But in fact there are clocks in nearly every cell in the body. They help prepare us for the day’s chores by adjusting blood pressure and body temperature among other things. Experts are now looking at whether our eating habits—including irregular mealtimes and eating too late—are far from optimal（最优化） for our inner rhythms.
Dr. Jonathan Johnston from the University of Surrey said although studies suggest our bodies are less good at handling food in the evening, it was not yet understood why this is. One theory is that it’s linked to the body’s ability to use energy—you use more of it in the morning compared with if you eat in the evening. Properly understanding the link between when we eat and our health is important because it could have significant effect on helping to deal with the obesity epidemic.
So should we all start eating earlier? Both Dr. Johnston and Dr. Pot said the evidence suggested we should be consuming more of our calories earlier, for instance by making lunch the biggest meal. However, Prof Alexandra Johnstone is slightly more cautious. She says that while there are studies showing that changing our mealtimes earlier might improve out health, she’d like to see a clearer explanation of what’s causing this and she hopes forthcoming research can show this and lead to clear guidance for people around when to eat. 24. What do we learn from the old saying? A. Watch weight every day.
B. Mind your manners at table.
D. Set the main meal earlier in the
C. Eat as many calories as possible. day.
25. What is the function of the body clock? A. To get us ready for everyday tasks. C. To decide our sleeping pattern.
B. To prevent irregular mealtimes. D. To reduce blood pressure.
26. The body might process food efficiently in the morning because ________? A. the food is easy to digest C. the body spends more energy
B. the food is highly nutritious
D. the body functions well enough
27. What does Prof Alexandra Johnstone think of the mealtime change? A. Its benefit needs more evidence. C. It is hard to say when to ear.
B. It offers health guidance. D. It leads to nowhere.
C
I was somewhere in the remote Westfjords, in Iceland’s north-west corner, when the engine of our car stopped. It was late September and the roads were crowded It happened twice more as I drove back to our base. The moment I got back to my apartment, I called the car rental company. Unfortunately, the town’s repairman wouldn’t be available before I was due to drive back to Reykjavik.
“Well,” said the car rental agent, “?etta reddast!”
A quick Google search informed me that ?etta reddast means “it’ll all work out in the end”. The phrase near-perfectly sums up the way Icelanders seem to approach life: with a relaxed, easy-going attitude and a great sense of humour.
At first glance, it seems a strange belief for a place where many things absolutely do not work out all right. Iceland has 30 active volcanoes, of which 13 have erupted since the settlement of Iceland. It has an average of 500 small earthquakes every week. Windstorms can reach hurricane force, and, on the darkest winter days, the sun shines for just four hours.
Maybe it make sense that in such a place, Icelanders have learned to give up control, leave things to fate and hope for the best. For them, ?etta reddast is an admission that sometimes you must make the best of what you have.
“?etta reddast represents a certain optimism that Icelanders have. With the conditions we live under, we’re often forced to make the impossible possible.” Aueur ?sp, owner of I Heart Reykjavik tour campany said.
And in many cases, Icelanders have made the impossible possible. They turned the volcanic eruptions in 2010 into opportunities that made Iceland one of the hottest destinations in the world, attracted millions of visitors and turned tourism into one of the main drivers of the country’s economy.
It seems the Icelandic belief also comes with a little effort of the believer. For me, that meant trusting that everything would work out on my drive back to Reykjavik.
28. Why did the author call the car rental company? A. To rent another car.
B. To drive to Westfjords.
C. To get the car repaired. D. To avoid crowded roads.
29. “?etta reddast” can be used to ________? A. offer comfort C. express thanks
B. receive praise
D. give suggestions
30. What leads to Icelanders’ belief of “?etta reddast”? A. The natural scenery. C. Their sense of humour.
B. The tough environment.
D. Their desire for control.
31. What can we learn about the 2010 volcanic eruptions? A. They left Iceland warmer.
B. They made the impossible possible.
D. They contributed to Iceland’s
C. They ruined Iceland’s tourism. economy.
D
The world’s most popular animals are in more danger than we realize. A recent survey suggests many people are unaware that the animals they consider “charismatic” are under threat in the wild. These include lions, elephants, tigers and other animals, which frequently appear in branding and advertising. The idea of “charismatic” species has come up recently in conservation biology. As there is a regular claim that the most popular species get most of the time and resources, Dr. Courchamp started wondering whether that was true and followed by better results in conservation.
Using an online survey available in four languages, he asked the public to name the wild species they considered most attractive. Additionally, he had volunteers in France record their meeting with “virtual” populations of the attractive animals over the period of a week. They experienced an average of 4.4 lions in logos, cartoons, magazines and other sources each day, suggesting that people are likely to see two to three times as many “virtual” lions in a year as there are lions in West Africa. “Mostly I think because people see giraffes and lions every day of their life, they unconsciously think they are in abundance,” Dr. Courchamp said.
When survey participants were asked whether they thought these animals were endangered, the results were really surprising. Almost half of them thought that critically endangered gorillas were not under threat. But conservation biologist Dr.
Sarah Durant cautious that this doesn’t yet establish “a causal relationship between seeing the species frequently in society and whether that relates to our little understanding of their endangerment.”
Time is certainly short for some of the animals on the list. Ecologists predict that, without sustained （持续的）conservation efforts, elephants will become extinct in the wild within a century. Dr. Courchamp feels that more needs to be done. “At the moment we are doing first aid on species that are close to the point of dying. We are just pushing the day they go extinct in the wild; we are not saving them.” 32. Which of the following best explains “charismatic” underlined in Paragraph 1? A. Dangerous.
B. Attractive. D. Extinct.
C. Profitable.
33. What can we learn from Paragraph 2? A. There are many giraffes in Africa. media.
C. Volunteers play a key role in the study. D. France is rich in virtual sources.
34. What can we infer from the last paragraph? A. Popular animals are endangered.
B. Animal conservation takes time. D. Conservation efforts are
B. Lions are a common choice in
C. Medical first aid matters to animals. limited now.
35. What can be a suitable title for the text? A. Better Understanding A Must
B. Animals at Serious Risk D. Conservation in Urgent Need
C. Animal Popularity A Disadvantage 第二节 (共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分)
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
When we think about gardening, our thoughts usually head toward spring and summer. 36 You simply need to understand what to plant, when to plant it and how to keep the best possible growing conditions in your home.
Which Plants Can Grow Best Indoors?
37 It is a common temperature range for human comfort. In this type of
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