How do you feel after you've stayed up late to finish schoolwork? Or the day after a slumber party? Scientists now say that your answers to these questions may depend on your genes.

    Genes are stretches of DNA that work like an instruction manual for our cells. Genes tell our bodies and brains what to do. People have about 40,000 genes, and each gene can have different forms. So, for example, certain forms of some genes make your eyes blue. Other versions of those genes make your eyes brown.

In a similar way, new research suggests that a gene called period3 affects how well you function without sleep. The discovery adds to older evidence that period3 helps determine whether you like to stay up late or get up early.

The period3 gene comes in two forms: short and long. Everyone has two copies of the gene. So, you may have two longs, two shorts, or one of each. Your particular combination depends on what your parents passed on to you.

Scientists from the University of Surrey in England studied 24 people who had either two short or two long copies of period3．Study participants had to stay awake for 40 hours straight. Then, they took tests that measured how quickly they pushed a button when numbers flashed on a screen and how well they could remember lists of numbers.

Results showed that the people with the short form of period3 performed much better on these tests than the people with the long form did. In both groups, people performed worst in the early morning. That's the time when truck drivers and other night-shift workers say they have the most trouble concentrating.

After the first round of experiments, participants were finally allowed to sleep. People in the group that performed well on the tests took about 18 minutes to nod off.

People with the long period3 gene, by contrast, fell asleep in just 8 minutes. They also spent more time in deep sleep. That suggests that people with the long form of the gene need more and deeper sleep to keep their brains working at top form.

1．We can know from the passage that genes can not ________.

   A．tell our bodies and brains what to do

   B．make our eyes blue or brown

   C．decide how well you work without sleep

   D．ensure whether you’re good at driving

2．Which of the following statements about the period3 is wrong?

   A．It affects whether you like to stay up late or get up early.

   B．It comes in two forms: short and long.

   C．One has either two longs or two shorts of it.

   D．Your parents determine what particular combination you have.

3．People with the short form of period3__________.

   A．need to go to bed early and get up early

   B．can work better than the people with long form of period3 without sleep

   C．take less time to fall asleep after they stay up late

   D．need more and deeper sleep to keep their brains working at top form

4．What’s the best title of the passage?

  A．The Period3 Gene                      B．The Function of Genes

      C．Wake up, Sleepy Gene                          D．Stay up Late or Get up Early?

Wherever you go, there you are. This is the title of a fantastic book by JonKabat Zinn. Often when going through a difficult time, some think about making a major change, a change of a job or residence. Will this really help? Of course if you are being abused or stressed, such action may work. But for the most part, if we change nothing about ourselves, we merely take what is inside of us wherever we wander.

In therapy（心理疗法）, I have seen individuals who have literally taken geographic treatment, making a major change out of their city or state. What was most discovered was that at first, the change was fun and exciting. But after a period of time, after the “newness” wore off they still saw people as they had seen them before. If they felt taken advantage of, they still felt that way. If they had low self-esteem, they felt the same way.

Is there an answer to this problem? Work on yourself first. In 12-step programs, we say no major changes for a year. That is because people need to see who they really are without their addiction. And it takes about a year to give up your system and to find out who you really are emotionally.

Taking some time to clearly focus and see what the real issues are is very important. A quick change without any forethought is often merely an escape from reality.

And remember, happiness is an inside job.

1．According to the author, you can change your job if _________________.

  A．you are going through difficult times

  B．you are ill-treated or stressed

  C．you don’t want to change yourself

  D．you want to live a new life

2．By saying “happiness is an inside job”, the author really means that ___________.

  A．happiness remains inside wherever you go

  B．you can’t find happiness even if you change your job or residence

  C．you can't find happiness unless you change the inside of yourself

  D．giving up your addiction can lead to happiness

3．What would be the best title for the passage?

  A．Work on Yourself First

  B．Don’t Change Your Job or Residence in a Hurry

  C．Don’t Escape From Reality

  D．Join in 12-step Programs and Give up Your System

Gossip moves so quickly that few people have time to cover their ears, even if they want to.

“I hate it when others gossip about me,” said Mandy Miraglia, 16, a high school student from California, “but to be honest, gossip about my friends makes me feel I am trusted and belong to the group.” Miraglia is not the only person feeling like that.

Gossip has long been looked down on as little more than nonsense and bad manners. But recent research has shown that gossip has many positive effects on your social life.

“There has been a trend among people to dislike gossip,” said David Sloan Wilson, Professor from the State University of New York in Binghamton, US, “but gossip appears to be a very important form of behavior in a group of friends, defining their group membership.”

For 18 months, Kevin Kniffin, from the University of Wisconsin, US, researched the behavior of 50 people. He found that gossip levels peaked when a sports team included a slacker, someone who regularly missed practices or showed up late. Other members of the team would soon start to joke about the slacker’s shortcomings behind his back, because they thought they were bad for the whole team.

Gossip about the mistakes of senior members helps newcomers rebuild their confidence after a failure.

It also helps relieve social and professional anxiety. Long-term studies show that people around the world devote from a fifth to two-thirds or more of their daily conversation to gossip, and men appear to be just as eager for gossip as women.

It is hard to judge gossip, but it is more powerful than you think.

1．The author would probably agree that______________.

  A．gossip is bad manners

  B．gossip has many good effects

  C．gossip is somewhat like nonsense

  D．gossip is more powerful than advice

2．What does the underlined word “slacker” mean according to the context?

  A．Someone who values the team benefit much.

  B．Someone who does not do what they should well.

  C．Someone who is active in sports.

  D．Someone who shows no much interest in sports.

3．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

  A．Gossip is a useful way of building group membership.

  B．Gossip can possibly make someone confident.

  C．Generally, women are fonder of gossip than men.

  D．Actually, everyone gossips to some degree in their daily conversation.

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

“_____1______ It all depends on your personality,” said British naturalist Richard Mabey. “Personality shapes your view of the season,” he said. “You may see it as a fading away, a packing up（结束）, or as a time of packing in another sense –the gathering of resources before a long journey.”

_____2______ About November, he wrote:

No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees

November!

On the other hand, another English poet John Keats, already sensing he was seriously ill, was inspired by a late September day to pen one of the most famous poems in the English language, To Autumn. _____3______

According to Richard Mabey, Keats has the biological evidence on his side. _____4______ For example, just at the moment that Keats's “gathering swallows” （in To Autumn） are departing for Africa, millions of creatures are fleeing from the frozen north like Iceland, Greenland and Russia to winter along the east and south coasts of Britain. People might argue that it is the coloring of the leaves and their eventual fall that make people feel sad about autumn. But no one is sure why trees drop their leaves in the first place. It may be likely to rid the poisonous material trees collect over the summer. ______5______

A century after Keats, the American poet Loren Eiseley wrote in his journal: “Suppose we saw ourselves burning like maples in a golden autumn. And suppose we could disintegrate（瓦解） like autumn leaves…Would not our attitude towards death be different?”

       A．Autumn is not a time of slowing down, but a time of new beginnings and great movements of creatures.

       B．He wrote to a friend afterwards that there was something comforting and healing about autumn.

       C．Keats thought we should take a negative attitude towards death.

       D．Autumn means different to different people.

       E. If this is true, perhaps it tells us a little about, for instance, Thomas Hood, the 19th Century English poet.

       F．More likely, it is a way of reducing the loss of water, which tree roots find hard to take in

from cold soil.

       G．The fall of tree leaves is more likely to make people sad.

文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1．每处错误及其修改仅限一词。

      2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

Dear Abby,

How are you? I’ve got a wonderful news to tell you. I have offered a scholarship at a university in Australia. Lots of students took exams for it, but only a few was chosen and I was one of them. Though, my parents are not happy about it. They are strong against my going there. They think it is too far away that they will not see me all the year and they are afraid of I will feel lonely. They can’t imagine so young a girl live alone. They advise me to study at a local university instead. Then I’ll be able to continue living with them. What can I persuade them to accept the fact which I have grown up?

Best wishes,

                                                                          Jane

假设你叫李华，是校学生会主席。学生会决定于2009年9月16日~22日举办第三届艺术周，请你根据以下内容写一份书面通知。

参赛方式：以班级为单位

活动内容：书法，绘画，短剧，歌舞，乐器表演等

评奖方式：由专家和学生组成评奖小组，根据班级总分，评出前六名；作为奖励，前两名将有机会代表学校参加省中学生艺术节。

报名时间：本周五之前

如有疑问，请联系学生会。

注意：1．词数：110个左右； 

2．开头及结尾已经给出，但不计入总词数；

3．可适当增加细节，以使内容连贯；

4．参考词汇：省级的provincial   书法 calligraphy

Notice

To make our school life colorful, we have decided to hold the Third Arts Week in the lecture hall. 

____________________________________________________                            

____________________________________________________                            

____________________________________________________                            

____________________________________________________                            

The Students’ Union

Young people spend most of their time ______ , for they don’t want to stay at home all day．

A．outdoor               B．outdoors            C．indoor            D．indoors

----- Why hasn’t Jane spoken to me for days ?

-----It was ________ you spoke about her behind her back．

A．because of                  B．because          C．why           D．that

Iraq has _______ too many wars since 1990s, making his people _______a lot．

A．got through; suffer from                   B．looked through; suffering 

C．gone through; suffer                                      D．passed through; suffered

The two men had hardly had time to ________what had happened when they were thrown violently into the sea．

A．recognize          B．realize          C．understand         D．grasp