3 . U. S. teens spend more than eight hours a day on screens, and there’s growing concern over it. Now, a new study published by the American Psychological (心理的) Association, confirms that teens seem to feel better about themselves when they cut back.

“Social media can feel like a comparison trap (陷阱),” says study author Helen Thai, a doctoral student in psychology at McGill University. Her research found that limiting screen time to about one hour a day helped anxious teens and young adults feel better about their body image and their appearance. “What I noticed in social media was that I couldn’t help but compare myself.” Thai says. Reading posts from famous people and influencers, as well as people in her own social network, led to a lack of self-confidence.

So, Thai and a team of researchers decided to test whether reducing time on social media would improve body image. They gathered a few hundred volunteers, aged 17-25. all of whom had experienced symptoms (症状) of anxiety or depression — which could make them easily influenced by social media. Half of the volunteers were asked to reduce their social media to 60 minutes a day for three weeks. The other half continued to use social media with no limits.

The researchers gave the volunteers surveys at the beginning and end of the study, including statements such as “I’m pretty happy about the way I look,” and “I am satisfied with my weight.” Among the group that cut social media use, the overall score on appearance improved from 2.95 to 3.15 on a 5-point scale. The change may seem small, but any change in such a short period of time is worth noticing.

“It’s encouraging that college students were willing to cut back screen time, even for three weeks,” psychologist Andrea Graham says. While this study included people with symptoms of anxiety or depression, Graham says it’s worth applying this approach to other groups, such as people with eating problems.

1. What is the probable meaning of the underlined sentence in para 2?

A．Teens are forced to post their own images on social media

B．Teens couldn’t help but spend too much time on social media

C．Teens tends to compare themselves with others on social media

D．Teens are fooled into believing false information on social media

2. How was the research conducted by Thai and a team of researchers?

A．By listing numbers	B．By giving examples
C．By making comparisons	D．By analyzing causes and effects

3. What can we learn about the survey?

A．The study included people with mental health and eating problems

B．There was little difference in appearance score between the two groups

C．College students were not willing to reduce screen time for more weeks

D．Cutting social media use makes a difference to teens’ opinion of their image

4. Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?

A．Less screen time, more self-confidence	B．Social media, a time bomb on your health
C．How to improve your image on social media	D．Concern over social media addiction keeps growing

6 . In Illinois, legislators (立法委员) and advocates of removing the state’s lead (铅) service lines said on Monday that a newly signed law moves the state closer to removing that “toxic infrastructure (基础设施)”and ensuring all Illinoisans have clean water to drink.

State Senator Melinda Bush, a supporter of the legislation, said the lines are a health threat that not only costs us billions of dollars, but poisons our children and destroys our residents’ confidence in their water supply.

“Passing this bill with strong support shows a basic truth about lead in our drinking water—it affects all of us, and every single one of us, especially our children, deserves clean, safe drinking water,” Bush said.

The Lead Service Line Replacement Notification Act creates timelines for owners and operators of community water supplies that have lead service lines to make a list of those lines and create replacement plans. Water suppliers will have to submit their replacement plan to the Environmental Protection Agency by April 2024. The law also requires the state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to create a low-income water assistance policy and program to ensure state residents have access to affordable, clean water.

Lead in drinking water has long been linked to a host of health problems, including kidney failure, heart disease, learning disabilities and impaired(受损的) hearing. Studies have found that even tiny amounts of lead can damage children’s brains.

Bush said it’s estimated that Illinois has about an eighth of all known lead service lines in the country.

Service lines are the pipes that carry water from a city’s street mains to homes. Not only does Illinois have one-eighth of the lead service lines in the country, but 300,000 to 500.000 of them are in Chicago.

“Although this is a statewide problem, we know that this toxic infrastructure really affects Illinois’ people,” Bush said.

1. What does the underlined word “toxic” mean in the first paragraph?

A．Basic.

B．Common.

C．Healthy.

D．Poisonous.

2. Why must the newly signed law be carried out as soon as possible?

A．To warn water suppliers to offer clean water.

B．To test whether the water system works well.

C．To raise the confidence of all the Illinoisans.

D．To make sure residents have safe drinking water.

3. What can we infer from the fourth paragraph?

A．The submitted policy must favour the poor families.

B．The residents in Illinois haven’t realized the possible dangers.

C．Water suppliers have submitted a practical replacement plan.

D．The government should inspect community water supplies regularly.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．Statewide Lead in Water Is Hurting You

B．Lead in Water Is Damaging Kids’ Brains

C．Getting the Lead Out with the New Technology

D．A New Law Urges to Remove Lead Service Lines

7 . Right now you should know about two ways to represent numbers, as Roman numerals and Arabic numerals. Plus, people in other countries use different symbols for numbers. With all these different symbols, how can math be a universal language?

Math is a universal language because the principles and foundations of math are the same everywhere around the world. Ten plus ten equals twenty if you write it as Arabic numerals 10+10=20 or Roman numerals X+X=XX. The concept of 20 items is the same no matter where you are in the world.

And, what about geometry(几何)? A circle is always a circle and its circumference (周长) is always calculated the same way no matter where you are in the world. The same holds true for any other figure like triangles, squares or rectangles.

We like to visit other countries to experience new scenery, new foods and a different culture. It’s fun to watch documentaries about festivals that we don’t have in North America. There is a great deal of cultural diversity in the world that we can enjoy and celebrate. But math is one thing that is common to everyone.

Different countries use different units of measurement; for example, the United States and the United Kingdom use inches and feet while the rest of Europe uses metric measurements of centimeters and meters. But no matter what the units are, everyone must measure the house that they are building. Houses everywhere, whether they are square or round, are built using the same mathematical equations(方程式).

The principles of probability are the same everywhere as well. The chance of rain in Guatemala might be greater than the chance of rain in the Sahara Desert but probability works the same way. People around the world have different genes but the probability of passing on genes to their children follows the same mathematical rules.

It is easy to see that no matter how diverse different cultures are, math is one common language across the world.

1. How many ways to stand for numbers are mentioned in the text?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

2. What is the author’s purpose in mentioning geometry in the third paragraph?

A．To highlight the importance of math.

B．To study different shapes and forms.

C．To show how to calculate the circumference.

D．To prove math calculation is often used in it is always the same.

3. What does the underlined word“figure”mean in the third paragraph?

A．Shape.

B．Size.

C．Picture.

D．Field.

4. What can we infer from the fourth paragraph?

A．Math has no distinct characteristics of diversity.

B．Documentaries about festivals are always fun.

C．People hope to experience different cultures abroad.

D．Culture has a huge impact on the development of math.

8 . John Frederick Kensett was born on March 22, 1816 in Cheshire, Connecticut. He attended school at Cheshire Academy, and studied carving with his immigrant father, Tomas Kensett, and later with his uncle. He worked as a carver in the New Haven area until about 1838, after which he went to work as a banknote carver in New York City. He didn’t know his carving experience would benefit him later. In 1840, Kensett traveled to Europe in order to study painting. He sketched (画素描) and painted throughout Europe, improving his talents. During this period, Kensett developed an affection for the 17th-century Dutch landscape painting. He returned to the United States in 1847.

After establishing his studio and settling in New York, Kensett traveled extensively throughout the Northeast and the Colorado Rockies as well as making several trips back to Europe.

Kensett is best known for his landscape of New York and New England and seascapes (海景画) of coastal New Jersey, Long Island and New England. He is most closely associated with the so-called “second generation” of the Hudson River School. In 1851 Kensett painted a monumental canvas (巨幅油画) of Mount Washington that has become a sign of White Mountain art.

Kensett’s style evolved gradually, from the traditional Hudson River School manner in the 1850s into the more improved Luminist style in his later years. By the early 1870s Kensett was spending considerable time at his home on Contentment Island, on Long Island Sound near Darien Connecticut.

It was during this time that Kensett painted some of his finest works. Many of these were seascapes, the major example being Eaton’s Neck, Long Island (1872) now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The artist was widely praised and financially successful during his lifetime. In turn, he was generous in support of the arts and artists. He was a full member of the National Academy of Design, the founder and president of the Artists’ Fund Society, and a founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Kensett died of heart failure at his New York studio on December 14, 1872.

1. What can we learn about Kensett from the first paragraph?

A．He studied carving at Cheshire Academy.

B．His uncle taught him to paint before 1840.

C．His carving work laid a foundation for his painting.

D．He painted throughout Europe to earn some money.

2. What was the feature of Kensett’s paintings?

A．Most of them were in Luminist style.

B．They had nothing to do with White Mountain art.

C．They were once influenced by the Hudson River School.

D．All of them were closely associated with carving art.

3. When did Kensett produce his best paintings?

A．When he first traveled in Europe.

B．When he painted a monumental canvas.

C．When he learned the Dutch landscape painting.

D．When he was in Connecticut in the early 1870s.

4. What can we infer about Kensett’s later life?

A．He had financial problems.

B．He retired early because of ill health.

C．He gained both fame and income.

D．He devoted himself to charity work.

9 . Europe is the second smallest continent in size but the third largest in population. Here are some facts to share.

People

About 10% of the world’s population lives in Europe. Most of the European population groups, almost 90%, belong to the three Indo-European language groups of the Slavic, Romance and Germanic language groups. According to the World Happiness Report from 2018 to 2020, the World’s happiest people live in Finland—and they won for the last three years in a row!

Languages

Most European languages belong to either the Romance language family such as French, Italian and Spanish, the Germanic language family, among which are German and English, or the Slavic language family, among which are Russian, Bulgarian and Polish. Russian is the language with most native speakers—about 100 million, while English is the language spoken by most people as a first language and a second language—about 270 million people. The five most spoken native languages in Europe are Russian, German, French, English and Italian.

Animals

In Europe, there are 270 species of mammals (哺乳动物) such as bats, deer and hares. Of all mammal species 15% are endangered, such as wolves and bears. There are 75 species of amphibians(两栖动物)in

Europe, most of which are unique to Southern Europe. Slightly more than half of the 800 European bird species breed in Europe, and all the others migrate to warmer regions during the cold winter months.

Natural resources

Metals such as zinc and silver and minerals such as copper and coal are found in Europe. Some areas in northern Europe have deposits of natural gas and oil.

Agriculture

The most common crops in Europe are cereals(谷类植物) such as wheat, corn as well as sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables and fruits. France is Europe’s biggest producer of agricultural products.

1. What can we infer about the European population from the text?

A．The population in Europe has decreased slightly.

B．Europe is thickly populated at the present time.

C．People in Europe belong to three language families.

D．People living in Europe are the happiest in the world.

2. What do we know about the languages in Europe?

A．English belongs to the Romance language family.

B．English is the language with most native speakers.

C．The number of native Polish speakers is not very big.

D．French belongs to the Slavic language family.

3. Which of the following about Europe is right?

A．Europe doesn’t produce natural gas or oil.

B．Most animal species in Europe are endangered.

C．France produces the most agricultural products in Europe.

D．Over 400 European bird species fly to warmer areas in winter.