IT’S a scene in many homes around the world: tired-eyed teens wake to the sound of their alarm clock. Another school day begins, and we all wish we could have just one extra hour of sleep.
For lucky high school students in England, they’re now going to reset their alarm and get an extra hour of sleep. Instead of starting school at 9 am, students will begin the academic day at 10 am.
This is part of a huge study by Oxford University. The experiment will see whether later classes can improve exam results.
More than 100 schools across England will join the four-year experiment, which includes tens of thousands of students. It is based on（以…为基础） scientific evidence（证据； 迹象）that teenagers are out of step with traditional school hours.
“We know that something funny happens when you’re a teenager,” lead sleep researcher Colin Epsie told The Telegraph. “Your parents think it’s because you’re lazy and everything would be OK if you could get to sleep earlier. But science is telling us that teenagers need to sleep more in the mornings.”
A similar experiment in 2009 saw an improvement of 19 percent in exam scores for major subjects – such as math and science.
Teenagers’ sleep cycles, on average, begin two hours after adults. Neuroscientists (神经科学家) say teens have a built-in clock, which makes them more likely to go to sleep around midnight. As well as not feeling fully awake until between 9 am and 10 am. This body clock stays until the age of 19 for females and 21 for males.
Schools are places for learning, as well as education laboratories – finding out the best ways to learn and increase knowledge. Yet we’ll have to wait until 2018 to find out these exciting results!England high school students usually start school __________.
| A．at 7 am | B．at 8 am | C．at 9 am | D．at 10 am |
Teenagers feel hard to get up early because _________.
| A．they are too lazy |
| B．their sleep cycles are later than adults |
| C．they stay up late at night |
| D．they hate going to school |
The aim of the experiment in 2009 was to __________.
| A．find out whether later classes can improve exam results |
| B．test how students’ body clocks work |
| C．compare teenagers’ and adults’ sleeping styles |
| D．help teachers to find the best way to teach |
The article is focused on（聚焦）the topic that _________.
| A．teenagers need more sleep than adults |
| B．students might need more hours’ sleep in the morning |
| C．boys need more sleep in the morning than girls |
| D．it is important to do more experiments on education |
| Dear Mona, Can you bring these things to me? My math books, my jacket and my dictionaries. My math book is on the bed. The jacket and the dictionaries are on the sofa. Thanks, Eric |
| Dear Frank, Your uncle’s tapes are on the dresser. Please take them（它们）to school. He needs them. Thanks, Mom |
| Dear sister, I need my jacket and CDs. The jacket is on the bed. The CDs are on the table. Thanks, Mike |
| Dear Mike, Here is your jacket. Your CDs are not on the table. I can’t（不能）bring them to you. Thanks, Linda |
Where are Eric’s dictionaries?
| A．On the bed. | B．On the sofa. |
| C．On the dresser. | D．On the table. |
needs tapes.
| A．Eric | B．Frank’s uncle | C．Mona | D．Frank’s mother |
Are Mike’s CDs on the table?
| A．Yes, it is. | B．Yes, they are. |
| C．No, they aren’t | D．No, it isn’t. |
Mike is Linda’s .
| A．father | B．uncle | C．grandfather | D．brother |
Hello! I’m Susan. Look at this picture. You can see a big sofa next to（在…附近） the wall. My parents like to sit on it to read books（看书）, and sometimes（有时候） they meet some friends there. There are two plants near the sofa. They’re nice. What’s that on the wall? Oh, it’s a new TV. I often watch TV on weekends（周末）. Can you see some fishes（鱼） in that big box? I like to play with them after school（放学后）. Where’s my dog Billy? Is it on the floor? No, it’s under a chair! Do you like it?Susan’s parents on the sofa.
| A．watch TV | B．play with fish | C．read books | D．meet friends |
What’s the dog’s name?
| A．Susan. | B．Billy. | C．I don’t know. | D．It doesn’t have a name. |
are near the sofa.
| A．A new TV | B．A big box | C．Some fishes | D．Two plants |
阅读与回答问题
1970 was “World Conservation(保护) Year”. The United Nations wanted everyone to know that the world is at risk(危险).They hoped that people would do something quickly to conserve nature.
Here is one example of the problem. At one time there were 1,300 plants, trees and flowers in Holland, but now only 860 are existing. The others have been destroyed by modern man and his technology.
Here is another example. In 1620, about half the USA was covered by forests. In 1850, about a third was covered by forests. Today the forests have almost gone. A lot of good land has gone with them, leaving only sand. Today too many trees are still being cut down.
We’re changing the earth, the air and water. We can’t live without these things. If we go on like this, we shall destroy ourselves. A lot of people know that conservation is necessary. Many things have been done to save our world. For example, people plant more and more trees on the hills. In a small town in the USA a large group of girls cleaned the banks of 11 kilometers of their river. Young people may hear about conservation through a record by the name of NO ONE’S GOING TO CHANGE OUR WORLD. It was made by Scales, Cliff Richard and other singers. The money from it will help to conserve wild plants and animals. In China, a new Great Wall has been built across the northern part of the country to stop the sand from moving towards the rich farmland in the south.What year was 1970?
______________________________________________________________What did the United Nations hope ?
______________________________________________________________How much land in the USA is covered by forests in 1850?
______________________________________________________________Can you give us an example that people have done to save our world?
______________________________________________________________What has a new Great Wall been built for?
______________________________________________________________
Today there are 6 billion people on the earth. By the year 2050 there may be 12.5 billion. There will be a lot of people to feed. We need more food.
One way to produce more food is by growing stronger plants. For thousands of years, farmers have made plants better. Every season, they pick the best plants for the next season. It works very slowly. Since 1983, scientists have been able to change plants more quickly by changing their genetic material(遗传物质). Foods from plants grown in this way are called genetically modified foods(转基因食品), or GM foods.
By changing the genetic material of a plant, it is possible to make new plants. They make plants which are strong against plant diseases. They can also help in our diseases: a kind of rice is being prepared, for example, which stops people from becoming blind.
Rich countries produce GM foods because they are easy to grow and bring in more money. Poor countries are interested in them because they help produce more food.
GM plants are not natural. No one knows how good or bad they are. Making GM foods is only one way of feeding people in 2050. There are strong feelings against them, because they are unnatural. They may feed people, then hurt them or their children later. But, both rich and poor countries are very interested in their use, and they are not going to go away. In 2050 we may think differently about them. GM foods ________.
| A．are a quick way to produce food |
| B．grow in the wild |
| C．are safe |
| D．are grown only in rich countries |
Why do some people not like GM foods?
| A．They are not useful. |
| B．They are not helpful. |
| C．They are not natural. |
| D．They are not cheap. |
From the reading we know that ________.
| A．GM foods will disappear one day in the future |
| B．GM foods will not disappear in the future |
| C．people will not be interested in GM foods |
| D．people will have to stop using GM foods |
Last week, 169 Junior 1 students at No. 35 Middle School of Shenyang took their first no-teacher exam. After the teacher handed out the exam paper, he left the room and never came back. A student collected in the papers when the exam ended.
“That test was not only a test of knowledge, but also a test of moral(道德). We wanted to show students how important honesty is, ”said Cai Wenguo, the school’s headmaster. The school says no cheating (作弊)happened in the test. Next year, it wants 80％ of its exams to be without teachers. But students have different ideas.
“I was happy and excited during the exam because my teachers trusted me, ”said Lang Yudan, a 13-year-old girl in Class 11.
“Schools must trust students a lot not to use invigilators（监考人）. But I think it is too early. Some students will cheat if there are no invigilators. And the students will not be able to ask for help when needed. ”said Hua Sha.
“I don’t like having invigilators in exams. When they walk around the classroom, they make me nervous. I would get higher marks without them in the room because I would feel more relaxed. ”Liu Qingxi said.
“I think it’s very important to have invigilators in exams. Many students want to check their answers with each other after they have finished papers. And they can also keep the classroom in order when something unusual happens. They may make me nervous, but I still think we need them. ” Shangguan Yuan said.
Not using invigilators may be a good idea. But before using it, schools must tell students the importance of honesty and try to find ways to solve something unusual in exams. The passage mainly talks about ______.
| A．how to pass an exam |
| B．how to make students honest |
| C．whether there is cheating in exams |
| D．whether invigilators are needed in exams |
No. 35 Middle School of Shenyang held a no-teacher exam to _______.
| A．let the students have a good rest |
| B．teach the students in a better way |
| C．help all the students pass the exam |
| D．find whether the students were honest |
From what the students have said, we know ________.
| A．invigilators really help them a lot |
| B．all of them think it is a good idea |
| C．something unusual never happens in exams |
| D．not all of them agree with the head |
In the sentence “And they can also keep the classroom in order when something unusual happens”“they”refers to _________.
| A．students | B．headmasters | C．invigilators | D．schools |
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