1 . Anyone who has messy children, lazy partners or naughty flat mates will be impressed by the resourcefulness (足智多谋) of Katrina Neathey, the co-owner of a cleaning company in West Sussex. She has made her three teenagers sign an agreement to help keep the house tidy. Any infraction of the agreement, for example, littering up their bedroom with magazines and drinks, or failing to put their dirty plates in the dishwasher, will come with a 5 pounds’ fine on removal of their phones.
It is one way of setting up a cleaning rota (轮班表) that people might stick to. “Cleaning is teamwork.” says Lynsey Crombie, also known as the Queen of Clean. She suggests getting everyone in the household together to find out what people like doing. “In our family, my husband is better at mowing the lawn. I love cleaning rooms. Someone else might like folding the towels. You let everybody do what they’re good at, or enjoy, so there’s more chance they’ll actually do it.”
Crombie is not a fan of fines. For her children, she takes away their phones or turns off the Wi-Fi. For other adults who aren’t joining in, she suggests keeping asking them to take action.
If you aren’t sure what is required to keep the dirt at bay, there are many checklists online that you can print out to share the daily, weekly and monthly tasks. You can stick it on the fridge, and then everyone knows where they stand. If it’s not working, have another chat, such as “What do you dislike?” “How can we improve it?” Ironing out problems is all about communication.
1. What does the underlined word "infraction" in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Change. | B．Violation. |
| C．Explanation. | D．Discussion. |
| A．By dividing tasks in terms of interest. | B．By sticking to the cleaning rota strictly. |
| C．By setting up a role model herself. | D．By offering the family timely help. |
| A．Fines work well among adults. | B．Ways to motivate people vary. |
| C．It’s hard to push adults to take charge. | D．It’s good to remind people of their tasks. |
| A．To advertise a great cleaning company in West Sussex. |
| B．To encourage people to develop teamwork spirit at home. |
| C．To call on housewives to handle lazy partners resourcefully. |
| D．To introduce ways of inspiring family to share housework. |
2 . An aircraft carrying personal protective equipment donated by China, along with U.S.-purchased medical supplies, arrived in New York on March 29.
The plane is the first in a series of flights over the next 30 days organized by the White House to help fight the coronavirus, the White House said. Most of the purchases are from Asia including Malaysia and Vietnam.
The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. retweeted a report from Axios, which said that 12 million gloves, 130,000 N-95 masks, 1.7 million surgical masks, 50,000 gowns, 130,000 hand sanitizer units, and 36,000 thermometers from China have arrived in the United States.
Along with the goods, Chinese company Huawei donated 10,000 masks, 20,000 articles of protective clothing, 10,000 gloves and 50,000 goggles to New York state.
Governor Andrew Cuomo confirmed the donation and thanked Huawei on Twitter.
The plane was funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It landed at John F. Kennedy airport carrying gloves, gowns and masks for distribution in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, three hard-hit states battling to care for a crush of coronavirus patients.
The airlift is a product of a team led by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, which formed "Project Airbridge," a partnership between large U.S. healthcare distributors such as Mekesson Corp, Cardinal, Owens & Minor, Medline and Henry Schein Inc, and the federal government.
The flight from Shanghai was the first of about 20 flights to arrive between now and early April, according to the White House. Additional flights will carry similar gear from China, Malaysia and Vietnam.
1. From the passage we know that ________.| A．all goods on the plane are donated by China |
| B．all goods on the plane are purchased from China |
| C．all goods on the plane are donated by Huawei |
| D．some of the goods on the plane are from donation while others are purchased from Asia |
| A．New York. | B．New Jersey. |
| C．California. | D．Connecticut. |
| A．Protective equipment and medical supplies. |
| B．Parts of the machine. |
| C．Medicine. |
| D．Food. |
| A．A textbook. | B．A collection of stories. |
| C．A guide book. | D．An official report. |
3 . “Our aim is to take our art to the world and make people understand what it is to move,” said David Belle, the founder of parkour.
Do you love running? It is a good exercise, yet many people find it boring. But what if making your morning jog a creative one? Like jumping from walls and over gaps, and ground rolls? Just like James Bond in the movie Casino Royale? Bond jumps down from a roof to a windowsill and then runs several blocks over obstacles on the way. It is just because of Bond’s wonderful performances that the sport has become popular worldwide.
Yes, that’s parkour, an extreme street sport aimed at moving from one point to another as quickly as possible, getting over all the barriers in the path using only the abilities of the human body. Parkour is considered an extreme sport. As its participants dash around a city, they may jump over fences, run up walls and even move from rooftop to rooftop.
Parkour can be just as exciting and charming as it sounds, but its participants see parkour much more than that.
Overcoming all the obstacles on the course and in life is part of the philosophy behind parkour. This is the same as life. You must determine your destination, go straight, jump over all the barriers as if in parkour and never fall back in your life, to reach the destination successfully. A parkour lover said, “I love parkour because its philosophy has become my life, my way to do everything.”
Another philosophy we’ve learnt from parkour is freedom. It can be done by anyone, at any time, anywhere in the world. It is a kind of expression of trust in yourself.
1. Parkour has become popular throughout the world because of .| A．its founder, David Belle | B．the varieties of participants |
| C．its risks and tricks | D．the film, Casino Royale |
| A．streets | B．objects |
| C．roofs | D．barriers |
| A．Sports and extremes. | B．Determination and freedom. |
| C．Dreams and success. | D．Excitement and popularity. |
| A．It is a team sport. | B．It is a good but boring sport. |
| C．It needs special training. | D．It challenges human abilities. |
4 . Feel tired and want to have a break? People have many different ways to relax during break time at work or school. Smartphones are probably the number one choice for a quick mental vacation.
Although it might seem like a good time, looking at your cellphone may damage your mental power, according to a recent psychological study from Rutgers University in the United States.
For the study, more than 400 students were asked to finish a set of 20 word puzzles. Halfway through the task, the students were divided into three groups. One group was allowed to take a break and use cellphones to buy things online. The second group was asked to have a rest and buy things using a computer. The last group didn’t take any break at all.
Interestingly, the group that used their cellphones during the break went back to work feeling the most tired and least motivated to continue. They also had the hardest time solving the remaining word puzzles.
The cellphone group took 19 percent longer to finish the rest of the task, and solved 22 percent fewer problems than those in the other break conditions combined.
Terri Kurtzberg, co-author of the study, explained that they assumed looking at cellphones during a break would be no different from any other break – but instead, the phone may cause increasing levels of distraction that make it difficult to return focused attention to work tasks.
“Cellphones may have this effect because even just seeing your phone activates thoughts of checking messages, connecting with people, access to ever-refilling information and more, in ways that are different than how we use other screens like computers, and laptops,” Kurtzberg told Science Daily.
This is echoed (呼应) by a 2017 study from the US University of Chicago. It found that even if cellphones are turned off or turned face down, their mere presence reduces a person’s cognitive capacity (认知能力).
So, during your next break, try putting your smartphone away. Go out for a walk, get to know your classmates or even take a nap (小憩). You may be surprised by the result.
1. What did the study find about using cellphones during breaks?| A．It could make people more motivated at work. |
| B．It could reduce one’s ability to solve problems. |
| C．It could be beneficial both physically and mentally. |
| D．It could affect one’s relationships with others. |
| A．motivate | B．associate. | C．appreciate | D．imitate. |
| A．They may influence people in the same way as computers do. |
| B．They may make it hard for people to concentrate on work. |
| C．Their negative influence is almost impossible to avoid. |
| D．They have become a necessary part of people’s lives. |
| A．Turn off their cellphones. | B．Keep their cellphones face down. |
| C．Replace cellphones with laptops. | D．Keep their cellphones out of sight. |
