They tell us when to get up or when we’re running late for work and whether we are in danger of missing our favourite TV programme. But while our daily routines rely on clocks that tell us the time, science is discovering that our well-being is influenced by a very different kind of timepiece. Circadian rhythms---the human body’s own internal clock---have a powerful influence on our health and behaviour. They are programmed from birth and control functions ranging from temperature and blood pressure to sleep patterns.
In recent years researchers have also discovered that this built-in mechanism can influence everything from the way we react to medicines to how well we learn music.
The latest example, from experts at Harvard University in the US, shows that the human body clock can even dictate whether or not we are likely to tell the truth. Researchers found it was easier for people to fib（撒小谎） in the afternoon because, as they were tired, the self control that would normally prevent them from lying started to break down. Tiredness made it harder to resist the temptation to tell lies---especially if it meant they got a financial reward at the end.
“The body clock has a great effect on us all,” says Professor Jim Horne from the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University. “Most people tend to feel good around late morning and then decline in the early afternoon. But the time most of us will feel our sharpest is between 6pm and 8pm. That’s because sleepiness tends to build up throughout the day. By early evening our body clock kicks in to wake us up. One reason may be to ensure we get home safely. When our ancestors were coming home after hunting all day their internal clocks kicked in to get them home in one piece.”
So what effects do circadian rhythms have and what’s the best time of day to take advantage of them?The underlined word “They” in the first paragraph refers to .
| A．our clocks | B．scientists and experts |
| C．our daily routines | D．circadian rhythms |
The research referred to in Paragraph 3 found that people tend to .
| A．tell lies when they are tired |
| B．tell lies if they are rewarded |
| C．lose temper as they become tired |
| D．break down because they are tired |
According to the passage, when are people most quick-thinking?
| A．In the morning. | B．Around midday. |
| C．In the late afternoon. | D．In the early evening. |
What information will the writer probably present following the last paragraph?
| A．Some practical suggestions to prevent people from lying. |
| B．Examples of how the human body clocks control the body. |
| C．Examples of the most suitable time to do different activities. |
| D．An explanation of how the human body clock controls the body. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Rebuild your body clock | B．Timing is everything |
| C．Sleep more, lie less | D．Your time is limited |
You have probably heard of the Mozart effect. It’s the idea that if children or even babies listen to music composed by Mozart, they will become more intelligent. A quick Internet search reveals plenty of products to assist you in the task. Whatever your age there are CDs and books to help you taste the power of Mozart’s music, but when it comes to scientific evidence that it can make you more clever, the picture is more mixed.
The phrase “the Mozart effect” was made up in 1991, but it was a study described two years later in the journal Nature that sparked real media and public interest about the idea that listening to classical music somehow improves the brain. It is one of those ideas that sound reasonable. Mozart was undoubtedly a genius himself; his music is complex and there is a hope that if we listen to enough of it ,we’ll become more intelligent.
The idea took off, with thousands of parents playing Mozart to their children, and in 1998 Zell Miller, the Governor of the state of Georgia in the US, even asked for money to be set aside in the state budget so that every newborn baby could be sent a CD of classical music. It was not just babies and children who were exposed to Mozart’s music on purpose, even an Italian farmer proudly explained that the cows were played Mozart three times a day to help them to produce better milk.
I’ll leave the debate on the impact on milk yield to farmers, but what about the evidence that listening to Mozart makes people more intelligent? More research was carried out but an analysis of sixteen different studies confirmed that listening to music does lead to a temporary improvement in the ability to handle shapes mentally, but the benefits are short-lived and it doesn’t make us more intelligent.
What can we learn from paragraph 1?
| A．Mozart composed many musical pieces for children. |
| B．Children listening to Mozart will be more intelligent. |
| C．There are few products on the Internet about Mozart’s music. |
| D．There is little scientific evidence to support Mozart effect. |
Why did many people believe in the idea of Mozart Effect?
| A．Because a study described it in the journal Nature. |
| B．Because Mozart himself was a genius. |
| C．Because Mozart’s music is enjoyable. |
| D．Because Mozart’s music makes people relaxed. |
The underlined sentence in paragraph3 suggests that .
| A．people were strongly against the idea |
| B．the idea was accepted by many people |
| C．Mozart played an important part in people’s life |
| D．the US government helped promote the idea |
What is the author’s attitude towards the Mozart effect?
| A．Favorable | B．Objective |
| C．Doubtful | D．Positive |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Listening to Mozart , necessary? | B．What music is beneficial? |
| C．What is the Mozart effect? | D．To be or not to be? |
During the last fifteen years of my mother's life she suffered with Alzheimer's disease (老年痴呆). Until then she had been a bright, cheerful woman deeply interested and involved in the world around her. I would go home to visit her in Virginia and she would look at me in a puzzled way and ask, “Who are you?” I would answer, “I'm your son.” “Where do you live?” She would ask. “In California”, I would tell her. “Isn't that interesting,” she would say, “I have a son in California.”
She seemed simply forgetful and confused at the beginning of the disease, but later on she would go through periods of intense anxiety. She would pace through the house she had lived in most of her life crying uneasily that she wanted to go home. Or she would leave home and wander away if she were unattended for a short time.
Hoping to please her and put her mind at ease I would take her for a drive, visiting sites where she had lived as a child. In the yard of the hillside house in Shipman I sat in the car and admired the view of the old oaks and long green lawn. I pictured my mother there was a little girl playing with the pet lamb she had been so fond of. I looked to her for some response. She shook her head and said, “I want to go home.”
Over the years I have decided that what my mother was calling home was not a place, but a time. I suspect it was a time when she was much younger, when her children were still underfoot, when her husband was still vigorous and attentive.
Watching my mother's suffering set me wondering where I would have gone in mind if someday I couldn’t find home and wanted to go there. In this family we tend to be long-lived and we grow fuzzy (糊涂的) minded as the years go by. At eighty I have already noticed some alarming symptoms. My doctor says the forgetfulness is only natural and that it comes with age. Still the fear of Alzheimer's is haunting there. Someday if and when I become even more cloudy minded than I am now, unable to drive and unable to tell you where "home" is, my dear son, I expect I will ask you to take me home, I know you will do your best to find the place I need to be. I leave these notes for your guidance.What's the main idea of the first two paragraphs?
| A．The author’s mother suffered with serious Alzheimer's disease. |
| B．The author’s mother forgot who’s his son. |
| C．The author didn’t know how to cure his mother. |
| D．The author’s mother couldn’t find her home. |
What is not the symptom of the author’s mother ?
| A．cheerful | B．confused | C．forgetful | D．uneasy |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word “pictured”?
| A．photographed | B．appeared | C．described | D．painted |
What can you infer from the third paragraph?
| A．The author care much about his mother. |
| B．The author’s mother was fond of pet lambs. |
| C．The author saw a little girl playing with a pet lamb. |
| D．The author’s mother didn’t like her usual home. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Take Mother Home. |
| B．Everyone will suffer with Alzheimer's disease. |
| C．A story about a son and a mother. |
| D．Where Is Home? |
“Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him，and let him know that you trust him.” These words are from the black American educator，Booker Washington. He was saying that，“If you want people to grow up，you have to stop treating them like children.”
In America，families are close but children are encouraged to be independent，to make their own decisions，even at a very early age. It’s not unusual for a child of seven to be given an allowance(津贴)every week. The child is encouraged to save some of the money but he or she can spend it on whatever they choose，for example，buying clothes，school supplies or CDs. Some teenagers even have their own credit cards! That’s a big responsibility since even adults are tempted to overspend when they have credit cards.
From an early age，American children are asked for their opinions and they are included in family decision making. At the dinner table，teenagers will be listened to on any topic，from politics to buying a new family car or where the family will go on vacation. In this way, teenagers are getting practice in becoming individuals：they are learning how to stand on their own two feet.
Many Chinese young people are becoming almost as interested as American teens in searching for independence. They want to express those qualities that make them unique human beings. You can see this in the way they dress, the music they listen to and the friends they choose. “Super Girl” Li Yuchun caught the imagination of Chinese teenagers on the “Super Girl” television contest. She was not the traditional “nice，young Chinese girl”. With her short，spiky hair and boy-like clothes, she was telling everyone that she was different. She had the courage to be her own person and to stand on her own two feet...and she won!
There is an old saying，“Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him and then choose that way with all his strength.” If you do this, step by step, over a period of time, you may find that you have become the person you always wanted to be.A child of seven is given an allowance so that he can______.
| A．be accepted as a popular guy | B．learn to decide how to use money |
| C．overspend money without care | D．have school supplies of his own |
The author implies that many Chinese children________.
| A．are more independent than Americans |
| B．should become interested in America |
| C．are happy with their present situation |
| D．are not satisfied to be nice, quiet ones |
The main idea of the last paragraph is________.
| A．that we should do things step by step |
| B．why we should understand our desires |
| C．what we should plan for our own life |
| D．how we can manage to realize our dreams |
During the tsunami(海啸)disaster of 2004，over 300,000 people died．No one has counted the number of animals killed，but we know that it wasn't many．All over the region，before the disaster struck，animals were behaving strangely.
Shortly before the tsunami，in Khaolak，Thailand，twelve elephants that were giving tourists rides became agitated．They suddenly left their usual habitat，carrying four surprised Japanese tourists to safety．On the eastern coast of India，flamingos(火烈鸟)，which should be breeding at this time of year，suddenly flew to higher ground．Of the two thousand wild pigs that live in an Indian nature reserve，only one was found dead after the tsunami．
The idea that the animals are able to predict disasters is nothing new. In fact，it has been well-recorded over the years. Twelve hours before Hurricane Charlie hit Florida in 2004，fourteen sharks left their natural habitat and stayed in deep waters for two weeks. The sharks，which were being observed by US scientists，had never done this before．They escaped the hurricane．In the winter of 1975 in Haicheng，China，snakes which would normally have been hibernating(冬眠)were seen on the ground．Days later there was a big earthquake striking．
Unlike human beings，wild animals' senses are sharper and they can feel even the smallest changes in the environment．In other words，they see natural warnings that are invisible to the human eye．Ancient people probably had the similar“senses”, which they needed to survive，but these have been lost to us as modern technology leads us further away from the danger that nature creates.
The real question is，can we use the reactions of animals to save ourselves from natural disasters? Animal behaviour expert，Rupesh Kaneira，believes we have no choice．“The technology which we rely on isn't always perfect，and in poorer countries it isn't even available(可用的)．Animals know the environment better than any of us．When they run for their lives，we must follow．”The underlined word “agitated”in Paragraph 2 probably means ．
| A．worried and nervous | B．tired and uneasy |
| C．disappointed and sad | D．excited and happy |
The wild animals can predict the natural disasters because they ．
| A．can run for their lives when natural disasters happen |
| B．don't have any modern technology to help them |
| C．are being observed and tracked for scientific experiments |
| D．are quick to notice the slightest changes in the environment |
How is the third paragraph developed?
| A．By giving explanations | B．By listing examples． |
| C．By presenting the reasons． | D．By comparing the differences． |
The best title of the passage might be ．
| A．Few Animals Died in the Tsunami | B．Animals React to Disasters |
| C．Animals can Survive Disasters | D．Following Animals may Save Us |
As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art of relaxation. Once you are in the habit of rushing through life, being on the go from morning till night, it is hard to slow down. But relaxation is important for a healthy mind and body.
Stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it. In fact, it is not such a bad thing as it is often supposed to be. A certain amount of stress is vital（important）to provide motivation and give purpose to life. It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health. The amount of stress a person can stand depends very much on the individual. Some people are not afraid of stress; others lose heart at the first sign of unusual difficulties. When faced with stress, in whatever form, we react both chemically and physically. In fact we make choice between “flight or fight ” and in more primitive（原始的）days the choices made the difference between life or death. The crises（危机）we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme, but however little the stress, it involves the same reaction. It is when such a reaction lasts long, through continued suffering from stress, that health becomes endangered. Since we cannot remove stress from our lives （it would be unwise to do so even if we could）, we need to find ways to deal with it. According to the passage, the most important character of a good manager is ______.
| A．strong will to hold out stress | B．having control over performance |
| C．high sense of responsibility | D．knowing the art of relaxation |
People are finding less and less time for relaxing themselves because ______.
| A．they are traveling very often |
| B．they believe that work is more important than relaxation |
| C．they regard working as their greatest enjoyment |
| D．they are becoming busier with their work than ever before |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．It’s easy to change the habit of keeping oneself busy with work. |
| B．Stress is always harmful to people’s health. |
| C．We can find quite a few ways to avoid stress. |
| D．Different people can bear different amount of stress. |
According to the passage, the right attitude towards stress is to______.
| A．find some relaxation | B．regard it as a vital motivation |
| C．face it and overcome it | D．avoid it |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号