【推荐1】Life is difficult sometimes. What should you do when your parents are embarrassing (使尴尬) you in front of your friends? Or what if you see what looks like a classmate taking away someone’s headphones? In our social Q’s column (专栏), the teenager Harper Ediger and the adult Philip Galances give their best advice to kids looking for help.

Now it’s your turn: Do you have a question about an uncomfortable social situation at school, at home, on social media or among friends? Email it to us at Kidsqs@njpost.com. Harper and Philip may answer it in a future issue (期). Please include your age and hometown. Come on, we know you have one.

To encourage you, here are some readers’ questions we’ve published before:

My mom signs me up for camps and activities without asking what I want to do. I only learn what I’m going to do at the last minute. I don’t like that. It’s not a surprise and I feel that I should be given the right (权利) to plan my own time. How can I have more of a say?

My sister is home for college break, and lucky me, she’s my roommate. As I’m 12 and she’s almost 19, we both want our own space. I know she doesn’t mean it personally, but she always complains that she doesn’t have a home, which makes me feel as if I’m intruding into my own room. Should I tell her how I feel or let it go?

At my school, fourth graders need to learn different dances, then dress up for a fancy party where we ask partners to dance with us. This makes me nervous, and I’m not looking forward to it. How should I handle this situation?

1. What should be included in your email to the social Q’s column?

A．Name, age and hobbies.

B．Age, school and hometown.

C．Name, school and questions.

D．Age, hometown and questions.

2. The underlined word “say” in the passage means ______.

A．the ability to plan time

B．the chance to set up camps

C．the right to make decisions

D．the plan to enjoy activities

3. The writer uses some published questions before in order to ______.

A．show kids ways of solving problems

B．offer kids a chance to enjoy their life

C．share Harper and Philip’s advice with kids

D．give kids examples of what to write about

4. What is the purpose of the social Q’s column?

A．Let kids introduce themselves.

B．Train kids to write articles.

C．Help kids deal with their troubles.

D．Advise kids to behave well.

【推荐2】That warm day was the only day of the week without rain. I opened the door, took a seat and began to enjoy the wonderful sunshine. Suddenly, I noticed that the house near mine had been sold. An elderly lady was in front of the door, with some beautiful flowers beside her. I walked to her. She looked to be in her early eighties and had the prettiest white hair.
“Hi! My name is Karmen,” I said smiling brightly at the old lady. She smiled back and said, “Hello, Karmen. I’m Henrietta.” Her voice was very strong for someone at her age. Later, I learned she was alone and had no family or relatives to help her. From that day on, I often visited her and helped her with her housework and sometimes she gave me some delicious food. A year passed, and I considered Henrietta to be one of my best friends.
One day, I walked over for my morning visit and knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I knocked again, and she still didn’ t ____ So I let myself in, using the key she had given me. I checked her living room and then her kitchen. I finally went into her bedroom, and she was lying peacefully on her bed. Beside her there were two notes. One was her will, which said all that she had would be given to me. The other was a thank-you note. I went to her bedside and cried sadly.
Though several years have gone by, I still miss her deeply. Whenever I look at the beautiful flowers in front of her house, I remember the wonderful friendship we had.
1. Through visiting the old lady, the writer learnt that the old lady __________.

A．had no one to look after her	B．disliked all her relatives
C．didn’t want to live with her family	D．was looking for someone to look after her

2. What can we learn from the passage?

A．The old lady was not kind.

B．The writer didn’t have any good friends.

C．The old lady didn’t know how to make food.

D．The writer got on very well with the old lady.

3. The underlined expression “turn up” ( Paragraph 3) is closest in meaning to “_______”.

A．leave

B．appear

C．try

D．change

4. In order to thank the writer, the old lady decided to _________.

A．give the writer her favourite flowers.	B．let the writer know she was her best friend.
C．give the writer a key to her house.	D．leave all that she had to the writer.

5. In what order did the following take place in the story?
a. The lady died.
b. They became good friends.
c. The writer enjoyed the sunshine.
d. The writer will never forget the friendship they had.
e. They got to know each other.

A．c, d, a, b, e	B．b, e, d, c, a
C．c, e, b, a, d	D．b, d, c, a, e

【推荐3】A high school history teacher once told us, "If you make one close friend in school, you will be the most lucky. A true friend is someone who stays with you for life." Experience teaches that he is right.     1    

To most of us, friendships are considered very important, but we need to make it clear in our minds what kinds of friendship we want. You may ask yourself the following questions.    2     Do we want to share ourselves or do we want to walk on surface?

For some people, many friendships on the surface are quite enough and that's all right.    3     It's whether or not our expectations are the same as our friends' expectations. If so, the sharing of personal experiences including our tears as well as our dark dreams is the surest way to deepen friendships.

    4     The greatest is to expect too much too soon. Deep relationships take time. Another "main difficulty" is the selfishness(自我中心；任性)to think one "possesses(控制)" the other, including his time and attention. In fact, friendships require actions in return.    5     Finally, there is a question of taking care of. Unless you spend reasonable time together, talking on the phone, writing letters, doing things together, friendships will die away.

A．Good friendship is just not easily formed.

B．We should understand why we need friends.

C．Are they to be close or kept at arm's length?

D．What are some of the difficulties of friendship?

E．In other words, you must give as much as you take.

F．But at some point we need to make sure one thing.

【推荐1】Taking online classes is becoming more and more popular, but students have different opinions about it. 

Wang Qi, 14:       I love taking online courses. They give me a lot more choices and freedom. We can choose to learn whatever we want. Also, online classes enable us to study whenever and wherever we want, which is very convenient.

Wu Jun, 13:       I don’t think taking online classes is a good way to study. There are many temptations (诱惑) on the internet. Students can be distracted (使分心) from their courses easily. The whole learning process is not as organized as it is in the classroom.

Zhou Siya, 13: Online classrooms are beneficial. We might feel more focused on learning when we are alone in front of a computer with no one to distract us. In addition, taking courses online also means we can have more time to use a computer, which is a good way to practice our computer skills.

Li Chunjie, 14: I think the idea of taking online courses is crazy. It can increase our exposure (接触) to computers and the radiation (辐射) from them could do harm to the human body, especially our eyes. Also, sitting in front of a computer for a long time without exercising can be harmful to our health.

1. How many students support online learning?

A．One

B．Two

C．Three

D．Four

2. Wang Qi thinks that taking online courses is convenient because _____.

A．there are many courses to choose from	B．it helps improve students’ computer skills
C．students can feel more focused	D．online courses are free to take

3. According to Li Chunjie, taking online courses _____.

A．can be beneficial in many ways	B．causes a lot of distractions
C．will make students go crazy	D．is harmful to students’ health

4. What’s the Chinese meaning of the underlined word beneficial in the passage?

A．有害的

B．糟糕的

C．有益的

D．无用的

5. What are these students discussing?

A．Suggestions for taking online courses.

B．Different opinions on taking online courses.

C．Suggestions for becoming organized learners.

D．Different ways of studying on the internet.

【推荐2】Have you ever paid for educational podcasts (播客) or live videos? Ask some people and most of them will say yes. “Pay-for-knowledge” has been more and more fashionable these years. The contents of these “pay-for-knowledge” products are from language learning to gardening or baby-caring. Everything you think of can be found online at this moment. “Pay-for-knowledge” is on the rise (兴起).

Why is “pay-for-knowledge” industry developing so rapidly? First, its development is based on the Internet. With a fast network and a smartphone, anyone who has passed the identity (身份) check can be an online teacher, and anyone with an online account can buy “pay-for-knowledge” products that he or she wants at an affordable price. Second, people are afraid to miss any information. On one hand, people hope for more useful information. On the other hand, such information is usually at the hands of experts (专家) who serve well-known companies and universities. Moreover, the need to learn new skills in today’s job market also pushes people to learn on such educational podcasts.

The industry of “pay-for-knowledge” has proved to be lucrative. It promises possibilities of turning information into money. It is good for the development of our country and it can help sellers make lots of money. Besides, buyers can enjoy self-growth from it. What’s more, this is a reflection (反映) of respect for knowledge and talents.

However, the rapid development of “pay-for-knowledge” has a few problems. For one thing, the market is full of eye-catching words such as “How to be an Industry’s Expert in 5 Hours” and “15 Classes to Be a Master of Appreciating (欣赏) Classical Music”, which sound like if you pay for it, you are sure to succeed. For another, a large number of customers buy them just for showing off. In fact, those who have really had self-growth after buying online courses may be the kind of people who need them least. In other words, with or without these courses, they can make it anyway, because they are those who have the ability to learn by themselves.

In general, the best is the one that suits you most. “Pay-for-knowledge” may be used as a good start for self-growth. Be careful! Otherwise, your dream of success may not come true.

1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．“Pay-for-knowledge” products can help all the people succeed.

B．“Pay-for-knowledge” products can offer people different kinds of courses.

C．People who can teach themselves need “pay-for-knowledge” products most.

D．People must learn from experts who serve famous companies and universities.

2. The underlined phrase “be lucrative” in Paragraph 3 means “________”.

A．produce lots of money	B．get much information
C．win great respect	D．enjoy self-growth

3. The main purpose of this passage is to ________.

A．recommend the “pay-for-knowledge” products to people

B．advise everyone to learn knowledge by themselves online

C．remind people to choose “pay-for-knowledge” products wisely

D．teach parents how to buy some online courses for their children

【推荐3】Mr. Guo is a teacher from Xi’an. He asked his students to hand in their homework through a QR code(二维码), ＂We spent an hour or two in class learning how to generate(使产生） the codes, and in the end everything gets easier.＂ Said Guo. ＂When students finish the homework, they keep it on WeChat. Then, each student makes his own QR code and gives it to me. So I can check their work everywhere using my computer or telephone.＂

The QR codes can be sent to Mr. Guo by email, QQ and WeChat. When Guo scans(扫描) his students’ QR codes, their homework appears on his phone. He finds that their homework becomes more creative, with many pictures, music and even videos.

Guo’s students like the new way and think it is interesting. ＂We are living in the information age. Many students like to work with computers, which makes learning more fun.＂ said Tingting, a student of Guo’s.

＂The paper is not easy to keep, but the code is easy to keep and share.＂ Guo said. ＂It is worth trying to use new technology in education. Education itself is a kind of creation. I don’t want my students to fall behind the times.＂

However, some parents are worried. They are afraid that their children will spend too much time on computers and less time communicating with teachers. But in fact, it’s unnecessary. Students still need to look up information in books and write it down when they do their homework. They only use the code when they hand in their work, which doesn’t take them too much time. Also for teachers, it allows them to check the students’ work at any time. And it’s also an easy way to share homework with other students.

1. According to the passage, students can keep their homework on _____________.

A．WeChat

B．QQ

C．email

D．blog(博客)

2. Guo’s students think the new way is _____________.

A．strange

B．boring

C．interesting

D．unnecessary

3. What does ＂it＂ in Paragraph 4 refer to(指代)?

A．The paper is not easy to keep.

B．Keeping and sharing the code easily.

C．Trying to use new technology in education.

D．Education itself is a kind of creation.

4. Some parents are worried, because they think their children will _____________.

A．talk with teachers face to face

B．spend too much time on computers or phones

C．not like the new way of handing in homework

D．find the QR codes too difficult to use

【推荐1】

Are you becoming taller and stronger? On Sept. 3rd, the Ministry of Education(教育部) brought out the results of the eighth national(全国的) health survey(调研) for students from primary schools to universities(大学). It comes out every five years. This year’s survey showed Chinese students’ health has improved(提高) since 2014.

Among all age groups, the number of middle school students in good health saw the biggest rise(上升), up by 51 percent from 2014 to 2019. Their height and weight have all increased(增长). For example, the height of boys and girls increased 1.69 cm and 0.97 cm in the age group of 13 to 15.

There was also a rise in speed(速度) and lung capacity(肺活量) among students aged 13 to 15. The lung capacity of boys increased 209.7ml, and that of girls increased 187.2ml. Girls’ running in the 800m race improved by 4.49 seconds, while boys improved by 6.50 seconds in the 1,000m race,

Wang Dengfeng, from the Ministry of Education said that some education policies(政策) brought the improvement. These policies have helped students get more exercise, he said.

The survey also found some problems. The myopia(近视) and obesity rates(肥胖率) of young students are still high. The Ministry of Education asks primary and middle school students to do 20 minutes of exercise before morning class, and do at least two hours of exercise each day: one hour at school and one hour after school.

根据材料内容选择最佳答案。
1. What does the underlined word “It” refer to(指代) in Paragraph 1?

A．The Ministry of Education	B．The problems of the students
C．The national health survey	D．Chinese students’ health

2. What do the numbers in Paragraph 2 show?

A．More students are in bad health.

B．More students are in good health.

C．The girls are as tall as the boys.

D．Only the height of boys and girls increased.

3. What do we know about students’ speed and lung capacity?

A．Both boys and girls do better than before.

B．Girls were getting much closer to boys in running.

C．Girls were getting better than boys in lung capacity.

D．The lung capacity of boys improved 1.01 ml more than girls.

4. What problem did the survey find?

A．Students’ schoolwork is becoming worse than before.

B．More and more students don’t like sports anymore.

C．Students spend more time in playing computer games.

D．The high myopia and obesity rates of young students.

5. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．The Results of the Eighth National Health Survey

B．The Educational Policies for Improving Health

C．Some Differences between Boy and Girl Students

D．The Survey of Students’ After-school Activities

【推荐2】

①On May 15, Zhang Rongqiao wiped(抹掉) tears from his eyes as China’s Mars rover(巡视器) Zhurong landed safely on Mars. “I was so excited,” said Zhang.

②As the chief designer of China’s Tianwen 1 Mars mission(任务), Zhang was chosen by the magazine Nature on Dec 16 as one of the top 10 people “who helped shape science” in 2021. Under Zhang, China made a huge step in interplanetary(行星间的) exploration. “I got a taste of the old Chinese saying – it takes 10 years to sharpen a good sword,” Zhang told Nature.

③In the Mars mission, Zhang led a team of thousands of researchers. The team worked not only on technical work like launches and flight control, but also on scientific research on Mars.

④The challenges were many. They knew little about the strange and complex(复杂的) environment of Mars. “We may not even know what we do not know about,” Zhang told Nature.

⑤During the process, Zhang played a key part in the decision to send an orbiter(轨道飞行器), a lander(着陆器) and a rover to Mars together at a time – making China the first country to do so. “That’s a big leap(飞跃) because China is doing in a single go what NASA took tens of years to do,” said Roberto Orosei from the Institute of Radioastronomy of Bologna in Italy.

⑥Zhang also made the important decision to land the rover on Utopia Planitia, where there are special landscapes for scientists to study. He hopes that the mission can do as much research as possible and bring back “rich” information.

⑦“The buck stops with him(他敢作敢当),” said David Flannery, an astrobiologist(天体生物学家) at Queensland University of Technology in Australia.

1. What is included in the Mars mission?
a. Doing scientific research.        b. Bringing back space junk.
c. Controlling the flight.          d. Launching the rover.

A．abc

B．abd

C．acd

D．bcd

2. What does Paragraph 4 show?

A．Zhang and his team knew nothing about Mars.	B．Zhang and his team faced many challenges.
C．Zhang was confident about exploring Mars.	D．Zhang and his team were not afraid of challenges.

3. What is Roberto Orosei’s opinion?

A．China’s Mars mission will last for tens of years.

B．China made its road short to exploring Mars.

C．China finished its Mars mission with NASA’s help.

D．China is the first country to send only a rover to Mars.

4. The rover was sent to Utopia Planitia to ________.

A．avoid bad weather	B．find treasure on Mars
C．receive messages from Earth	D．study special landscapes

5. According to the story, Zhang is considered as a/an ________ person.

A．decisive(果断的)

B．experienced

C．selfless

D．funny

【推荐3】Every year there are many people going home on long -distance buses during the Spring Festival and the Tomb-sweeping Day. There are more walkers on their way home or to work on the roads. So there are more and more traffic accidents on the roads. Thanks to the efforts of the traffic police, it is said the number of traffic accidents across China in 2019 was 25.2 percent fewer than that in 2018 during the three-day Tomb-sweeping Day.

Tomb-sweeping Day, is also known as Qingming Festival. It is an important occasion for Chinese to honor their ancestors（祖先）. Most people go home in memory of their ancestors on that day. About 9.78 million Chinese visited cemeteries to honor their ancestors or relatives during the holiday. So transportation safety is a big problem.

On the other hand, it is said Chinese have made 112 million trips during the holiday, up 10.9 percent from last year's holiday. For the traffic accidents, some people lost their lives. This year, traffic accidents caused 10 deaths during the three-day Tomb-sweeping Day.

The fewer traffic accidents are all from the efforts of the police and our government. With the development of society and the government's efforts, I believe everything will change better.

1. During the Qingming Festival, the number of traffic accidents in 2019 was about ______ fewer than that in 2018.

A．a half

B．a quarter

C．two thirds

D．three fifths

2. The underlined word “cemeteries” in Paragraph 2 means“________” in Chinese.

A．墓地

B．教堂

C．景点

D．溶洞

3. The traffic accidents reduced during the Tomb-sweeping Day in 2019 because ______ .

A．fewer people made trips during the holiday	B．there were more walkers on their way home
C．the police and our government made their efforts	D．some people lost their lives

4. You may probably read the passage ______ .

A．in a guide book

B．in a newspaper

C．on a story website

D．on a science website

【推荐1】

Cool, amazing, unforgettable… something money can’t buy! These are all words which students have used to describe their HOST visits. But a word they never use is “expensive”. Why not? Because HOST visits are FREE. Our wonderful hosts are not paid. They love giving international students very special memories of the UK to take home with them. Students pay their own travel costs. And there is an application（申请表）which helps to pay for running the HOST program. But your university may pay all or part of the application fee for you.

The British Council and Foreign Office founded（建立）HOST in 1987. Thousands of students have enjoyed this experience.

5 reasons to have a HOST visit •It is a unique opportunity to experience the real life of Britain. •It is safe—all the hosts are known by HOST. •It may cost you only your train fare. •You will learn things which the university cannot teach you. •You will have some very special memories to take home with you. And 3 reasons NOT to apply for a HOST visit •Please don’t use HOST as a cheap form of tourism. It is about meeting people, sharing their lives. •Please do not go on a HOST visit if you need to use your phone or pad a lot. Instead, make it a good chance to meet British people and make new friends. •Please do not apply to HOST unless you have an open mind. Please don’t be surprised and enjoy it.

•You can apply for a HOST visit if you are: A full-time student in the UK. HOST cannot accept application from outside the UK. Age 18+ You can include your husband, wife, partner, children—if you are living in the UK during your study period. HOST cannot accept applications from visiting family members or friends.

1. The underlined words “them” in the sentence “They love giving international memories of the UK to take home with them” refer to ________.

A．international students

B．wonderful hosts

C．travel hosts

D．HOST visits

2. The main purpose of the HOST program is to enable students to ________.

A．visit different places in the UK	B．save money on travelling cost
C．make full use of their stay in the UK	D．be more open minded and active

3. Which student is suitable for The HOST visit?

A．Vickie, a sixteen-year-old exchange school student.

B．Osaki, an easy-going Japanese student of Oxford University.

C．Fang, a visiting friend of Diana from Hong Kong.

D．Samuel, an active and popular online fashion blogger.

【推荐2】Interviewer: With me in the studio is Linda Meehan, who’s recently returned from a six-month exchange programme with a family in the Netherlands. That’s a long way from home. Why did you choose to do your exchange programme there?
Linda: Well. None of my friends had been there or anything like that but my grandfather spent some time there when he was young and he said I should visit one day and I’d planned to do that as soon as I could. So when I had the opportunity to go to Europe, it seemed like the obvious place to go.
Interviewer: But you were only 15. Was there anything you found difficult about living in a foreign country?
Linda: Well, the family I stayed with in the Netherlands were really kind and I wasn’t lonely because I shared the room with one of their daughters. She helped me get used to my new routine. The only thing that was hard was the one—kilometre bike ride to school every day! I enjoyed it in the summer but in winter it was terrible.
Interviewer: And        3       ?
Linda: It was OK because there were a lot of classes in English. And they gave me projects to do when there were subjects in Dutch I couldn’t understand. The school was very modern and much bigger than most schools in Australia. The library was fantastic and they also had a lot more science labs than my school at home.
Interviewer: What about the students?
Linda: Oh, they were really friendly. They gave me lots of advice about places I should visit. They’d all travelled a lot more than me, though no one had been to Australia. But what I found really strange was that they’d never thought about going away from their families for several months like me. Some of them couldn’t understand how I could do that.
Interviewer: So is this an experience you would recommend?
Linda: Oh, definitely! I benefit a lot from the programme. And I think six months was the right amount of time. I needed that amount of time to learn the language. But after six months I really needed to see my parents. I was so happy to see them again.
1. Where does Linda come from?

A．America.

B．Netherlands.

C．Australia.

D．Britain.

2. Who gave Linda the idea of being an exchanged student in Netherlands?

A．Her friends.

B．Her grandfather.

C．Herself.

D．Her parents.

3. Which sentence can be filled in the blank?

A．Was the school similar to that in your hometown?	B．What was school like?
C．Was it difficult to learn the language?	D．What did you have in the school?

4. What cannot be the reason why Linda would recommend the programme?

A．Cycling in Netherlands is always a kind of good experience.

B．You can learn about a different culture.

C．You may meet a lot of different people or even friends.

D．Six months is a right amount of time for students to leave their homes.

【推荐3】阅读短文及文后A～E选项，选出可以填入1-5各题空白处的最佳选项。
Dear David,

How are you? I’m fine.     1     It is the capital of the UK. I’m studying at the International School of English. I’m in Class 3 with eight students.     2     Spain, Japan, Argentina, Switzerland and Thailand. Our teacher’s name is Henry Briscall. He’s very nice. He’s a very good teacher.     3    

    4     Mr. and Mrs. Brown have three children. Thomas is fourteen, Catherine is twelve, and Andrew is seven. They are all very friendly, but it isn’t easy to understand them!

    5     The weather is good, cold but sunny and the parks are beautiful! Hyde Park, Green Park, and St. James’ Park are all in the city centre.

English food is OK, but the coffee is horrible. Write to me soon.

Love,

Paul

A．We all like him.

B．I’m in London.

C．The city is very big and very interesting.

D．They’re from different countries.

E．I’m living with an English family.