【推荐2】Three high school seniors from Callisburg, Texas, learned that an old gatekeeper in their school didn’t have enough money to retire, so they decided to help him out.

The three students, Greyson Thurman, Marti Yousko and Banner Tidwell, from Callisburg High School created a GoFundMe page on Feb. 15, which attracted many people after Thurman posted a video of the old man’s cleaning a hallway on the Internet. The video was accompanied by music and text that included a link to the GoFundMe page they created.

“This is our 80-year-old gatekeeper who had his rent raised and had to come back to work. Let’s help Mr James out,” the post read. “No one at his age should have to be cleaning our messes up to continue to live.”

Through the page, they got more than 8,000 donations totaling about $260,000. Most of the donations came from Callisburg’s students and staff. “It’s amazing,” said Jason Hooper, Callisburg High Principal. In his opinion, the need was met because of the three kind kids. All the students who joined in the activity met that need.

The three students said they had to help the old man after he was forced out of retirement due to the rising cost of living in the north Texas area. “It’s just so sad to see an 80-year-oldman having to do things that no 80-year-old person should have to do,” said Tidwell.

Mr James is hardly alone. About 1.5 million retirees have had to rejoin the workforce due to the high inflation(通货膨胀), according to an analysis of the data by the US Department of Labor. About 1 in 6 retirees is considering returning to work in search of greater financial security, according to a survey published this month from Paychex.

Money got from the activity was enough to send Mr James back into retirement. He could get ready to go back to retirement and would live a comfortable life.

1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．How to create a page.

B．What to do for people in need.

C．A brief introduction to Callisburg High School.

D．The way the three students helped the gatekeeper.

2. Which did Jason Hooper think was surprising?

A．So many people loving the video.

B．The three kids making a difference.

C．An 80-year-old gatekeeper still working.

D．The total number of the money lent to the gatekeeper.

3. What does the author intend to show through paragraph 6?

A．The high inflation of the US.	B．The way most retirees are living.
C．The living situation of the retirees.	D．What 1 in 6 retirees is considering.

4. In which section of a newspaper can we find the text?

A．Society.

B．Economy.

C．Literature.

D．Travel.

【推荐3】Picture this: you’re between video meetings, and scrolling through your social media newsfeed. Headlines like “Death toll continues to rise”“COVID-19 may cause long-term health implications” and “Health-care systems overwhelmed” flash across your screen. Your mood takes a dive, but you can’t stop scrolling.

If this scenario rings true for you, you’re not alone. Research shows people have a tendency to seek out information during uncertain times—it’s a natural coping mechanism. But is persistent information-seeking on social media, sometimes called doomscrolling, helpful during a pandemic, or any time?

Research on the effects of bad news on mood suggests exposure to negative COVID news is likely to be detrimental to our emotional wellbeing. For instance, one study conducted in March 2020 involving more than 6,000 Americans found that the more time participants spent consuming COVID news in a day, the unhappier they felt. These findings are striking and suggest that spending as little as two to four minutes consuming negative news about COVID-19 can have a detrimental impact on our mood.

So what can we do to look after ourselves, and make our time on social media more pleasurable?

One option is to delete our social media accounts altogether. But how realistic is it to distance ourselves from platforms that connect nearly half of the world’s population, particularly when these platforms offer social interactions at a time when face-to-face interactions can be risky, or impossible? Given that avoidance might not be practical, here are some other ways to make your experience on social media more positive.

Be mindful of what you consume on social media. Focus on the personal news and photos shared instead of the latest headlines.

Seek out content that makes you happy to balance out your newsfeed. This may be images of cute kittens, beautiful landscapes, drool-worthy food videos or something else. You could even follow a social media account dedicated to sharing only happy and positive news.

Use social media to promote positivity and kindness. Sharing good things that are happening in your life can improve your mood, and your positive mood can spread to others. You may also like to compliment others on social media. While this might sound awkward, people will appreciate it more than you think.

As the pandemic continues to alter our lives and newsfeeds, the study highlight the importance of being aware of the emotional toll negative news takes on us. But there are steps we can take to mitigate this toll and make our social media a happier place.

1. The underlined word “doomscrolling” in Paragraph 2 refers to__________.

A．browsing through bad news insistently	B．seeking information on social media occasionally
C．a natural coping mechanism	D．checking helpful news during uncertain times

2. What is the main purpose of the study conducted in March 2020?

A．To find out if the death toll of COVID-19 continues to rise.

B．To find out the effects of information-seeking on mood.

C．To find out the impacts of negative news on mood.

D．To find out whether people feel happy when exposed to COVID-19.

3. Which of the following is NOT true about the realistic solutions to the exposure to social media according to the passage?

A．Deleting our social media accounts altogether.

B．Only focusing on personal information and ignoring social news.

C．Checking positive content like cute animals to make ourselves happy.

D．Sharing positive energy with others and praising others.

4. The author writes this passage to_________.

A．show the profound influence of the pandemic on our lives and social media newsfeed

B．demonstrate the significance of the measures we can take to eliminate the harmful effects of social media

C．reveal the relationship between the news-seeking behaviour and the mood of the surfers

D．arouse our awareness of the effects of negative information on feelings and offer feasible solutions beneficial to our emotional wellbeing

【推荐1】This morning, while tidying up my office, I found an open box of packaged chocolate cookies that I’d bought sometime last year. The use-by date had come and gone more than eight months ago. Curious, I took a small bite. They still tasted pretty good.

Welcome to the world of ultra-processed (超加工) foods. And we’re eating a lot of them. Ultra-processed foods currently make up nearly 60% of what the typical adult eats, and nearly 70% of what kids eat. They include everything from cookies and sodas to packaged breads and frozen meals, even ice creams. You might not realize you’re eating one, but look close and you’ll see many ingredients you wouldn’t find in your kitchen.

And a large and growing amount of evidence has consistently linked overconsumption of ultra-processed foods to poor health outcomes. “Too much of it leads to obesity and type two diabetes (糖尿病) and heart disease and cancer.” says Christopher Gardner, a professor at Stanford University, who has spent decades studying the links between diet and chronic disease (慢性病).

One reason ultra-processed foods likely lead to health issues seems obvious: They tend to be low in fiber and high in calories, salt, added sugar and fat, which are all linked with poor health outcomes when eaten too much.

Eventually, Gardner says the burden of making healthier food choices shouldn’t fall completely on consumers-especially when it comes to setting kids up for better health long term. “It does need the whole society to pay attention to this, to work together, including the food industry and the government, to be able to reduce the amount of ultra-processed food our kids are consuming in their day,” he says.

1. What does the author want to say in the second paragraphs?

A．Ultra-processed foods preserve the flavor long.

B．Ultra-processed foods have become a big part of our diet.

C．Convenience explains the popularity of ultra-processed foods.

D．A lot of health problems result from consumption of ultra-processed foods.

2. What does the underlined word “overconsumption” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Overproduction.

B．Overselling.

C．Overstore.

D．Overeating.

3. What is a result of too much ultra-processed food in people’s lives?

A．Fewer diseases.	B．Health problems.
C．Dietary changes.	D．Market competition.

4. What is Gardner’s suggestion for making kids healthier in the long term?

A．Punish the food industry.	B．Reduce kids’ consumption.
C．Unite efforts from all sides.	D．Make smarter food choices.

【推荐2】Do you enjoy eating a nice piece of a cow? Or pig back meat? Chances are that you do, though you’re more likely to call these dishes beef and bacon. But why do the words for these animals change after they’re killed and served? And why does this change only happen with certain meats?

To answer these questions, we have to step back almost 1,000 years into the past, as the current saying is that this linguistic phenomenon (语言现象) results from the Norman invasion (侵略) of England.

In 1066, the Old French-speaking Normans took control of the Anglo-Saxons, who spoke Old English. The Norman rulers used different measures of oppression (压迫的措施), but they also introduced their language. They used French words for the meat that appeared on their tables. Meanwhile, the Old English words were still used by the Anglo-Saxons who farmed and raised the animals. Such was the Norman influence on England that their terms for meat have always been there as part of the modern English language for cuisine (烹饪).

It’s not just adult cows that got a new name after they were killed and prepared for Norman dinners. A young cow is called a “calf”, and this word comes from Old English. However, the animal is changed into “veal” after it is cooked.

Besides the word pig, which, like cow, has Old English origins (来源), the Anglo-Saxons used to use the word “swine” for these animals. Both became pork when the Normans ate their meat, though.

Chicken is one of several exceptions. While the Normans used the French word poulet for chicken meat, this became “pullet” in English. This word is only really used by chicken farmers. No one is quite sure why this happened! Here’s another exception, as fish is fish regardless of whether it’s swimming in a river or appearing on a dinner table. One possibility for why the French word poisson has never entered the English language is that it’s too close to “poison” — something no one wants to eat!

1. What purpose do questions in the first paragraph serve?

A．To attract readers’ attention.	B．To encourage studies on food.
C．To offer some background information.	D．To provide some advice for readers.

2. Why are French terms for meat used in modern English cuisine?

A．The English who worked in farming came from France.

B．French words for meat were much easier to remember.

C．Normans brought their French language to England.

D．French terms became popular among cooks worldwide.

3. Which word from Old English is used to refer to a young cow?

A．Beef.

B．Veal.

C．Swine.

D．Calf.

4. Why is the French word for fish avoided in English?

A．There were already Old English words for fish in common use.

B．English speakers found the word too similar to the word “poison”.

C．The Normans did not eat fish as often as other meats.

D．The French word was not introduced during the Norman invasion.