A new school term begins, Is anything new at your school? Sichuan students are getting an extra (额外的)hour to sleep in the morning.
This year, Sichuan schools decided that students should start classes later. This should help them feel less tired, For Junior high schools, the first classes will begin no earlier than 8:30 am.
The changes have made students happy.
Liu Xian, 15, said his class was excited by the news on the first day of school. “It’s so good we can get up later!” said Liu.
Liu studies in Chengdu No.4 Middle School. He used to get up at 6:40 am. Now he can get up at 7:40 am because class doesn’t start until 8:40 am.
Wu Hongli, 15, said the new timetable is good for her health. “I used to drink coffee every night or I would feel to sleepy to finish my homework, ”said Wu. “Now I can finish it without coffee.”She used to get up at 6:30 am. Now she can get up at 7:30 am.
Wu Hongli’s mother was happy, too. She thought more sleep would help her daughter grow taller.
But some parents worried that more sleep would mean less learning. There used to be five classes in the morning. Now there are only four.
Many teachers, though, say the changes will help students learn better.
“Students used to doze(瞌睡)for the first two classes in the morning,”said Wu Zongping, an English teacher at Chendu No.12 Middle School. “But now they look fine and they learn much better than before.”
【小题1】What made the Sichuan middle school students happy?

A teacher began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it.  He held it up for all to see, and asked the students, " How much do you think this glass weighs?"

"50 g!" "100 g!" "125 g!" the students answered.

        "I really don't know unless I weigh it," said the teacher, "but my question is what would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?"

" Nothing! " the students said.

"OK. What would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?" the teacher asked.

"Your arm would begin to ache," said one of the students.

"You're right.  Now, what would happen if I held it for a day?"

"Your arm could go numb. Have to go to hospital for sure!" said another student. All the students laughed.

"Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?" asked the teacher.

"No." the students said.

"Then what caused the arm ache and the muscle (肌肉) stress?"

The students fell silent for a moment.

"Put the glass down!" said one of the students.

"Exactly!" said the teacher. "The problems of life are something like this. Hold them for a few minutes in your head, and it seems OK. Think of them for a long time and they begin to make you ache. Hold them even longer and you will not be able to do anything. It's important to think of the  challenges(挑战)  in your life, but it' s even more important to put them down at the end of every day before you go to sleep. That way, you are not stressed. You wake up fresh and strong and can deal with any challenge that comes your way!"

Remember to put the glass down today.

49. Why did the teacher hold up a glass in his class?

     A. Because he wanted to know how much the glass weighs.

     B. Because he wanted to ask some student to weigh the glass.

     C. Because he wanted to make his class more interesting.

     D. Because he wanted to ask his students a lot of questions.

50. In this passage, the underlined words "go numb" means_______.

     A．疼痛不止                  B．消瘦萎缩             C．松弛下垂    D．失去感觉

51. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

     A. The teacher told his students to face the challenges bravely.

     B. The teacher taught his students how to deal with the problems.

     C. The teacher used to begin his class with a glass of water.

     D. The teacher usually begins his class by holding a glass of water.