1 . Today, most researchers describe sleep as occurring in two main phases: rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep. Non-REM sleep comprises three stages, known as N 1, N 2 and N 3, which are characterized by specific brainwave patterns that reflect neural (神经的) activity.
During the second phase of sleep, N 2, body temperatures drop, heart rates and breathing slow down and muscles relax. Brainwave frequencies now keep changing between slower wave sand short bursts of neural activity.
Slow-wave sleep occurs in the N 3 stage, which is characterized by slow, high waves called delta waves. This 20-40-minute phase makes up about one-quarter of a person's sleep time. Some evidence suggests that slow-wave sleep plays a crucial part in restoring energy levels, repairing and growing tissues, clearing waste and boosting the immune (免疫) system.
Neural activity picks up when the body enters REM sleep, which is when dreaming occurs. In this phase, which comprises one-quarter of sleep time each night, the brainwaves follow a beta-wave pattern. As the night progresses, the periods of slow-wave sleep shorten and REM sleep increases.
| A．When someone is awake. |
| B．Sleep is a brain-wide network effect. |
| C．When someone enters non-REM sleep. |
| D．REM sleep is important for cognitive functions. |
| E．Slow-wave sleep also aids learning and makes memory stronger. |
| F．This phase generally lasts 10-25 minutes during the first sleep cycle. |
| G．These three stages of non-REM sleep plus REM sleep comprise the sleep cycle. |
2 . Sending your rugs (小地毯) to the cleaners can get expensive. A growing number of brands are making rugs designed to be thrown directly into your own washing machine.
Revival Washable Rug
Price: $109 and upSize: 2 ft. × 3 ft.
Care: Machine-washable, hang-dry for 36 hours.
Consumer Reports' take: This small rug feels soft under your feet and hides stains (污渍) well. After having coffee dropped on it, a 30-minute gentle cycle in a washer got rid of the resulting stains.
Lorena Canals Rug
Price: $629Size: 5 ft. 7 in. × 7 ft. 11 in.
Care: Machine-wash in cold water. Dry on low heat.
Consumer Reports' take: A single machine washing got rid of the big coffee stain made on this wool and cotton rug. It can go in the dryer, too, and may require 2 hours to get completely dry.
Ruggable Moroccan Rug
Price: $309 and upSize: 5 ft. × 7 ft.
Care: Machine-washable. Dry on low heat or hang-dry for 36 hours.
Consumer Reports' take: This super-soft rug is easy to clean. A damp towel alone removed a juice stain. The other stains on the rug disappeared after machine-washing it on a gentle cycle.
Ruggable Jonathan Rug
Price: $119 and upSize: 2 ft. × 3 ft.
Care: Machine-wash in cold water. Dry on low heat or hang-dry for about an hour.
Consumer Reports' take: This rug stayed in good shape even though it was used in a high-traffic kitchen. All stains were gone after washing it using a gentle cycle.
1. How long does a washer take to remove coffee stains on Revival Washable Rug?
| A．36 hours. | B．30 minutes. | C．2 hours. | D．23 minutes. |
| A．Revival Washable Rug | B．Lorena Canals Rug |
| C．Ruggable Moroccan Rug | D．Ruggable Jonathan Rug |
| A．They all cost $119 and up. | B．They are very similar in size. |
| C．They dry only on low heat. | D．They are machine-washable. |
3 . Everything went wrong for American climber Beck Weathers on his trip to Mount Qomolangma in May of 1996. His eyes response to the extremely thin oxygen levels near the highest summit on Earth was “snow blindness”. Weathers could not see more than 3 feet in front of him. His guide, Rob Hall, made him agree not to climb to the summit and he would wait for Hall till he got back.
Another group of climbers returning down from a powerful snow storm came upon Weathers. They decided to help him down, but a storm with 70 mph winds forced them to merely gather together for warmth. During a quiet period of the storm, one man went back to the camp for assistance. Hours later help returned, but they decided Weathers was too unresponsive and appeared to be beyond saving. He was left waiting for death.
“I woke up in the snow, opened my eyes, and directly in front of me was my ungloved righthand, which was clearly dead,” Weathers remembered. "It looked like a marble sculpture of a hand. I hit it on the ice and realized that so much of my tissue was dead, so I wasn't feeling any pain. That had the wonderful effect of focusing my attention. If I didn't stand up, I realized I was going to die on that spot. I figured I had three or four hours left to live, so I started walking. All I knew was, as long as my legs would run, and I could stand up, I was going to move toward that. camp. If I fell down, I was going to get up and keep moving until I hit that camp.” As everybody thought Weathers could not survive, he struggled to stand up and move forward for survival in the face of adversity. Finally, he made it. It's believed that his success relied on his strong belief and courage.
1. Why did Beck Weathers give up climbing the Mount Qomolangma?| A．Because the tough environment took his breath away. |
| B．Because the cold weather froze his hands and feet. |
| C．Because the thin oxygen level narrowed his eyesight. |
| D．Because the terrible storm damaged his equipment. |
| A．Reactionless. | B．Emotionless. | C．Faithless. | D．Fearless. |
| A．By focusing attention. | B．By awaiting rescue. |
| C．By remaining standing. | D．By keeping walking |
| A．Ambitious. | B．Courageous. | C．Dynamic. | D．Responsible. |
4 . Poetry has a long history, dating back to the Epic (史诗) of Gilgamesh, composed 4,000 years ago in what is now Iraq and Syria. Early poems developed from folk songs such as the Chinese Shijing, or from a need to retell the actions of great men and women or about a nation’s history.
Ancient attempts to define poetry, such as Aristotle’s Poetics, focused on the uses of speech in rhetoric, drama, song and comedy. Later attempts concentrated on features such as repetition, verse form and thyme, and emphasized the aesthetics (美学) which distinguish poetry from more objectively informative forms of writing. From the mid-20th century, poetry has been more generally regarded as a creative act employing language. Poetry uses forms to suggest different interpretation to words, or to produce emotive responses. Devices such as rhythm are used to achieve musical effects. The use of ambiguity (模糊不清), symbolism, and other stylistic elements of poetic description often leaves a poem open to multiple interpretations. Similarly figures of speech such as metaphor and simile create a layering of meanings, forming connections previously not perceived.
Some poetry types are specific to particular cultures and respond to characteristics of the language in which the poet writes. Readers used to identifying poetry with Dante, Goethe, and Rumi may think of it as written in lines based on rhyme and regular meter; there are, however, traditions that use other means to create rhythm. Much modern poetry reflects a criticism of poetic tradition, playing with and testing the principle of rhyme itself, sometimes altogether giving up rhyme or set rhythm. In today’s increasingly globalized world, poets often adapt forms, styles and techniques from diverse cultures and languages.
1. What did early poetry originate from?| A．Folk songs. | B．Ethnic music. |
| C．Ancient stories. | D．Historical events. |
| A．Modern poetry study focuses on the uses of speech. |
| B．Poetry uses rhythm to achieve good visual effects. |
| C．Poetry has been treated as a creative act for years. |
| D．Form makes poetry different from other writings. |
| A．Poets will strictly follow the principle of rhyme. |
| B．Poets will adapt more diverse forms and styles. |
| C．Poets will emphasize local language characteristics. |
| D．Poets will develop new forms of figures of speech. |
| A．Science fiction. | B．Newspaper. |
| C．Fashion magazine. | D．Encyclopedia. |
5 . For many young students, the school break is not a time for play, but rather a period of intense working out at weight loss camps. The extreme popularity of these camps is a sign of the alarming trend in China — childhood obesity (过度肥胖). According to a report published by the National Health Commission in 2020, one in five Chinese youth aged 6 — 17 years is overweight or obese, up from just one in 20 in 1995.
This increase is driven by multiple social factors. For instance, heavy coursework at school and a ready availability of digital devices are fixing the country’s younger generations in a more inactive lifestyle. Also, an age-old belief that more food consumption equals better growth has led many parents to spoil their children with an unlimited supply of junk food and late night snacks. Besides, weight gain during their mother’s pregnancy, regularly skipping breakfast, high intake of sweet foods and drinks, and insufficient sleep can all add to the risk of becoming overweight.
Extra weight gained in childhood may likely be carried into adulthood and increase the risks of high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep disorders and cancers. What’s more, the strong feeling of social disapproval related to obesity can also have a dangerous effect on a child’s emotional well-being and self-esteem (自尊). Some of overweight teenagers can’t even finish their primary education.
Therefore, parents should closely monitor their children’s weight from an early age so that they can intervene without delay when signs of obesity show. That does not mean that parents should rely on dietary restriction or slimming pills for dramatic transformations. A balanced diet, regular physical activity, limited screen time and sufficient sleep are enough to help children maintain a healthy weight.
1. How did the obesity rate for Chinese youth change from 1995 to 2020?| A．It more than doubled. | B．It became four times. |
| C．It stayed the same. | D．It dropped by half. |
| A．A drop in physical activities. | B．An limited supply of snacks. |
| C．Reduced intake of sugary drinks. | D．Right amounts of restful sleep. |
| A．They should stop their children having sweet foods. |
| B．They should limit their children's time spent indoors. |
| C．They should keep close track of their children’s weight. |
| D．They should ask their children to take slimming pills. |
| A．Childhood Obesity in China | B．Concerns about Public Health |
| C．Increase in Children’s Height | D．Healthy Lifestyle Recommended |
6 . In recent studies, doctors are employing feature films to motivate their patients to open up about their issues. Supporters of “film therapy (疗法)” say that discussing characters and plotlines from a proper film can help people to understand their feelings better.
One of those using the method is Dr. Zhang, a doctor from Shanghai, who charges ¥250 for a one-hour “film therapy” session. He said, “I was treating a woman who had been badly heartbroken in a relationship, and who was experiencing such strong feelings that it was difficult for her to speak about them. I told her that her situation reminded me of On the Waterfront, where the hero realizes his brother is dishonest and he feels a great sense of betrayal (背叛). My patient identified so easily with him that she started to cry. Watching and discussing the film unlocked all the feelings she had buried. Each time she watched and cried, she felt better.”
Dr. Zhang admits that film therapy isn’t effective for everyone, but he has successfully used it with around a third of his patients. He believes that through the characters, plots, and even the music of films, people can face their problems. For instance, he mentioned the movie Falling Down, in which Michael Douglas plays the part of an unemployed man who is so depressed that he uses violence, was an example of the dangerous results of not letting anger go. “I used this film with a patient who was very upset because he was holding back a lot of the anger he felt towards people who had hurt him,” said Dr. Zhang. “We talked about Michael Douglas’s character and the violent path he takes, and my patient then realized that he needed to let go of his feelings more regularly so as not to burst out like a time bomb.”
1. What is the main purpose of film therapy according to Dr. Zhang?| A．To promote specific movies to patients. |
| B．To entertain patients during therapy sessions. |
| C．To analyze the technical aspects of filmmaking. |
| D．To help patients understand their feelings better. |
| A．Because she wanted to release her sorrow. |
| B．Because she brought her sufferings to mind. |
| C．Because she realized she had been cheated. |
| D．Because she thought of her lover suddenly. |
| A．The film therapy can be applied to all patients. |
| B．Film stars can help people solve their problems. |
| C．Films can contribute to unlocking hidden feelings. |
| D．This therapy should be popularized all over the world. |
| A．They may turn to violence. | B．They may criticize films a lot. |
| C．They may stop enjoying movies. | D．They may depend on film therapy. |
7 . How to Disagree Agreeably
Disagreeing can’t be avoided in our life. However, how things are handled, how you voice the disagreement and how the other party hears it, all make a difference.
● Pick your moments
●
The starting point is to understand the other person’s point ahead of them understanding yours. For instance, active listening is one of the most important skills. It makes the speaker feel respected and valued. The key to listening properly is asking questions.
● Maintain emotional balance
When talking about topics that are important to you, it’s natural to feel strongly about them. However, when discussing your viewpoint, it is important to keep control over your emotions.
| A．Be Open Minded |
| B．Understand the other person first |
| C．High emotions can make the situation even worse |
| D．Non-verbal communication can show you are listening |
| E．In this way, you can know exactly what you are disagreeing about |
| F．Speaking your mind without losing your cool needs the skills below |
| G．Being mindful about when to voice your disagreement is important |
8 . Making exercise enjoyable in daily life is simpler than you imagine. These tips can show you how. If you’re struggling to start or maintain an exercise routine, know that many others face the same challenges.
While practical concerns like a busy schedule or poor health can make exercise more challenging, for most of us, the biggest barriers are mental.
Whatever your age or fitness level — even if you’ve never exercised a day in your life — there are steps you can take to make exercise less frightening and painful and more fun.
Of course, you don’t have to spend hours in a gym or force yourself into painful activities you hate to experience the physical and emotional benefits of exercise.
You didn’t get out of shape overnight, and you’re not going to instantly transform your body either.
| A．Maybe it’s a lack of self-confidence |
| B．A little exercise is better than nothing |
| C．Expecting too much, too soon only leads to frustration |
| D．View your past unhealthy choices as opportunities to learn |
| E．You already know there are many great reasons to exercise |
| F．By adopting a positive attitude, you can enjoy exercise benefits |
| G．The improvements in mood and energy levels may happen quickly |
9 . At some point in most people’s fitness journeys, they hit a plateau(停滞期) — it seems difficult to move forward.
Put recovery first
Overtraining makes it difficult for you to make progress because you are continually breaking down muscle (肌肉) without allowing time to recover and rebuild. Although quality sleep contributes much to recovery, it isn’t the only factor.
Mix up your training
One of the most common reasons for hitting a plateau is sticking with the same workout for too long. Your body naturally adapts to repetitive movements, leading to few returns.
When you’ve exercised for some time, it can be easy to lose sight of how far you’ve come. Monitoring your exercise activity with a smartphone app or a fitness journal can help you recognize markers of your progress. Tracking a variety of measurable markers, such as weights lifted and distances you walked, will enable you to focus on the smaller yet significant goals that make progress more visible.
Remember, hitting a fitness plateau doesn’t mean you aren’t doing enough; it’s a natural part of the journey.
| A．Track your progress |
| B．Make exercise part of your daily business |
| C．You can take longer breaks during your workouts |
| D．Pushing harder is not the answer when you reach the point |
| E．Celebrate your achievements no matter how small they seem |
| F．That’s why cross-training is important for overall fitness success |
| G．Using the strategies above, you’ll get back on the road to your fitness goals |
10 . What to Say to Someone Who Is Hard on Their Body
What should you say or do when your friends start criticizing how they look? How can you effectively respond to your friends who are always too hard on their body? The following tips may save you from embarrassment.
Don’t reject their complaints
When you hear your friends criticizing themselves, your immediate response may be to tell them they’re wrong.
While praises about their external beauty are great, insincere ones are generally easy to see through. So don’t overstate it by telling your friends they’re the most beautiful person on the planet.
Acknowledge their talents
Trying to help your friends focus attention on things they love about their appearance is a worthy goal. But even better is helping them see how great they are outside of how they look. For example, express your appreciation for their athletic ability, incredible cooking skills and so on.
Help them rediscover what their body can do
Try to help your friends reconnect with how awesome their body is for what it can do. What should you do?
| A．Avoid high frequency of praises as well |
| B．This may seem like the right thing to do |
| C．They’ll probably stop expressing themselves |
| D．Be careful of exaggerated evaluation on their looks |
| E．These praises can help them identify their advantages |
| F．You can offer to join a sports team or mind-body fitness class together |
| G．Remind them that the perfect images they see in the media aren’t real |
