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　　it is 7 am and the alarm

　　[2015河南洛阳第二次统一检测] It is 7 am and the alarm is going off. You know you have to be out of bed to catch the bus. But the urge to bury yourself in the bed is ever so strong. Sounds familiar? Why is it that teens find it difficult to get themselves out of bed in time every morning or stay sharp and focused during the first couple of hours of school?

　　During adolescence,the body goes through many changes and this includes a shift in sleep patterns. Re?searchers from MIT have been tracking the body's need for sleep in teenagers. They found that though adolescents need as much as 9. 5 hours of sleep a day,they get to bed later and later with each passing year. In fact,the sleep cycle shifts later by as much as 12 to 18 minutes each year between the ages of 10 and 20!So by the time a 10-year-old child who sleeps at 8 pm grows to be 17 or 18,his body naturally wants to stay up till 10:30 or 11pm.

　　According to researchers,this is because of a hor?mone called melatonin (褪黑激素) that is secreted (分泌) by the pineal gland—a tiny structure deep inside the brain. Melatonin regulates the body's natural day-night rhythms. It causes a person to become sleepy by lowering their body's core temperature. In teens， melatonin is se?creted much later in the evening and continues to increase throughout the night. This makes it difficult for teens to fall asleep earlier as they did in their younger years. Like-wise,the effect of melatonin continues until much later in the morning,making it hard for them to wake up early.

　　A study found that at least one in four teens is tired and falls asleep in school at least once a week. During sleep,important body functions and brain activities hap?pen. So how can teenagers get their sleep enough? The A-merican Association of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that middle and high schools should start later―not before 8:30 am. This should give teens some more time to sleep at night.

　　20. From Paragraph 2,we can learn that if you sleep late,the next day you should .

　　A. stay sharp B. skip breakfast

　　C. get up late D. stay up late

　　21.What does the underlined word "this" in Paragraph 3 refer to?

　　A. The students want to stay up.

　　B. The shifts of sleeping cycle.

　　C. The pineal gland secrets melatonin.

　　D. The adolescents sleep late.

　　22. The teens go to sleep later than before because .

　　A. melatonin is secreted much later

　　B. melatonin regulates the sleep time

　　C. they sleep a lot in the daytime

　　D. they need to finish their homework

　　23. According to AAP's recommendation,middle and high schools should .

　　A. let teens sleep in the day

　　B. let the students be active

　　C. delay the start time

　　D. start later at 8:00 am

　　[文章大意]这是一篇科技类文章。文章主要说明了青少年产生早晨贪睡问题的生理原因。文中给出的建议是让学校晚点儿上课，这样孩子们就能保证有充足的睡眠。

　　20. C推理判断题。根据第二段的"They found that though adolescents need as much as 9. 5 hours of sleep a day,they get to bed later and later with each passing year."可知，如果你晚上睡得很晚，为保障充足的睡眠，第二天你应该晚点儿起床。故选C.

　　21. B代词指代题。根据文章第二段的"In fact,the sleep cycle shifts later by as much as 12 to18 minutes each year be?tween the ages of 10 and 20 !"和第三段第一句话中的"Ac?cording to researchers"-"可知,this代表的是shifts of sleep?ing circle ,故选B.

　　22. A细节理解题。根据文章第三段的"In teens,melatonin is secreted much later in the evening and continues to increase throughout the night. This makes it difficult for teens to fall asleep earlier as they did in their younger years.”可知，青少年睡得比以前晚是因为褪黑激素分泌得晚了。故选A.

　　23. C细节理解题。根据最后一段的"The American Associa-tion of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that middle and high schools should start later--not before 8:30 am."可知，文中所给出的建议是推迟中学的上课时间，特别是早上上课最好不早于8点30分，故选C.

本文来源：http://www.gbppp.com/jy/285585/