1 . Getting less sleep has become a bad habit for most American kids. According to a new survey(调查) by the National Sleep Foundation, 51% of kids aged 10 to 18 go to bed at 10 pm or later on school nights, even though they have to get up early. Last year the Foundation reported that nearly 60% of 7- to 12-year-olds said they felt tired during the day, and 15% said they had fallen asleep at school.
How much sleep you need depends a lot on your age. Babies need a lot of rest: most of them sleep about 18 hours a day! Adults need about eight hours. For most school-age children, ten hours is ideal(理想的). But the new National Sleep Foundation survey found that 35% of 10- to 12-year-olds get only seven or eight hours. And guess what almost half of the surveyed kids said they do before bedtime? Watch TV.
“More children are going to bed with TVs on, and there are more opportunities(机会) to stay awake, with more homework, the Internet and the phone,” says Dr. Mary Carskadon, a sleep researcher at Brown University Medical School. She says these activities at bedtime can get kids all excited and make it hard for them to calm down and sleep. Other experts say part of the problem is chemical. Changing levels of body chemicals called hormones not only make teenagers’ bodies develop adult characteristics, but also make it hard for teenagers to fall asleep before 11 pm.
Because sleepiness is such a problem for teenagers, some school districts have decided to start high school classes later than they used to. Three years ago, schools in Edina, Minnesota, changed the start time from 7:25 am to 8:30 am. Students, parents and teachers are pleased with the results.
1. What is the new National Sleep Foundation survey on?| A．American kids’ sleeping habits. | B．Teenagers’ sleep-related diseases. |
| C．Activities to prevent sleeplessness. | D．Learning problems and lack of sleep. |
| A．7 hours. | B．8 hours. |
| C．10 hours. | D．18 hours. |
| A．They are affected by certain body chemicals. |
| B．They tend to do things that excite them. |
| C．They follow their parents’ examples. |
| D．They don’t need to go to school early. |
2 . The jack fruit is a delicious fruit found throughout certain parts of Asia. But there is more to the fruit than just its taste. When considering the fruit’s English name, it is easy to become overwhelmed with questions like: “Who is Jack? And why does he have his own fruit?”
Surprisingly, “jack fruit” isn’t a person’s name at all. The fruit’s name originally comes from the southern Indian word chakka pazham, with India thought to be the fruit’s place of origin. Portuguese explorers who journeyed to this region went on to call it jack, which leads us to the current English name of jack fruit, according to National Public Radio(NPR). Unfortunately, no one called Jack has been proven to be involved at any point in this process.
There is another food, however, that was directly named after a person—the sandwich. In the 18th century, playing card games late into the night became fashionable in British high society. John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, started the habit of ordering pieces of cold beef between two pieces of bread in order to get a late-night snack without having to leave the gaming table or use a knife and fork.
This newly-created snack kept hands clean so card players could continue on without dirtying their cards. The midnight snack quickly became popular among everyday people, and before long everyone was making their own sandwiches. That is how the sandwich was invented and got its name.
Away from the world of food, there are more examples of names inspired by people. Long johns, the warm trousers that keep us warm in winter, are said to have been named after the US boxer John L. Sullivan who took to wearing a similar type of garment in the ring (比赛).
There are many other interesting etymologies(词源) in the English language like these. So the next time you find an interesting name, why not explore its history too?
1. What does the underlined word “overwhelmed” in the first paragraph probably mean?| A．Puzzled. | B．Excited. | C．Worried. | D．Annoyed. |
| A．A place in India. | B．An Indian word. |
| C．A Portuguese explorer. | D．A discoverer of the fruit. |
| A．It was named after a popular card game. |
| B．It was once eaten as a snack in the daytime. |
| C．It was first popular among the UK’s middle class. |
| D．It was created for the convenience of playing cards. |
| A．To raise readers’ interest in etymology. | B．To introduce things named after people. |
| C．To stress the importance of learning history. | D．To explain the effects of people’s names on food. |
3 . Babies made from three people approved in UK
Babies made from two women and one man have been approved by the UK’s fertility regulator. The historic and controversial move is to prevent children from being born with deadly genetic diseases.
Doctors in Newcastle — who developed the advanced form of In Vitro Fertilization or IVF (人工授精) — are expected to be the first to offer the procedure and have already appealed for donor eggs. The first such child could be born, at the earliest, by the end of 2017.
Some families have lost multiple children to incurable mitochondrial (线粒体的) diseases, which can leave people with insufficient energy to keep their heart beating.
The diseases are passed down from only the mother, so a technique using a donor egg as well as the mother’s egg and father’s sperm has been developed.
The resulting child has a tiny amount of their DNA from the donor, but the procedure is legal and reviews say it is ethical (伦理的) and scientifically ready.
“It is a decision of historic importance,” said Sally Cheshire, chairwoman of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). “I’m sure patients will be really pleased by what we’ve decided today.”
But some scientists have questioned the ethics of the technique, saying it could open the door to genetically-modified(转基因) ‘designer’ babies.
The HFEA must approve every clinic and every patient before the procedure can take place. Three-person babies have been allowed only in cases where the risk of a child developing mitochondrial disease is very high.
Prof Mary Herbert, from the Newcastle Fertility Centre, said, “It is enormously pleasing that our many years of research in this area can finally be applied to help families affected by these devastating diseases”.
“Now that we are moving forward towards clinical treatments, we will also need donors to donate eggs for use in treatment to prevent affected women transmitting disease to their children.”
Prof Sir Doug Turnbull, the director of the Welcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research at Newcastle University, said, “We are delighted by today’s decision. We will also provide long-term follow up of any children born.”
NHS England has agreed to fund the treatment costs of the first trial of three-person IVF for those women who meet the HFEA criteria, as long as they agree to long-term follow up of their children after they are born.
1. Why is it historically important to approve babies made from three people?| A．It helps couples who lose the ability to give birth to a baby. |
| B．It marks a foundation stone to change babies’ appearances before birth. |
| C．It stops deadly genetic diseases passing down to newly-born babies. |
| D．It turns out to be an advanced form of In Vitro Fertilization. |
| A．They pass down on to babies from their parents. |
| B．They prevent people’s heart from functioning normally. |
| C．Some children infected can be cured with proper treatment. |
| D．Babies can be infected with them through a donor’s egg. |
| A．Only when the baby to be born needs it to survive. |
| B．Only when the patient gets financially prepared. |
| C．Only when the clinic gets scientifically ready. |
| D．Only when the technique is ethnically accepted. |
| A．Supportive | B．Indifferent | C．Worried | D．Objective |
4 . NatureScot, an organisation that looks after Scotland’s natural world, has agreed to release(放出) Scottish wildcats into the UK’s largest national park.
About 60 wildcats have been raised at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig. They will be released in June into an area of the Cairngorms National Park in the Scotish Highlands. Researchers will monitor the cats through GPS, tracking their movements as they live in their new home.
Wildcats already live in the Cairngorms, but researchers say they are under threat from extinction because of habitat loss and disease. Wildcats look a bit like pet cats but they are about twice the size and have thicker fur. They have longer legs and their ears are more sticked out to the side.
Wildcats were once found in England and Wales too, but they were hunted for their fur and lost a lot of their natural habitat because of human activity. They haven’t been seen in the wild outside Scotland for more than 100 years. However, another protection programme is planning to release around 40 of the animals into secret countryside locations in Cornwall, in southern England. Wildcats hunt small animals, so wildlife experts are hoping that the cats will keepdown the numbers of rabbits and mice, which damage young trees and crops such as corn, fruit and wheat.
The Scottish wildcats will be released in a part of the park called Caimgorms, where experts are working to restore(恢复) woodland areas. The plan is for as many as 20 cats to be set free every year, and it is hoped that other sites in Scotland will be considered too. Dr Helen from Saving Wildcats said, “The fight to restore Scotland’s wildcat populations is just beginning.”
1. How will researchers keep an eye on the released wildcats?| A．By using technology. | B．By working in the park. |
| C．By observing their new home. | D．By controlling their movements. |
| A．They are being hunted by human beings. |
| B．They need a new home due to habitat loss. |
| C．They can catch animals damaging the environment. |
| D．They haven’t been seen in the wild for a long time. |
| A．It is difficult to restore wildcats’ habitat. |
| B．Wildcats will begin to fight with humans. |
| C．The number of wildcats has greatly increased. |
| D．There is a long way to go to increase wildcat populations |
| A．Wildcats in danger. | B．Wildcats set free in highlands. |
| C．Wildcats’ habitat destroyed. | D．Wildcats different from pet cats. |
5 . Five years ago, a friend asked me to look after his cat while he went on holiday, and I realized the idea had potential on a bigger scale. So I moved to London and decided to
For me, cat sitting is about
I have always loved cats, and their gentle temper makes them ideal
Cat sitting helps me with my
Now I have stayed in 25 houses,
| A．handle | B．observe | C．start | D．tackle |
| A．connecting | B．convincing | C．comparing | D．defending |
| A．offices | B．chests | C．groceries | D．homes |
| A．serious | B．tough | C．free | D．severe |
| A．trial | B．exchange | C．assumption | D．extension |
| A．companions | B．assistants | C．instructors | D．employers |
| A．hate | B．approve | C．witness | D．interact |
| A．command | B．expect | C．oppose | D．permit |
| A．social | B．cultural | C．initial | D．internal |
| A．saves | B．protects | C．discourages | D．distinguishes |
| A．improved | B．suffered | C．worsened | D．formed |
| A．cat | B．occupation | C．flat | D．space |
| A．hardly | B．barely | C．really | D．narrowly |
| A．subscribed to | B．given away | C．brought up | D．cared for |
| A．holiday | B．rent | C．consumption | D．credit |
6 . When ivory hunters target elephants, the hunters can affect more than just animal numbers. In Mozambique, past hunting pressure led to an increase of naturally tuskless (无长牙的) elephants in one park, a study finds.
During 1977 to 1992, people hunted elephants and other wildlife for food and ivory. This caused the number of these large animals to drop more than 90 percent in the country’s Gorongosa National Park. Records show that as elephant numbers plummeted, the proportion of tuskless female African savanna elephants rose from about 18 percent to 51 percent.
Decades of poaching appear to have made tusklessness more beneficial from an evolutionary perspective in Gorongosa, encouraging the rapid increase of tuskless females with mutations (变异) in two tooth genes, researchers report in Science.
“The rapid killing of tusked individuals changed the makeup of features in the elephant population in only two decades, leaving behind more tuskless individuals,” say evolutionary biologist Shane Campbell-Staton and his colleagues. “The tuskless feature is heritable (可继承的), and the evolutionary change in the population may stick around for several generations at least, even as poaching eases.”
The team also analyzed the genetic instruction books of 18 tusked and tuskless females, zeroing in on two genes with mutations in tuskless females. “In humans, the influence of one of those genes can cause tooth fragility and the absence of a pair of upper teeth at the front of their mouth,” Campbell-Staton says, “Abnormalities in the other gene’s protein product can cause incorrect formation of the tooth root and tooth loss.”
Hunting “changing the course of evolution” in Gorongosa’s elephants, Campbell-Staton says, can have profound effects through the ecosystem given elephants’ dramatic impact on their surroundings. “Tusks are not just decorative. They serve a purpose,” he says, detailing how elephants use tusks to dig for water and strip tree bark for food. “If an elephant doesn’t have the tool to do those things, then what happens?”
1. Which of the following is true according to the study?| A．Ivory hunters killed elephants for their tusks. |
| B．Elephants lost their tusks due to natural evolution. |
| C．Hunting affects the number and appearance of elephants. |
| D．Human activities brought about great changes to the ecosystem. |
| A．Decreased. | B．Increased. |
| C．Remained stable. | D．Became Unpredictable. |
| A．They have the same genes as the tusked. |
| B．Their tuskless feature can be passed down. |
| C．Their tuskless feature doesn’t exist in males. |
| D．They have a biological advantage over the tusked. |
| A．To explain the cause of gene mutations. |
| B．To show the impact of mutated tooth genes. |
| C．To raise humans’ awareness of protecting teeth. |
| D．To call for actions to protect tuskless elephants. |
Here's an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.
Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk's mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement. Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.
Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?
In the first case, where we don't tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate that we cannot lie trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk's attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased. Whenever we take honorable action we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.
There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it's easy to think and act honorably again when we're happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it's started, it's easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.
1. According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our
| A．self-respect | B．financial rewards | C．advertising ability | D．friendly relationship |
| A．lying | B．stealing | C．cheating | D．advertising |
| A．telling the truth to the clerk | B．offering advice to the clerk |
| C．asking the clerk to be more attentive | D．reminding the clerk of the charged item |
| A．We'll be very excited. | B．We'll feel unfortunate. |
| C．We'll have a sense of honor. | D．We'll feel sorry for the clerk. |
| A．How to Live Truthfully | B．Importance of Peacefulness |
| C．Ways of Gaining Self-respect | D．Happiness through Honorable Actions |
8 . On my first day of the sixth grade,I noticed one little girl called Amy on the school bus.”Don’t
Amy had many
Every day
But while I was insulting her, my heart
Our whole class was there, including Amy. Amy didn’t know how to
On the school bus the next morning there was much news about Amy and me
After graduation, I never
| A．laugh at | B．ask about | C．talk to | D．be afraid of |
| A．common | B．small | C．social | D．physical |
| A．as | B．though | C．after | D．before |
| A．pretty | B．strange | C．ordinary | D．lovely |
| A．glasses | B．coat | C．shoes | D．hat |
| A．frightening | B．interesting | C．encouraging | D．injuring |
| A．Instead | B．After all | C．If so | D．Therefore |
| A．beat | B．lost | C．ached | D．opened |
| A．happier | B．taller | C．prettier | D．uglier |
| A．give into | B．deal with | C．stand up for | D．believe in |
| A．until | B．except | C．before | D．after |
| A．stand | B．skate | C．play | D．walk |
| A．catch up | B．have fun | C．sit down | D．fall over |
| A．fear | B．surprise | C．comfort | D．joy |
| A．talking | B．chatting | C．skating | D．travelling |
| A．so | B．because | C．but | D．still |
| A．wrote to | B．laughed at | C．heard from | D．made fun of |
| A．hoped | B．wondered | C．thought | D．considered |
| A．life | B．mind | C．interest | D．friend |
| A．study | B．fight | C．act | D．play |
9 . With the growing trend of listening to stories on meditation apps(冥想应用), travel tales—sometimes featuring surrounding sounds of places such as rainforests in Borneo—are helping people get restful sleep. Imagine a voice softly telling as listeners close their eyes and snuggle down in their beds. Are you paying attention? Actually, it doesn’t matter.
According to the CDC, some 70 million Americans struggle with chronic sleep problems. To help with this, many adults are bringing back bedtime stories through meditation apps. Nearly a third of the Calm app’s 300 bedtime stories, which have been listened to more than 450 million times, are about travel. Some 45% of the bedtime stories on the app Breethe are travel-related. Earlier this year, half of the top 10 bedtime stories were travel-themed.
Travel bedtime stories are typically an audio retelling of a trip and rely heavily on descriptions, with occasional surrounding noises like ocean waves, train tracks, or soft music. Train stories are particularly popular at bedtime. “You need movement in a bedtime story—if things are static(静止的), it’s too dull and the listener will get restless,” says Martha Bayless, a professor at the University of Oregon’s Folklore and Public Culture Program. “But the movement has to be non-threatening and soothing. The train is the perfect vehicle for sleep, engaging the senses in a gentle way.”
One possible reason why travel bedtime stories calm our brains is “mirror neurons(镜像神经元),” says Rachel Salas, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins Center for Sleep and Wellness. “These brain cells might combine our own experiences with someone else’s. For example, a tale of train travel could bring a sense of nostalgia(怀旧)for our own past journeys. The comforting sense of something familiar can help with relaxation and sleep. Additionally, the sound of a train chugging along the tracks serves as a type of white noise that lulls people to sleep,” Salas adds.
“In most travel bedtime stories, nothing much happens,” says Bayless. “The bedtime stories are about the quiet period between adventures, which is what sleep is also about.”
1. In which aspect do people benefit from travel tales?| A．Promoting sleep. | B．Inspiring imagination. |
| C．Improving concentration. | D．Gaining travel information. |
| A．Most adults suffer a lot from a lack of sleep. |
| B．Adequate quality sleep is essential to human health. |
| C．Meditation apps help people reduce stress effectively. |
| D．Travel-related bedtime stories are more appealing to listeners. |
| A．evidence of the significance of mirror neurons |
| B．an explanation as to why travel tales help with sleep |
| C．a description of adventurous travel experiences |
| D．an analysis of how sleep affects people’s memory |
| A．Travel. | B．Opinion. | C．Entertainment. | D．Science. |
10 . CHI’s Academic Year Program(AYP)is your chance to study in America and spend either an academic year or a semester living with a volunteer host family.
The requirements for studying in America:
● High school students who are aged 15 to 18
● A score of at least 212 on the ELTIS exam
●Application
Contact a partner agency in your home or a nearby country. We can also send you a list of partners near you. They will set you up with an application and let you know what you need to submit in order to be considered.
● Admission and visa
Our Admissions Department reviews and accepts your application. We issue and send your agency the Form as-2019, which is the official US Department of State document that allows you to apply for and receive your J-1 visa. Once you receive the DS-2019, you can make your visa appointment. When the visa is granted, you are all set to travel to America.
●Home stay zksq
Meanwhile, our Field and Operations staff work hard to find you the perfect family and school as soon as possible! Once we find the right host family for you, you can start to get to know your family by email.
● Depart to the US and meet your family and friends
Your agency will book your flight according to your school start date. When you arrive, we will give you a student orientation(迎新会)and introduce you to other exchange students and the surrounding community. When school starts, you will begin the process of cultural exchange!
Contact us: 1-800-432-4643; 1-415-459-5397
Location: 255 W End Avenue San Rafael, CA 94901
1. Who can take part in this home stay project?| A．Those interested in American culture. |
| B．College students with 220 on the ELTIS exam. |
| C．14-year-old students with good graded at school. |
| D．17-year-old high school students with 212 on the ELTIS exam. |
| A．Call-800-432-4643. |
| B．Contact a partner agency in their country. |
| C．Visit CHI’s website and fill out an online application. |
| D．Apply in person at CHI’s headquarters in San Rafael. |
| A．Tourism. | B．Science. | C．Education. | D．Entertainment. |
