Political advisers and legislators(立法者) have called for full performance of policies offering children from single-child families paid leave(带薪休假) to take care of their parents as caring for seniors
China started to relax
The advance of technology in our lives has been kind of stopped in New York City. Up to now, lawmakers
Businesses that break the new regulation could face heavy fines of up to $ 1,500 for each offense (违法行为). Critics of cashless businesses say they discriminate (歧视) against people who are much
3 . Would you believe it, Bangladesh is the happiest nation in the world! The United States, on the other hand, is a sad story: it ranks only 46th in the World Happiness Survey. That's far behind India, the fifth happiest place in the world, and others including Ghana and Latvia, Croatia and Estonia.
The research was led by London School of Economics professors into the link between personal spending power and the quality of life. It has proved that money can buy everything but happiness. The study revealed that people in Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world, act far more happiness from their small incomes than, for example, the British (32nd on the list) do from their relatively large bank balances. In fact, people in most rich countries are much unhappier than poorer people in countries like the Domini can Republic and Armenia.
Most unfortunate, however, are Russians and people in some other parts of the former Soviet Union. They are neither rich nor happy, indicates the World Happiness Survey.
The study shows that although the British have twice as much money to spend in real terms compared with 40 years ago, their quality of life has not improved. Earlier surveys showed that many Britons thought money could bring happiness. The new study shows that such a link still exists in poor countries because a small increase in income can mean large improvements in lifestyle.
The researchers have concluded that although Britons are rich compared with most other countries, many suffer from an emotional poverty caused by consumerism (消费主义) and the breakdown of family life. “We are being seduced by a huge economic power and our personal needs are not being met,” said nip Marks, a social sciences researcher at survey University who also worked on the report.
1. How is the second paragraph organized?| A．By giving reasons. | B．By making a comparison. |
| C．By giving numbers. | D．By following the time order. |
| A．attracted | B．reduced | C．contracted | D．Prohibited |
| A．Favorable. | B．Doubtful. | C．Objective. | D．Unclear. |
| A．Some effective ways to act happiness. | B．Results from the World Happiness Survey. |
| C．The belief that money could bring happiness. | D．Introduction of the happiest nation in the world. |
More than 2.000 years ago, the brave and hardworking people of Eurasia explored and opened up several routes of trade and cultural exchanges that linked the major civilizations of Asia, Europe and Africa，
When Chinese President Xi Jinping
5 . Smartphones are perhaps one of the things we like most or least. While they create a shared and communicative digital(数字的) experience，their use also greatly reduces the amount of direct communication we have. So, while we feel closer than ever through smartphones，research shows that we’re actually lonelier than ever.
We see this situation most commonly among the youth who were born into the digital age. Phones have increased the level of isolation (孤立). Janet Behrens, principal of Iowa Valley Junior-Senior High School, noticed it in the lunchroom, where students had their heads down looking at their phones and had little conversation with each other.
Then, she created a lunchroom policy, which requires all students to leave their phones behind during Friday lunches and sit at a table with students they may not know. During Friday lunches, kids pick a card that shows which lunch table they will be sitting at that day. Each table provides ideas for conversation starters. in case students have trouble thinking of things to talk about with kids they might not know
Anyone who knows teens knows that they are likely to refuse to follow this kind of forced socialization(合群). So they may not quickly agree with such an idea. However, the new program is different. After taking a few weeks to get used to the new program, kids are kinder to each other and they actually look forward to Friday lunch hour. Sahara Kanke, a ninth grader, said, “I think it’s fun I was a bit confused when I first knew the program. But I like doing it now. People are nicer to each other now because they got to know each other at lunch”
Policies like this are important. ABC News reported that students who use phones and computers less during class scored half a grade higher than students with smartphones. Due to the advantages of reducing smartphone use among the youth, schools around the world have been testing different methods to help students overcome the difficulties
1. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Students’ dislike of school food. |
| B．Students’ loneliness brought by smartphones |
| C．Students’ refusing to follow some school rules |
| D．Students’ making new friends through the Internet |
| A．It aims to get students to share their problems |
| B．It can improve students’ problem-solving ability |
| C．It calls on students to stop chatting online at school |
| D．It encourages face-to-face communication among students |
| A．It is pretty difficult to get along with teenagers |
| B．It is challenging to carry out the new program in school |
| C．The new program has drawn students closer to each other |
| D．Young students were glad to join the program at the beginning |
Mr. Green lived in the woods with his wife and children. He
7 . Like a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been reassuringly dull. E-books, however, are causing heartache. Libraries know they need digital wares if they are to remain relevant, but many publishers are too careful about piracy and lost sales to co-operate. Among the big six, only Random House and Harper Collins license e-books with most libraries. The others have either denied requests or are reluctantly experimenting.
Publishers are wise to be nervous. Owners of e-readers are exactly the customers they need: book-lovers with money—neither the devices nor broadband connections come cheap. If these wonderful people switch to borrowing e-books instead of buying them, what then? Electronic borrowing is awfully convenient. Unlike printed books, which must be checked out and returned to a physical library miles from where you live, book files can be downloaded at home. Digital library catalogues are often browsed at night from a; comfortable sofa. The files disappear from the device when they are due. Awkwardly for publishers, buying an e-book costs more, than renting one but offers little extra value.
You cannot resell it, lend it to a friend or burn it to stay warm. Owning a book is useful if you want to savor (品尝) it repeatedly, but who reads “Fifty Shades of Grey” twice?
E-lending is not simple, however. There are lots of different and often incompatible e-book formats, devices and licences. Most libraries use a company called Over Drive, a global distributor that secures rights from publishers and provides e-books and audio files in every format. Yet publishers and libraries are worried by Over Drived market dominance, as the company can increasingly dictate fees and conditions.
Library boosters argue that book borrowers are also book buyers, and that libraries are vital spaces for readers to discover new work. Many were cheered by a recent Pewsurvey, which found that more than half of Americans with Horary cards say they prefer to buy their e-books. But the report also noted that few people know that e-books are available at most libraries, and that popular titles often involve long waiting lists, which may be what inspires people to buy.
So publishers keep adjusting their lending arrangements in search of the right balance. The story of the library e-book is a nail-biter.
1. What can be inferred from the first paragraph?| A．Libraries are eager to keep relationship with publishers. |
| B．Several publishers have sold e-books to most libraries. |
| C．Libraries care too much about piracy and book sales. |
| D．Most publishers hesitate to cooperate with libraries. |
| A．It can help save readers' expenses on devices and broadband connections. |
| B．It needs checking out and returning to the library via the Internet. |
| C．It enables readers to resell the book files or lend them to friends. |
| D．It has a time limit for the book files downloaded on the device. |
| A．It has the privilege to offer readers various brands of e-readers. |
| B．It distributes e-books and audio files to publishers. |
| C．Its market dominance threatens publishers and libraries. |
| D．It devotes itself to improving conditions of e-book market. |
| A．people with library cards have to wait to borrow popular e-books |
| B．E-books are accessible in libraries and full of exciting prospects. |
| C．more than half of Americans choose e-books over physical copies |
| D．the desire to collect a popular book inspires people to buy it |
8 . China on Monday issued strict new measures aimed at addressing what authorities describe as youth videogame addiction, which they blame for a variety of societal ills, including distracting young people from school and family responsibilities.
The new regulation, announced by the National Press and Publication Administration, will ban minors from playing videogames entirely between Monday and Thursday. On the other three days of the week, and on public holidays, they will be only permitted to play" between 8 p. m. and 9 p. m.
The announcement didn't offer a specific age for minors, but previous regulations targeting younger videogamers have drawn the line at 18 years old. Enforcement measures weren't detailed, but in response to previous moves by the government to limit videogame playing by young people, Tencent Holdings Ltd. , the world's largest videogame company, has used a combination of technologies, automatically kicking off players after a certain period of time and using real-name registration and facial-recognition technology to limit game play for minors.
In restricting videogame play for younger people, the government is seeking to "effectively protect the physical and mental health of minors," China's state-run Xinhua News Agency said Monday.
Monday's new rule is likely to be felt through China's online gaming industry, one of the world's largest. The measure comes as the Chinese government seeks to restrict China's technology industry, a campaign that has caused a trillion-dollar selloff in Chinese stock market and hit a range of businesses, including for-profit education providers, ride-hailing (打车) services and e-commerce platforms.
Videogames have become a particular object of anger as Beijing seeks to reshape an industry it has described as motivated by profit at the expense of public morals. A state-media remarks this month triggered a selloff in shares of Tencent after it published an article that described online games as "opium (鸦片) for the mind. "
After the regulations were published on Monday, following the close of stock-market trading, Tencent said it had introduced a variety of new functions to better protect minors. It promised to continue to do so as it "strictly follows and actively implements the latest requirements from Chinese authorities. "
1. According to the new regulation, how long can a minor play videogames during a weekend?| A．One hour | B．Two hours | C．Three hours | D．Unlimited hours |
| A．Parental guidance | B．Automatic registration |
| C．Compulsory offline | D．Fingerprint identification |
| A．They harm teenagers' mental health | B．They make people easy to get angry |
| C．They make people entirely irresponsible | D．They bring in lots of profits for the government |
| A．No More Games | B．Protection of the Youth |
| C．The End of Technology Industry | D．Further Restriction on Youth Gaming |
9 . Let’s say you want to purchase a camera, and you’re comparing two different advertisements. In one, the pictures, colors, and instructions make the information easy to read. The other has an unclear style that takes more time for you to understand. If you decide to purchase the second camera with the more confusing advertisement, new research out of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute shows that, over time, you’ll likely be happier with your choice.
In a paper co-authored by Gaurav Jain, an assistant professor of marketing in the Lally School of Management at Rensselaer, researchers found that nonstop stimuli (刺激), or the difficulty for an individual to process a message, increases people’s attitudes toward that message after a time delay.
“This research has a real-life impact,” Jain said. “Most of the time, marketing communicators try to make their message clear. What we learned, however, is that there are certain times, especially when people need to make choices, when we should actually use nonstop stimuli so that whatever people are choosing, they will like it once time has passed.”
Using primary data collection designed by Jain of about 500 diverse individuals, researchers also found that consumers judge the time spent in the decision-making process wrongly. Rather than recognizing that the lengthy decision came from trying to understand the information, when looking back on the process, consumers instead believe they spent the time on making the decision. This leads the consumer to believe the decision they made was informed and worthy.
These findings are meaningful for marketing communications in many fields.
“When people are making decisions,” Jain said, “like choosing insurance products, retirement funds, or even when choosing an elected official, marketers and designers need to remember that if we can make an individual spend some time in that choosing process, it’s more likely people will stick with the option they chose over time.”
Jain says that when consumers’ attitudes about a product increase, the impact on post-purchase decisions like returns and reviews of the product will be more favorable to the brand.
1. How does the author introduce the topic?| A．By listing figures. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By using others’ words. | D．By showing people’s reviews. |
| A．Make their message short. |
| B．Make their message attractive. |
| C．Make their message easy to understand. |
| D．Make their message hard to understand. |
| A．Writing a paper. | B．Selling a product. |
| C．Choosing a camera. | D．Designing a new brand. |
| A．Time Delay: What is it |
| B．Suggestions to the Marketers |
| C．How to Make Consumers Happy |
| D．Difficult Decision, Satisfactory Choice |
The Silk Road derives (获得） its name from the profit-making trade in silk that
Though silk was the major item
In
