1 . The case for and against social media
Is social media harmful to teenagers?
An argument for social media claims it can strengthen social bonds by facilitating relationships with people in different geographical areas. For example, social media has helped old school friends to get back in touch after many years without contact.
Ideally, we should have enough self-control to be able to limit our use of social media, enjoying the benefits it can bring.
| A．The disadvantages of social media. |
| B．In my opinion, the disadvantages of social media outweigh the benefits. |
| C．It is all too easy to become absorbed in this online life rather than communicate in real life. |
| D．People secure jobs now through social media or research information for their studies. |
| E．This is the question we are going to examine. |
| F．We will look at the arguments for and against using social media before answering the question. |
| G．We aim to control our use of social media. |
2 . Social media has completely taken over everyday life, affecting how society runs and changing individuals in ways that even they can feel. While social media can act as a platform for people to express themselves, it can also be overwhelming, especially for high school teens.
To teenager Bryson Lan, quitting social media helped eliminate (消除) a significant distraction in his routine and keep up with teachers. “I was scrolling through social networking sites so much,” Lan said. “I was also starting to struggle since I entered my high school year. When school started, I was super overwhelmed (不知所措的), and I was just not ready for it.”
Most teenagers fear that by eliminating these apps, they will miss out on connections with their peers and feel a significant loss to their social life. However, Lan found he didn’t miss anything during his time without social media.
Another problem with social media is the amount of “junk content” posted. People are regularly posting and updating on social media, and much of the content has no meaning to other viewers and is ultimately a time suck.
However, social media isn’t all negative. Social media can be a place to develop passions and boost creativity. For example, Lan found his interest in photography blossom after seeing works from other photographers on social media. “Social media is a good place where you can have a portfolio (作品集) or upload your works,” Lan said. “A lot of people have photography accounts or art accounts. In some ways, I think it actually furthers your hobby.” “Thanks to this revolutionary development of social media, we can enjoy a world where everyone is closer than before,” Lan said. “But we also need to have the skills to make good use of social media, and that depends on each person’s efforts.”
1. What did getting rid of social media bring Lan?| A．More distractions. | B．Confusion about life. |
| C．A smaller social circle. | D．More attention on his studies. |
| A．A waste of time. | B．A timetable. | C．A lack of time. | D．A time switch. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Unclear. | C．Objective. | D．Supportive. |
| A．Most teenagers’ opinions on social media. | B．The effects social media has on teenagers. |
| C．Innovative development of social media. | D．The problems social media brings people. |
3 . The Internet plays a big part in human life. We use it for work and entertainment. We can find new recipes on the Internet or advice on staying healthy. We can even use it to learn a new language and connect with family and friends.
As far as the Internet being a part of our lives —well, that train has left the station. This expression means there is no going back to an Internet-free life. But can using the Internet too much be bad for our health? It might be, say researchers.
A new study finds that heavy Internet use may be connected to high blood pressure in an unlikely group— teenagers. The study results show that teens who spend at least 14 hours a week online were more likely to have high blood pressure. High blood pressure can cause heart and kidney (肾) disease. It is also closely linked to some forms of dementia (痴呆), a brain disease. Dementia is marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and a reduced ability to reason.
The Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan did the study. 335 young people from 14 to 17 years old participated in it. One hundred and thirty-four of the teens were described as “heavy Internet users.” Researchers found that out of these 134 teens, 26 had high blood pressure.
The lead researcher of the study is Andrea Cassidy-Bushrow. In a statement she said, “Using the Internet is part of our daily life but it shouldn’t consume us.” For the purpose of the study, she explains, teens considered heavy Internet users were online on “average 25 hours a week.” Ms. Cassidy-Bushrow adds that it is important for teens to take “regular breaks from their computers or smartphones” and to do some “kind of physical activity.”
1. Which of the following statements is closest in the meaning to the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2?| A．The train has stopped at the wrong station. |
| B．There is something wrong with the train. |
| C．Life without the Internet is nowhere to be found. |
| D．The train has changed its course. |
| A．will remember everything clearly | B．will change his character |
| C．will develop a brain cancer | D．can do analysis accurately |
| A．40% | B．19% | C．25% | D．7% |
| A．The Internet Does Harm to the Study. |
| B．Too Much Internet May Be Bad for Teenagers. |
| C．We Should Stop Using the Internet. |
| D．High Blood Pressure Is around the Comer. |
4 . Mathea Allansmith isn’t your typical grandmother. She’s the oldest woman in the world to have completed a marathon. She was 92 years 194 days old when she crossed the finish line at the 2022 Honolulu Marathon, setting the record for the oldest female to complete a marathon.
Mathea, now 94, of Koloa, Hawaii, USA, stays in shape all year round by running seven days a week, no matter what the weather is. Come rain or shine, she covers 36 miles every week, even when she’s on holiday. The retired doctor didn’t take up running until she was 46 years old —after a friend suggested running two miles per day.
“The Honolulu Marathon is my favorite marathon mainly because it doesn’t close the gate at a certain time, which allows even the slowest runner to finish the race,” she said. “It’s one of the best races. Fantastic registration (注册), set-up and management make it a joy to run the race.”
Mathea, who doesn’t allow her age to slow her down, thinks she is the happiest person when she’s on the road. She enjoys running for miles and waving and saying hello to the people she passes. To stay in shape, Mathea keeps a steady training routine (惯例) . “I train all year round but increase the mileage 18 weeks before a marathon,” she said.
Mathea said it was her career as a doctor that allowed her to understand how her body and mind respond to diet and exercise. “I see the direct relation between moving and health,” she said. “It is important to reduce stress rather than ignoring it without a plan on how to do so. Of course, exercise of any kind is a natural stress reducer.”
Mathea thought getting through the finish line and winning a Guinness World Record title was the excitement of her life. “My family completely surprised me after the 2022 Honolulu Marathon, in which I achieved the world record, by wearing matching T-shirts stating my achievements,” she said.
1. What do we know about Mathea from the first two paragraphs?| A．She used to be in poor health． |
| B．She is the oldest to win a marathon． |
| C．She runs daily regardless of the weather． |
| D．She was encouraged by her patient to run． |
| A．It gives winners the best awards． |
| B．It provides runners with quality service．． |
| C．It has no time limit for runners to finish． |
| D．It allows runners to set a world record easily． |
| A．Her professional experience． | B．Her training courses． |
| C．Her views on stress in life． | D．Her hobby from young． |
| A．Practice makes perfect． |
| B．Interest is the best teacher． |
| C．Age is no barrier to success． |
| D．Ups and downs make one strong． |
5 . For people suffering from depression, there’s an all-natural treatment they should use — getting more exercise. It could help fight depression, even if people have a genetic risk, new research shows.
For the study, researchers collected information from nearly 8,000 people and found those with related genes were more likely to have depression over the next two years after examining them. But that was less likely for people who were more active at the study’s start, even if they had a family history of depression. Higher levels of physical activity helped protect even those with the highest genetic risk of depression.
Both high-intensity (高强度) exercise and low-intensity activities were associated with a reduced risk of depression. Adding four hours of exercise a week could lower the risk of a new episode (一段经历) of depression by 17%, according to the study. “Our findings strongly suggest that, when it comes to depression, being physically active has the potential to remove the added risk of future episodes in individuals who are genetically risky,” said lead author Karmel Choi. “On average, about 35 additional minutes of physical activity each day may help people to reduce their risk and protect against future depression episodes.”
Depression is a common mental illness globally, with more than 264 million people affected. “Depression is so ubiquitous, and that underlines the need for effective approaches that can impact as many people as possible,” Choi said. And mental health and primary care providers can use the findings to advise patients that there’s something meaningful they can do to lower their risk of depression.
1. How did the researchers reach their conclusion?| A．By analyzing a mass of data. |
| B．By conducting genetic research. |
| C．By comparing various levels of activity. |
| D．By tracking the subjects for many years. |
| A．Physical activity betters medical treatment. |
| B．Exercise is able to decrease and prevent it. |
| C．Different levels of exercise intensity matter the same. |
| D．Exercising 35 minutes daily is the most effective treatment. |
| A．Harmful. | B．Complex. |
| C．Unusual. | D．Common. |
| A．To discuss a disease. |
| B．To introduce a method. |
| C．To analyze a genetic risk. |
| D．To explain a phenomenon. |
6 . China is one of the world’s ancient civilizations and has the earliest outstanding bronze casting technology. Here we’ve created a list of 4 museums where you can gain an in-depth understanding of Chinese bronze.
Sanxingdui Museum
Address: Sanxingdui Ruin Site, 133 Xian Road, Guanghan, Deyang, Sichuan province
Hours: Comprehensive Gallery (the first exhibition hall): 8:30-18:00; Bronze Gallery (the second exhibition hall): 8:30-18:30. Last tickets sold at 17:00. Closed on the morning of Chinese New Year’s Eve
Ticket booking: 0838-5651526
General admission: Gallery ticket 80 yuan
Note: Children shorter than 1.2m (including 1.2m) can visit the gallery free of charge. The ticket must be used on the day it is sold and authorizes one visit to each gallery.
National Museum of China
Address: East side of Tian’anmen Square, Dongcheng district, Beijing
Hours: 8:30-17:00 (no entry after 16:30)
General admission: Free (passport required for entry), Closed Mondays (except for national holidays)
E-mail: webmaster@chnmuseum.cn
Shanghai Museum
Address: 201 Renmin Avenue, Huangpu district, Shanghai
Hours: 9:00-17:00 (no entry after 16:00), Closed Mondays (except for national holidays)
E-mail: webmaster@shanghai-museum.org
General admission: free (a max of 8, 000 admitted daily)
Hunan Museum
Address: 50 Dongfeng Road, Changsha, Hunan province
Hours: 9:00-17:00 (no entry after 16:00), Closed Mondays (except for national holidays) and the eve of Chinese New Year
Tel: (+86-731) 8415833, 84475933
E-mail: web@hnmuseum.com
General admission: Free (passport required for entry)
1. Which museum should you choose for your family to visit next Monday?| A．Sanxingdui Museum | B．Hunan Museum |
| C．Shanghai Museum | D．National Museum of China |
| A．They are all free of charge. | B．They all set a deadline for entry. |
| C．They all lie in the south of China. | D．They can all be available through E-mail. |
| A．Science | B．Today’s News | C．Entertainment | D．History and Culture |
7 . What is the place of art in a culture of inattention? Recent visitors to the Louvre report that tourists can now spend only a minute in front of the Mona Lisa before being asked to move on. Much of that time, for some of them, is spent taking photographs not even of the painting but of themselves with the painting in the background.
One view is that we have made tourism and gallery-going so easy that we have made it effectively impossible to appreciate what we’ve travelled to see. In this society, experience becomes goods like any other. There are queues to climb Everest as well as to see famous paintings. Thus, leisure is considered as hard labour rather than relaxation.
In the rapidly developing society, what gets lost is the quality of looking. Consider an extreme example, the late philosopher Richard Wollheim. When he visited the Louvre he could spend as much as four hours sitting before a painting. The first hour, he claimed, was necessary for incorrect impression to be removed. It was only then that the picture would begin to disclose itself. This seems unthinkable today, but it is still possible to organise. Even in the busiest museums there are many rooms and many pictures worth hours of contemplation (沉思) which the crowds largely ignore.
Marcel Proust, another lover of the Louvre, wrote: “It is only through art that we can escape from ourselves and know how another person sees a universe which is not the same as our own and whose landscapes would otherwise have remained as unknown as any there may be on the moon.” If any art remains worth seeing, it must lead us to such escapes. But a minute in front of a painting in a hurried, harried (烦扰) crowd won’t do that.
1. Why does the author mention the example in Louvre in Paragraph 1?| A．To express his concern about Louvre. | B．To report the popularity of Mona Lisa. |
| C．To introduce a good place to take photos. | D．To show a disappointing current situation. |
| A．People need to clear up their misunderstanding of paintings. |
| B．People have to stay at least 4 hours when appreciating paintings. |
| C．It is impossible for modern people to admire paintings attentively. |
| D．The longer one admires the paintings, the more unlikely he loves them. |
| A．Art is of help for us to accept ourselves better. |
| B．Art makes our life more colourful and meaningful. |
| C．Art allows us to know the world in the view of others. |
| D．Art pushes us away from ourselves and explores the moon. |
| A．Into art attentively. | B．Escape from ourselves. |
| C．Beyond art completely. | D．Go to the museums often. |
8 . Over the last century, engineers all over the world have spared no effort to achieve the unachievable in bridge design.
Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge
No bridge is as long as the Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge in the world. The 164.8-kilometre-long bridge built in 2011 in China serves as part of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway. The trip from Ningbo to Jiaxing that previously took 4.5 hours has been reduced to two, thanks to this bridge.
Rio-Niterói Bridge
Completed in 1974, the Rio-Niterói Bridge in Brazil is the second-longest bridge in all of Latin America connecting the cities of Rio and Niterói across the Guanabara Bay. The Rio-Niterói Bridge is technically known as a “box-girder (箱形梁)” bridge, made of special concrete. It receives an astonishing 140,000 (or more) vehicles per day.
Hartland Covered Bridge
The Hartland Covered Bridge is the world’s longest covered bridge. The 1,282-foot-long bridge was opened in 1901 and has been on Canada’s list of National Historic Sites since 1980. Although it was originally built without a roof, the bridge was capped with wooden materials during the repairs in 1921.
Jiaozhou Bay Bridge
The newly-built Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in China was named “world’s longest bridge over water” by Guinness Book of World Records in 2011, a title previously held by the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. The dispute was settled when the title of “longest continuous bridge over water” was given to the causeway, with the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge receiving the title of “longest bridge over water”.
1. On which of the following can trains pass?| A．Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge. |
| B．Rio-Niterói Bridge. |
| C．Hartland Covered Bridge. |
| D．Jiaozhou Bay Bridge. |
| A．It is a busy bridge. | B．It was built in 1980. |
| C．It has a roof. | D．It is a wooden bridge. |
| A．In America. | B．In Brazil. | C．In Canada. | D．In China. |
9 . In my early teens, I was once given a film camera as a gift. On receiving it, I jumped on my bike, headed to Wimbledon Common and took photos, just for me: photos of trees and wildlife. I was out all day. On my way home I spotted a tree lit up by street lighting and tried to capture its splendour. Rushing home, I popped the spent film in a special little envelope and sent it off to a photography store, desperate to see how it came out. I took many photos then and loved the fact that when you processed your film you got back colour photos which froze the precious moments, gently encouraging the hobby and the payments for processing.
As I grew into adulthood, that simple, deep happiness gradually faded away. One weekend when I was busy answering the work calls, my eyes caught a box in the corner of the room. I suddenly felt a sense of sadness. The stress growing over these years had pushed the camera from beside my pillow to the box in the corner. I thought I needed a change.
I took out the camera and dusted it down. It was a great joy that it still worked. I bought new film and took the camera everywhere I went. Now it is always on hand to accompany me on journeys, to allow me time to myself. Even if the day is full and busy, I can seize some moments for myself to take photos, to observe the world around me.
The wall of my room now holds all my camera equipment along with photos I’ve taken. To me, the room represents how I’ve found happiness: by reconnecting to the younger part of myself I laid aside, by allowing room in my life for pleasure to exist, and by creating an environment that allows opportunities for delight.
1. What did the author think of taking photos as a young boy?| A．Inspiring and practical. | B．Troublesome yet delightful. |
| C．Complicated yet engaging. | D．Thrilling and rewarding. |
| A．He was struck by sudden sorrow. |
| B．He was faced with increasing pressure. |
| C．He intended to focus on his work |
| D．He attempted to behave like an adult. |
| A．More enjoyment in the daily routine. | B．New journeys in the wild. |
| C．Better skills of observation. | D．Different styles of photography. |
| A．Revisiting Lost Childhood Memories |
| B．Appreciating Beauty Behind the Lens |
| C．Regaining Pleasure Through Photography |
| D．Escaping Teenage Sadness with Camera |
10 . I live in Xizhou in Yunnan Province, on the historic Tea Horse Road. I have to admit that when I first heard that Paul Salopek was going to walk the entire globe on his own two feet, I was blown away. I couldn’t imagine that there could be such an unusual person in the world.
Last May, I met Paul. He told me that it was his first time in China. He talked to me with great excitement about the history, migrations, and discoveries in my region of China. He spoke of the Shu-Yandu Dao (the Southern Silk Road), the travels of the 17th-century Chinese explorer Xu Xiake, the Tea Horse Road and the early 20th-century American botanist Joseph Rock. He also talked of Xuanzang. Paul considered many of them heroes and in a sense Chinese pioneers of slow journalism.
I decided to accompany Paul on his walk toward Yunnan. On September 28, 2021, we set out. Our days were simple: walk, eat, sleep, and repeat. We woke up at sunrise, set off in high spirits, and rested at sunset, dragging ourselves into exhausted sleep.
We met many people on the road. Some were curious, surrounding us and watching us; some gave us directions; some invited us into their home to take a rest; some spoke of the charm of their hometown. We met many beautiful souls, simple souls and warm souls. We were walking with our minds.
Together, we were impressed by the biodiversity of the Gaoligong Mountains. As I walked on ancient paths through mountains, I seemed to hear the antique voices of past travelers urging me to be careful on the road.
Looking back on the more than 200 miles I walked with Paul, I came to a realization. Walking for its own sake, while healthy and admirable, is only a small part of the benefit of moving with our feet. A deeper reward is rediscovering the world around us, shortening the distance between each other, and sharing each other’s cultures.
1. How did the writer first respond to Paul’s travel plan?| A．Scared. | B．Puzzled. |
| C．Disappointed. | D．Surprised. |
| A．He was a western journalist. | B．He had a knowledge of China. |
| C．He came to China several times. | D．He was Joseph Rock’s acquaintance. |
| A．They honored the ancestors. | B．They set off in high spirits. |
| C．They satisfied the locals’ curiosity. | D．They built bonds with people. |
| A．To share and reflect on a journey. | B．To suggest a new way of travel. |
| C．To advocate protection of biodiversity. | D．To introduce and promote Chinese culture. |
