【推荐1】It’s often said that the rise of social media has revolutionized (彻底改变) communication. With smartphones and social networking apps, we can write to our family and friends whenever we like. But while social media has brought us convenience, it also has its problems, such as misunderstandings in communication.

Quite often, people misunderstand what’s written on social media. According to a story published on The Conversation on March 8, sarcasm (讽刺), in particular, can be very difficult to notice in a written message.

Sarcasm is a kind of irony (反语): It’s when we say something, but really mean the opposite. For example, a message from a friend the day before a math exam that says “I’m so looking forward to tomorrow!” is obviously sarcasm.

Sarcasm before the rise of social media and mobile phones was mostly used in speech and face to face. That made sarcasm easier, because you could accompany your words with a facial gesture and a tone (语气) of voice that would help others get your message. You had a good chance of being understood and receiving a laugh or an understanding glance.

And yet when we text or write something online, a lot of that information goes missing. “There are no facial hints, no tones or maybe even a delayed response if a person can’t text you back immediately,” wrote The Conversation. “And if you don’t know the person all that well, there goes your last possible hint: history.”

To help avoid misunderstandings, people who use platforms such as Twitter often include the hashtag ﹟sarcasm – although this is like having to explain a joke when people don’t laugh at it, which destroys the point of sarcasm in the first place.

And it isn’t only sarcasm that can get lost in electronic communications. It’s also hard to notice things such as indifference (冷漠).

“One of the problems with digital communication, when it relies purely on text, is that this sucks (抽离) the empathy (情感共鸣) out of the communication. So it can lead to miscommunication,” linguist Vyv Evans, author of The Emoji Code, told USA Today. “This is where emojis come into their own. They put the body language back, so people can better read emotional intent (目的).”

However, even though there are hundreds of different emojis(表情符号) to choose from, there’s still no replacement for good old-fashioned face-to-face communication.

1. What does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph mean according to the context?

A．They can’t wait to take the exam.

B．They are well-prepared for the exam.

C．They’re not looking forward to taking the exam at all.

D．The exam might be too difficult for them.

2. What might lead to the words we write online being misunderstood, according to the Conversation?

A．The use of new internet words and phrases.

B．The complicated relationship between people.

C．The absence of facial expressions and tones.

D．Responding to other people too quickly.

3. What does Vyv Evans think is a possible way to avoid miscommunication online?

A．Using emojis, as they can display body language.

B．Expressing fewer personal feelings.

C．Sending voice messages instead of text messages.

D．Using a hashtag before making jokes.

4. What is the article mainly about?

A．The convenience of online communication.

B．Some misunderstandings that come with digital communication.

C．A good replacement for face-to-face communication.

D．Some reasons for the popularity of emojis.

【推荐2】“Whatever”，totally tops most annoying word in the poll(民意测验).So, you know, it is what it is, but Americans are totally annoyed by the use of “whatever，，in conversations. The popular term of indifference(不感兴趣)was found most annoying in conversations by 47 percent of the Americans surveyed in a Marist College poll on Wednesday.
"Whatever" easily beat out “you know," which especially annoyed a quarter of interviewers. The other annoying expressions were "anyway"(at 7 percent), “it is what it is’，(11percent) and “at the end of the day”(2 percent).
"Whatever" is an expression with staying power. It left everyone a deep impression in the song by Nirvana (“oh well, whatever, never mind”）in 1991 and was popularized by the Valley Girls in the film “Clueless”，later that decade. It is still commonly used, often by younger people.
It can be a common argument-ender or a signal of indifference. And it can really be annoying. The poll found '"whatever" to be consistently(始终地)disliked by Americans regardless of their race, sex, age, income or where they live.
“It doesn't surprise me because ‘whatever，is in a special class, probably，，，said Michael Adams, author of “Slang(俚语)~The People's Poetry" and an associate professor of English at Indiana University. "It's a word that 一 and it depends on how a speaker uses it 一 can suggest being not worthy of attention or respect.’，Adams, who didn't take part in the poll and is not annoyed by "whatever," points out that its use is not always negative. “It can also be used in place of other neutral(中性的）phrases that have fallen out of favor, like ‘six of one, half dozen of the other，.” he said. However, he also noted that the negative meaning of the word might explain why “whatever，was judged more annoying than the ever-popular "you know”.
1. Which tops second among the annoying expression according to the passage?'

A．Whatever.

B．You know.

C．Anyway.

D．It is what it is.

2. What can we know about the word "whatever"?

A．It became popular because of Nirvana.

B．It can be commonly used at the beginning of an agreement.

C．Old people like it while young people don't.

D．Almost half of the Americans surveyed disliked it.

3. In Adams' opinion, the reason why “whatever”，was judged more annoying may be that     . _______

A．most of the people don't like it

B．it can be used in place of other neutral phrases

C．it carries certain negative meaning sometimes

D．the poor don't like it

4. Which of the following statements is true?

A．Adams is not only a writer but also a professor.

B．“Whatever” is a signal of concern.

C．Adams is angry at the word “whatever”

D．"Whatever" will be replaced by "You know”.

【推荐3】An "apple polisher" is one who gives gifts to win friendship or special treatment.It is not exactly a bribe（贿赂）, but is close to it.

All sorts of people are apple polishers,including politicians and people in high offices—just about everybody. Oliver Cromwell,the great English leader,offered many gifts to win the support of George Fox and his party,but failed.

There are other phrases meaning the same thing as "apple-polishing"—"soft-soaping" or "butter-up".A gift is just one way to "soft-soap" somebody,or to "butter him up".Another that is just as effective is flattery,giving someone high praise—telling him how good he looks,or how well he speaks,or how talented and wise he is.

Endless are the ways of flattery.Who does not love or hear it?Only an unusual man can resist the thrill of being told how wonderful he is.In truth,flattery is good medicine for most of us,who gets so little of it.

We need it to be more sure of ourselves.It cannot hurt unless we get carried away by it.But we just lap it up for its food value and nourishment,as a cat laps up milk,then we can still remain true to ourselves.

Sometimes,however,flattery will get you nothing from one who has had too much of it.A good example is the famous 12th century legend of King Canute of Denmark and England.The king got tired of listening to the endless sickening flattery of his courtiers（朝臣）.They over-praised him to the skies,as a man of limitless power.

He decided to teach them a lesson.He took them to the seashore and sat down.Then he ordered the waves to stop coming in.The tide was too busy to listen to him.The king was satisfied.This might show his followers how weak his power was and how empty their flattery.

1. Which of the following activities has nothing to do with "apple-polishing"?

A．A boy tells his girlfriend how pretty she looks

B．An employee tells his boss how good he is at management

C．A knight is said to be of limitless power by his followers

D．A teacher praised his students for their hard work

2. King Canute of Denmark and England took his followers to the seashore because_______.

A．he was sick of his normal

B．he wanted them to realize how wise he was

C．he did not like being over-praised any more

D．he wanted them to see how weak he was as a king

3. The author thinks that flattery can do good to those who_______.

A．lack confidence	B．are really excellent
C．are politicians or in high offices	D．think highly of themselves

【推荐1】Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given below. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

Five-year-old Albert Einstein stared at his hand as if it held magic. Cupped in his palm was a small, round instrument with a glass cover and a jiggling needle. Albert's father called it a compass. Albert called it a mystery. No matter how he moved the compass, the needle always pointed to the north. Quietly Hermann Einstein watched his son. Albert was a chubby little boy with pale, round cheeks and thick, black hair that was usually messy. His bright brown eyes were wide with discovery.

Something was in the room with him, Albert realized—something he couldn't see or feel, but that acted on the compass just the same. Deeply attracted, Albert listened to his father explain magnetism, the strange force that made the compass needle point north.     1    To many children the compass would have been just another toy. To Albert the compass was a miracle he would never forget.

But then Albert had always been different from other children. Born March 14，1879, in Ulm, Germany, Albert hadn't been looked like other babies. As she cradled（摇） her new son in her arms, Pauline Einstein thought the back of his head looked strange.     2    Was something wrong with Albert? Although the doctor told Pauline everything was fine, several weeks passed before the shape of Albert's head began to look right to her.

When Albert was one, his family moved to Munich，where his sister, Maja, was born a year later. Looking down at the tiny sleeping bundle, Albert was puzzled. Where were the baby's wheels? Albert had expected a baby sister to be something like a toy, and most of his toys had wheels.

    3    But any response at all would have delighted them. At an age when many children have lots to say, Albert seemed strangely backward. Hermann and Pauline wondered why he was so late in talking. As Albert grew older, he continued to have trouble putting his thoughts into words. Even when he was nine years old, he spoke slowly, if he decided to say anything at all.

But Albert was a good listener and a good thinker. Sometimes when he went hiking with his parents and Maja, he thought about his father's compass and what it had showed to him. The clear, open meadows (草地) were filled with more than the wind or the scent of flowers.     4    The very thought of it quickened Albert's pulse.

A．Other babies didn't have such large, pointed skulls.

B．But nothing his father said made the invisible power seem less mysterious or wonderful.

C．There was so much curiosity about the world that Albert was always by himself thinking hard.

D．They were also filled with magnetism(磁性).

E．Albert was ahead of his peers in different aspects.

F．Albert's parents were amused by his confusion.

【推荐3】Economically speaking, are we better off than we were ten years ago? Twenty years ago?

In their thirst for evidence on this issue, commentators seized on the recent report by the Census Bureau, which found that average household income rose by 5.2% in 2015. Unfortunately, that conclusion puts too much weight on a useful, but flawed and incomplete, statistic. Among the more significant problems with the Census’s measure are that: 1) it excludes taxes, transfers, and compensation like employer-provided health insurance; and 2) it is based on surveys rather than data. Even if precisely measured, income data exclude important determinants of economic well-being, such as the hours of work needed to earn that income.

While thinking about the question, we came across a recently published article by Charles Jones and Peter Klenow, which proposes an interesting new measure of economic welfare. While by no means perfect, it is considerably more comprehensive than average income, taking into account not only growth in consumption per person but also changes in working time, life expectancy, and inequality. Moreover, it can be used to assess economic performance both across countries and over time.

The Jones-Klenow method can be illustrated by a cross-country example. Suppose we want to compare the economic welfare of citizens of the U.S. and France in 2005.

In 2005, as the authors observe: real consumption per person in France was only 60% as high as the U.S., making it appear that Americans were economically much better off than the French on average. However, that comparison omits other relevant factors: leisure time, life expectancy, and economic inequality. The French take longer vacations and retire earlier, so typically work fewer hours; they enjoy a higher life expectancy, presumably reflecting advantages with respect to health care, diet, lifestyle, and the like; and income and consumption are somewhat more equally distributed there than in the U.S. Because of these differences, comparing France’s consumption with the U.S.’s overstates the gap in economic welfare.

Similar calculations can be used to compare the U.S. and other countries. For example, this calculation puts economic welfare in the United Kingdom at 97% of U.S. levels, but estimates Mexican well-being at 22%.

The Jones-Klenow measure can also assess an economy’s performance over time. According to this measure, as of the early-to-mid-2000s, the U.S. had the highest economic welfare of any large country. Since 2007, economic welfare in the U.S. has continued to improve. However, the pace of improvement has slowed markedly.

Methodologically, the lesson from the Jones-Klenow research is that economic welfare is multi-dimensional. Their approach is flexible enough that in principle other important quality-of-life changes could be incorporated-for example, decreases in total emissions of pollutants and declines in crime rates.

1. What does the author think of the 2015 report by the Census Bureau?

A．It is based on questionable statistics.

B．It reflects the economic changes.

C．It evidences the improved-welfare.

D．It provides much food for thought.

2. What does the author say about the Jones-Klenow method?

A．It is widely used to compare the economic growth across countries.

B．It revolutionizes the way of measuring ordinary people’s livelihood.

C．It focuses on people’s consumption rather than their average income.

D．It is a more comprehensive measure of people’s economic well-being.

3. What do Jones and Klenow think of the comparison between France and the U. S. in terms of real consumption per person?

A．It reflected the existing big gap between the two economies.

B．It neglected many important indicators of people’s welfare.

C．It covered up the differences between individual citizens.

D．It failed to count in their difference in natural resources.

4. What is an advantage of the Jones-Klenow method?

A．It can accurately pinpoint a country’s current economic problems.

B．It can help to raise people’s awareness of their economic well-being.

C．It can diagnose the causes of a country’s slowing pace of economic improvement.

D．It can compare a country’s economic conditions between different periods of time.

【推荐1】US private rocket company SpaceX has announced that two private citizens have paid to be sent around the Moon. The mission (任务) is planned for late 2018. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said, "This presents an opportunity for humans to return to deep space for the first time in 45 years."

The two unnamed people will fly aboard a spaceship which is set for its first unmanned test flight later this year. The co-operation of America's NASA space agency had made the plan possible. Mr. Musk said, "The two passengers will travel faster and further into the solar system than any before them." Like the Apollo astronauts before them, these individuals will travel into space carrying the hopes and dreams of all humankind, driven by the universal human spirit of exploration.

"We expect to conduct health and fitness tests, as well as begin initial training later this year. The first mission would be unmanned, and the next one―with crew―was expected in the second quarter of 2018," the rich businessman and inventor said, "The first passengers are entering this with their eyes open, knowing that there is some risk here. They're certainly not childish, and we'll do everything we can to reduce that risk, but it's not zero."

The space tourists would make a circle around the Moon, scanning the lunar surface and then going well beyond. However, the mission will not involve a lunar landing. "If NASA decided to take part in a lunar fly-by mission, then the agency would have privilege," Mr. Musk said. The US has not sent astronauts to the Moon since the early 1970s.

1. Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

A．The two tourists can't afford to fly around the moon.

B．Space travels are rooted in the spirit of human exploration.

C．Initial training is expected to be conducted at the beginning of 2018.

D．The two tourists are expected to fly at a slow speed.

2. The agency has privilege because________.

A．it needs co-operation with Mr. Musk

B．it has previous technical skills

C．it will be able to remove all the risks

D．it has to make money for research

3. Where can you most probably read the text?

A．In a textbook.	B．In a science fiction.
C．In a travel brochure.	D．On a news website.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．T he Coming Moon Trip of Two Private Citizens

B．An Opportunity to Explore Space for the First Time

C．A Paid Trip Planned by SpaceX to 'Land on the Moon

D．Two Unmanned Missions of Circling around the Moon

【推荐2】Speaking, writing and reading are necessary to everyday life, where language is the major tool for expression and communication. Studying how people use language — what words they unconsciously choose and combine — can help us better understand ourselves and why we behave the way we do.

Linguists (语言学家) try to determine what is unique and universal about the language we use, how it is learned and the ways it changes over time. They consider language as a cultural, social and psychological phenomenon.

“Understanding why and how languages differ tells us about the range of what is human,”said Dan Jurafsky, chair of the Department of Linguistics at Stanford.

Stanford linguists and psychologists study how language is interpreted (理解) by people. Even the slightest differences in language use may show the biased (有偏见的) beliefs of the speakers, according to research.

For example, a relatively harmless sentence, such as“girls are as good as boys at math,” because of the statement’s grammatical structure (结构), suggests that being good at math is more common or natural for boys than girls, the researchers said. Language can play a big role in how we and others see the world, and linguists work to discover how words and phrases can influence us, unknowingly.

People speak about 7,000 languages worldwide. Although there is a lot in common among languages, each one is unique. Jurafsky said it’s important to study languages other than our own and how they develop over time because it can help linguists understand what lies at the foundation of humans' unique way of communicating with one another.

Linguists analyze how certain speech patterns influence particular behaviors, including how language can influence people’s buying decisions. Jurafsky said. “Understanding what different groups of people say and why is the first step in determining how we can help bring people together.”

1. What does the example mentioned in Paragraph 5 show?

A．Misunderstanding is common in daily life.

B．People should avoid using harmful sentences.

C．Speech patterns can show people’s biased beliefs.

D．Some grammatical structures are difficult to understand.

2. What does Jurafsky suggest in Paragraph 6?

A．Researching languages.

B．Learning from linguists.

C．Developing good learning habits.

D．Communicating with others frequently.

3. What is the main purpose of the text?

A．To show the power of language.

B．To give an introduction to Jurafsky.

C．To teach readers how to learn a language.

D．To call on readers to learn more languages.

【推荐1】In a recent announcement, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology（MIT）said that they have joined forces to offer free online courses in an effort to attract millions of online learners worldwide.

Beginning this fall, a number of courses developed by teachers at both universities will be offered online through a new $60 million program, known as edX. “Anyone with an Internet connection anywhere in the world can use our online courses,” Harvard President Drew Faust said during a meeting to announce the plan.

MIT has offered a program called OpenCourseWare for ten years that makes materials from more than 2,000 classes free online. It has been used by more than 100 million people. In December, the school announced it also would begin offering a special certificate, known as MITx, for people who complete certain online courses. Harvard has long offered courses to a wider population through a similar program.

The MITx will serve as the foundation for the new learning platform.

MIT President Susan Hockfield said more than 120,000 people signed up for the first MITx course. She said Harvard and MIT hope other universities will join them in offering courses on the open-source edX platform.

“Fasten your seatbelts,” Hockfield said.

Other universities, including Stanford, Yale and Carnegie-Mellon, have been experimenting with teaching to a global population online.

The Harvard-MIT program will be monitored by a not-for-profit（非盈利的）organization based in Cambridge, to be owned equally by the two universities. Both MIT and Harvard have provided $30 million to start the program. They also plan to use the edX platform to research how students learn and which teaching methods and tools are most successful.

1. According to this text, edX is _______.

A．a part of the free MIT OpenCourseWare

B．a free computer program by MIT and Harvard

C．a Harvard-MIT platform of free online courses

D．a free program online for universities worldwide

2. What is said about online education in the text?

A．Universities have been trying online courses.

B．About 2,000 online courses have been offered.

C．Over 100 million people have finished courses online.

D．Stanford and Yale together have courses similar to edX.

3. The underlined part in the text probably means “         ”.

A．Get ready for the difficulties

B．Get ready for this educational change

C．Get prepared to complete the online courses

D．Get prepared to make materials for the edX courses

4. What can be said about MITx according to the text?

A．It is first offered as part of the edX learning program.

B．It is another free MIT-Harvard online learning program.

C．It is a standard to recognize online learners’ achievement.

D．It is a new kind of free online course of Harvard and MIT.

【推荐2】Microplastics are everywhere in our environment. It's hardly surprising that the tiny fragments have also been found in humans. A new study shows that Americans are consuming as many as 121,000 particles each year.

Measuring 50 to 500 microns in length, microplastics come from a variety of sources, including large plastics that break down into smaller and smaller pieces. Therefore, much remains unknown about the common existence of these materials within the human body, as well as their impact on human health.

Hoping to fill in some of these gaps, a research team led by Kieran Cox, a PhD candidate at the University of Victoria, looked at 26 papers assessing the amount of microplastics in commonly consumed food items, among which are seafood, sugars, salts, honey, alcohol and water. The team also evaluated the potential consumption of microplastics through inhalation （吸入）using previously reported data on microplastic concentrations in the air and the Environmental Protection Agency's reported respiration rates. Based on these data, the researchers calculated that our annual consumption of microplastics via food and drink ranges from 39,000 to 52,000 particles. When microplastics taken in through inhalation are taken into account, the range jumps to between 74,000 and 121,000 particles per year.

The authors of the study found that people who drink exclusively from plastic water bottles absorb an additional 90,000 microplastics each year, compared to 4,000 among those who only consume tap water. "This shows that small decisions, over the course of a year, really matter and have an impact." Cox says. The new study, according to its authors, was the first to investigate "the accumulative human exposure" to microplastics. But in all likelihood, the research tells only a small part of the entire story. Collectively, the food and drink that the researchers analyzed represent 15 percent of Americans' caloric intake. The team could not account for food groups like fruits, vegetables and grains because there simply is not enough data on their microplastic content.

For those worried about microplastic consumption, cutting down bottled water is a good place to start. But to the heart of the problem, we have to stop producing and using so much plastic.

1. What makes it difficult to know microplastics commonly exist in the human body?

A．The quality.	B．The quantity.
C．The shape.	D．The size.

2. How did Kieran Cox's team calculate the potential consumption of microplastics?

A．By studying papers.	B．By comparing the impacts.
C．By analyzing the data.	D．By conducting experiments.

3. Which of the following is true according to the text?

A．Drinking less plastic bottled water helps to take in fewer microplastics.

B．The study is among the earliest to investigate human exposure to microplastics.

C．Cox's team gained comprehensive information of microplastics taken in by humans.

D．People consume 74,000 to 121,000 particles of microplastics per year from food and drink.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．The Potential Problems of Microplastics

B．Microplastics Coming From Various Sources

C．Microplastics Found Within Human Bodies

D．The Impact of Microplastics on Human Health

【推荐3】No woman can be too rich or too thin. This saying often attributed to the late Duchess of Windsor embodies much of the odd spirit of our times. Being thin is deemed as such a virtue. The problem with such a view is that some people actually attempt to live by it. I myself have fantasies of slipping into narrow designer clothes. Consequently, I have been on a diet for the better-or worse-part of my life. Being rich wouldn't be bad either, but that won't happen unless an unknown relative dies suddenly in some distant land, leaving me millions of dollars.

Where did we go off the track? When did eating butter become a sin, and a little bit of extra flesh unappealing, if not repellent? All religions have certain days when people refrain from eating and excessive eating is one of Christianity's seven deadly sins. However, until quite recently, most people had a problem getting enough to eat. In some religious groups, wealth was a symbol of probable salvation and high morals, and fatness a sign of wealth and well-being. Today the opposite is true. We have shifted to thinness as our new mark of virtue. The result is that being fat -or even only somewhat overweight-is bad because it implies a lack of moral strength.

Our obsession with thinness is also fueled by health concerns. It is true that in this country we have more overweight people than ever before, and that, in many cases, being overweight correlates with an increased risk of heart and blood vessel disease. These diseases, however, may as much to do with our way of life and our high-fat diets as with excess weight. And the associated risk of cancer in the digestive system may be more of a dietary problem-too much fat and a lack of fiber-than a weight problem.

The real concern, then, is not what we weight too much, but that we neither exercise enough nor eat well. Exercise is necessary for strong bones and both heart and lung health. A balanced diet without a lot of fat can also help the body avoid many diseases. We should surely stop paying so much attention to weight. Simply being thin is not enough. It is actually hazardous if those who(or already are)thin think they are automatically healthy and thus free from paying attention to their overall life-style. Thinness can be pure vain glory.

1. In the eyes of the author, an odd phenomenon nowadays is that__________.

A．The Duchess of Windsor is regarded as a woman of virtue.

B．Looking slim is a symbol of having a large fortune.

C．Being thin is viewed as a much desired quality.

D．Religious people are not necessarily virtuous.

2. Swept by the current trend, the author

A．Had to go on a diet for the greater part of her life.

B．Had to seek help from rich distant relatives.

C．Had to strengthen her own moral pursuit.

D．Had to wear highly fashionable clothes.

3. The author criticizes women’s obsession with thinness________.

A．From an economic and educational perspective

B．From sociological and medical points of view

C．In a historical and religious way of thinking

D．In the light of moral principles

4. What’s the author’s advice to women who are absorbed in the idea of thinness?

A．They should rid themselves of fantasies about designer clothes

B．They should be more concerned with their overall life style

C．They should be more watchful for deadly diseases

D．They should gain weight to look healthy