Playing is a serious business for children. In fact, it’s what they do best! Ask them why they do it, and kids will probably say, "Because it’s fun!" But it’s much more than that. It’s also good for them.

 Studies show that from birth babies begin learning through playing. They use their five senses to get to know their new world. Touching allows them to discover how different things feel. Brightly colored toys and clothing help develop a baby’s sense of sight.

   When small children choose which toy to play with, they begin developing their abilities in   making decisions. Children love toys that allow them to use their imagination. Sometimes an empty box is more fun than a high-tech (高科技) toy. That’s because a box can become anything a child imagines it to be.

   Crayons, paints and Ply-Doha（彩色塑泥） are also good because they allow children to create. Traditional building blocks teach important pre-math skills like problem-solving.

   Playing doesn’t become any less important once children start school.   ?    . Kids learn how to share, take turns and play by the rules（规则）．

1 Why is playing a serious business for children?

   A. Because it is fun.

   B. Because children like playing.

   C. Because children can get much more from playing.

   D. Because children make friends through playing.

2 Which sentence can be filled in the          ？

   A. Classroom is the most important place for children to learn life.

   B. Many useful lessons about life are learned on the school playground.

   C. Five senses are used in children’s study when they are at school.

   D. Children like to go to school if they can play on the school playground.

3 Which of the following is true?

   A. Arts can develop children’s creative ideas.

   B. Babies learn everything through playing.

   C. An empty box is less fun than a high-tech toy for children.

   D. Playing is no longer important for children after they start school.

4 What’s the passage mainly about?

   A. How to play with children.            B. How to develop children’s five senses.

   C. Playing is fun for children.            D. Playing is good for children’s development.

A Brown University sleep researcher has some advice for people who run high schools: Don’t start classes so early in the morning. It may not be that the students who nod off at their desks are lazy. And it may not be that their parents have failed to enforce(确保) bedtime. Instead, it may be that biologically(生物学上)these sleepyhead(贪睡者)students aren’t used to the early hour.

　　“Maybe these kids are being asked to rise at the wrong time for their bodies,” says Mary Carskadon, a professor looking at problem of adolescent (青春期的)sleep at Brown’s School of Medicine.

　　Carskadon is trying to understand more about the effects of early school time in adolescents. And, at a more basic level, she and her team are trying to learn more about how the biological changes of adolescence affect sleep needs and patterns(方式).

　　Carskadon says her work suggests that adolescents may need more sleep than they did at childhood, no less, as commonly thought.

　　Sleep patterns change during adolescence, as any parent of an adolescent can prove. Most adolescents prefer to stay up later at night and sleep later in the morning. But it’s not just a matter of choice---their bodies are going through a change of sleep patterns.

　　All of this makes the transfer(迁移)from middle school to high school---which may start one hour earlier in the morning----all the more difficult, Carskadon says. With their increased need for sleep and their biological clocks set on the “sleep late, rise late” pattern, adolescents are up against difficulties when they try to be up by 5 or 6 a.m. for a 7:30 a.m. first bell. A short sleep on a desktop may be their body’s way of saying. “I need a timeout.”

1.Carskadon suggests that high schools should not start classes so early in the morning because _______.

A．it is really tough for parents to enforce bedtime

B．it is biologically difficult for students to rise early

C．students work so late at night that they can’t get up early

D．students are so lazy that they don’t like to go to school early

2.The underlined phrase nod off most probably means _______.

A．turn around       B．agree with others   C．fall asleep         D．refuse to work

3.What might be a reason for the hard transfer from middle school to high school?

A．Adolescents depend more on their parents.

B．Adolescents have to choose their sleep patterns.

C．Adolescents sleep better than they did at childhood.

D．Adolescents need more sleep than they used to.

4.What is the test mainly about?

A．Adolescent health care.

B．Problems in adolescent learning.

C．Adolescent sleep difficulties.

D．Changes in adolescent sleep needs and patterns.

A young man was getting ready to finish school．For a long time he had looked forward to getting a beautiful sports car．He knew his father could well afford it, so he told him that was all he wanted．

    Then on the morning of his graduation（毕业）, his father called him into his private study．His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him．He handed his son a beautiful gift box．Surprised, the young man opened the box and found a lovely Bible（圣经） with his name on it．Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, “With all your money you give me a Bible?” He then rushed out of the house, leaving the Bible．

    Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business．He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but realizing his father was very old, he thought perhaps he should go to see him．He had not seen him since that graduation day．Before he could make arrangements（安排）, he received a phone telling him his father had passed away． He had to come home immediately and take care of the things that his father left his father left him．

    When he began to search through his father’s important papers, he saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago．He opened the Bible and began to turn the pages．As he was reading , a car key with a tag（标牌） dropped from the back of the Bible．On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words…”PAID IN FULL”．Sadness and regret filled his heart．

1． The underlined word “that” in Paragraph Ⅰ, means_______．

   A． a car                B． a box                 C． a Bible              D． a phone

2． The young man was angry on the morning of his graduation because ________．

   A． his father couldn’t afford a car       B． he had to stay in his study

C． he thought he only got a Bible         D． his father spent all the money

3． Which of the following isn’t mentioned in the third paragraph?

   A． The young man succeeded in his business．

B． The young man lived with his father all the time．

C． The young man decided to see his father．

D． The young man set up his own family．

4． It can be seen from the passage that the young man ________．

   A． came to know the truth at last           B． had to pay for the car himself

C． became interested in the Bible             D． got angry with his father again

The Green Magic Tree House, in India, is the perfect hotel for anybody who likes adventure（冒险）. Guests must drive for miles through the jungle to find it in the middle of tea and coffee plantation (种植园).
There are two tree houses to choose from, one 30 meters and the other 35 meters above the ground. Both houses have two floors. The bedrooms are above the living area and there are bathrooms and showers. You can get up to rooms and move between floors by using ladders (梯子). You can go from one tree house to the other on a rope bridge. The houses sometimes move about in the wind but the views are fantastic.
Guests can enjoy moving through the jungle, climbing in the mountains, and watching wildlife. There are many unusual plants, birds, and insects in the area.
The Ice Hotel is in Jukkasjarvi, a village in Sweden 200 kilometers north of the Arctic（北极）Circle. Every winter, a team of architects（建筑师）, designers and snow builders build the hotel. This year there are 80 rooms.
Everything is made of ice. The walls, the floors, the ceilings（顶棚）, and even the furniture are made of ice. The beds are made of ice, too, but guests sleep on warm deer skins. Outside it can be -37℃, so inside it feels quite comfortable. The hotel has a bar, where guests can drink vodka（伏特加） from glasses made of ice. It's very popular — because there isn't much else to do.
To spend a night at Jules Underwater Lodge in Florida, guests need to scuba dive (潜水) seven meters under the sea. They enter a small house through a door at the bottom of the building. Inside, the kitchen is stored with food and there is a fridge and a microwave oven(微波炉). There is a hot shower and comfortable beds and lots of books, DVDs and video games. Most guests, however, spend their time at one of the large windows watching different fishes swimming by.
【小题1】The writer tells us three ___________ hotels.