Student loan (贷款) debt has become a worldwide problem. In America, the country's overall student debt reached a record of $1.6 trillion in 2019. The average person with student loan debt owed between $20,000 and $25,000. A recent Japanese government report says it has been lending over $9 billion yearly to students since 2010. Similar conditions exist in Africa and South America.

Several factors account for high student loan debt. One is that employers everywhere have increased their demands for skilled workers, making higher education a requirement for many jobs. The students, however, after graduation, often find that their country's economy is not strong enough to support their financial needs, so their ability to pay back the loan becomes a problem.

To solve the problem, many countries are seeking their ways. Australia has developed a system where students do not have to pay anything back until they are earning at least $40,000 a year. In America, several candidates running for president in the 2020 election have offered more extreme solutions that all or at least some of these loans will be forgiven.

Some professors in several universities recently studied what the effects of debt forgiveness might be. They found that, overall, sudden debt relief greatly improved the borrowers' lives. Not only did they have more money, but they were more likely to move to a new area and seek better paying work.

Yet the professors' research doesn’t include what might happen to financial institutions or the overall economy if debt were totally forgiven. It only looks at how debt forgiveness would help the borrowers. They warn of some other possible negative effects. If a borrower knew that if he ran into any trouble he would be saved because he could get the debt relief, then he might actually become more reckless (轻率的) with his borrowing in the future.

No matter what, the professors agree that if countries do decide to approve some student debt relief the neediest students should be helped first.

1. What can we learn about student loan debt relief?

A．It will surely provide some benefits to borrowers.

B．It has already been carried out in the United States.

C．It aims to encourage more students to borrow money.

D．It will prevent a person from landing a well-paying job.

2. What is the professors' attitude to debt forgiveness?

A．Uncaring

B．Positive

C．Disapproving

D．Cautious

3. What's the main idea of the text?

A．Student loan debt is the most serious problem worldwide.

B．Growing global student debt fuels search for solutions.

C．Student loan debt tends to pull the needy out of trouble.

D．People hold different opinions on debt forgiveness.

Like a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been dull. E-books, however, are causing heartache. Libraries know they need digital wares, but many publishers are too cautious about piracy（盗版） and lost sales to co-operate. Among the big six, only Random House and Harper Collins license e-books with most libraries.

Publishers are wise to be nervous. Owners of e-readers（电子阅读器） are exactly the customers they need: book-lovers with money. If these people switch to borrowing e-books instead of buying them, what then? Electronic borrowing is awfully convenient. Unlike printed books, which must be checked out and returned to a physical library miles from where you live, book files can be downloaded at home. The files disappear from the device when they are due.

E-lending is not simple, however. There are lots of different and often incompatible（不兼容的）e-book formats devices and licenses. Most libraries use a company called OverDrive, which secures rights from publishers and provides e-books and audio files in every format. Yet publishers and libraries are worried by OverDrive’s global market dominance the company can control fees and conditions. Publishers were annoyed when OverDrive cooperated with Amazon, the world’s biggest online bookseller, last year. Owners of Amazon’s Kindle e-reader who want to borrow e-books from libraries are now redirected to Amazon’s website, where they must use their Amazon account to secure a loan.

According to Pew, an opinion researcher library users are a perfect for market for Amazon. Late last year Amazon introduced its Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, which lets its best customers borrow free one of thousands of popular books each month.

Library supporters argue that book borrowers are also book buyers and that libraries are vital spaces for readers to discover new work. Many were cheered by a recent Pew survey, which found that more than half of Americans with library cards say they prefer to buy their e-books.

So publishers keep adjusting their lending arrangements in search of the right balance.

Random House raised its licensing prices earlier this year, and Harper Collins limits libraries to lending its titles 26 times.

4. It can be inferred from paragraph 1 that __________.

A．libraries and publishers face the same problem of e-books’ piracy

B．libraries are eager to keep strong relationship with publishers

C．most publishers are hesitant to cooperate with libraries

D．several big publishers have sold e-books to libraries

5. Why are publishers worried that people will switch to electronic borrowing?

A．Book sales may drop sharply because of convenient electronic borrowing.

B．There are lots of different and incompatible e-book formats available

C．There is no time limit for the book files downloaded on the device.

D．E-books must be checked out and returned to libraries regularly.

6. We can learn from the passage that ________.

A．e-books can be lent at libraries as many times as you like

B．OverDrive distributes e-books and audio files to publishers

C．over half of Americans are borrowing e-books from libraries

D．Amazon is adopting measures to win more customers

7. What is the best title for the text?

A．The Hopeful Future of Publishing Business

B．The Uncertain Economics of Lending E-books

C．The Dull Relationship between Libraries and Publishers

D．The Close Cooperation between Over and Amazon

When I was 16years old and in foster care （非亲代养）in Tennessee，people told me I was unadoptable．But I desperately wanted a family．I sought the help of a judge，even the commissioner of the Department of Children's Services and was adopted just a week before my 18th birthday．

We have a lot to be grateful for and this holiday season .Let's not forget about the more than 415000 youth in foster care especially older youth．These youth are the most likely to get overlooked for adoption but they shouldn't be．They need and deserve a family just as much as young children do．Making an older youth a part of your family can bring just as much a joy as adopting a baby or a younger child-without all the diapers and potty training．

My adoption was life changing and probably the best thing that ever happened to me．I still remember the first gift my parents gave to me．It was a Mickey Mouse key chain with a key to their home．They told me that no matter what happened they would always love me and I'd always have a place to come home to．This is our 17th Thanksgiving together…

My first Thanksgiving with my family was a little overwhelming with lots of extended family including grandparents，aunts，uncles，and cousins．However，it's when I realized that I would never have to spend another holiday alone and that was truly an amazing feeling．

I was always eager to spend time with my little sister，Beth．She was six when I joined the family．My dad always says he knew we were really sisters，and I was no longer a guest in the house when Beth and I had our first fight．Today，she's one of my best friends，and I'm her biggest cheerleader．

There were also bittersweet Thanksgivings．One we spent in my mom's hospital room．It was there that she helped me plan my wedding but passed away three weeks before the ceremony，My dad walked me down the aisle，and my sister was my maid of hono,Because of our bond we were able to support each other through that challenging time and that's what family is for-the good and bad times．

It's nice having my dad and sister to share holidays and special occasions．But they're even more important when it comes to the little things like having someone to share my bad day with,celebrate my promotion at work，or help me think through a difficult decision．It's in these moments that I just can't imagine being alone in the world．

I'm so glad that I didn't listen to those people who said I was unadoptable，I'd never find a family，and that I was putting myself out there for rejection．It's a risk for older foster youth to consider adoption．It's an opportunity to be rejected once again． But it's a risk they should take because life doesn't end at 18．It's really just beginning．

If you know someone who might consider adopting an older teen，please share my story--and have him or her think of my family．They didn't get to see my first steps or watch me be a pilgrim in my second grade Thanksgiving play．But they taught me so many things about life and were there to watch me walk across the stage when I graduated from college and law school and accompanied me to the White House last year as I was honored for my work helping foster youth．

I look forward to many more Thanksgivings with my family and I'm eternally thankful they chose me to be a part of their family．

8. What does the author's personal experience indicate？

A．It's rather difficult for older youth to be adopted．

B．Older youth bring less joy than babies．

C．It's boring having a bittersweet Thanksgiving．

D．An older youth aged 18is too old to need a family．

9. What contributes to the author's feeling that she can't imagine being alone in the world？

A．The family's giving the author a Mickey Mouse as a gift．

B．The author's spending her Thanksgiving with her extended family for 17years．

C．The mother's failing to attend the author's wedding ceremony for her severe disease．

D．The family's always sharing happiness and sorrow with her．

10. The underlined sentence"It's an opportunity to be rejected once again．"in Paragraph 8means that___．

A．older teens take the opportunity to be adopted

B．older teens are less likely to be adopted

C．older teens create the opportunity to be adopted

D．older teens are in danger of being adopted

11. What's the author's main purpose of writing the passage？

A．To express her appreciation for her family．

B．To show sympathy to the unadoptable older youth．

C．To appeal to more people to adopt the older youth．

D．To persuade the readers not to believe others’ words.

Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life.

Thanks to a travel-inspired revelation(启发), Jay has been happily living a simpler life for 12years. "I always packed as lightly as possible, and found it exciting to get by with just a small carry-on bag," she told CNN. "I thought if it feels this great to travel lightly, how amazing would it be to live this way? I wanted to have that same feeling of freedom in my everyday life."

Jay decided to get rid of all her excess (额外的) possessions and live with just the essentials (必需品). "I wanted to spend my time and energy on experiences, rather than things."

Jay is a follower of a movement called "minimalism (极简主义)". Growing numbers of people have been attracted to this lifestyle all over the world. They share the same feeling of disappointment with modern life and a desire to live more simply. Minimalists are typically progressive and concerned about the environment, Leah Watkins, a lead researcher at Otago University in New Zealand, told Stuff magazine in March.

But many simply experienced unhappiness caused by owning too many possessions. Depression with the materialism of our world isn't new. English romantic poet William Wordsworth summed up how dispiriting (令人消沉的) this was back in 1802, at the beginning of the industrial age, when he wrote: "Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers". His preference was to go back to nature. Closer to our own times, the hippies (嬉皮士) of the 1960s also sought to “drop out” of modern life.

And for many minimalists, their key is to unload. Without objects, they "believe people are forced more and more into the present moment and that's where life happens," wrote Stuff.

But does simplicity ever feel like a sacrifice (牺牲)?

"It'seliminatingthe excess-unused items, unnecessary purchases-from your life. Well, I may have fewer possessions, but I have more space …Minimalism is making room for what matters most, " said Jay.

And "the real questions", according to Duane Elgin, US social scientist, are "what do you care about? " and "What do you value?"

He told CNN: "It's important for people to realize minimalism isn't simply the amount of stuff we consume. It's about our families, our work. our connection with the larger world, our spiritual dimension. It's about how we touch the whole world. It's a way of life. "

12. What inspired Francine Jay to live a simple life?

A．A book she came across.

B．Her desire to keep up with modern life.

C．The pleasure she enjoyed from traveling lightly.

D．A follower of minimalism she met on a trip.

13. According to Leah Watkins, a typical minimalist tends to___.
a. be fed up with materialism
b. like saving and visiting nature often
c. be angry about his or her current life
d. be environmentally friendly and live with fewer things

A．a, b

B．a, d

C．a, b, c

D．b, c, d

14. The underlined word "eliminating" in Paragraph 8 probably means___.

A．removing

B．distinguishing

C．accepting

D．improving

15. Which of the following would Duane Elgin probably agree with?

A．Minimalism is a healthy lifestyle that is in conflict with modern life.

B．Minimalism limits people's freedom to enjoy their lives to the fullest.

C．Minimalism enables people to reflect on what truly counts in their lives.

D．Minimalism means people have to sacrifice some pleasure to live simply.