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（心理療法）, 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.

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從短文后的選項中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項。選項中有兩項為多余選項。

“_____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（結(jié)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處語言錯誤，每句中最多有兩處。錯誤涉及一個單詞的增加、刪除或修改。

增加：在缺詞處加一個漏字符號（∧），并在其下面寫出該加的詞。

刪除：把多余的詞用斜線（\）劃掉。

修改：在錯的詞下劃一橫線，并在該詞下面寫出修改后的詞。

注意：1．每處錯誤及其修改僅限一詞。

      2．只允許修改10處，多者（從第11處起）不計分。

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

假設(shè)你叫李華，是校學生會主席。學生會決定于2009年9月16日~22日舉辦第三屆藝術(shù)周，請你根據(jù)以下內(nèi)容寫一份書面通知。

參賽方式：以班級為單位

活動內(nèi)容：書法，繪畫，短劇，歌舞，樂器表演等

評獎方式：由專家和學生組成評獎小組，根據(jù)班級總分，評出前六名；作為獎勵，前兩名將有機會代表學校參加省中學生藝術(shù)節(jié)。

報名時間：本周五之前

如有疑問，請聯(lián)系學生會。

注意：1．詞數(shù)：110個左右； 

2．開頭及結(jié)尾已經(jīng)給出，但不計入總詞數(shù)；

3．可適當增加細節(jié)，以使內(nèi)容連貫；

4．參考詞匯：省級的provincial   書法 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