The latest beliefs are that the main purposes of sleep are to enable the body to rest, allowing time for repairs to take place and for tissue to be regenerated(再生). Lack of sleep, however, can compromise the immune system, cause depression and promote anxiety.
For many people, lack of sleep is rarely anything of choice. Some have problems getting to sleep, others with staying asleep until the morning. Despite popular belief that sleep is one long event, research shows that, in an average night, there are five stages of sleep. In the first light stage, the heart rate and blood pressure go down and the muscles relax. In the next two stages, sleep gets progressively deeper. In stage four, usually reached after an hour, the slumber is so deep that, if awoken, the sleeper would be confused and disorientated. It is in this state that sleep-walking can occur, lasting no more than 15 minutes. In the fifth stage, the rapid eye movement (REM) stage, the eyes move constantly beneath closed lids as if the sleeper is looking at something. During this stage, the body is almost paralysed(瘫痪的). This REM stage is also the time when we dream.
Sleeping patterns change with age. One theory for the age-related change is that it is due to hormonal changes. The temperature rise occurs at daybreak in the young, but at three or four in the morning in the elderly. Age aside, it is estimated that roughly one in three people suffer some kind of sleep disturbance. Causes can be anything from pregnancy, smoking, and stress to alcohol and heart disease.
Apart from self-help therapy such as regular exercise, there are psychological treatments, including relaxation training and therapy aimed at getting rid of pre-sleep worries and anxieties. Medication is regarded by many as a last option and often takes the form of sleeping pills.What’s the best title of this passage?
| A．Lack of Sleep | B．Change of Sleep |
| C．Patterns of Sleep | D．Benefits of Sleep |
Which of the following can cause people’s lack of sleep according to this passage?
| A．Their burden from illness and drinking. |
| B．Their incomplete sleep stages. |
| C．Their body temperature change with age. |
| D．Their damaged immune system. |
Which of the following is true to the passage?
| A．Nobody can escape lack of sleep. |
| B．A sleep-walker usually dreams before the sleepwalking. |
| C．In the REM stage sleepers can see things around but can’t move the body. |
| D．Regular exercise can better help improve sleep quality than sleeping pills do. |
Mini Book Excerpts（节选）
Biography
When Salinger learned that a car park was to be built on the land, the middle-aged writer was shocked and quickly bought the neighboring area to protect it. The townspeople never forgot the rescue and came to help their most famous neighbor.
J.D. Salinger A Life by Kenneth Slawenski（Random House,$27）
Mystery（疑案小说）
“You’re a smart boy. Benny’s death was no accident, and you’re the only who saw it happen. Do you think the murderer should get away with it ? ”The boy was starting stubbornly at his lap again.
A thought suddenly occurred to Annika, “Did you …You recognized the man in the car, didn’t you?”
The boy hesitated, twisting his fingers, “Maybe,” he said quietly.
Red Wolf by Liza Marklund（Atria Books, $25. 99）
Short Stories
She wants to say to him what she has learned, none of it in class. Some women are born stupid, and some women are too smart for their own good. Some women are born to give, and some women only know how to take. Some women learn who they want to be from their mothers, some who they don’t want to be. Some mothers suffer so their daughters won’t. Some mothers love so their daughters won’t.
You Are Free by Danzy Senna （Riverhead Books,$15）
Humor
Do your kids like to have fun? Come to Fun Times! Do you like to watch your kids having fun? Bring them to Fun Times! Fun Times! “amusement cycling” is the most fun you can have, legally, in the United States right now. Why spend thousands of dollars flying to Disney World when you can spend less than half to that within a day’s drive of most cities?
Happy And Other Bad Thoughts by Larry Doyle（Ecco,$14. 99）If the readers want to know about the life of Salinger , they should buy the book published by
| A．Random House | B．Atria Books |
| C．Riverhead Books | D．Ecco |
The book Happy And Other Bad Thoughts is intended for.
| A．young children | B．Disney World workers |
| C．middle school teachers | D．parents with young children |
Which book describes women with characters of their own?
A. Happy And Other Bad ThoughtsB. You Are Free
C. J. D. Salinger :A LifeD. Red Wolf After finishing the book Red Wolf, the readers would learn that .
| A．the murderer got away with the crime |
| B．Benny died of an accident |
| C．the boy helped arrest the murderer |
| D．Annika carried out the crime |
About twenty of us had been fortunate enough to receive invitations to a film-studio（影棚）to take part in a crowd-scene. Although our "act" would last only for a short time, we could see quite a number of interesting things.
We all stood at the far end of the studio as workmen prepared the scene, setting up trees at the edge of a winding path. Very soon, bright lights were turned on and the big movie-camera was wheeled into position. The director shouted something to the camera operator and then went to speak to the two famous actors nearby. Since it was hot in the studio, it came as a surprise to us to see one of the actors put on a heavy overcoat and start walking along the path. A big fan began blowing tiny white feathers down on him, and soon the trees were covered in "snow". Two more fans were turned on, and a "strong wind" blew through the trees. The picture looked so real that it made us feel cold.
The next scene was a complete contrast(对比).The way it was filmed was quite unusual. Pictures taken on an island in the Pacific were shown on a glass screen. An actor and actress stood in front of the scene so that they looked as if they were at the water's edge on an island. By a simple trick like this, palm trees, sandy beaches, and blue, clear skies had been brought into the studio!
Since it was our turn next, we were left wondering what scene would be prepared for us. For a full three minutes in our lives we would be experiencing the excitement of being film ”Stars”!Who is the author?
| A．A cameraman. | B．A crowd-scene actor. |
| C．A film director | D．A workman for scene setting |
What made the author feel cold?
| A．The heavy snowfall. | B．The low temperature |
| C．The man-made scene.. | D．The film being shown |
What would happen in the "three minutes" mentioned, in the last paragraph?
| A．The next scene would be prepared. |
| B．More stars would act in the film. |
| C．The author would leave the studio. |
| D．A new scene would be filmed. |
Taking good notes is a time-saving skill that will help you to become a better student in several waysSecond, your notes are excellent materials to refer to when you are studying for a test. Third, note-taking offers variety to your study time and helps you to hold your interest.
You will want to take notes during classroom discussions and while reading a textbook or doing research for a report. Whenever or however you take notes, keep in mind that note-taking is a selective process.
The following methods may work best for you.
●Read the text quickly to find the main facts and ideas in it.
●Carefully read the text and watch for words that can show main points and supporting facts.
● Write your notes in your own words.
●
● Note any questions or ideas you may have about what was said or written.
As you take notes, you may want to use your own shorthand(速记). When you do, be sure that you understand your symbols and that you use them all the time.
| A．Use words, not complete sentences. |
| B．There are three practical note-taking methods. |
| C．You must write your notes on separate paper. |
| D．Otherwise, you may not be able to read your notes later. |
E. you will also want to develop your own method for taking notes.
F. That means you must first decide what is important enough to include in your notes.
G. First, the simple act of writing something down makes it easier for you to understand
and remember it.
Can you remember the first time you learned to ride a bike or drive a car？Learning these skills changed your life forever and opened up new horizons（视野）. Learning about computers can be like learning how to ride a bike or drive a car. Once you have invested the time to master the skills，you will never go back to the old days. The new technology is simply too convenient and too powerful.
Technological developments through the years have enabled us to do more with less effort. We have continuously looked for better ways of doing things. Each invention and new development has allowed us to extend our capabilities. Today we see one of the most dramatic technologies ever developed—the computer. It extends the capabilities of our minds.
Computers have saved organizations millions of dollars. Furthermore，these same computer systems have opened up new opportunities that would have gone undiscovered or neglected. The computer may multiply what we can do，and the return on investment is high. The growth of computer usage is surprising. On the other hand，the computer can do serious damage. Invasion of privacy（侵犯隐私），fraud（欺诈），and computer-related mistakes are just a few shocking examples.The computer is like a double-edged sword. It has the ability to cut us free from some activities，but it can also cut deep into profits，personal privacy，and our society in general. How it is used is not a function of technology. It is strictly a function of how people decide to use or misuse this new technology. The choice is yours，and only through a knowledge of computer systems will you be able to avoid the dangers while enjoying the many，many benefits of the computer age.The writer thinks learning about computers is like learning how to ride a bike or drive a car because ______.
| A．it is simple and practical |
| B．it needs a lot of practice |
| C．it leads people to new life experiences |
| D．it takes much time to master the skills |
According to the passage，computers bring people the following benefits EXCEPT ______.
| A．avoiding mistakes | B．saving money |
| C．making money | D．opening up opportunities |
This passage is probably written for ______.
| A．computers | B．computer producers |
| C．computer learners | D．computer programmers |
Two thieves came to a house to steal something. They dug a hole in the wall of the house.
There lived many mice in the house. The woman in the moonlight saw a mouse crawl into the house.“Look！In comes one，”she said to the man in the house. The thief was so frightened that he hurriedly crawled out of the house and said to the one waiting outside，“She found me when I was just in.” But the thief outside didn’t believe him，so he said，“Let us two try to crawl into the house together.”At that time two mice happened to crawl into the house，too. The woman saw the mice and shouted，“In come two，catch them！” The two thieves were terribly frightened. The man in the house said，“You saw them come in but where are they？ I will catch them tonight.”The two thieves started running away at once.
The two thieves wanted to make it clear whether they had been found or not the night before. The next day they acted as men selling sweet potatoes and came before the house. The man and the woman were ploughing in their fields. The rein（缰绳）broke and the woman came home for a rope. She saw two men selling sweet potatoes and wanted to buy some. She picked out two which looked like mice. At the time the man couldn’t wait for her any longer in the fields and he ran back from the fields to hurry her up. The woman showed the sweet potatoes to the man and said，“How they look like the two of last night.”The man said，“I asked you to fetch a rope，why don’t you hurry for it？”The two thieves ran away quickly without their sweet potatoes.The two thieves failed to steal anything from the house because______.
| A．they were found out |
| B．they were frightened by what they had heard in the house |
| C．they didn’t work together well with each other |
| D．mice stopped them from doing so |
From the last paragraph，we know that ______.
| A．the two thieves were famous selling sweet potatoes |
| B．the woman recognized the two thieves |
| C．the woman pretended to know nothing about the two thieves and made fun of them |
| D．the two thieves didn’t know that they were not found at all |
“______”is the best title for this passage.
| A．Two Clever Thieves | B．Terrible Mice |
| C．Hit the Mark by a Fluke | D．A Clever Couple |
Which of the following statements is FALSE？
| A．The two thieves not only failed to steal things but also lost their sweet potatoes. |
| B．Whenever they found mice，the people in the house would try to catch them. |
| C．The two thieves ran away at once，because they thought the woman had seen them. |
| D．The man let the woman go home for a rope，which would be used for catching the thieves. |