1 . March 16th is World Sleep Day. This year’s slogan (标语) is “Breathe Easily, Sleep Well”. Its aim is to celebrate the benefits of good and healthy sleep.
Sleep is like food for the brain. Enough sleep helps the body and brain grow and develop. According to the National Sleep Foundation in the US, adults need seven to nine hours of sleep every night. For students aged 10 to 17, a healthy amount is about eight to nine hours per night.
But many students don’t get enough sleep because of early school start time and heavy homework. About 80 percent of middle school students don’t get enough sleep, the China Youth and Children Research Center reported. For some students, they want to sleep early, but they keep worrying about their schoolwork and can’t fall asleep quickly. For others, they may even have insomnia which might keep them awake (醒着的)all night.
These sleeping problems greatly affect people’s lives. Experts have shown that lack of sleep for teenagers leads to poor grades. Students without enough sleep cannot pay attention in class or do well in sports. Also, the lack of sleep may make them depressed (沮丧的).
Luckily, with good sleeping habits, it is easier to fall asleep. Some of these good habits include avoiding drinks that make people excited late in the day, going to sleep at the same time each night, and sleeping in a comfortable place that is dark, quiet, and neither too warm nor too cold.
1. If Li Hong is 15years old, how much sleep does she need every night?| A．10-12 hours. | B．8-9 hours. |
| C．7 hours. | D．Less than 7 hours. |
| A．They might do well in sports. |
| B．Their bodies and brains might grow better. |
| C．They might feel depressed. |
| D．They might not be able to finish their schoolwork. |
| A．健忘症 | B．肥胖症 |
| C．多动症 | D．失眠症 |
a. Sleeping in a bright place.
b. Going to bed at the same time.
c. Sleeping in a dark and quiet place.
d. Drinking something that makes you excited.
| A．a-b | B．a-c |
| C．b-c | D．b-d |
2 . If you have ever been disappointed because you don’t have a good gardener ,the clever robot may one day become the helper of your indoor plants
The Hexa Plant is a six-legged robot that has been specially made to care for the potted plant that carries on top of its head .Using light and heats sensors (传感器) the robot has the ability to carry its plant in and out the daylight .If the houseplant needs more sun，the Hexa will walk into the sunlight ;and if the houseplant is getting too hot , the Hexa will go back into the area that blocks direct light The Hexa Plant will even do a little dance when it senses that the plant needs to be watered to warn its owner .
The robot was developed by Vincross engineer and founder Sun Tianqi after he saw a dead sunflower sitting in the darkness in a room back in 2014 .” Plants only receive an action without responding ,”SunTianqi wrote in a blog post .” Whether they are being cut ,bitten ,burned or pulled from the earth ,or when they haven’t received enough sunshine ,water ,or are too hot or cold ,they will hold still and take whatever is happening to them .
According to Sun Tianqi ,for billions of years ,plants have never experienced movement of any kind ,not even the simplest movement .In their whole lives ,they stick to where they were born .Sun Tianqi continued ,” Do they want break their own settings or have a tendency towards this ?I do not know the answer ,but would love to try to share some of this human tendency and technology with plants With the help of the robot ,plants can experience the move”.
The Hexa Plant model robots are not for sale ,though Vincross does sell a Hexa robot model .It is said that in the near future the robots can open up a new market to watch over our household plants
1. What can we learn about the Hexa Plant?| A．It helps people do some gardening . |
| B．It waters the plants through dancing |
| C．It helps indoor plants get proper sunlight |
| D．It carries the potted plant with its hands |
| A．The way plants spend their whole lives |
| B．The common way people deal with plants |
| C．The difference between plants and humans |
| D．The cause of making the indoor plants’ helper. |
| A．To develop gardening skills. |
| B．To draw people’s attention plants |
| C．make plants experience move |
| D．study the living conditions of plants |
| A．A New Market for robots |
| B．An Indoor Plants’ Helper |
| C．An Important Development in Gardening |
| D．The Tendency of Gardening in the Future |
3 . Metro Pocket Guide
Metrorail(地铁)
Each passenger needs a farecard to enter and go out. Up to two children under age five may travel free with a paying customer.
Farecard machines are in every station. Bring small bills because there are no change machines in the stations and farecard machines only provide up to $5 in change.
Get one day of unlimited Metrorail rides with a One Day Pass. Buy it from a farecard machine in Metro stations. Use it after 9：30 am until closing on weekdays, and all day on weekends and holidays.
Hours_of_service
Open: 5 am Mon.—Fri. 7 am Sat.—Sun.
Close: midnight Sun.—Thur. 3 am Fri.—Sat. nights
Last train times vary. To avoid missing the last train, please check the last train times posted in stations.
Metrobus
When paying with exact change, the fare is $1.35. When paying with a SmarTrip® card, the fare is $1.25.
Fares_for_senior/disabled_customers
Senior citizens 65 and older and disabled customers may ride for half the regular fare. On Metrorail and Metrobus, use a senior/disabled farecard or SmarTrip® card. For more information about buying senior/disabled farecards, SmarTrip® cards and passes, please visit MetroOpensDoors.com or call 2026377000 and 2026378000.
Senior citizens and disabled customers can get free guide on how to use proper Metrobus and Metrorail services by calling 2029621100.
Travel_tips(提示)
•Avoid riding during weekday rush periods—before 9：30 am and between 4 and 6 pm.
•If you lose something on a bus or train or in a station, please call Lost & Found at 2029621195.
1. What should you know about farecard machines?| A．They start selling tickets at 9：30 am. |
| B．They are connected to change machines. |
| C．They offer special service to the elderly. |
| D．They make change for no more than $5. |
| A．At midnight. | B．At 3 am. |
| C．At 5 am. | D．At 7 pm. |
| A．It is convenient for old people. |
| B．It saves money for its users. |
| C．It can be bought at any time. |
| D．It is sold on the Internet. |
4 . The bed should 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 gives 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，all the subjects were asked to ______ ．| 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．feel less sleepy and tired in the day |
| B．fall asleep more easily after reading |
| C．have a lot more melatonin secretion |
| D．become less energetic the next morning |
| A．remove the blue light from your devices completely |
| B．help prevent eyes being harmed by short wavelength |
| C．weaken the harm done by doing nighttime e-reading |
| D．be used in all the e-things widely and safely |
| A．No e-reading in bed before sleep |
| B．New software for night e-readers |
| C．Wrong behaviors before bedtime |
| D．No games on iPad in bed． |
5 . Wearable sensors (传感器) could one day interpret the gestures in sign language and translate them into English，providing a hightech solution to communication problems between deaf people and those who don't understand sign language.
Engineers at Texas A & M University are developing a wearable device that can sense movement and muscle activity in a person's arms. The device works by figuring out the gestures a person is making by using two sets of sensors：one that responds to the motion of the wrist and the other to the muscular movements in the arm. A program then wirelessly receives this information and changes the data into the English translation. “Most of the technology was based on visionbased or camerabased solutions,” said study lead researcher Roozbeh Jafari，an associate professor of biomedical engineering at Texas A & M University.
These existing designs, Jafari said，are not enough，because often when someone is talking with sign language，he or she is using hand gestures combined with specific finger movements.“I thought maybe we should look into combining motion sensors and muscle activation，”Jafari told Live Science. “And the idea here was to build a wearable device.”
The researchers have built a system that can recognize words that people use most commonly in their daily conversations. Jafari said that once the team starts expanding the program，the engineers will include more words that are less frequently used，in order to build up a more substantial vocabulary.
One drawback of it is that the system has to be “trained ” to respond to each individual that wears the device，Jafari said. This training process involves asking the user to repeat or do each hand gesture a couple of times，which can take up to 30 minutes to complete.
1. How does the new device work?| A．By figuring out gestures from fingers. |
| B．By connecting the wrist and the fingers. |
| C．By linking the arm and the fingers. |
| D．By collecting information from the wrist and the arm. |
| A．make it easier to monitor the gestures when people are talking |
| B．make the translation process faster |
| C．compete with existing designs |
| D．make it userfriendly |
| A．necessary | B．influential |
| C．extensive | D．essential |
| A．The device has greatly increased in sales. |
| B．The device still requires much improvement. |
| C．We should work out of 30 minutes. |
| D．We should be trained to respond quickly. |
6 . Where can you go to listen to a cook, a senator (参议员) or a scientist talk about important subjects? BigThink.com is a new website created to provide discussions between world experts and Internet users. Victoria Brown and Peter Hopkins created Big-Think.com. They said that people need an international stage on which to exchange, discuss, and debate the important ideas of our time. Subjects discussed on BigThink include the environment, music and questions about happiness and personal identity.
The the BigThink website has been called a YouTube for thinkers. At the BigThink website , when you click on a subject, you find a video (视频) of a person talking about his or her ideas. For example, you can listen to United States Senator Ted Kennedy talking about education and civil rights. Under their videos, you can read the comments and questions written by other visitors to the website. More than one hundred experts express their ideas on the website.
BigThink also has an important list of financial (财政的) supporters. These include Peter Thiel who helped create the PayPal company; Larry Summers, a former United States secretary of the Treasury, and David Frankel, a businessman from South Africa.
BigThink’s creators started the website by first getting famous people to agree to be videotaped（录像）. They began by interviewing several well-known professors from Harvard University, which they had attended. Then they used the names of these professors to gain the trust of others and get them to take part in the project.
The website helps everyone whose motto is: “We are what you think.” So, go online and start thinking big.
1. BigThink.com was created to ______.| A．introduce the latest IT knowledge | B．share funny videos with Internet users |
| C．teach ordinary people some useful skills | D．offer chances to communicate with experts |
| A．a famous library | B．a online chat-room |
| C．a video website | D．a radio station |
| A．scientists | B．professors | C．politicians | D．cooks |
| A．How to set up one’s own website. | B．The importance of sharing ideas with others. |
| C．How to become experts in some fields. | D．A brief introduction to a new website. |
7 . A mother of a cheerful five-year-old just returned from a meeting of the National Organization for Women. Inspired by exciting dreams for the possibilities of womanhood, she asked her daughter what she wanted to be when she grew up. Little Lisa quickly answered, “A nurse.”
There was a time when nursing was thought of as a woman’s job and the answer somehow seemed not to be satisfied. She had, after all, just returned from a new meeting.
“You can be anything you want to be,” she reminded her daughter. “You can be a lawyer, a doctor, a banker, president of the country — you can be anything.”
“Anything?” Lisa asked.
“Anything!” her mother smiled.
“I know,” Lisa said. “I want to be a horse!”
Lisa’s dream may need some improvement, but there is plenty of time for that. When do we give up dreaming about the future? When do we resign (听任) ourselves to simply replaying dreams from the past?
Maybe her dream needs to mature (成熟) a bit, but would you rather have the optimism (乐观) of a five-year-old girl who wants to be a horse, or the pessimism (悲观) of an adult who says in despair, “I can’t be anything at all”?
Teddy Roosevelt said, “Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.” I believe that is the way to make those dreams come true. So everyone need look up and dream of something beautiful while working hard to the dream.
1. What did the girl really want to be when she grew up?| A．A nurse. | B．A horse. | C．A banker. | D．A lawyer. |
| A．Satisfied. | B．Puzzled. | C．Disappointed. | D．Excited. |
| A．stop children dreaming of something strange |
| B．advise parents how to educate children |
| C．encourage adults to learn from children |
| D．help children to set up a big goal |
| A．Stand on the ground and watch the stars |
| B．Have a big dream and work hard |
| C．Protect your eyesight while working |
| D．Find a good way to watch the stars |
8 . Driving in Canada is similar to driving in many parts of the United States. Distances and speeds, however, are posted in kilometers per hour and some signs, particularly in Quebec, may only be in French.
Unless otherwise posted, the maximum (最大限度的) speed limit in Canada is 50km/hr in cities and 80km/hr on highways. On rural highways, the posted speed limit may be 100km/hr. It is illegal to take automobile radar detectors (汽车雷达检测器) into Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and the Yukon. In Canada, seat belt use is required by law for all people, and child car seats must be used by children under 40 pounds. Some provinces require drivers to keep their vehicles’ headlights on during the day and some have banned (禁止) driving while using a hand-held cell phone. Motorcycles cannot share a lane (车道), and safety helmets for motorcycle riders and passengers are necessary. Running a red light is a serious crime throughout Canada and drivers are advised to stop before starting when a light turns green.
Winter travel can be dangerous due to heavy snowfalls and icy conditions. Some roads and bridges are often closed in winter. Snow tires are required in some provinces. Travelers should also be careful about animals while driving at night in rural areas.
Highway 401, from Detroit to Montreal, is one of the busiest highways in North America. It has been the scene of many deadly traffic accidents due to sudden and severe weather changes, high rates of speed, and heavy truck traffic. Thus drivers should be alert while travelling here.
Please refer to our Road Safety page for more information. Also, we suggest that you visit the website of Canada’s national authority responsible for road safety.
1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?| A．All signs on the roads in Quebec are in English. |
| B．Automobile radar detectors are allowed to be used in Manitoba. |
| C．People may choose not to wear seat belts while in a car in Canada. |
| D．The speed of cars in Canadian cities should be less than 50km/hr. |
| A．careful | B．relaxed |
| C．nervous | D．pleased |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Travel. | C．Education. | D．Science. |
9 . In France, there once lived a man named Louis Pasteur, who was a doctor of science. The thing that concerned him most was the disease rabies (狂犬病).
“I must find the rabies germs that hide inside people and make them so sick that they die,” he thought. “Once I find them, I’ll think of a way to kill them.”
Many people thought Pasteur was wasting his time. Some laughed at him and said, “You’ll never do it.”
Pasteur didn’t care what people thought; he believed in himself. He kept right on working.
At the same time, in Germany, a boy named Joey was about to get into trouble. He was teasing a dog. But this dog was sick with rabies, which made the dog mad. Unfortunately, the dog bit him. The rabies germs were passed from the dog to Joey.
Soon the little boy was very sick. His parents could only wait. But then there was news. Joey’s mother saw it and shouted for joy. “A doctor of science has found a way to save sick people like Joey!” she said. The man, of course, was Louis Pasteur. Joey’s parents quickly prepared Joey for the long journey to Paris.
“Dr. Pasteur,” said the mother. “Our little boy is very sick. Can you help us?”
“Perhaps,” said Pasteur. “I’ve invented a vaccine (疫苗). It is strong enough to kill the rabies germs. Joey will be the first person to have my rabies vaccine.”
“The first person?” asked Joey’s worried father nervously. “Will it be dangerous? Are you sure it will work?”
“I believe it will,” said Pasteur.
Slowly the vaccine killed more and more of the rabies germs. Joey began to get well. Dr. Pasteur’s vaccine was a success!
From then on no one had to be afraid of rabies anymore, and people who had laughed at him before, respected him. He is recognized as one of the world’s greatest scientists.
1. What was people’s first reaction toward Pasteur’s thoughts on killing rabies germs?| A．Hopeful. | B．Sceptical. | C．Uncaring. | D．Cheerful. |
| A．He fought with a dog. | B．He drove a mad dog away. |
| C．He killed the rabies germs. | D．He got rabies unexpectedly. |
| A．Proud and imaginative. | B．Careful and simple-minded. |
| C．Selfless and humorous. | D．Confident and strong-minded. |
| A．The amazing story of Joey. |
| B．Pasteur’s deep interest in science. |
| C．The first known person to survive rabies. |
| D．Pasteur’s success in finding a treatment for rabies. |
10 . It was about five in the morning in Ontario，Canada，when Donna Strickland's phone rang. The Nobel Prize committee was on the line in Stockholm，calling to tell her she had won the prize in physics.
“I wondered if it was a joke，” Strickland said in an interview with a Nobel official after the call. She had been asleep when the call arrived. “Something was wrong because it came so early in the morning. But then I knew it was the right day，and it would have been a cruel joke.”
Strickland，an associate professor at the University of Waterloo，shares the honor with two other scientists for their work in the 1980s in transforming lasers (激光) into tiny tools that today have countless applications. The prize money of $1.4 million will be shared among the three. Half of the prize went to Strickland and her cooperator Gérard Mourou，a professor at the École Poly technique in France. The other half was awarded to Arthur Ashkin，a retired physicist who worked at the famous Bell Labs in the United States.
Strickland's win is historic in more than one way. It's been over 55 years since a woman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics last time. And she is only the third woman to receive the prize in the Nobel's over 117year existence. In 1903，Marie Curie became the firstever woman to win a Nobel Prize in Physics.For the next 60 years，no women physicists were awarded. Maria GoeppertMayer became the second woman physicist to win the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963.
Strickland herself was surprised to learn she was the third woman to receive the honor in physics. “Is that all，really？I thought there might have been more，” she said at a press conference Tuesday. “We need to celebrate women physicists，because we're out there. Hopefully，in time，it will start to move forward at a faster rate.”
1. What was Donna's first reaction when told she won the Nobel Prize?| A．She felt all efforts paid off. |
| B．She was skeptical of the news. |
| C．She was too excited to say a word. |
| D．She was annoyed at being awaken up. |
| A．About $350，000. |
| B．About $700，000. |
| C．About $1.4 million. |
| D．About $2.8 million. |
| A．Strickland's achievements in physics. |
| B．The history of the Nobel Prize in Physics. |
| C．The struggle of women physicists to win the Nobel Prize in Physics. |
| D．Three women scientists who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in history. |
| A．The Nobel Prize in Physics. |
| B．The achievement of women physicists. |
| C．The celebration of the Nobel Prize winners. |
| D．Awarding women physicists the Nobel Prize in Physics. |
