1 . With around 100 students scheduled to be in that 9:00 am Monday morning lecture, it is no surprise that almost 20 people actually make it to the class and only 10 of them are still awake after the first 15 minutes; it is not even a surprise that most of them are still in their pajama’s(睡衣). Obviously, students are terrible at adjusting their sleep cycles to their daily schedule.
All human beings possess a body clock. Along with other alerting systems, this governs the sleep/wake cycle and is therefore one of the main processes which govern sleep behaviour. Typically, the preferred sleep/wake cycle is delayed in adolescents, which leads to many students not feeling sleepy until much later in the evenings. This typical sleep pattern is usually referred to as the “night owl” schedule of sleep.
This is opposed to the “early bird” schedule, and is a kind of disorder where the individual tends to stay up much past midnight. Such a person has great difficulty in waking up in the mornings. Research suggests that night owls feel most alert and function best in the evenings and at night. Research findings have shown that about 20 percent of people can be classified as “night owls” and only 10 percent can be classified as “early birds” ------ the other 70 percent are in the middle. Although this is clearly not true for all students, for the ones who are true night owls, this gives them an excellent excuse for missing their lectures which unfortunately fall before midday.
1. What does the author stress in Paragraph 1?| A．Many students are absent from class. |
| B．Students are very tired on Monday mornings. |
| C．Students do not adjust their sleep patterns well. |
| D．Students are not well prepared for class on Mondays. |
| A．Most students prefer to get up late in the morning. |
| B．Students don’t sleep well because of alerting systems. |
| C．One’s body clock governs the sleep/wake cycle independently. |
| D．Adolescents’ delayed sleep/wake cycle isn’t the preferred pattern. |
| A．Criticized | B．Grouped | C．Organized | D．Named |
| A．Functions of the body clock. |
| B．The “night owl” phenomenon. |
| C．Human beings’ sleep behaviour. |
| D．The school schedule of “early birds”. |
2 . In the depths of the French Guianese rainforest, there still remain unusual groups of indigenous(土著的) people. Surprisingly, these people live largely by their own laws and their own social customs. And yet, people in this area are in fact French citizens because it has been a colony of the French Republic since 1946. In theory, they should live by the French law. However, their remote locations mean that the French law is often ignored or unknown, thus making them into an interesting area of “lawlessness” in the world.
The lives of these people have finally been recorded thanks to the effects of a Frenchman from Paris called Gin. Gin spent five months in early 2015 exploring the most remote corners of this area, which sits on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, with half its population of only 250,000 living in its capital, Cayenne.
“I have a special love for the French Guianese people. I have worked there on and off for almost ten years,” says Gin. “I’ve been able to keep firm friendships with them. Thus I have been allowed to gain access to their living environment. I don’t see it as a lawless land. But rather I see it as an area of freedom.”
“I wanted to show the audience a photographic record touching upon the uncivilized life,” continues Gin. “I prefer to work in black and white, which allows me to show different specific worlds more clearly.”
His black-and-white pictures present a world almost lost in time. These pictures show people seemingly pushed into a world that they were unprepared for. These local citizens now have to balance their traditional self-supporting hunting lifestyle with the lifestyle offered by the modern French Republic,which brings with it not only necessary state welfare, but also alcoholism, betrayal and even suicide.
1. Why does the author feel surprised about the indigenous people in French Guiana?| A．They seldom follow the French law. |
| B．They often ignore the Cuianese law. |
| C．They are separated the modern world. |
| D．They are both Cuianese and French citizens. |
| A．a tour guide | B．a geographer |
| C．a film director | D．a photographer |
| A．Cautious. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Uninterested | D．Apprecitive. |
| A．The modera Frrnch lifestyle. | B．The self-supporting hunting. |
| C．The uncivilized world. | D．The French Republic. |
3 . Basketball Statistician Help Wanted
The Athletic Department is looking for students to help assist staff during the Fall 2016, Winter 2016-17 and Spring 2017 semesters. Students in this position will be keeping live statistics during basketball games. Students must meet all of the following requirements:
•Good computer skills
•Available evenings and weekends
•Knowing basketball rules and statistics
Students interested in working for the Athletic Department should contact the Athletic Coordinator at their respective(各自的) campuses.
•TP/SS Athletic Coordinator, Michael Simone, 240-567-1308
•Rockville Athletic Coordinator, Jorge Zuniga, 240-567-7589
•Springfield Athletic Coordinator, Gary Miller, 240-567-2273
•Germantown Athletic Coordinator, Gauri Chavan, 240-567-6915
1. When will the job start?| A．In May 2016. | B．In May 2017. |
| C．In September 2016. | D．In September 2017. |
| A．Sam, English major, member of the college basketball team. |
| B．Judy, IT staff with night classes, children’s basketball team coach. |
| C．Ted, computer major, basketball fan, free on evenings and weekends. |
| D．Molly, part-time programmer, high school basketball player, new mother. |
| A．Michael. | B．Jorge. |
| C．Gauri. | D．Gary. |
Their cheery song brightens many a winter's day. But robins are in danger of wearing themselves out by singing too much. Robins are singing all night一as well as during the day, British-based researchers say.
David Dominoni, of Glasgow University, said that light from street lamps, take away signs and homes is affecting the birds' biological clocks, leading to them being wide awake when they should be asleep.
Dr Dominoni, who is putting cameras inside nesting boxes to track sleeping patterns, said lack of sleep could put the birds’ health at risk. His study shows that when robins are exposed to light at night in the lab, it leads to some genes being active at the wrong time of day. And the more birds are exposed to light, the more active they are at night.
He told people at a conference, "There have been a couple of studies suggesting they are increasing their song output at night and during the day they are still singing. Singing is a costly behaviour and it takes energy. So by increasing their song output, there might be some costs of energy."
And it is not just robins that are being kept awake by artificial light. Blackbirds and seagulls are also being more nocturnal. Dr Dominoni said, "In Glasgow where I live, gulls are a serious problem. I have people coming to me saying `You are the bird expert. Can you help us kill these gulls?'.During the breeding(繁殖)season, between April and June, they are very active at night and very noisy and people can't sleep."
Although Dr Dominoni has only studied light pollution, other research concluded that robins living in noisy cities have started to sing at night to make themselves heard over loud noise.
However, some birds thrive(兴旺)in noisy environments. A study from California Polytechnic University found more hummingbirds in areas with heavy industrial machinery. It is thought that they are capitalising on their predators(天敌)fleeing to quieter areas.
1. According to Dr Dominoni's study, what cause robins to sing so much?
| A．The breeding season. |
| B．The light in modern life |
| C．The dangerous environment. |
| D．The noise from heavy machinery. |
| A．The environment might be polluted. |
| B．The birds' health might be damaged. |
| C．The industry cost might be increased. |
| D．The people's hearing might be affected. |
| A．Active at night. | B．Inactive at night. |
| C．Active during the day. | D．Inactive during the day. |
| A．Because there are fewer dangers. |
| B．Because there is more food to eat. |
| C．Because there is less light pollution |
| D．Because there are more places to take shelter. |
5 . Across Britain, burnt toast will be served to mothers in bed this morning as older sons and daughters rush to deliver their supermarket bunches of flowers. But, according to a new study, we should be placing a higher value on motherhood all year.
Mothers have long known that their home workload was just as heavy as paid work. Now, the new study has shown that if they were paid for their parental labours, they would earn as much as $ 172,000 a year.
The study looked at the range of jobs mothers do, as well as the hours they are working, to determine the figure. This would make their yearly income $ 30,000 more than the Prime Minister earns.
By analysing the numbers, it found the average mother works 119 hours a week, 40 of which would usually be paid at a standard rate and 79 hours as overtime. After questioning 1,000 mothers with children under 18, it found that, on most days, mums started their routine work at 7am and finished at around 11pm.
To calculate just how much mothers would earn from that labour, it suggested some of the roles that mums could take on, including housekeeper, part-time lawyer, personal trainer and entertainer. Being a part-time lawyer, at £ 48.98 an hour, would prove to be the most profitable of the “mum jobs”, with psychologist (心理学家) a close second.
It also asked mothers about the challenges they face, with 80 percent making emotional demand as the hardest thing about motherhood.
Over a third of .mums felt they needed more training and around half said they missed going out with friends.
The study shows mothers matter all year long and not just on Mother’s Day. The emotional, physical and mental energy mothers devote to their, children can be never-ending, but children are also sources of great joy and happiness. Investing (投入) in time for parenting and raising relationships is money well spent.
1. How much would a mother earn a year if working as the Prime Minister?| A．£ 30,000. | B．£ 142,000. |
| C．£ 172,000. | D．£ 202,000. |
| A．emotional demand | B．low pay for work |
| C．heavy workload | D．lack of training |
| A．Mothers’ importance shows in family all year long. |
| B．The sacrifices mothers make are huge but worthwhile. |
| C．Mothers’ devotion to children can hardly be calculated. |
| D．Investing time in parenting would bring a financial return. |
| A．Mothers，working hours should be largely reduced. |
| B．Mothers should balance their time for work and rest. |
| C．Mothers’ labour is of a higher value than it is realised. |
| D．Mothers should be freed from housework for social life. |
6 . Nothing could stop Dad. After he was put on disability for a bad back, he bought a small farm in the country, just enough to grow food for the family. He planted vegetables, fruit trees and even kept bees for honey.
And every week he cleaned Old Man McColgin's chicken house in exchange for manure(肥料). The smell really burned the inside of your nose. When we complained about the terrible smell, Dad said the stronger the manure, the healthier the crops, and he was right. For example, just one of his cantaloupes filled the entire house with its sweet smell, and the taste was even sweeter.
As the vegetables started coming in, Dad threw himself into cooking. One day, armed with a basket of vegetables, he announced he was going to make stew(炖菜).Dad pulled out a pressure cooker and filled it up with cabbages, eggplants, potatoes, corns, onions and carrots. For about half an hour, the pressure built and the vegetables cooked. Finally, Dad turned off the stove, the pot began to cool and the pressure relief valve sprayed out a cloud of steam. If we thought Dad's pile of chicken manure was bad, this was 10 times worse. When Dad took off the lid, the smell nearly knocked us out.
Dad carried the pot out and we opened doors and windows to air out the house. Just how bad was it? The neighbors came out of their houses to see if we had a gas leak!
Determined, Dad filled our plates with steaming stew and passed them around. It didn’t look that bad, and after the first wave had shut down my ability to smell, it didn’t offend the nose so much, either. I took a taste. It would never win a prize in a cooking competition, but it was surprisingly edible, and we drank up every last drop of soup!
1. Why did Dad clean Old Man Mocolgin’s chicken house regularly?| A．To earn some money for the family. | B．To collect manure for his crops. |
| C．To get rid of the terrible smell. | D．To set a good example to us. |
| A．It is popular among the neighbors. | B．It contains honey and vegetables. |
| C．It looks very wonderful. | D．It tastes quite delicious. |
| A．To attract. | B．To upset. | C．To air. | D．To shut. |
| A．He is an experienced cook. | B．He is a troublesome father. |
| C．He has a positive attitude to life. | D．He suffers a lot from his disability. |
Tests on healthy volunteers found that they were more likely to feel a sense of fear at the moment when their hearts are contracting(收缩) and pumping blood around their bodies, compared with the point when the heartbeat is relaxed. Scientists say the results suggest that the heart is able to influence how the brain responds to a fearful event, depending on which point it is at in its regular cycle of contraction and relaxation.
Sarah Garfinkel at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School said: “Our Study shows for the first time that the way in which we deal with fear is different depending on when we see fearful pictures in relation to our heart.”
The study tested 20 healthy volunteers on their reactions to fear as they were shown pictures of fearful faces. Dr Garfinkel said, “The study showed that fearful faces are better noticed when the heart is pumping than when it is relaxed. Thus our hearts can also affect what we see and what we don’t see一and guide whether we see fear.”
To further understand this relationship, the scientists also used a brain scanner(扫描仪) to show how the brain influences the way the heart changes a person’s feeling of fear.
“We have found an important mechanism by which the heart and brain ‘speak’ to each other to change our feelings and reduce fear,” Dr Garfinkel said.
“We hope that by increasing our understanding about how fear is dealt with and ways that it could be reduced, we may be able to develop more successful treatments for anxiety disorders, and also for those who may be suffering from serious stress disorder.”
1. What is the finding of the study?
| A．One’s heart affects how he feels fear. |
| B．Fear is a result of one’s relaxed heartbeat. |
| C．Fear has something to do with one’s health. |
| D．One’s fast heartbeats are likely to cause fear. |
| A．volunteers’ heartbeats when they saw terrible pictures |
| B．the time volunteers saw fearful pictures and their health conditions |
| C．volunteers’ reactions to horrible pictures and data from their brain scans |
| D．different pictures shown to volunteers and their heart—brain communication |
| A．Order. | B．System. |
| C．Machine. | D．Treatment. |
| A．treating anxiety and stress better. |
| B．explaining the cycle of fear and anxiety |
| C．finding the key to the heart-brain communication |
| D．understanding different fears in our hearts and heads |
8 . On a hill 600 feet above the surrounding land, we watch the lines of rain move across the scene, the moon rise over the hills, and the stars appear in the sky. The views invite a long look from a comfortable chair in front of the wooden house.
Every window in our wooden house has a view, and the forest and lakes seldom look the same as the hour before. Each look reminds us where we are.
There is space for our three boys to play outside, to shoot arrows, collect tree seeds, build earth houses and climb trees.
Our kids have learned the names of the trees, and with the names have come familiarity and appreciation. As they tell all who show even a passing interest, maple（枫树）makes the best fighting sticks and white pines are the best climbing trees.
The air is clean and fresh. The water from the well has a pleasant taste, and it is perhaps the healthiest water our kids will ever drink. Though they have one glass a day of juice and the rest is water, they never say anything against that.
The seasons change just outside the door. We watch the maples turn every shade of yellow and red in the fall and note the poplars’（杨树）putting out the first green leaves of spring. The rainbow smelt fills the local steam as the ice gradually disappears, and the wood frogs start to sing in pools after being frozen for the winter. A family of birds rules our skies and flies over the lake.
1. What can be learned from Paragraph 2?| A．The scenes are colorful and changeable. |
| B．There are many windows in the wooden house. |
| C．The views remind us that we are in a wooden house. |
| D．The lakes outside the windows are quite different in color. |
| A．the kids like playing in trees |
| B．the kids are very familiar with trees |
| C．the kids have learned much knowledge |
| D．the kids find trees useful learning tools |
| A．The change of seasons is easily felt. |
| B．The seasons make the scenes change. |
| C．The weather often changes in the forest. |
| D．The door is a good position to enjoy changing seasons. |
| A．To describe the beauty of the scene around the house. |
| B．To introduce her children’s happy life in the forest. |
| C．To show that living in the forest is healthful. |
| D．To share the joy of living in the nature. |
If I close my eyes, I can still have a clear picture in mind of my first home. I walk in the door and see a brown sofa surrounding a low glass-top wooden table. To the right of the living room is my first bedroom. It's empty, but it's where my earliest memories are.
There is the dining room table where I celebrated birthdays, and where I cried on Halloween-when I didn't want to wear the skirt my mother made for me. I always liked standing on that table because it made me feel tall and strong. If I sit at this table, I can see my favorite room in the house, my parents' room. It is simple: a brown wooden dresser lines the right side of the wall next to a television and a couple of photos of my grandparents on each side. Their bed is my safe zone. I can jump on it anytime - waking up my parents if I am scared or if I have an important announcement that cannot wait until the morning.
I'm lucky because I know my first home still exists. It exists in my mind and heart, on a physical property(住宅) on West 64th street on the western edge of Los Angeles. It is proof I lived, I grew and I learned.
Sometimes when I feel lost, I lie down and shut my eyes, and I go home. I know it's where I'll find my family, my dogs, and my belongings. I purposely leave the window open at night because I know I'll be blamed by Mom. But I don't mind, because I want to hear her say my name, which reminds me I'm home.
1. Why does the author call her parents' bed her "safe zone"(Paragraph 3)?
| A．It is her favorite place to play. |
| B．Her needs can be satisfied there. |
| C．Her grandparents' photos are lined on each side. |
| D．Her parents always play together with her there. |
| A．The old furniture is still in the author's fist bedroom. |
| B．The author can still visit her first physical home in Los Angeles. |
| C．The author's favorite room in her first home is the dining room. |
| D．Many people of the author's age can still find their first physical homes. |
| A．Open the window at night |
| B．lie down in bed to have a dream |
| C．try to bring back a sense of home |
| D．go to Los Angeles to visit her mom |
| A．To express how much she is attached to her home. |
| B．To declare how much she loves her first house. |
| C．To describe the state of her family. |
| D．To look back on her childhood. |
10 . LONDON — A British judge on Thursday sentenced a businessman who sold fake bomb detectors (探测器) to 10 years in prison, saying the man hadn’t cared about potentially deadly consequences.
It is believed that James McCormick got about $ 77.8 million from the sales of his detectors — which were based on a kind of golf ball finder — to countries including Iraq, Belgium and Saudi Arabia. McCormick, 57, was convicted of cheats last month and sentenced Thursday at the Old Bailey court in London.
“Your cheating conduct in selling a great amount of useless equipment simply for huge profit promoted a false sense of security and in all probability materially contributed to causing death and injury to innocent people,” Judge Richard Hone told McCormick. “You have neither regret, nor shame, nor any sense of guilt.”
The detectors, sold for up to $ 42, 000 each, were said to be able to find such dangerous objects as bombs under water and from the air. But in fact they “lacked any grounding in science” and were of no use.
McCormick had told the court that he sold his detectors to the police in Kenya, the prison service in Hong Kong, the army in Egypt and the border control in Thailand.
“I never had any bad results from customers,” he said.
1. Why was McCormick sentenced to prison?| A．He sold bombs. |
| B．He caused death of people. |
| C．He made detectors. |
| D．He cheated in business. |
| A．increased the cost of safeguarding |
| B．lowered people’s guard against danger |
| C．changed people’s idea of social security |
| D．caused innocent people to commit crimes |
| A．They have not been sold to Africa |
| B．They have caused many serious problems. |
| C．They can find dangerous objects in water. |
| D．They don’t function on the basis of science. |
| A．sold the equipment at a low price |
| B．was well-known in most countries |
| C．did not think he had committed the crime |
| D．had not got such huge profit as mentioned in the text |
