【推荐1】One of the most efficient ways to achieve peace and speed up economies (经济) is to provide girls with better education and more rights. Today, girls’ lack of access (进入) to basic education is getting more serious when it comes to the use of digital (数码的) technology, leaving them far behind boys. And because the world is even more digital, those who lack basic internet skills will find it increasingly more difficult to take part in the formal economy, to get a quality education, and to have their voices heard.

Since 2013 the global gender gap (性别差异) in male and female access to the Internet has actually increased from 11 to 12 percent. Worse yet, women and girls living in the poorest countries are 31 percent less likely than men and boys to have access to the Internet. In developing countries, some 200 million fewer women than men own a mobile phone, the most common means of internet access there. This digital divide is increasing, and should it continue at the present pace, it is projected that over 75 percent of women and girls will lack internet access and digital skills.

There are many causes of the digital gender gap. They include girls’ exclusion (排斥) from basic education, from specific technology education and high costs of mobile phones and internet access.

Indeed, one of the so-called reasons why girls may be discouraged from learning how to access and use digital technology is also a groundless one: that girls are simply not good at using technology.

Without the help of the government, most of the benefits of technological change will be enjoyed only by men, exacerbating gender inequality.

1. What does the passage mainly tell us?

A．Women suffer a lot from the poor economy.

B．Digital technology is greatly beneficial to men.

C．The digital gender gap needs to be closed.

D．Girls are lacking in basic education.

2. How is Paragraph 2 organized?

A．By giving reasons.	B．By giving numbers.
C．By following time order.	D．By giving examples.

3. What is the writer’s attitude to the idea that girls are simply not good at using technology?

A．Positive.	B．Negative.
C．Acceptable.	D．Unconcerned.

4. What does the underlined word “exacerbating” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．worsening	B．causing
C．reducing	D．improving

【推荐2】Your smartphone breaks. The repair costs too much money. So you give up and buy a new device (设备). That this happens so often is no coincidence (巧合).

Many big device makers are putting more new products on the market. But they do not sell specialized tools and parts needed for repairs. And they offer no instruction on how to repair their products. As a result, the independent repair shops in your neighborhood find they cannot repair your broken smartphone. You can only go to faraway authorized (经授权的) repair shops to get the necessary repair service, which is often expensive.

In recent years, some producers have taken steps to make repairs easier, but there’s a growing effort across the world to push them to do more. Some time ago, the “Right to Repair” movement heard good news from the White House. The president of the US on Friday signed an order aimed at encouraging healthy competition in the US economy. It includes a condition for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC was asked to make rules preventing producers from limiting independent device repair shops and DIY repairs.

“Right to Repair” is a global movement to make sure everyone has the right to fix the products they own. The idea has generally come from the United States. The earliest known published reference using the group of words comes from the auto industry dating back to 2003. Its supporters require companies to provide their parts, tools and information for consumers (消费者) and repair shops. They also encourage the government to make laws to force producers to increase device reparability (维修性).

The FTC in May presented a 56-page report. It said that “many consumer products have become harder to fix. ”The report also found that “the burden (负担) of repair limits may fall more heavily on communities of color and consumers having little money” because many independent repair shops are owned by people of color and because high-cost repairs hit low-paid consumers harder.

1. What problem does the author discuss in paragraph 2?

A．Electronic products’ quality is low.

B．The repair market makes little money.

C．The prices of new devices keep rising.

D．Customers have difficulty repairing devices.

2. What is the US government’s attitude to the “Right to Repair” movement?

A．Doubtful.

B．Uncaring.

C．Supportive.

D．Concerned.

3. In writing paragraph 4, the author aims to ________.

A．raise a problem.	B．reach a conclusion.
C．give background information.	D．introduce a discussion topic.

4. What can we learn about the movement from the last paragraph?

A．It may especially benefit the poor.

B．It will help reduce production costs.

C．It was started by communities of color.

D．It is supported by authorized repair shops.

【推荐3】In an ideal world, we might be able to live free from discrimination. But not this one, in which we are constantly dividing everything into “us" and “them".

This is especially true during times of fear, like now, when the novel coronavirus is spreading across China and the world. It's a time when “us" means safe and clean while “them" means infectious and risky. Or at least we'd like to believe so.

But this is actually a misbelief, which has been fueled and promoted by fear, and sadly, the media. When the outbreak first started, the term “Wuhan virus" was used in some news, creating hostility （敌意）toward people from Wuhan and Hubei as a whole. There were reports of hotels refusing to accept guests from Hubei and some hospitals denied their entry even when they needed treatment for other medical problems.

Elsewhere in the world, German magazine Der Spiegel labeled the virus on its cover as “Made in China". Australia's Herald Sun, meanwhile, printed, “China Kids Stay Home" on its front page, implying that all kids from China are carriers of the virus. It's also reported that Chinese people overseas have faced harassment （骚扰）and even violence.

This kind of misbelief is exactly why and when the World Health Organization （WHO） was trying to come up with a name for the disease, it had to be careful. “We had to find a name that did not refer to a geographical （地理的）location, an animal, an individual or group of people," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO, on Feb 11. And COVID-19 was the final decision.

World leaders and institutes are also sharing sensible voices. "There is no place in our country for discrimination driven by fear or misinformation," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a Lunar New Year celebration in Toronto on Feb 2. Cornell University also sent an email to students and faculty, saying, “We need to remember to care for one another and not make assumptions about others' symptoms or any characteristics of identity."

It's understandable that during times like this, we want to go to extreme lengths to make sure we're safe. But fear is never part of the cure. Only love and independent thinking takes you further.

1. What is the main purpose of Paragraphs 3 and 4?

A．To explain what has brought about misbelief.

B．To show how some news media misled the public.

C．To compare how different countries responded to COVID --- 19.

D．To present what Chinese people overseas suffer from COVID --- 19.

2. Justin Trudeau and Cornell University are quoted in the text to   .

A．show positive attitudes in face of COVID ---19

B．explain why it is important to prevent discrimination

C．describe different opinions of the influence of the virus

D．introduce measures taken by foreign countries to fight COVID---19

3. What's the attitude of the author towards "discrimination"?

A．Neutral.

B．Supportive.

C．Opposed.

D．Unconcerned.

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．We should always be willing to care for others.

B．Fear and discrimination are as contagious as a virus.

C．We shouldn't let misinformation influence our own judgment.

D．The media should give people confidence during times of fear.

【推荐1】Schools are under constant pressure to make budget cuts, and music programs are often first on the chopping block. However, a recent study from the University of British Columbia in Canada has shown that students who took music lessons in high school performed better in subjects such as English, science, and math.

The researchers collected data from over 100,000 students at public high schools across the province of British Columbia. Some of them took music lessons during high school while others never attended them. Checking the test scores of students who took music classes with those of their peers, the study found that the musicians got higher grades in a range of different school subjects.

Research like this has been done before, but as for the number of respondents, this study is much larger, and it took into account other factors that may have affected the results. For example, perhaps students who took music classes were encouraged to do so because they already had good grades. This UBC study rules out a number of other factors that could explain why music students performed better academically, and the researchers still find a clear effect of music lessons on academic performance.

Not only did music students perform better than non-musicians, but students who played an instrument did even better than those who sang. “Learning to play a musical instrument and playing in an ensemble(乐团) is very rewarding,” says Martin Guhn, one of the researchers, “A student can learn to read music notes, achieve eye-hand-mind coordination, develop keen listening skills and establish interpersonal relationships.”

What this study doesn't tell us, though, is why music makes these students perform better academically, but the research paper mentions a few possible explanations. Music practice is linked with neurological(神经系统的) changes that improves certain brain functions, affecting memory and planning skills. Besides, there is a possible motivational factor. Students who take music lessons see a tangible result from practice—they get better—and they might apply that to their other work. And the non-competitive team aspect of making music together could strengthen students' social development, which would also help them in other alias.

1. How did the researchers find the result of the research?

A．By conducting tests.	B．By analyzing causes.
C．By making comparisons.	D．By building models.

2. How is the recent study different from previous ones?

A．It covered more school subjects.

B．It allowed for students who sang.

C．It was carried out nationwide.

D．It produced a more convincing result.

3. Why did the author mention Martin Guhn's words in Paragraph 4?

A．To speak highly of music students.

B．To explain why music helps students perform better.

C．To present the benefits of playing instruments.

D．To encourage students to join an ensemble.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Music practice can make an overall improvement in students’ brain.

B．Progress made in music may motivate students to work harder in math.

C．Singing can't make any difference in improving students' memory.

D．Playing in an orchestra could make students less competitive in other fields.