【推荐1】“If you feel like sleeping more in the winter, you’re not alone,” said Dr. Raj Dasgupta, an associate professor of clinical medicine in California, citing research that found at least a third of American adults reported they sleep more in the winter.

The 188 patients who underwent sleep studies at St. Hedwig Hospital in Berlin slept about an hour longer in winter than they did in summer. And participants did get 30 more minutes of rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep during winter.

The REM phase of sleep is the sweet spot of sleep cycles, characterized by more dreaming and faster heart rate and breathing than in other stages. Its “an essential stage of sleep that helps with memory, concentration, mood regulation and immune function,” Dasgupta said.

The desire for more sleep during winter may have to do with how light fluctuates (波动,起伏) throughout the year. “Our bodies receive cues from the sun when it comes to our circadian rhythm, meaning that when it is bright outside we tend to be active, but when the sun goes down, you may tend to feel tired,” Dasgupta said. “The decrease in sunlight causes an increase in melatonin (褪黑激素) in the body that regulates sleep-wake cycles.”

With the earlier production of melatonin during winter, “it would be natural to assume that a healthy person also would need more sleep during the winter,” said Dr. Carleara Weiss, a research assistant professor at the University of Buffalo.

And light influences not only sleep quantity but also sleep quality. ‘“REM sleep is highly affected by light and darkness, so when during the winter months we have less light, the body is going to basically overcompensate by giving more REM sleep,” said Dr. Joshua Tal, a clinical psychologist specializing in sleep issues.

Humans still don’t need to hibernate (冬眠), Weiss said, nor can we afford to due to our social and occupational obligations. “But we can make adjustments to perform in a better way, to rest in a better way during winter,” she said. “To help our bodies make this transition from sleep to wake, it’s important to have light exposure in the morning during winter months,” Weiss said. “Along with that, it’s important to keep a consistent bedtime and wake-up times.”

1. What happens in the REM phase of sleep?

A．Faster breathing.	B．Slower heart rate.
C．More concentration.	D．Fewer dreaming.

2. What can we learn about the connection between light and sleep?

A．Light will remove people’s desire for sleep.

B．The brighter it is, the more active you will be.

C．Light affects not sleep quantity, but sleep quality.

D．People are more likely to feel sleepy when it gets dark.

3. What does the underlined sentence suggest in paragraph 6?

A．People’s sleep quality is decided by the REM sleep.

B．People’s health is built up based on the REM sleep.

C．More REM sleep can strengthen our energy in winter.

D．REM sleep can make up for the shortcoming of less light.

4. What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．The theory of REM sleep.	B．The approach to relaxing.
C．The way to adapt ourselves.	D．The plan of increasing sleep.

【推荐2】For many of us, the desire to speak a foreign language is overshadowed by the idea that it’s a long journey or that there’s no practical reason to learn. However, research has shown that speaking two languages has many advantages in this connected world today. Businesses with people around the world need someone who is not only capable of communicating in another language but also culturally aware and open-minded. Many companies prefer the people who are able to speak more than one language since they have faced more difficult situations in their language learning than the people who only speak one language, thus they desire to deal with more challenges in the work.

While creativity can be a difficult thing to measure, researchers have attempted to measure creative ability in a number of ways. One of the tools that are most widely used to understand creativity is a test known as the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). The TTCT was first introduced in 1962 by Ellis Paul Torrance and measures one’s divergent (发散的) thinking in some key areas.

Divergent thinking is how well and how quickly your mind can solve problems. A study conducted by the University of Mashhad collected the TTCT results of the people who speak only one language and the people who have learned two languages and clearly showed that the second of the two groups performed better.

Some reasons for this could be that people who speak two languages are often faced with situations where they must consider various things, which can have an effect on problem-solving ability.

Language allows you to express your thoughts to other people, but what if there are no words to express what you’re thinking and feeling? Understanding a second language can allow you to express something you may not be able to with only one language.

Because language is linked to culture, you will find that by speaking more than one language you have a better understanding and appreciation of other cultures. This allows you to establish stronger connections with people from other cultural backgrounds. Nelson Mandela once said: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” Communicating in someone’s native language is not only a great way to show respect, but also helps you develop a deeper personal connection that goes beyond just being understood.

1. What does the underlined word “overshadowed” in Paragraph 1 most probably mean?

A．Reduced.

B．Encouraged.

C．Controlled.

D．Strengthened.

2. People who speak more than one language often ______.

A．show no interest in new ideas	B．communicate more with others
C．receive more money for their work	D．want to perform more difficult tasks

3. What do we know about TTCT?

A．Its results can tell us how creative we are.

B．It can be used to develop divergent thinking.

C．It trains our minds to solve problems quickly.

D．It offers us measures to handle different situations.

4. What can help us build deeper personal connections with foreigners?

A．Understanding what they said.	B．Speaking their native languages.
C．Teaching them our native languages.	D．Expressing thoughts in our native languages.

5. Which would be the best title for the passage?

A．Benefits of Leaning a Second Language

B．Importance of Understanding Other Cultures

C．TTCT: A Useful Tool for Language Learning

D．Second Language: An Advantage in Your Work

【推荐1】A popular short video series titled Escape From the British Museum has captivated millions of viewers and sparked a renewed call to repatriate (遣送) unlawfully taken relics. The three-part series tells the story of a jade teapot that comes to life and embarks on a journey from the British Museum back to China. With over 340 million views and nearly 2 million comments on Douyin, a short-video platform, the series has had a significant effect.

In the story, the jade teapot transforms into a young woman and escapes from the museum. She meets a Chinese journalist named Zhang Yongan in the United Kingdom and implores him to take her back to China. Upon returning home, she not only travels across the country but also carries “letters” written by other artifacts in the museum to their respective families in China.

The series was created by two young Chinese vloggers using the pseudonyms (网名) “Jianbing Guozai” and “Xiatian Meimei”. Zhang Jiajun, whose real name is “Jianbing Guozai”, graduated from Sichuan University of Media and Communications.

Inspiration for the series came from a netizen’s suggestion to create a cartoon series where artifacts come to life and return home for Chinese New Year. Zhang turned this idea into a video and spent three months researching the British Museum and crafting the storyline.

The videos have deeply moved netizens, with scenes like “writing brushstrokes on English newspapers” and intense dialogues among the artifacts striking an emotional chord. In the comments, many netizens expressed their desire for cultural artifacts overseas to return home with dignity and honor.

The creator of the series, Zhang Jiajun, expresses gratitude for the love the series has received and hopes that more attention would be paid to the issue of cultural relics located overseas.

1. Which short video series has sparked a discussion about repatriating cultural relics？

A．“Escape From the British Museum”

B．“Journey Across China”

C．“Life of a Jade Teapot”

D．“Treasures of the British Museum”

2. What inspired the creation of the video series “Escape From the British Museum”？

A．A cartoon series featuring artifacts.

B．A suggestion from a netizen.

C．A 3-month visit to the British Museum.

D．A desire for cultural preservation.

3. What does the underlined word “embark on” mean?

A．Emphasize.

B．Embarrass.

C．Embrace.

D．Launch.

4. What did the videos resonate (产生共鸣) with the netizens？

A．Scenes of writing brushstrokes on English newspapers.

B．Intense dialogues among the artifacts.

C．The desire for cultural artifacts to return home.

D．The loss of several items from the British Museum.

【推荐3】Some people browse TikTok and Instagram for recipes, memes and colorful opinions on the news. Erin Coleman says her 14-year-old daughter uses these apps to search for videos about mental health diagnoses (诊断).

Over time, the teen started to self-identify with the creators, according to her mother, and became convinced she had the same diagnoses, including depression, autism (自闭症), mysophobia (洁癖) and agoraphobia (a fear of leaving the house).

“Every week, she would come up with another diagnosis,” Coleman told CNN. “If she sees a hint (暗示) of herself in someone, she thinks she has it, too.” After undergoing testing for mental health and medical conditions, her daughter was diagnosed not with the long list of conditions she had thought about but with severe anxiety. “Even now, she doesn’t always think the specialists are correct,” Coleman said.

Social media platforms, including TikTok and Instagram, have come under mounting scrutiny (审查) in recent years for their potential to lead younger users to harmful content and worsen what experts have called a national mental health crisis among teens. But Coleman is one of nearly two dozen parents who told CNN that they are worried about a different but related issue: teens using social media to diagnose themselves with mental health conditions.

A growing number of teens are turning to social platforms such as Instagram and TikTok for guidance, resources and support for their mental health, and to find conditions they think match their own—a trend that has alarmed parents, doctors and school counselors (辅导员), according to interviews with CNN. Some teens start to follow creators who discuss their own mental health conditions, symptoms and treatments; others have come across posts with symptoms checklists to help decide if they meet the criteria for a diagnosis.

Using the Internet to self-diagnose is not new, as anyone who has used WebMD knows. And there can be some benefits. Some parents said social media has helped their teens get mental health information they’ve needed and has helped them feel less alone.

1. What is Erin Coleman’s daughter’s problem from the first two paragraphs?

A．She is addicted to Internet videos.

B．She can’t cook unless she has a recipe.

C．She suffers from many mental illnesses.

D．She self-diagnoses her mental health online.

2. Why is Erin Coleman’s daughter tested?

A．To confirm the doctor’s diagnosis.

B．To explain the dangers of self-diagnosis.

C．To show that self-diagnosis is not reliable.

D．To keep her mother from worrying about her.

3. What can we learn about social platforms such as Instagram and TikTok?

A．They lead younger users to harmful content.

B．They cause mental health crisis among teens.

C．They provide criteria for mental health diagnosis.

D．They are harmful for teens’ self-diagnosis of mental illness.

4. What is the author’s attitude toward social media?

A．Unclear.

B．Objective.

C．Doubtful.

D．Approving.