阅读理解 

 To nap or not to nap? Whether napping will work for you depends on a range of factors, such as lifestyle, sleep cycle length, culture, and, most importantly, the length of your snooze. If you like to nap, you are not alone. Napping is part of the culture in many countries: around 51 percent of people worldwide habitually enjoy 40 winks in the daytime. 

 When it comes to napping. one size definitely doesn't fit all. If you are sleep deprived, a nap can be helpful or even essential for making it through the day. However, for those with other sleep issues, a nap may make it harder to fall asleep at night. For most of us, the timing and length of our nap will largely determine how beneficial it is to our sleep routine. 

 Between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., most people experience an increase in sleepiness, triggered by a slight drop in core body temperature. A nap of 30 minutes or less around this time allows you to benefit from a burst of Stage I and 2 sleep, which is good for mental and physical alertness. 

 Napping for 30 minutes or less can reduce stress and lower the risk of cardiovascular problems like heart attacks and strokes. One study showed that napping three times a week for 30 minutes led to a 37 percent decreased risk of dying from heart disease. 

 A brief nap can be beneficial for those with excessive daytime sleepiness, including people suffering from sleep apnea(呼吸暂停) or narcolepsy, shift workers, and people with jet lag. Studies show that short naps can help improve or reset a disrupted circadian rhythm (昼夜节律). 

 Naps can interfere with insomnia(失眠) treatment, which involves restricting daytime sleep to increase the likelihood of sleeping solidly at night. 

 Be cautious about naps of more than 30 minutes. Waking from the deep-sleep stages results in sleep inertia, a super-dizzy state where brainwaves are slow and it takes longer to adjust to the awake state. 

 A recent study has found that napping for more than 60 minutes a day increased the risk of type 2 diabetes by 50 percent. 

1. （1） Whether a nap is needed is determined mainly by ____. 

   A . your living habit B . your sleep-wake circle C . the society you're in D . period of time in sleeping
3. （2） What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 2 mean? 

   A . A nap benefits all the people. B . Not all the people fit napping. C . A nap works on one with sleep problems. D . A nap works for you if you're lacking sleep.
5. （3） Which of the following statements is true? 

   A . Improper length of napping leads to sleep disorder. B . A 30-minute napping results in longer time to keep awake. C . Napping 60 minutes a day tends to trigger certain disease. D . Napping less than 30 minutes ensures you refreshed after wake.
7. （4） What is a suitable title for the text? 

   A . Napping: Harmful or Helpful? B . A Boost for Sleeping C . The Timing of a Nap D . A New Trend of Napping

 阅读理解

● Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxe

Type: Fantasy

When Ophelia moves to a strange city where it never stops snowing, she discovers a boy locked away for 75 years in a museum. She must help the boy before the Snow Queen freezes the world. Along the way, Ophelia learns how to believe in things she cannot see. 

Targeted readers: People who like fairy tales would enjoy this book. 

● A Hundred Horses by Sarah Lean

Type: Mystery

During her visits to her aunt and cousins, the wooden horse Nell is stolen by a girl named Angel. As Nell finds out Angels true identity, a bond grows between them and a group of 99 horses. Word has it that the 100th horse is magical. But where is it? Nell doesn't know, but Angel might know.

Targeted readers: Kids who like animals and nature will be sure to find this book exciting. 

● How to Catch a Boggle by Catherine Junk's

Type: Fantasy

Birdie is an orphan who is good at trapping monsters with her singing voice. She is the only goblin hunter (猎人) in the forest. When kids go missing, it's up to her to figure out why.

Targeted readers: Anyone who is looking for monsters will take great pleasure in this book. 

● I Even Funnier: A Middle School Story by James Patterson and Chris Greenstein

Type: Fiction

After a car accident Jamie loses his family, so he moves in with his aunt, uncle and his cousin Stevie, whose basic aim is to trick Jamie. But Jamie keeps having a positive attitude and running after his goals. He has been recently honored the Funniest Kid Comic of New York State. 

Targeted readers: This book would be great for anyone who is fond of humorous books. 

1. （1） Who tells a story about a girl saving the world?

   A . Sarah Lean. B . Karen Foxe. C . Catherine Junk's. D . James Patterson and Chris Greenstein.
3. （2） Nature lovers may take interest in____.   

   A . A Hundred Horses B . How to Catch a Boggle C . Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy D . I Even Funnier: A Middle School Story
5. （3） Who goes through life challenges without losing heart?

   A . Ophelia. B . Nell. C . Birdie. D . Jamie.

 阅读理解

I still remember my friends giving me the advice: Get a hobby. I was stressed and, of course, also on my phone too much. I was writing about food for work, so cooking didn't really count as a hobby anymore, nor did reading, nor socializing, especially since all of my friends worked in my industry. I needed something in my life that existed apart from all that.

Cooking had once been the thing I did to relax when I got home from work, the thing I was curious about. The kitchen had once been a release, but now it was part of my professional life. It needed a replacement. A few months later, I dutifully signed up for a ceramics(制陶艺术) class at a studio near my apartment.

Powerlessness, for an amateur, can be its own draw. At the studio, I started as a lazy learner, but after a few months I became crazy, signing up for more classes when my session ended. I had something to be curious about, and my goals were unrelated to outer forces: a boss, a job, a market, a reader. Unlike with writing, my progress was quantifiable: Now I can make a vase this tall. Now my handles are beautiful. Now I have made two things that more or less look like a pair.

Finally finding a hobby that was just for my own enjoyment was enjoyable. I enjoyed having something to do that didn't involve a screen and therefore felt far from the style of work to which I was most accustomed —hands covered in clay cannot swipe(滑屏) very well.

Making time for this also means carving out time, for creation and inspiration, and also for the rest that is required for me to reflect on my life. This is something I desire more than a new hobby. This is peace.

1. （1） What did cooking mean to the author in the past?

   A . It was her profession. B . It caused her to stress out. C . It was a relaxing amusement. D . It helped her bond with friends.
3. （2） What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

   A . The author enjoys the hands-on classes. B . The author is tired of ceramics classes. C . The author spends much time writing. D . The author is too lazy to learn ceramics.
5. （3） What did the author gain from the ceramics lessons?

   A . A career in making vases. B . A sense of success. C . A group of new friends. D . An enjoyable job.
7. （4） What's the writing purpose of this text?

   A . To introduce an interesting hobby. B . To share a story about a new hobby. C . To help readers choose a new hobby. D . To show the benefits of having a hobby.

 阅读理解

Young children are significantly more likely than adults to have their opinions influenced by robots according to a new research. The study, conducted-at the-University of Plymouth, compared how adults and children respond to an identical (相同的) task when in the presence of both their peers (同龄人) and robots. 

It showed that while adults regularly have their opinions influenced by peers, something also demonstrated in previous studies, they are largely able to resist being persuaded by robots. However, children aged between seven and nine were more likely to give the same responses as the robots, even if they were obviously incorrect.

The study asks people to look at a screen showing four lines and say which two match in length. When alone, people almost never make a mistake but when doing the experiment with others, they tend to follow what others are saying. 

When children were alone in the room in this research, they scored 87%on the test, but when the robots join in their score drops to 75%. And of the wrong answers, 74% matched those of the robot. 

Professor Belpaeme said, "People often follow the opinions of others and we've known for a long time that it is hard to resist taking over views and opinions of people around-us. But as robots will soon be found in the home and the workplace, we were wondering if people would follow robots. What our results show is that adults do not follow what the robots are saying. But when we did the experiment with children, they did. It shows children can perhaps have more of an affinity (亲和力)with robots than adults, which does pose the question: What if robots were to suggest, for example, what products to buy or what to think?"

1. （1） What did the adults do when staying with robots?

   A . They generally refused the robots' effects. B . They totally accepted the robots' suggestions. C . They tried to persuade robots to resist them. D . They usually compared robots with their children.
3. （2） Why did some children make more mistakes in the experiment?

   A . Because children were not as clever as the adults. B . Because robots reflected better than human beings. C . Because robots in the presence made mistakes. D . Because children wanted to affect the robots on purpose.
5. （3） What is Professor Belpaeme's attitude towards the result of the experiment?

   A . He is optimistic about the result. B . He is worried about the future. C . He doesn't care about the result. D . He doubts the result of the research.
7. （4） What should be followed after the last paragraph?

   A . What is the meaning of the research? B . What should adults do to avoid the problem? C . Why are children more likely to be influenced? D . What will be done to solve the problem?

 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。

With our lives becoming increasingly busy and stressful, it's easy to forget to check in on our mental well-being and to neglect our emotional health needs. So cultivating "self-compassion" is very important.

We're humans, not machines, and can't be completely together all the time. This helps us recognise the early warning signs that something is wrong like tearfulness and feeling overwhelmed.

We can then take action to improve our mental balance, which in turn can help us better cope with the challenges life throws at us. 

Doing just one small positive thing each day can make a big difference and be enough to restore a sense of balance.Or going for a walk in the fresh air and feeling the warmth of the sun. Or walking the dog.

Changing the way we tackle negative thinking also helps a lot. One technique is to stick to the facts about a particular situation rather than listening to negative thoughts and anxieties. So we can ask questions like: Is this true?Does this thinking benefit me or hinder me? Could I see it another way?

When we struggle to get to sleep, our minds can start to fill with anxious thoughts that make it even harder to doze off. Having a cool environment, not drinking caffeine past midday or banning mobile phones from the bedroom could be the changes you need.

A. How you set up your day?

B. Why am I seeing it like that?

C. Being a big advocate for helping others.

D. Having good-quality sleep can improve mental health.

E. Here are small but important steps that can ease the burden.

F. It might be simply like dancing around the house to expel nervous energy.

G. But we can monitor our mood and emotions to know what our "normal" is and if it's in need of a boost.

 阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

Three years ago, I spotted a video of someone making resin (树脂) art. He 1 poured and mixed colors together. I couldn't 2 thinking about its beauty for nights. Less than a month later, I ordered a beginner's resin kit to 3 .

When I was a kid, my artist grandmother taught me to 4 , and I've always enjoyed getting 5 and making things with my hands. The resin art videos 6 me to relight the childhood creativity that I had lost while working in London.

But it's more 7 than it looks. Resin s a heavy liquid that when applied can't be completely controlled. It was in those tougher moments that I 8 my artist grandmother, and our valuable moments spent painting together. Resin art was a 9 for me to honor her.

After I first 10  a picture of my work on my phone, my friends began 11  me for resin art. So I had an idea to make my artworks to be sold to the public and developed a resin art website. After 12  the first ones, I quickly sold out of them. Within a year, I had made over $2,600 13 , which I donated to charity. I even had my first display in Devon. I never thought it would turn into a life-changing 14 .

As long as there are people who'd like to buy my work, I'd like to make it. I pour colors from memories of beautiful places into my art, and I hope my grandmother would be 15 that I chose a life filled with more creativity.

 She is one of the most(有很大影响力的，有支配力的) figures in local politics. (根据汉语提示单词拼写)

 I offered to give them a lift but they  (谢绝). （根据汉语提示单词拼写）

 She soon acquired a  (名声) as a first-class cook. （根据汉语提示单词拼写）

 He  (使恢复精力) himself with a cool shower. (根据汉语提示单词拼写)