1 . Running is often tiring and a lot of hard work, but nothing beats the feeling you get after finishing a long workout around the track.

But while it’s long been believed that endorphins (内啡肽) —chemicals in the body that cause happiness—are behind the so-called “runner’s high”, a study suggested that there may be more to this phenomenon than we previously knew.

According to a recent study published by a group of scientists from several German universities, a group of chemicals called endocannabinoids (内源性大麻素) may actually be responsible for this familiar great feeling.

To test this theory, the scientists turned to mice. Both mice and humans release high levels of endorphins and endocannabinoids after exercise. After exercising on running wheels, the mice seemed happy and relaxed and displayed no signs of anxiety. But after being given a drug to block their endorphins, the mice’s behavior didn’t seem to change. However, when their endocannabinoids were blocked with a different drug, their runners’ high symptoms seemed to fade.

“The long-held notion of endorphins being responsible for the runner’s high is false. Endorphins are effective pain relievers, but only when it comes to the pain in your body and muscles you feel after working out,” Patrick Lucas Austin wrote on science blog Lifchacker.

Similar studies are yet to be carried out on humans, but it’s already known that exercise is a highly effective way to get rid of stress or anxiety. The UK’s National Health Service even prescribes (开药 方) exercise to patients who are suffering from depression. “Being depressed can leave you feeling low in energy, which might put you off being more active. Regular exercise can improve your mood if you have depression, and its especially useful for people with mild to moderate (中等的) depression,” it wrote on its website.

It seems like nothing can beat that feeling we get after a good workout, even if we don’t fully understand where it comes from. At least if we’re feeling down, we know that all we have to do is to put on our running shoes.

1. What did scientists from German universities recently discover?

A．Working out is a highly effective way to treat depression.

B．The runner’s high could be caused by endocannabinoids.

C．Endorphins may contribute to one’s high spirits after running.

D．The level of endorphins and endocannabinoids could affect one’s mood.

2. Why did the scientists give mice drugs in their experiment?

A．To find what reduces the runner’s high symptoms.

B．To see the specific symptoms of the runner’s high.

C．To identify what is responsible for the runner’s high.

D．To test what influences the level of endocannabinoids released.

3. What does the underlined word “notion” mean?

A．Effect.

B．Goal.

C．Opinion.

D．Question

4. What can we know about regular workouts according to the UK’s National Health Service?

A．They can help ease depression symptoms.

B．They are the best way to treat depression.

C．They only work for those with serious depression.

D．They can help people completely recover from depression.

2 . For some people, the warmest memories from childhood come from being read a great story.     1     It develops children’s language skills and increases their ability to succeed in school and later work.

A new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics says reading aloud is so important that parents should start as soon as their children are born and continue to read aloud even after their children can read by themselves. They say parents should also point to and talk about pictures in books for infants (婴幼儿).     2    

The company Scholastic is a major U. S. publisher of children’s books. Every two years, Scholastic publishes a report on American reading attitudes and habits. The 2015 report says only 31percent of children in the U. S. read a book for fun almost every day.

    3     One is simply to have books in the home. Elizabeth Lyttleton, the mother of three, is lucky. Her mother once wrote and illustrated children’s books, so the family always have plenty to read. She says all her children learn from books but in different ways.     4     Researchers from the Scholastic company found that 80% of children surveyed—of all ages—say they love being read to. And children ages 6 to 11 whose parents do not read to them anymore say they miss it.

    5     Of all the six to 17-year-olds in the Scholastic study, more than 90% said their favorite books are the ones they chose for themselves.

There are other methods that might help you with your studying.

A．Do children still read for fun?

B．A book does not have to be serious to be good for kids.

C．But reading to children does more than create warm memories.

D．For young children, parents should ask questions about the book.

E．Another way to develop a reading habit in children is to read to them.

F．Scholastic also identifies some ways to develop a love of reading in a child.

G．The Scholastic report also suggests permitting children to choose their own books.

3 . Western monarch butterflies(帝王蝶) spend their winters on the central California coast. A few months later, they produce young in the Central Valley and as far north and east as Idaho. But where they go in between remains an open question to biologists. Therefore, a group of biologists call on anyone who spots a monarch north of Santa Barbara this spring to get a quick shot and email them the photo with a date and a location.

“Something’s going on in early spring,” said Cheryl Schultz, a professor at Washington State University Vancouver. Winter survival isn’t the problem in the short term, but they don’t know whether the monarchs are not making it to producing places, not finding plants to feed themselves along the way, she said.

The Western monarch population stood in the millions in the 1980s. In 2017, an annual count found 200,000 butterflies. In 2018, the number fell to about 30,000 — a figure that held steady last year. The monarchs’ decline is part of a larger trend among dozens of butterfly species in the West. What exactly caused the decline? Biologists attach it to a variety of reasons. Many chemicals are sprayed on the milkweed monarchs will feed on. Climate change also plays a role in challenges facing monarchs. Yet, they’re not nearly as threatening as those leading to loss of their living room. Farms used to have rough borders that were grounds for the plants monarchs love and live in. However, newly applied practices pushed crops to the edge of fields.

“Butterflies often have good years and bad. We do think there’s potential to turn the situation around,” Dr. Schultz said. And she said she saw two reasons for that. First, the population decline seen in 2017-2018 wasn’t repeated last year. And second, she’s seen butterfly populations recover before.

1. Why do the biologists need the public’s help?

A．To confirm monarchs’ producing places.

B．To find how monarchs survive the winter.

C．To address the unknown about monarchs.

D．To know the distance that monarchs cover.

2. Which of the following harms monarchs most?

A．New farming practices.	B．Lack of healthy food.
C．Wide use of chemicals.	D．Severe climate change.

3. What is Dr. Schultz’s attitude towards monarchs’ future?

A．Doubtful.

B．Positive.

C．Worried.

D．Cautious.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．What Is Happening to the Monarchs	B．Why the Monarchs Are Flying Away
C．Where All the Monarchs Have Gone	D．How the Monarchs Adapt to Nature

4 . The policy has allowed China to accomplish in just four decades________took Western industrialized countries more than 200 years to achieve.（用适当的词填空）

7 . I_________ (go)through that bitter period without your generous help. （所给词的适当形式填空）

8 . In 1963 the UN set up the World Food Program, one of_________purposes is to relieve worldwide starvation.（用适当的词填空）

9 . Some wild animals ________ and killed at such a speed that they will disappear from the earth in future.

A．hunted	B．have hunted
C．are being hunted	D．had been hunted

10 . 假定你是李华，你的英国笔友Lucy在学习中国书法(Chinese calligraphy)时，因为太难学而打算放弃。请你发一封电子邮件鼓励她，内容包括：
1.中国书法的意义：2.鼓励她不要放弃：3.提出你的建议。
注意：
1.词数为100词左右：
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Lucy.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua