About 45 percent of Americans don’t get enough sleep, according to a recent survey. However, the benefits of getting enough sleep far outweigh the thrill of watching TV for one more hour or surfing the web. Getting a better night’s sleep will help you lose or keep your weight more effectively. Try these simple steps to improve your quality of sleep.

Take time to relax

So many of us go-go-go until it’s time for bed, but it’s important to take time to slow down and relax before sleeping. Do relaxing things, such as listening to soothing (抚慰的) music or deep breathing. Avoid stimulating (刺激的) activities such as writing e-mails, talking on the phone and watching TV. Some guidelines (指导方针): no e-mail after 8 p.m. and no TV or phone calls after 9 p.m..

Darker is better

Your body regulates your sleep cycle in response to the presence and absence of light, so dim the lights as evening approaches. Try getting ready for bed by candlelight. When you’re ready to sleep, make sure your room is as dark as possible.

Put your thoughts to bed

We all need time to process our day, but bed is not the place to do it if you want to sleep well. Take 10 to 15 minutes to record your thoughts in a journal. This effective technique will capture what’s in your mind so you don’t lie awake. Tell yourself you’re putting your thoughts to bed so that you can go to bed.

No sugar or alcohol before bed

These may wake you up. If you need a snack before bed, make it protein.

Try to get more sleep

Get an extra hour or two of sleep every night for a week and see how you feel. You’ll notice the difference!

1.The purpose of writing this text is to ________________________.

A．share some ways to slow down and relax before sleeping

B．guide readers to improve their quality of sleep

C．tell readers the importance of getting a good night’s sleep

D．publish the results of a recent survey on quality of sleep

2.According to the text, we know that __________________________.

A．we should keep our bedrooms in strong light before going to bed

B．writing a diary may excite us and influence our sleep

C．we should never get up later on weekends than we do on weekdays

D．candlelight is a good choice for our bedrooms when we’re getting ready to sleep

3. We should take time to slow down because it can _________________________.

A．inform us of the importance of sleeping

B．signal to our body it’s time to sleep

C．tell us to stop watching TV for making phone calls

D．tell us not to do stimulating activities

 

We always want what we cannot have. When we’re young, we want to stay out late, have romantic relationships, and be __36__. However, when we’re __37__, we want to go back to being young and we __38__ the days when we didn’t have to worry about complex love affairs, __39__ pressure, and money problems.

Young people believe adulthood __40__ freedom from parents and schoolwork. When they get older, they feel that __41__is freedom from work pressure and family responsibilities. To  __42__ this feeling, people say, “The grass is always __43__ on the other side.”

As teenagers, we like to be like adults but as young adults, we __44__to be young again. We think about staying out late, __45__ our own money to spend. Suddenly, they see that love can result in _46__hearts; staying out late makes it hard to get ready for__47__the next morning. They find out that adult life is not as __48__as they thought it would be and suddenly, __49__ becomes very scary.

Life is __50__. It gives us time to__51__ but also requires us to work. The time will come when we must grow up and we will always look __52__ wishing we __53__being young a bit longer. That time will not come back. It is normal to want what we cannot have but the __54__ is that to be happy is to appreciate what we have. That is the first step to growing up. __55__life becomes more complex we will not regret the time we wasted wishing we were adults.

1.                A．comfortable     B．dependent      C．independent   D．polite

 

2.                A．older          B．defeated        C．married  D．confident

 

3.                A．like            B．forget          C．regret    D．miss

 

4.                A．study          B．job            C．age  D．health

 

5.                A．creates         B．shows          C．means    D．limits

 

6.                A．childhood       B．adulthood       C．parenthood   D．romanticism

 

7.                A．reduce         B．describe        C．experience    D．understand

 

8.                A．greener        B．thinner         C．yellow    D．colorful

 

9.                A．wish           B．decide         C．return    D．stop

 

10.               A．making         B．having         C．worrying about  D．showing off

 

11.               A．healthy         B．ambitious       C．broken    D．excited

 

12.               A．breakfast       B．school         C．exercise   D．work

 

13.               A．rich           B．busy           C．free D．easy

 

14.               A．life            B．love           C．career    D．future

 

15.               A．long           B．short          C．fair   D．beautiful

 

16.               A．study          B．think           C．play D．live

 

17.               A．up            B．down          C．back D．into

 

18.               A．stopped        B．enjoyed        C．imagined D．tried

 

19.               A．reason         B．result          C．dream D．truth

 

20.               A．If             B．When          C．Unless D．Before

 

 

The Worst Part
Mom is usually home on Sunday but this week she was going to a big golf game and I was all alone in the house. I was mad at Mom for divorcing Dad.
I kept looking at the telephone until I couldn’t stand it any longer. I picked up the receiver and dialed Dad’s number over in Bakersfield. I even remembered to dial 1 first because it was long distance. “You promised to phone me this week but you didn’t,” I said, feeling I had to talk to him.
“Take it easy, kid,” he said. “I just didn’t get around to it. I was going to call this evening. The week isn’t over yet.”
I thought about that.
“Something on your mind?” he asked.
“I hoped you would call, so I waited and waited.” Then I was sorry I said it.
“There was heavy snow in the morning,” he said, “I had to chain up on highway 80 and lost time.”
I know putting chains on eight big wheels in the snow is no fun. I felt a little better, as long as we were talking. “How is Bandit?” I asked.
There was a funny silence. For a minute I thought the line was dead. Then I knew something must have happened to my dog.
“Well, kid—”, he began. “My name is Leigh!” I almost yelled. “I’m not just some kid you met on the street!”
“Keep your shirt on, Leigh,” he said. “When I had to stop along with some other truck drivers to put on chains, I left Bandit out of the cab, I thought he would get back … I have sent out a call to CB radio, but I didn’t get an answer yet.” I was about to say I understood when there came the bad part, the really bad part. I heard a boy’s voice say, “Hey, Bill, Mom wants to know when we’re going out to get the pizza?”
【小题1】We can conclude from the passage that              .

A．Leigh’s mother often went to golf games	B．Leigh was a deserted boy
C．Leigh’s dad never had a rest on Sundays	D．Leigh’s father lived in another city

【小题2】Which is true about Bandit?

A．It was killed by a truck	B．It was let out of the cab and got lost
C．It was frozen to death.	D．It ran off Highway 80 and into the mountain.

【小题3】The underlined sentence “Keep your shirt on”（last para） probably means “       ”.

A．Cool down

B．Stop talking

C．Be quiet

D．Keep warm

【小题4】The worst part in Leigh’s eyes may be that           .

A．he forgot to go to get the pizza	B．his parents got divorced
C．his dad got remarried	D．his dad didn’t love him

“Hey, Jenna, do you think we’ll still be friends when we’re eighty – two?” I asked my friend. It was clear she was wondering where I had come up with such a question. Losing Jenna would  be like losing a very close sister. We hung out together. We gave each other advice.
“Of course, we’ll still be friends when we’re eighty – two.” Jenna announced loudly.
The next year, in fourth grade, we met Jamie. The three of us soon became close friends. We played together almost every day. I thought even time couldn’t pull us apart, but I was sadly mistaken.
The three of us started fighting a lot. Before Christmas, we had a really big fight, and Jamie and Jenna were against me, both saying I was bossy. I felt helpless and lonely. I thought Christmas would be horrible!
I was surprised when Jenna came to my house and gave me an awesome Christmas card she had made for me. I was so sure that she was still disappointed with me.
“Wow, ” I said. breaking the silence as we stood on either side of my front door. “Thanks.”
“Okay…well…I have to go,” she said softly.
“Okay. See you late then…” and I closed the door.
“Who was that at the door?” my mum asked.
The card stared off with “Merry Christmas”, but then it said, “I am so glad we’re friends. I am sorry about what I said when we were fighting. A fight won’t stop us from being friends. Besides, we said we were going to be friends even when we’re eight – two.”
I stopped reading and started laughing. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten what she said that day in her back yard. I couldn’t believe I had been so selfish in trying to get even and making my friends feel sorry for me that I had forgotten about real friendship.
【小题1】How would the author and Jenna get along with each other after Christmas?

A．They would be close friends again.

B．They would not speak to each other.

C．They would lose touch with each other.

D．They would go on fighting with each other.

【小题2】The underlined sentence “I was bossy” in the fourth last paragraph means “_________”.

A．I looked like a boss	B．I acted as boss
C．I was fond of giving orders	D．I was fond of fighting

【小题3】Which of the following is the right time order according to the passage?
a. Jamie became our friend.
b. I felt lonely and unhappy.
c. Jenna, Jamie and I fought a lot.
d. Jenna brought me a Christmas card.
e. I was sorry for what I did to her.
f. Jenna and I promised to be lifelong friends.

A．f – a – b – c – e – d	B．a – c – f – b – d – e
C．a – b – c – f – e – d	D．f – a – c – b – d – e

【小题4】The author was delighted when she read the card from Jenna because _________.

A．what Jenna wrote was funny

B．Jenna would be her friend again

C．she was happy about the coming Christmas

D．she was happy to receive a Christmas cad

When we were very small, we realized that having friends was important. The need for friends continued as we grew into our teens. Friends played a big part in the development of our personalities. As adults, it is still important for us to have friends.

True friends are people who like us though we make mistakes and who listen to us and tell us the truth. Friends support our decisions and tell us when we’re wrong. They laugh with us and share our sadness. They are our partners and share interests with us. They stimulate us when we are feeling down. They are people with whom we aren’t afraid of sharing our secret wishes or what is really on our minds.

Friends, you fell safe and warm. At times, they also help with our everyday life, cooking a meal, helping with chores, or giving us a lift when we need.

Friends also are there to offer advice, an ear to listen, or a shoulder to cry on..

Friends also help us reduce stress. They not only listen to us when we fell stressed, but also discuss with us how to friends help us forget about problems at work or at home. For a short time, we can lose ourselves in a pleasant activity and perhaps laugh and breathe more easily.

1.What is the best title for the passage?

A．How to Reduce Stress	B．How to Make New Friends
C．The Importance of Friends	D．The Qualities of Good Friends

2.The underlined word “stimulate”in Paragraph 2 probably means ­­­­­­­­­­­­_________.

A．educate

B．encourage

C．remember

D．dislike

3.We can learn from the third paragraph that friends always _________.

A．laugh at us when we’re foolish	B．tell us other people’s secrets
C．share our sadness and interests	D．support us when we need help

4.According to the passage, we can reduce stress by _____.

① making more new friends             ② discussing our stress with friends

③ ignoring our problems for a while       ④ sharing interests with friends

A．①②③

B．②③④

C．①②④

D．①③④