1 . Users should reduce their screen time

According to the researchers from National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), long and consistent use of social media can lead to depression, stress, and anxiety among users of all ages.     1     This effect is driven by a constant urge to check and interact with the content on these platforms.

However, if you reduce the time you spend on your phone every day, you can spare a few more hours for outdoor activity.     2     Reducing your screen time also allows you to develop better in-person relationships. Positive social interactions release mood-boosting neurochemicals that promote overall happiness.

Here are a few tips to reduce your screen time:

Set limits. Many mobile devices and apps can record the amount of time you spend on your device. You might decide you only want to spend three hours online each day. From there, you can track your time to ensure you don’t go beyond the limit.

Remove distractions (使人分心的事物). Whenever you’re working on something else, try placing your phone in another room or closing your laptop.     3     You might also be less likely to conduct an Internet search that turns into an extended browsing (浏览) session.

    4     Accessing the Internet takes seconds, which can easily become a convenient habit. However, making specific plans to see friends or go outside can help you deliberately break away from the screen.

Create a habit.     5     For example, instead of grabbing your phone first thing in the morning, leave a pen and paper beside your bed and spend a few minutes journaling when you wake up. This way, you can train your brain to enjoy alternative forms of happiness and lessen the urge to log on to social media immediately.

A．Plan activities.

B．Develop friendships.

C．The process takes continuous effort.

D．Many users even experience social media addiction.

E．It means reminding yourself of other sources of entertainment.

F．Research shows many positive effects, such as lower blood pressure and stress.

G．This way, you will have less desire to pick up your phone each time the screen lights up.

2 . Li Ting, 15, from Shanghai, was preparing a talk on some western festivals. She searched online for certain information and made PowerPoint presentations. Wu Qiong, her classmate, was doing his chemistry homework carefully. But he couldn’t work out the last problem even he tried his best. So he took out his mobile phone, opened a special app, and searched the problem. Solutions soon appeared on the screen in several seconds.

Nowadays, many students do homework online with the help of the Internet. They search online, use apps or discuss through QQ and WeChat.

“It’s convenient. You don’t have to wait for your teacher to explain it to you face to face,” according to Wu. “You can also learn by seeing how others work them out. What’s more, it improves students’ abilities. And it’s especially true for new kinds of homework. I am quite skilled at finding information online and using Microsoft Office.”

However, this trend (趋势) also causes problems. Some lazy students just copy the answers online without thinking. Even some ask their classmates to do homework for them. And their teacher may not know the fact.

Anyhow, knowing how to use the Internet is important. The key is to have good self-control. When you come across a difficult problem, think about it by yourself first. Be sure to understand the reasons behind the answers after you have turned to the Internet, or you won’t make progress. It he are not sure about your self-control, ask your parents for help.

1. Both Li Ting and Wu Qiong used the Internet to ___________.

A．play games

B．make friends

C．take exams

D．search information

2. According to Wu, he thinks ___________.

A．the new learning way is difficult

B．students should use the new learning way

C．students should study with the teacher face to face

D．students can copy others’ homework online

3. When a student uses the Internet, he must ___________.

A．have an app	B．have a mobile phone
C．ask his parents for help	D．have good self-control

4. What’s the main idea about the passage?

A．How to learn a language

B．How to do homework

C．What’s the new way of learning

D．What’s a new computer app

3 . Complete their presentation with the words below.

self-centred                  real-life                  online                    smartphone percent                         maintain                 something             anyone

Yuanyuan is a senior secondary school student. She never liked chatting with people online. She thought     1     communication wasn’t worth spending time on and it made people more     2     . All her friends seemed to spend about 90     3     of their time talking to friends on the Internet and only about 10 percent talking to them in real life. Yuanyuan couldn’t understand it at all. Her best friend Tingting agreed with her and felt that     4     communication is important.

Then,     5     happened that changed how she felt about online communication. Yuanyuan moved to Canada with her family and her     6     became her most valuable possession. By chatting to each other online and using a video chat app, Yuanyuan and Tingting could     7     their friendship even though they were thousands of miles apart. From then on, neither of them criticised     8     for having online friendships.

4 . Complete the survey report on the use of avatars. Use the correct form of the words and phrase below.

variety            image        safety          concern          digital identity blog               chat            virtual          selection        personality

The Use of Avatars

In our class, every student has more than two avatars, which are images used as     1     online. There are a wide     2     of forms and uses of avatars among our classmate. Most students choose avatars from a     3     of ready-made images, but some students design avatars in their own    4    . More than half of the students want to show different aspects of their     5     through the avatars. Our classmates mainly use avatars for web     6    ,     7     and in     8     games. But some classmate expressed     9     about online     10     when using avatars. This issue is something that we need to pay attention to in the future.

5 . In the social media age, teenagers are sharing more information about themselves on social media sites than ever before.

According to a Common Sense Media research study, more than eight in ten teenagers have visited a social networking site like Facebook, and three out four teenagers now have an account on a social networking site.

However, while social media sites can improve teenagers’ communication abilities, experts say that social networking could be harmful to healthy teenage self-esteem. Health educator and motivational speaker Scott Fried began working with teenagers 22 years ago. He recently developed a new lecture, “Broken-Heartedness and Intimacy in the Age of Social Media,” to discuss with teenagers the differences between their personalities online and their true selves.

“The definition of growing up is bringing together many different parts of your personality,” Fried said. “As you grow, they turn into one whole personality. Now, you have a personality at school, at home, and online. The goal of being a teenager is to bring together all these different parts that are shown online in a complete way.”

Fried uses the phrase “compare and despair” to describe the bad effect of social media / on teenage self-esteem. you compare yourself to someone else, you’re usually going to end up despairing.”

Fried said, “One of the problems with social media is that we throw our best selves out there, or what we like to think of as our best self.”

Psychologist Nadine De Ciordany says that teenagers who already have low self-esteem can get easily depressed and give others their low self-esteem. She thinks social media is causing more and more depression. She adds that parents should educate their children early on social media.

“Teenagers can use a whole lot of resources that affect the way they deal with peer pressure,” De Giordaiiy said, “As the child is growing up, supervise(监督) what it is that they have access to. There is an age that social media is appropriate for and there is an age that isn’t appropriate for.”

1. What does the research find?

A．About 75% of teenagers have a Facebook account.

B．Teenagers like to share opinions with others on social media.

C．Social media users generally have better communication skills.

D．Over 80% of teenagers have access to a social networking site.

2. What does Scott Fried agree with?

A．Teenagers like to compete with others on social media.

B．Teenagers often get rid of their true selves on social media.

C．Teenagers present the same personality in different situations.

D．Teenagers like to show the greatest parts of themselves on social media.

3. What is De Giordany’s suggestion towards using social media?

A．Social media should set a minimum age limit.

B．Teenagers should have right to any social networking sites.

C．Parents should monitor what is accessible to their children.

D．Teenagers should be free to use social media for their problems.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Social media have bad effects on teenagers.

B．More and more teenagers use social media.

C．Social media promote teenagers’ communication skills.

D．Teenagers have better developed their personalities online.

6 . Search engines have changed the way we use the Internet, putting vast sources of information just a few clicks away. But Harvard professor of psychology Line Daniel Wegner’s recent research proves that websites and the Internet are changing much more than technology itself. They are changing the way our memories function.

Wegner’s latest study shows that when people have access to search engines, they remember fewer facts and less information because they know they can rely on “search” as a readily available shortcut.

Which of the following statements can be the best idea of the passage?

A．Relying on technology has weakened our critical thinking.

B．People heavily depend on computer for storing information.

C．Human’s capacity for memory is much weaker than it was before.

D．Computers and technology are reshaping the functions of our brain.

7 . Internet addiction is a common problem.     1     If you are concerned that you may be too dependent on the Internet, there are several strategies you can use to control your Internet usage. Removing the temptation (诱惑) to go online is one of them. Here are some tips to get you started.

    2     If your devices are on and within arm’s reach, you may find yourself mindlessly checking them during meal times and other social activities. Just turn off your device or at least put it on silent and place it somewhere out of sight.

Charge your devices in another room at night to prevent bedtime browsing (浏览). Bedtime browsing can impact your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep due to the blue light your smartphone emits.     3    

Remove social media apps from your phone. If you find yourself picking up your phone and going on the Internet every time you get a notification (通知), delete the social media apps on your phone. Make it a rule that you can only check these apps on your computer.     4    

Look at one website at a time instead of having multiple websites open.     5     This can help you to avoid going back and forth between multiple sites and wasting time.

Technological tools are meant to serve us, not the other way around. Take action right away to free yourself from Internet dependency and take control of your life.

A．Cut your home Wi-Fi access if it is really necessary.

B．It can be just as damaging as any other form of addiction.

C．So stopping bedtime browsing may help you to sleep better.

D．This may help prevent you from accessing them on and off all day.

E．Turn off your smartphone, iPad, and computer during social activities.

F．If you are on a website and it leads you to another one, close the old site.

G．Developing healthy habits can also help you to cut back on your internet use.