1 . Most of us cannot imagine modern life without social media. We use it almost every day in order to keep up with what is happening in our friends’ lives or find out the latest information. Although it has a bad influence if we don’t use it properly, social media has done more good than harm.
The greatest advantage is that we can connect with people much more easily. We are still able to keep in touch with our friends if they are far away. With social media, friendship goes beyond geography. We’re able to find friends old and new. Also, it makes it easier for us to make friends, especially for those who are afraid of making friends face to face. Are you shy? If yes, social media has probably helped.
Social media is also ideal (理想的) for making yourself heard. Anyone with a voice can express it. Anyone with a talent is free to show it. Everyone is the new content (内容) creator. Moreover, anyone with a smartphone and the Internet can be a reporter. As a result, it has become much faster to cover the news than ever before.
Social media, on the other hand, can make us less confident sometimes. A study published by the Public Library of Science, found that the more a person uses social media, the sadder he feels about his own life. One reason for this is that people around us put colourful information and perfect pictures online in order to show off their best moment. So we often get a distorted sense of how wonderful their lives are compared to our own.
Social media does not cause sadness; it simply provides another tool for us to use. Is it good or bad? Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai says, “What is interesting is the power and influence of social media ... We must try to use social media in a good way.” After all, you decide how you use this powerful tool.
1. What can we learn about social media from the passage?| A．We use social media to only record our best side. |
| B．We can use social media to find out the shiest friends. |
| C．Social media can help people connect with others more easily. |
| D．Everyone can be a reporter in the Public Library of Science. |
| A．clear | B．different | C．simple | D．incorrect |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．Social Media: To Create Or Not To Create? |
| B．Social Media: Our Friend Or Enemy? |
| C．Social Media: Connecting the World |
| D．Social Media: Making Yourself Heard |
2 . As your phone’s alarm blares (发出刺耳鸣响), you slowly open one eye. How can it be morning already? It seems like it was only a few hours ago that you finished your homework. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many teens struggle to get enough sleep.
According to the Sleep Foundation, nearly 60 percent of middle school students and more than 70 percent of high school students in the U.S. aren’t getting the recommended (被推荐的) 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep a night. In Cherry Hill, New Jersey, a group of students have formed an organization called Cherry Hill Students for Later School Start Times. It wants local middle and high schools to push back the start of the school day to 8:30 a.m.
In fact, schools in several states have changed to later start times in recent years. Research shows that inadequate (不足的) sleep can negatively affect students’ health and grades. Starting the school day too early can deprive teens of much-needed sleep. Studies show that well-rested teens are more likely to get good grades and less likely to suffer from (患有) depression.
As Aiden Rood, the co-founder of Cherry Hill Students for Later School Start Times, explains, “Kids are healthier in general when they start later, and they do better in school.”
However, not everyone thinks schools should push back the start of the school day.
Many school teachers say delaying (延迟) the start of the school day would create a number of challenges. First, school buses would have to be rescheduled, more money would be needed. There’s also concern (担心) that later school start times could leave some kids walking home in the dark. Changing school hours could also create child care problems for some parents.
In addition, opponents (反对者) say, later school start times would leave teens with fewer hours for after-school activities and homework. That’s what Erin Isherwood, a parent in Chico, California is worried about. The start time at her kids’ high school was pushed back 45 minutes this year. “My son has an exercise class that he absolutely (绝对地) loves at a gym, now he can’t go.” She explains.
1. The words “deprive teens of much-needed sleep” in Paragraph 3 are closest in meaning to ________.| A．provide teens with much-needed sleep | B．increase teens’ much-needed sleep |
| C．take much-needed sleep away from teens | D．talk about teens’ much-needed sleep |
| A．Students can get up early to do more exercise. |
| B．Students can get more knowledge about their health. |
| C．Students can finish their homework more easily. |
| D．Students can get better grades. |
| A．students will have more time for after-school activities |
| B．some students will walk home in the dark |
| C．students will have to take school bus to school |
| D．students will get enough sleep |
| A．Should Your School Day Start Later? | B．When Is the Right Time to Sleep? |
| C．What Can Students Do After School? | D．Is Enough Sleep Good or Bad for Students? |
Today, many children spend a lot of their free time playing games on the Internet. In the UK, 99% of kids aged 8 to 15 play video games. They spend almost 14 hours gaming a week. This information tells us that the benefits and dangers of video games must be carefully considered.
For many people, video games are fun. They have bright lights, funny cartoons and exciting stories. Everywhere you look, you can see children playing these games. They play on buses and trains, in restaurants and even at school.
Video games are educational too. They make kids think in a creative way and they have to move their hands and eyes quickly. This can improve the way that a child’s brain works. What’s more, video games make children use their imagination. The player has to do many creative things, like drawing, telling stories and building things. Video games are also good for children to learn about technology because they can learn how computers and other devices work while they play.
However, a recent study suggests that video games can also be bad for children. First, children can download many games for free. This means that parents often don’t know if their children are playing violent (暴力的) or scary (恐怖的) games. Second, many children spend too much time playing games on computers and this can lead to health problems. Third, if children spend too much time playing games instead of doing homework, they can have problems at school and get bad grades. Finally, video games can affect children’s social skills. If children spend too much time playing video games by themselves, they might not learn how to play with their friends.
In conclusion, it seems clear that video games have some advantages and some disadvantages. Parents should know what games their children are playing and how much time they spend on them. Parents should also make sure their children get enough exercise and spend time with other children.
1. How long do kids aged 8 to 15 in the UK spend on video games a week?2. Why are video games fun for many people?
3. What should parents know when their children are playing video games?
4. What do you think of video game playing? Why do you think so? (Please give two reasons.)
4 . Being Authoritative(权威的) Parents
Phrases like “tiger mom” and “helicopter parent” have made their way into everyday language.
Many of us find ourselves drawn to the idea that with just a bit more parental hard work and effort, we might turn out children with bright futures. But is there anything wrong with a kind of “overparenting style”?
Parental involvement has a long history of being studied. Many of the studies, carried out by Diana Baumrind, a famous psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, have found that a good parent is the one who is involved and reacts to her child in a positive way, who sets high expectations but gives her child independence. These “authoritative parents” appear to hit the sweet spot of parental involvement and generally raise children who do better academically, psychologically and socially than children whose parents are not strict and less involved, or controlling and more involved.Why is this parenting style so successful?
Authoritative parents actually help improve motivation in their children Carol Daeck, a social phychologist at Stanford University, has done research that shows why authoritative parents raise mote motivated children. In a typical experiment, Dr. Dweck takes young children into a room and asks them to solve a simple puzzle. Most do so with little difficulty. But then Dr Dweck tells some, but not all, of the kids how clever they are. As it turns out, the children who are got told they’re smart are more motivated to solve increasingly difficulty puzzles. They also show higher levels of confidence and show greater progress in puzzle-solving.
As the experiment suggests, praising children’s talents and abilities seems to shake their confidence. Dealing with more difficult puzzles carries the risk of losing one’s status as “smart”. Dr. Dweck’s work strongly supports that of Dr. Baumrind, who also found that reasonably supporting a child’s independence and limiting interference(干涉) causes better academic(学术的) and emotional results.
The central task of growing up is to develop a sense of self that is independent and confident. If you treat your young child who is just learning to walk as if she can’t walk, you reduce her confidence. Allowing children to make mistakes is one of the greatest challenges of parenting. It is easier when they are young. The potential mistakes carry greater risks, and part of being a parent is reducing risk for our children.
1. According to the passage, a “tiger mom” ________.| A．helps her children realize their dreams | B．pays close attention to her children’s experiences |
| C．places reasonable expectations on her children | D．speaks her children’s everyday language |
| A．cause more problems in children | B．develop independence in children |
| C．face more challenges of children | D．lead to children’s academic success |
| A．a good game plays a big role in training young minds |
| B．bright children usually show less confidence in difficult games |
| C．puzzle-solving can give children the motivation they need |
| D．overpraising makes children less motivated and confident |
| A．children should not be given much freedom |
| B．parents should not increase the risk of challenging |
| C．children should correct mistakes with the help of their parents |
| D．parents should allow their children to learn from mistakes |
5 . Many people have talked about whether or not computing machines can think. Can they or can’t they?
Almost certainly, a machine can do any work in thinking that a person can do—if the correct way for doing the thinking work can be told exactly. Besides, many programs have been made to direct machines so that they work in very clever ways. Machines have been taught to play chess and to learn from what happens in the games so as to make their play better and better. Machines can beat many persons who play chess. Machines can translate from one language to another. They can prove statements. In geometry(几何) as taught in school. Machines can notice printed marks on paper, so that a person is no longer needed to look at the marks.
Computers can be used in many ways, such as business, science, industry, and government. Computers study oil-field examinations made by airplanes; they keep record of oil sales; they study the working condition of the machines; they help in planning and producing oil; and much more.
If people cannot tell exactly the correct way to do certain work in thinking, it is still a question how much of this work a machine can do. Suppose a person is “teaching” the machine and telling the machine “yes” when the machine is right, and “no” when the machine is wrong. Then the machine can keep on searching among possible ways for solving a problem-until the machine can do as well as the person, and perhaps much better.
But, what is thinking? People can agree about much that is thinking, and much that is not thinking; but they can’t reach agreement because the word “think” is not a scientific word with an exact meaning. A lot of the discussion is wasted breath because the persons are using different meanings of the word “think”.
People, however, have only had experience with machines that appear to think since 1944. It would be too early to say that after the next 200 years, machines will not be thinking. And to consider that machines can think gives people a big push to give to machines more and more work in thinking.
1. The underlined part in paragraph three is about computers used in ________.| A．education | B．industry | C．sports | D．government |
| A．There is much to say about thinking. | B．People discuss a lot about thinking. |
| C．People already know what thinking is. | D．There is no answer to what thinking is. |
| A．What Is Thinking? | B．Can Machines Be Taught to Think? |
| C．Can Machines Think? | D．Can Machines Beat All Checkers Players? |
6 . A phenomenon known as “kuakuaqun” or “praise group” has taken Chinese social media by storm. The number of topics like this on Weibo has reached more than 23 million. Users can join a chat group on WeChat or QQ, where they are showered with varieties of generous praise and encouragement.
Just imagine the scenes: You get an A in an exam and you want to get some praise. When you post it into a praise group, you are praised for not only your efforts but also being as clever as Albert Einstein. It’s 10 p.m. and you are the only person in the office. You receive a reply, “You are so hardworking! You’ll definitely get a higher position! Praise to you!” Even if you go to a toilet and forget taking some tissue, someone points out that “you’re caring about trees and the environment! Good for you!”
How would you feel?
The appearance of “praise groups” provides an opportunity for ordinary people who cannot get positive feedback easily in their daily life to get comfort from their hears. It also shows the life and social pressure of today’s young people. Moreover, the popularity of these chat groups is a reflection of Chinese culture which values modesty and humility—people often hide their true emotion of seeking and giving praise. As long as people’s praise doesn’t sound obviously untruthful, you’re likely to welcome it. Sometimes, people enjoy praising others as well, just because here they can drop everything and have fun by giving lavish(夸张的) comments. However, some people are also willing to encourage and support others from their hearts.
Some netizens(网民) shared their ideas, “I take it as a way of adjusting the mood. The praise group helps in adding our confidence. Some sincere praises can even be inspiring(鼓舞人心的). However, if you’re really in trouble, it is you who holds the final key.” Clearly, some dishonest praise comes at a cost. Chen Kan, an professor in Fudan University’s psychology department warned that “The biggest risk is to continue to stress on the ‘false self’, which makes it harder to see the ‘true self’. In the end, people in the group will find that such unreasonable praise doesn’t help solve the real problem. Soon the whole group will be silent and dead.”
Perhaps the praise groups are “a flash in the pan”, which might disappear sooner or later. No matter how you think of it, only when you can understand the pressure. criticism and praise correctly, will you face them bravely. Don’t lose yourself in others’ voices—that is what really matters.
1. The writer mentions the examples in Paragraph 2 to show ________.| A．who wants to join “praise groups” |
| B．how people can join “praise groups” |
| C．what people can get from “praise groups” |
| D．when people need to join “praise groups” |
| A．To hide real feelings of themselves. | B．To ask for suggestions from others. |
| C．To express the values of their own. | D．To get comfort and be encouraged. |
| A．we should see ourselves correctly and positively |
| B．praise group is effective for dealing with troubles |
| C．we should speak highly of others to please each other |
| D．praise group is necessary for building self-confidence |
| A．“Praise Group”: Is it worth giving it a try? |
| B．“Praise Group”: Does it help to know yourself? |
| C．“Praise Group”: Is it important to praise others? |
| D．“Praise Group”: Does it change your personality? |
7 . Reading Habits in Transition
Most experts agree that the Internet has totally changed how we read, think, and remember things. However, whether this transition (转变) has had a good or bad effect is still unknown.
There is proof that we are reading fewer books, especially non-fiction (纪实文学). Let’s say you need medical advice or cooking instructions. Who wants to buy a 300-page book when you can find a 300-word article on the Internet about the same subject? It’s easier to read, it’s free, and it’s a lot faster. However, we are, in fact, reading a lot more overall. In addition to our offline reading, we read online throughout the day as we check our smart phones, surf the Internet, visit social media sites, and catch up on our e-mail. We also do a lot more skimming (略读) and scanning (细读) on the Internet than we do when we read physical books or magazines and newspapers.
Before there was an Internet, people spent a lot of time taking notes in libraries. Today, you can just simply bookmark any page and return to it easily. However, many argue that online information sources often have mistakes and can’t be trusted, so we need to be more careful when we use them.
Some think that the Internet has made it more difficult to focus on one task without getting interrupted by other things. We are continually interrupted by updates from social media websites and e-mail messages. We follow links (链接) to other websites where we find more links to other websites and jump from topic to topic. We also get a lot of junk (垃圾)—for example, news about famous people and advertisements about products we don’t want or need.
Some consider what we read on the Internet to be junk, while others see many. advantages in the reading we do on the Internet. Some argue that reading on the Internet is like exercise for the brain, making it easier for us to deal with interruption and think clearly as we learn to make choices that work for us. In a recent study, a lot of people agreed that our use of the Internet has actually made us smarter. If you grew up with the Internet, that’s very good news, in fact.
1. How has the Internet changed the way we read?| A．It makes people read more in their daily life. |
| B．It offers a chance for people to skim and scan. |
| C．It makes people choose books over articles. |
| D．It offers more fictions for people to share. |
| A．there are links for shopping connected with the task |
| B．the right information is normally hidden among junk |
| C．various unneeded information often take people’s attention away |
| D．people need to follow different links to get the right information |
| A．To question about the sources of online information. |
| B．To discuss the problems of reading on the Internet. |
| C．To state opinions on the effect of reading online. |
| D．To stress the importance of reading non-fiction. |
8 . Perfectly Imperfect
The artist Leonardo da Vinci, perhaps best known for painting the Mona Lisa, produced a drawing called the Vitruvian Man. In it, da Vinci showed his idea of the perfectly sized male body. But is this really what a perfect body looks like?
An imperfect man
Consider Michael Phelps.The winningest swimmer of all time, Phelps earned 28 Olympic medals. His body does not look like the Vitruvian Man. In fact, Phelps’ body is quite unusual. The best swimmers tend to have long torsos （躯干） and short legs. Phelps is 6 feet 4 inches tall, but his torso is as long as what you would expect to see in a man who is 6 feet 8 inches tall. His legs are the length typical of a man who is 5 feet 10 inches. Phelps has long arms too. Like the Vitruvian Man, most people have a wingspan roughly the same as their height. Phelps’ wingspan is 6 feet 7 inches, three inches longer than his height.
His ankles are extremely flexible and his feet are big. So Phelps’ legs act like flippers（脚蹼）when he swims.
No one could argue that Phelps has a perfect body in da Vinci’s sense. But is it correct to say it is imperfect? What does “perfection” mean when we are talking about human biology? Does it even exist?
What is physical perfection?
Maybe perfection has more to do with how a body works than how it looks. How we work actually depends upon how well we fit into our environment.
Here’s an example from the animal kingdom. Imagine brown rabbits and white rabbits in a snowy field. Under these conditions, predators （捕食者） are less likely to see and catch the white rabbits. In a summertime field—all brown soil and green and golden plants—white rabbits are more visible （可见的） and easier to catch. Neither white nor brown fur is perfect for rabbit survival. Rabbits need different bodies for different seasons. And in fact, in some types of rabbits, fur color changes with the seasons. Like rabbits, all living things adapt to their environments. They need some changes to help thrive （茁壮成长） in their specific environments. But evolution （演变） isn’t engineering. Often, imperfections that don’t affect survival too badly get passed down through the generations.
Variation （变化） as a way to success.
Michael Phelps’ body is not perfectly symmetrical （对称的）or balanced. His physical variations, however, may have given him the advantages to be a close-to-perfect swimmer. Phelps’ case is not the only one; top athletes show great variability that provides them with the physical characteristics to approach perfection in action. Usain Bolt, an Olympic sprinter （短跑运动员）, has legs so long that it takes him four to five fewer steps to complete a 100-meter race than his competitors.
Simone Biles, another Olympic gold medalist, is both strong and small. It is perfect for her sport of gymnastics.She may also have a better-than-average ability to sense where her body is in space, perhaps making jumps easier than it would be for an average person. No athlete is born with the skills to win gold medals, though. Those achievements require years of effort.
Using variation to your advantage
Da Vinci’s drawing of the Vitruvian Man put maths and art together. To da Vinci, the Vitruvian Man showed perfect proportions （比例）. It was his image of the perfectly formed man. Da Vinci is a time-honored artist, but is there really such a thing as a perfect body?
No.
In biology, there is no such thing as one perfect body. In fact, variation in all living things, including us, is the rule. This variation is important for our life. Human variation has allowed us to live in wildly different environments—the tropics, deserts, and the Arctic—and to develop many different physical, mental, and emotional talents. Not only is there no perfect human body, but also our species thrives because we are different from one another, each of us suited to our own way of living.
1. In the first paragraph, the Vitruvian Man is mentioned to ________.| A．introduce the topic of a perfect body |
| B．explain the value of a famous drawing |
| C．explore how to draw a picture like this |
| D．discuss whether the man drawn in it is perfect |
| A．To explain what makes a perfect swimmer. |
| B．To describe the rules in the swimming world. |
| C．To introduce a perfect body in da Vinci’s sense. |
| D．To compare it with the perfection that was shown in the drawing by da Vinci. |
| A．Physical imperfections influence the process of evolution. |
| B．Rabbits learn to change their fur color to avoid predators. |
| C．Evolution only chooses for physical perfections in living things. |
| D．Physical perfection in one situation can be imperfect in another. |
| A．born talents of several famous athletes |
| B．applications of physical variations in the athletic field |
| C．physical differences between male and female athletes |
| D．the importance of physical variations to athletic success |
| A．explain the influence of da Vinci |
| B．argue that there is no perfect physical form |
| C．discuss whether some athletes are physically perfect |
| D．teach readers how to tell physical perfection from imperfection |
9 . We learn many things at school, but most of us don’t learn how to make the most of the time we have. However, reaching a school-life balance (平衡) is one of the most important things for students like you to understand.
As many of you hurriedly do your best to earn (获得) as many volunteer hours or work experience as possible, do sports and other activities outside the classroom, it’s hard not to let those things impact (影响) your grades.
Let me introduce you to a way I call “Value-Based Time Blocking”. The most important thing is to discover what your core (核心) values are and make sure that your timetable shows that. The key isn’t to spend most of your time on what you personally value as most important — instead, think how much time you need to spend in each area of your life to keep a school-life balance.
Here’s an example: let’s say that you need volunteer experience in a field. Try not to start the volunteer work too quickly without thinking about whether you enjoy the experience or not, think about how often and for how long you want to be volunteering. You may realize that volunteering a few hours once a week is enough for you to get the experience you need, and a few hours’ work will not impact your grades. To get started, write down as many of your personal values onto a piece of paper as you can. Once you have at least 20, underline your top 5. Next, think about all the things you would like to finish. In comparing what you’d like to do and your top 5 values, scratch out (划掉) anything that doesn’t go with most of these values. Finally, think about how much time you want to spend on each task as it connects to your values.
How we use our time is a choice. You don’t have to do all the things, especially not all at once. You can choose to do only a few things. If you make the decision to try your best and to enjoy the time you spend on them, you can still get competitive grades and have a satisfying life outside the classroom, but it has to be a choice.
1. According to “Value-Based Time Blocking”, students should ________.| A．do the activities that they would like to do |
| B．decide how much time to spend in each area of life |
| C．discover in what area they spend most of their time |
| D．spend most of their time on what they personally value most |
| A．Students are not clear about what their core values are. |
| B．Students need to find the connection between school and life. |
| C．Students should spend time on what connects with their values. |
| D．Students need little volunteer experience when they are at school. |
| A．To suggest a way of finding a school-life balance. |
| B．To tell the importance of reaching a school-life balance. |
| C．To explain why students enjoy life outside the classroom. |
| D．To show how activities outside the classroom impact grades. |
Visit a middle or large size of company these days, and you’re likely to find the staff (全体职工) members sharing a large, open space. Instead of having personal offices with doors and walls, most workers sit in cubicles that are half open. Whenever workers talk on the phone, other members of staff nearby can’t simply shut their doors. In fact, sometimes they can’t help but overhear everything that’s said. At times, the best way to focus in this type of office is to reach for one’s headphones and listen to music.
The open office idea is not new. It was created by a team of consultants (顾问) from Hamburg, Germany, in the 1950s. Called the office landscape (景观) plan, the idea was created to improve communication and the exchange of ideas. The design also encouraged managers and their teams to work near each other, making it easier for managers to guide projects. Now, the open office idea is often used as an excuse for companies to save money on building costs, paying no attention to the effect on working performance.
Many start-ups have a great interest in the open office idea. Take Chartbeat for example, the company’s 50-plus staff members get to choose their desk and chair styles, and everyone shares an open space with the CEO sitting in the middle. The office space has both single workstations and informal meeting areas where workers can relax themselves on sofas. While this design may be perfect for workers in start-ups, it may not be convenient for workers who have a great need of personal space.
In 2011 Matthew Davis, an organizational psychologist (心理学家), checked over a hundred studies about office environments. He found that, to staff in open offices, it was harder to stay focused and more likely to get higher stress than those working in traditional offices. What’s worse, a study in Denmark found that workers in open offices took more sick days than those working in traditional offices.
Even though open office plans present hidden problems on worker health and personal needs, businesses probably won’t return to traditional offices. Modern office workers tend (倾向) to need both time to focus and time to work together with others. So designing offices that account for both needs may be the best way forward.
1. What is mainly discussed about the open office in paragraph 1?| A．The benefit. | B．The problem. | C．The history. | D．The management. |
| A．To save space. | B．To reduce cost. |
| C．To improve working conditions. | D．To encourage communication. |
| A．Include. | B．Record. | C．Forget. | D．Translate. |
| A．Working in open offices can reduce higher stress. |
| B．The writer suggests working in traditional offices. |
| C．Staff members like wearing headphones to listen to music in the open offices. |
| D．The open offices are good for managers to guide projects and work with the staff. |
