1 . It’s worth being aware that developmental changes could make children more sensitive to the negative side of social media. During the teenage years, for example, the brain changes massively, and this can influence how young people act and feel—including making them more sensitive to social relationships, and status.
“Being a teenager is a really a major time of development,” says Orben. “You’re much more impacted by your peers, you’re much more interested in what other people think about you. And the design of social media might be more stressful at certain times.”
As well as age, other factors could influence the impact of social media on children and teenagers—but researchers are only just beginning to explore these individual differences. “There will be people who are more negatively or positively impacted at different time points. That might be due to living different lives, going through development at different points. They might be using social media differently.” says Orben.
For many parents, buying a child a phone is a practical decision. “In a lot of cases, parents are the ones that want the younger children to have phones so that they can keep in touch throughout the day.” says Odgers.
It can also be seen as a milestone on the road to adulthood. “I think for children it gives them a sense of independence and responsibility,” says Anja Stevie, researcher at the University of Vienna, Austria. “This is definitely something that parents should consider: are their children at a stage where they are responsible enough to have their own device?”
One factor parents shouldn’t overlook is how comfortable they feel with their child having a smart phone. Besides, it’s worth remembering, though, that having a smart phone need not open the floodgates to every single app or game available. “I’m increasingly hearing, when I interview children, that parents are giving them the phone but introducing requirements to check and discuss which apps they get, and I think that is probably really wise,” says Livingstone.
1. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?| A．Parents feel comfortable when children have smart phones. |
| B．Many parents have a tendency to buy children smart phones. |
| C．Age does not influence the impact of social media on children. |
| D．It is unacceptable for parents to check apps on children’s phones. |
| A．Concerned. | B．Puzzled. | C．Pessimistic. | D．Subjective. |
| A．Parents’ Practical Decision | B．Negative Sides of Social Media |
| C．An Introduction of Apps & Games | D．When to Buy Children Smartphones |
2 . The coronavirus pandemic has created an environment for research on social connection. One of the most common areas of inquiry over the past couple of years was how our sudden mass shift to digital communication — away from face-to-face — affected overall social connectedness. Researchers studied nearly 3,000 adults during the pandemic’s early months and found that email, social media, online gaming, and texting were not fungible for in-person interactions. Voice and video calls, were somewhat better.
Social connectedness is a key to happiness. Lower it, and you will be worse off — and so will your loved ones, especially your kids. One 2014 survey revealed that 62 percent of U.S. children thought their parents were too distracted to listen to them. The No. 1 reason was parents’ phone use.
It is clear that scrolling or surfing will reduce social connection: You do them instead of interacting. Virtual communications such as texting are by design interactive and should theoretically be less harmful. However, text messages can’t convey emotion very well, because we can’t hear or see our conversational partners. These technologies are to in-person interactions what a black-and-white, pixelated (像素化的) version of the Mona Lisa is to the real thing; identifiable, but incapable of producing the same emotional effects.
With communications on line, we tend to hop from person to person and thus swap depth for breadth. However, research has shown that deeper conversations bring more well-being than short communications. Meanwhile, in a recent study, teens who texted more often than their peers tended to experience more depression, more anxiety and poorer relationships with their fathers.
It might seem strange that we would voluntarily adopt technologies that hurt our happiness. One of the explanations is convenience. Vegetating (无所事事) in front of a screen is simply easier than talking with a person, and virtual communications such as texting are faster and easier than a visit or a phone call. Think of these technologies as grab-and-go food at a convenience store: It’s not great, but it sure is easy — and after you eat enough microwave foods, you forget what the real thing tastes like.
In all, for most of us — especially people who grew up with it — the internet is an unquestioned part of the ecosystem of life. Quitting the virtual communications from our life is clearly not the answer. Since we’re not going back to life before this kind of technology, we can and should use it mindfully in service of love.
1. What does the underlined word “fungible” most probably mean?| A．Responsible. | B．Changeable. | C．Reliable. | D．Replaceable. |
| A．disapproving | B．doubtful | C．supportive | D．cautious |
| A．Virtual Communication Does Little Harm to People |
| B．Technology Can Make Your Relationships Shallower |
| C．Quitting Virtual Communication Is Just around the Corner |
| D．Technology Creates a Good Environment for Deeper Conversations |
Times Higher Education (THE) has released its World University Rankings 2021, with Tsinghua University in Beijing
Face it
In much of the western world, governments now require people to wear masks when they are in crowded public spaces. That is good news, for masks could both save lives and allow people to get back to work. And to help economies restart safely, government should require people to wear face coverings in crowded public spaces.
People think of masks as something protecting them from dirty things in the air. But in the case of COVID-19, their more important job is to protect others from an infected wearer. That is because of one of the unusual characteristics of this disease: it seems likely that infection by people who have not, or not yet, developed symptoms(症状) makes up about a third to a half of the cases. So even if everybody with symptoms stays at home, the virus will still spread. Masks block the respiratory droplets(呼吸道飞沫) that carry the virus, so make risky situations safer.
There are signs that masking is useful. Even home-made face coverings can block droplets.
Experiments show that a piece of cloth over the mouth and face can block 60% of droplets—not as good as a medical mask, but much better than nothing.
East Asian countries’ success in controlling the disease argues in favour of masks. Wearing masks to protect against pollution or disease is common there, so people covered their faces as soon as they were informed of COVID-19. In the West, mask-wearing is alien. And in all of the countries where mask-wearing is common practice, the epidemic (流行病) was quickly controlled. This is not unquestionable evidence in favour of masks. Other factors distinguish those mask-wearing countries from bare-faced Western nations: some, such as China and South Korea, have strict track-and-trace systems and carry out mass coronavirus testing.
Yet the combination of this natural global experiment, laboratory studies and asymptomatic transmission(无症状传播) suggests that masks can help keep people safe. Lockdown destroys economies. Social distancing damages them. Masks cost next to nothing. They will not by themselves stop an epidemic. Hand-washing, track-and-trace systems and widespread testing are all crucial, too. But masks can do their bit to protect people and rebuild economies.
1. What is the key job of masks in COVID-19 epidemic according to the writer?2. Please paraphrase the underlined sentence in your own words.
3. Please underline the inappropriate part in the following statement and explain why.
Wearing masks is important and is considered the determining factor in the fight against the epidemic.
4. Please briefly present what can be done to fight against COVID-19. (about 40 words)
