1 . These days, it's not unusual to see middle-aged men collecting Star Wars action figures, office workers wearing Hello Kitty accessories, or celebrities like David Beckham playing with Lego bricks. It's becoming more and more common to see adults taking an interest in toys, comic books and the activities that are traditionally associated with children. This phenomenon has given rise to a new word: kidult.
What lies behind the phenomenon? One is about adults' nostalgia （怀旧之情）for the carefree days of childhood, and this is especially true with today's fast-paced, stressful lifestyles. Another is about a societal change in recent decades where people are starting families later. As a result, they have more time and money to spend on themselves. Some adults could only window-shop for their dream toys when they were kids, but now they can afford that radio controlled car or high-priced doll they have always wanted.
Businesses have been quick to exploit the kidult trend, and the number of toy stores that target adults has risen. Companies are repackaging products from past decades and also bringing out new ones for adults. Lego, for example, has brought out an architectural series featuring landmarks from around the world.
Society traditionally disapproves of adults who refuse to put aside childhood interests, viewing the refusal as a sign of social immaturity and irresponsibility. Those who agree with this view sometimes claim that kidults are suffering from the pop-psychology concept known as Peter Pan Syndrome, an anomaly （异常）that people remain emotionally at the level of teenagers. On a grander scale, these kidult opponents （对手）argue that such delayed adulthood causes couples to marry later and have fewer children. This in turn can lead to shrinking national economies, for there needs to be a generational replenishment （补充）
of the workforce.
From the standpoint of kidults, though, this phenomenon is seen as nothing but harmless fun. Kidults insist that having youthful interests keeps them young, happy and creative, and their refusal to conform to society's acceptable tastes shows independent thinking. Besides, they argue that being part of the social trend of delayed adulthood is not purely a personal choice. The real causes include expensive housing, increased educational requirements for employment and poor work opportunities.
Whether the kidult phenomenon will continue to grow or prove to be a passing trend is anyone's guess. As the debate about it continues, remember that there is nothing wrong with being young at heart.
1. What does the kidult phenomenon refer to?| A．Adults act like children. |
| B．Adults have child-like tastes. |
| C．Adults go in for collecting toys. |
| D．Adults like playing with children. |
| A．Different living conditions. |
| B．More choices about toys. |
| C．High pressure of modern life. |
| D．Good memories of childhood. |
| A．Get used to. |
| B．Look forward to. |
| C．Take advantage of. |
| D．Make way for. |
| A．By strongly opposing kidult opponents. |
| B．By convincing readers to accept kidults. |
| C．By refusing to take a stand on the issue. |
| D．By presenting both sides of the argument. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Positive. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Uncaring. |
2 . More men are finding their calling as nurses.
A new study from the United States Census Bureau reports the number of male nurses has doubled since the 1970s. Back then, about 2.7 percent of registered nurses were men. The new study, which tracked data through 2011, finds that men now make up 9.6 percent of all employed nurses in the United States—about 330,000 men in total. Recent years of shortages have led to increased efforts, according to the report, which included recruiting men into the field.
Men, in fact, had been largely kept out of nursing in past decades because nursing schools often refused to admit men. The Supreme Court ruled that practice unconstitutional in 1981 after a case involving a state nursing school.
“The relatively high wages and expanding job opportunities make this field attractive, offering stability even during recessions(经济衰退),” wrote the report’s author, Liana Christin Landivar of the US Census Bureau. “And because of high demand, nursing has low unemployment rates compared to other fields.”
Men were found to be more likely to become nurse anesthetists(麻醉师), which is the highest paid nursing occupation, and were found least likely to become licensed practical or licensed vocational nurses, the lowest paid types of nursing. Nurse anesthetists are required to get graduate education, and are certified to give anesthetists and monitor patients recovering from anesthesia. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses provide patients with care and may work under the supervision(监督)of a registered nurse. Registered nurses assess patients’ health problems and needs, develop and carry out nursing care plans, maintain medical records, and administer care.
For all types of nursing, men earned, on average, $ 60,700 per year, while women earned $51,100 per year. “Even among men and women in the same nursing occupations, men out earn women,” wrote Landivar.
1. Which of the following is true about nurses in the US in the 1970s?| A．The number of male nurses doubled. | B．About 2.7% of registered nurses were men. |
| C．There were about 330,000 male nurses. | D．About 9.6%of employed nurses were men. |
| A．helping people to get used to | B．ordering people to learn |
| C．asking people to join in | D．inspiring people to devote |
| A．The economy is in bad condition. | B．more people are out of employment. |
| C．It is promising to go to nursing schools. | D．It’s easier to get employed and well paid. |
| A．become licensed practical nurses | B．devote themselves to work |
| C．graduate from nursing schools | D．get the highest paid nursing occupation |
| A．Men are more likely to be better nurses. | B．As nurses, men earn more than women. |
| C．Male nurses work harder than female ones. | D．Male and female nurses do different jobs. |
3 . I was recently surfing the Internet when I came across a collection of strange beach photos where everyone had a cloth wall surrounding their little patch of sand. I had never seen anything like it before, and I was intrigued. So I started Googling all sorts of phrases that might throw light on the mystery of Polish beach separators.
I found a site on Poland’s affairs that actually covered this “phenomenon（现象）” quite exactly. According to the site, beach separators have been a part of Polish beach-going culture for a long time, but have recently been getting a lot of attention online, after foreign tourists started posting photos on social networks.
Beach separators vary in size according to the size of the group. You’ll see tiny ones only surrounding the space around a single beach towel, and giant ones separating a large part of the beach. They weren’t designed to protect their users from prying（窥探）eyes. It’s no secret that strong winds are very common on the shores of the Baltic Sea, so they were originally meant to allow beach-goers to enjoy sunbathing without having their belongings blown away, or sand blown in their faces.
However, in recent years, people have begun criticizing them. During the summer, beach separators are placed so close to each other that a person can hardly pass between them, let alone（更不必说）find a place to put their own beach towels. This creates a problem for foreign tourists unfamiliar with them, who just want a place to lie down on the sand. And thus they can easily create all kinds of conflicts（冲突）due to the lack of space. For example, some people leave the beach for hours but leave their separators in place, to make sure that their space doesn’t get occupied by someone else.
Having visited a fair number of seaside resorts（胜地）across Europe, I admire that I have never seen anything like this before.
1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “intrigued” in Paragraph 1?| A．Amused. | B．Satisfied. |
| C．Interested. | D．Encouraged. |
| A．They are a special tradition in Poland. |
| B．They are man-made scenery in Poland. |
| C．They are a temporary phenomenon in Poland. |
| D．They are becoming popular around the world. |
| A．To have a good sunbath. | B．To attract others’ attention. |
| C．To keep themselves in private. | D．To protect themselves from thieves. |
| A．They cause plenty of garbage. | B．They take up too much space. |
| C．They fail to function properly. | D．They look strangely out of place. |
| A．A new Polish attraction. | B．Big challenges on the beach. |
| C．Beach space separators in Poland. | D．An unforgettable journey to Poland. |
