One of the most powerful social desires expressed by teenagers is to be thought of as cool and popular by their peers(同龄人), which is quite natural.
Often, the terms “cool” and “popular” get used interchangeably as if they were just different labels for the same perception. On closer examination, however, it becomes clear that they are quite different and have a fairly complicated relationship with each other.
Let’s start by examining what popularity is all about. At first glance, popularity is easy to define and recognize: A popular person is an individual who is well-known, well-liked, and admired by others. However, the sources of the social power possessed by popular people can be quite different. Specifically, sociometric popularity (SP) primarily reflects “like ability” and it is linked with qualities such as being kind and trustworthy. However, peer-perceived popularity (PP) is based upon a judgment of how popular others think that person is among his or her peers. It reflects what we might call “status” and is often related with less desirable qualities such as being dominant, aggressive, or “stuck-up”.
So, popularity is a more complicated concept than it may seem. As complicated as popularity is, coolness is even more so.
Coolness is a broader category than popularity. One can be cool by having cool stuff, by doing cool stuff, or by just plain “being cool”. It is a combination of self presentation, fashion, and attitude. It’s push back against norms and authority that may label itself as not caring about traditional routes to success such as academic achievement and being “too cool for school”.
Hence, coolness and popularity represent two completely independent terms. The pursuit of being cool and popular will probably always be part of the human experience, especially among young people. In and of itself, this is neither good nor bad. But it may be useful to be aware of the differences in these qualities and be clear about exactly what it is that we are pursuing.
1. What is a common understanding of coolness and popularity?| A．They contradict each other. | B．They share a complex connection. |
| C．They are simply the same concept. | D．They can only be owned by the young. |
| A．To make a proposal. | B．To illustrate a concept. |
| C．To classify popularity. | D．To list typical qualities. |
| A．Following suit. | B．Prioritizing others. |
| C．Observing traditions. | D．Challenging authority. |
| A．It’s unblamable. | B．It’s rewarding. |
| C．It’s undesirable. | D．It’s shameful. |
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【推荐1】On most Sundays, the sound of hammers(锤子)and other tools hitting stone can be heard in a village in the Chimalhuacan area, on Mexico City’s east side. The sounds come from stone carvers(石雕师)who still work on a skill that has been passed down for generations(世代)—even after the local stone was used up. The village is filled with meter-high religious(宗教的)figures and other beautiful stone objects.
Generations of stone carvers in Chimalhuacan also created much of the stonework found on buildings and in parks in the capital’s downtown.
While carvers in other areas long ago turned to machines, the workers here only use hammers and other special hand tools. Many are self-taught, but some, like Tomás Ugarte, aged 86, learned in the traditional way. This method of rock cutting has been passed down between family members, dating back about five generations.
The rock cutters are generally old. There were about 600 official stone carvers about 10 years ago. Now, there are probably only around 300. The carvers are dying and their children generally do not want to take up the trade.
Still, the stone carvers keep the old traditions alive. Many people in the area use stone tools made by the stone carvers.
Rev. Alberto Sandoval, who has known the stone workers since 1990, described them as “the backbone of the community.” Most of the carvers have work areas at home, which provides them with some money. They sell carvings for prices from $500 to $2,000. But they often do not sell much.
Unlike many craftspeople who want to see their works shown in museums, the carvers here also work for free at repairing the stonework at the 250-year-old local church, Santa Maria de Guadalupe.
Asked if the trade will continue, carver Mario Olivares read a poem written on the church wall: “Your art, your tradition, your culture and the nobility(高贵)of the people keep the spirit of this town alive.”
1. What is special about the stone carvers in Chimalhuacan?| A．They have turned to machines. | B．They only use hand tools. |
| C．They are self-taught. | D．They mainly create religious figures. |
| A．The great loss of the local stone. | B．Different jobs the young choose. |
| C．The worrying future for the trade. | D．The long history of stone carving. |
| A．They work for free most of the time. | B．They like giving their works to museums. |
| C．They sell carvings at high prices. | D．They often make a little money. |
| A．Confident. | B．Uncaring. |
| C．Helpless. | D．Worried. |
【推荐2】The analysis in The Lancet looks at obesity (肥胖) trend in over 200 countries. In the UK, one in every 10 young people aged 5 to 19, is obese. Obese children are likely to become obese adults, posting them at risk of serious health problems, say experts. Researchers believe wide availability of cheap, fattening food is one of the main drivers.
Although child obesity rates appear to be stable in many high-income European countries, including the UK, they are increasing at an alarming rate in many other parts of the world. The largest increase in the number of obese children has been in East Asia. China and India have seen rates “balloon” in recent years. Polynesia and Micronesia have the highest rate of all — around half of the young population in these countries is overweight or obese.
The researchers say that if current world trends continue, “obese” will soon be more common than “underweight”. “We have not become more weak-willed, lazy or greedy. The reality is that the world around us is changing. ”
Dr Fiona Bull from the World Health Organization suggested tough measures to prevent “calorie-rich, nutrient-poor food” and encourage more physical activity. “But so far, just over 20 countries around the world have introduced a tax on sugary drinks,” she said.
Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist (营养学家) at Public Health England, said, “Our sugar reduction programme and the government’s sugar tax are world-leading, but this is just the I beginning of a long journey to meet the challenge of a generation. The evidence is clear that just telling people what to do won't work. While education and information are important, deeper actions are needed to help us lower calorie consumption and achieve healthier diets.”
1. What mainly contributes to child obesity according to the researchers?| A．Children are driven to consume cheap diets. |
| B．Children don't take enough physical exercise. |
| C．Children become more weak-willed and greedy. |
| D．Children can reach cheap and fattening food more easily. |
| A．Slow. | B．Alarming. | C．Steady. | D．Ballooning. |
| A．It is perfect. | B．It needs to be promoted further. |
| C．It is not effective enough. | D．It should be made to be less tougher. |
| A．England is the first to tax sugary drinks. |
| B．Solving the problem of child obesity is a hard nut. |
| C．Education plays a small role in controlling child obesity. |
| D．People should be told about the danger of being overweight. |
A study suggests that, by giving you access to emails at all times, the all-singing, all-dancing mobilephone adds as much as two hours to your working day. Researchers found that Britons work an additional 460 hours a year on average as they are able to respond to emails on their mobiles.
The study by technology retailer Pixmania reveals the average UK working day is between 9 and 10 hours, but a further two hours is spent responding to or sending work emails, or making work calls. More than 90 percent of office workers have email-enabled phones, with a third accessing them more than 20 times a day. Almost one in ten admits spending up to three hours outside their normal working day checking work emails. Some workers confess they are on call almost 24 hours a day, with nine out of ten saying they make work emails and calls outside their normal working hours. The average time for first checking emails is between 6 am and 7 am, with more than a third checking their first emails in this period, and a quarter checking them between 11 pm and midnight.
Ghadi Hobeika, marketing director of Pixmania, said, “The ability to access literally millions of apps, keep in contact via social networks and take photos and video as well as text and call has made smartphones invaluable for many people. However, there are drawbacks. Many companies expect their employees to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and smartphones mean that people literally cannot get away from work. The more constantly in contact we become, the more is expected of us in a work capacity. “
1. Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．The average UK working time is between nine and twelve hours. |
| B．Nine-tenths spend over three hours checking work emails. |
| C．One-fourth check their first mail between 11 pm and midnight. |
| D．The average time for first checking emails is between 6 am and 8 am. |
| A．calling | B．using | C．reaching | D．getting |
| A．Every coin has two sides |
| B．It never rains but pours. |
| C．All that glitters is not gold.. |
| D．It’s no good crying over spilt milk. |
| A．Workaholics like smartphones. |
| B．Employers don’t like smartphones. |
| C．Smartphones make our life easier. |
| D．Smartphones bring about extra work. |
【推荐1】Goffin’s cockatoos, a kind of small parrot native to Australasia, have been shown to have similar shape-recognition abilities to a human two-year-old. Though not known to use tools in the wild, the birds have proved skilful at tool use while kept in the cage. In a recent experiment, cockatoos were presented with a box with a nut inside it. The clear front of the box had a “keyhole” in a geometric shape, and the birds were given five differently shaped “keys” to choose from. Inserting the correct “key” would let out the nut.
In humans, babies can put a round shape in a round hole from around one year of age, but it will be another year before they are able to do the same with less symmetrical (对称的) shapes. This ability to recognize that a shape will need to be turned in a specific direction before it will fit is called an “allocentric frame of reference”. In the experiment, Goffin’s cockatoos were able to select the right tool for the job, in most cases, by visual recognition alone. Where trial-and-error was used, the cockatoos did better than monkeys in similar tests. This indicates that Goffin’s cockatoos do indeed possess an allocentric frame of reference when moving objects in space, similar to two-year-old babies.
The next step, according to the researchers, is to try and work out whether the cockatoos rely entirely on visual clues (线索), or also use a sense of touch in making their shape selections.
1. How did the cockatoos get the nut from the box in the experiment?| A．By following instructions. | B．By using a tool. |
| C．By turning the box around. | D．By removing the lid. |
| A．Using a key to unlock a door. | B．Telling parrots from other birds. |
| C．Putting a ball into a round hole. | D．Grouping toys of different shapes. |
| A．How far they are able to see. |
| B．How they track moving objects. |
| C．Whether they are smarter than monkeys. |
| D．Whether they use a sense of touch in the test. |
| A．Cockatoos: Quick Error Checkers | B．Cockatoos: Independent Learners |
| C．Cockatoos: Clever Signal-Readers | D．Cockatoos: Skillful Shape-Sorters |
【推荐2】Medical artificial intelligence (AI) can perform with expert-level accuracy and deliver cost-effective care. IBM’s Watson diagnoses (诊断) heart disease better than cardiologists (心脏病专家) do. Chatbots give better medical advice to patients in place of nurses. Some forecast that medical AI will enter 90% of hospitals and replace as much as 80% of what doctors currently do. Yet, as our recent research suggests, patients show a strong resistance to medical AI.
The reason, we found, is not the belief that AI provides lower care. Nor is it that patients think that AI is more costly or less informative. Rather, resistance to medical AI seems to come from a belief that AI does not take into account one’s specific circumstances. People view themselves as unique. By contrast, they think medical care delivered by AI providers is suited to treat an average patient but unsuitable to account for the unique circumstances that apply to an individual. No wonder that medical AI providers are given a cold welcome.
There are a number of steps that care providers can take to overcome patients’ resistance to medical AI. For example, if an AI provider is capable of tailoring its recommendation for whether to have a surgery to each patient’s unique characteristics and medical history, patients would be likely to follow the treatment recommendations of the AI provider. In addition, health care providers could also deliver individualized health care by explaining how the algorithms (算法) work and sharing patients’ reviews with the media. Having a physician confirm the recommendation of an AI provider should make people more willing to accept AI-based care. People are comfortable using medical AI if a physician remains in charge of the ultimate decision.
AI-based health care technologies are being developed and employed at an impressive rate, providing better medical services for the patients. But harnessing the full potential of them will require that we first overcome patients’ doubt of having an algorithm, rather than a person making decisions about their care.
1. What made people resist the medical AI?| A．A sufferer’s temper ignored by medical AI. |
| B．People’s lasting trust in a human doctor’s ability. |
| C．The concern about its personalization in treatment. |
| D．The accuracy of the information from medical AI. |
| A．Treating sufferers as average patients. |
| B．Providing a more specific treatment. |
| C．Getting the algorithms prioritized in time. |
| D．Keeping away from the influence of a physician. |
| A．Weakening. | B．Storing. | C．Destroying. | D．Using. |
| A．Advantages of Medical AI |
| B．Potential Application of AI |
| C．How AI Replaces Nurses in Healthcare |
| D．The Challenge That Medical AI Faces |
【推荐3】Sales of electric vehicles（EVs）grew by 40 percent last year worldwide. In the US, nearly a third of drivers want their next car to be electric. Almost 100 pure-electric vehicles are set to be launched by the end of 2024. Many manufacturers, including GM, Jeep, and Volvo, have promised to offer fully electric lists before this decade is done.
Though some EVs are still eye-wateringly expensive, plenty of other EVs are even more affordable. When assessing the cost of an EV, keep in mind that many states offer additional buying payment if you're switching to an electric vehicle. Some models will even qualify you for a federal tax credit of up to $7,500. Then there are the long-term savings. A typical EV owner spends less than a traditional car owner on vehicle services. One reason is that EVs don't have transmissions or clutches, two of the costliest parts to repair.
EVs go without the classic vroom（加速时发出的呜呜声）we expect to hear when we floor it. That quietness can catch pedestrians off guard and strikes some drivers as terrible. That's why several electric automakers have turned to sound designers to copy these desired engine noises.
You can run an electric car through a car wash without worry. The water will not damage any of the electrical components or the battery because these systems are specially sealed to prevent water entry. What you do need to watch out for, however, is extreme cold or heat. Both will affect the battery and reduce an EV's range.
While EVs produce far fewer emissions than conventional cars do, they aren't without environmental influence. Coal is still burned to create the electricity that charges them. And EV production is emission intensive（密集排放型）. So power systems need to become carbon-free and EV batteries need to fully become recyclable before EVs can be truly emission-free.
1. What can we know about EVs from Paragraph 1?| A．Their trend is uncertain. | B．Their future is promising. |
| C．Their producers are declining. | D．Their purest ones are launched. |
| A．Lack of expensive parts. | B．Long-term free repair fees |
| C．The government's support. | D．The additional buying payment. |
| A．Quiet passers-by. | B．The water damage. |
| C．The extreme temperature | D．Batteries' short life. |
| A．Recyclable Electrical Vehicles Win Markets |
| B．Driving Electrical Vehicles Will Be Common |
| C．Electrical Vehicles Are Within Reach in the US |
| D．Keep Current with Facts About Electric Vehicles |
