1 . Many kids do housework, such as doing the dishes, making the bed, and washing the clothes. In return, they get some money or some computer time.
Paying kids for housework is very popular in some families. Some parents think since adults get money for their jobs, we should pay kids for everyday housework. But some people don’t think kids should get rewards (奖励) for doing housework. Susie Walton, an expert, believes that by rewarding kids, parents are sending a message that work doesn’t need to do unless (除非) you get something in return. “Any kind of housework is a team activity.” Walton said, “A home is a living space for everyone in the family. It’s important for kids to see that we all have responsibilities (责任) in the house, and families decide how they want their home to look, and how they are going to keep it.”
Other people believe that getting a reward makes kids do housework, and it also teaches them real world lessons about how we need to work to get money. There are even some apps (应用软件) to help kids do the housework and get the pay. “Our purpose (目的) is to develop kids’ independence (独立) and teach them something about the real world,” says Chris Bergman, “And kids need rewards to help encourage (鼓励) them.”
1. What’s Walton’s idea in Paragraph 2?| A．People work to get some rewards. | B．Kids have responsibilities in the house. |
| C．Doing the housework is only the parents’ job. | D．Kids should do all the housework. |
| A．Kids shouldn’t get rewards from doing housework. |
| B．Kids should stay away from the housework. |
| C．No apps can help kids to do the housework. |
| D．Rewards help kids to learn real world lessons. |
| A．Kids Should Study and Do Housework |
| B．Let Children Do Some Housework |
| C．Should Kids Get Rewards for Doing Housework? |
| D．Why Don’t Kids Want to Do Housework? |
2 . The keys to keeping a healthy weight (体重) are regular (规律的) exercise and good eating habits. It may sound difficult to try to work them into our lives, but in fact, the best way is by making small changes. Here’s the information you need to make healthy habits easy.
Teens (青少年) should get 60 minutes or more of physical activity a day. Notice the word “activity”: as long as you’re getting your body moving, any kind of exercise will do. What’s important is that each week you get the right balance (平衡) of activity, including aerobic, strength building, and stretching exercises. Make exercise a habit by doing some of them every day.
On days when you don’t have football practice or a PE lesson, 60 minutes a day of activity seems like a lot of time for busy students. The good news is that it’s OK to take shorter “exercise breaks” during the day. So get up 15 minutes early and do some stretching. Fast walk for 15 minutes at lunch. Walk or bike home after school.
Eating well doesn’t mean dieting (节食) over and over again. In fact, studies have shown that dieting often doesn’t work—and diets may have the reverse effect, with dieters putting on more weight than before they started.
One reason diets don’t work is because they can make people think of foods as “good” or “bad”, but the truth is, everything is OK in moderation (适量地). Dieters are also more likely to “give up” some foods; we may end up longing for these foods while our bodies don’t get enough (足够的) important nutrients (营养). Teens should eat all kinds of food, and there’s nothing wrong with a treat occasionally. A candy bar somehow tastes more special if we treat ourselves from time to time, not every day.
Try to come up with ways to fit exercise and healthy eating into your life in a way that works for you. We’re all different. Your best friend might like gym time better, while you enjoy walks with your dog in the park. Knowing what’s right for you will make staying at a healthy weight a lot easier!
1. We can work healthy exercise and eating habits into our lives by ________.| A．not giving up easily | B．making small changes | C．learning from our friends |
| A．Teens should go on a diet to get to a healthy weight. |
| B．The key to healthy eating is to give up foods with sugar. |
| C．Teens can get enough physical activity by taking “exercise breaks”. |
| A．sometimes | B．never | C．always |
| A．To tell why teens should play more sports. |
| B．To ask teens to go on diets from time to time. |
| C．To introduce how to make healthy habits easy. |
3 . Do you want to make dinner by yourself? Cooking isn’t something only a few people can do. Everyone—even children—can learn to enjoy. A study shows that people are healthier when they eat home-made food.
________
Some people think that the kitchen is not a good place for children. They want to keep children safe, and they worry that children will get hurt. There are a lot of sharp (锋利的) and hot things in the kitchen!
But learning to cook may make you safer. When you cook, you learn about what can be dangerous. You find out what to touch (触摸) and how to touch it. As you learn to cook, you can also learn how to keep yourself safe in the kitchen.
So Much to Learn
People may say that they are too busy and don’t have time to teach children to cook. They worry that it will take longer to cook dinner with children in the kitchen. At first, it may take a little more time to help children learn to cook. But they will get better when they practice (练习) more. After some time, they may even help cooking go faster!
You can start by doing easy jobs, such as washing fruits and vegetables. Then you can try making cold foods, such as salads. Later, with the help of an adult (成人), you can start making hot meals.
Cooking also helps with schoolwork. You need to use maths to work out how much money you save when you cook at home. When you read a recipe (菜谱), you can learn new words. You may not see them in schoolwork.
Be Creative (有创造力的)
Part of cooking is learning to make food look good to eat. When food looks good, people think it tastes (尝起来) better. Making food look good is a way of being creative. You can arrange (排列) fruits or vegetables by color. Or you can make a pancake with a funny face of berries for eyes and a mouth!
Not everyone will become a cook. But everyone can learn to cook. What other thing teaches so much and tastes so good?
1. Which of the following would be the best heading for Paragraph 2?| A．Be Busy in the Kitchen. | B．Be Happy in the Kitchen. |
| C．Be Careful in the Kitchen. | D．Be Helpful in the Kitchen. |
| A．People don’t enjoy cooking because it takes a long time. |
| B．Children are creative at making food look good. |
| C．Healthy and delicious food is more popular. |
| D．Cooking is good for children’s studies. |
| A．children should eat healthy food | B．children should learn how to cook |
| C．people can cook faster without children helping | D．people should make the kitchen safe for children |
4 . Rules are everywhere. When we read in the library, play basketball or drive a car, we have to follow some rules. Rules are important to us. The rules tell us what we can do and what we can’t do.
________
When I walk to school, I look both ways before I cross the street. I do not run. I wear my life vest when I go for a ride in the boat. At the pool I do not dive (潜水) from the side. My dad follows rules, too. He wears a helmet when he is at work. He wants to be safe. My mom stops the car when the light is red. She is being safe.
Some rules keep us well.
I wash my hands before I eat. This keeps me from getting ill. I brush my teeth after I eat. This keeps my teeth clean.
Some rules help us do well at school.
When I want to talk, I raise my hand. I wait for the teacher to call on me. My friends and I take turns on the playground. We have so much fun when we play by the rules. I always put the waste in the garbage can to help keep our school nice and clean. I also work very hard at school to get all of my work done. School rules make it easy for me to learn.
Some rules bring us a happy family life.
I follow the rules at the table when we are eating. I have good manners (举止). I follow the rules for doing work and having fun at home. These rules help my family get along.
1. Which of the following would be the best heading for Paragraph 2?| A．Some rules make us special. |
| B．Some rules keep us safe. |
| C．Some rules make us strong. |
| D．Some rules keep us lucky. |
| A．The writer’s father often calls his teacher. |
| B．The writer’s mom wears a helmet while driving. |
| C．The writer has good manners at school and at home. |
| D．The writer’s friends don’t take turns on the playground. |
| A．To show what rules are important and what are not. |
| B．To help us choose what rules to follow at school. |
| C．To tell us it is important to follow rules everywhere. |
| D．To share some information about how to keep healthy. |
What do you think about shopping? |
 May: I’m 35 years old. I like shopping, but shopping with young children is not an easy thing. I have to look after (照顾) them when I’m shopping. Shopping with my husband is not fun, either. I only go shopping with my husband when I need to buy something for him. If I want to buy a dress for myself, he always says something like “The queue (队伍) is too long” or “You don’t need to buy that right now”. I often go shopping with my friends because it’s fun. I like shopping alone, too. |
 Lisa: I’m 26. I like shopping very much, but I never go shopping at weekends. There are too many people in the shops. I don’t like shopping with other people. It usually takes me a lot of time to choose things because I never buy the first things I see. I always look around other shops to find the clothes with the best prices. I always buy things at very low (低的) prices. I don’t like buying food in small shops or street markets. I think food in the supermarket is fresh and cheap, so I usually shop there. In this way, I can save money and get nice food. |
2. Who does May like shopping with?
3. How old is Lisa?
4. Why doesn’t Lisa go shopping at weekends?
5. Where does Lisa usually buy food?
I just got Snapchat over this weekend. But it’s not something I did willingly. Social media has become part of our culture. Without it, I can’t be accepted (被接受) by others.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a social person: I love talking to people, I love joking around, and I love simply being with other people. What I hate is the end of a good conversation—people ask for my Snapchat. There’s nothing more awkward (尴尬的) than saying “I don’t do social media.” So I gave in. I got Snapchat.
In fact, social media takes away a part of you—the real social part of your life. And it leaves you feeling empty inside. I’m not saying people will come into Snapchat social people and come out not knowing how to talk. However, it does take away your social skill.
Social media gives you time to think about what to say, but that doesn’t always happen in real life. When you’re on social media, you might have to wait a while to receive a message. There really is no awkward silence(沉默). When you have nothing to say, you can just stop talking. However, when you’re talking to a real person, you cannot just walk away. You are not being polite that way. Snapchat harms(损害) our ability to deal with awkwardness in real-life talks. In other words, social media kills our ability to keep conversations alive.
Another thing about Snapchat is that it’s been like a drug, the lonely drug. Many people think if they don’t have any friends in real life, maybe they will have some on social media. But even people with many “friends” on social media feel lonely sometimes.
It’s reported that social media brings many problems. Why do people use social media in the first place? I think it’s because they can’t accept the fact that sometimes the old ways work the best.
1. The writer got Snapchat over this weekend because ________.| A．he felt he had to do it | B．he is a very shy person |
| C．he wanted to get news | D．he loves using social media |
| A．Starting a talk with strangers. | B．Listening to others when they talk. |
| C．Keeping conversations going in real life. | D．Ending a conversation whenever they want. |
| A．social media is not as good as people think |
| B．the use of social media harms people’s health |
| C．talking on social media makes people more popular |
| D．friends on social media help people deal with loneliness |
7 . Friends are important in our life, because no one wants to be lonely. However, some people have difficulty in making friends and they often feel lonely. Do you also feel in that way? What’s the reason behind that? According to a new study from Chicago University, the reason is that you have brain different from common people. And you often feel unsafe when facing strangers.
Does that mean you have no way to become happy again? Don’t worry. Scientists of this study have thought up ways to help you deal with your loneliness. They provided four steps for getting out of loneliness.
The first step is to accept social (社交性质的) invitations although you don’t want to go. “It’s not enough for people just to get in touch with others online. That’s because most people don’t show their true selves there,” said Dr. Cacioppo, one of this study’s scientists. Another step is to make an action plan. As “Actions speak louder than words”, you need to be active to communicate with others. You also need to meet people with the same interests. Also, you should be positive, and always think the best from each activity.
After all, “tomorrow is another day”. Who knows what good things are waiting for us?
1. According to the new study, people find it hard to make friends because ______.| A．people around them are mean | B．their brains are different | C．they always have strange ideas | D．they like to be alone |
| A．Ways to stop feeling lonely. | B．Actions speak louder than words. | C．Reasons for people to feel lonely. | D．Importance of socializing. |
| A．It’s really difficult for us to get rid of loneliness. |
| B．We can only meet people with the same interests. |
| C．It’s better for us to get in touch with people in real life. |
| D．We need to take the first step to talk with others. |
| A．People who are good at making friends. |
| B．Scientists who study friendship among people. |
| C．Students who are going to a new school. |
| D．People who have trouble in making friends. |
8 . Feeling tired is very common among teens. What can we do about it? Experts give us some advice.
Learn to relax. Overwork is the main reason why so many students feel tired. Cut down some of the jobs you need to do each day so that you only do the most important things well. Leave time for activities that are relaxing and fun. This might mean reading a good book, listening to the music, going for a walk or taking a relaxing bath. You will feel very good.
Get a good night’s sleep. Getting enough sleep helps you keep your body and mind in the best form. If you stay up late and need to get up early the next day, you may not be able to pay attention to the things you need to do. You also feel tired.
Exercise regularly and eat well. Don’t rush through your meals. Eat less junk food or fast food. Eat healthy food instead. Fruits and vegetables are necessary.
Get to know pleasant people. Some people are optimistic, while others are not. Choose people who are always full of hope as your friends and spend more time with them and you’ll be as happy as them. You’ll see everything with the optimism.
Have a happy attitude (态度). Your attitude decides the way you see things. Is your cup half full or half empty?
1. What is the main reason why many students feel tired?| A．Not enough sleep. | B．Too much work. | C．Too much junk food. | D．Little exercise. |
| A．It’s necessary to have enough sleep to keep us good in body and mind. |
| B．We should try to do as many things as possible each day. |
| C．We should not spend time on things like eating and sleeping. |
| D．We should make friends with all kinds of people. |
| A．fear | B．interest | C．hope | D．choice |
| A．a cup | B．half full | C．empty | D．half empty |
Do you know the proverb “no pains, no gains”? It gives the impression that we ought to be suffering while we study. It seems that the only way to know if we’re putting in enough work is how much hardship we bear. We are totally taken up with study, shutting ourselves away for a big exam. Is that necessarily true?
When we haven’t taken the time to come up with another idea, we just shut ourselves in a room with a book. It’s no surprise that we find revision boring and difficult. Just as children learn from playing, we can learn from doing, or at least from study techniques that interest us, rather than make us switch off. Shutting ourselves away can make us learn to hate studying, leading to a situation where, instead of being able to concentrate on our work, we are troubled by how unfair it is that we must study. This can be part of a vicious(恶性的) cycle that traps us into ineffective revision, or poor progress fueling(增加) further annoyance.
Thankfully, working in the company of other people really helps fight against that. We just need to learn how to deal with distractions(分心). It’s not necessary to avoid all company, just lazy company. They constantly try to keep others in conversation. While studying in the same room with someone who is ironing or working out is perfectly possible. Of course, it’s also a good idea to avoid the company of people involved in activities where you would rather be playing than studying. Working while sitting next to someone playing video games is most likely to end with a new high score game rather than productive revision.
If being around others means working in a noisy environment, a pair of headphones and some background music can block out noises. They also act as a psychological barrier, so that people think twice before interrupting you. Besides, we should know friends and family can lessen feelings of isolation. And connecting with other people makes us happy, so it’s important not to give that up and to make sure that we take the time to socialize.
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 2?| A．Good ideas are needed in terms of progress. |
| B．Ways that interest us can lead to effective revision. |
| C．Shutting ourselves away can help concentrate on work. |
| D．Revision is interesting and easy with study techniques for certain. |
| A．one should learn from certain activities that interest us |
| B．playing video games is helpful for an effective study |
| C．one shouldn’t study with the company of a video player |
| D．the more time one spends in playing games, the higher test scores one will get |
| A．spend no time socializing | B．give up others’ company at once |
| C．give signs of not wanting to be interrupted | D．force yourself to be used to the environment |
| A．To introduce an effective studying means. | B．To encourage us to work as hard as possible. |
| C．To remind us to balance activities and study. | D．To discuss the importance of family company. |
My classmates sometimes ask me, “Jane, is it safe to be vulnerable(脆弱的) and share my story?” Will it make people not believe in me?
People believe that sharing vulnerability is weak. But it is not true. In fact, sharing vulnerability is a way of facing our life positively (积极地). Being vulnerable and sharing our stories and troubles show we are brave and strong. It is another feeling we need to know about.
Here is an example. There are two teachers. They will teach you how to speak in front of others. The first one talks about his diploma(文凭) from the university. The second shares a story of how he faced fears to find the confidence(自信心) to speak in public for the first time. Which one would you feel closer to? I think it’s the second one.
We have found that sharing vulnerability makes us strong and brave, so now the question is “How to share it in the right way?”
The right way is to share our story from the positive side. In the end, we can learn the lessons and get a powerful encouraging message.
A few days ago, I had my first class meeting and deeply shared how I felt from a positive side. In the class, I felt very vulnerable. But finally, I decided to go public with it. So I shared my fears. I shared how my mind was trying to play with me every day and questioned(质疑) if I was good enough. Many classmates had the same feelings. Who doesn’t have trouble every day? Then I shared how I faced my fears. My classmates truly agreed with me and my story brought them closer to me.
Our stories help us find our life purpose(目的). So sharing them becomes a positive thing, not something to fear.
1. The writer thinks that sharing vulnerability makes us ________.| A．weak and sad | B．fun and healthy | C．sorry and scared | D．brave and strong |
| A．makes people feel closer to us | B．is something to fear |
| C．makes people feel less positive | D．is something to question |
| A．ideas | B．stories | C．purposes | D．facts |
| A．To let us know what vulnerability is. |
| B．To show us the importance of stories. |
| C．To help us face vulnerability positively. |
| D．To tell us how the writers faced the fears. |
