1 . Parkinson’s is a progressive brain disease which leads to shaky hands and slow movement, and there is no cure. Tai Chi, a traditional Chinese martial art that combines (结合) slow, gentle movements with deep breathing and relaxation, may be an effective means of reducing the suffering. Recently, the researchers say that those who practised the martial art twice a week had fewer complications (并发症) and better quality of life than those who didn’t. Experts say the findings back up previous studies on the benefits of exercise for those with Parkinson’s.
The study, from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, monitored the health of hundreds of Parkinson’s patients for up to five years. One group of 147 people practised regular Tai Chi while another group of 187 did not. The researchers found that the disease progressed more slowly in the Tai Chi group on measurements of symptoms (症状), movement and balance. This group also saw fewer falls, less back pain and dizziness, with memory and concentration problems also lower than in the other group. At the same time, sleep and quality of life continuously improved.
Prof. Alastair Noyce, professor in neurology and neuroepidemiology at Queen Mary University of London, called it “an important study”—the positive effects on aspects of motor (运动的) and non-motor functions are impressive — but said there were limitations in its design, and more tests were needed.
“We already recommend Tai Chi, as well as other forms of exercise, but understanding which forms of exercise are most beneficial is an important goal to improve the long-term management of patients,” he said.
1. Why was the study conducted?| A．To find a cure for Parkinson’s disease. |
| B．To improve the sleep quality of Parkinson’s patients. |
| C．To remove the misunderstanding of the previous studies. |
| D．To research the benefits of Tai Chi for those with Parkinson’s. |
| A．Concentration problem was lower in the Tai Chi group. |
| B．The disease progressed more slowly in the Tai Chi group. |
| C．Patients in the non-Tai Chi group continuously fell down. |
| D．Back pain and dizziness were relieved in the Tai Chi group. |
| A．Tai Chi should be given more preference. |
| B．Finding the most beneficial exercise is of importance. |
| C．It is unnecessary to do more related studies. |
| D．Improve the long-term management of patients is impossible. |
| A．Confused. | B．Doubtful. | C．Positive. | D．Worried. |
内容要点包括：(1)健康的饮食；(2)适当的运动；(3)良好的生活习惯。
注意：
(1)词数不少于100，开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数；
(2)可适当加入细节，以使内容充实、行文连贯；
(3)开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Chris,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Jin
In a recent business magazine article, a president said, laughter in the workplace is a waste of time. This is a place to do business, not to laugh. Some researchers, however, disagree with his words. As scientists have learned more about the brain, they’ve discovered that smiles and laughter stimulate(刺激)the brain, which can help increase happiness and reduce pain.
Why do we need laughter in our lives? Laughter is a powerful tool for our health. In a number of studies, that were carried out, it was shown that people who are more humorous have stronger immune systems (免疫系统) while people who feel stressed have weaker immune systems. Humor can help make your immune systems stronger.
Here are some tips to add more humor to your life:
Laugh at yourself. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Have a positive attitude towards yourself and your worries will become lighter too.
Don’t worry when people laugh — just appreciate it. Be funny. Look for the humorous side of and otherwise difficult situation.
Prepare a first-aid laughter source. This could include books, cartoons, CDs or videos. Write down the amusing things that happen and save them for a sad day.
Be open to silly things. Humor is the child within yourself. Laugh with others for what they do, rather than what they are.
Research has shown that laughter is indeed the best medicine, so make time for humor now.
1. What is the best title for this passage?(No more than 8 words)2. List two suggestions that might help you add humor to your life according to the passage.(No more than 10 words)
3. Find a sentence in the passage which can be replaced by the following one.
Scientists have found that smiles and laughter have an effect on the brains, and it can help increase happiness and reduce pain.
4. Please explain the underlined word “stressed” in English.(No more than 4 words)
5. According to the passage, why humor can help people be healthy?(No more than 15 words)
1. 安慰对方；
2. 分析可能导致他视力下降的原因；
3. 提出帮助他改善视力的建议(方法)。
注意：
1. 词数不少于100；
2. 可适当加入细节, 使内容充实、行文连贯；
3. 开头和结尾已给出, 不计入总词数。
Dear Chris,
I’m sorry to hear that your eyesight has been declining.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Yours sincerely,
Li Jin
5 . Dreams, according to Carl Jung, reveal a certain amount of reality hidden during waking consciousness. In Jungian philosophy, the conflict and chaos experienced in dreams finally bring order to our lives. While Jung’s mystical theories are debatable, he was not mistaken about the importance of dreaming. A growing number of reports show that a continuous lack of dreaming is damaging our waking hours in many ways.
This trend is causing damage to our immune and metabolic systems, let alone the electronic products that keep us up late at night are ruining our sleep patterns, which has long-term consequences on our memory system. One study showed that not allowing mice to have adequate amounts of REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, the stage in which we dream, the mice couldn’t strengthen memories.
You might think this is just a sleep problem, but dreaming is inseparable from our nighttime rest. We sleep in cycles, each lasting about 90 minutes; in a sleep cycle, we go through non-REM sleep before hitting REM. As the night progresses, REM sleep periods increase in length while deep sleep (one of the stages of non-REM sleep) decreases. The longer we sleep, the more time we spend in REM, which is why we are often dreaming when waking up in the morning. If we sleep less than seven hours, however, it becomes harder to achieve this level of REM.
The combination of sleeping and dreaming acts as an emotional stabilizer. We recover from emotional hurt faster when we sleep and dream properly. However, we’re not getting enough sleep to cycle through the stages to take advantage of this natural circadian anti-depressant (抗抑郁剂) — dreams. Instead, we get depressed and turn to alcohol or medicines to get to sleep, which only makes things worse because even one drink leads to late REM while anti-depressants promote deep sleep at the expense of REM.
We’re paying for this lack of dreaming in many ways. For example, a 2021 study stated that compared with quiet rest and non-REM sleep, REM promoted the formation of associative networks and the integration of unassociated information. Volunteers that experienced more REM sleep were better equipped for solving problems requiring innovative solutions.
Rowan Hooper, the managing editor at New Scientist, writes that dreams that include an “emotional core” appear to be a main function of REM sleep and that we should look at sleep patterns as seriously as we do diet and exercise habits.
1. What’s Carl Jung’s view about dreams?| A．They cause chaos. | B．They damage immunity. |
| C．They reveal secrets. | D．They mirror reality. |
| A．To show a dream mainly occurs during REM sleep. |
| B．To prove the minimum sleep time should be seven hours. |
| C．To prove dream problems and sleep problems are attached. |
| D．To show people often dream when waking up in the morning. |
| A．Deep sleep is one of the stages of REM sleep. |
| B．Adequate REM sleep contributes to a better memory. |
| C．A sound sleep without dreams brings about stable emotions. |
| D．The longer we sleep, the less time we spend in REM. |
| A．Dreaming promotes creativity. |
| B．Dreaming helps fight depression. |
| C．The brain still receives new information during REM sleep. |
| D．The brain is paying the price for having more non-REM sleep. |
| A．The importance of sleep lies in dreams. |
| B．The absence of dreams is terrible for us. |
| C．Dreaming patterns are more important than we realize. |
| D．Dreaming has mystical power of strengthening memories. |
1. 每周至少去体育馆锻炼一次，或打球、或游泳;
2. 饮食要健康;
3. 不要工作太晚，要早休息;
4. ……
注意：
1. 词数不少于100;
2. 可适当增加细节，使内容充实，行文连贯。
Dear Dad (Mum),
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Your loving son (daughter)
7 . Experts recently suggested that teens should start having early bedtimes. Before you think it as a habit suited only for young kids, consider that there are serious advantages in being well-rested. And now, even more research suggests that putting phones away before going to sleep is important to teens’ well-being.
A new study from Seton Hall University School of Health and Medicine Science found that 62 percent of kids used their smart phones before bed, and it’s causing less sleep and poor performance in school.
Those teens who text before bedtime tend to go to sleep later, and get up later in the morning. Such behavior can be associated with mental health illnesses like depression or anxiety. Besides, once teens do receive a text, experts found, they tend to respond right away. Then the text conversation continues — leading to an even later bedtime.
The study’s co-author Dr. Peter Polos says this leads to excessive stimulation (过度刺激) at night. Light from electronic devices can prevent the secretion (分泌) of melatonin — a hormone (荷尔蒙) that promotes sleep, which makes sleep difficult in the face of overuse of smart phones at night. It’s true! More screen time means less sleep time; other studies have suggested the same idea.
As for a final piece of advice, Dr. SushanthBhat says, since getting the proper amount of sleep is very important for brain development and learning in the teenage years, our study should encourage parents and guardians (监护人) to limit the smart phone usage of kids at night. Keep in mind that teens aren’t the only ones addicted to their phones! Adults can also benefit from setting a tech curfew (宵禁) for themselves. After all, kids learn by example!
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．How to promote sleep. |
| B．The disadvantages of phone usage before bed. |
| C．The advantages of going to bed early. |
| D．How kids learn from their parents. |
| A．Kids having text conversations before bed. |
| B．Kids putting their phones away at night. |
| C．Kids studying their lessons hard at school. |
| D．Kids exercising with friends after school. |
| A．wake people from a sleep | B．help people fall asleep |
| C．lead to later bedtimes | D．make sleep difficult |
| A．learn from their kids |
| B．get rid of smart phones |
| C．try to benefit from hi-tech development |
| D．set a good example to their kids |
| A．lesson plan | B．book review |
| C．science report | D．personal diary |
8 . If you think a high-factor sunscreen (防晒霜) keeps you safe from harmful rays, you may be wrong. Research in this week's Nature shows that while factor 50 reduces the number of melanomas(黑瘤) and delays their occurrence, it can't prevent them. Melanomas are the most aggressive skin cancers. You have a higher risk if you have red or blond hair, fair skin, blue or green eyes, or sunburn easily, or if a close relative has had one. Melanomas are more common if you have periodic intense exposure to the sun. Other skin cancers are increasingly likely with long-term exposure.
There is continuing debate as to how effective sunscreen is in reducing melanomas -- the evidence is weaker than it is for preventing other types of skin cancer. A 2011 Australian study of 1,621 people found that people randomly selected to apply sunscreen daily had half the rate of melanomas of people who used cream as needed. A second study, comparing 1,167 people with melanomas to 1,101 who didn't have the cancer, found that using sunscreen routinely, alongside other protection such as hats, long sleeves or staying in the shade, did give some protection. This study said other forms of sun protection -- not sunscreen -- seemed most beneficial. The study relied on people remembering what they had done over each decade of their lives, so it's not entirely reliable. But it seems reasonable to think sunscreen gives people a false sense of security in the sun.
Many people also don't use sunscreen properly -- applying insufficient amounts, failing to reapply after a couple of hours and staying in the sun too long. It is sunburn that is most worrying. A recent research shows five episodes of sunburn in the teenage years increases the risk of all skin cancers.
The good news is that a combination of sunscreen and covering up can reduce melanoma rates, as shown by Australian figures from their slip-slop-slap campaign. So if there is a heat wave this summer, it would be best for us, too, to slip on a shirt, slop on (抹上) sunscreen and slap on a hat.
1. What is people's common expectation of a high-factor sunscreen?| A．It will delay the occurrence of skin cancer. |
| B．It will protect them from sunburn. |
| C．It will keep their skin smooth and fair. |
| D．It will work for people of any skin color. |
| A．It is ineffective in preventing melanomas. |
| B．It is ineffective in case of intense sunlight. |
| C．It is ineffective with long-term exposure. |
| D．It is ineffective for people with fair skin. |
| A．Sunscreen should be applied alongside other protection measures. |
| B．High-risk people benefit the most from the application of sunscreen. |
| C．Irregular application of sunscreen does women more harm than good. |
| D．Daily application of sunscreen helps reduce the incidence of melanomas. |
| A．It misleads people to rely on sunscreen for protection. |
| B．It helps people to select the most effective sunscreen. |
| C．It is not based on direct observation of the subjects. |
| D．It confirms the results of the first Australian study. |
| A．Using both covering up and sunscreen. |
| B．Staying in the shade whenever possible. |
| C．Using covering up instead of sunscreen. |
| D．Applying the right amount of sunscreen. |
9 . After a busy day of work and play,the body needs to rest. Sleep is necessary for good health. During this time,the body recovers from the activities of the previous day. The rest that you get while sleeping enables your body to prepare itself for the next day.
There are four levels of sleep,each being a little deeper than the one before. As you sleep,your muscles relax little by little. Your heart beats more slowly,and your brain slows down. After you reach the fourth level,your body adjusts back and forth from one level of sleep to the other.
Although your mind slows down,from time to time you will dream. Scientists who study sleep state that when dreaming occurs,your eyeballs begin to move more quickly (Although your eyelids are closed). This stage of sleep is called REM,which stands for rapid eye movement.
If you have trouble falling asleep,some people recommend breathing very deeply. Other people believe that drinking warm milk will help make you drowsy. There is also an old suggestion the counting sheep will put you to sleep!
1. A good title for this passage is .| A．Sleep | B．Dreams | C．Good Health | D．Work and Rest |
| A．sick | B．asleep | C．stand up | D．a little sleepy |
| A．dream more often | B．have poor health |
| C．nervous | D．breathe quickly |
| A．your eyes move quickly | B．you dream |
| C．you are restless | D．both A and B |
10 . People in the office usually sit for most of the day when they work. But this is bad for a person's health. When people sit for too long every day, they don't move very much. So it is easy to start getting fat. Sitting too long is also bad for their work because it makes them want to sleep. When this happens, people may make more mistakes in their work or spend more time finishing their work. Companies need workers to be healthy, so how do they fix the problem?
Some companies have different types of desks to help their workers. The first type of desk is the standing desk. The desk can be taller when a person wants to stand. It can also be shorter when the person wants to sit. Another type of desk is the walking desk. This desk is made so that a person can work while walking at the same time.
Workers in the companies like the different types of desks very much. They think these desks are quite useful.
1. When people in the office work, they usually ________.| A．sit | B．move | C．run | D．sing |
| A．cause. | B．solve. | C．bring. | D．discuss |
| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. | D．5. |
| A．They are cheap. | B．They are traditional. |
| C．They are useful. | D．They are expensive |
| A．tell us the reasons for sitting |
| B．show the advantages of standing |
| C．introduce desks that help people work better |
| D．compare companies that provide different jobs |
