Now, more and more people have difficulties in falling asleep. “In fact, we can train our brain to fall asleep,” says sleep expert Michael Grandner. Here are his top ways.
Make a plan and stick to it.
Melatonin (褪黑素) is produced by the body to control when you get sleepy and when you wake up. As night falls, the levels of melatonin rise, telling the body that it’s time for bed. And the levels naturally fall as daylight comes near, getting you ready to greet the day.
The release (释放) of melatonin needs to be at regular (有规律的) times. So if your bedtime and wake-up time change from day to day, your body doesn’t know how to respond (回应). So it’s important to have a regular bedtime and wake up time, even on weekends.
Don’t lie in bed awake.
In fact，this way is very helpful. Whether it’s the beginning of the night or the middle of the night, if you’ve been awake for 20 or 30 minutes, get up. Maybe you just need five minutes to get sleepy, or maybe an hour, but don’t spend that time awake in bed.
Change your attitude (态度) about sleep.
Many people regard sleeping as the final thing in a busy day, so they would rather delay sleeping to do housework, schoolwork or others. That thought needs to be changed. Make sure your sleep time is enough in order to work better the next day. It may sound like a small change, but it’s an important one.
(1). Michael Grandner gives us ________ ways in this passage.
| A． |
one |
B． |
two |
C． |
three |
D． |
four |
(2). When do the levels of melatonin rise?
| A． |
When you’re tired. |
B． |
When night falls. |
| C． |
When you feel sleepy. |
D． |
When daylight comes. |
(3). Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A． |
A rise in melatonin levels tells the body it’s the bedtime. |
| B． |
Enough sleep time can’t make you work better the next day. |
| C． |
It’s not necessary for us to sleep or wake up at a regular time. |
| D． |
It’s best to stay in bed if you’re awake too long during the night. |
(4). What does the underlined word “delay” mean in Chinese?
| A． |
暗示 |
B． |
督促 |
C． |
调理 |
D． |
推迟 |
(5). What is the passage mainly about?
| A． |
The importance of sleeping well. |
| B． |
The change of bedtime and wake-up time. |
| C． |
When to go to bed and wake up. |
| D． |
How to train your brain for better sleep. |
Some top students are giving advice.
| Bill, Canada When taking tests, relax. If you’re worried that you’ll fail the test, you’re sure to get a low score. If you have studied for it long enough, you shouldn’t be worried about getting a low grade. |
| Lily, America Remember the most important advice to get good grades is very simple; do well on tests to get an A or an A-. Do what your teacher says, and the chances are fairly good that you’ll get an A+. Don’t stress yourself. Act cool! |
| Betty, Britain Write good notes. Colored pens are fun to write with if you want to get more creative with your notes, but use them only for parts of your notes that will probably be on a test or that are important. It makes them stand out. Go over your notes before you take the exams. |
| Tom, Australia In order to get good grades, try to do your homework immediately after school. Time management is important. If you’re told to do the homework next week, get started the same day you know it. Before you start, you’d better make clear what to do and how to do it. |
Who gives advice on homework?
| A．Betty. | B．Bill. | C．Lily. | D．Tom. |
Lily tells us when taking tests.
| A．not to worry |
| B．not to stress ourselves |
| C．to get more creative |
| D．to make clear what to do |
The top students are giving advice on _______.
| A．how to get good grades |
| B．how to start learning |
| C．what to do when taking tests |
| D．what to take when going to school |
If you are visiting England, you will notice that English have many customs and traditions that are different from those in China．
This guide provides help for anyone visiting England for the first time．
Standing in the queue
English people like to form queue．They think it is the fair way to behave．People wait in a queue in shops and at bus stops．People will think you are very rude if you don’t join the queue．
Please, Thank You, Excuse Me and Sorry
It is good manners to say “please” and “thank you”．If someone is in your way and you would like them to move, say “excuse me” and they will move．If you bump into someone or you are in their way say “sorry”．They will probably say “sorry”, too, even if it was your mistake．Saying “sorry” does not always mean you think you were wrong．Someone it is just a polite thing to say．
Meeting a new person
When people meet for the first time, the usual custom is to shake hands．The next time you meet that person, you can just say hello．English people don’t usually hug or kiss unless they know each other really well．
Talking to people
English people find it difficult to start conversations with strangers．They like to be private so if they are on buses or trains, they usually sit as far away from other people as possible．If you want to start a conversation, the topic that English people are always happy to talk about is the weather．So you need to be able to say “Isn’t it warm (sunny/windy/wet/foggy) today?” or “Do you think it’s going to rain/clear up?” This is much better than asking about politics, religion or how much people earn!What’s the main idea of the article?
| A．Differences between England and China． |
| B．The guide help． |
| C．The manners and traditions in England． |
| D．How to visit England for the first time． |
English people will think you are rude if you ______．
| A．don’t the know customs | B．say “thank you” |
| C．talk to a new person | D．don’t join the queue |
What will you do if you meet people for the first time?
| A．To shake hands with them． | B．To kiss them． |
| C．To say hello to them． | D．To hug them． |
What will you say if you are in someone’s way?
| A．Thank you． | B．Please． |
| C．Excuse Me． | D．Sorry． |
How can people start conversations with strangers?
| A．They can talk about politics and religion． |
| B．They can talk about the weather． |
| C．They can talk about “Please, Thank You, Excuse Me and Sorry” |
| D．They can talk about everything． |
Roger, a young man from China, has taught Chinese in a primary school in England for 3 years．A lot of children like his class and he enjoys teaching them very much．All the pupils are quite interested in what Roger teaches them．They learn quickly and do everything carefully．
One day he said to the children, “People in a lot of Asian countries wear white clothes at funerals(葬礼), but people in America and in Europe wear white in the weddings because white means purity and happiness．What colour does an English woman wear when she gets married?”
Mary said, “White, sir, because she is happy．” “That is good, Mary,” Roger said．“You are quite right．She wears white because she is happy．”
But then one boy in the class put up his hand．“Yes, Dick?” Roger said, “Do you have a question?” “Yes,” Dick said．“Why do men wear black in our country when they get married, sir?”What does Roger do?
| A．He teaches English in China |
| B．He teaches Chinese in England |
| C．He is a Chinese teacher in China |
| D．He teaches English in England |
Roger enjoys teaching his pupils because_________．
| A．they are lovely |
| B．they are clever and careful |
| C．they are his own children |
| D．they are polite and helpful |
An English woman wears white clothes________．
| A．when she gets married | B．when she is worried |
| C．when she is sad | D．when she is at a funeral |
What colour do men in England wear when they get married?
| A．White | B．Black | C．Red | D．Green |
Which of the following is true?
| A．People in England wear white when they get married． |
| B．Dick was a slow girl． |
| C．Roger dislikes teaching the children． |
| D．Dick, a clever boy, liked asking questions． |
Chinese young people love their smart phones．They play with phone apps every day．But now, a book has let them forget about their phones．The book is called Secret Garden．
It is a colouring book for adults’．You don’t have to read it, because it has almost no words．All the pages are pictures but no colours．You just need to use colour pens to paint it．An artist in Britain made the book．
The book is now the biggest selling book on amazon．Cn．last month, it sold 25,000 copies in China．Many young people bought this book．They like it so much that they stop playing games or surfing the Internet on their phones．These people are mainly young mothers and workers．It is very difficult to take care of babies or do a good job at first, so they feel a lot of pressure．Drawing the book can help them become less nervous．
In the past, people thought colouring books are only for children．With Secret Garden getting more and more popular, many young adults also begin to paint as a hobby．What made Chinese young people forget about their phones?
| A．Games． | B．A book． |
| C．Housework． | D．Colours． |
What’s in Secret Garden?
| A．Many words． |
| B．Colour pens |
| C．Pictures without colours． |
| D．Pictures with colours． |
What kind of people like the colouring book?
| A．Children． | B．Young adults． |
| C．Old people． | D．All the people． |
Who made the book?
| A．An artist in China． | B．An artist in British． |
| C．English young people． | D．Chinese people． |
How can people use the book?
| A．People can read it easily． |
| B．People can touch it to read it． |
| C．People can use colour pens to paint it． |
| D．People can listen to its sound to read it． |
任务型阅读
阅读下列短文,根据短文中的信息完成文后表格。在标有题号的横线上，写出空缺处所填单词的正确形式。（每空一词）
In today’s society, everyone seems very busy every day. We feel our time is valuable and needs to be used well. We need cheap meal ideas that can help us save time and money and still offer a healthy dinner to us and our family.
The fast food makers know we have little time and don’t pay attention to what we eat after a long day at work. So they often offer us cheap food that requires(需要) no cooking or cleaning, and only a short time to pick up.
But eating so much fast food will cause body fatness and fast food is not nutritious(有营养的), so it’s not the best choice. There are some very cheap meal ideas that take almost no time to prepare and will make coming home for a good meal more enjoyable.
The first cheap meal idea is one dish including meat, rice, and also some cabbages, carrots or tomatoes. This is not only a cheap meal idea, but also it is fast because it can be made in only 20 minutes.
You can quickly make some pancakes and scrambled eggs for the family in about half an hour. If you think it is strange to eat breakfast food for dinner, consider how the same foods give you what you need to go through a whole day.
Another cheap meal idea to try is a “macaroni(通心粉) and cheese with meat” dish, which is the fastest, only takes around 15 minutes to cook.
If you are interested in these cheap meal ideas, you’re welcome to visit our website for details. When you fix one of these or other cheap meal ideas at home, you are taking time out of your busy day to treat yourself and your family in a special way.
| Facts |
____ Being in need of cheap and ___ |
| Low standards of fast food |
No cooking No _____ Saving time to cook |
| Disadvantages of fast food |
Making people get ______ Having no nutrition |
| Three___ |
A dish with meat, rice and ______ Cheap and_____ Pancakes and scrambled eggs Strange but useful, taking around__ Macaroni and _____ The fastest, taking about 15 minutes |
| Conclusion |
When you cook some fast food at home, you are taking time out of your busy day to treat ____ |