1 . Nowadays technologies benefit us a lot in our daily life, but if not properly used, they can affect our health．The bed is supposed to be reserved as a place for sleep, but people tend to read an iPad a lot in bed before they go to sleep．
Charles Czeisler, a professor at Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues got a small group of people for an experiment．For five days in a row, the people read either a paper book or an iPad for four hours before sleep．Their sleep patterns were monitored all night．Before and after each trial period, the people took hourly blood tests to paint a day-long picture of just how much melatonin（褪黑激素） was in their blood at any given time．
When subjects read on the iPad as compared to the paper books, they reported feeling less sleepy at night and less active the following morning．People also took longer to fall asleep on the iPad nights, and the blood tests showed that their melatonin secretion（分泌） was delayed by an hour and a half．
The researchers conclude in today's journal article that given the rise of e-readers and the increasingly widespread use of e-things among children and adolescents, more research into the long-term consequences of these devices on health and safety is urgently needed．Czeisler and colleagues go on, in the research paper, to note "Reading an iPad in bed may increase cancer risk"．
However, software has been developed that can reduce some of the blue light from the screens of phones and computers according to time of day, and there are also glasses that are made to filter（过滤） short wavelengths．While they seem like a logical solution for the nighttime tech users, it needs more research．
1. In Charles Czeisler's experiment, what were all the subjects asked to do?| A．Sit in a row and receive the strict tests． |
| B．Have their sleep patterns observed all night． |
| C．Read a paper book and an iPad at the same time． |
| D．Have their blood tested per hour during the trial． |
| A．They felt less sleepy and tired in the day． |
| B．They fell asleep more easily after reading． |
| C．They became less energetic the next morning． |
| D．They had a lot more melatonin secretions． |
| A．It can remove the blue light from your devices completely． |
| B．It can help prevent eyes being harmed by short wavelengths． |
| C．It can weaken the harm done by doing nighttime e-reading． |
| D．It can be used in all the e-things widely and safely． |
| A．Wrong behaviors before bedtime． | B．New software for night e-readers． |
| C．No games on the iPad in bed． | D．No e-reading in bed before sleep． |
2 . America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!
1. The writer of this passage must be ______.| A．an American | B．a Chinese |
| C．a professor | D．a student |
| A．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families. |
| B．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives. |
| C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
| D．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
| A．warmly welcomed at the airport | B．offered a ride to his home |
| C．treated hospitably at his home | D．treated to dinner in a restaurant |
| A．Friendships between Chinese | B．Friendships between Americans |
| C．Americans’ hospitality | D．Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships |
3 . Fathers Day is a day to thank fathers for all the love and support they give to their children. It is celebrated on different dates in different countries. Some countries like the US, the UK, Canada and India celebrate this festival on the third Sunday of June.
Many men didn't like the creation of Father's Day though. They laughed at the holiday's sentimental attempts to celebrate Father's Day with flowers and gift-giving, and they laughed at the creation of such holidays as a commercial trick to sell more products - often paid for by the father himself.
During the 1920s and 1930s, in the US there was a movement to promote the combination of Mother's Day with Father's Day to be a new holiday, Parents' Day. Every year on Mother's Day, Parents' Day supporters would gather in New York City's Central Park to remind the public that both parents should be loved and respected.
However, this attempt failed due to the Great Depression. Struggling retailers(零售商)and advertisers made more efforts to make Father's Day a"second Christmas" for men, promoting goods such as neckties, hats, socks, pipes and tobacco, golf clubs and other sporting goods, and greeting cards.
When World War II started, advertisers began to argue that celebrating Father's Day was a way to honor American troops and support the war. By the end of the war, Father's Day may not have been a federal holiday, but it was a national event.In 1972, in the middle of a hard-fought presidential re-election campaign, Richard Nixon signed an announcement making Father's Day a federal holiday at last. Today, economists estimate that Americans spend more than SI billion each year on Father's Day gifts.
1. Why didn't some men like the idea of Father's Day？| A．They thought it was a"second Christmas"for men. |
| B．They hated flowers and gift-giving. |
| C．They had to pay for the gifts. |
| D．They thought it was too sentimental for men and it was a commercial trick. |
| A．Because of the Great Depression. |
| B．Some men were not in favor of it. |
| C．Some women were not in favor of it. |
| D．Businessmen made their efforts to prevent it. |
| A．Parents' Day supporters movement. |
| B．The Great Depression. |
| C．The presidential re-election campaign. |
| D．Advertisers promotion during World WarⅡ. |
| A．Father's Day: Its Orign and Development. |
| B．Father's Day: the Same as Christmas. |
| C．Father's Day: the Great Man. |
| D．Father's Day and Mother's Day |
4 . Do you want to live another 100 years or more? Some experts say that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.
“I think we are knocking at the door of immortality(永生),” said Michael Zey, a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. “I think by 2075 we will see it and that’s a conservative estimate(保守的估计).”
At the conference in San Francisco, Donald Louria, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nanotechnology(纳米技术) make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what was possible in the past. “There is a great effort so that people can live from 120 to 180 years,” he said. “Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years.”
However, many scientists who specialize in aging are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last past about 120 years. Even with healthier lifestyles and less disease, they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.
Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live. “It remains to be seen if you pass 120, you know; could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life?” said Leonard Poon, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology Centre. “At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all.”
1. By saying“we are knocking at the door of immortality”,Michael Zey means_________.| A．they have got some ideas about living forever |
| B．they believe that there is no limit of living |
| C．they are able to make people live past the present life span |
| D．they are sure to find the truth about long living |
| A．the human body is designed to last past about 120 years |
| B．it is possible for humans to live longer in the future |
| C．it is still doubtful how long humans can live |
| D．people can live from 120 to 180 |
| A．a great effort |
| B．the conservative estimate |
| C．the idea of living from 200 to 300 years |
| D．the idea of living beyond the present life span |
| A．No Limit for Human Life |
| B．Living Longer or not |
| C．Science,Technology and Long Living |
| D．Healthy Lifestyle and Long Living |
5 . Reading instruction in the classroom is a key concern for all teachers and there are many ways to go about it. However, is our determination to achieve excellence in reading skills in our children killing their love and enjoyment of a good book?
In my work with parents, I am frequently asked the best ways to encourage reluctant readers to be engaged with books. Parents report that their children return home from school with no inclination to pick up a book and read.
Any eager reader will gladly talk about the joy with a good book to read away the hours on a cold, rainy afternoon. Reading a good book is one of life’s greatest pleasures. We need to share these experiences with our children in order to assist them in developing into strong readers. But the use of boring, mass-produced home reading texts in children’s early years at school can be seen as the beginning of this negative cycle.
As children progress through their schooling life, there are many other instances of learning reading skills that don’t help reading development. Frequently, teachers feel the pressure to give their students “just enough” in terms of reading strategies to be able to achieve the test, which leaves little time to focus on reading for pleasure.
Kelly Gallagher, a high school teacher, outlines the term “Readicide” in his book. He says it’s: the systematic killing of the love of reading, often worsened by foolish, boring practices found in schools.
Recent research shows that many teachers tend to follow the traditional literacy practices that they have experienced in their own education, which can often have negative intentions for their students.
While teaching children key concepts for analyzing and evaluating texts is important, the manner in which it is done and time that is spent on this can lead to unexpected results. Schools aren’t to blame when it comes to not arresting students’ lack of interest in reading, but they have an important role to play in fostering reading enjoyment.
1. What does the underlined word “inclination” mean?| A．Energy | B．Task |
| C．Intention | D．Requirement |
| A．To develop reading habits | B．To read for pleasure |
| C．To learn reading skills | D．To kill a love for books |
| A．focus on teaching reading strategies |
| B．ignore key concepts for analyzing texts |
| C．are to blame for students’ poor reading |
| D．fail to follow the traditional reading practices |
| A．Reading books is to experience pleasure |
| B．Learning to love books is even more important |
| C．Teaching reading helps reluctant readers |
| D．Getting pleasure from books makes capable readers |
6 . Years ago, I volunteered at a homeless shelter in Los Angeles, handing out food. Once I got talking with Albert., a tall and skinny young guy in line. He said he liked my socks. “Want to see mine?” he joked, lifting his leg. He was barefoot. I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.
The next day, after work, I stopped at Ross and filled up my truck with socks. The following early morning, I drove over to Santa Monica's Palisades Park, which is a common destination for homeless people.
I took one of the bags from my trunk. It was still dark out. I headed for a group of three men, standing around a tree, probably using it as a windbreaker. Two were asleep under heavy blankets, and the third was digging through his collection. As I walked toward him, he watched me, perhaps questioning my motives. “I thought you guys might need some fresh new socks,” I said, handing him a pair. He looked confused at first but took them and said, “Thank you.” I gave him two more pairs for his friends.
I moved on. An hour later, I had given out all the socks. Most people were sleeping, and I felt like Santa. I knew that when they wake up they would find a very meaningful present.
That was nine years ago. Every week I’ll hand out as many socks as I can. If I’m on vacation or on a business trip for more than a week, I bring a bag of socks with me and hand them out to the homeless on the streets in other states and countries.
It’s extremely satisfying to operate “under the radar（雷达）” to help make some people’s lives a little bit easier. Part of me hopes to see Albert out there one of these days, but even if I don’t, I like to think one of the pairs will find him.
1. What does the underlined part in Paragraph I most probably mean?| A．Homesick. | B．Sorry. |
| C．Regretful. | D．Embarrassed. |
| A．A garage. | B．A public park. |
| C．A store. | D．A homeless shelter. |
| A．Playing Santa in public. | B．Making weekends as holidays. |
| C．Spending early morning at a park. | D．Helping others silently. |
| A．Helping the Homeless in an Unexpected Way. |
| B．The Easy Way Out of Helping the Poor. |
| C．A Unique Experience at a Homeless Shelter. |
| D．Satisfactory Return from Kindness. |
