【推荐2】You probably like blue, and you’re not alone. Across the globe, a majority of people tend to select blue as their favourite colour. A new study from University of Wisconsin found that not only do we adore blue, but we start to give meaning to colors as we age.

During the study conducted by psychology professor Karen Schloss at the University of Wisconsin in 2019, the researchers investigated the science of how different people perceive colour. They noted that subjects with a preference for a sports team found their favourite team’s colors more favourable. The more they valued their team, the more they favoured the specific colour. “It tells us that our experiences with the world are constantly influencing the way we view colour,” Schloss says.

So, why does blue dominate lists of favorites? From previous surveys the researchers found that blue has been a favourite colour. Even the earliest-recorded colour studies from the 1800s show that blue is universally loved, due at least in part to our fondness for blues in nature. Many colors in nature that we love are blue, especially a blue sky, the sea and many flowers. A blue sky is enough to make many people very happy. It’s possible then, that blue offer plenty of positive experiences, which we unconsciously link to our favourite colour.

But blue isn’t the only attention-grabbing colour. The other finding of the research was that our colour interests change as we gain new experiences. The younger you are, for instance, the more likely you are to enjoy a brighter colour. As you age, you’re more likely to take on darker colors as your favorites; younger women, according to the researchers, tend to enjoy purples and reds, while younger men may lean toward green or yellow-green. The studies showed that dark yellowish-brown was the world’s least liked colour.

To simply put, the things we enjoy most in our lives will drive our colour preferences.

1. What does the underlined word “It” refer to in paragraph 2?

A．People’s preference for a colour.	B．A subject’s personality.
C．The specific sports team.	D．The feature of colors.

2. What can be learned about blue in paragraph 3?

A．Human beings are fully linked to nature.

B．Our preference for blue is longstanding.

C．It’s a coincidence that blue is our favourite.

D．Blue is not necessarily linked to our experiences.

3. What was the second finding of the research?

A．We may prefer brighter colors as we age.

B．Our colour preferences may shift over time.

C．Colour preferences change our view of the world.

D．We tend to stick with just one colour in our lives.

4. Which of the following would be the best title?

A．Blue Is Probably Your Top Choice of Color

B．Studies on Color and Their Findings

C．Colour Preferences Shaped by Your Experiences

D．Women of Different Ages Prefer Different Colors

【推荐3】Blind people usually possess one advantage over other people who can see. Their sense of hearing is far more acute. Bats, whose sight is poor, use a sound location system to help them avoid blocks in the dark. They send out pulses of sound waves, pitched at 50,000 cycles per second, far above the limits of the human ear, which can hear sounds up to frequencies of about 20,000 cycles per second. As the echoes bounce back off obstacles such as trees and walls, the bats are able to take proper action.

The first steps to help blind people to see with sound are based on exactly the same principle. The sound is given off by an ultrasonic (超声的) torch, whose shape is different from a normal electric torch. It is double-barreled. It works in a similar way to a sonar (声呐) unit on a warship or submarine. The unit’s transmitter sends out pulses of ultrasonic waves at the same frequency as the bat and the receiver picks up the returning echoes. Because these are still above the frequency at which the human ear can pick them up. The echoes are filtered (过滤) through circuits that turn them into “bleeps” which can be clearly heard before passing them into headphones.

This means that a person holding the torch can point it ahead of him and scan the area for obstacles over a range of about 25 feet. If there are no return echoes coming through the headphones, then there is nothing in the way. If echoes do come back, then the closer the obstruction the faster the succession of bleeps and the deeper the pitch of each bleep. With practice, the torch could help a blind person to lead a more normal life.

At present, the experimental ultrasonic torch requires a shoulder bag to carry the batteries, cables for the power supplies and earphones, as well as the torch itself. Fortunately, reducing the size of the electronic equipment is progressing and it should not be long before the whole set-up can be reproduced in a form small enough to fit into a pair of glasses. The wearer would face in the direction he wanted to check, and lift or lower his head just as a sighted person would.

1. Which statement of the following is NOT true according to the article?

A．Bats can avoid blocks in the dark.

B．Blind people have more acute sense of hearing than normal people.

C．The ultrasonic torch doesn’t send out the same pulse frequency as the bat does.

D．The shape of ultrasonic torch is different from a normal electric torch.

2. What is the ultrasonic torch used for?
a. Helping the blind to walk.
b. Helping deaf children to watch sports.
c. Helping the blind to lead a better life.
d. Being used in a warship or submarine during a war.

A．a b

B．a c

C．a d

D．b c

3. What can we infer from this article?

A．The ultrasonic glasses have been produced.

B．The blind with the ultrasonic torch can walk themselves.

C．The blind should not go further without return echoes.

D．The experimental ultrasonic torch is easy to carry.

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．The ultrasonic torch can improve the life of the blind.

B．Animals can help scientist invent new equipment.

C．The technology is progressing rapidly.

D．The ultrasonic torch is not easy to carry now.

【推荐1】The proportion of teenage and young adults smokers in China has been increasing rapidly in recent years, which is an alarming trend, the president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Wang Chen said on Thursday.

Last year, 18.6 percent of people aged 15 to 24 in China were smokers, compared with 12. 5 percent in 2013 and 8.3 percent in 2003, Wang Chen said at a news conference on tobacco control. In contrast, tobacco prevalence among adults as a whole has been declining steadily in recent years-the percentage of smokers aged 15 and older last year in China was 26.6 percent, down from 27.7 percent in 2015, according to a report released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in May. Despite a general decline, the smoking rate in China is still higher than in most other countries, Wang said.

“What is most worrisome is the rising prevalence of tobacco among young people, which represents a country’s future,” he said. “Young smokers are very likely to keep the habit for their entire lives, which can cause huge health and economic consequences.”

Smoking has been regarded as a major culprit in many chronic diseases, and tobacco control has played a significant role in health promotion efforts made in recent years by the Chinese government, which aims to reduce the smoking rate for people aged 15 and older to 20 percent by 2030.

Wang said a lot of young people are still not aware of the harmful effects caused by smoking, and more education is needed to reduce the rising smoking rate. In addition, tobacco advertisements and rampant smoking footage in films and television series can also encourage smoking among teenagers and young adults, and they should be banned. “Key groups, such as medical staff, schoolteachers, government officials and parents, should take the lead in quitting smoking to help create a nonsmoking environment for teenagers and young adults,” he said.

1. What can we know from the numbers listed in para. 2?

A．Adult smokers has been increasing steadily.

B．People aged 15 and older are more likely to smoke.

C．The numbers of young smokers has been rising rapidly.

D．Smoking rate in China is higher than any other country.

2. What does the underlined word “culprit” in para. 4 probably mean?

A．reminder	B．issue
C．cause	D．crisis

3. What’s Wang Chen’s attitude to the phenomenon?

A．objective	B．concerned
C．indifferent	D．relieved

4. What’s the text mainly about?

A．Smoking rate among youth is rising.	B．Smoking accounts for many chronic diseases.
C．Smoking is harmful to our environment.	D．Smoking footage in films should be banned.

【推荐2】When I was 16 years old and in foster care in Tennessee, people told me I was unadoptable. But I desperately wanted a family. I sought the help of a judge, even the commissioner of the Department of Children’s Services, and was adopted (收养) just a week before my 18th birthday.

We have a lot to be grateful for and this holiday season let’s not forget about the more than 415,000 youth in foster care especially older youth. These youth are the most likely to get overlooked for adoption, but they shouldn’t be. They need and deserve a family just as much as young children do. Making an older youth a part of your family can bring just as much a joy as adopting a baby or a younger child—without all the diapers（尿布） and potty training（如厕训练）.

My adoption was life changing and probably the best thing that ever happened to me. I still remember the first gift my parents gave to me. It was a Mickey Mouse key chain with a key to their home. They told me that no matter what happened they would always love me and I’d always have a place to come home to. This is our 17th Thanksgiving together...

My first Thanksgiving with my family was a little overwhelming with lots of extended family including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. However, it’s when I realized that I would never have to spend another holiday alone and that was truly an amazing feeling.

I was always eager to spend time with my little sister, Beth. She was six when I joined the family. My dad always says he knew we were really sisters, and I was no longer a guest in the house when Beth and I had our first fight. Today, she’s one of my best friends, and I’m her biggest cheerleader.

There were also bittersweet Thanksgivings. One we spent in my mom’s hospital room. It was there that she helped me plan my wedding but passed away three weeks before the ceremony. My dad walked me down the aisle, and my sister was my maid of honor. Because of our bond, we were able to support each other through that challenging time and that’s what family is for—the good and bad times.

It’s nice having my dad and sister to share holidays and special occasions. But they’re even more important when it comes to the little things—like having someone to share my bad day with, celebrate my promotion at work, or help me think through a difficult decision. It’s in these moments that I just can’t imagine being alone in the world.

I’m so glad that I didn’t listen to those people who said I was unadoptable, I’d never find a family, and that I was putting myself out there for rejection. It’s a risk for older foster youth to consider adoption. It’s an opportunity to be rejected once again. But it’s a risk they should take because life doesn’t end at 18. It’s really just beginning.

If you know someone who might consider adopting an older teen, please share my story -- and have him or her think of my family. They didn’t get to see my first steps or watch me be a pilgrim in my second grade Thanksgiving play. But they taught me so many things about life, and were there to watch me walk across the stage when I graduated from college and law school and accompanied me to the White House last year as I was honored for my work helping foster youth.

I look forward to many more Thanksgivings with my family, and I’m eternally thankful they chose me to be a part of their family.

1. We can learn from the author’s personal experience that ________.

A．older youth will bring less joy than babies

B．it’s rather difficult for older youth to be adopted

C．an older youth like her is too old to need a family

D．being accepted by the family is within her expectation

2. What contributes to the author’s feeling that she can’t imagine being alone in the world?

A．The family’s giving the author a Mickey Mouse as a gift.

B．The author’s spending her Thanksgiving with her extended family for 17 years.

C．The mother’s failing to attend the author’s wedding ceremony for her severe disease.

D．The family’s always sharing happiness and sorrow with her.

3. According to the author, what does adoption really mean for youth?

A．being loved and accepted	B．being taken good care of by others.
C．being successful in career.	D．getting along well with siblings

4. What’s the author’s main purpose of writing the passage?

A．To express her appreciation for her family.

B．To show sympathy to the unadoptable older youth.

C．To call on more people to adopt the older youth.

D．To persuade the readers not to believe others’ words.

【推荐3】Australian experts have expressed concerns that too many millennials are hoping to use their social media accounts to build their careers.

Their concerns follow the sudden rise in Internet celebrities who make money by posting photos or videos online. For the lucky few who are not only talented in photographing but also good-looking and business-savvy, making money from social media isn’t impossible.

Social media platforms are flooded with professionals paid to promote products and services. However, social scientist Lauren Rosewarne, from the University of Melbourne, said, “In reality, there are far fewer people making money from the platforms than one may think. ” She also said many young Australians were getting sucked in social media platforms by the appeal of making money quickly from the platforms, describing it as “totally unrealistic”.

“Young people are hoping to be famous in numbers that were simply not there 20 years ago,” Rosewarne told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). “There are some people who can make fortunes out of monetizing(使赚钱) their posts, but that is not the norm,” she said. “It is up to parents and schools to discourage students from seeking fame, as many believe it is a possible career choice. There’s the warning for parents; this is not a normal or even common occurrence that you can monetize your social media account. ”

Meanwhile Toni Eagar from the Australian National University said social problems could arise from spending too much time on social media. “Where do the Internet celebrities go to separate the life people see on social media websites from their actual normal life?” Eagar said. “All of a sudden, people own your private life. ”

1. Why is there a rise in Internet celebrities?

A．Many young people are good at taking photos.

B．People want to socialize by sharing photos online.

C．Many people see being Internet celebrities as an easy way to make money.

D．Social media offers a reliable career choice tomillennials.

2. What does the underlined phrase “getting sucked in” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Benefiting from.	B．Being satisfied with.
C．Taking advantage of.	D．Getting involved in.

3. What message does the author convey by quoting Lauren Rosewarne?

A．Young people today are more business-savvy than ever.

B．Young people become less interested in Internet fame.

C．It’s not a wise choice to promote new products on social media platforms.

D．It’s a bad idea for young people to try earning money from social media platforms.

4. Toni Eagar thinks the overuse of social media could cause _____.

A．a loss of personal privacy	B．an inability to appreciate life
C．an overreliance on the Internet	D．an addiction to the virtual life online

【推荐1】It was once common to regard Britain as a society with class distinction. Each class had unique characteristics.
In recent years, many writers have begun to speak of the ‘decline of class ’ and ‘classless society ’ in Britain. And in modern day consumer society everyone is considered to be middle class.
But pronouncing the death of class is too early. A recent wide-ranging study of pubic opinion found 90 percent of people still placing themselves in a particular class; 73 percent agreeed that class was still a vital part of British society.; and 52 percent thought there were still sharp class differences. Thus, class may not be culturally and politically obvious, yet it remains an imprtant part of British society. Britain seems to have a love of stratification.
One unchanging aspect of a British person’s class position is accent. The words a person speaks tell her or his class. A study of British accents during the 1970s found that a voice sounding like a BBC newsreader was viewed as the most attractive voice. Most people said this accent sounds ‘educated ’ and ‘soft ’. The accents placed at the bottom in this study, on the other hand, were regional(地区的) city accents. These accents were seen as ‘common ’ and ‘ugly ’. However, a similar study of British accents in the US turned these results upside down and placed some regional accents as the most attractive and BBC English as the least. This suggests that British attitudes towards accent have deep roots and are based on class prejudice.
In recent years, however, young upper midder-class people in London, have begun to adopt some regional accents, in order to hide their class origins. This is an indication of class becoming unnoticed. However, the 1995 pop song ‘ Common People ’ puts forward the view that though a middle-class person may ‘ want to live like common people ’ they can never appreciate the reality of a working class life.
1. A recent study of pubic opinion shows that in modern Britain_________.

A．it is time to end class distinction

B．most people belong to middle class

C．it is easy to recognize a person’s class

D．people regard themselves socially different

2. The word stratification in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to_________.

A．variety	B．division
C．authority	D．qualification

3. The study in the US showed that BBC English was regarded as _________.

A．regional	B．educated
C．prejudiced	D．unattractive

4. British attitudes towards accent_________.

A．have a long tradition

B．are based on regional status

C．are shared by the Americans

D．have changed in recent years

5. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．The middle class is expanding.

B．A person’s accent reflects his class.

C．Class is a key part of British society.

D．Each class has unique characteristics.

【推荐2】Do you like to eat many different foods at the same time? Most of us do, but to buy twenty dishes at a restaurant is just too expensive for most Americans. A good way is to eat a potluck (百乐餐).

The idea is to have each family in a community prepare one or two dishes only and bring them to a large room. Many soups, salads, meats, hot dishes, cold dishes, desserts, and drinks are put on the table at one time. Each family member then takes a paper plate, a plastic knife, a fork, a spoon and a paper cup. In turn, they pick out the food they want to eat and fill their own plates with a balanced meal. Then, they sit with either their family or friends.

When they finish, they may go back to the table and eat more food for there is always more than the group can eat at one time. Following the meal, everyone puts their paper plates and cups as well as the plastic knives, forks, and spoons into the rubbish container.

At many potlucks, the people then begin having fun. A group of four men may sing as a Barbershop Quartet. A pianist or a violinist may play a solo. Often there is group singing. Sometimes there is a liars contest. Three people are chosen to tell a story. They leave the room and come back and two tell a true story while one tells a lie. The lie must be a clever story so it will be hard to choose which of the three stories is not true. The liars contest always causes everyone to laugh loudly.

Everyone leaves the potluck in good spirits as they have all eaten a very good meal and they have enjoyed themselves very much.

1. How does the author explain a potluck?

A．A meal contained in a pot that will bring you good luck.

B．An ordinary meal for several families.

C．A big meal for some special guests.

D．A meal where many families eat together each preparing one or two dishes.

2. How can people at a potluck enjoy themselves?

A．A group of three men may sing as a Barbershop Quartet.

B．A pianist or a violinist may play as a Barbershop Quartet.

C．Three people are often chosen to have a liars contest.

D．Three people are chosen to tell a true story.

3. Why is it hard for people to choose the lie in the liars contest?

A．Because the lie is also a true story.

B．Because the lie is told by a clever liar.

C．Because the lie is required to be a clever story.

D．Because the true stories are easy to tell.

4. What is the author‘’s purpose in writing this passage?

A．To introduce a community activity.

B．To speak highly of a social activity.

C．To show a very effective way to eat well.

D．To show the importance of a potluck.