleep.
There are numerous home remedies for mild sleeplessness. Prepare your body for sleep by avoiding caffeinated drinks such as tea or coffee before bed. Don't exercise strenuously before bedtime; instead do something relaxing such as meditate or take a warm bath. Go to bed only when you feel sleepy and not because of a selfappointed bedtime.Finally, create a favorable sleeping environment by removing stimulants from your bedroom such as extra lighting or a television. If you still cannot find relief, it may be time to visit your physician for help. A sleep study will be done that can help to determine the cause of the sleeplessness and possible solutions.
Too many people want others to be their friends, but they don’t give friendship back. That is why some friendships do not last very long. To have a friend, you must learn to be one. You must learn to treat your friend the way you want your friend to treat you. Learning to be a good friend means learning three rules: be honest; be generous; be understanding.
Honesty is where a good friendship starts. Friends must be able to trust one another. If you do not tell the truth, people usually find out. If a friend finds out that you haven’t been honest, you may lose your friend’s trust. Good friends always trust one another to speak and act honestly.
Generosity means sharing and sharing makes a friendship grow. You do not have to give your lunch money or your clothes of course. Instead you have to learn how to share things you enjoy, like your hobbies and your interest. Naturally you will want to share your ideas and feelings. These can be very valuable to a friend.
Sooner or later everyone needs understanding and help with a problem. Something may go wrong at school. Talking about the problem can make it easier to solve. Turning to a friend can be a first step in solving the problem. So to be a friend you must listen and understand.
No two friendships are ever exactly alike. But all true friendships have three things in common. If you plan to keep your friends, you must practice honesty, generosity, and understanding.Some friendships don’t last very long because ____.
| A．some people receive friendship but don’t give friendship back |
| B．they don’t know friendship is something serious |
| C．those who give others friendship receive friendship from others |
| D．there are too many people who want to make friends |
The best title of this passage is _____.
| A．Honesty is the Best Policy |
| B．A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed |
| C．Three Important Points in Life |
| D．Three Important Points in Making Friends |
Which of the following isn’t mentioned in the passage?
| A．Always tell your friends the truth. |
| B．Sharing your mind with your friends is of great value. |
| C．A friend who gives you his lunch money is a true friend. |
| D．Discussing your problems with your friend often helps to solve the problem. |
‘Well,’ began Enfield, ‘I was coming home about three o’clock on a black winter morning, when suddenly I saw two people. The first was a short man who was walking along the street, and the second was a little girl who was running as fast as she could. Well, the two bumped into each other and the child fell down. Then a terrible thing happened. The man calmly walked all over the child’s body with his heavy boots, and left her screaming on the ground. It was an inhuman thing to do. I ran after the man, caught him and fetched him back. There was already a small crowd around the screaming child. The man was perfectly cool, but he gave me a very evil look, which made me feel sick in my stomach. The child’s family then arrived, and also a doctor. The child had been sent to fetch the doctor for a sick neighbor, and was on her way home again.
‘“The child is more frightened than hurt,” said the doctor — and that, you would think, was the end of the story. But, you see, I had taken a violent dislike to the short man. So had the child’s family — that was only natural. But the doctor, who seemed a quiet, kind man, was also looking at our prisoner with murder in his eyes.
‘The doctor and I understood each other perfectly. Together we shouted at the man, and told him we would tell this story all over London so that his name would be hated.
‘He looked back at us with a proud, black look. “Name your price,” he said.
‘We made him agree to a hundred pounds for the child’s family. With another black look, the man led us to that door over there. He took out a key and let himself into the building. Presently he came out and handed us ten pounds in gold and a cheque for ninety pounds from Coutts’s Bank. The name on the cheque was a well-known one.
‘“See here,” said the doctor doubtfully, “it isn’t usual for a man to walk into an empty house at four in the morning and come out with another man’s cheque for nearly a hundred pounds.”
‘“Don’t worry,” said the man with an ugly look, “I’ll stay with you until the banks open, and change the cheque myself.”
‘So we all went off, the doctor and the prisoner and myself, and spent the rest of the night at my house. In the morning we went together to the bank. Sure enough, the cheque was good, and the money was passed to the child’s family.’Which of the following is true according to the passage above?
| A．The little girl was frightened as well as seriously hurt. |
| B．The doctor did not trust the short man and disliked him. |
| C．The short man willingly paid the little girl’s family a hundred pounds. |
| D．The doctor was present at the spot to see what was wrong with the little girl. |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “Presently” in the fifth paragraph?
| A．Instantly. | B．Constantly. |
| C．Consequently. | D．Merely. |
Which of the following makes Enfield, the narrator of the story, puzzled most?
| A．The doctor’s attitude towards the short man. |
| B．The validity of the cheque accepted by the bank. |
| C．The name on the cheque the short man produced. |
| D．The short man’s attitude towards what he had done. |
The cheque was written by ________.
| A．Mr. Utterson, an upright lawyer |
| B．Mr. Jekyll, a well-known doctor |
| C．Doctor Lanyon, Mr. Jekyll’s friend |
| D．Mr. Hyde, the short man mentioned in the passage above |
A scientist turns out to be able to see the future by offering each of four-year-olds a piece of candy and watching how he or she deals with it. Some children reach eagerly for the treat they see. Some last a few minutes before they give in. But others are determined to wait until the last moment.
By the time the children reach high school, something remarkable has happened. A survey found that those who as four-year-olds had enough self-control to hold out generally grew up to be more popular, adventurous, confident and dependable. The children who gave in to temptation (诱惑) early were more likely to be lonely, easily frustrated and inflexible (固守己见的).
Actually, the ability to delay reward is a sign of emotional intelligence which doesn’t show up on an IQ test.
The hardware of the brain and the software of the mind have long been scientists’ concerns. But brain theory can’t explain what we wonder about most, like the question why some people remain upbeat in the face of troubles that would sink a less resistant (有抵抗力的) soul.
Here comes the theory of Daniel Goleman, writer of Emotional Intelligence: when it comes to predicting people’s success, brain ability as measured by IQ may actually matter less than the qualities of mind once thought of as “character”.
EQ is not the opposite of IQ. What researchers have been trying to understand is how they work together; how one’s ability to handle stress, for instance, affects the ability to concentrate and put intelligence to use. Among the ingredients (要素) for success, researchers now generally agree that IQ counts for about 20%; the rest depends on everything from social class to luck.
While many researchers in this relatively new field are glad to see emotional issues finally taken seriously, some few fear EQ invites misuse.Why does the author mention the experiment at the beginning of the text?
| A．To introduce the topic of the text. |
| B．To prove the scientist’s wisdom. |
| C．To amuse both the children and readers. |
| D．To show us how to do an IQ test. |
The experiment with the four-year-olds makes it clear that .
| A．the age of 4 is a proper time for scientific experiment |
| B．emotional intelligence won’t show up until adolescence |
| C．the ability of self-control plays a role in personal success |
| D．candy can be used to measure a person’s emotional intelligence |
The underlined word “upbeat” in Paragraph 4 probably means .
| A．kind | B．optimistic |
| C．floating | D．excited |
Which of the following is TRUE of EQ and IQ according to the text?
| A．There is no link between EQ and IQ. |
| B．The higher a person’s IQ is, the higher his or her EQ is. |
| C．Some people can be blessed with lots of both, but some with little of either. |
| D．Scientists are trying to discover the way in which EQ and IQ work together. |
Rae Armantrout, who has been a poetry professor at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) for two decades, has won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in the poetry category for her most recent book, Versed.
“I’m delighted and amazed at how much media recognition that the Pulitzer brings, as compared to even the National Book Critics Award, which I was also surprised and delighted to win,” said Armantrout.
“For a long time, my writing has been just below the media radar, and to have this kind of attention, suddenly, with my 10th book, is really surprising.”
Armantrout, a native Californian, received her bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley, where she studied with noted poet Denise Levertov, and her master’s in creative writing from San Francisco State University. She is a founding member of Language Poets, a group in American poetry that analyzes the way language is used and raises questions to make the reader think.
In March, she won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Versed.
“This book has gotten more attention,” Armantrout said, “but I don’t feel as if it’s better.”
The first half of Versed focuses on the dark forces taking hold of the United States as it fought the war against Iraq. The second half looks at the dark forces casting a shadow over her own life after Armantrout was diagnosed with cancer in 2006.
Armantrout was shocked to learn she had won the Pulitzer but many of her colleagues were not. “Rae Armantrout is a unique voice in American poetry,” said Seth Lerer, head of Arts and Humanities at UCSD.
Versed, published by the Wesleyan University Press, did appear in a larger printing than her earlier works, which is about 2,700 copies. The new edition is scheduled to appear in May.Which of the following is true of Rae Armantrout?
| A．She published a poetry textbook. |
| B．She used to teach Denise Levertov. |
| C．She started a poets’ group with others. |
| D．She taught creative writing at UC Berkeley. |
According to Rae Armantrout, __________.
| A．her 10th book is much better |
| B．her winning the Pulitzer is unexpected |
| C．the media is surprised at her works |
| D．she likes being recognized by her readers |
Rae Armantrout’s colleagues think that she __________.
| A．deserves the prize | B．should write more |
| C．has a sweet voice | D．is a strange professor |
What can we learn about Versed?
| A．It consists of three parts. |
| B．It is mainly about the American army. |
| C．It is a book published two decades ago. |
| D．It partly concerns the poet’s own life. |
There are various advantages of using a pen name. In case the author writes on various topics or in different genres (体裁), using a pen name would be very useful. For example, let’s say an author is an expert in writing on serious topics, like business or finance, and also likes writing fiction stories, like romance. In such an author’s case, a pen name could save him from losing his readers as well as reputation.
Will you be okay with any pen name? No, you should make sure that it is easy to spell and pronounce. If you come up with a name that is difficult to pronounce, maybe your readers will not want to recommend your book to someone. They may not ask for your book at a library. Why? Because it could be pronounced wrongly and may sound foolish in front of others. This is the reason why your pen name should be easy to pronounce.
Not only should your pen name be easy to spell and pronounce, but it should also be professional. The idea is to get a name that should be memorable, not mock-able.
If you are trying to pen your pen name in a way that is too similar to an existing author’s pen name, you are doing yourself no good.
One small trick that could at least guarantee ‘a look at your book’ in the library is by using the correct initials. If you find that a particular best-selling author in your genre of writing has his name starting with ‘B’, maybe you could think of starting your pen name with ‘A’. People are going to search the library shelves from left to right to locate that famous author, and in the process, may come across your book.
Your pen name has to be distinguished because it is going to last all your life.When recommending your book with a pen name hard to pronounce, your readers may feel _________.
| A．nervous | B．cheerful |
| C．satisfied | D．embarrassed |
If the author of a best-seller of your kind uses a pen name like Patricia, you’d better choose _________.
| A．Sam | B．Rebecca | C．Verna | D．Lauren |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Benefits of using a proper pen name. |
| B．How to win plenty of readers and reputation. |
| C．Things to consider while choosing a pen name. |
| D．How to select a pen name when writing different genres. |