Fighting to be stronger (P3)

I. Pre-reading

Discuss the following questions with your partner.

What sport interests you the most? Why do you like it?

II. Reading

Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions:

1. The author decided to take up wrestling because ____.

A. she had been interested in it when she was younger

B. she loved challenges and guessed it would be a good choice

C. she wanted to prove that the rumors about the coach were false 

D. she failed at field hockey and wanted to choose a simpler sport

2. When the author was first admitted to the wrestling team, ____.

A. she disliked the teaching methods of her coach

B. she got used to the tough training quickly

C. C.J. Estores was the only teammate who treated her kindly

D. most of her fellow team members doubted if she was serious

3. It can be inferred from the article that the author’s coach ____.

A. is tough and hard to please

B. doesn’t treat all his athletes equally

C. has helped the author become more confident as a wrestler

D. thinks female wrestlers should be given more care than males

Key:

1. B。由第三段“While the idea of joining something known to be harder than everything else stops some, it was exactly what I was looking for.”可知B为正确答案。

2. D。由第五段可知刚开始那些老队员认为作者可能只是玩玩而已，所以并不把她当一回事，，当作者跟C.J. Estores表明自己是认真的后，队员们就改变了对她的态度，所以D为正确答案。

3. C。由文章首尾两段可以推知C为正确答案。由文中“Henebry is close with most of his athletes. For me, he’s become like a second father”可知A项不对；B项文中没有提及；由倒数第三段可知作者的教练认为摔跤运动员的心理状态可能会因为性别而有差异，但是他觉得女性摔跤运动员并不能让这点差异影响自己去接受挑战，所以可以推知D不对。

III. Language study

Sentences:

1. While the idea of joining something known to be harder than everything else stops some, it was exactly what I was looking for.

While在这里表示“虽然，尽管”。例如：While some see the bright side of the policy, others worry that it will lead to a baby boom in China, putting pressure on food security, health, education and employment.

2. Henebry knows there’s a difference in mentalities (心态) between female and male wrestlers, but he never lets that stand in the way of giving me a challenge.

Stand in the way (of): 妨碍，阻住……的路。例如：No mountains or seas can stand in the way of the friendship between our two peoples.

3. He could have given the match to a boy on the team, but I was honored that my coach knew how the pressure of performing in front of my teammates would encourage me to fight harder.

Could have done在这里表示“原本可以做某事，但实际上没有做”。例如：He could have passed the exam, but he was too careless. 

Putting your brain to bed (P5)

I. Pre-reading

Discuss the following questions with your partner.

Ø  How long does it take you to fall asleep at night?

Ø  Do you find that you just aren’t sleepy enough when it’s time for bed?

Ø   If so, what do you usually do to help yourself fall asleep?

II. Reading

Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions:

1. What is the article mainly about?

A. A new way to treat sleep disorders.

B. The discovery of the sleep “homeostat”.

C. Advice on what to do when you fail to fall asleep.

D. A comparison of the two mechanisms that regulate sleep.

2. How does the author explain the function of the sleep homeostat?

A. Through examples.

B. With comparisons.

C. Through cause and effect analysis.

D. By presenting research findings.

3. What can we conclude from the article?

A. Generally, the sleep homeostat has less effect on people during the day than at night.

B. There is little scientists can do to affect the way the sleep homeostat works.

C. What makes us go to sleep at night is probably a combination of the two mechanisms.

D. The more homeostat neurons there are in one’s brain, the more easily one can fall asleep.

4. The underlined word “unravel” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ____.

A. put up with            B. figure out

C. keep track of          D. take notice of

Key:

1. B。由第二至四段可知本文主要介绍的是the sleep homeostat对于促进人们睡眠的影响，所以答案为B。

2. B。第四段里作者用the thermostat做类比来说明the sleep homeostat的功能，所以答案为B。

3. C。文章里没有比较the sleep homeostat在白天和晚上运行的差别，所以A不对；由倒数第二段可知Ｂ不对；倒数第三段提到了“The researchers found that the sleep homeostat works by activating a specific group of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain.”但这并不意味着动态平衡脑细胞越多，人们就更容易入睡。

4. B。句意为：弄清楚了睡眠动态平衡系统如何工作也许能帮助我们将来某天＿＿＿最古老的谜团之一。根据上下文可知这里表示unravel表示“揭开，弄明白”，故选B。

III. After reading

Fill in the blanks with proper words according to the article.

Key:

1. regulate           2. work         3. clock         4. light changes                5. daylight

6. keeps track of  7. rest           8. trick          9. activating               10. time

IV. Language study

1. You wish you could just turn your brain off as if it were a light.

句中使用了虚拟语气，wish后接的宾语从句中用“情态动词could+动词原形”表示与现在事实相反的假设；as if引导的方式状语从句中用一般过去时表示与现在事实相反的假设，由于从句谓语动词是be动词，不管主语是单数还是复数，在虚拟语气中更常用were。

2. Now that scientists have pinpointed the exact place in the brain – or, the “switch” – that regulates sleep, they can begin investigating ... so that people can be sent to sleep instantly.

本句的主干是：they can begin investigating how to activate these cells。Now that表示“既然”，在其引导的原因状语从句中，or, the “switch”为同位语，进一步说明the exact place in the brain所指的东西，破折号后的that引导定语从句，修饰the exact place in the brain。so that引导目的状语从句，说明科学家们想要通过研究如何激活这些神经细胞，以便于帮助人们很快入睡。

Loving your life (P6)

I. Pre-reading

We all go through tough times that frustrate, annoy or depress us. Did you ever experience a hard period that made you feel really low? How did you get through it?

II. Reading

Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions:

1. What happened to the author in 2012?

a. She lost her beloved sister.       

b. She lost her job.

c. Her father died of cancer.   

d. She picked up a serious illness.

A. a, b            B. a, c             C. b, d          D. c, d

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the article?

A. The author got along quite well with her sister and admired her for her determination.

B. Thanks to the support of her boyfriend, the author rebuilt her confidence and was able to continue her life.

C. The loss of her father and sister has made the author treasure her present life even more.

D. The author still finds it difficult to accept the fact that her father and sister have passed away. 

3. What message does the author mainly intend to convey with the article?

A. Nothing is more important than health in the world.

B. Your life depends on how you choose to live it.

C. It takes time to recover from the pain of losing someone you love.

D. Cherish every moment you spend with your family. 

Key：

1. B。由文中可知2012年作者的父亲与姐姐先后得癌症去世，作者也因为过度伤心而住院，所以B为正确答案。

2. C。由文中“I realized that night that I had a choice. I could end my life or I could live it. I looked in my sister’s eyes and decided not to go with her just yet. I decided to stay and complete my journey here. I also decided that I would live the life that I absolutely love and nothing less.”可以推知失去父亲和姐姐后，作者意识到要好好度过每一天，故C为正确答案。A项的admired her for her determination不对，因为作者欣赏的是她父亲的坚毅；作者不是因为她男友的鼓励才重建信心的，故B不对；作者已经能够坦然面对父亲和姐姐的离去了，所以D不对。

3. B。由首尾两段以及作者走出失去父亲和姐姐的痛苦的过程可知，作者写这个故事主要是要告知读者我们的生活取决于我们的选择，故B为正确答案。

III. After reading

Some quotations about battling tough times

When you go through a hard period,

When everything seems to oppose you,

…

When you feel you cannot even bear one more minute,

NEVER GIVE UP!

Because it is the time and place that the course will divert (转向)!

— Rumi (1207 –1273, a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, theologian)

“You have a choice. Live or die. 
Every breath is a choice. 
Every minute is a choice. 
Every time you don’t throw yourself down the stairs, that’s a choice. Every time you don’t crash your car, you re-enlist (重新入伍).” 

— Chuck Palahniuk (American novelist and freelance journalist)

“Finding happiness should not be seen as finding a needle in a haystack. Happiness is within. Each day is a blessing that brings an abundance of (许多) happiness. Therefore, finding happiness should be like finding a gift in a stack of gifts.” 

— Steve Maraboli (American author and speaker)

Writing:

Write a short article about one of choices you once made that had a positive effect on your life. Introduce what or who pushed you to make that choice and how it changed your life.