American society is not nap (午睡) friendly. In fact, says David Dinges, a sleep specialist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. “There's even a prohibition (禁止) against admitting we need sleep”. Nobody wants to be caught napping or found asleep at work. To quote a proverb: Some sleep five hours, nature requires seven, laziness nine and wickedness eleven? Wrong. The way not to fall asleep at work is to take naps when you need them.
“We have to totally change our attitude toward napping”, says Dr. William Dement of Stanford University, the godfather of sleep research.
Last year a national commission led by Dement identified an “American sleep debt” which one member said was as important as the national debt; the commission was concerned about the dangers of sleepiness: people causing industrial accidents or falling asleep while driving. This may be why we have a new sleep policy in the White House. According to recent reports, President Clinton is trying to take a half hour snooze (打瞌睡) every afternoon.
About 60 percent of American adults nap when given the opportunity. We seem to have “a mid-afternoon quiet phase” also called “a secondary sleep gate.” Sleeping 15 minutes to two hours in the early afternoon can reduce stress and make us refreshed. Clearly, we were born to nap. We Superstars of Snooze don't nap to replace lost shut eye or to prepare for a night shift. Rather, we “snack” on sleep, whenever, wherever and at whatever time we feel like it. I myself have napped in buses, cars, planes and on boats; on floors and beds; and in libraries, offices and museums. It is commonly accepted in American society that too much sleep is _______.
| A．unreasonable | B．criminal | C．harmful | D．costly |
The research done by the Dement commission shows that Americans _______.
| A．don't like to take naps | B．are terribly worried about their national debt |
| C．sleep less than is good for them | D．have caused many industrial and traffic accidents |
The purpose of this article is to _______.
| A．warn us of the wickedness of napping | B．explain the danger of sleepiness |
| C．discuss the side effects of napping | D．convince the reader of the necessity of napping |
The “American sleep debt” (Line 1, Para. 3) is the result of _______.
| A．the traditional misunderstanding the Americans have about sleep |
| B．the new sleep policy of the Clinton Administration |
| C．the rapid development of American industry |
| D．the Americans’ worry about the danger of sleepiness |
I was walking along the main street of a small seaside town in the north of England looking for somewhere to make a phone call．My car had broken down outside the town and I wanted to contact the AA Company．Low grey clouds were gathering across the sky and there was a cold damp wind blowing off the sea which nearly threw me off my feet every time I crossed one of the side streets．It had rained in the night and water was dropping from the bare trees that lined the street．I was glad that I was wearing a thick coat．
There was no sign of a call box, nor was there anyone at that early hour whom I could ask．I had thought I might find a shop open selling the Sunday papers or a milkman doing his rounds, but the town was completely dead．The only living thing I saw was a thin frightened cat outside a small restaurant．
Then suddenly I found what I was looking for．There was a small post office, and almost hidden from sight in a dark narrow street．Next to it was the town’s only public call box, which badly needed a coat of paint．I hurried forward, but stopped in astonishment when I saw through the dirty glass that there was a man inside．He was fat, and was wearing a cheap blue plastic raincoat．I could not see his face and he didn’t raise his head at the sound of my footsteps．
Carefully, I remained standing a few feet away and lit a cigarette to wait for my turn．It was when I threw the dead match on the ground that I noticed something bright red trickling from under the box call door．At what time was the story set?
| A．An early winter morning． | B．A cold winter afternoon． |
| C．An early summer morning． | D．A windy summer afternoon． |
Which of the following words best describe the writer’s impression of the town?
| A．Cold and frightening． | B．Dirty and crowded． |
| C．Empty and dead． | D．Unusual and unpleasant． |
The underlined word “trickling” in the last paragraph means _____．．
| A．rushing out suddenly | B．shining brightly |
| C．flowing slowly in drops | D．appearing slowly |
Why didn’t the man raise his head when the writer came near?
| A．He was annoyed at being seen by the writer． |
| B．He was angry at being disturbed by the writer． |
| C．He was probably fast asleep． |
| D．He was probably murdered． |
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Collectors Club Starter Pack 1.100 used stamps and hinges. 2.The Collectors Club Guide to Collecting. 3.The latest Collectors Club magazine (packed with news and views about stamps, quizzes and competitions, all in color) 4.Album pages 5.Badge and stickers 6.Membership card 7.Royal Mail Stamp Calendar. ********** Already Registered? Sign In Here! Learn More View a Flash presentation about our club (3.51MB) |
Which of the following is NOT included in a starter pack?
| A．One hundred used stamps and hinges and album pages. |
| B．The Collectors Club Guide to Collecting and badge and stickers. |
| C．The latest Collectors Club magazine and membership card. |
| D．Royal Mail Stamp Calendar and Collectors Corner supplement. |
This advertisement is written for people who want to_______.
| A．make money through collecting stamps |
| B．develop stamp collection as a hobby |
| C．get something free from the club |
| D．find out where the club is located |
From the advertisement we can learn_____.
| A．Collectors Club is among the biggest clubs in this country |
| B．how much you must pay to become a member of the club |
| C．today is the last day for stamp collectors to join the club |
| D．members may receive a set of album pages every month |
Where is this advertisement most probably found ?
| A．In a newspaper. | B．On a web page. |
| C．In a magazine. | D．On a TV program. |
People are talking about the “new economy.” It’s very different from the “old economy”.
In the old economy, people travel to walk. They buy things in stores. They use the post office, the fax and the telephone to send information. They see people face-to-face at their jobs or in stores. People get information from newspapers, radio, television, books and libraries.
In the new economy, people do business through the “net,” which is a connection of millions of computers everywhere in the world. In the new economy, workers often work at home. They can get information online. They can communicate with employers and co-workers by e-mail. Businesses have “virtual stores”. They are websites on which customers can see the products. Businesses can sell to customers anywhere in the world.
In the new economy, people live a fast paced, convenient and colorful life. The whole world develops more quickly than before. But the new economy is a double-edge sword. Its disadvantage is also obvious. For example, the Internet has led to a huge increase in credit card cheating. Some illegal websites offer some cheap or banned goods or services. Online shoppers who enter their credit card information may never receive the goods they want to buy and their card information could even be for sale in an illegal website. So people in the new economy should be smarter and knowledgeable.The cause of the differences between the new economy and the old economy is ____.
| A．the change of people’s idea | B．the business people do |
| C．the use of the Internet | D．the change of people’s life |
In the old economy, people can do the following things EXCEPT____.
| A．getting information from books |
| B．communicating with friends by telephone |
| C．meeting people face to face |
| D．shopping online |
“But the new economy is a double-edge sword ” in the last passage means_____.
| A．The new economy is as sharp as a sword |
| B．The new economy has advantages and disadvantages |
| C．The new economy is better than the old economy |
| D．Both the new economy and the old economy have disadvantages |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．People can get all kinds of information on the Internet. |
| B．Telephone, radio, television, newspapers and so on will disappear in the new economy. |
| C．People in the new economy should have high quality. |
| D．Life in the new economy is more comfortable than the one in the old economy. |
About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college in New York, I was working as a practice student at my University's Museum of Natural History. One day while I was working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in wheelchair.
As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was seated on her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck and the trunk of the human body. She was wearing a little white dress with the patterns of red roses and yellow dots.
As the couple wheeled her up to me I was looking down at the register. I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink(眨眼示意). As I took the money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving me the most beautiful, largest smile I have ever seen
All of a sudden her handicap was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of what life is all about. I immediately felt full of hope and confidence. She took me, a poor, unhappy college student, into her world, a world of smiles, love and warmth.
That was ten years ago, but I still remember it clearly as if it happened just yesterday. I'm a successful business person now and whenever I get down and think about the troubles of the world, I think about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.What was the writer a decade ago?
| A．A worker working in a university. |
| B．A teacher teaching in a college. |
| C．A clerk working in a museum. |
| D．A university student who had not yet taken a degree. |
What does the underlined world “handicap” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
| A．Life difficulty. | B．Troublesome problem. |
| C．Failure in work. | D．Physical disability. |
How did the writer probably feel before meeting the disabled girl?
| A．She felt full of hope. |
| B．She was filled with confidence. |
| C．She felt unhappy because of poverty. |
| D．She felt life was beautiful. |
Which of the following title suits this passage best?
| A．A Disabled Girl. | B．A Disabled Girl’s Smile. |
| C．Full of Hope. | D．Full of Confidence. |
Three wishes
A man and his wife were very poor. They kept hoping for new clothes and good food. The man enjoyed eating, and he especially liked cakes. One night an old woman came to their house and told them she would let them have three wishes. They could wish for anything they wanted.
The man had just finished eating a piece of bread for his dinner, but he was still hungry. He said, “I wish I had a big cake!”
Suddenly a cake appeared on his plate.
“You fool!” His wife cried. “You could have wished for a house full of wonderful food, but you wished for a cake. I wish that cake was on the end of your foolish nose! ”
Immediately the cake stuck to the end of his nose.
Then the man and his wife started blaming each other. “It’s your fault!” the man cried. “No, it’s your fault!” she answered. What could they do? The cake was still stuck to the husband’s nose.
“Oh!” the wife cried. “I wish none of this had ever happened!”
Immediately the cake was gone, and the man was saying, “I’m still hungry. How I wish I had some cakes! ”
But of course nothing happened.The man quarreled with his wife because ___.
| A．he always enjoyed eating |
| B．his wife hoped that he asked for a house |
| C．the cake stuck to the end of his nose according to his wife’s wish. |
| D．he didn’t want anything except cakes |
The wrong statement of the following is ___.
| A．the man made his wishes before dinner |
| B．the wife made two wishes, which worked |
| C．the wife wanted her husband to wish for more than a big cake |
| D．the man wished that the cake were not on his nose |
Why did the old woman not satisfy the man’s wish when he said he was still hungry and wanted some cakes?
| A．Because the old lady was angry with them |
| B．Because this was the fourth wish. |
| C．Because the man had made this wish before. |
| D．Because the cake had been gone. |
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