In the third century BC, the full stop, or period, was introduced by Greek literary critic Aristophanes of Byzantium. This punctuation mark is used to show the end of a sentence.
However, the full stop has a different meaning to teenagers and those in their early 20s, who interpret this punctuation mark as a sign of anger. And there is a reason for that.
The younger generation has grown up using the texts as their primary means of communication.
When sending messages, they tend to break up their thoughts by sending each one as a separate message, instead of using a full stop. Some have said the full stop is redundant when used in texting because the message is ended just by sending it.
According to the Telegraph, linguist Lauren Fonteyn of Leiden University in the Netherlands, tweeted: “If you send a text message without a full stop, it's already obvious that you've concluded the message.” “So if you add that additional marker for completion, they will read something into it and it tends to be a falling intonation or negative tone.”
David Crystal, one of the world's leading language experts, argues that the usage of full stops is being “revised in a really fundamental way”. In his book Making a Point, he says that the punctuation mark has become an “emotion marker" that reminds the recipient that the sender is angry or annoyed.
Though the full stop has taken on a different meaning to the younger generation, experts noted that it is important to take context into account. For example, using full stops in an email is perfectly acceptable and is not considered rude.
1. What does the underlined word "redundant" probably mean?| A．Clear. | B．Unacceptable. | C．Unnecessary. | D．Old-fashioned. |
| A．Using the full stop improves communication. |
| B．The usage of the full stop is changing for the worse. |
| C．A text message is quite different from spoken language. |
| D．The full stop in text messages can show senders' emotions. |
| A．Consider different situations. | B．Check who the recipient is. |
| C．Take it as an “emotion marker”. | D．Follow the culture of the young generation. |
| A．The history of punctuation marks. | B．A new meaning to the full stop. |
| C．Correct ways to use the full stop. | D．Different views on punctuation marks. |
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【推荐1】People speak English in different parts of the world. The same words can be used in different ways, depending on where you live. People can also have completely different ways of saying the same thing.
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is asking the public to help it add new words. Editors want to find the regional differences in English around the world. They want to expand its record of the language.
Last year, the OED, BBC Radio and the Forward Arts Foundation teamed up to find local words in the United Kingdom. It resulted in more than 100 regional words and phrases being added to the dictionary. One was “cuddy wifter”, which means “a left-handed person”.
Now, the OED is widening its search to English speakers around the world. Eleanor Maier, an editor at OED, said the response has been great. Editors are listing a bunch of suggestions to include in the dictionary.
These include Hawaii’s “hammajang”, which means “in a disorderly state”. Another is the word for a swimming costume, “dookers” or “duckers”. It is used in Scotland.
The OED also might include the word “frog-drowner”, which Americans might use to describe a downpour of rain. Another possibility is “brick”. It means “very cold” used by people in New Jersey and New York City.
The dictionary has already found that, depending on location, a picture hanging off center might be described as “agley”. It might also be called “catawampous” or “ahoo”.
“The OED aims to cover all types of English, ” Maier said. That includes scientific words, slang and regional language. Maier also said that it can be difficult for the OED’s editors to identify regional words. The terms are more often spoken than written down.
The appeal is called Words Where You Are. It is looking for more suggestions. “We were surprised and pleased by the number of regional words we were able to include, ” said Maier.
1. “Freezing” is closest in meaning to “________”.| A．hammajang | B．dookers | C．brick | D．ahoo |
| A．Agley. | B．Frog-drowner. | C．Cuddy wifter. | D．Brick. |
| A．It is challenging to create a complete collection of regional words. |
| B．People are not committed to responding to the appeal for regional words. |
| C．People use regional words only when they are home or with close friends. |
| D．Having an understanding of regional words can be helpful when communicating. |
| A．It’s time to trace the source of local words. |
| B．The same English words can be used to say different things. |
| C．The OED aims to enlarge its collection to appeal to locals. |
| D．The OED will include more regional words from around the globe. |
【推荐2】People often ask which is the most difficult language to learn, and it is not easy to answer because there are many factors to take into consideration. Firstly, in a first language the differences are unimportant as people learn their native language naturally, so the question of how hard a language is to learn is only related to learning a second language.
A native speaker of Spanish, for example, will find Portuguese (葡萄牙语) much easier to learn than a native speaker of Chinese, because Portuguese is very similar to Spanish, while Chinese is very different. The greater the differences between a second language and one’s first language, the harder it will be for most people to learn a second language. Many people answer that Chinese is the hardest language to learn, possibly influenced by the thought of learning the Chinese writing system, and the pronunciation of Chinese does appear to be very difficult for many foreign learners. However, for Japanese speakers, who already use Chinese characters in their own language, learning writing will be less difficult than for speakers of languages using the Roman alphabet (字母表).
Some people seem to learn languages readily, while others find it very difficult. Teachers and the environment in which the language is learned also play an important role, as well as each learner’s purpose of learning. If people learn a language because they need to use it in their work, they often learn it faster than people studying a language that has no direct use in their day-to-day life.
No language is easy to learn well, though languages which are related to our first language are easier. Learning a completely different writing system is a huge challenge, but that does not necessarily make a language more difficult than another. In the end, it is impossible to say that there is one language that is the most difficult language in the world.
1. What is the main idea of paragraph 2?| A．Portuguese and Chinese are very different. |
| B．Chinese is harder to learn than Portuguese. |
| C．Portuguese is very easy for foreigners to learn. |
| D．One’s first language can affect learning a second language. |
| A．Its writing system is strange. | B．Its pronunciation is old-fashioned. |
| C．Its characters are difficult to understand. | D．It has many differences from other languages. |
| A．Carefully. | B．Easily. | C．Freely. | D．Slowly. |
【推荐3】This is an exciting time of year for a vocabulary lover,
“Toxic” originated in the mid 1600s as the Latin word “toxicus,” a derivative (派生词 ) of “toxicum,”
As the word reveals, 2018 has not been the merriest for the global community. However, there is good reason to be hopeful. It shows that at least we are not ignoring or hiding from the challenges. We see the word not as a summary to a depressing year, but as a sign that we are starting to acknowledge persistent problems in a more straightforward way.
“Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder,” wrote Rumi, one of the Islamic world's greatest poets in the 13th century.
| A．The word of 2018 is” toxic” |
| B．“Youthquake” is a newly-created word |
| C．But it might be a challenge for someone around us |
| D．Good things can happen as we increase our word power |
| E．which comes from the Greek “toxikon,” meaning “arrow poison” |
| F．because the Oxford English Dictionary has released its word of the year |
| G．We’ve used the word to describe anything deeply but often invisibly harmful |
【推荐1】Thomas Cheatham had planned to study Latin during his time at Hebron High School in Texas. But when he learned that the school district was going to offer a Chinese class, he quickly changed his mind.
“I think Chinese would be beneficial than Latin,” said Cheatham, who is now in his second year of studying the language. He speaks Chinese to order food at Chinese restaurants and reads social media posts from his Chinese-speaking friends. While it’s a difficult language to master, the high school student, who plans to study computer engineering, thinks it will be important for his career. “Chinese is a good language to know, especially with China becoming a growing power,” he said.
Many experts agree that proficiency (熟练) in a language spoken by about 1. 4 billion people worldwide will give American students an edge in the global economy.
“People’s interest in Chinese is growing fast,” said Marty Abbott, director of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. “We’re seeing it in all parts of the country.”
Abbott predicts that as many as 100,000 students are now studying Chinese in public and private schools, throughout the US. She said the US government had designated (指定) Chinese as an “important needs” language and provided professional development programs for teachers. “Our government wants to increase our language ability for national security and economic competitiveness,” Abbott added.
At the same time, the Chinese government is spreading knowledge of the Chinese language and culture through Confucius Institutes set up in many US states. For example, the Confucius Institute at the University of Texas in Dallas has been the home of a Confucius Institute for more than 10 years. It sponsors Confucius Classrooms at 21 local public and private schools, where tens of thousands of students are learning Chinese.
1. Why did Thomas Cheatham decide to study Chinese instead of Latin?| A．Chinese was easier to learn than Latin. |
| B．Chinese could be helpful to his future career. |
| C．Chinese might help him learn more about China. |
| D．Chinese could enable him to study computer engineering. |
| A．a slight advantage | B．the outside pressure |
| C．a sharp voice | D．an exciting quality |
| A．Chinese should be taught in classrooms throughout the US. |
| B．Those skilled at Chinese will be the most competitive in the future. |
| C．The US government’s policy helps popularize Chinese in the US. |
| D．Americans learn Chinese because they worry about their national security. |
| A．The rising popularity of Chinese among American students. |
| B．The great benefits of learning Chinese for American students. |
| C．The influence of China’s growing power on American education. |
| D．The effect of Confucius Institutes on promoting Chinese in the US. |
【推荐2】Online live streaming(直播) is big business nowadays, making huge profits and attracting hundreds of millions of viewers. In addition to adults, this rapidly expanding industry is now drawing underage live streamers, who are not of legal age. According to a report by the Sina Weibo Data Center, live streamers aged 11—16 accounted for 12 percent of all streamers in China. The figure has been rising still, while streamers are getting younger.
It has been found that a large number of underage streamers are drinking, smoking or even exposing to attract viewers. In the best case, live streaming will affect children’s schoolwork and waste their precious youth. In the worst case, they will develop bad values and an improper outlook, which will damage their future.
“Webcasts (web broadcast) are suspected of having a hotbed of improper program. Particularly, the involvement of underage streamers in this industry is making the situation more complex” said Mao Jianguo from Southern Metropolis Daily.
Some legal experts recently issued a report on protection of the children in the cyberspace(网络空间), suggesting that those under 14 should be restricted from independently live streaming and posting videos online.
However, it is unwise and impossible to totally reject all underage streamers but it's necessary and even urgent to standardize the underage webcast sector.
Fortunately, some webcast companies have said that they will not allow streamers under the age of 18 and online live streamers must register by using their ID. However, the reality is that many underage streamers choose to avoid that by using the IDs of adults, who also go through the face scanning required for conditions. All this means that to block underage streamers from webcasting, it’s not enough to depend on their self-discipline.
Parents should tell their children about the disadvantages of getting involved in live streaming so that children develop an objective attitude toward live streaming. Adults should not lend their IDs to children to register for live streaming. And the watchdogs must patrol(巡逻) webcast platforms more actively and remove all unauthorized videos of underage streamers.
1. What are the first and second paragraphs mainly about?| A．A new industry of live streaming came into being. |
| B．Online live streaming has been a social concern. |
| C．Teenagers are curious about live streaming recently. |
| D．Online live streaming is increasingly popular and bringing bad effects. |
| A．children’s live streaming is the root of all the social problems |
| B．webcasts contribute to the unhealthy trend in underage live streaming |
| C．webcasts are less likely to cause more social problems |
| D．webcasts are the main causes of many youth problems |
| A．Children shall never use a webcast without the IDs. |
| B．Self-discipline is an effective way to stop underage streaming. |
| C．Parents should guide the children to use webcasts properly. |
| D．Watchdogs’ duty is to stop children from live streaming. |
| A．A Full Ban against Children’s Live Streaming |
| B．The Attraction to Children by a Rapidly Expanding Industry |
| C．Different Opinions about Underage Live Streaming. |
| D．An Appeal for Keeping Watch on Underage Live Streaming |
【推荐3】Japan’s biggest airline is betting that the future of travel isn’t traveling at all. For the last month, a married couple has been interacting with a robot—called an Avatar—that’s controlled by their daughter hundreds of miles away. Made by ANA Holdings Inc., it looks like a vacuum cleaner with an iPad attached. But the screen displays the daughter’s face as they chat, and its wheels let her move about the house as though she’s really there.
“Virtual travel” is nothing new, of course. Storytellers, travel writers and artists have been stimulating the senses of armchair tourists for centuries. It’s only in recent decades that frequent, safe travel has become available to the non- wealthy.
Yet even as the world’s middle classes climb out of the armchair and into economy-class seat, there are signs of a post-travel society emerging. Concerns about environmental sustainability cause loss to airlines which release much carbon. And the aging of abundant societies is both restricting physical travel and creating demand for alternative ways to experience the world. For the travel industry, virtual reality offers an attractive response to these trends.
Of course, new technologies encourage far-out claims. ANA doesn’t plan to start selling Avatars until next year. Profits, too, will probably be difficult to make: By one estimate, the global market for this kind of technology will be worth only about $300 million by 2023. By contrast, ANA’s traditional travel business brought in more than $19 billion last year.
But if the business value for virtual vacations is still weak, the market for technologies that bridge physical distances between families and coworkers seems likely to only expand. ANA’s robots may not replace its airplanes any time soon, but they’ll almost certainly be a part of travel’s high-tech future.
1. Why does the author use the example of a couple interacting with a robot?| A．To show the Japanese are crazy about travel. |
| B．To indicate virtual travel begins to enter people’s real life. |
| C．To show the couple are very enthusiastic over robots. |
| D．To express the close relationship between the couple and their daughter. |
| A．Storytellers, travel writers and artists have been using it for centuries. |
| B．Frequent and safe travel has become available to the ordinary people. |
| C．People are worried about the air pollution caused by airlines. |
| D．More and more people lose interest in travel. |
| A．Visibility. | B．Availability. |
| C．insignificance. | D．Continuousness |
| A．Your Next Travel May Be Virtual. |
| B．Easy Travel in the Future. |
| C．Virtual Travel Benefits. |
| D．Air Travel Disappearing. |
【推荐1】Everyone needs friends. There is an old saying, “Friends are God’s way of taking care of us.” But how do you find real friendship and keep it?
The American writer Sally Seamans tells young students some smart ways to find friends. Sally says finding friendship is just like planting a tree. You plant the seed and take care of it to make it grow.
First, you should choose a friend. What makes a good friend? It is not because a person has money or good looks. A good friend should be kind and patient. For example, if you have a bad day, a good friend should listen to your complaints and do his or her best to help. To make a friend, you cannot be too shy. You should make each other happy and share your lives.
But things cannot always be happy. Even the best friends have fights. What should you do when you have a fight with your friend? You have to talk to him or her. When there is no one around, have an honest talk. If he or she doesn’t want to talk, you could write a letter.
There are three steps to being friends again: Tell him or her how you are feeling; say what your friend has done wrong, and explain why you did this or that. Remember that friendship is the most important thing in your life.
1. Sally wants to tell students the ways to _______.| A．plant trees | B．find friends |
| C．get happy | D．keep fit |
| A．A good friend should be lovely and cool. |
| B．A good friend should be kind and patient. |
| C．A good friend should have lots of money. |
| D．A good friend should have good looks. |
| A．buy a present for | B．never say a word to |
| C．have dinner with | D．write a letter to |
【推荐2】For more than a decade, a team of researchers have studied the dynamics of the Greenland Ice Sheet as it responds to a warming climate. But while much of their focus has been on waters impacts on ice sheet change, their most recent research findings have overturned the order of their thinking. Meierbachtol, Harper and their team discovered that changes in the ice sheet have a real impact on the massive groundwater system underlying Greenland.
This latest discovery occurred thanks to a marriage of drilling techniques. International cooperators made an angled hole 650 meters through bedrock underneath a Greenland glacier (冰川)to measure groundwater conditions under the ice. Meanwhile, researchers drilled 32 holes from atop the glacier, through nearly a kilometer of ice, to measure water conditions at the area between ice and bedrock, which forms an important boundary controlling groundwater flow below. After drilling, the team fixed sensors in the ice column and at the ice sheet bed to measure ice dynamics and water conditions as water flows under the ice.
“By studying areas covered by ice 10,000 years ago, we have known that the huge mass and vast amounts of water from melting ice can impact the underlying groundwater,” Meierbachtol said. “It’s generally accepted that the groundwater is sleeping over decades to centuries and its response to ice sheet change is long: thousands of years. But what we’ve shown here is that it is immediate.”
This new understanding could have important subsequent effects on how Greenland’s thinning impacts the Arctic. The thinning ice could reduce the rate of groundwater flow to the ocean, changing the water temperature and salinity (盐度)balance that is important for ocean circulation (循环)patterns. “In thinking about the complex feedbacks from Greenland’s ongoing change, we have really ignored the groundwater component,” Harper said.
1. How do the researchers feel about the result of the recent study?| A．Satisfied. | B．Disappointed. | C．Surprised. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．Fixing sensors into ice sheet. |
| B．Close international cooperation. |
| C．Advanced rock drilling technology. |
| D．A combination of two drilling approaches. |
| A．It has a very large volume. | B．It is inactive for a long time. |
| C．Its component is complex. | D．Its temperature is changeable. |
| A．Water Impacts the Greenland’s Ice Sheet |
| B．Longlasting Effects of Global Warming on the Arctic |
| C．Newly Discovered Groundwater Resources in Greenland |
| D．Greenland’s Groundwater Changes with Thinning Ice Sheet |
【推荐3】Children are more likely to prefer foods they believe to be natural to human-made options, rating them higher for tastiness, safety and desirability, a study shows.
Researchers at the Universities of Edinburgh and Yale studied the preferences of more than 374 adults and children in the United States when presented with apples and orange juice and told of their origins.
In one study, 137 children aged 6 to 10 years old were shown three apples. They were told one was grown on a farm, one was made in a lab, and another grown on a tree inside a lab. Adults took part in the same study to compare age groups. Both children and adults preferred apples they believed were grown on farms to those grown in labs, researchers found. Children were more likely to refer to freshness, being outside, or sunlight when considering why they chose the farm apple. Adults were more likely to mention naturalness.
In a second study, 85 children aged 5 to 7 years old and a group of 64 adults were shown four different kinds of orange juice—one described as squeezed on a farm, one with no information about it, one with chemicals removed and one described as having chemicals added. Researchers found that the information on the juice’s naturalness had a significant effect on its rating. The participants tended to choose the more natural option based on perceived taste, safety and desire to consume.
Dr Matti Wilks of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences said, “Overall we provide evidence that our tendency to prefer natural food is present in childhood. This research offers a first step towards understanding how these preferences are formed, including whether they are socially learned and what drives our tendency to prefer natural things.”
1. How did researchers draw their conclusion?| A．By doing experiments. | B．By analyzing reasons. |
| C．By testing children’s tastes. | D．By studying different fruits. |
| A．Adults prefer apples to orange juice. | B．Chemicals do harm to eaters’ health. |
| C．Naturalness attracts different age groups. | D．Labs are where fruits can be easily planted. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Tolerant. | C．Uncaring. | D．Positive. |
| A．Which to Choose, Apples or Orange Juice? |
| B．Where to Grow Fruits, on Farms or in Labs? |
| C．Natural Food Is More Mouth-watering to Children |
| D．Different Age Groups Show Different Preferences |
