1 . Sleep's Effect on the Brain's Performance
When you have a busy schedule, it can be easy to neglect your sleep because of the different items you want to get done on your checklist each day. Whether you stay up late responding to emails or cut your sleep short to exercise in the morning, lack of sleep can start to have a negative effect on the brain. Your sleep can affect your brain's performance in a few main ways.
When your brain doesn't have time to rest, it can slow down your ability to think quickly, as well as your reaction time. You may have difficulty trying to stay awake and become more alert, which can affect how well you make decisions. You may find yourself taking more risks than normal.
Studies also show that memory and sleep are closely linked, which means it can be difficult to recall certain details or facts if you fail to get at least seven hours of sleep each night. NREM (Non-Rapid-Eye-Movement Sleep) and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep are necessary for remembering basic facts to improve your efficiency and ability to perform different tasks. In particular, fragmented sleep can affect the memory even if you get seven to eight hours of sleep each night.
Those who are easy to suffer from migraines (偏头痛) are at a higher risk of developing a headache if they don't get consistent, quality sleep. Studies show sleep loss also increases the risk of diabetes. It affects the body's ability to release insulin, resulting in higher blood sugar levels. Your body also has more difficulty determining when it's full while eating, which can make it easy to consume more calories than you need throughout the day.
There are many ways your sleep can affect the brain's performance and impact every area of your life. Scheduling your sleep and creating a restful, comfortable setting in the bedroom can make it easier to feel relaxed and recharged.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?| A．To stress what a busy life people live nowadays. |
| B．To warn the readers of the importance of sleep. |
| C．To show brain sometimes has poor performance. |
| D．To introduce the theme of the whole passage. |
| A．Your ability to drive safely will be influenced. |
| B．You can realize your mistakes in a short time. |
| C．Your ability to remember is likely to decline. |
| D．You can't carry out a few tasks at the same time. |
| A．Sound. | B．Broken. | C．Adequate. | D．Dreamless. |
| A．Sleep loss leads to the decline of insulin. |
| B．People fail to control the amount of intake. |
| C．People don't know the calories they need. |
| D．Sleep loss results in their poor appetite. |
2 . I am thrilled to welcome you to the 20th annual Roger Ebert's Film Festival, a special event in partnership with the University of Illinois College of Media, the greater Champaign-Urbana community, and movie lovers everywhere. Little did we think, back in 1999, that our experiment in reinventing the film festival — to make a festival that celebrated overlooked films and the women and men who made those films — would become a landmark annual event in the life of our community and contribute to the repairs of the remarkable Virginia Theater.
In selecting the films for this year, Chaz Ebert and I looked to women filmmakers for our inspiration. Fully half of our films are either directed or co-directed by women, and several others have women in powerful producing roles. Films directed or co-directed by women include 13th , directed by Ava DuVernay9 Belle, directed by Amma Asante, and American Splendor, directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. And women producers include Lynda Obst and Emma Thomas winter stellar, and Ruth Ann Harnisch and Danielle Renfrew Behrens (Columbus).
Our opening night film is The Fugitive, directed by Andrew Davis, a graduate from University of Illinois. Our Saturday night film is the classic The Big Lebozvski. Our guest will be the Hollywood master Jeff Dowd. And of course The Alloy Orchestra will be back, this year with A Page of Madness, the classic Japanese silent film.
We would like to thank our sponsors, volunteers, festival pass holders, and individual ticket holders for their welcome participation. We look forward to your unwavering support to make our festival more successful each spring in central Illinois. We especially want to thank the University of Illinois for their loyal support year after year.
1. What was the purpose of reinventing Roger Ebert's Film Festival in 1999?| A．To enrich the life of residents. |
| B．To help rebuild Virginia Theater. |
| C．To work closely with the University of Illinois. |
| D．To honor people whose films were not box-office hits. |
| A．Hollywood classics. |
| B．Films produced or directed by women. |
| C．Diversity in themes. |
| D．Stories featuring female leading roles. |
| A．Consistent. | B．Original. | C．Legal. | D．Conditional. |
| A．The President of the University of Illinois. |
| B．A movie critic who is a friend of the Eberts. |
| C．A member of the Festival's organizing committee. |
| D．A journalist who reports stories about the Festival. |
3 . “Instagram(a social networking app) will cut out many users’ accounts on December 20. To protect your account, repost this warning #KeepMyAccountSafe.” Every few months, it happens again-a dozen of annoying posts from my kids’ friends suddenly start to appear on my Instagram news feed.
According to a new study by Stanford University, most kids don’t know what news is fake. Researchers asked more than 7,800 middle school and high school students to complete 56 tasks, like distinguishing an advertisement from a real news story on a website and determining which blog in a series was most reliable. They found that students judged the credibility of blogs based not on the source of the material, but on how much detail they contained, or whether a large photo was attached.
“Many people assume that because young people are fluent in social media, they can distinguish fake news, but our work shows the opposite to be true,” wrote lead study author Sam Wineburg, a professor at Stanford’s Graduate School of Education.
Both Google and Facebook are now taking steps to control misleading news from making its way on their platforms, but they won’t be able to eliminate it completely. That is why it’s now more important than ever to teach our kids to think critically when it comes to believing various information sources.
“In the coming months, we look forward to sharing our assessments and working with educators to create materials that will guide young people in the sea of disinformation they encounter online,” said Wineburg.
1. How does the author introduce the topic of the passage?| A．By stating opinions. | B．By showing findings. |
| C．By quoting sayings. | D．By citing a post. |
| A．The source of the material. | B．The popularity of the website. |
| C．The amount of details. | D．The size of relevant photos. |
| A．Digest. | B．Update. | C．Estimate. | D．Remove. |
| A．Stronger Together: The Internet Changes Our Life |
| B．Be Careful: Kids Are Bad at Identifying Fake News |
| C．Reliable News Has No Place on Social Media |
| D．Educators Have a Long Way to Go to Guide the Young |
4 . Here’s a simple question — answer it honestly, because your response could boost the level of pleasure in your daily life, put off dementia (痴呆), and even help you live longer. How many hours did you spend reading last week?
Recently, when researcher Mathew P. White and his workmates at the Yale School of Public Health dug into 12 years of information about the reading habits and health of more than 3,600 men and women, a hopeful pattern became known. Book readers who report more than three hours of weekly reading are 23 percent less likely to die than those who read only newspapers or magazines.
To understand why and what each of us can do to get the most out of our words, start by asking the same question the Yale team did. What is it about reading books that increases our brain power while reading newspapers doesn’t?
For one, the researchers suggest that chapter books encourage “deep reading”. Unlike, say, looking through a page of headlines, reading a book forces your brain to think creatively and make connections from one chapter to another, and to the outside world. When you make connections, so does your brain. Over time, these neural networks (神经网络) can promote quicker thinking, which provides greater protection against dementia.
Secondly, reading books, especially novels, has been shown to increase empathy (共鸣) and emotional intelligence. Developing social tools such as empathy and emotional intelligence can lead to more (and more positive) human interaction, which in turn can lower stress levels — both of which are proven to help you live longer and healthier.
That’s not to say that magazines, newspapers, and online articles are of no good. Reading anything that fills your mind seems to bring about mental benefits. When it comes to words, addiction is encouraged. Because it pays to increase your word power — today, tomorrow, and for the rest of your life.
1. What does the underlined word “boost” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Remove. | B．Reduce. | C．Improve. | D．Create. |
| A．By experimentation. |
| B．By direct observation. |
| C．By interviewing in person. |
| D．By referring to former facts. |
| A．Promoting brain growth. |
| B．Preventing us from ageing. |
| C．Keeping us free from stress. |
| D．Strengthening neural networks. |
| A．Negative. | B．Positive. | C．Uncertain. | D．Unconcerned. |
5 . People have many different ways to relax during break time at work or school. Smartphones are probably the number one choice for a quick mental vacation. Although it might seem like a good time, the result is opposite, according to a recent psychological study from Rutgers University.
For the study, more than 400 students were asked to finish a set of 20 word puzzles. Halfway though the task, the students were divided into three groups. One group was allowed to take a break and use cellphones to buy things online. The second group was asked to have a rest and buy things using a computer. The last group didn't take any break at all.
Surprisingly, the group that used their cellphones during the break went back to work feeling the most tired and least motivated to continue. They also had the hardest time solving the remaining word puzzles.
Terri Kurtzberg, co-author of the study, explained that they assumed looking at cellphones during a break would be no different from any other break—but instead, the phone may cause increasing levels of distraction that make it difficult to return focused attention to work tasks.
“Cellphones may have this effect because even just seeing your phone activates thoughts of checking messages, connecting with people, and more, in ways that are different than how we use other screens like computers, and laptops," Kurtzberg said.
This is echoed by a recent study from the US University of Chicago. It found that even if cellphones are turned off or turned face down, their mere presence reduces a person's cognitive capacity.
1. What can we learn from the study?| A．The participants were divided into groups at the beginning. |
| B．The last group had the hardest time solving the word puzzles. |
| C．Computers and laptops cause more distraction. |
| D．Cellphones may make people less focused on work. |
| A．Agreed. | B．Remembered. | C．Overcome. | D．Complained. |
| A．Try putting your smartphone away during your next break. |
| B．Using computers to shop online rather than cellphones. |
| C．Stop checking messages and connecting with people by cellphone. |
| D．Turning off your cellphone during work time. |
| A．Ways to relax for students. | B．The result from a word- puzzle game. |
| C．A study on using smart-phones to relax. | D．Effects brought by the smart-phone. |
6 . Sometimes when we are in our darkest hour, something completely unexpected happens that can give us a little bit of hope and comfort.
Jessica was a healthy woman. One day, she woke up and something was not right. After she was sent to the hospital, her heart rate slowed by nearly 50 percent. It took nine days for doctors to zero in on what was causing her problem.
After several weeks, Jessica was able to move her lips. Staff noticed this and introduced Jessica to Consuelo Gonzalez, a professional lip reader. Consuelo can understand what people are saying by the shape their lips make. She can also understand how annoying it is to not be able to communicate because she has been completely deaf since the age of 8.
For a few hours each week, Jessica could have long conversations with Consuelo, diving into the ocean of words she dearly missed. Through Consuelo, Jessica asked the doctors and nurses questions she had long wanted answers to. She also talked to Consuelo about the vivid dreams she was mixing up with reality.
In fact, there are other ways for Consuelo to earn a living by reading lips, but she says helping patients separate horrible dreams from reality is the most rewarding way she can use her unique skill. “What is really wonderful is being able to use this skill to create healing and to create communication between human beings. That’s what feels good. That’s what’s the best: Love.”
After four and a half months in the hospital, Jessica finally recovered. Consuelo was there, holding Jessica’s hands. Jessica eventually went back to work as a math professor. After her experience she wrote a new living will. One thing she added is that if she ever becomes incapacitated like this again, she is never to be left alone.
1. What did Consuelo do for Jessica?| A．She cured Jessica’s heart disease. |
| B．She helped Jessica communicate. |
| C．She taught Jessica how to read lips. |
| D．She made Jessica’s dream come true. |
| A．Horrible. | B．Confident. | C．Worried. | D．Satisfied. |
| A．Seriously ill. | B．Desperately lonely. |
| C．Less reliable. | D．More fortunate. |
| A．A close friendship. | B．A good living will. |
| C．An unusual skill. | D．A new treatment. |
7 . Bradley McConachie, a 33-year-old Australian is actually a student in international relations completing his PhD through Griffith University. He came to Beijing for a cooperative research at Beijing University two years ago. Such an academic life was colorful with a chance offered by the cultural exchanges project, “I'm in China".
Bradley was lucky to win the most "likes" for his photo story about his life in China and became one of 20 winners to visit locations by the project this summer. All the winners’ experiences were filmed to produce a reality show, My Chinese Working Day, which will be broadcast by mid-September.
Bradley was chosen to work as a recreational manager for a Chinese wedding. The film crew took them to many “amazing sites" and the staff at the resort taught them a lot about how to incorporate modern Chinese features while still keeping traditional customs.
“I would have to say two things stick out as the most memorable： the helicopter ride and talking with the staff at the hotel about how they organize weddings here in China," he said. That was Bradley's first time to be in a helicopter, and he was too absorbed with the “stunning" view of the coastline.
“I think it is so important to show other Australians the different landscapes China has to offer. I think so many Australians, when they think about China, imagine the historical sites of Beijing and the exciting things to see in Shanghai but have no idea about other beautiful places, like Sanya or the many other places people have been taken to in this TV series. It was nice to experience these little touches. I was happy to be a part of that experience!” Bradley said.
1. What made Bradley's life more colorful?| A．Obtaining his PhD. |
| B．The cultural exchanges project. |
| C．The research about Beijing University. |
| D．The interest in international relations. |
| A．He produced the reality show. |
| B．His life in China was interesting. |
| C．He was one of the top 20 winners. |
| D．He liked photo stories most. |
| A．Fantastic. | B．Confusing. |
| C．Agreeable. | D．Extreme. |
| A．It's difficult to produce moving TV series. |
| B．Beijing and Shanghai are historical sites. |
| C．Sanya is worth visiting for foreigners. |
| D．Many Australians know little about China. |
