【推荐2】The malls were filled with people seeking gifts for their loved ones. Some of the malls remained open around the clock, partly to satisfy our needs to buy gifts.
Behind the materialistic aspect of shopping for gifts lies the idea of caring, being attentive to the desires of special people in our lives. However, to use a well-worn play on words: it is our presence, not our presents, that truly counts. Many of us, unfortunately, can be so inattentive, even in the presence of our loved ones, that we might as well not be there at all.
Attention is one of the greatest gifts we can give each other. Companies around the globe spend billions every year on advertising to catch our attention for just a short moment at a time. Whole industries — media, entertainment, education — rely on the precious gift of our attention for their continued existence. A baby lacking attention for a long time is likely to be psychologically unhealthy.
In earlier times, both diet and attention could be left unregulated (没人管的) without major cause for concern. There were natural checks and balances: limited availability of food meant few got fat, for example. Similarly, in bygone times we might have spent a few hours communicating with the village storyteller; today, watching an entire TV series, while speaking to nobody, is common. In traditional societies, with smaller population, everyone would get a fair deal of attention. On many issues we might go to see Grandma or Grandpa; now we have Google and Wikipedia.
“She just wants attention.” people tend to think little of those doing things simply for attention. But the truth is that human beings need attention, and giving attention to each other is, to a large extent, what human civilization is based upon. This perhaps explains the runaway success of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. While we use such sites for “micro Hogging”, “idea voicing” and “status updates” — the reality is that we are often doing no more or less than fulfilling our basic human drive for attention exchange.
I friend you, you friend me, I retweet you, you retweet me. The charming ease with which we can now get and give attention is why many people appear overly attached to their smart phones. It is also a vicious (恶性的) circle. As ever more people are busy exchanging attention online, there is increasingly less attention to be paid in the real world, which forces more people to seek their attention exchange online, or else risk attention-starvation.
The very nature of attention exchange is being rapidly transformed, and there is a danger that some of us will develop unhealthy practices. Just as eating red meat every day is a bad idea, so it is with too much attention exchange. The biological consequences of our technological advancement in food production are highly visible; heart disease, diabetes and obesity. The consequences of our transformed attention exchanges will be psychological and social, and so may take longer to identify, but they will be equally damaging.
Face-to-face attention is becoming rarer, and therefore more valuable. In a sense it is priceless. And it is a gift that can be given all-year-round.
1. People use social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to __________.

A．obtain information

B．give attention to others

C．voice their opinions

D．notice and get noticed

2. What can we infer from Paragraphs 6-7?

A．More people will risk attention-starvation in future.

B．The nature of attention exchange is rarely changed.

C．Technological advancement contributes to all diseases.

D．Transformed attention exchanges do harm to society.

3. The writer’s purpose for writing the passage is to __________.

A．advocate more focus on real life attention

B．analyze the necessity of attention giving

C．give practical tips on attention exchange

D．recommend some social networking sites

【推荐1】Every day, on British radio stations and on television, you can hear it. It gives the time before BBC radio news programmes, and on the BBC World Service. And you can hear it and see it every evening before ITV's "News at Ten".     1    

If you have been to London, you have certainly seen "Big Ben". It's very difficult to miss, standing almost 100 metres high beside the Thames, next to the Houses of Parliament.     2     But in reality, "Big Ben" is just the name of the biggest bell in the tower. The famous clock tower was built in the 1850s, after the Houses of Parliament were burned down.

The new clock was to be the biggest in the world, and extremely accurate. Lots of people thought that this would be impossible; a very big clock, they thought, could not be very accurate.     3     And the clock has always kept time almost perfectly.

The original "Big Ben" bell weighed 16 tons, and was made in the North of England. However, after it had reached London, but before it had been put in place, it cracked! So the original bell was therefore melted down (in London) and a new Big Ben was made and put in place in July 1859... but after two months it cracked.    4    A smaller hammer was put in place, and Big Ben began chiming (报时）again in 1862.

Since then, there have been several incidents.     5     And in 1976, the clock stopped for 26 days, when a part of the mechanism broke…after 114 years of service! Recently, engineers have decided that the tower and the clock were both in need of urgent repairs. Work began in 2017, and unless there are some unexpected problems, Big Ben will begin a new life in the year 2021.

A．In fact, they were wrong.

B．The Big Ben has a long history.

C．Experts decided that the hammer was too big.

D．Once the clock stopped when a pot of paint got stuck between its hands!

E．The name "Big Ben" is generally used to refer to the big clock tower itself.

F．Almost all the tourists visiting London prefer to take many photos of Big Ben.

G．The chimes of Big Ben are recognized by almost everyone in Britain, and by millions of people all over the world.

【推荐2】Frequently, we speak about people being “color-blind” but very few of us are. Even those who describe themselves as color-blind are normally just color lack. A strongly, color-blind person will still be able to tell 20 different colors, compared to the 100 or so that normal-sighted people see.

Pingelap, a tiny island in the Pacific, is a beautiful spot but one that has a genetic trouble. It is known as Color-blind Island because so many people who live on this remote island can only see black and white.

Not being able to see colors is bad enough. But one islander, Herrol, who’s a fisherman, also struggles in full sunlight because all he sees is a painful burnt-out image. “I find it difficult to go outside in the sun,” he says, “because when it’s sunny I cannot see to do my work.”

But if being truly color-blind is rare, why is it that around 10% of the population of Pingelap live in a totally black and white world?

Well, we know that in 1780 the population of Pingelap was all but wiped out by a tsunami (海啸). As few as 20 people survived, one of whom was the king. It’s believed he had a genetic fault that causes colour-blindness and he passed this fault on to his many generations.

There is one advantage. Herrol can see well, really well, in the dark. So when it gets dark, Herrol and his friends get in their boats and hunt flying fish. They hang up flaming torches and the fish are attracted to the flames. “This type of fishing is fun,” Herrol says, “especially if we catch plenty. So even though it's hard work we enjoy it.”

1. What makes Pingelap special?

A．A mentally troubled island.	B．A beautiful island.
C．A colour-blind island.	D．A tiny island.

2. Which statement about Herrol is probably correct?

A．He doesn’t live in Pingelap any more.

B．He likes taking photos very much.

C．He is interested in burnt-out images.

D．He may stay at home when it’s sunny.

3. About one-tenth of people in Pingelap are seriously color-blind because ________.

A．the king’s genetic fault played a role

B．the king had an unlucky marriage

C．the king made a serious mistake

D．Pingelap often suffers from tsunamis

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A．The advantage of color blindness	B．The island of color blindness
C．The disadvantage of Herrol	D．The history of Pingelap

【推荐1】Brian arrived at the San Francisco airport two hours before the flight to Paris. He was wearing three shirts, a jacket, two pairs of socks, a pair of shorts, and two pairs of jeans. He was carrying one small backpack, which was very full, but he didn't have any other luggage(行李). Brian needed to meet a man named Tony before he checked in (办理乘机手续) for his flight. He found Tony near the Air France counter. Tony gave him a round-trip ticket and a small package.

"Give this package to Jean Paul at the airport in Paris. He will have a sign with your name on it. I think you can find him easily," Tony said, "You don't have any luggage, right?"

"Only this backpack," Brian answered. "You said I could bring one carry-on bag."

"That's right. One carry-on bag is fine. Have a good trip."

"Thanks."

Is Brian a criminal (罪犯)? Not at all. He is an air-courier. And he paid only $110 for the round-trip ticket to Paris. Air-couriers get cheap airline tickets because they take important packages and papers to foreign countries. Businesses sometimes need to get packages and papers to people in foreign countries by the next day. Often, the only way they can do this is to use an air-courier company. It is not cheap for a business to send a package with an air-courier, but it is quick.

Every year about 80,000 people worldwide travel as air-couriers. The number of tickets for the air-courier travel is growing by about 10 percent a year. However, air-courier travel isn't for everyone. But if you have very little money, you can be flexible (灵活的) about your travel plans, and don't mind wearing the same clothes for a week, it can be a great way to take a vacation!

1. Why was Brian wearing so many clothes for his travel?_________

A．Because his backpack had no room for his clothes.

B．Because that made him easier to be recognized.

C．Because they were the uniforms for air-couriers.

D．Because he did not have any luggage with him.

2. An air-courier is a person who _____.

A．manages a business company in foreign countries

B．delivers papers and packages to foreign countries

C．travels around the world with cheap tickets

D．organizes international flights for tourists

3. Businesses choose the air-courier service because _____.

A．it is fast	B．it is not flexible
C．it is cheap	D．it is slow

4. The author of the text mainly _____.

A．describes the activities of a law-breaker	B．tells us about a developing business
C．argues against the air-courier travel	D．suggests an ideal way to free-travel

【推荐2】I am writing to tell you about your article Smartphones Make Life Easier in last Sunday’s newspaper. You did an excellent job explaining the good points of smartphones, but you didn’t talk about their bad points at all. So, I hope you’ll let me give your readers some advice on smartphone etiquette (礼仪).

The first point I’d like to address is loudness. When you talk on your smartphone in public, please don’t shout. In fact, the microphones in smartphones are very sensitive (灵敏的). So, you can be heard even if you speak quietly.

Another point is about personal space. I don’t think it is polite to make calls in small spaces full of people. This makes others uncomfortable and forces them to listen to your personal business. What’s worse, it stops many face-to-face conversations from ever beginning.

Lastly, doing two things at the same time is dangerous. For example, making calls while driving is a bad habit. Pay attention to the road! Similarly, when staying with your friends, turn off your smartphone and enjoy their company.

Yours truly,
Amber Jala
1. Amber Jala wrote the letter to ________.

A．find a good job	B．provide advice
C．make her life easier	D．buy a smartphone

2. What does the underlined word “address” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．致函	B．称呼
C．陈述	D．选址

3. According to Paragraph 3, what makes people around you uncomfortable?

A．Discussing face-to-face.	B．Speaking quietly on your phone.
C．Minding your own business.	D．Calling in small spaces full of people.

4. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．It is dangerous to drive on the road.

B．It is easy to start a company with others.

C．It is bad to turn off our phones while driving.

D．It is important to use our smartphones properly.

【推荐3】When it comes to medical care, many patients and doctors believe “more is better”. But what they do not realize is that over-treatment-too many scans too many blood tests too many procedures (步骤) -may bring harm.

Terrence Power, for example, complained that after his wife learned she had Wegener’s disease, they found it difficult to refuse testing suggested by her doctor. The doctor insisted on office visits every three weeks, even when she was feeling well. He frequently ordered blood tests and X-rays, and repeatedly referred her to specialists for even minor complaints (疾病). Even when tests came back negative, more were ordered and she was hospitalized as prevention when she developed a cold. She had as many as 25 doctor visits during one six-month period. The couple was spending about $30, 000 a year for her care.

After several years of physical suffering and near financial ruin from the medical costs, the couple began questioning the treatment after discussing with other patients in online support groups. “It’s a really hard thing to determine when they’ve crossed the line,” Mr. Power said. “You think she’s getting the best care in the world, but after a while you start to wonder: What is the purpose?” Mr. Power then spoke with his own main care doctor who advised him to find a new specialist to oversee (监视) Mrs. Power’s care. Under the new doctor’s care, the regular testing stopped and Mrs. Power’s condition became stable.

Now she sees the doctor only four or five times a year.

1. What do many patients and doctors believe?

A．Less is better.

B．More is better.

C．More may not be better.

2. How often did the doctor ask Mrs Power to visit him?

A．Every week.

B．Every two weeks.

C．Every three weeks

3. What does “hospitalized” in the second paragraph mean?

A．Be sent to a hospital.

B．Be sent to home

C．Be sent to a church.

4. When did the couple begin questioning the treatment?

A．After knowing about other patients treatment.

B．After having many doctor visits during one six-month period.

C．After discussing with other patients in online support groups.