1 . Living with your parents comes with its perks – meals ready, laundry done, pills and hot water at your bedside when you’re feeling unwell. But your parents can still drive you crazy – talking about your habits without a stop and trying to get involved in your relationships.

This partly explains why the idea of “living alone” is spreading rapidly across the world with more young adults preferring to go solo.

According to statistics gathered by the market research firm Euro-monitor International, the number of people living alone globally has almost doubled in the last decade and a half.

This rush to solitude (独居) is not only limited to the US and Europe, where social security is well developed. In fact, over recent years, it has grown most quickly in countries with booming economies, like China for example.

Census (人口普查) data released by the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China in May showed that today over 58 million Chinese people live alone. That’s a number bigger than that of US, UK and France combined”, the Economist reported.

In the past, adulthood in China used to mean getting married and having children. Not following this route was seen as a taboo (禁忌). This is still the mainstream standard, but things are starting to change. Living alone is shifting from being a transitional stage after graduation and before marriage to a long-time state for many.

The marriage age in China is rising, especially in urban areas. In Beijing, the average age of men getting married is 27.8, while that of women is 26.2, according to iFeng News.

Better employment opportunities allow women to have greater equality with men. That might make women more inclined to stay single and free from the burden of starting a new family.

1. What does the underlined word “perks” in para 1 mean?

A．advantages

B．disadvantages

C．preference

D．tradition

2. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．the number of people living alone has almost doubled in China

B．people are more likely to live alone in developed countries

C．many Chinese think it unacceptable for young people to live alone

D．the average age of men getting married is 27.8 while that of women is 26.2

3. Many women tend to live alone because____________.

A．they want to be independent of their parents

B．the marriage age in China is rising.

C．they have the same chance to earn their living as men

D．they dislike their parents being involved in their relationships

4. What could be the best title for the passage?

A．China’s youth break free	B．Living with your parents or living alone
C．A new life style	D．China’s new youth

2 . I am Tony, a volunteer stem cell courier. Since March 2019, I have done 99 trips——of those, 56 have been abroad. I have 42 hours to carry stem cells in my little box because I've got two ice packs and that's how long they last. In all, from the time the stem cells are harvested from a donor to the time they can be implanted (移植) in the patient, we've got 72 hours at most. So I am always conscious of time.

Last year, I had a trip where I was caught by a hurricane in America. I picked up the stem cells in Providence, Rhode Island, and was meant to fly to Washington then back to London. But when I arrived at the check -in desk at Providence, the lady on the desk said: "Well, I'm really sorry, but I've got some bad news for you - there are no flights to Washington." So I took my box and put it on the desk and I said: "In this box are some stem cells that are urgently needed for a patient- please, please, you've got to get me back to the United Kingdom." She just dropped everything. She arranged for a fight on a small plane to be held for me, rerouted (改道) me through Newark and got me back to the UK even earlier than originally scheduled.

For this courier job, I' m consciously aware that in that box I've got something that is potentially going to save someone’s life.

1. What does the underlined word "courier" mean in paragraph !?

A．provider.

B．collector.

C．delivery man.

D．medical doctor.

2. Why does Tony have to complete his trip within 42 hours?

A．The operation needs that much time.

B．The donor can only wait for that long.

C．He can't stay away from his job too long.

D．The ice can only last such a period of time.

3. Why did the woman arrange a new flight for Tony?

A．To help save a patient.	B．To avoid being hit by Tony.
C．To get the stem cell.	D．To drop everything.

4. What does the author think of his job?

A．Tiresome.

B．Interesting.

C．Meaningless.

D．Significant.