When a big exam is coming up, you probably feel anxious about any wasted time and want to begin school as soon as you probably can.
But tens of thousands of British high school students will soon be getting up later. They’re taking part in a new experiment by Oxford University to see if later classes can improve their exam results.
Grades 10 students in the UK have to take the nationwide General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams. They have to pass these exams in order to study more advanced courses, and later apply for universities.
The Oxford University project means that GCSE students from more than 100 schools across England will start school at 10 am, more than one hour later than the current start time (8:50 am).
The project is based on scientific evidence that teenagers are “out of sync(同步)” with traditional school hours, the Telegraph reported. And what they need is more sleep in the morning.
“We know that something funny happens when you’re a teenager, in that you seem to be out of sync with the world,” said professor Colin Epsie, who is leading the study. “Your parents think it’s because you are lazy and opinionated（固执己见的）and everything will be OK if you could get to sleep earlier. But science is telling us that teenagers need to sleep more in the mornings.”
Everyone follows a natural cycle of sleep and wakefulne ss. Biology has decided that teenagers go to sleep around midnight and don’t feel fully awake until 9-10 am, according to scientists. That’s two hours later than adults. And their body clocks stay like this until the age of around 21 for males, and 19 for females.
“Society provides school for learning, but the brain provides sleep. So we are exploring the possibility that if you delay the schools start time until 10 am, that will improve learning performance,” said Epsie.
The results could be positive, based on previous studies.
An early study at the UK’s Monkseaton High School in 2009 found that starting an hour later improved grades in core subjects by 19 percent.
The Oxford project is expecting to publish the results in 2018. It’s time to wait and see whether scientists will give us an excuse to get up late.
According to the article, students who take part in the Oxford University project _________.
| A．will start school one hour earlier |
| B．will no longer have to take GCSE exams |
| C．will perform better academically than those who don’t participate |
| D．will be guaranteed more sleeping time in the morning |
The underlined phrase “out of sync”in Paragraph 5 probably means _____________ .
| A．breaking the habit of doing something |
| B．getting used to doing something |
| C．having no idea of something |
| D．having trouble keeping up with something |
We can infer from the article that _______________ .
| A．the Oxford University project is targeted at all British high schools |
| B．getting up late is a sign of laziness in the eyes of most British parents |
| C．children and adults have different natural cycles of sleep and wakefulness |
| D．there is still no scientific evidence that supports a late school start time |
What is the author’s attitude toward the Oxford University project ?
| A．Critical | B．Optimistic |
| C．Doubtful | D．Uninterested |
What’s the best title of the article ?
| A．Wake up late to excel |
| B．It’s never too late to learn |
| C．The later you get up, the better you’ll learn |
| D．An excuse to get up late |
Oscar-winning director Ang Lee' s new epic "Life of Pi" reveals the relationship between a teenage Indian boy and a Bengal tiger. But in reality, the predators(食肉动物)are under increasing threat from humans. Animal rights group PETA is hoping to use the popularity of the film to focus people's attention on the real life of Bengal tigers.
With the rising demand for tiger parts from East Asia, illegal hunting remains a tremendous danger for the remaining cat population. Back in 1947, there were 40,000 tigers in India, but the number is experiencing a sharp decline t0 1,706 despite campaigns to protect the animal.
Rising man-animal conflict is also one of the leading causes of decline in tiger numbers. In one of numerous reported attacks on the endangered big cats, villagers near The Bangladesh-India border, armed with sticks and boat oars, set upon the animal suspected to have attacked a local fisherman and beat it to death earlier this month. So far this year, 58 tiger deaths have been reported in the country.
"The first instinct when a tiger is spotted is to just kill it,"grieved Gurmeet Sapal, a wildlife filmmaker. "The feeling of fear and revenge is so strong that it shuts out any other emotion. What we don' t realize is that the tiger never attacks humans until it is forced to. "'
India has been struggling to stop the tiger's decline in the face of the loss of habitat as well that encourages the animals to leave the forest for food. " The tiger's rapidly exhausted prey base causes the predator to go al! out to get its food. Consequently, livestock and human beings become easy prey, which leads inevitably to conflict," says a wildlife conservationist.
Filmmaker Sapal says it is only normal for people to think of the tiger as a dangerous animal, but its image as a human killer bears some injustice. "Tigers never kill for sport nor store meat. They kill their prey only in case of hunger. " How can PETA take advantage over the hot movie “ Life of Pi ”?
| A．PETA can count on the movie to promote people' s awareness of tiger' s life. |
| B．PETA can make enough money by encourage people to watch the movie. |
| C．The movie demonstrates that humans and tigers can live in harmony. |
| D．The movie offers a wonderful opportunity for movie to act in. |
Why did the villagers beat the tiger to death?
| A．Because it was a human killer and attempted to attack people. |
| B．Because it was suspected to be a threat to local people' s lives. |
| C．Because local people just followed their instinct to kill it. |
| D．Because people wanted to carry out their revenge for it. |
According to the article, when will tigers attack and kill people?
| A．When they are annoyed by people. |
| B．When they have conflict with people. |
| C．When they are driven to act in the movie. |
| D．When they are hungry or attacked. |
What contributes to the facts that livestock and human beings become easy target of tigers?
| A．It is easier for tigers to hunt human beings than other animal for food. |
| B．Tigers are losing their habitat and forced to go out of the woods. |
| C．People hold a strong belief that tigers are a born threat to their lives. |
| D．Tigers can't be treated equally as other animal in the forest |
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in (旁听生） for another l8 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unmarried college graduate student, and she decided to, put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course. " My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers, She only gave in a few months later when my parents promised that would someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I artlessly chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and ail of my working class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.
It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the $ 5 deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on.From the passage we know that the author .
| A．was adopted by a lawyer and his wife |
| B．dropped out when he was 17 years old |
| C．The author was admitted to Stanford |
| D．valued his dropping out |
The author dropped out mainly because .
| A．His academic performance was very poor. |
| B．He did not want to waste his parents' money. |
| C．His parents were too poor to afford the college tuition. |
| D．He didn't think university could help him to get a well-paid job |
Why did the author think dropping out was a good decision?
| A．He could transfer to Stanford. |
| B．He could follow his passion. |
| C．He didn't have to attend classes any more. |
| D．He could spend more time in Hare Krishna temple. |
What can be inferred from this passage ?
| A．The author was taking a risk when he made the decision of dropping out. |
| B．The author enjoyed the comfort and pleasure of life after he dropped out. |
| C．The author's parents were very angry at his decision. |
| D．The author was a very curious person. |
London will stage its biggest political funeral in almost half a century on Wednesday when Britain's governing elite join the Queen and global leaders to bid farewell to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, better known as the “ Iron Lady".
In an event comparable to that of Winston Churchill's funeral in 1965, Thatcher's coffin will be carried on a horse-drawn gun carriage through streets lined with admirers from parliament to the city's most famous cathedral.
The bells of London's symbolic Big Ben clock tower will fall silent for the first time since Churchill's funeral and more than 700 men and women from Britain's armed forces will honor a woman who led them to victory in the 1982 Falklands War as foreign politicians from around 170 nations look on.
Surveys have shown that many are unhappy that the estimated l0-million($15 million)pound bill for the funeral is being picked up by the taxpayer, while some left-wing lawmakers say the luxurious funeral is too expensive.
But her admirers, of whom there are many in her party and in southern England, argue that her historical profile deserves such a funeral. She was the country's first and only woman premier, was Britain's longest-serving prime minister of the 20th century, and won three general elections.
More than 2,300 mourners will attend including 11 serving prime ministers from around the world, the British government's entire cabinet, two heads of state and 17 foreign ministers.
But there will be notable absences. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev is too ill to attend and Nancy Reagan, the widow of Thatcher's great U·S. ally Ronald Reagan, is also unable to come.
Thatcher struck up a close relationship with Reagan during the Cold War, backed the first President George Bush during the 1991 Gulf War, and was among the first to discover that Gorbachev was a man she could "do business with. ”
Covered in the red, white and blue British flag, Thatcher's coffin lay overnight in a 13th-century church in Britain's parliament, a forum she dominated for years. From the passage we know that Big Ben clock tower will fall silent to .
| A．get repaired for the first time |
| B．honour the passing away of the great woman |
| C．tell the specific time to the public |
| D．welcome the officials from all over the world |
Who that are still alive will be absent from the funeral?
| A．Mikhail Gorbachev and Nancy Reagan. |
| B．Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan. |
| C．Nancy Reagan and Ronald Reagan. |
| D．George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev. |
From the passage we can learn that Margaret Thatcher was .
| A．strong and smart | B．weak and disappointing |
| C．aggressive and warlike | D．stubborn and luxurious |
Which of the following might serve as the best title of the passage?
| A．The legend of Thatcher, the “Iron Lady". |
| B．Why Big Ben falls silent for the first time? |
| C．Who will pay for such a luxurious funeral? |
| D．London will witness its biggest political funeral. |
Women consistently lie on social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter to make their lives appear more exciting, a survey has found. The survey was asked to carried out by Pencourage, a new anonymous（匿名的）"diary-style" social media website.
Researchers found that at least one in four women exaggerated or twisted what they are doing on social media once a month. The survey of 2000 women found they mostly pretended to be out on the town, when in fact they are home alone, and beautify about an exotic holiday or their job.
The most common reasons for women to write " fibs" included worrying their lives would seem “ boring", jealousy at seeing other people's more exciting posts and wanting to impress their friends and acquaintances.
Psychologists suggested that as people attempt to stay connected on social media, they can in fact be left more isolated. They also said that the more we try to make our lives seem perfect, the less perfect we feel. According to the OnePoll survey, one third of women surveyed admitted to dishonesty on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter at some stage. Almost one in four admitted to lying or exaggerating about key aspects of their life online between one and three times a month while almost one in 10 said they lied more than once a week. Nearly 30 percent of women lied about "doing something when I am home alone", almost a quarter overstated their alcohol consumption while one in five were not truthful about their holiday activities or their jobs. Almost one in five women even lied about their "relationship status".
"We work very hard presenting ourselves to the world online, pretending and attempting to be happy all the time which is exhausting and ultimately unfulfilling," said Dr Michael Sinclair, a leading British consultant psychologist. "Leaving out the less desirable imperfections of our lives from the conversations with our 'friends online leads to less opportunity to feel empathized(有同感的)with, resulting in a greater sense of disconnection from others. "According to the passage, women tend to lie on social networking sites because .
| A．they have little fun in their daily lives |
| B．they are not satisfied with their present life |
| C．they want to entertain their friends and acquaintances |
| D．they don't want to go out and communicate with others |
Which of the following words can best replace the underlined word in para. 3 ?
| A．lies. | B．posts. | C．diaries. | D．impressions. |
In the view of psychologists, people who attempt to stay connected on social media will
eventually .
| A．feel better about their life | B．become a regular liar in the future |
| C．get more isolated in life | D．drink more alcohol in their daily life |
In Dr Michael Sinclair's opinion, .
| A．we don't have to feel empathized with our "friends" online |
| B．we cannot get satisfaction by lying on social networking sites |
| C．it is worthwhile to work hard presenting ourselves to the world online |
| D．the imperfections of our lives result in a sense of disconnection from others |
Do you want to live another 100 years or more? Some experts say that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.
"I think we are knocking at the door of immortality(永生)," said Michael Zey, a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. "I think by 2075 we will see it and that’s a conservative estimate".
At the conference in San Francisco, Donald Louria, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nanotechnology（纳米技术）make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what has been possible in the past. "There is a great push so that people can live from 120 to 180 years," he said. "Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years."
However, many scientists who specialize in ageing are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last about 120 years. Even with healthier lifestyles and less disease, they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.
Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live. "It remains to be seen if you pass 120, you know; could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life?" said Leonard Pooh, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology(老龄学) Center. "At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all."By saying "we are knocking at the door of immortality", Michael Zey means ________.
| A．they believe that there is no limit of living |
| B．they are sure to find the truth about long living |
| C．they have got some ideas about living forever |
| D．they are able to make people live past the present life span |
Donald Louria's attitude towards long living is that ________.
| A．people can live from 120 to 180 years |
| B．it is still doubtful how long humans can live |
| C．the human body is designed to last about 120 years |
| D．it is possible for humans to live longer in the future |
The underlined "it"（paragraph 4）refers to ________.
| A．a great push |
| B．the idea of living beyond the present life span |
| C．the idea of living from 200 to 300 years |
| D．the conservative estimate |
What would be the best title for this text?
| A．Living Longer or Not |
| B．Science, Technology and Long Living |
| C．No Limit for Human Life |
| D．Healthy Lifestyle and Long Living |
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