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On May 23, 1989, Stefania Follini came out from a cave at Carlsbad, New Mexico. She hadn’t seen the sun for eighteen and a half weeks. Stefania was in a research program, and the scientists in the program were studying body rhythms. In this experiment Stefania had spent 130days in a cave, 30 feet in depth.
During her time in the cave, Stefania had been completely alone except for two white mice. Her living place had been very comfortable, but there had been nothing to tell her the time. She’d had no clocks or watches, no television or radio. There had been no natural light and the temperature had always been kept at 21℃.
The results were very interesting. Stefania had been in the cave for over four months, but she thought she had been there for only two. Her body clock had changed. She hadn’t kept to a 24-hour day, she had stayed awake for 20～25 hours and then had slept for 10 hours. She had eaten fewer meals and had lost 171bs in weight as a result! She had also become rather depressed.
How had she spent her time in the cave? As part of the experiment she’d done some physical and mental tests. She’d recorded her daily activities and the results of the tests on a computer. This computer had been specially programmed for the project. Whenever she was free, she’d played cards, read books and listened to music. She’d also learned French from tapes.
The experiment showed that our body clocks are affected by light and temperature. For example， the pattern of day and night makes us wake up and go to sleep. However, people are affected in different ways. Some people wake up naturally at 5:00 a.m., but others don’t start to wake up till 9:00 or 10:00 a.m. This affects the whole daily rhythm. As a result the early risers are at their best in the late morning. The late risers, on the other hand, are tired during the day and only come to life in the afternoon or evening!
1.Stefania stayed in the cave for a long time because ________.
A. she was asked to do research on mice
B. she wanted to experience loneliness
C. she was the subject of a study
D. she needed to record her life
2.What is a cause for the change of Stefania’s body clock?
A. Eating fewer meals. B. Having more hours of sheep.
C. Lacking physical exercise. D. Getting no natural light.
3.This passage mainly tells about ________.
A. an experiment and its result B. a woman living in the cave
C. a depressed woman D. a woman and two mice
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Homestay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home.
What to Expect
The host will provide accommodation and meals. Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least Once a week. You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health.
Accommodation Zones
Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones 2.3 and 4of the transport system. Most hosts do not live in the town center as much of central London is commercial and not residential. Zones 3 and 4 often offer larger accommodation in a less crowed area. It is very convenient to travel in London by Underground.
Meal Plans Available
·Continental Breakfast
·Breakfast and Dinner
·Breakfast, Packed Dinner
It’s important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast. Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal, bread and tea or coffee. Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England. Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by desert, fruit and coffee.
Friends
If you wish to invite a friend over to visit,you must first ask your host’s permission. You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy.
Self-Catering Accommodation in Private Homes
Accommodation on a room-only basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room. This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the long -stay student . However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practice English at home quite as much.
1.The passage is probably written for_______.
A. hosts willing to receive foreign students
B. foreigners hoping to build British culture
C. travelers planning to visit families in London
D. English learners applying to live in English homes
2.Which of the following will the host provide ?
A. Room cleaning. B. Medical care.
C. Free transport. D. physical training.
3.What can be inferred from Paragraph 3 ?
A. Zone 4 is more crowded than Zone 2.
B. The business centre of London is in Zone 1.
C. Hosts dislike travelling to the city centre.
D. Accommodation in the city center is not provided
4.Why do some people choose self-catering accommodation ?
A. To experience a warmer family atmosphere.
B. To enrich their knowledge of English.
C. To entertain friends as they like.
D. To enjoy much more freedom.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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The Diet Zone: A Dangerous Place
Diet Coke ,diet Pepsi, diet pills, no-fat diet, vegetable diet…We are surrounded by the word “diet” everywhere we look and listen. We have so easily been attracted by the promise and potential of diet products that we have stopped thinking about what diet products are doing to us. We are paying for products that harm us psychologically and physically.
Diet products significantly weaken us psychologically. On one level, we are not allowing our brain to admit that our weight problems lie not in actually losing the weight, but in controlling the consumption of fatty, high-calorie, unhealthy foods. Diet products allow us to jump over the thinking stage and go straight for the scale instead. All we have to do is to swallow or recognize the word “diet” in food labels.
On another level, diet products have greater psychological effects. Every time we have a zero-calorie drink,we are telling ourselves without our awareness that we don’t have to work to get results. Diet products make people believe that gain comes without pain, and that life can be without resistance and struggle.
The danger of diet products lees not only in the psychological effects they have on us, but also in the physical harm that they cause. Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because consuming them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients. Diet foods and diet pills contain zero calorie only because the diet industry has created chemicals to produce these wonder products. Diet products my not be nutritional,and the chemicals that go into diet products are potentially dangerous.
Now that we are aware of the effects that diet products have on us, it is time to seriously think about buying them. Losing weight lies in the power of minds, not in the power of chemicals. Once we realize this, we will be much better able to resist diet products, and therefore prevent the psychological harm that comes from using them.
1.From Paragraph 1, we learn that__________.
A. diet products fail to bring out people’s potential
B. people have difficulty in choosing diet products
C. diet products are misleading people
D. people are fed up with diet products
2.One psychological effect of diet products is that people tend to______.
A. try out a variety of diet foods
B. hesitate before they enjoy diet foods
C. pay attention to their own eating habits
D. watch their weight rather than their diet
3.In Paragraph 3, “gain comes without pain” probably means________.
A. losing weight is effortless
B. it costs a lot to lose weight
C. diet products bring no pain
D. diet products are free from calories
4.Which of the following shows the structure of the passage ?
A.
B. 
C.
D. 
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
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As has been all too apparent in recent days at Balcombe, few issues cause greater concern than energy policy. Many village communities feel their countryside is being ruined by the power-producing machines of wind farms; yet they never take “ direct action”, even though the planning laws put them at a severe disadvantage. And the generous subsidies(财政补贴),which encourage the expansion of wind power, are not favorable to the village communities and set landowners in conflict with other residents.
Those who disagree with the rapid expansion of wind farms state that the damage they cause is out of proportion to the benefits they bring, because their energy output cannot match that of the carbon-based power stations they are supposed to replace. Supporters insist that wind must be part of a mix of renewables, nuclear and carbon, and that the country is committed to meeting EU(European Union) targets for non-carbon energy generation.
Against this background, the fact that there is an argument within the Government over whether to publish an official report on wind farms impact on the countryside becomes even more extraordinary. The two parties in the coalition government are in disagreement over what it should say.
We have some advice for the two parties :publish the report ,and let the country be the judge. Even if it contains evidence that wind farms are harmful, it will hardly be a pleasant surprise to people who do not like them. Equally, supporters must argue their case by acknowledging the concerns and explaining why they are either misplaced or worthy of much attention.
The suggestion that further negotiations are to take place to produce an “acceptable” report suggests that the politics of coalition government are doing the country harm in a certain way. Given the sensitivities involved ,all the information should be available so that people can reach their own conclusions, rather than being left with the suspicion that facts are being replaced by political beliefs.
1.We call learn from the first paragraph that________.
A. energy policy catches much attention of the public
B. the residents are in favor of the expansion of wind farms
C. many village communities are satisfied with the subsidies
D. the planning laws offer great benefits to the residents
2.Supporters think that the expansion of wind power_____.
A. is more rapid than that of carbon-based power
B. guarantees an increase in energy output
C. is expected to be much better than that of nuclear Dower
D. agrees with EU targets for non-carbon energy generation
3.It can be inferred from the passage that_________.
A. an official report will settle the energy problem
B. the two parties are divided over the issue of wind farms
C. the two parties have agreed on a further negotiation
D. political beliefs concerning energy issue go against facts
4.Which of the following reflects the author’s opinion?
A. Increase political impact on energy policy.
B. Release a statement of supporters on wind farms.
C. Let the nation judge the facts about wind power.
D. Leave the two parties to reach their own conclusions.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析