1 . Faster, cheaper, better-technology is one field many people rely upon to offer a vision of a brighter future. But as the 2020s dawn, optimism is in short supply. The new technologies that dominated the past decade seem to be making things worse. Social media were supposed to bring people together, but they are better known for leaking privacy. E-commerce, ride-hailing (网约车) and the gig economy (零工经济) may be convenient, but they are charged with underpaying workers, worsening inequality and blocking the streets with vehicles.
Today's pessimistic mood is centered on smart phones and social media, which took off a decade ago. Yet concerns that particular technologies might be doing more harm than good have arisen before. The 1920s witnessed a criticism against cars, which had earlier been seen as an answer to the problems caused by horse-drawn vehicles which filled the streets with noise and animal waste and caused accidents. And industrialization was criticized in the 19th century by Romantics who worried about the replacement of skilled workers, the robbing of the countryside and the suffering of factory hands.
However, that pessimism can be overdone. Too often people focus on the drawbacks of a new technology while taking its benefits for granted. Worries about screen time should be weighed against the much more substantial benefits of convenient communication and the instant access to information and entertainment that smartphones make possible. A further danger is that Luddite (反对技术进步者) efforts to avoid the short-term costs associated with a new technology will end up denying access to its long-term benefits-something Carl Benedikt Frey, an Oxford academic, calls a "technology trap". Fears that robots will steal people's jobs may discourage their use. Yet in the long run countries that wish to maintain their standard of living as their workforce ages and shrinks will need more robots, not fewer.
Any powerful technology can be used for good or ill. It is the choices people make about it that shape the world. Perhaps the real source of anxiety is not technology itself, but growing doubts about the ability of societies to hold this debate, and come up with good answers. So as the decade turns, put aside the pessimism for a moment. To be alive in the tech-obsessed 2020s is to be among the luckiest people who have ever lived.
1. What phenomenon is described in Paragraph 1?| A．The seriousness of social inequality. |
| B．The rapid development of technology. |
| C．Problems brought by personal privacy leaks. |
| D．Worries about the influence of new technologies. |
| A．Negative. | B．Uncertain. | C．Sympathetic. | D．Enthusiastic. |
| A．A lack of good jobs in the job market. |
| B．An increase in the number of Luddites. |
| C．A decrease in the number of skilled workers. |
| D．An interruption to the advancement of a new technology. |
| A．Pessimism vs Progress | B．Technology vs Civilization |
| C．2020s: The Age of Technology | D．Robots: Our Future Caretakers |
2 . Summer job offers
Red Lemon shop Assistants(售货员)
We are looking for shop assistants for the summer. If you are a social person and good at salesmanship, we want you to join our team. Good conditions. Perfect for students.
Phone 0151-897-6643 for information about how to apply.
Cinerama Cinemas
We need people to work evenings and at the weekend. Responsibilities include checking tickets and selling popcorn and soft drinks. Watch the latest films ... free! Join our young and friendly team!
Phone 0161-754-6022 for more information about wages (工资)and conditions.
US Au Pairs
Ever wanted to visit California? Are you patient, caring and good with kids? Work as an au pair in Los Angeles this summer. Free food and accommodation(食宿).
Phone 0121-077, 2001 for information about how to get application forms(申请表).
Are You Mad About Sport?
Would you like to spend all summer teaching sport to people from around the world? Then come and work at our international sports camp Sports Star Camp!
Phone 0191-121-5533 for information about how to get and where to send application forms, etc.
1. Which number can you call if you want to get a job that provides free films?| A．0151-897-6643. | B．0161-754-6022. | C．0121-077-2001. | D．0191-121-5533. |
| A．It is a high-paid job. | B．It is perfect for kids. |
| C．It offers job-related training. | D．It requires somebody with patience. |
| A．Jill, who dreams of being a sports star. |
| B．Jack, who wants to become a sports coach. |
| C．Joe, who expects to travel around the world. |
| D．Jim, who loves to take part in sports competitions. |
3 . It is quite apparent that competition surrounds every aspect of human life whether in the United States or the Amazon rainforest. Without it we would not have grown into primates (灵长类动物) . Or we would probably still be struggling to sharpen a bronze tool while crawling around on four legs in search of meat. Without competition, Columbus wouldn’t have discovered America and Edison would never have invented the light bulb.
Friendship, like all relationships between two people, involves competition. It isn’t competition in a traditional sense because there are no goals to be scored and no prize. Perhaps the ecological definition --- the simultaneous (同时) demand by two or more organisms for limited environmental resources, such as nutrients, living space, or light --- better explains it.
As in nature, high school life is governed by a set of laws, similar to a shortened version of Darwin’s theory of evolution, overpopulation, and competition. There is an abundance of high school students and to distinguish them, ranking and categorizing (分类) take place. In high school, friendships learn to coexist with competition even though at times the relationship is rough. In fact, in some circumstance, competition is too much of a burden for a friendship to bear, causing it to fall apart. College admission is the final high school objective. Four years of hard work is to achieve good grades, and a student’s fate is determined not only by these achievements, but by the records of thousands of other seniors trying to achieve a similar recognition.
Nevertheless, by necessity, competition between students exists in all aspects of high school life. It sets and improves the standards in everything from sports to schoolwork. A healthy, friendly competition can have only benefits, but when it becomes too fierce, jealousy (妒忌) can tear friendships apart. Yet, despite all this, without competition, we would be lost.
1. What does the ecological definition mainly explain?| A．How to win the competition. | B．What competition exactly is. |
| C．What the result of competition is. | D．How friends compete with each other. |
| A．They know the laws of nature well. | B．Friendship is a burden for them. |
| C．The number of them is too large. | D．They are divided into different groups. |
| A．Friendship is always based on competition. |
| B．Competition is a result of lost friendship. |
| C．Competition is terribly harmful to friendships. |
| D．The degree of competition is vital to friendship. |
4 . Researchers continue to show the power behind our sense of smell. Recent studies have found, among other things, that the smell of foods like pizza can cause uncontrollable anger in drivers on roads.
The study explains that smell is unique in its effects on the brain. According to Conrad King, the researcher who carried out the study, “more than any other senses, the sense of smell goes through the logical part of the brain and acts on the systems concerned with feelings. This is why the smell of baking bread can destroy the best intentions of a dieter.”
Smell, which determines the unbelievable complexity of food tastes, has always been the least understood of our senses. Our noses are able to detect up to 10,000 distinct smells. Our ability to smell and taste this extremely large range of smells is controlled by something like 1,000 genes (基因), which make up an amazing 3% of the human genome.
According to Conrad King’s study, smelling fresh pizza or even the packaging of fast foods can be enough to make drivers feel impatient with other road users. They are then more likely to speed and experience uncontrollable anger on roads. The most reasonable explanation is that these can all make drivers feel hungry, and therefore desperate to satisfy their appetites. In contrast, the smells of peppermint （薄荷）and cinnamon（桂皮香料） were shown to improve concentration levels as well as reduce drivers’ impatience. Similarly, the smells of lemon and coffee appeared to promote clear thinking and mental focus.
However, the way genes control smell differs from person to person. A study by researchers in Israel has identified at least 50 olfactory(嗅觉) genes which are switched on in some people and not in others. They believe this may explain why some of us love some smells and tastes while others hate them. The Israel researchers say their study shows that nearly every human being shows a different pattern of active and inactive smell-detecting receptors.
1. What does the author think of human sense of smell?| A．It is complex. | B．It is uncontrollable. |
| C．It is changeable. | D．It is powerful. |
| A．To find out how smell influences people. |
| B．To teach people how to choose proper food. |
| C．To study why some food like pizza harm people. |
| D．To explain why different people love different foods. |
| A．Only a few genes decide our sense of smell. |
| B．Different genes have different effect on people. |
| C．Different people are sensitive to different smells. |
| D．Every person owns at least 50 different olfactory genes. |
| A．Logic and behavior. | B．Smell and its influence. |
| C．Sense ability and food tastes. | D．Olfactory genes and our olfactory system. |
5 . Music. We hear it everywhere, every day. Getting into a lift, going around a supermarket or simply relaxing at home, music is our constant companion. And music can have a significant effect on the way we think and feel, so it's worth paying attention to what we're listening to.
Music can have a powerful effect on our moods, in terms of both reducing and increasing stress. Listening to calm gentle music in bed can help us drop off to sleep. Some airlines play smoothing music on board planes at take-off and landing, to calm nervous travelers. Athletes often listen to fast loud music to help them prepare for games. The American swimmer Michael Phelps is known to listen to rap music before important races to help pump him up.
The mood-altering effect of music can be especially acute for the people who actually play the music. Musicians who do not have high self-esteem (自尊心) can suddenly overflow with confidence once they go on stage. It's as though the music gives them a different personality.
And it's not only those who feel ill at ease with themselves who can benefit. Scientists have conducted research into the effect of music on students studying for exams. They found that listening to calm music with a regular beat can actually help students recall facts and improve their performance in exams. Classical music, preferably something by Mozart, seems to have the most beneficial effect. A word of caution, however: it's best not to over-rely on this method, as you won't be able to listen to music in an exam.
For most of us though, music is one of life's great pleasures. And it's a pleasure that endures. Researchers have found that we don't often grow out of the music that we love as teenagers, because our musical tastes are such a huge part of our identity, personality and outlook on life. So don't delete those songs you downloaded when you were fifteen - you'll probably still love them when you're fifty.
1. What would be the best kind of music to play to nervous drivers stuck in traffic jam?| A．Rap music. | B．Gentle classical music. |
| C．Cheerful folk music. | D．Heavy metal music. |
| A．powerful | B．controllable |
| C．complex | D．opposite |
| A．Pop music improves students' academic performance. |
| B．Music has magic power to change musicians' personality. |
| C．Music generally influence people's thoughts and emotions. |
| D．Sportsmen listen to fast music to relieve their stress before games. |
| A．Musical tastes affect our characters to a great extent. |
| B．We have to find ways to make the pleasure of music last. |
| C．We will be fond of different kinds of music as we grow up. |
| D．A part of our personality and tastes are well developed in our teens. |
6 . I always feel sorry for world leaders busy dealing with fights between nations. When my three children were young，most days it was hard to keep my house from becoming a battlefield.
It got worse as they grew older. Three years ago，Zack，then 16，couldn’t make it through a day without making his sisters，Alex 11 and Taryn 9，angry.
My husband and I tried to be understanding the boy at such an age. We reasoned，punished，and left heartfelt notes on his bed about how he was hurting our family. His answer was “I say it because it’s true.”
I even tried telling the girls to fight back. Bad idea. Now I had three children at war. Whatever I said to them，they paid no attention. When there was no way out，I told everything to my sister，Mary，in an email. She replied，“Don’t email me. Email him.”
Our son was online every day，mailing and talking with his friends. Maybe he would actually hear me this way. I didn’t say anything different，but email just took the tension away. There’d be no shouting or door banging. Zack wouldn’t feel under attack.
Zack didn’t reply for days. When he finally did，his entire message was four small words. I smiled when I read them：“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
The children still fought，of course，but Zack changed. Best of all，I now have a better way to talk with not one but three of them. I like it that they don’t tune me out as much as they used to. They like not having to listen to me shouting to them. Or as Alex says，“You’re so much nicer online.”
All I know is that the house is quiet. But we’re talking.
1. What was the trouble before the online talk in the family?| A．The writer failed to understand her daughters. |
| B．The children couldn’t get along peacefully. |
| C．The family found it difficult to keep the house clean. |
| D．The parents were not willing to talk with their children. |
| A．to escape from the problem |
| B．hoping she’d email the boy |
| C．asking about childraising |
| D．to tell her about the family problem |
| A．Because she doesn’t think the leaders are successful. |
| B．Because she can understand that the leaders’ job is hard. |
| C．Because she doesn’t think fights can be stopped. |
| D．Because she has nothing to do with the leaders. |
7 . Once upon a time，there was a little boy who wanted to meet the king. He set off，walking towards the king’s castle. After many years of walking，the king’s castle came into his view. However，as the boy drew closer to the outside of the castle，the guards took notice of him.
“Get out of here！” commanded the guards.
Well，the little boy didn’t have to be told twice. He turned...and ran right away. All he wanted to do was to tell the king wonderful things，and see all the beautiful things in the king’s house. But he couldn’t even get near the castle! The boy finally stopped running，sat down and cried.
A young man happened to be coming down the path at the very moment. He saw the little boy and came up.“What’s wrong，young man？” he asked.
“Sir，I walked and walked just to see the king. But these guards made me frightened. I wanted to tell the king how lovely everything is and just tell the king that I just wanted to see him！”
The man looked at the little boy thoughtfully.“Look，why don’t you try again. Don’t lose heart. I ’ll come with you this time.”
The little boy got up and took the man’s hand. The king’s guards spotted them.
“Look，mister，we don’t have to do this...I don’t want you to get hurt. We can just turn around now.”
The man held the little boy’s hand and went on. The boy really thought the man might be crazy until he looked back up at the guards. They were all smiling now. The little boy was surprised.
“Who are you？” asked the little boy in surprise.
“Why，I’m the king’s son. You can enter the castle and be with the king，” said the man.
The little boy broke into a huge smile.
1. Why did the boy want to see the king?| A．To ask the king to play with him. |
| B．To get some help from the king. |
| C．To invite the king to visit his beautiful village. |
| D．To share wonderful things with the king. |
| A．The little boy understood the guards’ words right away. |
| B．The little boy didn’t understand the guards’ words at first. |
| C．The guards repeated the words to the boy. |
| D．The little boy had been to the castle twice. |
| A．determined | B．stubborn |
| C．warmhearted | D．mean |
| A．Never judge a book by its cover. |
| B．Anything is possible if one tried hard enough. |
| C．Life can sometimes be unfair. |
| D．Make new friends and keep the old. |
8 . I can proudly say that last year I broke the record for the oldest person in the world to ride a roller-coaster. I'm 105, but I feel younger. Even the doctor agrees I'm in good condition. I'm a bit deaf and my legs feel weak, but they are the only issue.
I rode the Twistosaurus at Flamingo Land, which spins you round quite fast. I didn't choose to go on that. I'd have preferred a really fast one that went upside down. But I was told I couldn't ride something like that, because my blood pressure could drop and I might have some danger.
I wasn't nervous - I don't get frightened of anything. I was securely fastened， so I knew I wouldn't fall out. The roller-coaster ride went on for three or four minutes, and it couldn't be a better experience. And I raised a lot of money for the Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance fund, which was fantastic.
People were saying I'd got a place in the Guinness World Records. Later， someone came to present me with the certificate. I had it on the wall in my living room, with another one that got a year earlier.
My record-breaking ways really began a couple of years ago, with the ice-bucket challenge. It turned out that I was probably the oldest person in the world to do it, and the video was very popular. After that, I stared to think about what else I could do to raise money for different charities.
I'm not sure if anyone admires all the fun I'm having. They just say I'm daft and that's about it. But I've had many good days and many exciting times. I've had a really good life. I don't think I've wasted any of it.
1. Why didn't the author choose to go on riding the Twistosaurus？| A．Because he was told not to do so. |
| B．Because he considered it too gentle. |
| C．Because he thought it spun too fast. |
| D．Because he was in a bad physical condition. |
| A．He really enjoyed himself. |
| B．He was very worried at first. |
| C．He couldn't think much about it. |
| D．He got frightened as it started moving. |
| A．He was eager to get certificates. |
| B．He disliked showing off his success. |
| C．He was the oldest person in the world. |
| D．He set a record the year before last year. |
| A．Cooperative. | B．Optimistic. | C．Generous. | D．Intelligent. |
9 . It's not easy feeling like you're always under the spotlight being judged for each little mistake you make. Your mind is in an endless circle playing what you said and did over and over again. You wish you had a time capsule to go back and make things fight if you find mistakes. You fear what others will think about you and that they will reject and dislike you. You seek to be socially perfect.
Academically，you work long endless hours just to make those excellent marks. Although most would say "it's good to have high standards，"they have no idea about the internal hell you put yourself through to achieve perfection. If you come up less than your desired goal you feel as though you have failed, but you're far from failing, you just don't see it that way. So instead you are telling yourself that you're stupid, and not smart. The pressure you place on yourself weighs you down and you wear the "not good enough" label each and every day.
You not only have high standards for yourself but you also have them for others. If people don't perform up to your expectations, then you think them incompetent. This causes a lot of frustration because you can't trust anyone to get things right. So instead of being a team player you fly solo(单飞)and try to do two or three jobs at once. Your unrealistic expectations cause you to criticize and judge others and that leads to problems in other areas of your life.
The attempt to be perfect is called perfectionism and it's the unachievable American dream that's damaging our emotional and mental health. We strive for perfection with our body, in our performance，and in our relationships. In a society that overstates mistakes, is it any wonder that so many young people attempt the impossible task of being perfect？
We all have flaws, fears, and make mistakes, and that's perfectly OK. It's our imperfections that make life interesting and they help us grow into a stronger more adaptable person. We don't have to strive to achieve the impossible. We are designed to be perfectly imperfect.
1. Where is this text most likely from?| A．A diary. | B．A magazine. | C．A novel. | D．A guide book. |
| A．Be generous with praise. |
| B．Nobody is perfect. |
| C．There is no best, only better. |
| D．A contented mind is an everlasting feast. |
| A．The society is partly to blame for perfectionism. |
| B．More and more people are tolerating mistakes. |
| C．Many young people find it impossible to be perfect. |
| D．It's unusual for a society to seek perfectionism nowadays. |
| A．It's unbearable. |
| B．It's part of our life. |
| C．It deserves to be overcome. |
| D．It does harm to our mental health. |
10 . I remember the day when I first learned to ride a bike. It was a frightening, yet fun experience. My granddad was the one who taught me and he helped me when I got hurt. The first time I got on a bike, I had no idea what I was doing, and just about everything went wrong. My granddad told me to just put my feet on the pedals and start pedaling (骑自行车). He also told me he would hold onto the back of the bike the whole time, yet he didn’t.
As soon as I started trying to balance myself, he let go. I happened to look back just then. I was scared, to death that I was going to fall and hurt myself. When I was scared, my mind went blank from pedaling, and I just wanted off. I forgot how to use the brakes (车闸) and fell right off the bike. My granddad kept encouraging me to get up and try again, and after about 15 minutes, 1 finally stopped crying, got up and tried again.
As soon as I started pedaling again, my pants got caught in the chain, and I fell flat on my face and hit my nose. Since that happened t my granddad decided to call it a day and try again the next morning. The next morning I woke up bright and early, and was very eager to try to ride my bike. My nose felt better, so I wasn’t that afraid of falling anymore.
Though I knew there were a lot of difficulties on the way to mastering the skills in riding a bike, I believed I could do well with my granddad’s help. After all, riding a bike was what I wanted to do eagerly.
1. How was the author when he was on the bike first?| A．He didn’t know where he would be going. |
| B．He thought balancing himself was easy. |
| C．He was nervous and didn’t know what to do next. |
| D．He put his feet on the pedals and started pedaling. |
| A．Remember what happened this day. |
| B．Make the author feel happy. |
| C．Stop practicing bicycling. |
| D．Go on to ride a bike. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Grateful. |
| C．Indifferent. | D．Negative. |
| A．The Experience of My First Riding a Bike |
| B．The Difficulty I Met with My Granddad |
| C．The First Time I Got My Own Bike |
| D．The Great Moment When I Stayed with My Granddad |
