1 . Thirteen-year-old Kaylee has a lot of friends — 532, actually, if you count up her online friends. And she spends a lot of time with them.
But is it possible that Kaylee’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 platforms (平台).
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 words, 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 someone 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 summarize the text. | B．To tell about true friends. |
| C．To bring up a discussion. | D．To encourage online friendship. |
| A．In person. | B．In advance. | C．In any case. | D．In full measure. |
| A．Worried. | B．Positive. | C．Confused. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．It’s wise to turn to friends online. |
| B．It’s easier to develop friendships in reality. |
| C．Social media help people stay closely connected. |
| D．Teenagers need focus on real-world friendships. |
2 . You probably know who Marie Curie was, but you may not have heard of Rachel Carson. Of the outstanding ladies listed below, who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years?
Jane Addams(1860-1935)
Anyone who has ever been helped by a social worker has Jane Addams to thank. Addams helped the poor and worked for peace. She encouraged a sense of community (社区) by creating shelters and promoting education and services for people in need. In 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Rachel Carson(1907-1964)
If it weren’t for Rachel Carson, the environmental movement might not exist today. Her popular 1962 book Silent Spring raised awareness of the dangers of pollution and the harmful effects of chemicals on humans and on the world’s lakes and oceans.
Sandra Day O’Connor(1930-present)
When Sandra Day O’Connor finished third in her class at Stanford Law School, in 1952, she could not find work at a law firm because she was a woman. She became an Arizona state senator(参议员) and, in 1981, the first woman to join the U.S. Supreme Court. O’Connor gave the deciding vote in many important cases during her 24 years on the top court.
Rosa Parks(1913-2005)
On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks would not give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. Her simple act landed Parks in prison. But it also set off the Montgomery bus boycott.It lasted for more than a year, and kicked off the civil-rights movement. “The only tired I was,was tired of giving in,”said Parks.
1. What is Jane Addams famous for in history?| A．Her social work. | B．Her teaching skills. |
| C．Her efforts to win a prize. | D．Her community background. |
| A．Her lack of proper training in law. | B．The discrimination against women. |
| C．Her little work experience in court. | D．The poor financial conditions. |
| A．Jane Addams. | B．Rachel Carson. |
| C．Sandra Day O’Connor. | D．Rosa Parks. |
3 . The idea that you can use humor, laughter, and play to make you healthier probably seems too simple to be true. However, it is really true and simple. The sense of humor, laughter and play plays an important role in keeping you healthy.
Treat the blues with a sense of humor, which is closely tied to laughter. Laughter is infectious. Have you ever heard a big laugh of a young child and been able to keep yourself from smiling? When laughter is shared between people, it makes them closer to each other and increases their happiness. Smiling is the beginning of laughter and a smile is also just as infectious as laughter is. You can experience something by smiling at everyone around you, and you will feel happier just by sharing a smile, even with a stranger.
Play is an important part of making sure that we stay healthy. We are often encouraged to make sure our children play, and are told of the benefits of being out playing. However, what we often forget is that it is just as important for old people to make play be part of their life as it’s for children. Physical play is important for the old and it certainly helps prevent illness. While the studies are still in the early stages, the studies that have been done have shown that physical play certainly plays a part in preventing cognitive (认知的) falling.
Anyway, adding humor, laughter, and play to our life will influence us mentally, physically and socially and bring us many advantages. So we should make full use of humor, laughter and play to make our life more active, more interesting and happier.
1. What does the underlined word “infectious” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Quickly influencing other people. | B．Preventing illness from spreading. |
| C．Keeping people in high spirits. | D．Playing an important role. |
| A．Happiness and confidence | B．A sense of humor. |
| C．Cognitive ability. | D．Good relationships. |
| A．They should have a good rest. | B．They should prevent cognitive falling. |
| C．They should take part in physical play. | D．They should play like children. |
| A．Always Keep Our Body Healthy | B．Let Our Body and Mind Relax |
| C．Have an Active and Happy Life | D．Humor, Laughter and Play for Health |
4 . Going on vacation can be challenging for people with physical disabilities. Hotels aren’t always clear about how accessible (可进入) they are and the adaptive equipment needed to participate in certain activities can be expensive or difficult to obtain.
This is where the online travel marketplace Wheel the World comes in. The website connects physically disabled people with special tour packages, depending on the person’s needs.
Today Wheel the World offers over 30 accessible destinations in the U.S. and abroad. They’ve served almost 900 disabled people, their family, and friends. Travelers can sign up for trips to destinations such as New York, Hawaii, Paris, London, and Kruger National Park in South Africa. Trip packages can include adaptive equipment such as wheelchairs, which can be used on the beach and in the ocean, and kayaks (皮艇), which can help those disabled to kayak. The team also checks the accessibility of destinations themselves, evaluating things such as door widths, bed heights, bathrooms’ accessibility and if lifts are functioning.
Silberstein, the company’s founder, says there are some trips that are suitable for blind people, though Wheel the World focuses on people with mobility issues. And in the future, they plan to include trips for people with hearing loss, and people with emotional disabilities. “One of the biggest barriers for travelers with physical disabilities is finding information about accessible trips, which is a gap Wheel the World aims to close,” says Silberstein.
Wheel the World is working to enlarge tours in Europe-currently their website lists London and Paris as the only destinations on the continent, but their eventual goal is much higher. “We want to allow millions of disabled people to travel to thousands of destinations,” Silberstein says.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?| A．To show the great success Wheel the World has gained. |
| B．To tell us the difficulties the disabled face in life. |
| C．To introduce the background of Wheel the World. |
| D．To remind us of the problems with hotel service. |
| A．Collecting travel information for tourists. |
| B．Increasing the online sales of wheelchairs. |
| C．Extending travel business to the whole world. |
| D．Providing proper travel services for the disabled. |
| A．Silberstein has made significant contributions to global tourism. |
| B．Wheel the World helps people with disabilities enjoy their vacations. |
| C．Advanced equipment is enabling the disabled to travel around the world. |
| D．Tour packages intended for blind and deaf tourists have won wide recognition. |
| A．Thoughtful and full-hearted. | B．Determined and humorous. |
| C．Flexible but aimless. | D．Creative but doubtful. |
5 . There is more of a connection between food and culture than you may think. On an individual level, we grow up eating the food of our culture. It becomes a part of who we are. Many associate food from our childhood with warm feelings and good memories and it ties us to our families, holding a special and personal value for us. Food from our families often becomes the comfort food we seek as adults in times of frustration and stress.
On a large scale, traditional food is an important part of culture. It also operates as an expression of cultural identity. Immigrants bring it wherever they go, and it is a symbol of pride in their culture and means of coping with homesickness.
Many immigrants open their own restaurants and serve traditional dishes. However, the food does not remain exactly the same. Some materials needed to make traditional dishes may not be readily available, so the taste and flavour can be different from what they would prepare in their home countries. Additionally, immigrants do not only sell dishes to people from the same countries as them, but to people from different countries. Therefore, they have to make small changes in the original dishes to cater to a wider range of customers. Those changes can create new flavours that still keep the cultural significance of the dishes.
We should not only embrace our heritage (传统) through our culture’s food, but also become more informed about other cultures by trying their food. It is important to remember that each dish has a special place in the culture to which it belongs, and is special to those who prepare it. Food is a window on culture, and it should be treated as such.
1. What’s the function of food mentioned in the text?| A．To help motivate homesickness. |
| B．To show cultural identity. |
| C．To reflect a country’s history. |
| D．To show a community’s superiority. |
| A．The specific traditional food. |
| B．The national culture. |
| C．A traditional expression of food. |
| D．The old-fashioned taste. |
| A．To attach cultural importance to their dishes. |
| B．To announce the beginning of their life on foreign soil. |
| C．To make the dishes popular among customers. |
| D．To present their own food culture in a new way. |
| A．Negative. |
| B．Balanced. |
| C．Unfair. |
| D．Unchangeable. |
6 . You can’t always predict a heavy rain or remember to take your umbrella. But designer Mikhail Belyaev doesn’t think that forgetting to check the weather forecast before heading out should result in you getting wet. That’s why he created Lampbrella, a lamp post with its own rain sensing umbrella.
The designer says he comes up with the idea after watching people get wet on streets in Russia. “Once, I was driving on a central Saint Petersburg street and saw the street lamps lighting up people trying to hide from the rain. I thought it would be all right to have a canopy (伞蓬) built into a street lamp.” he said.
The Lampbrella is a standard-looking street lamp fitted with an umbrella canopy. It has a built-in electric motor which can open or close the umbrella in need. Sensors then ensure that the umbrella offers the pedestrians (行人) shelter whenever it starts raining.
In addition to the rain sensor, there’s also a 360° motion sensor on the street lamp which detects whether anyone’s using the Lampbrella. After three minutes of not being used the canopy is closed.
According to the designer, the Lampbrella would move at a relatively low speed, so as not to cause harm to the pedestrians. Besides, it would be grounded to protect from possible lightning strike. Each Lampbrella would offer enough protection for several people. Being installed (安装) at 2 meters off the ground, it would only be a danger for the tallest of pedestrians.
While there are no plans to take Lampbrella into production, Belyaev says he recently introduced his creation to one Moscow Department, and insists this creation could be fixed on any street where a lot of people walk but there are no canopies.
1. For what purpose did Belyaev create the Lampbrella?| A．To predict a heavy rain. | B．To check the weather forecast. |
| C．To protect people from the rain. | D．To remind people to take an umbrella. |
| A．His creation was inspired by an experience. |
| B．It rains a lot in the city of Saint Petersburg. |
| C．Street lamps are protected by canopies. |
| D．He enjoyed taking walks in the rain. |
| A．Its moving speed. | B．Its appearance. | C．Its installation. | D．Its safety. |
| A．The designer will open a company to promote his product. |
| B．The Lampbrella could be put into immediate production. |
| C．The designer is confident that his creation is practical. |
| D．The Lampbrella would be put on show in Moscow. |
1. 推荐的旅游景点；
2. 建议品尝的美食；
3. 其他。
8 . Can dogs and cats live in perfect harmony in the same home? People who are thinking about adopting a dog as a friend for their cats are worried that they will fight. A recent research has found a new recipe of success. According to the study, if the cat is adopted before the dog, and if they are introduced when still young (less than 6 months for cats, a year for dogs), it is highly probable that the two pets will get along swimmingly. Two-thirds of the homes interviewed reported a positive relationship between their cat and dog.
However, it wasn’t all sweetness and light. There was a reported coldness between the cat and dog in 25% of the homes, while aggression and fighting were observed in 10% of the homes. One reason for this is probably that some of their body signals were just opposite. For example, when a cat turns its head away it signals aggression, while a dog doing the same signals submission.
In homes with cats and dogs living peacefully, researchers observed a surprising behaviour. They are learning how to talk each other’s language. It is a surprise that cats can learn how to talk ‘dog’, and dogs can learn how to talk ‘Cat’.
What’s interesting is that both cats and dogs have appeared to develop their intelligence. They can learn how to read each other’s body signals, suggesting that the two may have more in common than we previously suspected. Once familiar with each other’s presence and body language, cats and dogs can play together, greet each other nose to nose, and enjoy sleeping together on the sofa. They can easily share the same water bowl and in some cases groom (梳理) each other.
The significance of the research on cats and dogs may go beyond pets ─ to people who don’t get along, including neighbors, colleagues at work, and even world superpowers. If cats and dogs can learn to get along, surely people have a good chance.
1. The underlined word “swimmingly” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.| A．early | B．sweetly | C．quickly | D．smoothly |
| A．they are cold to each other | B．they look away from each other |
| C．they misunderstood each other’s signals | D．they are introduced at an early age |
| A．They eat and sleep each other. |
| B．They observe each other’s behaviors. |
| C．They learn to speak each other’s language. |
| D．They know something from each other’s voices. |
| A．have common interests | B．are less different than was thought |
| C．have a common body language | D．are less intelligent than was expected |
9 . You may think you couldn’t live through summer without air conditioning. But in ancient China, hand fans were almost the only way to drive the heat away.
Chinese people started to use hand fans over 2, 000 years ago. The fans came in different shapes and were made from all kinds of materials. Palm leaf fans were cheap and easy to make. Feather fans marked the owner’s high status. Sandalwood fans could send out a sweet smell. Later, hand fans became far more than just something that could cool you down. They developed into works of art, in which Tuanshan-round fans, and Zheshan-folded fans, were the most common. In the shape of a fullmoon, Tuanshan were usually made of silk. They had beautiful embroidery (刺绣) featuring birds and flowers on them. Women, especially those in the royal palace, liked to use them. Poets in ancient China often compared an abandoned (被抛弃的) woman to Tuanshan. A poet in the Qing Dynasty, Nalan Xingde was a typical example. He wrote, “If only life were as beautiful as when we first met, why should the autumn wind bother to pity deserted painted fans?”
Meanwhile, men, especially the literati (文人), used Zheshan. The literati liked them because Zheshan were usually made of paper and they could paint and write poems on them. It was a way for them to show off their skills in literature, painting and calligraphy (书法). Many things were painted on Zheshan, but the most popular choice was usually beautiful scenery.
Today, Chinese people still use these fans, though not many people write or paint on them any more. This summer, why not paint one of your own?
1. Which fans could show a person’s social position?| A．Hand fans. | B．Palm leaf fans. | C．Feather fans. | D．Sandalwood fans. |
| A．An abandoned woman. | B．A woman with a Tuanshan. |
| C．A woman with a Zheshan. | D．A woman in the royal palace. |
| A．They were folded fans. | B．They came in different shapes. |
| C．They had birds and flowers on them. | D．They gave them chances to show the talent. |
| A．A diary. | B．A dictionary. | C．A fairy tale. | D．A magazine. |
10 . Love sugar-white sand beaches? Whether you’re looking to ski down the side of a mountain or surf in the sunshine, you’ll find the following three places in the best winter travel destination list.
Best for: Families and water babies
The newly-built Coral Towers at the Atlantis resort (旅游胜地) in Paradise Island, Bahamas, with new next-door neighbor Marina Village, an open-air shopping and dining marketplace, are just two of the newest reasons to visit this Caribbean popular travel destination. Don’t forget about Aquaventure, the world’s largest open-air water park. With the average winter temperatures between the mid 60°F and high 70°F, it’s a perfect place to escape the cold.
Best for: Adventurers
Iceland in the winter is simply dreamy and temperatures aren’t as cool as you might think. Plus, there’s no better time than winter to view the Northern Lights. Short winter days mean you’ll have an even greater chance to catch the magic. An increasing number of flights in and out of Reykjavik make it easier than ever to visit.
Best for: Families and theme park lovers
Whether you come for the Pro Bowl in January, the new Toy Story land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Supercharged ride at Universal Studios Florida, Orlando is yet another warm-weather destination for winter travel. The weather is at its best and the crowds are at their thinnest.
1. Which of the following is a good place for shopping?| A．Iceland | B．Aquaventure | C．Marina Village | D．Ski City |
| A．The new Toy Story land. | B．Sugar-white sand beaches. |
| C．An open-air dinning marketplace. | D．The magic of the Northern Lights. |
| A．Salt Lake City | B．Orlando | C．Reykjavik | D．Brighton |
