1 . Will your kids love your favorite childhood reads? Let’s get to it: Five Little Peppers and How They Grew. I’m reaching way back with this one (1881), but after all, who doesn’t love a good rags to-riches story?
Oh, those little Peppers. How well I remember Phronsie, Ben, Polly, Joel and Davie, and how hard they worked in the little brown house to help their poor mother, Mamsie. My kids are not yet at an age when they realize just how poor the Peppers are. But my kids are as drawn to this story as I was as a child. And I am not the one to turn down an opportunity to share an example of children gladly helping their mother.
I’m not reaching back quite as far with 1943’s Cherry Ames, Student Nurse by Helen Wells, but convincing my kids that once it wasn’t easy for nurses to wear caps and dresses. When I was little, I couldn’t get enough of Cherry’s adventures. How pioneering Cherry was! She had a job when there were few jobs available to women, she never got married, and she solved mysteries when men couldn’t. Cherry always knew what to do. She was smart, pretty, strong and ambitious. I love her.
I know the time will come when my son asks, “Come on, Mom, Didn’t you read any books with men in them?” and I’ll have to answer honestly, “No. But maybe one day a few.”
The day will come when we can go back to the library and see what is new on the shelves, and that will be a great day. But for now, I plan not to let any book on our shelves go to waste. It may seem that reaching for a book that’s more than a century older than my kids is just as ambitious as reading Frankenstein, but I’m really confident, this time.
1. What do the author’s kids feel about Five Little Peppers and How They Grew?| A．Frightened. | B．Interested. | C．Puzzled. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Unconcerned. | C．Praiseful. | D．Afraid. |
| A．She is very poor, |
| B．She likes books about women. |
| C．She dislikes classical literature. |
| D．She is confused about her career. |
| A．Read less and faster. |
| B．Go back to the library, |
| C．Ask her kids to read books kept at home. |
| D．Inspire her kids to read newly published books. |
2 . I was with my mom one day as we took a walk while window shopping. We both knew we wouldn't be buying much. I remember I was looking up at the people we passed as we walked. Ladies wore 5-inch heels and bright clothes. Men wore expensive perfumes and creams that wiped away the wrinkles on their faces. An uneasy feeling started to settle in my chest. I could deny it no longer and I was ashamed of my mom.
We were in a high-class neighborhood. We lived in a small, expensive apartment building at the edge of our county. Mom chose to move there because she knew the schools were good. I realized for the first time that we didn't belong there.
I could see the heavy lines around my mom's eyes and mouth. She wore cheap clothes and worm-out shoes. Her eyes were tired from working long hours to make ends meet, and her hair was too gray for her age. She was nothing extraordinary, yet at that moment, she stood out because she was just so plain. I didn't want to be seen with her although there was no one important around to see me anyway. I felt embarrassed about being at her side. We were standing in the middle of a high-end store, and she was holding a sweater.
Mom said, “Anna, this will look good on you. Do you want it?” It Was much too expensive, but I almost thoughtlessly answered “Yes”. Then I took a closer look at the small, tired woman with a big smile and a sweater in her hands, happy to be giving me something so nice. My words died in my throat. Her clothes were worn and old because she spent her money buying me new ones. She looked so tired because she was busy working to provide for me. She didn't wear jewelry or perfumes because she was content with spending what little money she had on me. Suddenly, my mom was beautiful and extraordinarily wonderful in my eyes. I was no longer ashamed of her, but of myself.
“Do you want it?” Mom repeated.
“No, thanks,” I replied.
1. Why did the author describe the passers-by while window-shopping?| A．To stress her mother was plain. |
| B．To show she envied rich people. |
| C．To suggest she was curious about others. |
| D．To indicate she was in an expensive neighborhood. |
| A．Studying at a top school. | B．Going window-shopping. |
| C．Being seen with her mom. | D．Living in a small apartment. |
| A．She was afraid of being blamed by her mom. |
| B．She was too excited to say anything about the sweater. |
| C．She felt her mom was so ordinary that she stopped speaking. |
| D．She failed to speak after realizing her mom's great sacrifices. |
| A．Misunderstanding Mom | B．Refusing Mom's Kindness |
| C．Feeling Ashamed of Mom | D．Going Shopping with Mom |
3 . Happiness is not a warm phone, according to a new study exploring the link between young life satisfaction and screen time. The study was led by professor of psychology Jean M. Twenge at San Diego State University (SDSU).
To research this link, Twenge, along with colleagues Gabrielle Martin at SDSU and W. Keith Campbell at the University of Georgia, dealt with data from the Monitoring the Future (MtF) study, a nationally representative survey of more than a million U. S. 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders. The survey asked students questions about how often they spent time on their Phones, tablets and computers, as well as questions about their face-to-face social interactions and their overall happiness.
On average found that teens who spent more time in front of screen devices — playing computer games, using social media, texting and video chatting — were less happy than those who invested more time in non-screen activities like sports, reading newspapers and magazines, and face-to-face social interactions.
"The key to digital media use and happiness is limited use," Twenge said. "Aim to spend no more than two hours a day on digital media, and try to increase the amount of time you spend seeing friends face-to-face and exercising — two activities reliably linked to greater happiness."
Looking at historical trends from the same age groups since the 1990s, it's easy to find that the increase of screen devices over time happened at the same time as a general drop-off in reported happiness in U. S. teens. Specifically, young peopled life satisfaction and happiness declined sharply after 2012. That's the year when the percentage of Americans who owned a smartphone rose above 50 percent. By far the largest change in teens' lives between 2012 and 2016 was the increase in the amount of time they spent on digital media, and the following decline in in-person social activities and sleep.
1. Which method did Twenge's team use for the study?| A．Calculating students' happiness. |
| B．Asking students certain questions. |
| C．Analyzing data from a survey. |
| D．Doing experiments on screen time. |
| A．By making a comparison. |
| B．By giving an example. |
| C．By making an argument. |
| D．By introducing a concept. |
| A．To draw a conclusion from the study. |
| B．To offer some advice to the readers. |
| C．To prove social activities' importance. |
| D．To support the researchers' finding. |
| A．Quitting Phones Equals Happiness |
| B．Screen Time Should Be Banned |
| C．Teens' Lives Have Changed Sharply |
| D．Screen-addicted Teens Are Unhappier |
4 . What would you like to do first, when a storm is coming? Perhaps, leave the area as quickly as possible and head for safety! But there are a few people who will get into cars and go straight for the center of the storm. These people are willing to risk being killed by floods or 100-kilometer-an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up.
“Storm chasing(追逐)” is becoming an increasingly popular hobby, especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent storms between March and July. A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to 1,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop.
Although anyone can do it, storm chasing is extremely dangerous. The power of a big storm can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds. Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain. If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm-chasing vacations during the storm seasons.
Even then, storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement. “Storm chasing is 95% driving,” says Daniel Lynch, who spends most of his summer storm-chasing. “Sometimes you can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen, and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”
However, for storm chasers, it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm, it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life,” says Jasper Morley. “Every storm is an example of the power of nature. It is the greatest show on Earth.”
1. For storm chasing, storm chasers should first ________.| A．stay patiently for the storm to develop |
| B．collect information for a coming storm |
| C．drive straight to the center of the storm |
| D．find shelters to hide themselves at once |
| A．to do it in an organized way | B．to stay far away from a storm |
| C．to spend much more time on it | D．not to run along in a heavy rain |
| A．a lot of money is spent in chasing storm |
| B．a storm gifts the greatest show on Earth |
| C．storm chasing is worth hours of waiting |
| D．the best view deserves your being brave |
| A．Storm chasing is just a game fit for young people. |
| B．Some storm chasers were killed during the storms. |
| C．Sometimes storm chasers just feel a bit disappointed. |
| D．Storm chasing is becoming popular around the world. |
5 . More than half the world’s population live in cities, and by 2050 the UN expects that proportion to reach 68%. This means more homes, roads and other infrastructure. In India alone, a city the size of Chicago will have to be developed every year to meet demand for housing. Such a construction increase is a bad sign for dealing with climate change, because making steel and concrete, two of the most common building materials, generates around 8% of the world’s CO2 emissions (排放). If cities are to expand and become greener at the same time, they will have to be made from something else.
Wood is one of the most promising sustainable (可持续的) alternatives to steel and concrete. It is not, however, everyday wood that is attracting the interest of architects.
Rather, it is a material called engineered timber. This is a combination of different layers, each designed to meet the requirements of specific parts such as floors, panels and beams (横梁). Designers can use it to provide levels of strength like steel, in a product that is up to 80% lighter. In addition, engineered timber is usually made into large sections in a factory for future use, which reduces the number of deliveries to a construction site.
According to Michael Ramage of the University of Cambridge, a wooden building produces 75% less CO2 than a steel and concrete one of the same size. However, if building with wood takes off, it does raise concern about there being enough trees to go round. But with sustainably managed forests that should not be a problem, says Dr Ramage. A family-sized apartment requires about 30 cubic metres of timber, and he estimates Europe’s sustainable forests alone grow that amount every seven seconds. Nor is fire a risk, for engineered timber does not burn easily. Besides, fireproofing layers can be added to the timber. All in all, then, it looks as if wood as a building material may get a new lease of life.
1. Why is India mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To point out the severe pollution. |
| B．To predict the population increase. |
| C．To indicate the high degree of urbanization. |
| D．To show the great need for building materials. |
| A．It is produced at a low cost. |
| B．It hardly appeals to architects. |
| C．It helps save energy in transportation. |
| D．It possesses greater strength than steel. |
| A．Becomes cheaper. | B．Gains popularity. |
| C．Requires less work. | D．Proves sustainable. |
| A．Making Future Cities More Attractive |
| B．Living in a World with Less Emission |
| C．Building Sustainable Cities with Woods |
| D．Growing More Trees for Future Building |
6 . Most of us have something about us that we’re not 100% in love with, such as an impulsive streak or a short temper. What if those personality traits (个性特征) could be improved with daily use of a smartphone app? That was the focus of a new study from an international research team led by the University of Zurich.
“Personality traits predict several important aspects of life such as success at work, health and even a long.” says first author Mirjam Stieger. PhD. of Brandeis University in Waltham. Massachusetts. “So we wanted to test whether people can actively shape their personality traits with the help of a digital intervention (干预) within a relatively short period of time.”
Around 1.500 participants were provided with a specially developed smartphone app called PEACH for three months. On the app, a virtual companion communicated with the participants daily and provided support to help them make the changes they desired. And participants were divided into two groups — an intervention group and a waitlist control group. Participants in the waitlist control group selected and indicated their change goals before a one-month waiting period, and then they received the same three-month intervention as the intervention group.
The researchers found that participants in the waitlist control group didn't change their personality traits during the one-month waiting period. but participants who received the intervention reported changes in the desired direction. “We also found that friends and family members were able to detect personality changes,” Stieger says. “Another surprising finding was that most participants were able to maintain (维持) their personality trait changes until three months after the end of the intervention.”
While apps could be used to promote personality change, mental health expert Karen Peters warns, it's important to remember they are there for support and not as a substitute for an individual's change. “The use of an app itself isn't going to influence change — change is influenced by internal motivation.” she says. “The new study demonstrates this point by determining that change outcomes were in agreement with the individual's desire to change.”
1. Why does the author ask the question in paragraph 1?| A．To put forward a problem. | B．To recommend a method. |
| C．To lead in the recent study. | D．To come up with a new concept. |
| A．Set their change goals. | B．Detect others' changes. |
| C．Help their companions. | D．Get rid of daily apps. |
| A．Most of the participants' personalities were unstable. |
| B．Digital intervention made no difference to personalities. |
| C．The use of an app alone could shape personality traits. |
| D．The participants, personality changes were noticeable. |
| A．Are Your Personality Traits Out of Control? |
| B．Are You in Love With Your Personality Traits? |
| C．Can a Smartphone App Change Your Personality? |
| D．Can Digital Intervention Determine Personal Desire? |
7 . I’m glad I got to attend PRSSA’s (Public Relations Student Society of America) National Conference in Philadelphia this year because it gave me the opportunity to get advice and insight (见解) from industry professionals. Newhouse (American publisher) brings in great speakers, but I don’t always get the chance to go to the ones I want because of classes and other schedule conflicts (日程冲突). Having five days to focus only on developing my public relations knowledge base was great.
One of the sessions (会议) I enjoyed the most was about food PR. The speaker was very enthusiastic and gave helpful information on her day-to-day responsibilities and on the importance of choosing the person you want to work for, not just the job position.
Attending the different sessions also gave me insight on areas that I might not want to work in. The session on entertainment and public relations showed me that I do not have enough interest in the latest television shows and pop culture to work in the entertainment industry. All of the reality stars and movies everyone was talking about were beyond me.
Attending conferences also allowed our own PRSSA members to get to know each other better and become friends outside of meetings and work. We have a sort of PRSSA family environment where we always try to help each other.
To sum up, if you ever get the chance to attend a PR conference, whether regional or national, be sure to take the opportunity to do so. Conveniently, Syracuse University will be hosting a regional PRSSA conference on March 1-2 this coming spring. Don’t miss it!
1. The author sometimes can’t go to the meetings he wants because ________.| A．he is not invited |
| B．he has to do part-time jobs |
| C．he doesn’t like the speakers |
| D．he has classes or other plans |
| A．unfavorable |
| B．enthusiastic |
| C．doubtful |
| D．unconcerned |
| A．can benefit a lot from the sessions |
| B．have to work out solutions to public issues |
| C．compete with each other for good opportunities |
| D．can know their shortcomings from the meetings |
| A．explain how PRSSA works |
| B．show readers how to join PRSSA |
| C．describe the future development of PRSSA |
| D．encourage readers to attend PRSSA meetings |
8 . In an effort to fight the “throw-away culture” and promote reuse and repair, the city of Berlin has taken the unique step of opening its own secondhand department store.
This isn’t your grandma’s thrift shop (旧货商店). It resells perfectly good items that would otherwise be thrown away. A pun on the German words for “department store” and “conserving house”, B-Wa(h)renhaus sells a wide variety of products. Far from simply selling old items, the electronic goods have been fixed by expert technicians and come with a year’s guarantee. And, to reach more secondhand shoppers, the store was set up right in the middle of the famous Karstadt department store.
With the success of its initial six-month trial run, the city plans to open four more similar operations in other parts of Berlin. By 2030, it hopes to have at least one location in each of Berlin’s 12 districts. Since 2008, city policies and educational campaigns have reduced average annual household waste by about 25 pounds per resident. It also recycles about 49% of its mineral construction waste. Currently, the city estimates that 8% of abandoned electronic goods and 6% of huge items thrown away can actually be reused. The goal is to expand the market for these items beyond the usual bargain hunters and eco-conscious consumers.
“Three years ago, we started collecting all kinds of used goods,” city spokesperson Dorothee Winden said. “There are lots of things that are well-preserved and functioning but aren’t being used anymore. The goal is to give these things a new life with somebody who can use them.” The store also includes an education center to encourage more sustainable lifestyles — and also gave an award to a project that recycles school uniforms, so that parents don’t have to buy new ones every year.
1. Why has Berlin opened its own secondhand department store?| A．To attract more shoppers. | B．To promote recycling. |
| C．To foster traditional culture. | D．To expand secondhand market. |
| A．The variety of the goods. | B．The location of the store. |
| C．The quality of the products. | D．The operation of the store. |
| A．Berlin currently has 4 second-hand stores in construction. |
| B．Berlin has been successful in cutting its waste since 2008. |
| C．It is not easy to make the goal to expand the market a reality. |
| D．It is estimated that Berlin will be a zero-waste city by 2030. |
| A．To introduce Berlin’s new reuse shop operation. |
| B．To raise people’s awareness of reasonable shopping. |
| C．To persuade people to become eco-friendly shoppers. |
| D．To encourage more people to donate to secondhand shops. |
9 . As an astronomer(天文学家)，I am accustomed to observing the universe in quiet places. I observe galaxies in the deep universe-places so far away that their light takes billions of years to reach our eyes.
Sometimes I wonder what our own galaxy looked like billions of years ago, before solar system was born. I often stare at the Hubble Deep Field(哈勃深空区)searching for clues∶galaxies colliding(碰撞)，stars exploding，and stellar nurseries. Can looking to the stars bring us closer together?
A couple of months ago，Betelgeuse，a bright star in the Orion constellation(猎户座) started to get dimmer and dimmer. Astronomers all over the world thought this might be a signal that the star was about to explode. Though it might not happen for another 1000 years or more, still I went outside every night to check it out. I was hoping that it would explode. Imagine seeing a star shining as bright as the full moon even during the day.
I started dreaming about using such an event to remind everyone that stars produce nearly all of the chemical elements in the universe, which came directly out of the Big Bang. Everything we breathe, touch and see was made inside of stars. The iron in our blood, calcium bones, and almost the entire periodic table are products of stellar evolution.
Betelgeuse did not explode, and more recent observations note that it is actually returning to normal. But nothing is normal here on Earth now. I am beginning to realize that we did not need a star to explode to unite us. All we needed was a common problem.
I am hoping that everyone on the planet is saving some time to contemplate（凝视，沉思)the universe and to realize we are not alone. No matter where we are or who we are, we are on this planet together. Since we are all made of stars, looking up at the night sky gives us a glimpse of our past and our future, and we can contemplate both together.
1. Why does the author write this article?| A．To advise others to stare at a potentially exploding star recently. |
| B．To research into the scientific mystery in the universe with readers. |
| C．To discuss the proper relationship between human and the universe. |
| D．To suggest us thinking about the way human beings live in this world. |
| A．is a star the author tracked for years |
| B．will produce chemical elements if it explodes |
| C．is a normal star which is disappearing |
| D．will explode in ten thousand years |
| A．Betelgeuse's potential explosion |
| B．Betelgeuse's getting dimmer and dimmer |
| C．the author's checking out every night |
| D．a star's shining as bright as the sun |
| A．What should an astronomer do? |
| B．Should we know more about the universe? |
| C．Looking to the stars can bring us closer together. |
| D．Getting united is a problem impossible to solve. |
10 . Man’s best friend is also his oldest. The partnership between dogs and people may go back as much as 40,000 years long predating any other domestication （驯化）. And it is based not, as is the case with many succeeding domestications, on a human desire to eat the animal concerned, or to consume some associated product such as milk or eggs, but rather on sincere companionship, though with a little work — and hunting-related using on the side.
How this partnership got going, though, is debated. In particular, unlike other domestications, which involved groups of people who had taken up farming, the domestication of the wolves that became dogs happened while all human beings were still hunter-gatherers. The two species were, in other words, competitors. Yet they managed to become soul mates.
One popular theory is that the wolves which became dogs acted as rubbish cleaners for groups of people, by eating their waste, possibly including their faeces （粪 便）.That, though, would be a service more useful to settled farmers than mobile hunter-gatherers. As she writes in Scientific Reports, however, Maria Lahtinen of the Finnish Museum of Natural History thinks she might have the answer as to how wolves and people squared the competitive circle while both species were still hunters. It was, she and her colleagues suggest, simply a matter of remaining calories.
The archaeological （考古的）evidence suggests that wolves were domesticated in wood lands at the edge of the ice sheets of the last ice age, since that is where almost all Palaeolithic dog remains have been found. Dr Lahtinen calculates that, given the large size of hunted animals in this environment, and humans' need to eat a balanced diet with plenty of plant matter in it as well as flesh, there would have been a lot of remaining meat around from kills. What better way to use some of it than to feed a few wolf cubs （幼崽）to provide entertainment and companionship? And thus, she suggests, were dogs born.
1. Why did our ancestors domesticate dogs?| A．To balance their diet. | B．To help them to farm. |
| C．To get rid of rubbish. | D．To develop a partnership. |
| A．Dogs were born as early as wolves. |
| B．People ever hunted wolves for food. |
| C．Wolf cubs were raised for remaining meat. |
| D．Cruel enemies could become good friends. |
| A．A new idea. | B．Some evidence. |
| C．A practical way. | D．A scientific report. |
| A．Home & Life. | B．Finance & Economy. |
| C．History & Future. | D．Science & Technology. |
