Good news for middle and high school students． When it comes to sleeping a little longer, physicians are on your side．
On Monday, the American Academy Pediatrics（儿科） announced its recommendation that middle and high schools start at 8:30 a．m．or later． "Doing so will match school schedules to the biological sleep patterns of adolescents," the AAP writes in a press release regarding its new policy statement called “School Start Times for Adolescents" ．
"Chronic（慢性的） sleep loss in adolescents is one of the most common public health issues in the U．S．today," according to Judith Owens, director of Sleep Medicine at Children's National Health System．
"The research is clear that adolescents who get enough sleep have a reduced risk of being overweight or suffering depression, are less likely to be involved in automobile accidents, and have better grades, higher standardized test scores and an overall better quality of life," Owens said in the press release． "Studies have shown that delaying early school start times is one key factor that can help adolescents get the sleep they need to grow and learn．"
Even before the AAP's announcement, school districts across the country have been rethinking start times． Earlier this year The New York Times wrote about Dos Santos, a student at Rock Bridge High School． When Dos Santos learned that school officials were considering starting school 30 minutes earlier than the existing time, she became worried．The student gathered others to her cause． In the end, school officials decided against the earlier start time．
One of the organizations that Dos Santos reached out to for help was Start School Later, a nonprofit organization that focuses on getting public schools to set "healthy school hours．"
"It's going to take collective action, perhaps on a national scale, to get many districts to take on this issue," Terra Ziporyn Snider, PhD, director and co-founder of Start School Later, told Yahoo Health．
"The science is clear, the will to change isn't," she explained． "The reason for that is that community life goes around school schedules, and any suggestion of change - earlier, later, whatever - brings powerful opposition from everyone who fears a change in routine．"What can be learned about Start School Later?
| A．Dr．Snider is director of this nonprofit organization． |
| B．It is a commercial organization belonging to Yahoo Health． |
| C．It helps private schools to set healthy schedules for students． |
| D．It made a policy called。‘School Start Times for Adolescents"． |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as benefit from enough sleep?
| A．Students will enjoy a better life． |
| B．Students might feel less depressed． |
| C．Students may achieve higher grades． |
| D．Students are more likely to be on time for school． |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．Scientific findings are not convincing． |
| B．Changing school start time is no easy job． |
| C．Most people are willing to change schedules． |
| D．The revolution of school schedules is under way． |
The groundhog(土拨鼠) has been considered a weather prophet(预言家) for many years in north America. According to legend, all winter long the furry brown groundhog sleeps in his comfortable underground home, or hole. On February 2, he wakes up. The groundhog is very hungry and comes out to search for food. If the sun is shinning, the groundhog will see his own shadow. The sight of his shadow gives him such a fright that he quickly returns to his hole. This event means that spring will not come for six more weeks. If the sun is not shining, there will be no shadow. The groundhog will not be scared and he will stay outside his hole. Spring will come very soon.
The idea that animals could foretell the weather probably began in ancient Europe. At the time, most of the people were farmers and the weather was very important to them. If spring came early they could begin the planting season early and have an early harvest. They found some animals were good weather prophets. On February 2, when they celebrated Candlemas Day, a religious holiday around the time winter ends, all the people watched for an animal leaving its hole. In Germany, farmers watched for a badge. In England farmers looked for a hedgehog（刺猬）. They believed the animals could foretell the weather for the next six weeks.
When the early settlers came to North America there no badgers or hedgehogs near their homes. The farmers did not know when to plant their crops. In time they discovered an animal that left its hole at the end of winter. That animal was the groundhog, also called a woodchuck or a marmot. Every February 2 they watched for a groundhog. Finally, the day came to be called “Groundhog Day”. Many groundhog-watching clubs were formed. The members sometimes dressed in nightshirts and top hats made of silk. They would go to the hills in the dark morning and wait near a groundhog hole. Sometimes the groundhog-watching clubs would have other types of celebrations Which of the following will frighten a groundhog according to Paragraph 1?
| A．His own shadow | B．The shining sun |
| C．The coming spring | D．His underground home |
According to legend, if it is cloudy on February 2, _____ .
| A．spring will come in March |
| B．winter will end in a short time |
| C．the groundhog will go on sleeping |
| D．the groundhog will refuse to go out |
Why did ancient Europeans watch for animals on Candlemas Day?
| A．To amuse themselves. |
| B．To protect their harvest. |
| C．To say goodbye to winter. |
| D．To know when to plant crops. |
The early North American settlers ____ .
| A．wore formal clothes on Groundhog Day |
| B．tried to catch groundhogs near their homes |
| C．regarded the groundhog as a weather prophet |
| D．mistook groundhogs for badgers or hedgehogs |
Learners of English, especially self-taught learners may have trouble in understanding speeches by native speakers. The following ways might help improve their listening ability.
First of all, do things step by step. It is not good to listen to something beyond your level. Better choose a suitable course and start with the first book. Go on to the second book only after you are sure you understand the first one.
Secondly, stick to one course of study. Don’t change books often. Never let your attention be attracted by another course just because it seems to be more “fashionable”.
Thirdly, listen to the English news program over the radio from time to time. Better go through the news stories in the Chinese-language newspaper first. That will make it easy for you to understand the English news on the radio.
Fourthly, if you have time, listen to some interesting stories in “Special English from the V.O.A. or other listening materials of the same level as that of your textbook”. This is a piece of advice to learners of English on how to ________.
| A．improve their listening ability |
| B．read fast |
| C．write better English and read faster |
| D．speak correctly |
If you want to understand the English news program on the radio, you should ________.
| A．read the Chinese-language newspaper step by step |
| B．read again and again the Chinese-language newspaper |
| C．go through the Chinese-language newspaper first |
| D．be able to recite the Chinese-language newspaper |
The author advised that once you have taken up a course, you ________.
| A．should stick to it |
| B．should begin with the last book |
| C．should take up other courses if they are more fashionable |
| D．shouldn’t do anything else |
In this passage, V.O.A. stands for ________.
A. a bookB. a magazine
C. a text-book D. a radio station
As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art of relaxation. Once you are in the habit of rushing through life,being on the go from morning till night,it is hard to slow down. But relaxation is necessary for a healthy mind and body.
Stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it. In fact,it is not the bad thing it is often supposed to be. A certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and give purpose to life. It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health.
The amount of stress a person can bear depends very much on the individual. Some people are not afraid of stressand such characters are obviously important material for managerial responsibilities. Others lose heart at the first signs of unusual difficulties. When exposed to stressin whatever formwe react both chemically and physically. In fact we make choices between “fight” and “flight” and in more ancient days the choice made the difference between life and death. The crises (危机）we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme,but however little the stress,it involves the same response. It is when such a reaction lasts long,through continued exposure to stressthat health becomes endangered. Such serious conditions as high blood pressure and heart disease have established links with stress. Since we cannot remove stress from our lives(it would be unwise to do so even if we could),we need to find ways to deal with it.People are finding less and less time for relaxing themselves because_________.
| A．they are travelling fast all the time |
| B．they are becoming busier with their work |
| C．they do not know how to enjoy themselves |
| D．they do not believe that relaxation is important for health |
In Paragraph 3,” such a reaction” refers to “___________”.
| A．responding to crises quickly |
| B．losing heart on seeing difficulties |
| C．making a choice between ‘flight'and ‘fight' |
| D．reacting to stress both chemically and physically |
We can learn from the text that _______.
| A．stress is always harmful to people |
| B．we can find some ways to avoidstress |
| C．different people can bear different amounts of stress |
| D．it is easy to change the habit of keeping oneself busy with work |
What would the passage deal with,if it were to continue?
| A．How to keep mentally fit. |
| B．Why we have a tight schedule. |
| C．How to handle stress correctly. |
| D．How we can benefit from stress. |
Twelve years ago,a young traveler named Rhett Butler from San Francisco,California, visited the Sabah rainforest on Malaysian Borneo. In one area of the rainforest,he watched a bird flying through the trees. The beautiful sight lett quite an impression on him. But weeks later,back home, Rhett Butler got the news that trees had been cut down in the area hevisi1ed.
That experience led Rhett Butler to begin writing a book about rainforests and threats to their existence. But he did not publish the book. Instead, in 1999, he used his research for the book to create a website,Mongabay. com. His purpose was to inform the public about tropical rainforests. But the subject quickly developed. As a former businessman,he became a respected writer of science and environmental stories.
The popularity of Mongabay. com attracted advertisers. Small ads on the site pay for its operations. Mongabay. com has grown and led to other sites. For example,there is a site for children which is called Kids. Mongabay. com. Another one,WildMadangascar. o rg, is allabout the island nation that Rhett Butler calls his favorite place.
To keep his website going, he travels around the world on several major trips each year. His working tools are a laptop computer,cameras and sometimes diving equipment. He often calls on experts for information. For example,he interviewed Alison Jolly,a top expert on lemurs (狐猴）. He interviewed Rodney Jackson,a biologist who established the Snow Leopard Conservancy.
Stories like these have made Mongabay a favorite place on the Internet for researchers, students and teachers. In April, Time, com named it one of the fifteen top climate and environment websites in the world.Rhett Butler didn’t publish his book about rainforests because________.
| A．he didn’t want to become a writer |
| B．the book was not about rainforest protection |
| C．he wanted to use the information to create a website |
| D．making websites earned more money than writing books |
To keep his website going,Rhett Butler___________.
| A．kept visiting rainforests |
| B．raised rare snow leopards |
| C．traveled around and interviewed experts |
| D．produced a great number of advertisements |
We can learn from the text that ________.
| A．Rodney Jackson was once a businessman |
| B．Kids. Mongabay. com has many stories written by kids |
| C．Mongabay. com is loved by researchers as well as students |
| D．WildMadangascar. org is better known than Mongabay. com |
What’s the main idea of the text?
| A．Rhett Butler and his website. |
| B．Rainforests on Malaysian Borneo. |
| C．How Rhett Butler protected rare animals. |
| D．How Rhett Butler made his website popular. |
Every university has a Students’Union. If students are the lifeblood of a university,the union is surely its beating heart.
For students,by students
A Students’Union is run by students and acts independently. At the end of each academic year,it will find six students to hold a sabbatical (带有休假的）position managing the Union for the coming year. That the six successful sabbatical officers have only recently experienced issues affecting students ensures that your needs are very well understood.
Letting your hair down
Although the university is spread across a fairly wide area,the Union is centrally located and is only a short walk from any of the main buildings. This makes it very easy to catch up with friends who might be on a different course.
At night,the place really comes alive—we have three different bars to suit every occasion. The venues are student-only so you can be sure of meeting people with a similar outlook and we throw in a transport service to make sure you get home safely.
The Union also organizes various formal balls throughout the year,with the highlight being the end-of-year ball.
Supporting you
Beyond having fun, we also make sure some of the more serious issues are effectively dealt with. If you have a problem with your course, another sabbatical officer is trained to help you. Being independent from the university means we can represent and support you to the best of our ability,and once you reach the university you may find that you know about more national or political issues.What does the underlined phrase probably mean?
| A．Stopping being self-centered. |
| B．Relaxing and enjoying yourself. |
| C．Telling others your feelings and secrets. |
| D．Cutting your hair and letting it fall freely. |
According to the third paragraph,we can learn that___________.
| A．a Students’Union is close to the home |
| B．a Students’Union is far away from the university |
| C．a Students’Union is in the central part of the university |
| D．a Students’Union has different courses for all the students |
The person who takes up a certain post of the Students’Union_____________.
| A．is very happy and easy |
| B．learns what the students need |
| C．can affect the life of any student |
| D．has understood everything of the university |