【推荐1】In the first year or so of Web business, most of the action has revolved around efforts to tap the consumer market. More recently, as the Web proved to be more than a fashion, companies have started to buy and sell products and services with one another. Such business-to-business sales make sense because business people typically know what product they are looking for.

However, many companies still hesitate to use the Web because of doubts about its reliability. “Businesses need to feel they can trust the pathway between them and the suppliers,” says senior analyst Blane Erwin of Forrester Research. Some companies are limiting the risk by conducting online transactions only with established business partners who are given access to the company’s private Internet.

Another major shift in the model for Internet commerce concerns the technology available for marketing. Until recently, Internet marketing activities have focused on strategies to “pull” customers to sites. In the past year, however, software companies have developed tools that allow companies to “push” information directly onto consumers. Companies such as Virtual Vineyards are already starting to use similar technologies to push messages to customers about special sales, product offerings, or other events. But push technology has earned the contempt of many Web users. Online culture thinks highly of the notion that the information flowing onto the screen comes there by specific request. Once commercial promotion begins to fill the screen uninvited, the distinction between the Web and television fades. That’s a prospect that horrifies Net purists.

But it is nearly inevitable that companies on the Web will need to resort to past strategies to make money. A Web site selling the right kind of products with the right mix of interactivity, hospitality, and security will attract online customers. And the cost of computing power continues to free fall, which is a good sign for any enterprises setting up shop in silicon. People looking back 5 or 10 years from now may well wonder why so few companies took the online plunge.

1. All of the following statements are true EXCEPT that ________.

A．two major shifts in Internet commerce are mentioned in this passage

B．in some way, the Web acts as the pathway

C．“push” technology enjoys low reputation among Web users

D．many companies began to take the online plunge decades ago.

2. In the view of Net purist, ________.

A．there should be no marketing messages in online culture

B．money making should be given priority on the Web

C．the Web should be able to function as the television set

D．there should be no online commercial information without requests

3. The term “past strategies” (Line 1, Para. 4) refers to ________.

A．interactivity, hospitality and security	B．business-to-business sales
C．“push technology”	D．online marketing

4. The author’s tone of writing this passage is ________.

A．pessimistic	B．hopeful
C．disappointed	D．indifferent

【推荐3】Children as young as ten are becoming dependent on social media for their sense of self-worth, a major study warned.

It found many youngsters (少年) now measure their status by how much public approval they get online, often through “likes”. Some change their behavior in real life to improve their image on the web.

The report into youngsters aged from 8 to 12 was carried out by Children’s Commissioner (专员) Anne Longfield. She said social media firms were exposing children to major emotional risks, with some youngsters starting secondary school ill-equipped to cope with the tremendous pressure they faced online.

Some social apps were popular among the children even though they supposedly require users to be at least 13. The youngsters admitted planning trips around potential photo-opportunities and then messaging friends — and friends of friends — to demand “likes” for their online posts.

The report found that youngsters felt their friendships could be at risk if they did not respond to social media posts quickly, and around the clock.

Children aged 8 to 10 were “starting to feel happy” when others liked their posts. However, those in the 10 to 12 age group were “concerned with how many people like their posts”, suggesting a “need” for social recognition that gets stronger the older they become.

Miss Longfield warned that a generation of children risked growing up “worried about their appearance and image as a result of the unrealistic lifestyles they follow on platforms, and increasingly anxious about switching off due to the constant demands of social media”.

She said: “Children are using social media with family and friends and to play games when they are in primary school. But what starts as fun usage of apps turns into tremendous pressure in real social media interaction at secondary school.”

As their world expanded, she said, children compared themselves to others online in a way that was “hugely damaging in terms of their self-identity, in terms of their confidence, but also in terms of their ability to develop themselves”.

Miss Longfield added: “Then there is this push to connect — if you go offline, will you miss something, will you miss out, will you show that you don’t care about those people you are following, all of those come together in a huge way at once.”

“For children it is very, very difficult to cope with emotionally.” The Children’s Commissioner for England’s study — Life in Likes — found that children as young as 8 were using social media platforms largely for play.

However, the research — involving eight groups of 32 children aged 8 to 12 — suggested that as they headed toward their teens, they became increasingly anxious online.

By the time they started secondary school — at age 11 — children were already far more aware of their image online and felt under huge pressure to ensure their posts were popular, the report found.

However, they still did not know how to cope with mean-spirited jokes, or the sense of incompetence they might feel if they compared themselves to celebrities (名人) or more brilliant friends online. The report said they also faced pressure to respond to messages at all hours of the day — especially at secondary school when more youngsters have mobile phones.

The Children’s Commissioner said schools and parents must now do more to prepare children for the emotional minefield (雷区) they faced online. And she said social media companies must also “take more responsibility”.

They should either monitor their websites better so that children do not sign up too early, or they should adjust their websites to the needs of younger users.

Javed Khan, of children’s charity Barnardo’s, said: “It’s vital that new compulsory age-appropriate relationship and sex education lessons in England should help equip children to deal with the growing demands of social media.

“It’s also hugely important for parents to know which apps their children are using.”

1. Why did some secondary school students feel too much pressure?

A．They were not provided with adequate equipment.

B．They were not well prepared for emotional risks.

C．They were required to give quick responses.

D．They were prevented from using mobile phones.

2. Some social app companies were to blame because_______.

A．they didn’t adequately check their users’ registration

B．they organized photo trips to attract more youngsters

C．they encouraged youngsters to post more photos

D．they didn’t stop youngsters from staying up late

3. Children’s comparing themselves to others online may lead to _______ .

A．less friendliness to each other

B．lower self-identity and confidence

C．an increase in online cheating

D．a stronger desire to stay online

4. According to Life in Likes, as children grew, they became more anxious to_______.

A．circulate their posts quickly

B．know the qualities of their posts

C．use mobile phones for play

D．get more public approval

5. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．The influence of social media on children.

B．The importance of social media to children.

C．The problem in building a healthy relationship.

D．The measure to reduce risks from social media.

【推荐1】Amazon’s chief executive officer, Jeff Bezos, refused to address employees’ demands that the company take action on the climate crisis at its annual shareholder meeting.

About 50 members of the group Amazon Employees for Climate Justice attended the event, representing 7,700 staffers who signed a letter publicly urging Amazon to change its climate policy. Employees put forth a proposal (提议) at the meeting requesting a public report on climate change from Amazon’s board (董事会) of directors. The board suggested shareholders vote against it, and it was not passed.

After the proposal failed to pass, employees attempted to meet Jeff Bezos, who refused to meet with them.

“Jeff remained off-stage, ignored the employees and would not speak to them. Jeff’s inaction and lack of meaningful response indicated his dismissal of the climate crisis,” the group said in a statement after the event.

At a press conference following the shareholder meeting, the employees suggested Amazon should put forth a timeline for reaching a zero emission (排放) goal.

“Amazon has the scale and resources to spark the world’s imagination and lead the way on addressing the climate crisis. What we’re missing is the leadership from the very top of the company,” said Jamie Kowalski, a software engineer who co-filed the resolution and attended the shareholder meeting.

The proposal noted that other tech giants have released reports on their contributions to climate change and have committed to addressing concerns. Microsoft has been carbon neutral (碳中和), meaning it balances its carbon emissions with carbon removal. Google has been carbon neutral since 2007.

A spokesman from Amazon confirmed that none of the shareholder proposals outlined ahead of the vote were passed, including the request for a report on climate change. The employee group said in the press conference that the board’s standpoint on the proposal made it difficult to pass. They said they would continue to pressure Amazon.

1. Why wasn’t the proposal from employees passed?

A．The board wasn’t in favour of it.

B．They didn’t provide all the details.

C．Some workers didn’t sign their names.

D．They didn’t seek Jeff Bezos’ approval first.

2. What does the underlined word “dismissal” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Having curiosity.	B．Having confidence.
C．Lack of attention.	D．Lack of experience.

3. What’s Jamie Kowalski’s attitude to Jeff Bezos?

A．Confused.	B．Unconcerned.
C．Supportive.	D．Disappointed.

4. Why did the proposal mention Microsoft and Google?

A．To show other companies have taken action.

B．To show Amazon will follow other companies.

C．To show all companies are facing great pressure.

D．To show big companies care less about the environment.

【推荐2】We’ve all experienced that feeling that comes when your phone makes a sound to tell you that its battery level is low. It often comes at the worst times – when you’re out on a trip and don’t have a charger, or when you’re expecting an important phone call.

Indeed, this feeling is so common that South Korean electronics manufacturer LG has given it a name: low battery anxiety.

According to a survey of 2,000 US adults conducted by the company last year, 90 percent of respondents said that they panic if their battery level reaches 20 percent or lower.

And last month, UK telecommunications service provider 02 found that around 15.5 million Britons live in “constant fear” of their mobile phones running out of power, according to a survey by the company.

“The problem is not about being unable to make calls, but is rooted in the fact that smartphones are now where we store digital memories,” noted the Daily Mail.

However, battery worries don’t just affect smartphone lovers. Many owners of electric vehicles also suffer from so-called “range anxiety”. This refers to the concern that the vehicle may not make it to its destination before the power runs out.

Meanwhile, it isn’t just low power that people worry about. A study carried out by South Korea’s Sungkyunkwan University and China’s City University of Hong Kong found that many of us also worry about not having constant access to our phone.

This condition is known as nomophobia, short for “no mobile phone phobia（恐惧症）”. Symptoms include feeling uncomfortable when access to one’s phone isn’t possible, being unable to turn off your phone, and constantly topping up the battery to make sure it never dies.

So, why do so many people treat their smartphone with such importance? The underlying reason may be that they keep us connected to the people around us, and if we’re unable to use our phone, we feel like we’re cut off from our social life.

With products with bigger batteries being released all the time though - such as Xiaomi’s Mi Max smartphone range or Tesla’s Model S cars – battery anxiety may hopefully soon be a thing of the past.

1. The major reason for people’s “low battery anxiety” lies in ________.

A．They cannot afford to miss important calls.

B．They may lose contact with their friends when they’re out on a trip.

C．The charger is not available when needed.

D．They have no access to the digital memories stored in the phone.

2. The following conditions indicate that you are likely to experience “nomophobia” EXCEPT that ________.

A．you attach great importance to connecting with the outside world

B．you find yourself searching for your phone when it is not at hand

C．you constantly charge your phone to almost full

D．you always keep your phone on

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．All of the respondents do not panic when their battery level is lower than 20%.

B．People who experience “range anxiety” worry about the quality of their car.

C．People value their phone because they want to participate in more social activities.

D．All these problems will be solved if products with bigger batteries are released.

4. What’s the writer’s attitude towards the solution to low battery anxiety?

A．Unconcerned.	B．Skeptical.
C．Positive.	D．Disapproving.

【推荐3】After moving to the United States, immigrant groups trying to fit in tend to choose high calorie fatty foods in an attempt to appear more American, a new study finds.   That's one reason why immigrants approach US levels of obesity within 15 years of moving to America.

The researchers also did an experiment that measured whether or not the threat of appearing un-American influenced respondents’ food choices. After being questioned about their ability to speak English , 75 percent of Asian-Americans identified a typical American food as their favorite. Only 25 percent of Asian-Americans who had not been asked if they spoke English did the same.

When their American identity was called into question during a follow-up study, Asian-American participants also tended to choose typical American dishes, such as hamburgers and cheese sandwiches.   In that experiment, 55 Asian-Americans were asked to choose a meal from a local Asian or American restaurant. Some participants were told that only Americans could participate in the study. Those who chose the more typical American fare ended up consuming an extra 182 calories,   including 12 grams of fat and 7 grams of saturated fat (饱和脂肪 ).

“People who feel like they need to prove they belong to a culture will change their habits in an attempt to fit in, ” said Sauna Cheryan , an author of the study and assistant professor of psychology at the University of Washington.

“If immigrants and their children choose unhealthy American foods over healthier traditional foods across their lives, this process of fitting in could lead to poorer health.” Cheryan added.

Social pressures, the study concluded, are at the heart of the problem.   “In American society today, being American is associated with being white. Americans, who don't fit this image even if they were born here and speak English, feel that pressure to prove that they’re American,” said Cheryan.

1. The author wants to show that _____

A．immigrants tend to eat American junk food to fit in

B．more and more Asians enjoy high-calorie snacks

C．most Americans are at the risk of heart disease

D．all the American people have a bad eating habit

2. According to the survey, _______

A．Asian-Americans care less about their health

B．25 percent of Americans like junk food

C．immigrants are forced to eat junk food

D．choosing food is related to Asian-Americans' situation

3. The underlined word “fare” in Paragraph 3 most probably means “________”

A．a person taking a taxi

B．food offered as a meal

C．money spent on food

D．an arranged thing to do

4. According to Sauna Cheryan, ________

A．what immigrants have done is ridiculous

B．immigrants risk their health in order to fit in

C．American traditional foods are healthier

D．American culture affects immigrants deeply

【推荐1】Do you remember all those years when scientists argued that smoking would kill us but the doubters insisted that we didn’t know for sure? That the evidence was inconclusive, the science uncertain? That the antismoking lobby was out to destroy our way of life and the government should stay out of the way? Lots of Americans bought that nonsense, and over three decades, some 10 million smokers went to early graves.

There are upsetting parallels today, as scientists in one wave after another try to awaken us to the growing threat of global warming. The latest was a panel from the National Academy of Sciences, enlisted by the White House, to tell us that the Earth’s atmosphere is definitely warming and that the problem is largely man-made. The clear message is that we should get moving to protect ourselves. The president of the National Academy, Bruce Alberts, added this key point in the preface to the panel’s report: “Science never has all the answers. But science does provide us with the best available guide to the future, and it is critical that our nation and the world base important policies on the best judgments that science can provide concerning the future consequences of present actions.”

Just as on smoking, voices now come from many quarters insisting that the science about global warming is incomplete, that it’s OK to keep pouring fumes into the air until we know for sure. This is a dangerous game: by the time 100 percent of the evidence is in, it may be too late. With the risks obvious and growing, a prudent people would take out an insurance policy now.

Fortunately, the White House is starting to pay attention. But it’s obvious that a majority of the president’s advisers still don’t take global warming seriously. Instead of a plan of action, they continue to press for more research — a classic case of “paralysis by analysis.”

To serve as responsible stewards of the planet, we must press forward on deeper atmospheric and oceanic research. But research alone is inadequate. If the Administration won’t take the legislative initiative, Congress should help to begin fashioning conservation measures. A bill by Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, which would offer financial incentives for private industry, is a promising start. Many see that the country is getting ready to build lots of new power plants to meet our energy needs. If we are ever going to protect the atmosphere, it is crucial that those new plants be environmentally sound.

1. What was an argument made by supporters of smoking?

A．There was no scientific evidence of the correlation between smoking and death.

B．The number of early deaths of smokers in the past decades was insignificant.

C．People had the freedom to choose their own way of life.

D．Antismoking people were usually talking nonsense.

2. What can science serve as according to Bruce Alberts?

A．A protector.

B．A judge.

C．A critic.

D．A guide.

3. What does the word “prudent” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Cautious.

B．Arbitrary.

C．Responsible.

D．Expericed.

4. Why does the author associate the issue of global warming with that of smoking?

A．They both suffered from the government’s negligence.

B．A lesson from the latter is applicable to the former.

C．The outcome of the latter aggravates the former.

D．Both of them have turned from bad to worse.

【推荐2】By now you've probably heard about the "you're not special"speech,when English teacher David McCullough told graduating seniors at Wellesley High School:" Do not get the idea that you're anything special, because you're not." Mothers and fathers present at the ceremony took issue with these words. But lost in the uproar was something we really should be taking to heart: our young people actually have no idea whether they're particularly talented or accomplished or not. In our eagerness to lift their confidence,we forgot to teach them how to realistically assess their own abilities, a crucial requirement for getting better at anything from math to music to sports. In fact, it's not just privileged high-school students: we all tend to view ourselves as above average.

Such inflated self-judgments have been found in study after study, and it's often exactly when we're least competent at a given task that we rate our performance most generously. In a 2006 study published in the journal Medical Education, for example, medical students who scored the lowest on an essay test were the most charitable in their self-evaluations, while high-scoring students judged themselves much more severely.

Poor students, the authors note,"lack insight" into their own inadequacy.Why should this be?Another study, led by Comell University psychologist David Dunning, offers an enlightening explanation. People who are less capable, he writes with co-author Justin Kruger, suffer from a"double burden": they're not good at what they do, and their very ineptness prevents them from recognizing how bad they are.There's a conflict here, the authors note:"The skills that help to develop competence in a particular field are often the very same skills necessary to evaluate competence in that field." In other words, to get better at judging how well we're doing at an activity,we have to get better at the activity itself.

There are a couple of ways out of this double bind. First,we can learn to make honest comparisons with others. Train yourself to recognize excellence, even when you yourself don't possess it, and compare what you can do against what truly excellent individuals are able to accomplish. Second, seek out feedback that is frequent, accurate and specific. Find a critic who will tell you not only how poorly you're doing.but just what it is that you're doing wrong. As Dunning and Kruger note, success indicates to us that everything went right, but failure is more ambiguous: any number of things could have gone wrong. Use this external feedback to figure out exactly where and when you screwed up.

If we adopt these strategies---and most importantly, teach them to our children---they won't need parents,or a commencement(毕业典礼)speaker, to tell them that they're special. They'll already know that they are,or have a plan to get that way.

1. The author thinks the real problem is that ________.

A．young people are expected to lift their confidence

B．young people don't know how to evaluate their performance correctly

C．young people can't make outstanding academic achievements

D．we always tend to consider ourselves to be privileged

2. Why can't those low-achieving students see their weakness?

A．Because the burdens they carry prevent their development.

B．Because what they do requires mope skills than they possess.

C．Because they lack the critical ability to judge their performance.

D．Because they have always been told by others that they are special.

3. What can we infer from the suggestions given by the writer?

A．We need to acknowledge our excellence so that we can do better.

B．The best way to get better is to carefully study past failures on our own.

C．We should make comparisons with others so that we can know where and when we failed.

D．It is essential that we know where our limitations are and seek honest comments from others.

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

A．Special or Not? Teach Kids to Figure It Out

B．Let's Admit That We Are Not That Special

C．Tips on Making Ourselves More Special

D．Tell the Truth:Kids Overestimate Their Talents