One of the most famous scientists to study adaptations(適應(yīng)能力) was Charles Darwin(達(dá)爾文). He was born in England in 1809. He wasn’t the best student in his school, but when he was 16, his father sent him to a medical school. Charles liked spending time outdoors observing(觀察) nature more than having medical classes. He dropped out without graduating.

Next, Charles’ father sent him to school to become a minister(牧師). This time he made it to graduation, but he didn’t want to do the work of a minister. His friends encouraged him to follow his interest in science.

Luckily, Charles was invited to sail on the Beagle as an unpaid scientist after graduation. The Beagle was to travel to South America and then around the world. Their task was to make maps of the places they visited.

On December 27th, 1831. Charles Darwin sailed from England on the Beagle. The trip was planned to last two years. In fact, it lasted five. During this time, he saw many amazing things. He collected lots of plants and animals and took them back to England to begin his scientific study.

Twenty-three years later, Darwin published a scientific paper with another man named Wallace. Darwin described how some animals have adaptations that help them survive. They are passed on to offspring(后代). Darwin’s ideas about adaptations are still very important to the study of living things.

1.Darwin was very interested in ____________.

A．having medical classes                   B．the work of a minister

C．sailing around the world                  D．science and nature

2.The trip on the Beagle lasted ____________ years.

A．five                                  B．four

C．three                                D．two

3.When Darwin published the scientific paper, he was ____________ years old.

A．twenty                               B．twenty-three

C．forty-five                              D．fifty

4.The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to ____________.

A．a(chǎn)daptations                            B．Darwin and Wallace

C．a(chǎn)nimals                               D．Darwin’s ideas

 

Bad teeth，a heavier body．．．a(chǎn)nd now，weaker bones（骨頭）．Recently American scientists have found another bad thing about cola--it's bad for our bones，especially women's bones．

Well，if cola is bad for us，how about energy drinks（功能飲料）? Energy drinks look cool．Their makers say they give you energy and make you better at sports．So，many students drink them before exams to help them stay awake．

But wait．To keep you awake，most energy drinks have a lot of caffeine（咖啡因）．They are like a strong cup of coffee or tea．If you drink a lot of them，Your heart will beat faster．You will feel nervous．You could also have sleeping problems and find it hard to live without them．Amanda Smith is a 16-year-old US junior high school student．She drinks one or more energy drinks every day．She started to do this a year ago before she danced．But now，Smith says，“I drink them whenever I feel weak or before a test．I cannot help drinking them．I find I'm addicted to them．”

The energy you get from the drinks helps for only a short time．You may feel good for an hour or so，but then you'll feel worse than before．

1．The main topic of this passage is ________．

A．how good energy drinks are                      B．ways to make bones strong

C．how energy drinks are made                       D．how harmful energy drinks are

2．We can learn from the first paragraph（第一段）that drinking cola ________．

A．helps lose weight                                     B．does harm to teeth and bones

C．keeps people healthy                                   D．helps kids grow tall

3．Why do people drink energy drinks?

A．Because they are said to make people energetic．

B．Because they are not expensive to buy．

C．Because they may make people's hearts stronger．

D．Because they may make people feel weak．

4．Which of the following statements is NOT true about energy drinks?

A．They can keep people awake．

B．They can make people feel good for some time．

C．They won't cause sleeping problems．

D．They are like a strong cup of coffee or tea．

5．What does the underlined word “addicted” mean in Chinese?

A．喜歡的                B．上癮的                C．感興趣的            D．緊張的

Sleep is very important. A person who does not sleep dies faster than a person who does not eat. We spend about a third()of our lives in sleep. That’s about 121 days a year!
How much sleep do we need? We are all different. A baby needs 16 hours of sleep every day. Children of 6 to 12 years of age need an average(平均)of 10 to 12 hours of sleep. Teenagers need 9 to 10 hours of sleep. An adult needs an average of 7 to 8 hours a day. There are some people who need only 3 hours of sleep; others need 10 hours of sleep. After the age of 50, the average sleep time goes down to 6.5 hours a day. We need less sleep as we get older.
About one in three Americans has a problem with sleep. Many of these people cannot fall asleep. The name for this problem is insomnia. Some people say, “I didn’t sleep all night.” But that’s not really true. They may sleep lightly and wake up several times. In the morning, they only remember the time they were awake, so they think they were awake all night.
This is not a new problem. Many famous people in history had insomnia. Some of these people had special ideas to make themselves sleep. Benjamin Franklin had four beds. He moved from one to the other to fall asleep. Mark Twain had a different way. He lay on his side across the end of the bed!
【小題1】How long do we spend in sleep a year?

A．Less than three months.	B．More than five months.
C．About four months.	D．Less than 2000 hours.

【小題2】If you are thirteen years old, you need at least __________ hours of sleep.

A．16

B．12

C．9

D．7

【小題3】What does the underlined word “insomnia” mean in this passage?

A．No sleep.

B．Fast sleep.

C．Slow sleep.

D．Sleep with many dreams.

【小題4】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．We will die soon if we don’t sleep well.

B．The older we get, the less sleep we need.

C．We can tell a person’s age from his sleep time.

D．Famous people move from one bed to the other to fall asleep.

【小題5】Which would be the best title for this passage?

A．Sleep less	B．Go to sleep
C．Age and sleep time	D．Famous people and sleep