Saodat Sadikova is an English teacher in Jizzakh, Uzbekistan. As a young girl, she dreamed of becoming a flight attendant (空乘人员) and traveling the world, so she learned at least three languages. Although she was not able to become a flight attendant, Sadikova could speak Uzbek, Russian, English and Turkish. Sadikova has never traveled abroad but reports feeling connected to people around the world.
American Trina Bright worked in education for nearly 25 years and she traveled to many countries, including China and South Africa. Bright used stories from her travels to help her students in the U. S. understand their place in the world and see value in their own cultures. But Bright, unlike Sadikova, does not report feeling connected to people around the world.
Bright is not alone. Pew Research Center recently asked people in 24 countries a series of questions about how connected they feel to the world to see how travel experience relates to feelings of connectedness.
The study found that respondents (调查对象) who had traveled to at least one other country feel more connected to people around the world. 99 percent of respondents in the Netherlands reported having visited at least one other country and 77 percent of respondents from the Netherlands said they feel at least somewhat close to people all over the world. But international travel does not always mean a person feels a closeness to people around the world. 99 percent of Swedish respondents said they had visited at least one other country. Yet a much smaller number of Swedish respondents—47 percent—report feeling close to people all over the world.
Sadikova said she felt connected to the world because of media, which makes it quite easy to get to know events and news.
1. Why did Saodat Sadikova learn several languages?| A．To move abroad. | B．To broaden her view. |
| C．To connect to the world. | D．To achieve her flying dream. |
| A．She improved her education. | B．She applied them to her teaching. |
| C．She understood the value of culture. | D．She could speak a foreign language. |
| A．How people get to know the world. | B．How people feel connected to the world. |
| C．Why people enjoy international travel. | D．Why travel influences the connection of people. |
| A．The aim of the research. | B．The process of the research. |
| C．The result of the research. | D．The method of the research. |
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【推荐1】Will the next generation do better than the one that came before? To young people in wealthier nations, that dream of upward mobility seems more like a story about the past than modern-day reality, according to a large new survey taken in 21 countries. In poorer countries, though, there is still hope that young people’s lives will be better than those of their parents, and that the world is becoming a better place.
“In a lot of the developing world, there is a bit more optimism that with each generation our living standards are improving,” said Laurence Chandy, director of the office of global insight and policy at UNICEF, which conducted the survey with Gallup. “But there’s a recognition in the West that that’s stopped happening.” In the United States,56 percent of young people and 64 percent of older people said that children today would be worse off, economically, than their parents.
The survey was of 21,000 people in two age groups — 15 to 24, and 40 and up — and included nationally representative samples from all regions of the world. The younger group said that children today were better off in basic ways, like education, health care and physical safety.
And the best part of being a young person today? Technology, according to respondents in follow up interviews.
But young people also have significant concerns. In the survey, about nine in ten said they sometimes or often have anxiety. Six in ten said children today have more pressure from adults to succeed than their parents did.
In the six richest countries in the survey, about one-third of young people said they thought today’s children would be economically better off than their parents. They were particularly pessimistic (悲观的) in Japan, France, Britain and Spain.
In low-income countries, though, about two-thirds of young people said they thought today’s children would do better financially than their parents, especially in Africa and South Asia. They were also more likely than those in high-or middle-income countries to say the world was becoming a better place with each generation
1. How does the author develop the first paragraph?| A．By listing figure y giving examples | B．By giving examples |
| C．By following the time order | D．By making a comparison |
| A．Education | B．Health care | C．Technology | D．Physical safety |
| A．90% | B．60% | C．56% | D．64% |
| A．How to make the world a better place? |
| B．Where are young people most optimistic? |
| C．What are the concerns of young people about economy? |
| D．Will children be much healthier than their parents? |
【推荐2】Being lonely in the crowd might seem ridiculous. But according to a recent survey, the situation is all too common. Loneliness and other anxiety problems—worrying about life’s pressures—can even lead to self-murder.
An article in China Daily gave no reason for this other than the usual blame on the post-80s generation. According to a high-level official, young people suffering from discouragement are mostly spoiled (宠坏的) and have not been taught to be independent, responsible and express a “thank you”. Well, how do you like that? First, I don’t think China’s youth are exactly spoiled. They certainly have more things than their parents did, but a lot of money spent on them is for their education including various extra classes.
Discouragement and anxiety are now the fastest growing challenges in modern society. We sense a lack of close friends who we can talk to honestly and openly. In 1985, a US study found that one in ten people did not have such a friend. In 2006, it was one in four. It’s easy to see the connection between loneliness and discouragement. But what actually causes this increasing loneliness?
Surely, with social networking sites we have more friends than ever. But a new study has shown that the more time teenagers spend in front of computers, the less close they are to friends and family. WeChat or QQ may be fun but it lacks meaning, compared to personal connections in the real world.
And then there are those endless online games popular with young Chinese but increasingly there are more interesting choices. For example, new sports such as skateboarding are catching on (流行起来) in big cities, as is playing music in a band. These creative hobbies are done in a group and thus friendship can be stronger. Hopefully young people will also be drawn out of the Internet cafes and interactive (互动的) computer games that in fact fail to create a real interactive experience.
1. It can be inferred from Paragraph 3 that ______.| A．it’s now more difficult for people to find close friends to have an honest chat with |
| B．parents focus mostly on children’s education rather than the personality building |
| C．young people have no idea of expressing appreciation because of being spoiled |
| D．teenagers will create a real interactive experience to strengthen friendship |
| A．Open but ridiculous. | B．Honest and responsible. |
| C．Real and fun. | D．Interesting but meaningless. |
| A．To stay long in the Internet cafes. | B．To focus on extra courses. |
| C．To give up our own hobbies. | D．To play music in a band. |
【推荐3】LEFTIES historically have had a tendency to be left behind. Recently being left-handed was still considered abnormal. Of course, we now know there’s nothing wrong with being left-handed. And it does come with certain differences.
Lefties may be quicker thinkers. Lefties may be able to use both sides of the brain more easily and efficiently. According to a study published in 2006, lefties tend to have faster connections between the right and left hemispheres (半球) of the brain, which leads to quicker information processing — a cognitive (认知的) advantage that could benefit them in things like video games and sports.
Lefties have the upper hand in some sports. While less than 15 percent of the general population is left-handed, 25 percent of Major League baseball players are lefties. Why? It may be because they tend to have faster reaction times. But there’s another reason. Studies have found that lefties seem to have a real advantage in interactive sports, such as boxing and baseball — but this advantage doesn’t extend to non-interactive sports, like gymnastics and diving.
Lefties may be more creative thinkers. Many studies have suggested a link between left-handedness and creativity. Some research has found that lefties are better at abstract thinking. However, it’s important to find that studies show relation, not its causes and effects, so it takes time to prove the findings.
1. What does the underlined word “them” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Thinkers. | B．Connections. | C．Sports. | D．Lefties. |
| A．Baseball. | B．Diving. | C．Running. | D．Gymnastics. |
| A．Studies have suggested lefties are more creative thinkers. |
| B．There is a clear link between left-handedness and creativity. |
| C．Much needs to be done to prove lefties are more creative thinkers. |
| D．All the research has found that lefties are better at abstract thinking. |
| A．A guidebook. | B．A diary. | C．A magazine. | D．A novel. |
【推荐1】Record pressing companies are handling ongoing supply chain issues and accelerating demand for vinyl releases pushes long-playing sales to record highs.
According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), more than five million vinyl records were bought in 2021. It means that vinyl comprised 23% of all albums sold in the UK last year, the trade body (行业机构) says that vinyl is on course to beat CDs as the dominant physical medium of choice for music fans this year.
Some big-name releases in the latter half of the year are expected to push the sales even higher. The latest release from Harry Styles, Harry’s House, broke records in May has become the quickest-selling vinyl album in the US since 1991, selling 182,000 copies in its first week.
In the US, profits from the sale of vinyl albums grew by 61% in 2021, far outpacing growth rates for paid music and streaming services like Spotify, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. But in the wake of the revival (复兴) are some significant production problems. Dozens of record-pressing factories have been built to try to meet demand in North America — and it’s still not enough.
The industry “has found a new gear, and is accelerating at a new pace”, said Mark Michaels, boss of United Record Pressing, America’s largest record producer, in Nashville, Tennessee. There are now about 40 plants in the US – most of them smaller operations – but challenges remain. Where major record labels may have once pressed the records for their artists, now the manufacture of the discs is increasingly carried out by independent plants. Some, like Jack White’s Third Man Pressing, based in Detroit, are run by musicians themselves.
Backlogs (积压的工作) are preventing new releases, however, as the capacity of smaller firms to press new vinyl releases is held up by growing demand and supply chain failures. Shortages of raw materials melted and flattened into the actual records, have caused widespread problems. It is uneasy to launch a new plant because there are a handful of companies that make record-pressing machines. Those machines are backordered, as well.
In the UK, Press On Vinyl, have been established in recent years to meet increasing demand from acts of all sizes to have their tunes preserved in a physical format. The pressing plant adapts cutting-edge technology to make records with lower energy consumption, better quality control and a smaller chance of adding surface noise to the records than other manufacturing techniques.
But Danny Lowe, co-founder of the business along with David Todd, says: “Widespread problems along the supply chain are leaving record pressers at risk of being unable to meet the growing appetite for vinyl.” “Demand has grown from all quarters,” says Lowe, “whether from smaller independent artists who only order a run of 100 or so records, up to bigger acts who can take up the plant’s capacity for a while at a time.” “We’ve just added more machinery to our production line so that we have more available capacity.” he explains.
1. Which understanding of the underlined words is WRONG?| A．Vinyl: a kind of material. |
| B．Big-name: famous. |
| C．Backorder: delay filling the order. |
| D．A physical format: a finding in physics. |
| A．Physical medium has dominated the CD industry this year. |
| B．Vinyl comprised 23% of albums’ total sale of more than five million according to BPI. |
| C．The latest release from Harry House, Harry’s Styles, sold more than 180 thousand copies in its first week. |
| D．Big-name releases contributed to even higher sales. |
① Because of fans economy.
② Thanks to paid music and streaming services.
③ It was the newly-built factories that met the huge requirement.
④ The efficiency promotion, benefited from a new technique.
| A．①④ | B．①③④ | C．①②④ | D．②③④ |
| A．Because it had advanced technology. |
| B．To fill in the industry blank. |
| C．To arouse people’s love for vinyl. |
| D．Because of considerable benefits. |
| A．David Todd pointed out that the problem was they couldn’t meet needs. |
| B．Danny Lowe thought there was a need to supplement workers. |
| C．David Todd put more effort in the foundation of Press On Vinyl. |
| D．They both held a positive attitude towards the industry prospect. |
| A．What made the record industry so low. |
| B．The importance of promoting physical medium. |
| C．Other ways adopted to improve the situation. |
| D．Where records could have a better sale. |
【推荐2】Owning a home will make you £326,000 wealthier over a 30-year period than renting, before potential house price growth is even considered, a report has suggested.
The Equity (股本) Release Council, a trade body, found that nearly one in three homeowners saw their mortgage (按揭贷款) as an investment in their future. Nearly half of homeowners with a mortgage also agreed they were able to save more because their loan was cheaper than renting, thanks to unprecedented (没有先例的) low interest rates. About 40 per cent added that they believed having a mortgage in later life was becoming more acceptable and 57 percent said that they were looking at ways to release equity from their properties.
The report Home advantage: intergenerational perspectives on property wealth in later life examined trends that have changed the financial landscape for pensions and home ownership over the past three decades. The survey covered 5,000 UK adults questioned in May 2021. It compared the cost of renting privately with paying a mortgage on the average first-time buyer. It assumed that average rents rise by 2 per cent each year and that the homeowner takes a 95 per cent loan-to-value mortgage on a £220,000 home. It takes account of other costs of owning, such as maintenance. Owning a home is expected to become more critical to families’ financial security and wellbeing in later life, but the report also warned of lifelong inequality for those — generally younger people — unable to buy.
David Burrowes, the Equity Release Council chairman, said: “For those who manage to buy their own home during their working lives, the extra confidence and flexibility this provides will be even more critical to their financial wellbeing than it is today.”
1. What is the first paragraph intended for?| A．Being an evidence. | B．Coming straight to the point. |
| C．Acting as an example. | D．Being a detail. |
| A．To show the difficulty for younger people to rent a home. |
| B．To explain why younger people own a home. |
| C．To voice his views on mortgage . |
| D．To show the difficulty for younger people to own a home |
| A．Encouraging. | B．Disturbing. |
| C．Discouraging. | D．Surprising. |
| A．Cost of Renting Higher than Owning |
| B．Cost of Owning Higher than Renting |
| C．Owning Your Home Makes You Wealthier than Renting |
| D．Renting Makes You Wealthier than Owning Your Home |
For many years, artists have flocked to Paris, France, to paint or to learn to paint. Perhaps artists first went there because of the city’s beauty. They went to paint pictures of the broad, treelined streets, the great churches, and the graceful river bridges.
The artists felt comfortable in Paris because the people of the city had always enjoyed art. Paris had great art museums, filled with famous paintings and statues from many countries. And the people of Paris had always welcomed new ideas. In this city, artists felt free to experiment with new ways of painting.
As soon as famous artists painted in Paris, students came to learn from them. People came to buy paintings. People called art dealers set up galleries where paintings were bought and sold. Others kept shops that sold artists’ paints and supplies.
Students and artists who were not yet famous could live in Paris for very little money. They learned by studying great art in the museums, and they learned from one another. They held art fairs, hanging their paintings outdoors along the streets.
Today, New York City and Florence, Italy, are also famous art centers. But the world’s principal art exhibits are still held in Paris. Important judges of art live there. Most of the new ways of painting that have started in the last hundred years began in Paris. So artists and art dealers still go to Paris because it is the world’s leading art center.
1. Art students learned by studying great art in Paris’________.| A．streets | B．churches |
| C．museums | D．schools |
| A．Paris is famous for its artists’ paints and supplies |
| B．there is more than one way to paint |
| C．art fairs are held in galleries |
| D．Florence is the center of world art exhibits |
| A．live in Paris | B．feel free to experiment |
| C．work in New York | D．have no new ways of painting |
| A．their parents | B．one another |
| C．the streets | D．the trees |
| A．the world’s most famous art center |
| B．how to buy a painting in Paris, France |
| C．the famous art centers of New York and Florence |
| D．Where to set up galleries |
