【推荐1】What is technology doing to language?Many assume the answer is simple: ruining it. Kids can no longer write except in text-speak. Grammar is going to the dogs. The ability to compose thoughts longer than a post is disappearing. Language experts tend to resist it, noting that there is little proof that speech is really worsening, nor is formal writing falling apart. A study by Cambridge Assessment found almost no evidence for text-speak in students’ writing.

Fortunately, the story of language and the Internet has attracted more serious analysts, too. Now Gretchen MeCulloch, a journalist of the generation that grew up with the Internet, joins them with a new book, Because Internet, which focuses on what can be learned about language from the Internet. Biologists grow bacteria in a Petri dish partly because they are born and reproduce (繁殖) so quickly that studies over many generations can be done in a reasonably short period. Studying language online is a bit like that: trends appear and disappear, platforms rise and fall, and these let linguists observe changes that would otherwise take too much time.

For example, why do languages change?A thousand years ago, early English and Icelandic were closely related. English has since developed hugely, and Icelandic far less. Linguists have studied the relative effects of strong and weak ties (friends, family) in such patterns, concluding that small communities would host more stable languages. The Internet combines strong and weak ties-and sure enough, drives more language change.

In the end, Ms McCulloch’s book is about the birth of a new medium rather than a new language. Mass reading has now been joined by mass writing: frequent, error-filled and quick-fading. Little surprise that Internet users have created tools to give their writing the gesture, playfulness and even meaninglessness of chat. Mistaking it for the downfall of “real” writing is a category error. Anything that helps people enjoy each other’s company can only be a good thing.

1. Why are bacteria in a Petri dish mentioned in Paragraph 2?

A．To explain bacteria have a short lifetime.

B．To stress the difficulty of researching language online.

C．To reveal the relation between language and the Internet.

D．To show online language can be studied in limited time.

2. What contributes to the fast development of English?

A．A large English-speaking population.	B．The lasting effect of mass media.
C．A stable language-using community.	D．The wide application of the Internet.

3. What’s the author’s attitude to online language?

A．Ambiguous.

B．Positive.

C．Objective.

D．Cautious.

4. In which section of a newspaper can we read this passage?

A．History.

B．Culture.

C．Sports.

D．Life.

【推荐2】Given their reputation as solitary creatures that come together only to mate and hibernate, the idea of snakes banging out in groups with their "best friends" may sound a little far-fetched. However, a recent study conducted by researchers from Canada's Wilfrid Laurier University states that the reptiles（爬行动物）not only actively seek out socialization with their peers, but are also extremely particular about who they spend time with.

For the study, the team led by Ph. D. student Morgan Skinner and associate professor Dr. Noam Miller, selected 40 non-poisonous garter snakes. Ten were from a single litter purchased from a snake breeder, while the remaining were captured from the wild. After marking each sample with a bit of color to allow for easy identification, the researchers placed ten snakes inside each of the four plastic shelters contained within a tabletop enclosure.

Skinner photographed each snake group twice a day before removing them from their shelters. After cleaning the areas thoroughly to rid them of any familiar smells, the reptiles were rearranged into different groups and returned to the enclosure. A camera placed over the shelters allowed the scientists to capture the animals' movements every five seconds, 12 hours a day, for a total of eight days.

When Skinner and Miller analyzed the images, they found that regardless of where they were placed, the snakes always found their original "friends", forming groups of three or eight inside the all shelters. "They have experienced social cognition," Miller told National Geographic. "They can tell others apart".

The scientists, who published their findings in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, are not sure why the snakes seek out friendships. However, they believe the animals would not waste their energy forming bonds unless it were beneficial to them, Miller assumes that the tendency for snake friends to curl up with one another probably helps keep wet and warm in the wild. Being in groups may also help keep predators at bay.

1. What does the underlined word "far-fetched" in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．Original.

B．Attractive.

C．Incredible.

D．Reasonable.

2. How do the 10 snakes the researchers bought differ from the others?

A．They are easier to identify.	B．They are non-poisonous.
C．They have better cognitive abilities	D．They know each other better.

3. How did the researchers come to the conclusion?

A．By analyzing previous data.	B．By studying images of various snakes
C．By tracking the snakes movements in the wild	D．By comparing the results of the two shots.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Why Snakes Seek Out Friendships	B．Snakes Have "Best Friends" Too
C．How Snakes Socialize like Humans	D．Snakes Form Groups to Protect Themselves

【推荐3】Being physically fit at age 18 is linked to a higher IQ, a new study finds. The researchers also show that fitness predicts greater educational and professional achievements later in life. Earlier studies have found links between physical fitness and intelligence(智力)in animals, children and older adults. But the relationship in young adults hasn’t been clear.

In the new study, researchers used data(数据)to examine over 1.2 million young men born in Sweden between 1950 and 1976. All the men had their physical fitness and intelligence assessed(评估) at age 18. The researchers compared this information to details of later achievements in academic(学术), social and economic aspects from other national databases and made some findings.

Fitness in the 18-year-olds was strongly linked to scores on intelligence tests. “Being fit means that you have good heart and lung capacity and that your brain gets plenty of oxygen, ’’ says Dr. Michael Nilsson of the University of Gothenburg. “This may be one of the reasons why we can see a clear link with fitness.” The researchers also found that fit teens were more likely to get a university degree later in life. Fitness at age 18 was also linked to landing better jobs, with Higher pay or management responsibilities.

The findings point to the importance of encouraging physical fitness in teens. “If so, physical education is a subject that has an important place in schools,” says Dr. Maria Aberg of the University of Gothernburg.

1. What is the new study about?

A．The relationship among young adults.

B．IQ differences between children and adults.

C．Educational and professional achievements.

D．Teenagers’s physical health and intelligence.

2. How did the researchers make the findings?

A．By comparing data.	B．By using earlier studies.
C．By giving intelligence tests.	D．By interviewing young men.

3. What do the findings of the research suggest?

A．Similar researches should be made.

B．Jobs with higher pay are hard to get.

C．It’s time to improve teenagers’ intelligence.

D．Physical education should be stressed in schools.

【推荐1】Now we are in a "golden age" of space-sample collection and exploration. Space agencies around the world are busy collecting, or planning to collect, samples from asteroids（小行星），moons and planets and so on.

China's Chang'e-5 mission is the most recent sample-return mission that has been successfully completed. On Dec 17, 2020, the Chang'e-5 lunar probe（探测器）returned home and landed in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after weeks of space travel, China Daily reported. This was the world’s first lunar sample-return mission since 1976. The mission collected 1,713 grams of samples of rocks and dust with the help of a drill and a mechanical（机械的）arm.

Another space sample-return mission was completed on Dec 6, 2020. Japan's Hayabusa-2 probe returned a capsule to Earth containing valuable samples from the asteroid Ryugu. This was the second time asteroid samples had ever been collected and brought back to Earth. The first asteroid samples were collected by the original Hayabusa spacecraft back in 2010.

There will be more such missions in the near future. NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which collected samples from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020, is expected to return to Earth in 2023. Russia's Lunar-25 mission is scheduled to launch to the moon in 2021 to collect lunar samples.

“I cannot emphasize enough how valuable return samples are for increasing our understanding of the origin and evolution of our solar system and our place in the universe, and how we came to be," said Ann Nguyen, a NASA planetary scientist

As for the Chang'e-5 lunar samples, scientists will conduct various analyses, tests and experiments to determine the composition, structure and physical characteristics of the samples. This information will help to deepen our knowledge about the history of the moon, as well as our solar system as a whole.

1. What do we know about the Chang'e-5 lunar probe?

A．It was launched on Dec 17,2020.

B．It completed the most successful mission.

C．It collected the world's first lunar sample.

D．It brought back more than 1,700 grams of lunar samples.

2. What does the author focus on in paragraphs 3 and 4?

A．Providing examples.	B．Explaining a concept.
C．Drawing comparisons.	D．Making a summary.

3. Why do we collect samples from space according to Ann Nguyen?

A．To learn more about how the solar system originates and evolves.

B．To determine the structure of the solar system.

C．To deepen our knowledge about our place on Earth.

D．To understand how water first appeared on the moon.

4. Which can be a suitable title for the text?

A．A "golden age" comes	B．Man explores space
C．Space samples land	D．Scientists analyse samples

【推荐2】Libraries are romantic places. The romance is that of reading, and the wealth of human imagining and learning that is contained in them. Access to the knowledge and literary art (poetry, fiction, drama) in a library is precious and particularly valuable to young minds and people of any age with an interest in education.

It would be hard to find anyone who actively objects to libraries. But when it comes to reality, Britain’s libraries are on less solid ground. The number of books borrowed in the year ending in March 2021 was 72.9 million, down 56% on the previous year. Physical visits also collapsed (崩溃), from 214.6 million to 59.7 million.

Of course, this is the behavior that one would expect during a pandemic. Many libraries were closed during this period, while people were discouraged from unnecessary mixing. Book sales climbed to their highest in a decade in 2021, which suggests that some former users of libraries may have bought books instead.

Private libraries at home, whether large collections or single bookshelves, appear to be developing well. But the hope must be that visits and loans at public libraries will soon return to their former level too. Like any other service, libraries need users. And while booksellers might in one sense be regarded as competitors, in fact the vast majority of those participating in the trade, from publishers to poets, are library lovers.

This has something to do with the romantic idea of the reader as explorer, with every book a door to a new store of feeling or understanding. But it also involves the recognition that if books are to form part of our life, there must be space in public for them. Books can be treasured personal properties, but there is also something special about a copy that arrives in your hands having passed through those of others and that will go on being passed between strangers who share your curiosity.

1. What has happened to British libraries?

A．They have been in a bad state.	B．They have become romantic places.
C．They have got great attraction for artists.	D．They have suffered great loss of users.

2. What has led to development of the private home libraries?

A．People avoid close contact in public.	B．Many libraries have been pulled down.
C．People have access to affordable books.	D．More people are against public libraries.

3. What does the author try to convey in the last paragraph?

A．Books are precious personal belongings.	B．Libraries are a magic heaven for explorers.
C．Books should be attached importance to.	D．Libraries contribute to human connection.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Libraries will gradually fade out of stage.	B．Libraries will still hold a promising future.
C．Booksellers benefit from libraries’ collapse.	D．The pandemic has promoted British book sales.

【推荐3】Have you ever heard the saying “If you want a friend, be one”? Here is how anew teacher made friends with the girls and boys in her class on the first day of school. As the bell rang, the teacher smiled at each girl and boy. Then she said in a quiet voice, “Good morning. How nice it is to have all of you in my class this year. I’d like to know each of you. I am sure we will enjoy working together.” Everyone felt that she meant what she said because of her sweet voice and her friendly look.

She told the girls and boys her name and wrote it on the black- board. Then she told them some of the things she liked to do and she was hoping to do with them during the year.

Then she said to the class, “Now you know my name and the things I like and I want to know your names and the things you like. Then I will feel that I know you.”

Could you make friends by doing the same as this teacher did? One way of getting to know girls and boys in your class is to find out more about them. It is often easy to be friends with those people who have the same hobbies with you. You play the same games and go on journeys together.

You may find that some newcomers in your class miss their old friends and feel strange and lonely. You can invite them to take a walk or to ride bikes with you. You will find many things in common to talk about. Just talking together in a friendly manner is one good way to make friends.

1. The teacher’s sweet voice and her friendly look ________.

A．made every girl and boy happy

B．told the girls and boys everything about herself

C．showed that she would like to be a friend of the girls and boys

D．meant she wanted to tell the boys and girls something interesting

2. A new comer will be your friend if ________.

A．he always feels lonely	B．you ask him to do something
C．he always thinks of his old friends	D．you talk with him in a friendly way

3. If you want to make friends with others, which of the following shouldn’t you do?

A．Learn more about them.	B．Go on journeys together.
C．Find out your differences.	D．Try to talk together.

4. What is the best title for this text?

A．How to make friends	B．A friend in need is a friend indeed
C．How to befriends with newcomers	D．Teachers can make friends with students