【推荐2】In 2013, Harris Academy, a school in south London, stopped its students from using slang (俚语) words, such as ain’t. The move led to an argument over whether it is necessary to control the way students speak.

The creation of slang is one way languages change. Slang, or informal language, usually changes more rapidly than standard language. For example, the word groovy, meaning “great,” used to be very popular in the 1960s and 1970s. But by 1980, people had stopped using it.

One important reason we use slang is to show others that we belong to a group. Another is to communicate an idea in a more colorful or humorous way. For example, the phrase jump ship creates a stronger image than the more standard leave an organization. While in the Internet age, slang expressions are created faster than ever. Often, Internet slang words are created to make messages faster and easier to type.

Some people are strongly against the use of slang. Teachers at Harris Academy were worried that slang would prevent their students from learning how to read, write, and express themselves correctly. They thought this might cause problems for them when they finally went on to apply to universities or companies.

However, some people think differently. Linguist (语言学家) Tony Thorne sees slang as a way for speakers of a language to show their creativity and humor. And, unlike what some believe, slang is not a new phenomenon. As Thorne explains, “Slang has not become more popular, simply more public.” In today’s highly connected world, slang has become more noticeable because of better tools to observe language change.

Perhaps the worries mentioned above can be solved by making people understand when to use certain forms of language. As long as people use slang correctly, there is no need to completely avoid it.

1. Why did the author mention the example of “groovy”?

A．To show why languages change.	B．To show slang often changes fast.
C．To show the popularity of slang.	D．To show how standard language forms.

2. What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．Why people use slang.	B．How people use slang.
C．Different types of slang.	D．The development of slang.

3. What can we infer from Tony Thorne’s words in Paragraph 5?

A．Slang takes time to develop.

B．Slang is being accepted by the public.

C．Slang is increasingly known to the public.

D．More and more people are beginning to use slang.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards Harris Academy’s decision on slang?

A．He disagrees with it.	B．He supports it.
C．He is confused about it.	D．He is uncertain about it.

【推荐3】Some people browse TikTok and Instagram for recipes, memes and colorful opinions on the news. Erin Coleman says her 14-year-old daughter uses these apps to search for videos about mental health diagnoses (诊断).

Over time, the teen started to self-identify with the creators, according to her mother, and became convinced she had the same diagnoses, including depression, autism (自闭症), mysophobia (洁癖) and agoraphobia (a fear of leaving the house).

“Every week, she would come up with another diagnosis,” Coleman told CNN. “If she sees a hint (暗示) of herself in someone, she thinks she has it, too.” After undergoing testing for mental health and medical conditions, her daughter was diagnosed not with the long list of conditions she had thought about but with severe anxiety. “Even now, she doesn’t always think the specialists are correct,” Coleman said.

Social media platforms, including TikTok and Instagram, have come under mounting scrutiny (审查) in recent years for their potential to lead younger users to harmful content and worsen what experts have called a national mental health crisis among teens. But Coleman is one of nearly two dozen parents who told CNN that they are worried about a different but related issue: teens using social media to diagnose themselves with mental health conditions.

A growing number of teens are turning to social platforms such as Instagram and TikTok for guidance, resources and support for their mental health, and to find conditions they think match their own—a trend that has alarmed parents, doctors and school counselors (辅导员), according to interviews with CNN. Some teens start to follow creators who discuss their own mental health conditions, symptoms and treatments; others have come across posts with symptoms checklists to help decide if they meet the criteria for a diagnosis.

Using the Internet to self-diagnose is not new, as anyone who has used WebMD knows. And there can be some benefits. Some parents said social media has helped their teens get mental health information they’ve needed and has helped them feel less alone.

1. What is Erin Coleman’s daughter’s problem from the first two paragraphs?

A．She is addicted to Internet videos.

B．She can’t cook unless she has a recipe.

C．She suffers from many mental illnesses.

D．She self-diagnoses her mental health online.

2. Why is Erin Coleman’s daughter tested?

A．To confirm the doctor’s diagnosis.

B．To explain the dangers of self-diagnosis.

C．To show that self-diagnosis is not reliable.

D．To keep her mother from worrying about her.

3. What can we learn about social platforms such as Instagram and TikTok?

A．They lead younger users to harmful content.

B．They cause mental health crisis among teens.

C．They provide criteria for mental health diagnosis.

D．They are harmful for teens’ self-diagnosis of mental illness.

4. What is the author’s attitude toward social media?

A．Unclear.

B．Objective.

C．Doubtful.

D．Approving.

【推荐1】In August 2019, two citizen scientists, Sunniva Sorby and Hilde FalunStrom landed on Spitsbergen, in Norway’s Svalbard island group. They planned to work through the winter, then go home in May 2020. But their ship could not come because of COVID-19 shutdowns. For fourteen months, they lived in a small cabin on an icy island near the North Poles. Sometimes, hurricane-force winds forced freezing air through the cabin’s slats. Once, wind ripped the door open. Sunniva and Hilde couldn’t close it until the storm ended! Between storms, silence settled on the cabin. Then, they could hear the crunch-crunch-crunch of polar bears walking in the snow.

Their days started at 7 am and ended after midnight. Each morning, they wore down-stuffed jackets and pants as they waited for the wood-burning stove to heat the cabin. They cut pieces of freshwater ice to melt for drinking, cooking and bathing. For the stove, they gathered driftwood. They cooked their meals, including pizza! These tasks used up large stretches of each day. They also kept in touch with schools and other groups. They wrote blog entries and answered e-mails. For fun, they danced to music, exercised, practiced yoga and read.

“We are efficient here,” Sunniva wrote. “We have a routine, habits, and systems. We have time for what matters most living safely while making a contribution to our understanding of a changing world.” They conducted lots of experiments. They gathered data on climate change, using a drone (无人机) to measure sea-ice temperatures. They observed wildlife and tested new technologies, including an electric snowmobile.

To stay four extra months, they had to eat smaller amounts of food so they wouldn’t run out. “It was difficult being here, so far away from everything,” Sunniva wrote. “Food, shelter, and warmth are often taken for granted until you are on your own.” But, they wrote, “We have packed our patience, our smiles, and good spirits.” And they enjoyed the adventure, finding ordinary miracles every day.

1. What can we learn about the two scientists on Spitsbergen?

A．They lived a boring life there.	B．They could always keep the door closed.
C．They brought drinking water with them.	D．They stayed in contact with other groups.

2. What did Sunniva and Hilde do according to Paragraph 3?

A．They watched the wildlife carefully.	B．They invented an electric snowmobile.
C．They conducted experiments on drones.	D．They collected data of new technologies.

3. Which of the following best describes these two scientists?

A．Generous.

B．Optimistic.

C．Sensitive.

D．Honest.

4. What does the author want to convey through the two scientists’ story?

A．Well begun, half done.	B．It’s easier said than done.
C．Every cloud has a silver lining.	D．A friend in need is a friend indeed.

【推荐2】Salt is important. But if we eat too much, it may cause some diseases, such as high blood pressure. That’s bad. We do, however, have to make sure we include salt in food that we eat every day. There are many kinds of salt you can buy. Some are cheap, others expensive. One of the many reasons that some salt is more expensive than others is that it contains more minerals. One of the finest salts you can buy is called bamboo salt and it’s made in South Korea.

When it comes to Korean food, you will probably think of kimchi. If you have ever tried kimchi, you will know that it can be salty. It’s unlikely that bamboo salt is used in the production of kimchi. But like kimchi, bamboo salt has a very long history. Koreans used bamboo salt thousands of years ago. Dr Kim Ⅱ Hoon began producing the bamboo salt we can buy today in the early twentieth century. When he died in 1992, his son took over. It takes a long time to produce. The process (工序) goes something like this.

Sea water is evaporated (蒸发), leaving the salt. This is put into three-year-old bamboo cases. The bamboo is covered with natural clay, rich in minerals, then baked for up to fifteen hours. The salt hardens and the bamboo burns away. The hardened salt is then ground into a powder (粉末). The process is repeated seven more times. It is then heated a ninth time up to 1,700 degrees Celsius. When the salt cools down, it is as hard as stone. Its colour has changed from grey to purple. The stone is once again ground down and is ready to use.

The repeated heating process removes the impurities (杂质) from the salt. The bamboo gives the salt sweetness not found in other salts. It is high in many minerals including potassium, phosphorus and iron. Bamboo salt is said to be good for many different illnesses. These include helping digestion (消化) and managing blood pressure.

1. What does the underlined word “That” in the first paragraph refer to?

A．People having high blood pressure.

B．Salt possibly causing some diseases.

C．Some people taking in cheap salt.

D．Salt being expensive.

2. What makes bamboo salt more expensive than other salts?

A．Its sweet smell.	B．Its use in medicine.
C．The way it is made.	D．The minerals it contains.

3. What do we know about bamboo salt?

A．It was invented in 1992.

B．It is widely used to produce kimchi.

C．It was developed by Dr Kim Ⅱ Hoon.

D．It can be produced in a very short time.

4. What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．The process of making bamboo salt.

B．The way to harden the salt.

C．Reasons for heating the salt.

D．Advantages of bamboo salt.