1 . Twelve-year-old Catherine has a lot of friends—632, actually, if you count up her online friends. And she spends a lot of time with them.
But is it possible that Catherine’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 platform.
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 world, 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 anyone 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 tell about true friends. | B．To start a discussion. |
| C．To encourage online friendships. | D．To summarize(总结) the text. |
| A．In any case. | B．In public. | C．In person. | D．In advance. |
| A．Unconcerned. | B．Positive. | C．Worried. | D．Confused. |
| A．Teenagers need to focus on real-world friendships. | B．It’s easier to develop friendships in real life. |
| C．It’s wise to turn to friends online. | D．Social media help people stay closely connected. |
1. 阐明写信事由；
2. 征求建议；
3. 表达感谢。
注意：
1·字数80左右；2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Chris,
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year -old highly educated son. Suddenly a crow (乌鸦) perched (栖息) on their window.
The father asked his son, “what is this?” The son replied, “It is a crow.”
After a few minutes, the father asked his son for the second time, “What is this?” The son said, “Father , I have just now told you, it is a crow!”
After a little while, the old father again asked his son for the third time, “What is this?”
At this time some expression of irritation (恼怒) was felt in the son’s tone when he said to his father with a rebuff (生硬回绝) . “It’s a crow , a crow.” A little while later, the father again asked his son the fourth time, “ What is this?”
This time, the son shouted at his father, “ Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again, although I have told you so many times ‘IT IS A CROW’. Are you not able to understand this?’
A little while later the father went to his room and came back with an old tattered (发皱的) diary, which he had maintained since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary:
“Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa, when a crow was sitting on the window. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question. I did not at all feel annoyed but I rather felt love for my innocent son.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150词左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
Paragraph 1:
After reading the diary,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
Feeling ashamed , the son got down on his knees before his father.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1.人与自然的关系；
2.保护自然的倡议。
注意：写作词数应为80左右。
Be a Part of Nature
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5 . To figure out what you want to do, maybe you can do what you know best: read everything; find the most useful tips and start putting a plan into action. There are some tips for you to think about what to do with your life.
It may feel impossible to predict what exactly you’ll be doing next, but what you can do is connecting the dots and looking back. Find the common thread. What did you do?
Schedule it in your calendar and give yourself the space to think. You’ll make progress even if it’s just a few hours every other week.
Seek knowledge, not results.
If you focus on the excitement of discovery, your motivation will always be fueled. If you focus only on results, your motivation will be like weather - it will die the minute you hit a storm.
Collect experiences.
Look backward and take the lessons. Learn to collect experiences from the past to guide current behaviour in time. Your career and life are long. You may have one or many callings, and there will be multiple pathways.
| A．Take time to reflect. |
| B．Explore them all or not. |
| C．Start by looking backward. |
| D．What did you learn? |
| E．Who were you? |
| F．So the key is to focus on the journey, not the destination. |
| G．Try to work hard on the pathway you chose. |
6 . Chinese cuisine has a long history, and is one of the most diverse cooking heritage in the world. More than just delicious dishes, it reflects the distinctive and profound Chinese culture. With its long history, some of the Chinese food is listed into the intangible cultural heritage（非物质文化遗产) of the nation. We’ve chosen four dishes from the list, some of which you may find quite familiar with.
1. Nanxiang Steamed Bun
With a history of about 150 years, Nanxiang steamed bun (also known as Nanxiang xiaolongmantou or Nanxiang xiaolongbao), is still one signature dish of Chinese cuisine. It is famous for its thin wrapping and rich filling. When having the steamed bun, keep in mind to take a small bite first and enjoy the tasty juice that flows into your mouth.
2. Zhoucun Sesame Seed Cake
Zhoucun sesame seed cake is a healthy and nutritious snack suitable for the young and the old. It has a long history of around 1,800 years, and is named after its place of origin, Zhoucun village of Zibo, Shandong Province. It is widely known for being "shaped like the full moon, thin as an autumn leaf; breaking into pieces of jade (玉) when dropped on the floor, leaving a strong flavour in your mouth".
3. Dragon Beard Noodles
With great popularity in northern China, dragon beard noodles have a history of more than 300 years. It is not clear exactly how they were created in the first place, but the legend says that a royal chef first made them to please the emperor in the Ming Dynasty. It is said that they got the name for being almost as thin as a human hair.
4. Beijing Roast Duck
The history of Beijing roast duck can be traced back to the 13th century, when it was on the menu of the imperial family. It later became popular among the common people, as some royal chefs began to open their own restaurants. Today, it’s without any doubt one of the most famous
Chinese dishes, and there is hardly any tourist who would take the risk of missing it during their trip to Beijing.
1. What is Nanxiang steamed bun known for?
| A．Its long history and strong flavour. |
| B．Its round shape and tasty juice. |
| C．Its thin wrapping and rich filling. |
| D．Its light flavour and delicious filling. |
| A．It was created by a royal chef who wanted to please the emperor. |
| B．It has a history of 300 years. |
| C．It is named after the place where it was created. |
| D．It is not suitable for the old. |
| A．Top Four Chinese Dishes |
| B．A Bite of China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage |
| C．Stories Behind Chinese Snacks |
| D．Taking a Chinese Food Tour |
7 . Here are some charities for you. It’s a good time for you to give people love. If you are a loving person, go ahead.
Family Promise of NewRock
It is in need of household supplies including paper products, cleaning products, laundry detergent (洗衣粉), and dryer sheets. For more information on how you can donate, please call 770-262-7816. If you would like to make a financial donation please visit www.familypromiseofnewrock.org.
Rockdale Emergency Relief (RER) Community Food Bank
It needs your help in donating food items to help those in need within the community. The most needed items are: canned meat. Hamburger Helper, instant mashed potatoes, pork & beans, and canned tomato products.
The RER Community Food Bank
It is also looking for part-time volunteers who can help this summer when some of our regular volunteers will be on vacation. If you have time available to work in the warehouse area where you would receive donations of food, we could use your help! Volunteers need to be at least 18 years of age and able to lift 20-25 pounds on occasion. Please call Susan Clark at 770-922-9210 for more information. We would love to have you help us serve our community this summer!
Refuge Pregnancy Center
It is a non-profit organization here in Old Town Conyers. Currently they are in need of baby car seats with base, baby food, diapers (尿布) and baby clothes.
If you are a part of a local charity and wish your immediate needs to be published on our website at www.emetrotimes.com/share-the-love, please email info@emetrotimes.com. We will update this list monthly.
1. If you want to donate money, you should ________.| A．call 770-262-7816 |
| B．email info@emetrotimes.com |
| C．call Susan Clark at 770-922-9210 |
| D．visit www. familypromiseofnewrock. org |
| A．Refuge Pregnancy Center. |
| B．Family Promise of NewRock. |
| C．The RER Community Food Bank. |
| D．Rockdale Emergency Relief (RER) Community Food Bank. |
| A．To advertise products. |
| B．To show what the community needs. |
| C．To introduce some food and clothes to people. |
| D．To provide some charities for people to give love. |
8 . There are some people who are always surrounded by friends, and there are others who are always standing on the outside, looking at the crowd of friends.
1. Be yourself.
Nobody likes a liar.
2. Start with people you know.
Even if you don’t think that you have a lot of friends, you are likely to know a lot of people. Reach out to get in touch with acquaintances and reconnect with old friends you haven’t seen for a long time. Don’t forget about friends of friends.
3. Be open-minded.
4. Be there.
In order to have a good relationship with your friends, you need to be a friend. This means that you need to be there when your friends need you. For example, if one of your friends calls you in the middle of the night crying, don’t hang up.
| A．You may see some really cool people just by hanging out with your friends and their friends. |
| B．When you meet new people, ask them questions about themselves. |
| C．In fact, if you aren’t yourself, it isn’t you that others are becoming friends with. |
| D．If you don’t know where to start, join a community group or a club. |
| E．He calls you because he considers you to be a friend. |
| F．If you are one of the outsiders, it is time to come out of your shell and start making new friends. |
| G．Don’t go into a situation with a judgmental attitude which will make you less popular. |
9 . Hacking (侵入) isn’t just for computers or smart phones. According to a study published last week in Science, scientists have found a way to hack a plant’s genes in order to make it use sunlight more quickly. Someday, the result could increase the amount of food produced around the world.
Scientists who did the new study believe photosynthesis (光合作用) is a very slow process. Plants use less than one percent of the energy available to them. But by hacking a plant’s genes the scientists are able to increase the amount of leaf growth on plants between 14 and 20 percent.
Specially, scientists hacked the plant’s protective system. Normally, this system can be useful when a plant gets too much sunlight. When the plant senses the light, it removes extra energy and creates more leaves. When the plant can’t meet light, the protective system is turned off. But the process is slow. Stephen Long is the lead author of the study. He compared a plant’s protective system to light-adjusting glasses. “When a person wears the sunglasses outside during the day, the sunglasses darken and lighten depending on how sunny it is. Plants do the same thing,” he said. But in plants, the adjustment can take place anywhere, which lasts from 10 minutes to an hour. This makes it hard for plants to get the right amount of sunlight needed to create food.
The new study sped up the process. By changing the plant’s genes, the protective system turned on and off more quickly. As a result, leaf growth on the plants scientists used in the study increased. Leaf growth on two plants increased by 20 percent, while leaf growth on third plants increased by 14 percent. Scientists did the study on tobacco plants. But they think the genetic modification would produce the same results on corn and rice plants. Agriculture professor Tala Awanda said the study made senses, but cautioned the production might not be quite so high for traditional food crops. Still, she added in an email, “This study remains a breakthrough.”
1. What will happen when the plants’ genes are hacked?| A．The plants will use sunlight more properly. |
| B．The plants will remove the energy quickly. |
| C．The plants will turn on their protective system. |
| D．The plants will work faster to produce more food. |
| A．By making plants get less sunlight. |
| B．By using computers and smart phones. |
| C．By making photosynthesis become slow. |
| D．By changing the protective system of plants. |
| A．To warn people of the hot and bright sun. |
| B．To explain the usage of plants’ protective system. |
| C．Just to better understand how sunny it is every day. |
| D．Just to talk about the adjustment of sunglasses to the sun. |
| A．Critical. | B．Negative. | C．Objective. | D．Doubtful. |
10 . You don’t know me. I have chosen you to be my pen friend. Our English teacher said it would be a good thing if we all chose a pen friend, as it would help with our writing. I chose you from a list of people wanting a pen friends in last Sunday’s paper. I hope you haven’t had so many letters that you can’t reply to me.
I chose you for two reasons. I like the sound of your name, and you live in the country. I’ve only been to the country once. We live in high buildings — our flat is on the tenth floor. But that doesn’t mean people can’t look in. I mean in the city planes go past all the time, and you never know who could be in them. And, anyway, at night when the lights are on, people from other flats can look in, and who would want that?
I’ll tell you a bit about myself. I’ve worked hard at being interesting, because I’m not much to good at. My name is Maria. I hate it. There are five Marias in our class. I am by far the most exciting of the five.
I live in Richmond, in Melbourne, with my beautiful mother and boring father, and a brother who is best ignored. I go to South Richmond High School, and I’m fourteen, just.
My mother works with a cosmetic company (化妆品公司). My father is a public servant and does nothing. Actually, he is a clerk in the railways but I prefer to call him a public servant. It makes him sound cleverer than he is.
I think you are the only one called Emily in your class. Please answer soon and tell me about yourself and your family and everything.
1. Why did Maria choose Emily as her pen friend?| A．The girl was good at writing. | B．The girl was different from her. |
| C．The girl loved reading newspapers. | D．The girl wanted to be her pen friend. |
| A．Being seen by others. | B．Seeing planes flying by. |
| C．Living in high buildings. | D．Having unfriendly neighbors. |
| A．Clever. | B．Boring. | C．Interesting. | D．Good-looking. |
| A．Serve the public. | B．Reply to her letter. |
| C．Work hard at school. | D．Teach her how to write. |
