When a big exam is coming up, you probably feel anxious about any wasted time and want to begin school as soon as you probably can.
But tens of thousands of British high school students will soon be getting up later. They’re taking part in a new experiment by Oxford University to see if later classes can improve their exam results.
Grades 10 students in the UK have to take the nationwide General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams. They have to pass these exams in order to study more advanced courses, and later apply for universities.
The Oxford University project means that GCSE students from more than 100 schools across England will start school at 10 am, more than one hour later than the current start time (8:50 am).
The project is based on scientific evidence that teenagers are “out of sync(同步)” with traditional school hours, the Telegraph reported. And what they need is more sleep in the morning.
“We know that something funny happens when you’re a teenager, in that you seem to be out of sync with the world,” said professor Colin Epsie, who is leading the study. “Your parents think it’s because you are lazy and opinionated（固执己见的）and everything will be OK if you could get to sleep earlier. But science is telling us that teenagers need to sleep more in the mornings.”
Everyone follows a natural cycle of sleep and wakefulne ss. Biology has decided that teenagers go to sleep around midnight and don’t feel fully awake until 9-10 am, according to scientists. That’s two hours later than adults. And their body clocks stay like this until the age of around 21 for males, and 19 for females.
“Society provides school for learning, but the brain provides sleep. So we are exploring the possibility that if you delay the schools start time until 10 am, that will improve learning performance,” said Epsie.
The results could be positive, based on previous studies.
An early study at the UK’s Monkseaton High School in 2009 found that starting an hour later improved grades in core subjects by 19 percent.
The Oxford project is expecting to publish the results in 2018. It’s time to wait and see whether scientists will give us an excuse to get up late.
According to the article, students who take part in the Oxford University project _________.
| A．will start school one hour earlier |
| B．will no longer have to take GCSE exams |
| C．will perform better academically than those who don’t participate |
| D．will be guaranteed more sleeping time in the morning |
The underlined phrase “out of sync”in Paragraph 5 probably means _____________ .
| A．breaking the habit of doing something |
| B．getting used to doing something |
| C．having no idea of something |
| D．having trouble keeping up with something |
We can infer from the article that _______________ .
| A．the Oxford University project is targeted at all British high schools |
| B．getting up late is a sign of laziness in the eyes of most British parents |
| C．children and adults have different natural cycles of sleep and wakefulness |
| D．there is still no scientific evidence that supports a late school start time |
What is the author’s attitude toward the Oxford University project ?
| A．Critical | B．Optimistic |
| C．Doubtful | D．Uninterested |
What’s the best title of the article ?
| A．Wake up late to excel |
| B．It’s never too late to learn |
| C．The later you get up, the better you’ll learn |
| D．An excuse to get up late |
My wife Julie and I were out on the road that runs around where we live, when we saw an old worn-out dog stumbling (蹒跚) painfully up the road. We stopped, bent down, talked gently to the dog and patted it. I checked and there was a collar with a phone number. I called but no one answered.
The dog was painfully thin. So Julie ran home to get some of our dog’s food while I tried to encourage the dog. After Julie came back, we sat down on the sidewalk while our new friend made short work of the food. Eventually we got her home.
After trying for many times we got a response from the number. A lady came around with a bunch of flowers for us. She explained that Tara had been her father’s dog. She was very old and got lost that morning. So, Tara was safely returned home.
Here is the truth of the story:
Actually Julie and I were out that morning because I was leaving. She was trying to persuade me to come back, but I wasn’t hearing anything that made that sound likely.
I was about to turn and go when an old black dog walked between us and almost fell down. Suddenly we had something more important than our problem to worry about. There was a creature in need right before us and we had to work together to help it.
We did help it. And here I am writing the story in my own home, in my own family.
In the song “Love Is Not a Fight” Warren Barfield talks about marriage. At one point he sings, “And if we try to leave, may God send angels (天使) to guard the door.”
Sometimes angels come disguised (伪装) as dogs. How was the dog when found?
| A．Too weak to walk. | B．Thin and worn out. |
| C．Unable to eat food. | D．Homeless but gentle. |
We can infer from Paragraph 2 that .
| A．the dog didn’t go with the writer |
| B．the writer had his own pet dog |
| C．Julie bought some food for the dog |
| D．the dog didn’t eat any of the food |
The underlined part “our problem” in the passage refers to the fact that .
| A．the writer didn’t want to take Julie’s advice |
| B．an old black dog appeared in front of them |
| C．Julie disagreed with the writer’s travel on business |
| D．the couple had some trouble with their marriage |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．An Angel Dog | B．A Helpful Couple | C．Saving the Dog | D．A Famous Song |
We would like to wish all our readers a wonderful winter break. Our January magazine is now in the shops and available digitally. We’re looking forward to sharing more adventures and discoveries with you in 2014, including:
At a crossroads in the Atlantic
As the population of Ascension Island rises up to mark the 200th anniversary of British rule, Fred Pearce wonders what the future might have in store for this strange part of land.
Photostory: On the road again
A selection of images from an exhibition opening this month at the Royal Geographical Society go hand in hand with M Aurel Stein’s early 20th century photographs of the Silk Road.
Dossier: Going underground
Mark Rowe discusses the role that carbon storage can play in the global effort to reduce carbon dioxide emission (排放).
Net loss
Kit Gillet reports from the Gulf of Thailand, whose fisheries (渔场) have been almost destroyed by the commercialization of the Thai fishing industry.
And don’t forget…
…a round-up of the latest geographical and climate science news; a hot spot focus on Turkey; advice on taking photographs in Antarctica; an interview with Lucien Castaing-Taylor, professor of visual arts at Harvard; plus lots, lots more…
Buy your copy now, click here and save up to 35% or call +44 (0)1635 588 496. Geographical is also available in WHSmith and many independent news agents.Who took photos of the Silk Road?
| A．M Aurel Stein. | B．Fred Pearce. | C．Mark Rowe. | D．Lucien Castaing-Taylor. |
If you want to read something about global warming, you can read .
| A．At a crossroads in the Atlantic |
| B．Photostory: On the road again |
| C．Dossier: Going underground |
| D．Net loss |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Ascension Island has a bright future with more population. |
| B．Commercialization contributes to the loss of fishery in Thai. |
| C．The January edition of 2014 is to come out in the winter break. |
| D．The topics of this magazine focus on geography and interviews. |
The passage is written to .
| A．share adventures and discoveries |
| B．give advice on taking photos |
| C．attract readers to buy the magazine |
| D．introduce the content of the magazine |
Chinese parents are very generous when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States or Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will either learn a musical instrument or ballet, or other classes that will give them a head start in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So parents will spend an unreasonable amount of money on education. Even poor couples will buy a computer for their son or daughter.
However, what most parents fail to see is that the best early education they can give their children is usually very cheap.
Parents can see that their children’s skills vary, skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize, though, is that today’s children lack self-respect and self-confidence.
The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills they need to be confident, happy and clever.
Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework.
Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking demands patience and time. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually finish his job successfully. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and a lot of self-confidence.
Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with will make him curious and arouse his interest. He will spend hours looking at them,tying to fix them ,your child might become an engineer when he grows up. These activities are not only teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important.Parents in China according to this passage.
| A．are too strict with their children |
| B．are too rich to educate their children |
| C．have some problems in educating their children correctly |
| D．have no problems in educating their children strictly |
The writer of the passage does not seem to be satisfied with.
| A．the parents’ ideas of educating their children |
| B．the education system of the school |
| C．children’s skills in cooking at home |
| D．children’s hobbies in the classroom |
Doing some cooking at home helps children.
| A．learn how to serve their parents |
| B．learn how to become strong and fat |
| C．get a lot from it and prepare themselves for the future |
| D．make their parents believe that they are clever |
According to the last paragraph we can conclude that.
| A．broken radios and television sets are useful |
| B．one’s interest and curiosity may be useful for his later life |
| C．an engineer must fix many broken radios |
| D．a good student should spend much time repairing radios |
Britons Learn to Forgive
LEEDS, England—A Leeds University psychology(心理学) professor is teaching a course to help dozens of Britons forgive their enemies.
“The hatred (仇恨) we hold within us is a cancer,” Professor Ken Hart said, adding that holding in anger can lead to problems such as high blood pressure and heart disease.
More than 70 people have become members in Hart’s first 20-week workshop in London—a course he says is the first of its kind in the world.
These are people who are sick and tired of living with a memory. They realize their bitterness is a poison they think they can pour out, but they end up drinking it themselves, said Canadian-born Hart.
The students meet in groups of eight to ten for a two-hour workshop with an adviser every fortnight.
The course ending in July, is expected to get rid of the cancer of hate in these people. “People have lots of negative attitudes towards forgiveness,” he said. “People confuse（混淆） forgiveness with forgetting. Forgiveness means changing from a negative attitude to a positive one.” Hart and his team have created instructions to provide the training needed.
“The main idea is to give you guidelines on how to look at various kinds of angers and how they affect you, and how to change your attitudes towards the person you are angry with, ”said Norman Claringbull, a senior expert on the forgiveness project.
Hart said he believes forgiveness is a skill that can be taught, as these people “want to get free of the past”.From this passage we know that .
| A．high blood pressure and heart disease are caused by hatred |
| B．high blood pressure can only be cured by psychology professors |
| C．without hatred, people will have less trouble connected with blood and heart |
| D．people who suffer from blood pressure and heart disease must have many enemies |
In Hart’s first 20-week workshop, people there can .
| A．meet their enemies |
| B．change their minds |
| C．enjoy the professor’s speech |
| D．learn how to quarrel with others |
If you are a member in Hart’s workshop, you’ll .
| A．pay much money to Hart |
| B．go to the workshop every night |
| C．attend a gathering every fortnight |
| D．pour out everything stored in your mind |
The author wrote this passage in order to .
| A．persuade us to go to Hart’s workshop |
| B．tell us the news about Hart’s workshop |
| C．tell us how to run a workshop like Hart’s |
| D．help us to look at various kinds of angers |
If you do not use your arm or your legs for some time, they become weak; when you start using them again, they slowly become strong again. Everybody knows that. Yet many people do not seem to know that memory works in the same way. When someone says that he has a good memory, he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by using it. When someone else says that his memory is poor, he really means that he does not give it enough chance to become strong. If a friend says that his arms and legs are weak, we know that it is his own fault(过错). But if he tells us that he has a poor memory, many of us think that his parents are to blame(受责备), and few of us know that it is just his own fault. Have you ever found that some people can’t read or write but usually they have better memories? This is because they cannot read or write and they have to remember things; they cannot write down in a little notebook. They have to remember days, names, songs and stories; so their memory is the whole time being exercised. So if you want to have a good memory, learn from the people: Practice remembering.The main reason for one’s poor memory is that _______.
| A．his memory is not often used |
| B．he does not use his name or legs for some time |
| C．his father or mother may have a poor memory |
| D．he can’t read or write |
If you do not use your arms or legs for some time _______.
| A．you can’t use them any more |
| B．they will become stronger |
| C．they will become neither stronger nor weaker |
| D．they become weak and won’t become strong until you use them again |
Some people can’t read or write, but they usually have better memories, because _______.
| A．they have saved much trouble |
| B．they have saved much time to remember things |
| C．they have to use their memories all the time |
| D．they can’t write everything in a little notebook |
Which is the best title for this passage?
| A．Don’t Stop Using Your Arms or Legs |
| B．How to Have a Good Memory |
| C．Strong Arms and Good Memories |
| D．Learn From the People |