1 . Twelve-year-old Catherine has a lot of friends—632, actually, if you count up her online friends. And she spends a lot of time with them.
But is it possible that Catherine’s online friendships could be making her lonely? That’s what some experts believe. Connecting online is a great way to stay in touch, they say. However, some experts worry that many kids are so busy connecting online that they might be missing out on true friendships.
Could this be true? During your parents’ childhoods, connecting with friends usually meant spending time with them in the flesh. Kids played Scrabble around a table, not words with friends on their phones. When friends missed each other, they picked up the telephone. Friends might even write letters to each other.
Today, most communication takes place online. A typical teen sends 2,000 texts a month and spends more than 44 hours per week in front of a screen. Much of this time is spent on social media platform.
In fact, in many ways, online communication can make friendships stronger. “There’s definitely a positive influence. Kids can stay in constant contact, which means they can share more of their feelings with each other,” says Katie Davis, co-author of The App Generation.
Other experts, however, warn that too much online communication can get in the way of forming deep friendships. “If we are constantly checking in with our virtual world, we will have little time for our real-world friendships,” says Larry Rosen, a professor at California State University. Rosen also worries that today’s kids might mistake the “friends” on the social media for true friends in life. However, in tough times, you don’t need anyone to like your picture or share your blogs. You need someone who will keep your secrets and hold your hand. You would like to talk face to face.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To tell about true friends. | B．To start a discussion. |
| C．To encourage online friendships. | D．To summarize(总结) the text. |
| A．In any case. | B．In public. | C．In person. | D．In advance. |
| A．Unconcerned. | B．Positive. | C．Worried. | D．Confused. |
| A．Teenagers need to focus on real-world friendships. | B．It’s easier to develop friendships in real life. |
| C．It’s wise to turn to friends online. | D．Social media help people stay closely connected. |
2 . Artificial intelligence (AI) is showing promise in earthquake prediction, challenging the long-held belief that it is impossible. Researchers at the University of Texas, Austin, have developed an AI algorithm (算法) that correctly predicted 70% of earthquakes a week in advance during a trial in China and provided accurate strength calculations for the predicted earthquakes.
The research team believes their method succeeded because they stuck with a relatively simple machine learning approach. The AI was provided with a set of statistical features based on the team’s knowledge of earthquake physics, and then instructed to train itself using a five-year database of earthquake recordings. Once trained, the AI provided its prediction by listening for signs of incoming earthquakes within the background rumblings (隆隆声) in the Earth.
This work is clearly a milestone in research for AI-driven earthquake prediction. “You don’t see earth-quakes coming,” explains Alexandros Savvaidis, a senior research scientist who leads the Texas Seismological Network Program (TexNet). “It’s a matter of milliseconds, and the only thing you can control is how prepared you are. Even with the 70% accuracy, that’s a huge result and could help minimize economic and human losses and has the potential to remarkably improve earthquake preparation worldwide.”
While it is unknown whether the same approach will work at other locations, the researchers are confident that their AI algorithm could produce more accurate predictions if used in areas with reliable earthquake tracking networks. The next step is to test artificial intelligence in Texas, since UT’s Bureau TexNet has 300 earth-quake stations and over six years worth of continuous records, making it an ideal location for these purposes.
Eventually, the authors hope to combine the system with physics-based models. This strategy could prove especially important where data is poor or lacking. “That may be a long way off, but many advances such as this one, taken together, are what moves science forward,” concludes Scott Tinker, the bureau’s director.
1. How does the AI forecast earthquakes?| A．By identifying data from the satellites. |
| B．By analyzing background sounds in the Earth. |
| C．By modeling data based on earthquake recordings. |
| D．By monitoring changes in the Earth’s magnetic field. |
| A．The ways to reduce losses in earthquakes. |
| B．The importance of preparing for earthquakes. |
| C．The significance of developing the AI prediction. |
| D．The limitation of AI algorithms in earthquake prediction. |
| A．Conducting tests in different locations. |
| B．Applying the AI approach to other fields. |
| C．Building more earthquake stations in Texas. |
| D．Enlarging the database to train the calculation accuracy. |
| A．Stable but outdated. | B．Effective but costly. |
| C．Potential and economical. | D．Pioneering and promising. |
3 . Here are four books for you and your children. Pick anyone you like!
Football with Dad by Frank BerriosAfter watching the big game on TV every Sunday, a boy and his dad head outside to throw around a football like their favorite players. With its focus on playing safe and having fun. Football With Dad is the perfect way to introduce your little reader to the game of football.
There’s an Alligator Under My Bed by MercerMayer Fear of the dark often brings people another fear, like having a monster (怪物) under your bed. This story uses clever thinking to show children how to do with their fear during the night. And it does have helped lots of children overcome their fear of the dark.
Room on the Broom by Julia DonaldsonThe story has a great message of friendship. A witch (女巫) is happily flying around on her broom when the wind blows away her hat, then her bow, and then her wand. Luckily, a helpful animal finds her missing belongings each time.
7 Days till Ice Cream by Bernardo FelicianoJerron, A. J., and Cha are so excited about ice cream day! But sometimes, the ice cream car drives down a different street. Can they work together to control their car right to their house? This fun, easy-to-read story also shows us problem-solving and hands-on activities that your children will love!
1. What is the book Football With Dad about?| A．How to enjoy an exciting football game. | B．How to play football. |
| C．How to be a father. | D．How to get kids to be athletic. |
| A．Football with Dad. | B．There’s an Alligator Under My Bed. |
| C．Room on the Broom. | D．7 Days till Ice Cream. |
| A．Boring. | B．Responsible. | C．Sensitive. | D．Intelligent. |
4 . Ignoring message is frowned upon (皱眉) in this always-on times. And according to most people, dropping out of communication is blamed as “ghosting”, which in the years since the term became widespread, has become a deadly killer of digital communications.
But in these exhausting times, when so many are overburdened with family responsibilities, stress, grief and anxiety, perhaps we should let go of the outdated, demanding requirement to participate in endless back-and-forth conversations. As Daniel Post Senning of the Emily Post Institution said, “You have to be a civil and decent person, but you don’t have to give your time and attention to everyone who asks for it.”
In an era when we understand more and more the importance of rest and time away from screens, triaging (优先选择) can be necessary for our peace of mind and relationships with the people in our lives: When we are on vacation. When it’s after 7 pm. When we are at the dinner table. When we are exercising. If you don’t reply immediately to a message during one of these times, don’t apologize. Just reply when you can. Or don’t.
Is triaging a blanket permission to fall into unexplained silence or become a bottleneck to your colleagues’ work? No. Instead, establish boundaries with your work colleagues frankly so that they don’t panic when they can’t reach you.
It’s also worth asking yourself who is putting the pressure on for immediate response. Perhaps it’s not the message sender, but you.
1. Which statement do most people agree with?| A．Giving full attention to whoever asks for it is a must. |
| B．Dropping out of a conversation equals killing other people. |
| C．It’s considered improper to cut off from an ongoing conversation. |
| D．It’s highly advised to carry on conversations despite heavy burdens. |
| A．By listing figures. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By comparing facts. | D．By stating reasons. |
| A．Barrier. | B．Milestone. | C．Opportunity. | D．Masterpiece. |
| A．Important Emails: Send Them Quickly | B．Urgent Calls: Answer Them Immediately |
| C．Unfriendly People: Avoid Them Carefully | D．Unnecessary Messages: Ignore Them Directly |
Alice sat in the car while palm trees seemed to speed by the car window. Eight-year-old Alice began to get nervous, the way she always did in new surroundings. She felt a thin shine of sweat above her lip in spite of the car’s cool air. “The aquarium (水族馆) won’t be crowded, I bet, and people are going to notice me. I hate wearing this prosthesis leg (假肢).” She felt tears coming from behind her eyes. “Not being normal is the worst,” she thought to herself.
Entering the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, around a corner of a tank, she noticed an animal that looked unusual. “Is that a dolphin with a a prosthetic tail instead of a real tail?” she asked an aquarium staff member. He nodded and replied, “Yes, that’s Betty. She’s a very special dolphin.” “What happened to her?” “This girl dolphin was found off the coast of Florida, caught in a crab trap. The ropes from the trap cut off the blood circulation to her tail. So she lost her tail,” Alice caught her breath. “She’s just like me.” “But she struggled to survive. Now she wears a prosthetic tail to help her swim like a dolphin’s supposed to swim,” the staff member continued. “Every day, Betty shows us anything is possible if we believe.”
Alice felt her heart was touched. She waved at Betty. Looking at Alice, Betty raised her flippers(鰭), came to her and lifted her head. “She’s swimming right into my arms,” Alice said tearfully. They made eye contact. She seemed to be speaking to Alice: We’re the same.
Back home, all Alice talked about was Betty. For two weeks, she cried and begged her mother to take her back to Clearwater.
Unfortunately, another blow hit Alice. She fell on the hardwood floor at home and broke her other leg. Alice suffered the pain in her leg. After a through examination, the doctor explained bad news to them that she would need some surgery on her leg. Years of a living hell (地狱) came back to her.
She started fearing surgery again and refused to go to hospital for treatment.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
“How can I persuade Alice to undergo the surgery?” Alice’s mom said to herself.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Encouraged by Betty, Alice changed her mind and did what her mother and doctor had told her to.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The paper on my desk was yellow, with straight blue lines stretching across it. The lines repeated themselves all the way down the page. I counted them. Twenty-six straight lines ran across the paper. The yellow color reminded me of sunshine. In summer, the sun is bright yellow like that, and sky is blue like those lines. I loved blue-blue is for getting lost in…
“You haven’t written a word yet, have you?” Miss Perry had found me out. I hung my head, as in past years, and gave her the lines I had given to previous teachers.
“I don’t feel like it.”
The truth was that I wanted to write about something different. “Write about Your Best Friend,” demanded the assignment on the board. I didn’t have a best friend. I had a few friends, but I didn’t want to claim any of them as my “best”, because I was afraid they might pick someone else. What if I picked a “best” friend and then someone different, who thought I was their best friend, heard my paragraph read aloud and never spoke to me again? It was a stupid topic. I was disappointed in Miss Perry for choosing it.
I knew Miss Perry must have heard about me from my other teachers. I had already prepared myself for another year of listening to teachers scold me. I was only nine years old, but my ears had been full to the voices of my elders. My teachers, my parents and the school principal had all given me the speech “What are we supposed to do with you?”. That was probably what Miss Perry was about to say, too.
注意：1．续写词数应为150左右；2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
However, there was something different about Miss Perry.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I bet I was touched.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________7 . The summer when I was ten, my mother decided to bring us to the world of art. My brother and I were not very
First, we have to read about ancient Egyptians and their
| A．surprised | B．confused | C．tired | D．excited |
| A．troubled | B．amazed | C．satisfied | D．relieved |
| A．give away | B．read about | C．see to | D．depend on |
| A．sweet | B．bad | C．funny | D．nervous |
| A．Therefore | B．Meanwhile | C．Anyway | D．Instead |
| A．teachers | B．parents | C．artists | D．coaches |
| A．smart | B．strange | C．careful | D．familiar |
| A．attracted | B．comforted | C．failed | D．survived |
| A．flying | B．wandering | C．swimming | D．running |
| A．Struggling with | B．Reflecting on | C．Cutting through | D．Staring at |
| A．appeared | B．changed | C．mattered | D．followed |
| A．gentle | B．bright | C．dull | D．faint |
| A．behavior | B．appearance | C．language | D．expression |
| A．hesitantly | B．slightly | C．hardly | D．merely |
| A．effortless | B．useless | C．worth | D．painful |
Quan Peng, a man in a wheelchair, set off from Beijing in August 2014, and
“I see it as a battle.” Quan said, “I’m not just battling against my disability,
Quan has traveled on a tight budget. He has slept in a tent or in his chair, and camped out in hospitals, banks and public toilets. The few times he tried to stay in hotels, but he
Quan,
9 . The topic of China’s “slash youth” has fueled heated debate on social media recently, drawing attention to the diverse pursuits of the younger generation.
The s lash youth, which could also be called slashers or slash-generation — means those who refuse to be defined or bound by just one personal identity. They are keen to present themselves as multiple and sometimes different identities, such as a nurse and model, a teacher and stand-up comedian, and an engineer and band player. Rather than material comforts, they pursue meaningful achievement.
A diverse career can enable them to develop new experiences and talents as well as social and professional networks, leading to greater flexibility in life and work, recognition and satisfaction.
A study on “slash youth” published in the China Youth Research magazine analyzes the background of this phenomenon: with part of modern society’s structured organization and stability norms (规范) broken, flexible labor markets and structural unemployment has appeared, removing the sense of job security of the young people in employment. Young people also face the problem of self-realization, including the sense of powerlessness, lost sense of value and lack of self-identity in the profession, which forces them to re-find the meaning of work.
“The ‘slash life’ shows that our society is becoming more and more diversified and inclusive, and it welcomes everyone’s self-fulfillment,” said Shi Yanrong, an associate researcher from Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences. “Young people no longer have to rely on work and money for their sense of self-worth. They tend to create their own identities.” The researcher added that against the background that people have multiple interests and are willing to pay for these interests nowadays, the “slash life” of the youth would drive the growth of a new economy, just as animation culture affected the market.
1. What do we know about the slash youth?| A．They tend to undertake multiple careers. |
| B．They are keen to pursue material comforts. |
| C．They enjoy posting themselves on social media. |
| D．They can easily adjust themselves to challenges in life. |
| A．The importance of flexible labor markets. | B．Reasons for the appearance of slash youth. |
| C．The pursuit of the youth in their profession. | D．Causes of losing self-identity among the youth. |
| A．It boosts the rise of a new economy. | B．It helps increase people’s independence. |
| C．It inspires young people’s creativity at work. | D．It enables young people to earn high incomes. |
| A．To provide career guidance. | B．To analyze a cultural difference. |
| C．To introduce a social phenomenon. | D．To share a unique life experience. |
10 . Are you looking for inspiration for your next travel destination? Lonely Planet has published its yearly list of top places to go. Whether you’re looking for adventure, culture, or value, there’s something for every type of traveler.
Top City: NairobiNairobi, the Kenyan capital, was chosen for its unique music and dance culture, and impressive local food. Nairobi National Park is a must-see, where visitors can see over 400 species wandering the open grass plains while high buildings twinkle on the horizon.
Top Country: MongoliaMongolia is loved for its wide-open spaces, adventure activities, and unique food. The Mongolian government has announced 2023 through 2025as the “Years to Visit Mongolia,” easing entry conditions for international travelers and improving public facilities, including a new $650 million airport.
Top Sustainable (可持续发展的) Travel Destination: SpainThe publisher also recommended Spain for the country’s efforts to expand renewable energy, to develop off-season travel, and to bring tourism to new destinations, such as the port city of Valencia, easing pressures on hot spots such as Barcelona.
Top Best-Value Location: The American MidwestThe American Midwest, including the cities of Chicago and Detroit, is also on the list, as it offers a high-quality travel experience at a reasonable cost. Visitors can enjoy excellent services and facilities without having to spend too much money.
Top Beach Destination: DonegalDonegal, Ireland’s most northwestern county, has the country’s longest coastline and over 100 beaches, where visitors can enjoy the highest sea cliffs in Europe.
1. What do Nairobi and Mongolia have in common?| A．Tasty food. | B．Diverse culture. | C．Breathtaking views. | D．Wide-open Spaces. |
| A．It improves public facilities for international travelers. |
| B．It provides sustainable travel destinations for visitors. |
| C．It has the world’s longest coastline and plenty of beaches. |
| D．It offers a high-quality travel experience at a reasonable cost. |
| A．Architecture. | B．Environment. | C．Tourism. | D．Publishing. |
