【推荐1】Although Paris is often considered the city of romance, close to a million adults who call it home are single. Many single people say that France’s capital is one of the most difficult places to meet people. The complaints of this lonely group have inspired a new phenomenon known as “supermarket dating”. At Galerie Lafayette Gourmet, singles can shop for more than just the items on their grocery list. They can look for someone who has blue eyes, brown hair, and is 1.8 meters tall, or whatever may be on their romantic shopping list.

At this Paris location, single people of all ages can schedule their shopping for Thursday nights between 6:30 and 9:00 p.m. When they walk through the door, they pick up a purple basket to advise that they are looking for love. They try to arrive early because the baskets disappear quickly, and then they have to wait in line for their turn to wander the store aisles. With purple baskets in hand, shoppers can consider their romantic options while they pick out their groceries. When they are ready to pay, they can go to the checkout line for singles who want to chat.

Most of the people who look for love in the supermarket are skeptical of Internet dating. They know that it is easy to embellish (美化) one’s appearance or to lie about one’s age over the Internet. The supermarket, on the other hand, is considered a safe and casual environment in which to meet a potential match. In addition, what one finds in another’s grocery basket can say a thing or two about that person’s character or intentions. Buying pet food can be a man’s way of showing a potential match that he has a sensitive side. Women who fill their baskets with low-fat food show their healthy style of living. These days it’s possible to find much more than food at a grocery store.

1. What do many single people in Pairs complain about?

A．The difficulty in finding a match.

B．The idea of supermarket dating.

C．The items on their grocery list.

D．The inconvenience in shopping.

2. Which of the following can be inferred but is not clearly stated in the second paragraph?

A．The dating supermarket is located in Paris.

B．The dating supermarket is open only on Thursday evenings.

C．Only single people can shop in the supermarket.

D．The dating supermarket has very good business.

3. How do love shoppers meet one another?

A．They schedule their meeting in advance.

B．They go through a special checkout.

C．They pick out their groceries with great care.

D．They dial the phone numbers on their shopping items.

4. Why do the people prefer the supermarket dating to Internet dating?

A．The supermarket dating is more convenient.

B．The supermarket dating is more fun.

C．The supermarket dating is more trustworthy.

D．The supermarket dating is more economical.

【推荐2】When international aid is given, steps must be taken to ensure that the aid reaches the people for whom it is intended. The way to achieve this may not be simple. It is very difficult for a nation to give help directly to people in another nation. The United Nations Organization (UNO) could undertake to direct the distribution of aid. Here however rises the problem of costs. Also tied with this is time. Perhaps the UNO could set up a body of devoted men and women in every country who can speedily distribute aid to victims of floods and earthquakes.

More than the help that one nation can give to another during a disaster, it would be more effective to give other forms of help during normal times. A common proverb says, “Give me a fish and I eat for a day, teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime.” If we follow this wise saying, it would be right to teach people from less developed nations to take care of themselves. For example, a country could share its technology with another. This could be in simple areas like agriculture or in more complex areas like medical and health care or even in building satellites. Even a small country is able to help less developed nations. Sometimes what is taken for granted, like the setting up of a water purification plant or the administration of a school, could be useful for countries which are looking about to solve common problems. It does not cost much to share such simple things. Exchange students could be attached for a number of months or years and learn the required craft while on the site. They can then take their knowledge back to their homelands and if necessary come back from time to time to clear doubts or to update themselves. Such aid will be truly helpful and there is no chance of it being temporary or of it falling into the wrong hands.

Many countries run extensive courses in all sorts of skills. It will not cost much to include deserving foreigners in these courses. Besides giving effective help to the countries concerned, there is also the build-up of friendships to consider. Giving direct help by giving materials may be effective in the short run and must continue to be given in the event of emergencies. However, in the long run what is really effective would be the sharing of knowledge.

1. The second paragraph is developed mainly _________.

A．by example	B．by process
C．by comparison	D．by contrast

2. Which aid is likely to fall into the wrong hands?

A．A medical team.	B．An exchange program.
C．A water plant.	D．Financial support.

3. What can we infer about international aid from the passage?

A．It is facing difficulties.

B．It should be given in the form of materials.

C．It has gained support by developed countries.

D．It is unnecessary during normal times.

【推荐3】Transhumanism, first coined in 1957 by biologist Julian Huxley, meant “man remaining man, but going beyond himself by realizing new possibilities of and for his human nature.” Generally speaking, transhumanism in its modern meaning implies that human beings can be enhanced by the means of science to the extent when they rise above biological limitations and capabilities programmed by nature.

There are numerous areas which, according to transhumanists, require enhancement. In particular, transhumanists work on such problems as overcoming the physical boundaries of the human body. Starting with aging, which they believe to be rather a disease than a natural process, and ending up with replacing organs with their artificial ones. All kinds of nanotechnologies for repairing damaged organs; nerve stimulants and drugs to alter mood and eliminate negative emotions; brain implants and implanted technologies to allow interconnectivity between multiple human beings and to advance intelligence. Some of the technologies transhumanists plan to employ to push the boundaries of humanity are available already. For example, gene therapy allowing to cure or stop certain diseases that were considered terminal; CRISPRi or SHARP-2 methods, which were discovered not so long ago, have already proved to be efficient in treating a number of complicated medical conditions. Virtual reality, another technology from science-fiction movies of the late 1980s, has become not so virtual either, after all. VR device can be easily purchased from online stores, and the prices are affordable. So far, it has been mostly used for games and education, but in the future, the range of its useful applications will definitely broaden.

About a hundred years ago, the idea of flying in the skies seemed absurd, until Wilbur and Orville Wright proved this assumption wrong. Who knows, perhaps in a couple of decades the concepts listed here, no matter how fantastic they look now, will become reality. Moral aspects and the price humanity will have to pay for such advancements are a different subject.

1. Which of the following statements is true about transhumanism?

A．Developing human beings beyond their natural capabilities by technology.

B．Promoting human health but remaining their physical appearances.

C．Improving the human condition through social and cultural change.

D．Going beyond human beings physical limitations through natural evolution.

2. How do transhumanists handle aging problem?

A．By holding the belief that it is a disease.

B．By replacing organs with man-made ones.

C．By employing gene technology to stop diseases.

D．By using nanotechnologies to improve mood.

3. What is the writer’s attitude towards VR technology?

A．Skeptical.

B．Conservative.

C．Objective.

D．Ambiguous.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．What is the meaning of transhumanism?

B．Can science overcome our natural limitations?

C．How can we enhance our health via modern technologies?

D．Does technological advancement really benefit human?

【推荐1】For the last ten years, we’ve worked one-on-one with kids from elementary school through graduate school. No matter their age, no matter the material, when you ask what they’re struggling with, kids almost universally name a subject: math, English or, in some instances, school. Doubting that all of school is the issue, we then ask to see their last test. After some complaints, the student digs down, deep into the dark of his or her backpack, and pulls out a piece of dirty paper that, once smoothed out, turns out to be the latest exam.

To a teacher, this should be incredibly frustrating. You spend a huge part of your life grading tests, commenting on essays, and providing thoughtful feedback on homework assignments, only to have them compressed and ignored. Yes, kids look at their tests, but you shouldn’t harbor any illusion that they look at anything but the red letter grade. Before writing kids off for being ungrateful or lazy, you need to understand why what they’re doing makes perfect sense.

Telling kids they need to take advantage of the feedback they get isn’t just good advice — it’s established science. In the last few decades, researchers have discovered a lot about how people become experts. The main idea, made popular by everyone, is the 10,000-hour rule. Ten thousand is the number of hours it takes to become an expert in almost any field.

So why don’t kinds view their mistakes as a valuable asset(财富)? Well, kids don’t think about their mistakes rationally(理性地) — they think about them emotionally. Mistakes make kids feel stupid. “Stupid” is just that: a feeling. Specifically, it’s the feeling of shame, and our natural response is to avoid its source. If we get a bad grade, we hide the test away. Unsurprisingly, that’s the worst move to make if you ever want to get better. Academic success does not come from how smart or motivated kids are. It comes from how they feel about their mistakes.

1. The passage suggests that learning to face mistakes and take advantage of them is ________.

A．a great difficult thing to both kids and adults

B．of great importance to the growth of kids

C．a common practice that scientists always neglect in their work

D．the best way for language experts to be excellent in their fields

2. According to the passage, the best way for kids to deal with their mistakes is by _______.

A．doing whatever they like to do without taking their mistakes seriously

B．ignoring their mistakes and holding on their own opinions

C．seeking advice and feedback from teachers, experts and scientists

D．being brave to their mistakes without considering them as a shame

3. Which of the following does the writer think kids should not do when making mistakes?

A．Learn from their mistakes.	B．Listen to the teachers’ advice.
C．Regard themselves as stupid.	D．Think about their mistakes rationally.

4. According to the writer, teachers in school should ________.

A．point out kids’ mistake whenever found

B．help kids overcome the feelings about making mistakes

C．give kids more book knowledge

D．always correct kids’ mistake

【推荐3】With homework loads increasing and the piano, foreign languages and the International Mathematical Olympiad taking over the rest of their time, children today have very little opportunity to simply play.

According to experts, free play, unconstrained by time and not structured by adults, is crucial to a child’s development. It helps children strengthen social bonds, build emotional maturity, develop cognitive skills, and shore up their physical health. And it prepares children’s brain for life, love and even schoolwork.

Nowadays, a growing number of parents think that children should be allowed to play, or explore, every waking hour. Instead of sending their kids to a formal school with classes, teachers and schedules, they leave them to their own devices to learn about the world. It is a controversial yet increasingly popular method of education called “unschooling.”

Mr. Hewitt, the father of two unschooled boys, is the author of a new book on the method. His boys spend their days in a true Huckleberry Finn fashion, exploring in the woods and helping out on the family farm. They both learned how to read and write essentially with zero instruction around age eight. They can add, subtract, multiply and divide. They can also catch fishes, start a fire and cook them on a hot stone.

Unlike in traditional home-schooling, where children follow a curriculum under a parent’s supervision, unschooled children have the freedom to decide what and when to learn, be it reading, art, math or distinguishing between insect species.

Unschooling is not a new phenomenon. The movement started in the 1970s, popularized by educator John Holt, and became an alternative to the largely religiously motivated home-schooling. However, the United States Department of Education does not distinguish between home-schooled and unschooled children, so there are no official statistics on the movement. But according to Mr. Hewitt, it is generally accepted that the number of unschoolers is around 10 percent of all home-schooled children, which now make up three percent of all students.

Critics still worry, however, about both the children’s socialization and their academic performance. “There is no empirical evidence to suggest that unschooling is beneficial to learners, especially when it comes to reading,” Sandra Martin-Chang, a researcher at Concordia University, says. “We have done lots of research on guided learning, scaffolding, expert vs. non-expert teaching and all of it points to the fact that learning by doing is great, but learning by doing with an expert is better.”

Curious about how these children have lived in the structured world, Peter Gray, a psychology professor at Boston College, conducted a survey of grown unschoolers. Many of them enter into higher education and succeed, being highly motivated and self-directed from the very beginning of their education.

They may have a hard time adjusting to schedules, but because it was their decision to attend college, they are often more diligent than their peers, Mr. Gray says. He adds that because during childhood they interacted with children of all ages, they report a better social life, though they are discouraged by the others’ lax attitude, the partying and the drinking.

Of the grown unschoolers surveyed, 78 percent are financially self-sufficient, Mr. Gray says, choosing careers that are extensions of their childhood interests, and are enjoyable and meaningful, rather than lucrative. Many of them pursue careers in the arts, and a high percentage are entrepreneurs or enter science and technology careers. Few go into middle management.

But while unschooling seems to produce successful adults, it is not exactly a method that facilitates equal opportunity. Though Mr. Gray says unschooling is the right solution for any child, unless they suffer from a severe developmental disorder such as autism, many families simply would not be able to afford it. The parents tend to come from educated backgrounds, but “if you home-school or unschool, you are cutting out some of your income,” the home-schooling advocate Patrick Farenga says.

“Everyone we know who unschools, in fact, has chosen autonomy over affluence,” Mr. Hewitt says. “Some years we are barely above the poverty line. But the truth is, unschooling is not merely an educational choice. It is a lifestyle choice.”

1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a benefit of free play to children?

A．Making preparations for schoolwork.

B．Developing cognitive skills.

C．Building emotional bonds.

D．Keeping their body healthy.

2. What does “a Huckleberry Finn fashion” mentioned in paragraph 4 most probably refer to?

A．A popular method of education.

B．A lifestyle full of adventures.

C．A way to learn mathematics.

D．A skill of catching and cooking fishes.

3. According to paragraphs 5&6, which of the following statements is TRUE about unschooling?

A．Unschooling, starting in the 1970s, was popularized by educator John Holt and later became an alternative to the school education.

B．There are no official statistics of unschooling because unschoolers are counted together with home-schooled children.

C．It is generally accepted that the number of unschooled and home-schooled children make up three percent of all students.

D．Unschooling gives children the freedom to choose what and when to learn like home-schooling.

4. Sandra Martin-Chang’s attitude towards unschooling is ________.

A．unschooling has a lot of benefits to learners

B．unschooling is better than learning with experts

C．unschooling improves children’s academic performance

D．unschooling is not as good as expert teaching

5. What can we learn from Peter Gray’s survey of grown unschoolers’ life in the structured world?
① They enter into higher education and succeed.
② They feel easy to adjust to schedules.
③ They are more diligent and sociable than their peers.
④ They choose careers in the field of management.

A．①②

B．②③

C．①③

D．③④

6. It can be inferred from the sentence “… has chosen autonomy over affluence” in the last paragraph that ________.

A．unschoolers choose a free lifestyle over wealth

B．most families are not able to afford unschooling

C．unschooling makes many unschoolers live in poverty

D．money is not as important as education