Module 1 Our Body and Healthy Habits

阅读理解提速练——练速度

(限时：20分钟)

A

(2016·衡水一中高考模拟)It is 7 am and the alarm is going off. You know you have to be out of bed to catch the bus. But the urge to bury yourself in the bed is ever so strong.

Sounds familiar? Why is it that teens find it difficult

to get themselves out of bed in time every morning or stay sharp and focused during the first couple of hours of school?

During adolescence, the body goes through many changes and these include a shift in sleep patterns. Researchers from MIT have been tracking the body's need for sleep in teenagers. They found that though adolescents need as much as 9.5 hours of sleep a day, they get to bed later and later with each passing year. In fact, the sleep cycle shifts later by as much as 12 to 18 minutes each year between the ages of 10 and 20! So by the time a 10-year-old who sleeps at 8 pm grows to be 17 or 18, his body naturally wants to stay up till 10：30 pm or 11 pm.

According to researchers, this is because of a hormone called melatonin (褪黑激素) that is secreted (分泌) by the pineal gland — a tiny structure deep inside the brain. Melatonin regulates the body's natural day-night rhythms. It causes a person to become sleepy by lowering his body's core temperature. In teens, melatonin is secreted much later in the evening and continues to increase throughout the night. This makes it difficult for teens to fall asleep earlier as they did in their younger years. Likewise, the effect of melatonin continues until much later in the morning, making it hard for them to wake up early.

A study found that at least one in four teens is tired and falls asleep in school at least once a week. During sleep, important body functions and brain activities happen. So how can teenagers get their sleep enough? The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that middle and high schools should start later — not before 8：30 am. This should give teens some more time to sleep at night. 语篇解读：本文是一篇说明文。早睡才能早起，晚睡会导致早上赖床，睡觉周期的改变实际上受制于大脑中一种被称为褪黑激素的荷尔蒙。

1．From Paragraph 2, we can learn that if you sleep late, the next day you should

1

________.

A．stay sharp C．get up late

B．skip breakfast D．stay up late

解析：选C 细节理解题。文章第一段提到为什么孩子们早上不愿起床，第二段紧接着分析原因，说明孩子们睡觉晚是他们早上赖床的原因，故C项正确。

2．What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 3 refer to? A．The students want to stay up. B．The shifts of the sleep cycle. C．The pineal gland secretes melatonin. D．The adolescents sleep late.

解析：选B 代词指代题。第二段提到了睡觉周期的改变，第三段紧接着解释造成这一现象的原因，因此this指睡觉周期的改变，故B项正确。

3．The teens go to sleep later than before because ________. A．melatonin is secreted much later B．melatonin regulates the sleep time C．they sleep a lot in the daytime D．they need to finish their homework

解析：选A 细节理解题。根据文章第三段中的“In teens, melatonin is secreted much later in the evening and continues to increase throughout the night.”可知，孩子们睡觉晚是由褪黑激素分泌晚造成的，故A项正确。

4．According to AAP's recommendation, middle and high schools should ________. A．let teens sleep in the day B．let the students be active C．delay the start time D．start later at 8 am

解析：选C 细节理解题。根据文章最后一段的倒数第二句话可知，APP建议初中和高中上午上课的时间应该推迟，故C项正确。

B

(2016·沈阳市高三质检)

Big messaging apps abroad

While WeChat is China's biggest mobile messaging app (应用软件), there are many equivalent apps in other countries that offer similar features.

WhatsApp (US)

Users: more than 300 million

2

Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry

Features: text chats, push-to-talk, file sharing, location sharing

With more than 300 million active users, WhatsApp is one of WeChat's biggest competitors. Developed by two ex-Yahoo employees in 2009, WhatsApp originally focused on text chats, but on Aug. 6 it also started push-to-talk service. It's noted for its accessibility, ease of use and the absence (没有) of adverts. The service is free for the first year, after which D|S0.99 (6.06 yuan) is charged for a one-year subscription.

Kakao Talk (South Korea) Users: more than 100 million

Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Bada (an operating system developed by Samsung)

Features: text chats, group chats, push-to-talk, group calls, file sharing With more than 100 million users in more than 230 countries, Kakao Talk is a multi-platform (多平台) texting application that allows users to send and receive messages for free. With Kakao Talk, users can message each other one-on-one or in group chats with unlimited numbers of friends. You can also choose from more than 250 animated emoticons and share them with friends.

Line (Japan)

Users: more than 200 million

Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and PC

Features: text chats, group chats, push-to-talk, file sharing, location sharing, gaming, stickers

Line tops the list of the most downloaded free apps in 52 countries. Apart from text and voice messaging, Line provides its users with more than 250 original stickers and emoticons to buy from its own shop. In the first quarter of 2013 alone, it made D|S17 million just from stickers. The popular app also allows friends to battle each other in the Line games.

语篇解读：本文是一篇应用文。主要介绍了国外几个较大的移动交流应用软件。 5．The first paragraph of the passage is used to ________. A．introduce the most popular mobile messaging apps in China B．talk about new features in the latest mobile messaging apps C．draw readers' attention to various popular mobile messaging apps D．explain how mobile messaging apps have become so popular

3