1 . Over the last seven years, most states have banned texting by drivers, and public service campaigns have tried a wide range of methods to persuade people to put down their phones when they are behind the wheel.
Yet the problem, by just about any measure, appears to be getting worse. Americans are still texting while driving, as well as using social networks and taking photos. Road accidents, which had fallen for years, are now rising sharply.
That is partly because people are driving more, but Mark Rosekind, the chief of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said distracted（分心）driving was "only increasing, unfortunately."
"Big change requires big ideas." he said in a speech last month, referring broadly to the need to improve road safety. So to try to change a distinctly modern behavior, lawmakers and public health experts are reaching back to an old approach: They want to treat distracted driving like drunk driving.
An idea from lawmakers in New York is to give police officers a new device called the Textalyzer. It would work like this: An officer arriving at the scene of a crash could ask for the phones of the drivers and use the Textalyzer to check in the operating system for recent activity. The technology could determine whether a driver had just texted, emailed or done anything else that is not allowed under New York's hands-free driving laws.
"We need something on the books that can change people's behavior,” said Félix W. Ortiz, who pushed for the state's 2001 ban on hand-held devices by drivers. If the Textalyzer bill becomes law, he said, "people are going to be more afraid to put their hands on the cell phone."
1. Which of the following best describes the ban on drivers' texting in the US?| A．Ineffective. | B．Unnecessary. |
| C．Inconsistent. | D．Unfair. |
| A．Where a driver came from. | B．Whether a driver used their phone. |
| C．How fast a driver was going. | D．When a driver arrived at the scene. |
| A．Advice. | B．Data. | C．Tests. | D．Laws. |
| A．To Drive or Not to Drive? Think Before You Start |
| B．Texting and Driving? Watch Out for the Textalyzer |
| C．New York Banning Hand-Held Devices by Drivers. |
| D．The Next Generation Cell Phone: The Textalyzer- |
2 . Important Things to Know When Dining Out
Cultural dining etiquette (礼节) might surprise you with some of its important rules.
The way you handle chopsticks is important to avoid annoying your companions. When you put them down between bites, always put them down together so they are parallel with the edge of the table in front of you.
In India and the Middle East, it’s considered very rude to eat with your left hand. People in France expect you to eat with a utensil in each hand.
Some of these cultural dining etiquette rules may seem random and strange, but they are important in various countries.
| A．The more friends you make in your lifetime |
| B．The more time you spend in any given country |
| C．Mexicans consider it inappropriate to eat with utensils |
| D．Don’t get caught making an embarrassing mistake at a restaurant |
| E．It’s a good sign for the chef if you make a mess around your plate |
| F．Never stick them upright in your food or cross them as you use them |
| G．It may seem like a simple request to ask for salt and pepper at a meal |
3 . In 1916, two girls of wealthy families, best friends from Auburn, N. Y. — Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamond Underwood — traveled to a settlement in the Rocky Mountains to teach in a one-room schoolhouse. The girls had gone to Smith College. They wore expensive clothes. So for them to move to Elkhead, Colo. to instruct the children whose shoes were held together with string was a surprise. Their stay in Elkhead is the subject of Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West by Dorothy Wickenden, who is a magazine editor and Dorothy Woodruff’s granddaughter.
Why did they go then? Well, they wanted to do something useful. Soon, however, they realized what they had undertaken.
They moved in with a local family, the Harrisons, and, like them, had little privacy, rare baths, and a blanket of snow on their quilt when they woke up in the morning. Some mornings, Rosamond and Dorothy would arrive at the schoolhouse to find the children weeping from the cold. In spring, the snow was replaced by mud over ice.
In Wickenden’s book, she expanded on the history of the West and also on feminism, which of course influenced the girls’ decision to go to Elkhead. A hair-raising section concerns the building of the railroads, which entailed (牵涉) drilling through the Rockies, often in blinding snowstorms. The book ends with Rosamond and Dorothy’s return to Auburn.
Wickenden is a very good storyteller. The sweep of the land and the stoicism (坚忍) of the people move her to some beautiful writing. Here is a picture of Dorothy Woodruff, on her horse, looking down from a hill top: “When the sun slipped behind the mountains, it shed a rosy glow all around them. Then a full moon rose. The snow was marked only by small animals: foxes, coyotes, mice, and varying hares, which turned white in the winter.”
1. Why did Dorothy and Rosamond go to the Rocky Mountains?| A．To teach in a school. | B．To study American history. |
| C．To write a book. | D．To do sightseeing. |
| A．They enjoyed much respect. | B．They had a room with a bathtub. |
| C．They lived with the local kids. | D．They suffered severe hardships. |
| A．The extreme climate of Auburn. | B．The living conditions in Elkhead. |
| C．The railroad building in the Rockies. | D．The natural beauty of the West. |
| A．A news report. | B．A book review. | C．A children’s story. | D．A diary entry. |
4 . When I decided to buy a house in Europe ten years ago, I didn't think too long. I liked traveling in France, but when it came to picking my favorite spot to
During my first visit to Italy, I
As a foodie, the way to my heart is through my stomach, and nowhere fuels my
| A．study | B．rent | C．visit | D．settle |
| A．planned | B．struggled | C．refused | D．happened |
| A．string | B．hang | C．mix | D．match |
| A．improved | B．assessed | C．admired | D．praised |
| A．course | B．barrier | C．area | D．test |
| A．open-minded | B．strong-willed | C．warm-hearted | D．well-informed |
| A．remind | B．allow | C．persuade | D．order |
| A．tricks | B．promises | C．acts | D．duties |
| A．ambition | B．success | C．appetite | D．growth |
| A．costume | B．dish | C．symbol | D．tale |
| A．gather | B．cheer | C．leave | D．wait |
| A．put up with | B．stand up for | C．come up with | D．make up for |
| A．signaled | B．confirmed | C．represented | D．accompanied |
| A．disadvantages | B．meanings | C．surprises | D．opportunities |
| A．created | B．forgotten | C．understood | D．identified |
5 . Overtourism Is For Real: How Can You Help?
Travel promotes understanding, expands our minds, makes us better people, and boosts local economies and communities, but the rapid growth of travel has led to overtourism in certain regions and destinations.
●Choose mindfully. Overvisited destinations are that way for a reason: they’re special. With so many online posts featuring the same places, it’s easy to feel like you’re missing out. Go somewhere only when the landscape, culture or food deeply draws you.
●Get creative. The best way to ease pressure on over-touristed destinations is to go somewhere else. Though overtourism is described as a problem affecting the entire world, it’s actually concentrated to a small number of extremely popular spots. That means you have tons of less-visited options to choose from.
●
Visiting a place that others call home is a privilege (荣幸). Do your part to preserve what makes a destination special in the first place.
| A．Visit during off-peak times. |
| B．So, should we stop traveling? |
| C．Travel for you and no one else. |
| D．Can overtourism be avoided then? |
| E．You can still find relatively undiscovered places. |
| F．You’ll find yourself virtually alone, or close to it. |
| G．Consider giving back to the communities you’re visiting. |
1. What is probably the woman?
| A．A teacher. | B．A journalist. | C．An athlete. |
| A．Adapting himself to the intense training. |
| B．Dealing with the pressure from the coach. |
| C．Regaining the skills learned in high school. |
| A．They are of the same age. |
| B．They are similar in character. |
| C．They are from different countries. |
| A．It’s about to break up. | B．It’s the best in Indiana. | C．It’s getting stronger. |
7 . We journalists live in a new age of storytelling, with many new multimedia tools. Many young people don’t even realize it’s new. For them, it’s just normal.
This hit home for me as I was sitting with my 2-year-old grandson on a sofa over the Spring Festival holiday. I had brought a children’s book to read. It had simple words and colorful pictures — a perfect match for his age.
Picture this: my grandson sitting on my lap as I hold the book in front so he can see the pictures. As I read, he reaches out and pokes (戳) the page with his finger.
What’s up with that? He just likes the pictures, I thought. Then I turned the page and continued. He poked the page even harder. I nearly dropped the book. I was confused: Is there something wrong with this kid?
Then I realized what was happening. He was actually a stranger to books. His father frequently amused the boy with a tablet computer which was loaded with colorful pictures that come alive when you poke them. He thought my storybook was like that.
Sorry, kid. This book is not part of your high-tech world. It’s an outdated, lifeless thing. An antique, like your grandfather. Well, I may be old, but I’m not hopelessly challenged, digitally speaking. I edit video and produce audio. I use mobile payment. I’ve even built websites.
There’s one notable gap in my new-media experience, however: I’ve spent little time in front of a camera, since I have a face made for radio. But that didn’t stop China Daily from asking me last week to share a personal story for a video project about the integration of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province.
Anyway, grandpa is now an internet star — two minutes of fame! I promise not to let it go to my head. But I will make sure my 2-year-old grandson sees it on his tablet.
1. What do the underlined words “hit home for me” mean in paragraph 2?| A．Provided shelter for me. | B．Became very clear to me. |
| C．Took the pressure off me. | D．Worked quite well on me. |
| A．He took it for a tablet computer. | B．He disliked the colorful pictures. |
| C．He was angry with his grandpa. | D．He wanted to read it by himself. |
| A．Socially ambitious. | B．Physically attractive. |
| C．Financially independent. | D．Digitally competent. |
| A．He lacks experience in his job. | B．He seldom appears on television. |
| C．He manages a video department. | D．He often interviews internet stars. |
1. Why does Sara make the phone call?
| A．To ask for advice. | B．To arrange an outing. | C．To cancel an appointment. |
| A．Go to a dinner party. | B．Talk to Sara in person. | C．Work on the new case. |
1. Who is Tom Hokinson?
| A．Founder of a magazine. | B．Publisher of a novel. | C．Editor of a newspaper. |
| A．It’s old-fashioned. | B．It’s wide-ranging. | C．It’s student-targeted. |
| A．To do a promotion. | B．To discuss an issue. | C．To introduce a lecturer. |
10 . When the explorers first set foot upon the continent of North America, the skies and lands were alive with an astonishing variety of wildlife. Native Americans had taken care of these precious natural resources wisely. Unfortunately, it took the explorers and the settlers who followed only a few decades to decimate a large part of these resources. Millions of waterfowl (水禽) were killed at the hands of market hunters and a handful of overly ambitious sportsmen. Millions of acres of wetlands were dried to feed and house the ever-increasing populations, greatly reducing waterfowl habitat.
In 1934, with the passage of the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act (Act), an increasingly concerned nation took firm action to stop the destruction of migratory (迁徙的) waterfowl and the wetlands so vital to their survival. Under this Act, all waterfowl hunters 16 years of age and over must annually purchase and carry a Federal Duck Stamp. The very first Federal Duck Stamp was designed by J.N. “Ding” Darling, a political cartoonist from Des Moines, lowa, who at that time was appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt as Director of the Bureau of Biological Survey. Hunters willingly pay the stamp price to ensure the survival of our natural resources.
About 98 cents of every duck stamp dollar goes directly into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund to purchase wetlands and wildlife habitat for inclusion into the National Wildlife Refuge System — a fact that ensures this land will be protected and available for all generations to come. Since 1934, better than half a billion dollars has gone into that Fund to purchase more than 5 million acres of habitat. Little wonder the Federal Duck Stamp Program has been called one of the most successful conservation programs ever initiated.
1. What was a cause of the waterfowl population decline in North America?| A．Loss of wetlands. | B．Popularity of water sports. |
| C．Pollution of rivers. | D．Arrival of other wild animals. |
| A．Acquire. | B．Export. |
| C．Destroy. | D．Distribute. |
| A．The stamp price has gone down. | B．The migratory birds have flown away. |
| C．The hunters have stopped hunting. | D．The government has collected money. |
| A．The Federal Duck Stamp Story | B．The National Wildlife Refuge System |
| C．The Benefits of Saving Waterfowl | D．The History of Migratory Bird Hunting |
