1 . Kids nowadays have computers in the classroom, more than one television in their homes, and pads in their backpacks. It seems impossible to separate them from digital equipment.
Stress the value of physical play. I understand that we can’t keep children from enjoying screen time.
| A．Lead by example. |
| B．As a result, their study and health suffer. |
| C．Make a rule for the whole family to agree to. |
| D．But we can find a happy medium where we enable kids to be kids. |
| E．Here, as a father of four, I’d like to share my thoughts with parents. |
| F．This shared information helps your child fully understand and respect rules. |
| G．In this way, they rely less on technology and seek happiness from creative play. |
2 . For many Americans, regular exercise is a complicated commitment—one made at the beginning of January that fades out within weeks or months. Busy work schedules, a lack of motivation and unease towards exercising in public all contribute to the discouraging statistics that only around a quarter of adults exercise enough per week.
This month, enterptiser Trent Ward and designer Yves Behar are uncovering their design for a mirror fitness system, Forme. Forme is reflective like a mirror, uses machine learning to heighten workouts, and offers attachments including ankle belts, rope handles and a heart rate monitor. When not in use, the two arms that form the resistance pulley (滑轮) system fold behind it and the display screen disappears, turning Forme into a simple full—length mirror.
Interest in home exercise has particularly increased recently around the world. Home workout apps have seen a significant uptick in downloads, and trendy brands like Peloton have rolled out free virtual workouts for everyone stuck indoors. One French athlete who was kept away from others chose to run an entire marathon on his 23-foot balcony.
But beyond the new restrictions affecting daily workout routines, Ward and Behar are tapping into the same concerns that have made every home workout appealing：the ability to save time and sweat in the privacy of one’s home. In an age of personal metrics (衡量标准)--where one can measure their heart rate and sleep cycles with smart watches and train for marathons with AI smart sneakers----Ward and Behar want to improve exercise through machine learning. Forme evaluates performance and adjusts weights accordingly. Easy access to one’s own performance data also makes it easier to track that progress and stay motivated.
Though it’s too soon to tell if mirror gyms will be the trend of the late 2010s to 2020s, Behar explained that having a screen in the home can become the basis for more than just fitness, such as shopping or telemedicine.
1. What does paragraph 2 mainly focus on?.| A．The ways to operate Forme. | B．The features of Forme. |
| C．The reasons to develop Forme. | D．The theory behind Forme. |
| A．By offering them online workouts for free. |
| B．By raising their interest in marathon. |
| C．By keeping them far away from others. |
| D．By entertaining them with all kinds of downloads. |
| A．The better results than outdoor activities. |
| B．The fresher air at home. |
| C．The privacy of home. |
| D．The convenient access to mass data. |
| A．Can Forme Have More Powerful Functions? |
| B．Does Regular Exercise Keep up with New Technology? |
| C．Is the New Trend of Smart Machines at Home available? |
| D．Is this AI—Powered "Mirror Gym" the Future of Home Exercise? |
3 . Facebook is an American online social media and social networking service. The Facebook website was launched on February 4, 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg, along with fellow Harvard College students and roommates.
The founders had limited the website’s membership to Harvard students at first; however, later they expanded it to various other universities, and eventually to high school students as well. Since 2006, anyone who claims to be at least 13 years old has been allowed to become a registered（注册了的）user of Facebook, though differences exist in the youngest age requirement, depending on local laws. Facebook has more than 2 billion monthly active users as of June 2017. As of April 2016, Facebook was the most popular social networking site in the world, based on the number of active user accounts.
Facebook may be accessed by a large range of desktops, smartphones over the Internet and mobile networks. After registering to use the site, users can create a user profile showing their names and so on. Users can add other users as “friends”, exchange messages, post photos and so on.
Facebook makes most of its income from advertisements which appear on screen, marketing access for its customers to its users.
1. What does the underlined word “launched” in Paragraph 1 mean？| A．Prevented. | B．Started | C．Permitted. | D．Supplied. |
| A．Harvard students. | B．High school students. |
| C．Students in all universities. | D．Old people. |
| A．How to become a Facebook member. | B．How Americans communicate today. |
| C．A brief story of Mark Zuckerberg. | D．A brief introduction to Facebook. |
4 . I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles” of directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office？”
Foreign tourists are often confused in Japan because most streets there don’t have names; in Japan, people use landmarks（地标）in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office？” you ask. “Oh,” they answer “it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it？” They don’t know.
It’s true that a person doesn’t know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, “Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don’t know.” People in Yucatan believe that “I don’t know” is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan！
1. When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place, they usually ______.| A．describe the place carefully. | B．show him a map of the place. |
| C．tell him the names of the streets. | D．refer to recognizable buildings and places. |
| A．New York. | B．Los Angeles. | C．Kansas. | D．Iowa. |
| A．To show cultural differences in showing directions. |
| B．To show how to ask the way properly in different countries. |
| C．To explain why people have similar understanding of direction. |
| D．To share the experience of traveling around the world. |
5 . The fitness center offers a variety of activities for members of all ages throughout the week.
Activities for Monday 12 July, 2017:
Learn to swim. Classes for preschool children aged five and under start at 10 am. Classes last 30 minutes and parents must attend with their children. Don't forget to book in advance, as places are limited, and to pack some warm clothes for after the lesson.
Woman's aerobics（有氧运动）. Sessions are for one hour and begin at 10:45 am, led by Melissa. Come along and join us every Monday for an exhilarating hour of exercise and fun. Leave your kids at the nursery and take time out for yourself. Wear a tracksuit or something similar.
Lunch time yoga. Take a break at lunchtime （1:00-2:00 pm） for an hour of meditation and yoga. Enjoy the peace and quiet of our meditation room, and relaxing sessions designed for active people with busy lives. Use your own mat（垫子）for floor work or huy one from us with some money.
Family Shootaround. 10:00-5:30 pm. Family Shootaround is open for members and guests to bring the family out for basketball. Half court games are only during this time. There are no full court games during Family Shootaround hours. All participants must sign in at the front desk and wear a wistband during the play.
1. When will Melissa be working?| A．From 10:00 am to 10:30 am |
| B．From 10:45 am to 11:45 am. |
| C．From 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. |
| D．From 10:00 am to 5:30 pm. |
| A．Lunchtime yoga. | B．Women's aerobics. |
| C．Learn to swim | D．Family Shootaround. |
| A．The need to sign in |
| B．The need to book in advance. |
| C．The need to bring something. |
| D．The need to become a member. |
6 . When I was a child, I often saw my Grandma throwing bread that was no longer fresh to birds. Not surprisingly, this attracted few birds. Later on, we discovered bird food at the local store. Feeding garden birds in the UK has come a long way since then. Today, the birds can enjoy many kinds of food: from plant seeds to sunflower hearts and from cakes to meat balls. All this comes at a huge cost of about £200m a year. Sometimes, I wonder if we might be feeding our garden birds better than our kids. But maybe it’s worth it. Our generosity is having an important effect on the behavior and even evolution of these birds.
Take the goldfinch for example. In the 1960s, this was a rare bird. Today, goldfinches can be seen in many gardens. Other new visitors include the spotted woodpecker, which has left its usual woodland for food on bird tables. Evolution is meant to progress slowly: over thousands of years. Yet during the past few decades, the beaks of many kinds of birds have become longer because birds with longer beaks can get more food, and then are more likely to live on.
Actually, the British habit of feeding garden birds goes back much further. During the sixth century, St Serf of Fife fed a robin in his garden; during the winter of 1890, workers in London were seen giving their lunches to songbirds. The real change took place in the 1980s, when a few farsighted businessmen realized that encouraging the British to be more generous to garden birds can help them make money. Therefore, various kinds of bird food and modern bird feeders were produced. As a result, the number of species using garden feeding stations increased very quickly, from about 10 to over 100. Then, in 2005, Springwatch came, which turned our love of garden birds into an entertainment show.
Is bird feeding completely good for birds? Not everyone thinks so. Studies by the Zoological Society of London have shown that by bringing together many birds, bird feeders may help the spread of disease. In Australia, some bird experts believe—probably wrongly—that bird feeding creates a “dependence culture”.
But we shouldn’t forget one major benefit of feeding garden birds—it connects millions of people to the natural world. This is especially important for people who seldom reach the wider countryside. As I write this, there comes some noise outside my window: several birds were singing and flying around in my garden. It’s a sight I could only imagine years ago, when feeding garden birds just meant throwing hard bread to them.
1. What does the author mean by saying the underlined part in Paragraph 1?| A．Feeding garden birds is a huge waste of money. |
| B．We spend quite a lot of money on the food of garden birds. |
| C．We should care more for our kids rather than garden birds. |
| D．Feeding garden birds can bring more joy than feeding kids. |
| A．These birds have given up traditional woodland. | B．Food for these birds becomes richer and better. |
| C．Longer beaks mean more chances of survival. | D．These birds grow faster than ever before. |
| A．It is completely good for birds. |
| B．It may help the spread of disease. |
| C．It connects more and more people to the natural world. |
| D．It may reduce birds’ ability to find food by themselves. |
| A．Annoyed. | B．Pleased. | C．Surprised. | D．Bored. |
7 . Affordable Beach Vacation in Corfu
Corfu, an island off the coast of Greece, offers visitors sunkissed shores with clear water and lots of beaches.
Finding the Perfect Beach
Our first pick is Sidari Beach. It’s a blue flag beach perfect for couples looking for a more private feel, as it’s far from bigger tourist destinations. Issos Beach makes for the perfect place for watching the sunset. Dassia Bay has a bit more water sports. Paleokastritsa is an amazing West Coast village with six beaches on offer, including Rovinia Beach.
Getting around Corfu
Corfu offers bike rentals and bus service as a cheaper alternative (替代) to taxis. The best time to visit Corfu is during the “shoulder season” in April/May. The weather isn’t as warm as the high seasons but it remains perfect. It is not crowded in this period, but you still need to book ahead of schedule as Corfu stays popular throughout the year.
Eating Out For Less
There are a lot of well-priced restaurants but street food is also a big winner. Some popular choices are Souvlakia and Pita Gyros. There are also many cheeses special to Greece, including Tirokafteri and Ladotyri. Corfu also has many unbelievable desserts (甜食). Stazei Meli is a tourist favourite to give them a try.
1. Which place is probably the best choice for couples?| A．Sidari Beach. | B．Dassia Bay. |
| C．Issos Beach. | D．Rovinia Beach. |
| A．Rent a bike. | B．Book in advance. |
| C．Wear warm clothes. | D．Set off in April/May. |
| A．It cooks popular dishes. | B．It severs well-priced food. |
| C．It produces special cheese. | D．It sells amazing desserts. |
8 . British anthropologists Russell Hill and Robert Barton of the University of Durham, after studying the results of one-on-one boxing, tae kwon do, Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling matches at the Olympic Games, conclude that when two competitors are equally matched in fitness and skill, the athlete wearing red is more likely to win.
Hill and Barton report that when one competitor is much better than the other, colour has no effect on the result. However, when there is only a small difference between them, the effect of colour is enough to tip the balance. The anthropologists say that the number of times red wins is not simply by chance, but that these results are statistically significant.
Joanna Setchell, a primate (灵长目动物) researcher at the University of Cambridge, has found similar results in nature. She studies the large African monkeys known as mandrills. Mandrills have bright red noses that stand out against their white faces. Setchell’s work shows that the powerful males—the ones who are more successful with females—have a brighter red nose than other males.
As well as the studies on primates by Setchell, another study shows the effect of red among birds. In an experiment, scientists put red plastic rings on the legs of male zebra finches and this increased the birds’ success with female zebra finches. Zebra finches already have bright red beaks (鸟喙), so this study suggests that, as with Olympic athletes, an extra flash of red is significant. In fact, researchers from the University of Glasgow say that the birds’ brightly coloured beaks are an indicator of health. Jonathan Blount, a biologist, and his colleagues think they have found proof that bright red or orange beaks attract females because they mean that the males are healthier. Nothing in nature is simple, however, because in species such as the blue footed booby, a completely different colour seems to give the male birds the same advantage with females.
Meanwhile, what about those athletes who win in their events while wearing red? Do their clothes give them an unintentional advantage? Robert Barton accepts that “that is the implication” of their findings. Is it time for sports authorities to consider new regulations on sports clothing?
1. According to their research, Hill and Barton conclude that _____.| A．the colour of clothing has an effect on most sport events |
| B．red should be the choice of colour for clothing in sports |
| C．red plays a role when competitors are equally capable |
| D．athletes perform better when surrounded by bright red |
| A．achieve | B．seek | C．keep | D．change |
| A．male birds use different body parts to draw attention |
| B．red is not the only colour to attract female birds |
| C．blue gives female birds the same advantage |
| D．blue can indicate how healthy a bird is |
| A．What Colour Implies More Power? | B．A Tip on Clothing. |
| C．Need to Change the Rules in Sports? | D．Red Is for Winners. |
9 . A few years ago, my sister-in-law started to feel concerned about her teenage daughter. What was she doing after school? Where was she spending her time? My niece was an excellent student, and took part in all kinds of after-class activities. Even so, her mom decided to put a tracking app on the kid’s phone.
At first, this made my sister-in-law “feel better”. Then the good situation suddenly ended. She recalled, “I found out that she was someplace that she said she wasn’t. I went out in the middle of the night and found her walking without shoes in the middle of the street with some friends.” Things went quickly downhill for the mother and the daughter after that.
With 73% of teens having their own smartphones now, according to a 2015 Pew study, more and more of their parents are facing the question: To spy or not?
Ana Homayoun, founder of Green Ivy Educational Consulting, has advised many parents and their kids about this. “I’ve found teens are more receptive to tracking apps when it is included as part of a family use agreement to improve safety than when it is placed as a secret tool to watch them,” she said.
Mark Bell, a father of a teenage girl, said, “We don’t have tracking apps, but we have set some ground rules that my daughter must follow in exchange for us providing a smartphone,” he said. For example, his daughter must “friend” him on social media accounts so that he can review posts, and must share all passwords.
When you’re trying to build trust, you need to create an environment that encourages it. So, to win their trust, you always need to be straight with your children. “Parents must let children know how and when they’ll be watching them,” said Doctor Pauleh Weigle. If they’re not open about it, he warns, it can “greatly damage the parent and child relationship”.
1. Why did the author’s sister-in-law use the app?| A．She was interested in new apps. |
| B．She was worried about her daughter. |
| C．She wanted to know about after-class activities. |
| D．She wanted to teach her daughter about the app. |
| A．They doubt family use agreements. |
| B．They are worried about online safety. |
| C．They welcome the use of tracking apps. |
| D．They dislike being spied on secretly with tracking apps. |
| A．kept him out of her online groups |
| B．developed some bad online habits |
| C．allowed him to know her online behavior |
| D．wanted to put a tracking app on her phone |
| A．Tell the kid about it. |
| B．Check the kid’s phone. |
| C．Teach the kid how to use it. |
| D．Advise the kid to use his phone less. |
10 . When school closes, poor pupils lose the last social institution-one that educates, feeds, and sometimes clothes them-whereas richer pupils are gaining relatively more advantages. Disruptions to schooling tend to lower achievement while increasing inequality.
A new industry of"Learning Pod", where a group of families pool cash to pay for an in-person tutor, is deepening that inequality. Scoot Education, whose normal business is providing substitute teachers for schools, quickly developed a sideline in learning pods in California. For younger pupils, the total cost of a pod, shared among all parents, is $349 a day, which is beyond what a poor family can afford.＂Rich families can always find a way to educate their children, even if COVID-19 pandemic had not started," says Sarah Cohodes, a professor at Teachers College at Columbia University.
Thus, if there would be no extraordinary interventions in the closing of schools, the long-run effects on those poor students are predictable.
A team of five education scholars recently calculated that American schoolchildren in 2020 learned 30% less reading and 50%less maths than they would in a typical year. Despite that, the top third of pupils posted gains in reading. Data from Opportunity Insights, an economic-research team at Harvard University, shows that after lockdowns began in March pupils from low-income neighbourhoods fell permanently behind on online maths coursework, while those from richer areas quickly rebounded.
Then there is the problem of access to online classes. Nearly half of native American pupils and 35% of black and Hispanic ones do not have access to either a computer or the internet at home, compared with 19%of whites. Worsening mental health among poorer families will also hurt achievement. Elizabeth Ananat of Barnard College and Anna Gassman-Pines of Duke University surveyed part-time workers in Philadelphia who had young children; half were showing their anxiety or depression for children's schooling.
1. What do we know about Learning Pod?| A．It was started as the key business by Scoot Education. |
| B．Families can afford this teaching model with$349 a day. |
| C．It is a long-existing method to find an in-person tutor. |
| D．It worsens educational inequality to some extent. |
| A．Learned maths in advance. | B．Performed poorly in maths. |
| C．Regained improvement in maths. | D．Showed permanent love to maths. |
| A．Effects of educational inequality. | B．Psychological problems of the pupils. |
| C．Opportunities to use online resources. | D．Low academic achievement of the poor. |
| A．a health magazine | B．an educational report |
| C．a science textbook | D．a learning guideline |
