1 . Teens and younger children are reading a lot less for fun, according to a Common Sense Media report published Monday.
While the decline over the past decade is steep for teen readers, some data in the report shows that reading remains a big part of many children’s lives, and indicates how parents might help encourage more reading.
According to the report’s key findings, “the proportion (比例) who say they ‘hardly ever’ read for fun has gone from 8 percent of 13-year-olds and 9 percent of 17-year-olds in 1984 to 22 percent and 27 percent respectively today.”
The report data shows that pleasure reading levels for younger children, ages 2—8, remain largely the same. But the amount of time spent in reading each session has declined, from closer to an hour or more to closer to a half hour per session.
When it comes to technology and reading, the report does little to counsel(建议) parents looking for data about the effect of e-readers and tablets on reading. It does point out that many parents still limit electronic reading, mainly due to concerns about increased screen time.
The most hopeful data shared in the report shows clear evidence of parents serving as examples and important guides for their kids when it comes to reading. Data shows that kids and teens who do read frequently, compared to infrequent readers, have more books in the home, more books purchased for them, parents who read more often, and parents who set aside time for them to read.
As the end of school approaches, and school vacation reading lists loom(逼近) ahead, parents might take this chance to step in and make their own summer reading list and plan a family trip to the library or bookstore.
1. What is the Common Sense Media report probably about?| A．Children’s reading habits. |
| B．Quality of children’s books. |
| C．Children’s after-class activities. |
| D．Parent-child relationships. |
| A．In paragraph 2. | B．In paragraph 3. |
| C．In paragraph 4. | D．In paragraph 5. |
| A．E-books are of poor quality. |
| B．It could be a waste of time. |
| C．It may harm children’s health. |
| D．E-readers are expensive. |
| A．Act as role models for them. |
| B．Ask them to write book reports. |
| C．Set up reading groups for them. |
| D．Talk with their reading class teachers. |
2 . Most glitter(小发光物品), which is made up of tiny pieces of plastic, is a huge danger to the environment. “Everyone talks about the mountain of plastic floating in the ocean. You can grab empty bottles from the water, but with tiny pieces, it’s impossible,” says Victor Alvarez, a chemical engineer who sells an eco-friendly alternative to glitter.
In the early 2,000s, Alvarez worked for Mercedes-Benz in Germany, where he became fond of any technology that protected the environment. A few years after leaving Mercedes-Benz, he founded Blue Sun International in Miami, which makes specialty ingredients for the skin and hair care industries.
Glitter is a popular ingredient in cosmetics, such as eye shadows and lipsticks. So Alvarez began researching an alternative that didn’t contain plastic to make his products safer for the environment. That’s when he came across Ronald Britton Ltd., a company which had developed a plastic-free, biodegradable product called Bioglitter. It is made from regenerative cellulose(纤维素) sourced from hardwoods, primarily eucalyptus(桉树). Alvarez worked with the company to become the first retailer to sell Bioglitter in America. In 2018, he formed Today Glitter in order to sell the biodegradable glitter directly to consumers through its website.
Today Glitter sells two kinds of biodegradable glitter Bioglitter Sparkle and Bioglitter Pure. Both are almost plastic-free and can biodegrade in a short time. Meanwhile, they are as shiny as regular glitter. All these products are third-party tested by TÜV, an international organization that provides testing and certification for compostable (可降解的) and biodegradable products.
Despite its benefits, the hardwoods needed to make biodegradable glitter cause it to cost about twice as much as conventional glitter. A small glass container that contains just 6 grams of Bioglitter costs $10, while the same amount of regular glitter could cost at least half that amount. Alvarez expects the price will come down over time. He also expects the company’s sales to cross $1 million next year. But more importantly, Alvarez says, his main goal is to effect a meaningful change.
1. While at Mercedes Benz, Alvarez .| A．developed a way to grab glitter in the sea | B．became interested in the environment |
| C．attempted to live a plastic-free life | D．created a kind of harmless glitter |
| A．It is a plastic-free ingredient for eye shadows. |
| B．It will soon be on sale in the American market. |
| C．It is very difficult to break down in the wild. |
| D．It was invented by Blue Sun International. |
| A．To show Bioglitter Sparkle and Bioglitter Pure are popular. |
| B．To stress it provides a broad range of testing services. |
| C．To prove Today Glitter’s products are eco-friendly. |
| D．To explain many plastic products are low-quality. |
| A．The complex process of making glitter. | B．How to expand its overseas market. |
| C．How to attract potential investors. | D．The high cost of raw materials. |
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 (产生) the codes, and in the end everything gets easier” said Gao. “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 homework, 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．e-mail | D．blog |
| A．strange | B．boring | C．interesting | D．unnecessary |
| A．talk with teachers face to face |
| B．spend too much time on computers |
| C．not like the new way of handing in homework |
| D．find the QR codes too difficult to use |
| A．Teachers needn’t check homework any more. |
| B．Students needn’t hand in homework any more. |
| C．Using QR codes makes checking homework easier. |
| D．Some parents are worried about their children. |
4 . If you need courage when facing a challenge, learn from Jessica Cox. Born in February 1983 in Sierra Vista, Arizona, Jessica Cox
Cox remembers boarding the bus on the first day of 8th grade with a
After college, Cox was
Cox conquered her greatest fear-flying-and in 2011 became the world’s first armless pilot. She uses her feet to fly the plane!
| A．annoyed | B．shocked | C．discouraged | D．touched |
| A．concluded | B．advocated | C．claimed | D．decided |
| A．right | B．challenge | C．choice | D．fear |
| A．Merely | B．Patiently | C．Fiercely | D．Hardly |
| A．bath | B．break | C．course | D．trip |
| A．wondering | B．telling | C．expecting | D．digesting |
| A．decent | B．considerate | C．shy | D．sensible |
| A．saying | B．note | C．warning | D．quote |
| A．recognition | B．pride | C．comment | D．permission |
| A．philosophy | B．difference | C．strength | D．reputation |
| A．grateful | B．true | C．unique | D．close |
| A．removed | B．attempted | C．acquired | D．purchased |
| A．informed | B．called | C．improved | D．reported |
| A．relates to | B．reflects on | C．corresponds with | D．holds back |
| A．Or | B．Otherwise | C．So | D．And |
5 . Goldfish may seem like simple creatures swimming in a glass tank, but they possess a rather complicated navigation system, as discovered by researchers at the University of Oxford Led by Dr. Adelaide Sibeaux, the study aims to shed light on our understanding of how fish, and potentially humans, estimate distances using what could be described as an internal GPS.
Writing in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Sibeaux and colleagues report how they created a tank in their experiment with 2cm-wide black and white vertical stripes (条纹) on the walls, connected by similar stripes across the floor. The team trained nine goldfish to swim a set distance of 70cm and then return to their starting point when waved at. The experiment aimed to investigate how the fish would estimate this distance without any gestures, under different patterns.
Over multiple trials, the goldfish averaged a swim distance of 74cm, give or take 17cm, when presented with the vertical 2cm-wide stripes. However, when the stripe pattern was altered to either narrower vertical stripes, checked patterns, or horizontal stripes, the fish’s behavior changed significantly. Narrower vertical stripes led them to overestimating the distance by 36%, while horizontal stripes resulted in highly inconsistent estimations.
According to the researchers, the goldfish appeared to be using an “optic (光学的) flow mechanism” based on the visual density of their environment. They kept track of how frequently the vertical pattern switched between black and white to estimate how far they had traveled. The study suggests that different optic flow mechanisms are used by mammals, including humans, based on angular (有角度的) motion of visual features. The study implies that the use of visually based distance information could have emerged early in the evolutionary timeline.
“This study is novel because, despite knowing that fish respond to geometric information regarding direction and distance, we don’t know how they estimate distances,” Professor Colin Lever, although not involved in the study, said, “it’s exciting to explore fish spatial mapping because fish navigation evolved earlier and better than most mammals.”
1. Why did Dr. Adelaide Sibeaux conduct the study on goldfish?| A．To test the accuracy of goldfish’s internal GPS. |
| B．To create an advanced navigation system for humans |
| C．To uncover how an inbuilt GPS helps calculate distances. |
| D．To explore the relationships between goldfish and humans |
| A．People gestured the goldfish throughout the experiment |
| B．The tank was decorated with colorful background patterns |
| C．Goldfish tended to underestimate distances with horizontal stripes. |
| D．The change in the tank setting led to the goldfish's incorrect judgment. |
| A．optic flow mechanism is unique to humans |
| B．mammals developed flow mechanism long before goldfish |
| C．goldfish evaluated the distance with multidimensional visual information |
| D．visual density of the environment strengthened the locating ability of goldfish |
| A．Neutral. | B．Ambiguous. | C．Disapproving. | D．Favorable. |
6 . For those who can stomach it, working out before breakfast may be more beneficial for health than eating first, according to a study of meal timing and physical activity.
Athletes and scientists have long known that meal timing affects performance. However, far less has been known about how meal timing and exercise might affect general health.
To find out, British scientists conducted a study. They first found 10 overweight and inactive but otherwise healthy young men, whose lifestyles are, for better and worse, representative of those of most of us. They tested the men’s fitness and resting metabolic (新陈代谢的) rates and took samples (样品) of their blood and fat tissue.
Then, on two separate morning visits to the scientists’ lab, each man walked for an hour at an average speed that, in theory, should allow his body to rely mainly on fat for fuel. Before one of these workouts, the men skipped breakfast, meaning that they exercised on a completely empty stomach after a long overnight fast (禁食). On the other occasion, they ate a rich morning meal about two hours before they started walking.
Just before and an hour after each workout, the scientists took additional samples of the men’s blood and fat tissue.
Then they compared the samples. There were considerable differences. Most obviously, the men displayed lower blood sugar levels at the start of their workouts when they had skipped breakfast than when they had eaten. As a result, they burned more fat during walks on an empty stomach than when they had eaten first. On the other hand, they burned slightly more calories (卡路里), on average, during the workout after breakfast than after fasting.
But it was the effects deep within the fat cells that may have been the most significant, the researchers found. Multiple genes behaved differently, depending on whether someone had eaten or not before walking. Many of these genes produce proteins (蛋白质) that can improve blood sugar regulation and insulin (胰岛素) levels throughout the body and so are associated with improved metabolic health. These genes were much more active when the men had fasted before exercise than when they had breakfasted.
The implication of these results is that to gain the greatest health benefits from exercise, it may be wise to skip eating first.
1. The underlined expression “stomach it” in Paragraph 1 most probably means “______”.| A．digest the meal easily | B．manage without breakfast |
| C．decide wisely what to eat | D．eat whatever is offered |
| A．Their lifestyles were typical of ordinary people. |
| B．Their lack of exercise led to overweight. |
| C．They could walk at an average speed. |
| D．They had slow metabolic rates. |
| A．They successfully lost weight. | B．They consumed a bit more calories. |
| C．They burned more fat on average. | D．They displayed higher insulin levels. |
| A．A workout after breakfast improves gene performances. |
| B．Too much workout often slows metabolic rates. |
| C．Lifestyle is not as important as morning exercise. |
| D．Physical exercise before breakfast is better for health. |
7 . Last summer at a bookstore, my son Henry was fascinated by the cover of the first novel from Peter Brown’s middle-grade trilogy (三部曲). He then finished it in just two days. “Dad, why did The Wild Robot have to be so sad?” He tearfully asked me.
The story is set on a remote island, where a robot named Roz learns to survive and communicate with the island’s creatures, and becomes part of the community. For my son, it was the first book he discovered on his own; the first to impact him with the mix of tragedy (悲剧) and joy.
When I finished the book, I knew why Henry loved it. In our book club discussion, he described how Brown’s pictures and words had made the story feel real. When talking about its final scenes, where Roz leaves to find repairs for her injured body, Henry cried again. His previous reading experiences had cheerful, “happily-ever-after” endings, but this book introduced him to the beauty of complex emotions. I tried to explain how sadness can enhance the meaning of happy moments, but failed to fully convince him.
Once our discussion ended, Henry requested to buy The Wild Robot Escapes and instantly fell in love with it. He read the first two books repeatedly, so you can imagine his excitement when we finally got a copy of The Wild Robot Protects.
We both agree it is worth the wait. Roz leaves the island again to stop an underwater threat: “the poison tide.” Brown expertly balances between breathtaking adventure and unsettling ideas- not just happiness and sadness, but also, given the climate-change undercurrents, hope and despair.
And, here’s something special about Roz: her physical clumsiness and confusion about life, conveyed through her expressive eyes and downturned mouth. Her story reflects the challenges of surviving in a strange place, much like a child’s journey. Readers love Roz. They learn from her. Even better, they learn alongside her. Roz gave Henry the power to push through the first book’s sad parts, getting him ready to appreciate that, sometimes, sadness isn’t a bad thing to feel.
1. What drove the author to read The Wild Robot?| A．Its tragic ending. | B．Henry’s tearful recommendation. |
| C．Its attractive cover. | D．Henry’s emotional response to it. |
| A．Family and community. | B．Concerns of global issues. |
| C．Exploration of the ocean. | D．Man-robot relationship. |
| A．Her childlike expressions. | B．Her robotic power. |
| C．Her struggling experiences. | D．Her adventurous spirit. |
| A．Misfortune inspires great literary works. | B．Robot stories work like magic on children. |
| C．Book discussions help kids survive tragedies. | D．Reading literature facilitates personal growth. |
8 . Imagine a plate holding two strawberries, identical in appearance. One came out of a supermarket box, meaning it was probably harvested when it was still unripe. By the time it reached the plate it may have been off the vine for two weeks. The other strawberry was picked from a garden minutes before being eaten.
Supermarket strawberries are not entirely without advantages: they are convenient and still available even in winter months. But the two berries differ from each other in the same way that hearing music in a concert hall differs from listening to it on an old CD player. The home-grown fruit is an eatable case for making a home garden.
Your columnist, who long considered gardening a complete waste of time, advances this argument with great enthusiasm. Planting cool-weather greens, as gardeners across the north-east of America are now doing, can seem nonsense, since convenient, continuously well-stocked supermarket shelves are available all week. But the same could be said of cooking: there are many cheap and decent restaurants around, so why bother to make your own meals?
That attitude misconstrues the ultimate appeal of gardening: it mistakes the product for the purpose. It is true that a garden can produce tomatoes and carrots of incomparable sweetness, and celtuce and herbs that taste like themselves rather than the plastic they are usually packaged in. While finding, let’s say, celtuce in the shops can take some time, effort, and expense, growing your own vegetables ensures a reliable supply.
On the other hand, a garden, especially in the early years, can produce little but frustration. Green hands may plant the wrong crops for their soil. And even expert gardeners can lose a season’s harvest to uncooperative weather.
No matter. The real joy of gardening is the time spent doing it. The deepest pleasure-as with cooking. Writing or almost anything worthwhile — is in the work itself. To garden is to patiently, lovingly and diligently help life become strong and healthy, in the ground and above it.
1. What can we know about the supermarket strawberries?| A．They look distinct from home-grown ones. | B．They give out pleasant and fresh smell. |
| C．They are picked days before fully grown. | D．They are planted typically in winter. |
| A．Misinterprets. | B．Transforms. | C．Mistrusts. | D．Highlights. |
| A．To warn readers not to take up gardening easily. |
| B．To advise readers to work in harmony with nature. |
| C．To make readers reflect on the methods of gardening. |
| D．To help readers have a whole picture of gardening. |
| A．It’s a difficult and time-consuming process. | B．Products of gardening make it worthwhile. |
| C．The time and efforts invested make it a delight. | D．It reduces the cost of purchasing vegetables. |
9 . The problem of robocalls has gotten so bad that many people now refuse to pick up calls from numbers they don’t know. By next year, half of the calls we receive will be scams(欺诈). We are finally waking up to the severity of the problem by supporting and developing a group of tools, apps and approaches intended to prevent scammers from getting through. Unfortunately, it’s too little, too late. By the time these “solutions”(解决方案) become widely available, scammers will have moved onto cleverer means. In the near future, it’s not just going to be the number you see on your screen that will be in doubt. Soon you will also question whether the voice you’re hearing is actually real.
That’s because there are a number of powerful voice manipulation(处理) and automation technologies that are about to become widely available for anyone to use. At this year’s I/O Conference, a company showed a new voice technology able to produce such a convincing human-sounding voice that it was able to speak to a receptionist and book a reservation without detection.
These developments are likely to make our current problems with robocalls much worse. The reason that robocalls are a headache has less to do with amount than precision. A decade of data breaches(数据侵入) of personal information has led to a situation where scammers can easily learn your mother’s name, and far more. Armed with this knowledge, they’re able to carry out individually targeted campaigns to cheat people. This means, for example, that a scammer could call you from what looks to be a familiar number and talk to you using a voice that sounds exactly like your bank teller’s, tricking you into “confirming” your address, mother’s name, and card number. Scammers follow money, so companies will be the worst hit. A lot of business is still done over the phone, and much of it is based on trust and existing relationships. Voice manipulation technologies may weaken that gradually.
We need to deal with the insecure nature of our telecom networks. Phone carriers and consumers need to work together to find ways of determining and communicating what is real. That might mean either developing a uniform way to mark videos and images, showing when and who they were made by, or abandoning phone calls altogether and moving towards data-based communications—using apps like FaceTime or WhatsApp, which can be tied to your identity.
Credibility is hard to earn but easy to lose, and the problem is only going to get harder from here on out.
1. How does the author feel about the solutions to problem of robocalls?| A．Panicked. | B．Confused. | C．Embarrassed. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．aim at victims precisely | B．damage databases easily |
| C．start campaigns rapidly | D．spread information widely |
| A．Honesty is the best policy. |
| B．Technologies can be double-edged. |
| C．There are more solutions than problems. |
| D．Credibility holds the key to development. |
| A．Where the Problem of Robocalls Is Rooted |
| B．Who Is to Blame for the Problem of Robocalls |
| C．Why Robocalls Are About to Get More Dangerous |
| D．How Robocalls Are Affecting the World of Technology |
10 . Alice Moore is a teenager entrepreneur(创业者), who in May 2015 set up her business AilieCandy. By the time she was 13, her company was worth millions of dollars with the invention of a super-sweet treat that could save kids’ teeth, instead of destroying them.
It all began when Moore visited a bank with her dad. On the outing, she was offered a candy bar. However, her dad reminded her that sugary treats were bad for her teeth. But Moore was sick of missing out on candies. So she desired to get round the warning, “Why can’t I make a healthy candy that’s good for my teeth so that my parents can’t say no to it?” With that in mind, Moore asked her dad if she could start her own candy company. He recommended that she do some research and talk to dentists about what a healthier candy would contain.
With her dad’s permission, she spent the next two years researching online and conducting trials to get a recipe that was both tasty and tooth-friendly. She also approached dentists to learn more about teeth cleaning. Consequently, she succeeded in making a kind of candy only using natural sweeteners, which can reduce oral bacteria.
Moore then used her savings to get her business off the ground. Afterwards, she and her father secured their first business meeting with a supermarket owner, who finally agreed to sell Moore’s product—CanCandy.
As CanCandy’s success grows, so does Moore’s credibility as a young entrepreneur. Moore is enthusiastic about the candy she created, and she’s also positive about what the future might bring. She hopes that every kid can have a clean mouth and a broad smile.
Meanwhile, with her parents’ help, Moore is generally able to live a normal teenage life. Although she founded her company early on in life, she wasn’t driven primarily by profit. Moore wants to use her unique talent to help others find their smiles. She donates 10% of AilicCandy’s profits to Big Smiles. With her talent and determination, it appears that the sky could be the limit for Alice Moore.
1. How did Moore react to her dad’s warning?| A．She argued with him. | B．She tried to find a way out. |
| C．She paid no attention. | D．She chose to consult dentists. |
| A．It is beneficial to dental health. | B．It is free of sweeteners. |
| C．It is sweeter than other candies. | D．It is produced to a dentists’ recipe. |
| A．To earn more money. | B．To help others find smiles. |
| C．To make herself stand out. | D．To beat other candy companies. |
| A．Fame is a great thirst of the young. |
| B．A youth is to be regarded with respect. |
| C．Positive thinking and action result in success. |
| D．Success means getting personal desires satisfied |
