1 . When you are online, you can be anyone or anything. You can create your own image and a new personality. These digital identities are known as avatars (化身).

The first simple 2D avatars appeared in role-playing computer games in the 1980s. Yet, very few people knew that future avatars would have such a wide variety of forms and uses. By the late 1990s, they had been used in web chats.

When people started creating their own avatars, they discovered that they were going to have the power to create new identities that did not look or act like their real selves at all. They could dress their avatars in fancy clothes, or they could try being someone of the opposite sex. When Internet users realized that their avatars would be seen by many people, not just their friends, they started having more than one avatar. Avatars let you express yourself and they give you lots of room for creativity.

Of course, the avatar you choose says a lot about your personality. If your blog avatar is a picture of a cute cat, your message is “like relaxing and having fun”. Well-known cartoon characters or laughing monkeys say “I’m a really funny person”. Most people create avatars that have similar features to their personalities and that look more or less like them and act like them. However, people obviously make their avatars look better than they do in real life.

Nowadays, avatars are everywhere and very useful. In most web chats, people choose an avatar from a selection of ready-made images or create their own images. You can also use avatars that move around and talk when you type in your message.

Despite the advantages of avatars, the use of avatars has also caused a few concerns. Some users worry that they are spending so much time in virtual worlds that they are becoming afraid of meeting people in the real world. The use of several avatars can also be a risk, as people can use avatars to cheat others online.

1. What can be inferred in paragraph 3?

A．People’s new identities were very powerful.

B．Avatars limited the room for people’s creativity.

C．People’s avatars could be seen only by their friends.

D．More attention from the public made people have more avatars.

2. How does the author present his view points in paragraph 4?

A．By telling a story.	B．By analyzing data.
C．By giving examples.	D．By making comparisons.

3. What is a major concern about the use of avatars?

A．Users may be tricked by others online.

B．People are spending too much time in the real world.

C．The use of avatars is not so risky as people have expected.

D．People are not brave enough to meet others in the virtual worlds.

4. Where is the text most likely from?

A．A diary.

B．A guidebook.

C．A scientific fiction.

D．A magazine.

2 . Cyber-bullying (网络欺凌) may take place in the online world, but it is no less damaging than in the real world. The Internet has become a kindness desert, a place where few flowers bloom. Bullying is pretty common.     1     According to those bullied, they’re usually seen as being different from the crowd. They are unique.

Being bullied is a frustrating and painful experience. Online bullying can really hurt others, and it can have serious consequences.     2     Some people have even committed suicide because they were harassed (侵扰) online and didn’t think it would ever stop. Here are some valuable tips to help you address a bully and protect yourself in a safe way.

Don’t blame yourself.     3     It’s only the bully’s fault, so don’t blame yourself for his or her shortcomings.

Stay away from bullies. Bullies hope you interact with them so that they have an excuse to keep picking on you. When the bully starts orally attacking you, remove yourself from the situation if you can, simply by walking away.

    4     Try as you might to ignore the bullies when they are saying ugly things about you. Remind yourself that you are a great person and that nothing the bullies say matters.

Speak out. Nobody has the right to make you feel unsafe, uncomfortable or unhappy. Find someone you can talk to, your teacher or your parent and tell them what’s going on.     5     Follow these tips and you should feel well-equipped to deal with your bullies the next time they attack.

A．Keep track of bullies.

B．Be sure you’re wonderful.

C．Adults can offer help if they know about the problem.

D．Being bullied can make you feel alone, scared, and hopeless.

E．Your parents are willing to help you when recognizing your problem.

F．If you are being bullied, it’s essential to know that it is never your fault.

G．Studies have found that nearly one-third of all students are bullied each year.

3 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Don’t brag(炫耀), but be proud of what you have done. These two pieces of advice     1     (be) tough to balance before Facebook existed. Even today’s share-it-all social media haven’t made     2     any easier. We are     3     (able) to draw a line between a humble bragging and a straight-up bragging. But we certainly know that oversharing doesn’t do your friendship any favors.

Social media like Facebook bring us     4     (convenient). Meanwhile, they can put us     5     danger of oversharing. Once upon a time, only your family and close friends would be there     6     (see) you eagerly open presents on Christmas morning. Now the photo     7     you take on your iPhone will likely become a touch-up Instagram in about 15 seconds. Maybe you just post it subconsciously. But your sharing behavior could     8     (easy) be considered annoying or even narcissistic(自恋的).

To post or not to post? Maybe we should all be asking     9     (we) the question before hitting the share button. As our personal fame grows alongside our social media presences, so     10     (do) the number of people we could potentially(潜在地) impress or bother.

4 . Social network Facebook has announced that it is pausing work on Instagram Kids, a young people’s version of Instagram, the photo and video-sharing app that Facebook owns. Instagram Kids would have been for 10 to 12-year-olds, who cannot officially use Instagram because it has an age limit of 13.

However, Facebook has recently been criticized for the effect that Instagram can have on teenagers’ mental health, and in particular how girls feel about their bodies.

Facebook has since published its own research which suggests that Instagram more often has a positive effect. However, the criticism has made the company decide that now is a bad time to develop the app for people who are younger than teenagers.

Adam Mosseri, the boss of the Instagram, said that this would give the company time to listen to and work with parents, experts, public officials and politicians and to show that Instagram Kids would take into account concerns around the mental health and wellbeing of its users.

Instagram Kids has not been completely cancelled, but if it is eventually launched in the future, you’ll need a parent or guardian’s permission to sign up. There will be no advertisements and you will only be able to access “age-appropriate” photos and videos.

Mosseri said that he understood people’s worries about the project and that these steps should help the company to get things right. However, several US politicians have called on Instagram not to restart work on the app. “A pause is not enough,” said a statement from four politicians who are keenly opposed to Instagram Kids. “Facebook has completely given up the benefit of the doubt when it comes to protecting young people online and it must completely abandon this project,” the statement said.

1. What has Facebook especially criticized for recently?

A．Leaking teenagers’ privacy.	B．Publishing its own research result.
C．Damaging teenagers’ physical health.	D．Affecting girls’ feelings about their bodies.

2. What does “this” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A．The official age limit of 13	B．Joint efforts of all walks of life.
C．Pausing work on Instagram Kids.	D．Concerns about the mental health.

3. What does paragraph 5 mainly talk about?

A．Parents’ or guardians’ permission to sign up.	B．Facebook’s determination in pausing the app.
C．Access to “age-appropriate” photos and videos.	D．Rules to protect online teenagers in the restarted project.

4. What is the attitude of the statement towards Instagram Kids according to the last paragraph?

A．Supportive.

B．Opposed

C．Doubtful.

D．Unclear.

5 . The American Academy of Pediatrics has warned about the potential negative effects of social media on young kids and teens. But the same risks may be true for adults. A review study suggests addiction symptoms (症状), such as failure to pay attention to personal life and escapism, appear to be present in some people who use Facebook excessively (过度).

A study also shows when people stop using the Internet, they also go through small but measurable physical effects. Rather than improving health, as frequent interactions (互动) with offline social networks do, the findings show that interacting with Facebook may predict the opposite result for young adults—it may undermine it.

In fact, another study found that social media use is linked to greater feelings of social isolation (隔离), mentally and physically. We fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others as we check our Facebook pages. The study looked at how we make comparisons with others’ posts, in “upward” or “downward” directions—that is, feeling that we are either worse or better off than our friends. It turned out that both types of comparisons made people feel worse, which is surprising, since in real life, only upward comparisons make people feel bad. But in the social network world, it seems that any kind of comparison is linked to depressive symptoms.

All of this is not to say that there is no benefit of social media—obviously it keeps us connected across great distances, and helps us find people we had lost touch with years ago. But visiting social networks when you have some time to kill is very likely a bad idea. If you are feeling brave, try taking a little break, and see how it goes. And if you are going to keep “using” it, then at least try to use it reasonably.

1. What might researchers think about “using Facebook excessively”?

A．It’s problem behavior.

B．It’s costly and time-consuming.

C．It’s sometimes a solution to social isolation.

D．It’s leading people to become imaginative.

2. What does the underlined word “undermine” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Present.	B．Destroy.
C．Check.	D．Ensure.

3. What’s the finding of the study mentioned in paragraph 3?

A．Social media are being given too much importance.

B．Young Facebook users feel more isolated than their elders.

C．All kinds of comparisons on social media upset people.

D．Downward comparisons link closer to depression than upward ones.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Social media affect people’s mental health.

B．Comparing ourselves with others may lead to depression.

C．Social networks have more advantages than disadvantages.

D．Nowadays people tend to turn to the Internet for satisfaction.