A student newspaper reports that most students go to sleep at 1:30 am. Even if that’s an overstatement (夸张), it’s close to the truth. Scientists say teens should sleep nine hours each night. But that’s hard. Some are even “pulling all-nighters” (开夜车). These students must hand in their homework the next day but they haven’t done it. In the morning they don’t look healthy and you can tell who’s been doing it. One of my classmates did a survey on the topic. She found that most kids pull all-nighters to finish homework, but some do it for other reasons, such as playing computer games!
Maybe our lack(缺乏) of sleep is because of laziness — I think I’m a rather lazy student — or maybe it’s because we have too much to do in American high schools. I usually go to bed around midnight. If I stayed up past 1:30 am, I wouldn’t get any work done. I’d be falling asleep at my computer. My classes begin at 7:30 am. I’m partly awake in my first class. By the second, I’m a little sleepy. By my third class, I’m sleepy. By midday I’m finally fully awake. But by 3:00 pm, I’m slowing down again. Yet I get more sleep than usual students.
Most American high schools seem to have a similar(相似的) problem with sleepy students. High school classes start at 7:30 am, so students have to get up one and a half hours before that to get ready and catch the bus. It’s believed that lack of sleep can be bad for both grades and health. Some schools are paying attention. Classes in those schools start at 8:30 am.
【小题1】What does the underlined sentence “it’s close to the truth” mean?

A．It doesn’t tell the truth.	B．It is quite true.
C．It is impossible.	D．I don’t think it’s right.

【小题2】Why do most of the teens have to stay up late?

A．They play computer games.	B．They watch videos late.
C．They have to do a lot of housework.	D．They have to do a lot of homework.

【小题3】When do students in most American high schools have to get up?

A．At 7:30 am.

B．At 6:00 am.

C．At 9:00 am.

D．At about 7:00 am.

【小题4】Which of the following is TRUE according to the reading?

A．The writer usually stays up past 1:30 am.

B．The writer usually goes to bed around midnight.

C．The writer usually does a survey.

D．Many American students don’t get enough sleep, so they can have high grades.

【小题5】What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Something has to be done to solve the problem of students’ lack of sleep.

B．Many American high school students are sleepy in class.

C．Many kids have too much homework to do.

D．Students can’t play computer games.

When the Audet family turns on the lights at Blue Farm, they are using electricity that comes from cows—cow manure (粪肥), to be specific.
Cows produce a lot of wastes. One cow can create 30 gallons of wastes each day. Now imagine the output of over 1,000 cows at Blue Farm. That’s really a big amount.
When farmers clean their barns, they put the wastes in a big heap, and spread some of them on their fields for fertilizer(肥料). But now places like Blue Spruce Farm have a new way of using cow wastes. They use them to produce electricity.
Here’s how it works: A big machine moves back and forth cleaning the barn floor. “The cows aren’t bothered,” says Marie Audet. “They are animals of habit; they get used to it, and just lift one foot and then another to let it go by.”
The machine pushes the manure into a big 600-gallon tank like a small swimming pool. The tank is called a digester (化粪池) because what happens there is just like what happens inside a cow: Bacteria(细菌) get to work and continue to digest the manure.
Methane gas (甲烷、沼气)in the atmosphere is known as a “greenhouse” gas because it keeps heat just like a greenhouse does, causing our planet to warm up. That’s an environmental concern. But the digester has a good result. Its gas is kept and used to power electric generators (发电机).
At Blue Farm, the generators make enough electricity to power 400 homes. The Audet family sells the extra electricity they can’t use themselves.
【小题1】We learn from the text that the Audet family is using cow wastes to ______.

A．make electricity

B．produce fertilizer

C．build their farm

D．feed the cows

【小题2】How are the cow wastes collected into the digester at Blue Farm?

A．Marie Audet does the work	B．The job is done by machine
C．The cows lift the cow wastes	D．Bacteria get to work on them

【小题3】 According to the passage, which of the following is changed into electricity?

A．The power of moving water.	B．The heat of burning coal.
C．The power of sunlight.	D．The heat of the methane gas

【小题4】The new way of using cow wastes at Blue Farm might be best described as ______.

A．reducing

B．saving

C．recycling

D．changing

【小题5】 What is the main purpose for writing the passage?

A．To introduce a new way of making electricity	B．To explain how a new energy works better
C．To show a new rebuilding plan for a big farm	D．To explain the reasons for green house effect

A very old lady won a million dollars in a lottery(彩票). Her son and her husband heard the news on the radio.
“How are we going to tell your mother?” the man asked. “The news might kill her!”
“That’s true,” the son said. “Perhaps we’d better speak to her doctor about it. He’ll know how to bring her the news gently.”
They told the old lady’s doctor about this.
“I’m glad you told me, ” he said “A shock(震惊), even a happy one, could give her a heart attack, leave it to me. I’ll find a way of bringing the news to her.”
The doctor thought about the problem for several days, then decided what he would say.
He called on the old lady and sat by her. He took her hand in his.
“Let’s play a game, my dear,” he said. “‘Let’s pretend(假装)’ game.”
“Oh, yes, ” the old lady said. “I love ‘Let’s pretend’ game.”
“Good, I’ll ask you a question first, ” the doctor said, “Then you can ask me one.”
He pretended to think for a few minutes. Then he said, “Tell me, what would you do if you won a million dollars in the lottery?”
“Oh, that’s an easy one,” the old lady said, “I’d give most of it to you, doctor, because you have been so good to me all these years, doctor!” But the doctor was now lying on the floor. He had died of shock.
【小题1】Who won a million dollars in a lottery?

A．The man.

B．The son.

C．The old lady.

D．The doctor.

【小题2】What does “heart attack” mean in Chinese?

A．攻击心脏.

B．惊喜.

C．心情.

D．心脏病.

【小题3】Why did the doctor play ‘Let’s pretend’ game with the lady?

A．Because he wanted to get the money.

B．Because he wanted to bring her the news gently.

C．Because he didn’t want to tell her the news.

D．Because he wasn’t honest.

【小题4】Who had died of shock?

A．The man.

B．The son.

C．The old lady.

D．The doctor.

【小题5】What’s the best title for the passage?

A．A Sad Shock	B．A wonderful Shock
C．An Interesting Shock	D．A Lucky Shock

When the Audet family turns on the lights at Blue Farm, they are using electricity that comes from cows—cow manure (粪肥), to be specific.

Cows produce a lot of wastes. One cow can create 30 gallons of wastes each day. Now imagine the output of over 1,000 cows at Blue Farm. That’s really a big amount.

When farmers clean their barns, they put the wastes in a big heap, and spread some of them on their fields for fertilizer(肥料). But now places like Blue Spruce Farm have a new way of using cow wastes. They use them to produce electricity.

Here’s how it works: A big machine moves back and forth cleaning the barn floor. “The cows aren’t bothered,” says Marie Audet. “They are animals of habit; they get used to it, and just lift one foot and then another to let it go by.”

The machine pushes the manure into a big 600-gallon tank like a small swimming pool. The tank is called a digester (化粪池) because what happens there is just like what happens inside a cow: Bacteria(细菌) get to work and continue to digest the manure.

Methane gas (甲烷、沼气)in the atmosphere is known as a “greenhouse” gas because it keeps heat just like a greenhouse does, causing our planet to warm up. That’s an environmental concern. But the digester has a good result. Its gas is kept and used to power electric generators (发电机).

At Blue Farm, the generators make enough electricity to power 400 homes. The Audet family sells the extra electricity they can’t use themselves.

 

1. We learn from the text that the Audet family is using cow wastes to ______.

  A. make electricity           B. produce fertilizer       C. build their farm     D. feed the cows

2. How are the cow wastes collected into the digester at Blue Farm?

  A. Marie Audet does the work                          B. The job is done by machine  

C. The cows lift the cow wastes                         D. Bacteria get to work on them

3. According to the passage, which of the following is changed into electricity?

  A. The power of moving water.                         B. The heat of burning coal.       

C. The power of sunlight.                           D. The heat of the methane gas

4.The new way of using cow wastes at Blue Farm might be best described as ______.

  A. reducing                   B. saving                   C. recycling            D. changing

5. What is the main purpose for writing the passage?

  A. To introduce a new way of making electricity           B. To explain how a new energy works better

  C. To show a new rebuilding plan for a big farm           D. To explain the reasons for green house effect

 

“Why does the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side!”

  That’s an old joke in the west, but it came to my mind again when I saw people crossing the road at the intersection of Shanxi Road and Huaihai Road in Shanghai.

  When the traffic light was red, a group of people were waiting for the light to change. Suddenly one man began rushing to the other side of the road. Soon others followed him at the crossing and more people did the same. Just like chickens, they didn’t mind the honking horns(喇叭声) and kept crossing the road in a mess.

  Every year several thousand people are either killed or hurt on the roads in Shanghai. And at least one third of them were jaywalking(乱穿马路). Jaywalking is very common in Shanghai. It seems that jaywalkers are not afraid of the danger to themselves.

  Traffic laws are to keep people safe. So we should obey them, and have good road-crossing habits. When someone starts to jaywalk, we should stop him, and never follow him. That way we can avoid the traffic accidents.

1.The underlined word “intersection” here probably means “        ”.

A. road       B. bridge              C. crossing      D. traffic

2.The writer saw people      in Shanghai that day.

A. crossing the road in a mess           B. waiting for the green light patiently

C. crossing the road with chickens       D. hurting each other in the street

3.How does the writer like what he saw in Shanghai that day?

A. He thinks it’s OK.                 B. He thinks it’s wrong.

C. He has no idea of it.                D. He doesn’t mention it