【推荐2】To get a well-paid job after graduation，many Chinese students like to chose science such as engineering and computer programming. Meanwhile，humanities majors(人文专业)are often let out in the cold.

Even in the United States，the past decade has seen fewer college students taking humanities as a major since the 2008 financial crisis，according to an article published by The Atlantic in August. Instead，more and more students study science majors，such as engineering，computer science，and biology. According to the US Department of Education，exercise science，nursing，and computer science are among the fastest growing majors in 2017.

The change of students' preference of majors could be because they care more about finding a better job after the financial crisis，reported The Atlantic. Many believe humanities majors don't allow them to find a good job，while science majors could help them land a good job.

“It's really no surprise that they want to pay more attention to the career pathways they are likely to get into with a particular credential(证书).And we are seeing that reflected in our employee numbers，"Greg Summers，professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the US，told Inside Higher Education.

However，humanities majors are believed to have their own advantages.“Humanities majors encourage analysis，critical thinking，and a good knowledge of various topics. These majors look deeper into varied texts that influence media，culture，society，literature，and politics，"according to Huff Post.

While students who majored in humanities may earn less than science majors when they just graduate from college，humanities majors will gradually catch up，according to a 2018 report by the American Academy of Arts & Science.

To say the least，your life isn't completely decided by your major."Not every software engineer is successful，and not every philosophy(哲学)major is unemployed. One’s major does not determine one's future，"commented Huff Post.

1. More and more college students take science majors rather than humanities majors because ______.

A．they are more interested in science majors

B．humanities majors are of no practical value

C．science majors can help them find a good job

D．many countries suffered the 2008 financial crisis

2. Paragraph 6 is intended to tell us that______.

A．not every science major can mean a good job for students

B．humanities majors will bring more chances to college students in the future

C．the number of college students taking humanities majors will gradually rise

D．college students taking humanities majors will gradually earn more in the long term

3. The purpose of the passage is to _____.

A．give college students advice on choosing majors

B．encourage more students to take humanities majors

C．inform students of the advantages of science majors

D．tell the difference between science and humanities majors

【推荐1】Before uploading a photo of ourselves to social media, the chances are that we’ll use an app to smooth our skin, enlarge our eyes, and sharpen our jawlines. With a couple of ta ps on our mobile phones, we can get a quick fix and present the “best” version of ourselves to the world. However, the problem is that when we simply edit out our imperfections, we’re also changing the way we look at ourselves.

Last month, researchers published the article Selfies — Living in the Era of Filtered Photographs. The article analyzed photo editing apps’ bad influences on people’s self-respect and their possibility of causing anxiety about appearance. The researchers also warned that such apps might make the young generation misjudge themselves. “These apps allow one to change his or her appearance in minutes and follow an unrealistic standard of beauty,” the article read.

In the past, people may have compared their looks to those of famous persons. But for today’s young people, beauty standards are most likely set by what they see on social media. “From birth, they are born into an age of social platforms where their feelings of self-worth can be based purely on the number of likes and followers that they have, which is linked to how good they look,” British cosmetic doctor Tiji on Esho told The Independent. This is why many young people suffer an identity trouble when it comes to appearance.

“Now you’ve got this daily comparison of your real self to the fake self that you present on social media,” Renee Engeln, professor of psychology, told the HuffPost website. Engeln further pointed out that when people spend too much time making such comparisons, they might become “beauty sick” and find it difficult to accept what they actually look like. “Because between you and the world is a mirror, and it’s a mirror that travels with you everywhere. You can’t seem to put it down,” she told The Washington Post. So when we look at ourselves in a real mirror, we shouldn’t think, “Do I look as good as myself in the filtered photos?” Instead, we should think, “I feel good; I have my health.”

1. Before uploading a photo to social media, we probably ______.

A．use an app to fix our photos	B．use a cream to smooth our skin
C．present the best version of the text	D．have an operation to widen our eyes

2. What can we learn about photo editing apps from Paragraph 2?

A．They are beneficial to people.	B．They can make us more beautiful.
C．They tend to trigger appearance anxiety.	D．They help people judge realistic beauty.

3. Why do many young people suffer an identity trouble with appearance?

A．Because they compare their looks to those of celebrities.

B．Because beauty standards are merely set by social media.

C．Because their self-worth is associated with their appearance.

D．Because their self-worth depends on their own likes and dislikes.

4. According to Engeln, we should ______.

A．take a mirror with us everywhere	B．feel content with our actual images
C．compare our real self to the fake self	D．try to look good in the filtered photos

【推荐3】Watch actor Sterling K. Brown, and one of the first things you may notice is his eyes.

In a scene from the last season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Brown plays Reggie, a hard-nosed manager. His language is rough, but his eyes reveal something more: He’s feeling guilty and defensive. Or look at his work in NBC’s hit drama series This Is Us, where Brown plays Randall Pearson, a black man adopted by a white family. Again, Brown’s eyes reveal a lot.

Those two performances have allowed Brown to make Emmy Awards history in 2020: He was nominated as best lead actor in a drama series for This Is Us and best supporting actor in a comedy series for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon’s Prime Video.

Grateful as he is for his nominations, Brown also sees the record number of black performers nominated for Emmys—about 34% of the acting nominees in 2020—as a welcome reaction to the Black Lives Matter protests of the summer.   

The actor says it’s also part of a long march towards recognition for black performers, held back by oppression in Hollywood back to the early 1900s, when white people wore blackface to play black characters in films.

Brown has made history at awards shows before: In 2018, he became the first black man to win best actor in a drama at both the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

With degrees from Stanford University and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Brown has spent about two decades appearing on TV shows like Lifetime’s Army Wives and his first series regular role, playing a cop on FX’s short-lived 2005 drama Starved.

These days Brown is excited about the new season of This Is Us, which will begin with two episodes addressing both the coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests.

1. Why does the author mention the TV series in Paragraph 2?

A．To indicate that Brown is an excellent actor.

B．To support the idea that Brown is an eye actor.

C．To show that Brown has played many roles.

D．To introduce the main topic of the passage.

2. What do we know about Emmy Awards 2020?

A．Brown was awarded two acting prizes.	B．Civil rights weren’t recognised.
C．More black performers got nominated.	D．Black Lives Matter was the theme.

3. What does the author intend to do in Paragraphs 6 and 7?

A．Add some background information.	B．List Brown’s acting experiences.
C．Introduce a new topic for discussion.	D．Summarise the previous paragraphs.

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

A．Emmy Awards 2020	B．Fight for Civil Rights
C．A Black Emmy Awards Nominee	D．Brown: An Eye Actor

【推荐1】Earlier this year, we asked our readers to vote for their favorite children's museums. Shortly after announcing the winners, these museums had to close their doors to help protect their communities from the spread of COVID-19. But they also bring some of their programming online.

The Magic House | St. Louis, Missouri

The folks at The Magic House in St. Louis are sharing their expertise through their Magic at Home series. Each edition features a project that kids and their parents can do with household materials, like making a banjo or animal figures.

City Museum | St. Louis, Missouri

While the City Museum is closed to visitors, the museum staff, artists and historians have launched City Museum on Air. This series takes place each weekday with an eclectic lineup of programming - everything from free art classes, storytelling sessions and museum tours at upcoming exhibits.

Kohl Children's Museum | Glenview, Illinois

This winning children's museum calls itself "The place where awesome lives," and would-be visitors can bring that awesome into the home through its library of online teaching resources, story time sessions and "Home Zone" projects. Kids can learn how to fold paper airplanes, learn about the physics of wheels or make their own recycled paper.

1. What results in the closing of children's museums?

A．The spreading of a disease.	B．The decrease of would-be visitors.
C．The readers' votes on museums.	D．The development of digital programming.

2. When is online programming of City Museum accessible?

A．At weekends.	B．At any time.
C．On weekdays.	D．On holidays.

3. What do The Magic House and Kohl Children's Museum have in common?

A．Stressing hands-on experience.	B．Demonstrating how 4 wheel works.
C．Offering story-telling courses.	D．Teaching how to copy animal figures.

【推荐2】Experts agree that parents who give up control over their children’s lives would raise them to be more independent adults. While the vast majority of parents are not in the position to bribe their children into elite(精英) schools, this extreme case illustrates the temptation many feel to take control of their kids’ lives. But an extreme hands-on approach can have devastating (毁灭性的) consequences when it comes to a child’s mental health.

“These parents thought their kids were incapable of managing their lives by themselves. And I don’t think there’s any worse message you can give somebody than ‘I don’t have any confidence in your ability to handle your own life,’” the clinical neuropsychologist Willam Stixrud told HuffPost. Stixrud is the author of The Self-driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives, along with Ned Johnson.

In their research, Stixrud and Johnson have identified the importance for young people to feel a sense of control over their own lives. “We have this epidemic(流行病) of stress-related problems like anxiety and depression, and so many of those are related to the fact that kids feel so little control over their lives,” said Stixrud. “They feel like, ‘Here’s a script to get into college, and that’s what your life is going to be.’ It’s incredibly stressful and discouraging for many kids.” In order to develop healthy self-motivation, young people need to feel a sense of agency and autonomy, which parents and educators have the power to promote.

“We suggest parents think of themselves as consultants, rather than a kid’s manager or boss, or the homework police. It’s a very different kind of thinking about your role”, said Stixrud, “As a consultant, your role is not to force anything or say ‘You need to be like this’. Instead, help your kid understand what he or she wants to be.” He advises parents to encourage their kids to make their own decisions long before the college years. It’s important to constantly ask, “Whose life is this?” and realize the answer is “My child’s life, not mine.”

1. What does the writer think of the extreme hands-on approach in parenting?

A．It’s good for parents to control children better.

B．It can raise children to be independent ones.

C．It’s harmful to children’s mental health.

D．It can help children to be admitted into better schools.

2. What does the underlined word “bribe” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．persuade

B．translate

C．throw

D．shock

3. In the last paragraph, the author intends to_________.

A．summarize the previous paragraphs	B．add some background information
C．provide some advice for parents	D．introduce a new topic for discussion

4. Which could be the best title for the text?

A．How to Be Your Children’s Friend

B．Be Your Children’s Consultant Instead of Manager

C．Accompany Your Children Growing Up

D．How to Help Your Children Adjust to College Life

【推荐3】In Europe, many people make friends between their countries through town twinning. Town or city twinning means two towns in different countries agree and decide to become “twins” with a sister city relationship.
The people find pen friends in the twin town. They exchange newspapers and stamps. The school teachers discuss teaching methods with the teachers in the twin town. Officials visit the twin town for celebrations. Ordinary people travel to the twin town, too, but not very often if it is far away.
Sometimes, schools even exchange their classes for two or three weeks! For example, German middle school students study for a while at the school in their twin town in Britain, staying with British families. A few months later, their British friends come to study in Germany.
Many British towns are so pleased with the results of the twinning that they set out to find more than one twin town.
Tonbridge, a small town in Kent, for example, has twin town in both Germany and France. Richmond near London has relationships with Germany, France and even a town in a Balkan country!
Town twinning can help make friends. It helps students improve their language skills, and also helps people to understand the differences between nations.
1. Twin towns develop ________.

A．between European countries and China

B．in the English-speaking countries only

C．in the same country

D．between different countries

2. One of the advantages of town twinning is ________.

A．to earn more money

B．to set up schools

C．to improve students’ language skills

D．to develop industry and agriculture

3. Which is the best title for the passage?

A．Town Twinning

B．Friendly Town

C．Exchange Teachers and Students

D．Peace and Understanding

【推荐1】When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a solid wall of fog. Her body was numb.

She had been swimming for nearly sixteen hours.

Already she was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. Now, at age 34, her goal was to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast.

On that Fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like an ice bath and the fog was so thick that she could hardly see her support boats. Her mother and her trainer offered encouragement along the way. They told her it wasn’t much farther. But all she could see was fog. They encouraged her not to quit. She never had . . . until then. With only a half mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.

Still warming her chilled body several hours later, she told a reporter, “Look, I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have made it.” It was not fatigue or even the cold water that defeated her. It was the fog. She was unable to see her goal.

Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the same dense fog, she swam with her faith intact and her goal clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind that fog was land and this time she made it! Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, eclipsing the men’s record by two hours!

1. Which was the major challenge that Florence Chadwick faced at her first attempt?

A．Hopelessness.

B．Tiredness.

C．Sadness.

D．Coldness.

2. According to the underlined sentence, how did Florence Chadwick feel at that moment?

A．Satisfied.

B．Awkward.

C．Regretful.

D．Shocked.

3. What was the key to Florence Chadwick’s achieving the goal after her first failure?

A．She had received better support from her team.

B．The weather condition was better than that in her previous challenge.

C．She had equipped herself with stronger faith and determination.

D．She had made better physical preparations.

4. What can we learn from the story?

A．Nothing is easy in the beginning.

B．Where there is a goal, there is hope.

C．A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit.

D．A journey of one thousand miles begins with one step.

【推荐2】Katie always wanted to be a performer. She, the youngest of, the three kids from Cleveland, was crazy about musicals and Disney movies from an early age and would often watch them singing with her mom, Karen. However, Katie’s happy childhood took a turn when her mother was diagnosed(诊断)with cancer. When the doctor informed the family that Karen’s disease was terminal, they decided to make a trip to Disney World.

The family spared no expense for their once-in-a-lifetime vacation and stayed at Disney’s hotel for eight nights. They spent their days in the parks, seeing the sights, greening characters, all the while pushing Karen in her wheelchair and watching her face light up with joy. They all shared in the merriment of experiencing the parks for the first time with Karen. The trip to Disney World at the height of Karen’s battle with cancer slowed them to escape into a world of magic and laughter. This was the day Katie decided she wanted to work for Disney.

Sadly, Karen lost the battle and died later, but the whole family remembered her every day and often thought of that Disney vacation Katie went on to go after her dream. After she received her degree in musical theater, she struggled for years, working as a waitress and trying to be a performer. Her hard work finally paid off when she was hired to work for Disney.

As a Disney performer, Katie is aware that many other families visit the parks and have similar stories to her own. She encourages everyone, especially children, who may be experiencing a hard time. “Every moment -is meant for you, even the painful ones.” she says. “It’s just like in your favorite Disney movie: There is always some kind of conflict or hardship or pressure. Remember to celebrate those moments, too, because they are taking you to whatever your version of a happy ending is.”

1. What made Katie decide to work for Disney?

A．The dream that she wanted to live a lire full magic.

B．The memory that she watched Disney movies as a kid.

C．The great joy the Disney vacation brought to her family.

D．The great courage her mother showed in fighting cancer.

2. Which of the following words best describe Katie?

A．Kind and curious.	B．Patient and helpful.
C．Strict and independent.	D．Tough and determined.

3. What message does Katie convey in the last paragraph?

A．Sweet is pleasure after pain.	B．Experience must be bought.
C．Many drops make a shower.	D．Good medicine tastes bitter.

【推荐3】US enrollment(入学注册)of international students declined for the second year in a row, sending waves of unease across American colleges and universities, which see students from abroad as a buffer (缓冲) against the falling number of US high-school students graduating each year.

The number of new international students enrolling at American institutions fell by 6.6% during the 2017-18 academic year, while a 3.3% decline the year before, according to a report by the Institute of International Education (IIE). The total number of international students in the US plus those working here on a student visa rose by just 1.5% this year. That was down from average annual growth of 6.1% over the past decade. Several factors are driving the decrease. Visa and immigration policy changes by the Trump administration have prevented some international students from enrolling, college administrators and immigration analysts said. A strong dollar has made US college tuition relatively more expensive, Canadian and European universities are competing fiercely for the same students, and headlines about mass shootings also may have prevented some students, said Allan Goodman, president of IIE.

Foreign students are big business. They pumped $42 billion into US college and university coffers (金库) in the 2017-18 school year alone.

1. The US government is expecting for more International students because _________.

A．they need gifted students from all over the world

B．the population in the US is growing older and older

C．they can compete with the universities from all over the world

D．fewer US high-school students graduate each year

2. The number of new international students enrolling at American institutions fell by_____ during 2016-17 academic year.

A．6.6%	B．3.3%
C．1.5%	D．6.1%

3. The decrease of the US enrollment of international students lay in several factors Except that       .

A．the immigration policy has been changed

B．the expense of studying in America is high now

C．there were too many reports about gun shooting

D．the big mountain fire frightened the students away

4. What is the best title for this passage?

A．US sees fewer international students

B．America’s new policies

C．Fewer Chinese students study in the US

D．More money will go into the US