In the past, people read the news in newspapers or magazines, listened to it on the radio or watched it on television.These days, social media (社交媒体) like Instagram, TikTok or YouTube has become a new way for people to know what’s going on around the world.

A report pointed out that the number of people in the UK watching news on TikTok in 2023 is 4.9 million, up from 900, 000 in 2020. It’s also reported that 29% of UK children use Instagram to look for news.

For most of people, it’s a popular way to follow news on social media every day. Stories are everywhere if people open an app. Also, people can read news in a friendly way, such as a quick video on TikTok. People can get information easily by social media. It even pays attention to news going on all over the world.

However, some people think that news on social media isn’t true. The official press (报社) check the information before they put up news online, but other people might not do this. So we can’t always trust everything on it.

Studies show that people in UK spent 108 minutes a day on a social media. People will be able to have a rest from it if they get their news from a newspaper or the TV. Then, what do you think of social media?

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2 . Traveling by subway can sometimes be quite “exciting”, especially (尤其) when there are too many people on the subway. Sometimes you have to stay away from hot water and coffee, because it may spill (泼洒) on you. The smells of some passengers’ (乘客) food are very strong, too.

Passengers mustn’t eat or drink on the subway in some cities. According to the new subway rules in Beijing, only babies and sick people can eat and drink on the subway. If anyone else breaks the rules, he or she must get off. In other cities like Shenzhen and Nanjing, if passengers eat or drink on the subway, they will be fined (罚款).

Some people agree with the rules. They think the smells of food can make other passengers feel unhappy or angry, because the smells of food fill (弥漫) the whole subway, especially in the hot summer. And if passengers eat or drink on the subway, the rubbish will be everywhere. Also, people often spill their drinks. These things make the subway dirty.

However, ________. They think some people eat and drink on the subway because they live so far from their workplaces. They have no time to have breakfast before they go to work. Eating on the subway saves their time.

As for me, I think we should think more about people’s needs. We can prepare some special places in many subway stations for passengers to eat and drink.

3 . If you go shopping in any toy store, you can see clearly the different games and toys for boys and girls: there are a lot of pink toys on one side of the store for girls; and dark colored cars, guns, and soldiers for boys. Some big stores with toys may even have a pink floor for girls and a blue floor for boys. In fact, it is difficult to buy a toy for a girl that is not pink.

Some people think that too much pink is bad for girls. Sue Palmer, writer of Taxic Childhood, is very worried that most girls over the age of three are crazy about the color. According to some scientists, this happens for two reasons. Firstly, most companies offer too many products in pink. Also, many parents think their little daughter looks cute in pink. Sue Palmer says that girls at this age cannot make proper decisions by themselves, but the pink can affect (影响) the choices and the decisions they will make in the future.

Some parents are worried too—for example, Vanessa Holburn, thirty-two, who has two girls under the age of four. Their bedrooms are a sea of pink and Vanessa is not happy. “Pink says that you are soft and gentle. Blue says that you are strong and powerful. I want my daughters to be strong and powerful. I’m worried that pink will not help them with that,” she says.

But not everyone thinks there’s something wrong with pink. Grayson Turner is a father of three girls and he isn’t worried at all. “People forget that things change all the time,” he says. “My girls used to love pink when they were little, but as they get older, they change.” Tumer explains that his twelve-year-old daughter never wears pink clothes anymore. “This love of pink is just a fashion and all fashions change,” he adds. “It’s only since the 1940s that people have started dressing girls in pink—before that it was a color for boys.”

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5 . Taking online classes is becoming increasingly popular, but students have different opinions about it.

6 . Taking after-school classes is often seen these days among students, especially in big cities. Should students have extra (额外的) classes each week? Please read the students debate (辩论).

Pros: Jane

I think it’s a good chance for me to make a lot of new friends in the after-school classes. I met my best friend Lucy in a math class and we found a lot of things in common. To be as good as her, I often asked her for advice about study during the weekend.

In the past, I was afraid to speak in front of the whole class on school days because there were about 60 classmates looking at me. However, everything changed because of after-school classes. I was not shy when only 5 students were listening to me in my after-school class. I got such a strong feeling of achievement (成就) when I got an A in my after-school class last Saturday.

Cons: Mike

In my opinion, it’s just a waste of time and money. When I was in primary school, my parents sent me to different kinds of these classes, too. But later I found I didn’t want to do that any more. I began to spend more time in reading, doing sports and taking social (社会的) activities. However, I didn’t fall behind others in study. After-school classes are ahead of school classes. Some knowledge (知识) is taught in advance. As a result, we are not willing to take classes seriously at school. Some of us will have bad habits of not listening to the teacher carefully.

7 . A Survey About Three-child Policy

8 . In the USA, a question is asked millions of times every day in the supermarket: “Paper or plastic?” Well, which kind of bag would you choose?

In fact, all kinds of bags have some influence on the environment. But we are always told that paper bags are better. For example, they break down easily and can be recycled. However, making paper bags takes more energy than making plastic bags. How can this be true?

Studies show that paper bag production requires four times as much energy as plastic bag production. And the amount of water used to make paper bags is twenty times higher. And the influence on forests is more serious. It takes about fourteen million trees to produce ten billion paper bags. As for recycling, some people believe that paper bags more environment-friendly than plastic ones. However, this idea can be quickly discarded. Research shows the opposite is true.

Even though paper bags might be more harmful than plastic ones, plastic still seems to be considered by governments as the more harmful of the two. In Ireland, people have to pay 22 cents for every plastic bag, and as a result, their use has dropped quickly.

It seems wise to reuse these bags. However, we’re not doing that a lot. That may be because they are easily broken. If so, cloth bags are a better choice, but still their production also has a bad influence on the environment. So what should we do? How should we answer the question of “Paper or plastic?” It seems that we first need to ask ourselves the following question: “What can I do to help the environment?”

10 . Taking after-school classes is often seen these days among students, especially in big cities. Should students have extra (额外的) classes each week? Please read the students’ debate (辩论).

Pros (正方): Jane

I think it’s a golden chance for me to make a lot of new friends in the after-school classes. I met my best friend Lucy in a math class and we found a lot of things in common. To be as good as her, I often asked her for advice about study during the weekend. Meanwhile (同时), going to cosplay party is our interest.

In the past, I was afraid to speak in front of the whole class on school days because there were about 60 classmates looking at me. However, everything changed because of after-school classes. I was not shy any longer when only 5 students were listening to me in my after-school class. And, I was encouraged to answer the questions. I got such a strong feeling of achievement (成就) when I got an A last Saturday.

Cons (反方): Mike

In my opinion, it’s just a waste of time and money. When I was in primary school my parents sent me to different kinds of these classes, too. But later I found I didn’t want to do that anymore. I began to spend more time on reading, doing sports and taking social (社会的) activities. However, I didn’t fall behind others in study. After-school classes are ahead of school classes. Some knowledge is taught in advance. As a result, we are not willing to take classes seriously at school. Some of us will have bad habits of not listening to the teacher carefully.