【推荐1】A patient of mine, a bright young man, had quit college. Living with his parents, he was considering suicide (自杀) besides playing video games from day to night. Twenty years ago, I would have prescribed an antidepressant (抗抑郁药), while today, I recommended something different to him: a dopamine fast (多巴胺戒断). I suggested he give up all screens, including video games, for one month.

When people do something they enjoy, the brain releases a little bit of dopamine and they feel good. But one of the most important discoveries in the field of neuroscience in the past 75 years is that pleasure and pain are processed in the same parts of the brain and that the brain tries hard to keep them in balance. Whenever it tips in one direction it will try hard to restore the balance, according to neuroscientists, by tipping in the other.

Instantly dopamine is released, the brain adapts to it by reducing the number of dopamine receptors (受体), causing the brain to level out by tipping to the side of pain, which is why pleasure is usually followed by feeling low-spirited. Our brains evolved this balance over millions of years when pleasures were limited and dangers ever-present. The problem today is that we no longer live in that world but a world of overwhelming abundance. Yet increased access to addictive substances or activities has made us more miserable than ever before. Rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide are increasing all over the world, especially in rich nations.

It’s only after we’ve taken a break from the addiction that we’re able to see the true impact of our consumption on our lives. That’s why I asked my patient to give up video games for a month, enough time to allow his brain to reset its dopamine balance. If we can keep reducing phone use long enough, the benefits of a healthier dopamine balance deserve it.

1. What is the discovery in paragraph 2 about?

A．The function of dopamine.

B．The disadvantages of playing videogames.

C．The psychological problems in rich countries.

D．The brain’s ability to balance pleasure and pain.

2. What can be inferred from paragraph 3?

A．Rich nations have more suicide cases than poor ones.

B．Dopamine is released when people are down.

C．More depression occurs in the modern world.

D．People have less access to pleasures today than in the past.

3. Why did the writer advise the young man to give up his video games?

A．To rid him of the bad habit of consumption.	B．To help him regain the dopamine balance.
C．To prevent killing himself again.	D．To guide him to the true meaning of life.

4. What might we say about the writer?

A．He thinks medicine is useless.	B．He acts as a social worker.
C．He suffers from phone addiction.	D．He specializes in treating mental illnesses.

【推荐2】Before she leaves home in San Francisco, California, Jennifer Schaefer, puts on long sleeves and a big hat she calls her “personal umbrella.” With her fair skin, red hair, memories of bad childhood sunburn, and a family history of skin cancer, Schaefer is painfully aware of the danger of exposure to ultraviolet (紫外线) radiation, which accounts for the vast majority of skin cancers.

So she finds it unbelievable how few people bother with sun safety, with most preferring sun worship to sun protection. “In our culture, it's almost funny to be too protected,” she says, highlighting the way her friends tease her when she puts on her bathing suit—a protective “rash guard top” and knee-length board shorts. “We're slowly starting to become aware of the long-term effects of the sun, but it's like global warming—people are not going to make serious changes until they feel a direct impact.”

That impact has helped push Australians, who are famous for sun loving, into changing their behavior. With its high solar ultraviolet levels and mostly fair-skinned population, Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. But after decades of increase, the melanoma(黑色瘤) rate began to stay at a steady level in the mid 1990s. The incidence of melanoma among young people is now falling, as national surveys show that most Australians-more than 70% of adults and 55% of adolescents—no longer prefer a tan (棕褐色).

A 2013 study shows that, in addition to Australia, a handful of countries—notably New Zealand, Canada, Israel, Norway, the Czech Republic(or women) and the United States (for white men) —have melanoma rates that are decreasing or stabilizing among young people.

Back in San Francisco, Jennifer Schaefer is doing her best to educate the next generation. Her eldest daughter automatically puts on a hat to go outside. “Habits really start in children—it is like brushing your teeth,” she says.

1. By describing Schacfer's bathing suit, the author suggests that Schaefer ________.

A．does not mind the teasing by her friend

B．attaches great importance to sun protection

C．goes to extreme measures to avoid the sun

D．is more interested in surfing than sunbathing

2. What do New Zealand and Canada have in common?

A．Sun protection programs are developing quickly.

B．Their citizens prefer to be pale rather than get tanned.

C．Skin cancer rates are not increasing among the young.

D．Women and white men have the lowest rates of melanoma.

3. What's the purpose of the text?

A．To help individuals know how to make medical decisions.

B．To call for more research into ultraviolet radiation effect.

C．To draw the public's attention to ultraviolet radiation effect.

D．To honor a mother for her research into ultraviolet radiation

【推荐3】Sure, it’s good to get along with your teacher because it makes that time you spend in the classroom more pleasant. And yes, it’s good to get along with your teacher because, in general, it’s smart to learn how to relate to the different types of people you’ll meet throughout your life.
But really, there’s one super-important reason why you should get along with your teacher. Kids who get along with their teachers not only learn more, but they’re more comfortable asking questions and getting extra help. This makes it easier to understand new material and do your best on tests. When you have this kind of relationship with a teacher, he or she can be someone to turn to with problems, such as problems with learning or school issues, such as bullying.
As a kid in elementary or middle school, you’re at a wonderful stage in your life. You’re able to take in lots of new and exciting information. Apart from that, you’re able to think about all this information in new ways. Your teacher knows that, and in most cases, he or she is thrilled to be the person who’s giving you all that material and helping you put it together. Remember, teachers are people, too, and they feel great if you’re open to what they’re teaching you. That’s why they wanted to be teachers in the first place to teach!
Some kids may be able to learn in any situation, whether they like the teacher or not. But most kids are sensitive to the way they get along with the teacher, and if things aren’t going well, they won’t learn as well and won’t enjoy being in class.
1. Paragraph 2 mainly talks about_______.

A．new materials learned from teachers

B．ways to develop relationship with teachers

C．benefits in getting along with teachers

D．avoiding problems happening around kids

2. What’s the writer’s attitude towards getting along with teachers?

A．Doubtful.	B．Objective.
C．Uncaring.	D．Favorable.

3. What can we know from the passage?

A．Kids are unable to understand lots of exciting information.

B．Kids are bullied while communicating with others in schools.

C．Kids will leave the class when not doing quite well with their teachers.

D．Kids will leave the class when not satisfied with teachers’ teaching methods.

4. The passage is most probably taken from______.

A．children’s literature	B．an education magazine
C．a science report	D．an advertisement

【推荐1】A man walked into a small Irish pub and ordered three beers. Bartender was surprised, but he served that man three beers. One hour later the man ordered three beers again. The very next day that man ordered three beers again and drank quietly at a table. This repeated several times and shortly after the people of the town were whispering about the man, who was ordering three beers at once.
A couple of weeks later, the bartender decided to clear this out and inquired: “I do not want to pry, but could you explain, why do you order three beers all the time?” The man replied: “It seems strange, isn’t it? You see, my two brothers live abroad at the moment, one – in France and another – in Italy. We have made an agreement, that every time we go to pub each of us will order extra two beers and it will help keeping up the family bond ”.
Soon all the town have heard about the man’s answer and liked it a lot. The man became a local celebrity. Residents of the town were telling this story to newcomers or tourists and even invited them to that pub to look at Three Beer Man.
However, one day the man came to pub and ordered only two beers, not three as usual. The bartender served him with bad feeling. All that evening the man ordered and drank only two beers. The very next day all the town was talking about this news, some people pray for the soul of one of the brothers, others quietly grieve.
When the man came to pub the next time and ordered two beers again, the bartender asked him: “I would like to offer condolences to you, due to the death of your dear brother”. The man considered this for a moment and then replied: “Oh, you are probably surprised that I order only two beers now? Well, my two brothers are alive and well. It‘s just because of my decision. I promised myself to give up drinking.”
1. The man ordered three beers all the time because _______.

A．people were fond of drinking beers in this pub.

B．he missed his two brothers living abroad very much.

C．this would help him become a local celebrity.

D．it was an agreement with his brothers to keep up the family bond.

2. We can infer from the passage that______.

A．news traveled fast in the town.

B．the man became famous in the town because he was a heavy drinker

C．the man’s brothers liked drinking beer very much

D．the man was strong-minded to give up drinking

3. The bartender served the man with bad feeling because ________.

A．he thought the man should order three beers

B．he thought one of the man’s brothers had passed away

C．he would earn less money

D．the man decided to drink two beers

4. The underlined word “condolences” in the last paragraph can be replaced by______.

A．gratitude

B．sympathy

C．appreciation

D．surprise