【推荐1】Many of us have had this experience: we lie down in a bed other than our own, perhaps at a friend’s house or in a hotel room, and find it difficult to fall asleep.

Why does it happen?

A new study shows one reason is what the scientists call “first night effect”. They believe that one side of the brain acts as a “night watch” to warn us about possible dangers. It prevented us from getting to sleep on the first night in a new environment.

For the study, 35 young volunteers were told to sleep in a lab for several days as researchers watched their brain activities.

According to the researchers, on their first night, the left brains were more active than the right brains and people had a hard time sleeping. However, left-brain activity reduced as days went by, falling even to the point of complete calm. In this process, the volunteers got better and better sleep experience.

The findings suggest that the different rhythms of the sides of the brain influence our sleep. When the two sides work differently, the balance between them is broken. So, the brain can’t relax and is sensitive (敏感的) to anything strange around.

“At some level, the brain is continuing to work ,even though you don’t realize it,” US professor Jerome Siege told Smithsonian Magazine. “If something unusual happens, you can be alert (警惕的).”

More surprisingly, this is like the way some animals sleep. Whales, dolphins, and many birds can sleep with half of their brain while the other half stays awake, with one eye staying open.

The researchers think that it is the result of evolution (进化) and works to protect us in possibly dangerous environments.

If you have ever had first night effects, researchers advise you to bring your own pillow or sleep in a room similar to your bedroom next time you sleep away from home.

Topic	First night effect
People’s possible          experience	Many people have difficulty getting to sleep on the first night in a new environment.
The findings of the study	First night effect forces us to stay     1     as one side of the brain is alert to possible dangers. As days go by, people’s sleep experience     2     as the left-brain activity falls.
The explanations to the findings	On the first night in a new environment, people’s right brain is     3     active than the left brain and that breaks the balance between them. Our brains continue to work without being realized at night so that we can be sensitive to anything unusual. Some other animals sleep in the similar way, which is thought to be     4     by evolution.
5    from researchers	Bring your own pillow or sleep in a similar room that looks like yours.

【推荐3】

Astronauts go on spacewalks for many reasons. Spacewalks let astronauts work outside their spacecraft (飞行器) while still in space. Astronauts can do science experiments on a spacewalk. Spacewalks also let astronauts test new equipment (设备). They can repair spacecraft in space instead of bringing them back to the Earth to fix.

When astronauts go on spacewalks, they wear spacesuits with pure oxygen (纯氧) inside to keep themselves safe. Once in their suits, astronauts breathe oxygen for a few hours. Breathing only oxygen can help clear out all the nitrogen (氮气) in an astronaut’s body. If they didn’t clear out the nitrogen, the astronauts might get gas bubbles (气泡) in their body and the bubbles will do them harm. These gas bubbles can cause pain in astronauts’ shoulders and knees. This pain is called getting “the bends” because it has influences on the places where the body bends.

Astronauts are now ready to get out of their spacecraft. They leave the spacecraft through a special door called an airlock. The use of the airlock is to stop air getting out. The airlock has two doors. When astronauts get ready to go on a spacewalk, they go through the first door and lock it tight behind them. They can then open the second door without any air getting out of the spacecraft. After a spacewalk, astronauts go back inside through the airlock.

How do astronauts stay safe during spacewalks? They use safety ropes to keep themselves from floating away (飘离) into space. When on a spacewalk, one end of the safety rope is hooked (钩住) to the space walker while the other end is connected to the spacecraft. Astronauts also use ropes to keep tools from floating away. They tie their tools to their spacesuits.

Another way astronauts stay safe during spacewalks is by wearing a SAFER. If an astronaut were to float away, SAFER would help him or her fly back to the spacecraft. Astronauts control SAFER with a small joystick (控制杆), like on a video game.

1. What can help astronauts work outside their spacecraft?
_____________________________________________________
2. What can cause pain in astronauts’ shoulders and knees?
_____________________________________________________
3. What is the use of the airlock?
_____________________________________________________
4. How do astronauts control SAFER in space?
_____________________________________________________
5. How do astronauts keep themselves from floating away into space?
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【推荐1】Sweetest Day is always on the third Saturday in October in America. This holiday is much more important in some regions than in others. Detroit, Cleveland and Buffalo are the biggest cities Sweetest Day cities. It is a holiday that is increasing its popularity (流行程度) every year throughout the country.

Sweetest Day is celebrated to make someone happy. It is a day that offers all of us an opportunity to care about not only the sick, aged and orphaned (孤儿), but also friends, relatives and family.

Over 60 years ago, a Cleveland man, believing that the city’s underprivileged groups (弱势群体) often felt they were forgotten and left out, had the idea of showing them that they were remembered. He did this by giving out small gifts. With the help of his friends and neighbors, he gave out these small gifs on a Saturday in October. During the years that followed, other Clevelanders began to take part in the celebration ceremony, which came to be called “Sweetest Day”. Then the idea of spreading cheer to the underprivileged was spread to everyone. And soon the idea was spread to other cities all over the country.

Sweetest Day is not based on any single group’s religious sentiment (感情) or on a family relationship. It reminds us that a thoughtful word or deed enriches life and gives it meaning.

1题完成句子，2、3题简略回答问题，4 题用英语简要概括出文章的主旨大意，5题将文中划线句子译成汉语。
1. Sweetest Day, on ________ in October, is much more important in some regions.
2. What’s the purpose of celebrating Sweetest Day?
_________________________________
3. How did the Cleveland man show his care to the underprivileged?
_________________________________
4. The passage is mainly about
_________________________________
5. _________________________________

【推荐3】请阅读下面短文，根据短文内容，在方框内的缩写文章中，填入与短文意思最符合的单词，每空一词。

Every year on April 7th, we’re reminded of something: If you have health, you have hope; if you have hope, you have everything. This day is World Health Day. The day calls on (呼吁) people to care more about health.

But first of all, what is health? According to WHO, health is about both our bodies and our emotions (情感). We all know how to get healthy. We can do exercise every day. We can eat different kinds of food. We can go to bed by 10 p. m. We can take care of ourselves when the weather changes. But that’s not enough. There is a famous saying: “Laughter is the best medicine.” The mental (精神的) health is very important. So try not to keep yourself too busy with study and work all the time. Try different sports and develop your own interests. For example, learning to play the guitar after homework is a good way to relax. Such hobbies can relax your body and mind. More importantly, they make you a healthy person.

World Health Day is on April 7th every year. It reminds us that having health is having everything. The day calls on people to care     1     about health. But what is health? According to WHO, health is about both our bodies and our emotions. To keep healthy, we can exercise every day, eat     2     kinds of food and go to bed early. We can also look after ourselves when the weather changes. We shouldn’t keep ourselves too busy with study and work     3     the mental health is also very important. Try to do different sports and     4     our own interests.    5     like playing the guitar can make our body and mind relaxed. More importantly, they make us a healthy person.