Even though global warming may have made the weather more mild, many animals are still hibernating（冬眠）. It’s too bad that humans can’t hibernate. In fact we almost did.
Apparently, at times in the past, farmers in France liked a semi-state of human hibernation. So writes Graham Robb, a British scholar who has studied the sleeping habits of the French farmers. As soon as the weather turned cold, people all over the France shut themselves away and practiced the forgotten art of doing nothing at all for months.
In line with this, Jeff Warren, a producer at CBC Radio’s The Current, tells us that the way we sleep has changed since the invention of lighting.
When historians began studying texts of the Middle Ages, they noticed something referred to as “first sleep”, which was not clarified, though. Now scientists are telling us our ancestors most likely slept in separate periods. The business of eight hours’ continuous sleep is a modern invention.
In the past, without the artificial light, humans went to sleep when it became dark and then woke themselves up around midnight. The late night period was known as “The Watch”. It was when people actually kept watch against wild animals, although many of them simply moved around or visited family and neighbors.
According to some sleep researchers, a short of insomnia（失眠）at midnight is not a disorder. It is normal. Humans can experience another state of consciousness（清醒状态）around their sleeping, which happens in the brief period before we fall asleep or wake ourselves in the morning. This period can be a creative time for some people.
Playing with your sleep rhythms（节奏）can be dangerous, as worry may set in. Medical science doesn’t help much in this case. It offers us medicines for a full night’s continuous sleep, which sounds natural; however, according to Warren’s theory, it is really the opposite of what we need.
【小题1】The late night was called “The Watch” because it was a time for people ______.

A．to set time to catch animals

B．to remind others of the time

C．to guard against possible dangers

D．to wake up their family and neighbors

【小题2】We can infer from the last paragraph that people should ______.

A．sleep in the way animals do

B．follow their natural sleep rhythms

C．keep to the eight-hour sleeping way

D．ask doctors for help if they can’t sleep

【小题3】What is the writer’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To throw new light on human sleep.

B．To encourage people to sleep less.

C．To give some suggestions on insomnia.

D．To find out people’s hibernating history.

Even though global warming may have made the weather more mild, many animals are still hibernating（冬眠）. It’s too bad that humans can’t hibernate. In fact we almost did.
Apparently, at times in the past, farmers in France liked a semi-state of human hibernation. So writes Graham Robb, a British scholar who has studied the sleeping habits of the French farmers. As soon as the weather turned cold, people all over the France shut themselves away and practiced the forgotten art of doing nothing at all for months.
In line with this, Jeff Warren, a producer at CBC Radio’s The Current, tells us that the way we sleep has changed since the invention of lighting.
When historians began studying texts of the Middle Ages, they noticed something referred to as “first sleep”, which was not clarified, though. Now scientists are telling us our ancestors most likely slept in separate periods. The business of eight hours’ continuous sleep is a modern invention.
In the past, without the artificial light, humans went to sleep when it became dark and then woke themselves up around midnight. The late night period was known as “The Watch”. It was when people actually kept watch against wild animals, although many of them simply moved around or visited family and neighbors.
According to some sleep researchers, a short of insomnia（失眠）at midnight is not a disorder. It is normal. Humans can experience another state of consciousness（清醒状态）around their sleeping, which happens in the brief period before we fall asleep or wake ourselves in the morning. This period can be a creative time for some people.
Playing with your sleep rhythms（节奏）can be dangerous, as worry may set in. Medical science doesn’t help much in this case. It offers us medicines for a full night’s continuous sleep, which sounds natural; however, according to Warren’s theory, it is really the opposite of what we need.
【小题1】The late night was called “The Watch” because it was a time for people ______.

A．to set time to catch animals

B．to remind others of the time

C．to guard against possible dangers

D．to wake up their family and neighbors

【小题2】We can infer from the last paragraph that people should ______.

A．sleep in the way animals do

B．follow their natural sleep rhythms

C．keep to the eight-hour sleeping way

D．ask doctors for help if they can’t sleep

【小题3】What is the writer’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To throw new light on human sleep.

B．To encourage people to sleep less.

C．To give some suggestions on insomnia.

D．To find out people’s hibernating history.

My teenage son Karl became withdraw after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent(缺席) 95 times from classes and has six falling grades for the year. At this rate he would never graduate(毕业), I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged(乞求) him. Nothing worked.
One night o felt so powerless that I got down on my knees(膝盖) and pleaded(恳求) for help. “Please God, I can’t do anything more for my son. I’m at the end of my rope(绳子). I’m giving the whole thing up to you.”
I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, I choked up and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. “I love my son but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands. “For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The headmaster seriously said, “Thank you for your time”, and hung up.
Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he even made the honor roll .In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were astonished at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded. “That was me. I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”
【小题1】 Which of the following has the similar meaning to the underlined word “withdrawn”?

A．Quiet and lonely.	B．Relaxed and excited.
C．Active and lively.	D．Happy and easy-going.

【小题2】When the mother said “It’s out of my hands” to the headmaster, she meant that she ______.

A．didn’t know what to do about her son

B．would drive her son away from the house

C．had no money to support the family

D．would have to hang up

【小题3】Who was it that telephoned Karl’s mother that day?

A．The headmaster	B．The school adviser
C．Karl himself	D．The passage doesn’t tell us

【小题4】From the passage we can learn that ______.

A．children in single-parent families always have mental problems

B．mother’s love plays an important role in teenagers’ life

C．parents should give their children everything that they need

D．school education still works well without the support from parents