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.

2. What does the underlined part “in the flesh” mean in paragraph 3?

A．In any case.

B．In public.

C．In person.

D．In advance.

3. What is Katie’s attitude toward online communication?

A．Unconcerned.

B．Positive.

C．Worried.

D．Confused.

4. Which of the following is the Rosen’s view?

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.

2 . According to a recent study in the Journal of Consumer Research, both the size and consumption habits of our eating companions (同伴) can influence our food intake. And contrary (相反的) to existing research that says you should avoid eating with heavier people who order large portions (份), it’s the beanpoles with big appetites (饭量) you really need to avoid.

To test the effect of social influence on eating habits, the researchers conducted two experiments. In the first, 95 undergraduate women were individually invited into a lab to ostensibly (表面上) participate in a study about movie viewership. Before the film began, each woman was asked to help herself to a snack. An actor hired by the researchers grabbed her food first. In her natural state, the actor weighed 105 pounds. But in half the cases she wore a specially designed fat suit which increased her weight to 180 pounds.

Both the fat and thin versions of the actor took a large amount of food. The participants followed suit, taking more food than they normally would have. However, they took significantly more when the actor was thin.

For the second test, in one case the thin actor took two pieces of candy from the snack bowls. In the other case, she took 30 pieces. The results were similar to the first test: the participants followed suit but took significantly more candy when the thin actor took 30 pieces.

The tests show that the social environment is extremely influential when we’re making decisions. If this fellow participant is going to eat more, so will I. Call it the “I’ll have what she’s having” effect. However, we’ll adjust the influence. If an overweight person is having a large portion, I’ll hold back a bit because I see the results of his eating habits. But if a thin person eats a lot, I’ll follow suit. If he can eat much and keep slim, why can’t I?

1. What is the recent study mainly about?

A．Food safety.	B．Movie viewership.
C．Consumer demand.	D．Eating behavior.

2. What does the underlined word “beanpoles” in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A．Big eaters.	B．Overweight persons.
C．Picky eaters.	D．Tall thin persons.

3. Why did the researchers hire the actor?

A．To see how she would affect the participants.	B．To test if the participants could recognize her.
C．To find out what she would do in the two tests.	D．To study why she could keep her weight down.

4. From which is the text probably taken?

A．A news report.	B．A science textbook.
C．A research paper.	D．A travel brochure.

4 . Inspiring young minds!

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What is so special about TOKNOW magazine? Well, it has no ads or promotions inside — instead it is jam-packed with serious ideas. TOKNOW makes complex ideas attractive and accessible to children, who can become involved in advanced concepts and even philosophy (哲学) — and they will soon discover that TOKNOW feels more like a club than just a magazine.

What’s inside? Every month the magazine introduces a fresh new topic with articles, experiments and creative things to make — the magazine also explores philosophy and well-being to make sure young readers have a balanced take on life.

Sounds too good to be true?

Take a look online — evidence shows that thousands of teachers and parents know a good thing when they see it and recommend TOKNOW to their friends.

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What could be more fun than a gift that keeps coming through the letterbox every month? The first magazine with your gift message will arrive in time for the special day.

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Refund Policy — the subscription can be cancelled within 28 days and you can get your money back.
1. Why is TOKNOW a special magazine?

A．It entertains young parents.	B．It provides serious advertisements.
C．It publishes popular science fictions.	D．It combines fun with complex concepts.

2. What does TOKNOW offer its readers?

A．Online courses.	B．Articles on new topics.
C．Lectures on a balanced life.	D．Reports on scientific discoveries.

3. How much should you pay if you make a 12-month subscription to TOKNOW with gift pack from China?

A．£55.

B．£60.

C．£65.

D．£70.

4. Subscribers of TOKNOW would get ______.

A．free birthday presents	B．full refund within 28 days
C．membership of the TOKNOW club	D．chances to meet the experts in person

5 . To battle the plagiarism (抄袭), some schools in America have responded to ChatGPT by taking action, according to the New York Times.

New York City public schools, for example, recently prevented ChatGPT access on school computers and networks, saying “concerns about negative influence on students learning, and concerns about the safety of content.” Schools in other cities, including Seattle, have also limited its use.

A US online course provider Study.com recently asked 1,000 students over the age of 18 about the use of ChatGPT in the classroom. The responses were surprising. Around 89 percent said they’ve used it on homework. Over 50 percent said they used ChatGPT to write an essay, while 22 percent admitted to having asked ChatGPT for a paper outline.

While the chatbot (聊天机器人) is raising fears of academic cheating on schools, some educators believe introducing the AI-ended tools to the academics could even overturn the traditional education.

“For researchers, finding valuable scientific problems and solving them in creative ways come first, and then writing academic papers. Some AI-enabled writing tools can create words or even write long text based on a few keywords shortly,” said Zhu Wei, a law professor in China. For example, ChatGPT helps writers gather writing materials for their papers, which not only increases the efficiency of the work, but also allows researchers to devote more energy to more creative work.

“Whether to use ChatGPT depends on whether to use it correctly. For those students who just use it to deal with homework or exams,” Zhu said, “this is putting the cart before the horse, which should be limited.” To avoid this problem, Zhu suggested introducing soft wares to help educators. He believes schools should accept ChatGPT as a teaching aid to unlock creativity in students. “The most important part of such tools is not to replace human thinking, but to improve human thinking.” Zhu said.

1. How does the author describe the results of Study.com’s research in Paragraph 3?

A．By listing figures.	B．By conducting tests.
C．By giving examples.	D．By referring to other studies.

2. What is the author’s attitude towards the usage of ChatGPT?

A．Disagreeable.

B．Supportive.

C．Objective.

D．Unconcerned.

3. What may the author talk about in the following paragraph?

A．Showing how software is applied in schools.

B．Giving examples of how students use ChatGPT.

C．Listing advantages of using AI-ended tools properly in schools.

D．Introducing ways to use ChatGPT to improve students’ creativity.

6 . I believe we can have a big effect on anyone with whom we come into contact. Some acts that we think ________ can shape others’ future. The simple words can sometimes ________ change someone’s life.

Years ago, that was what happened to me. I was the only ________ child at Blue Elementary School. From almost the first day there, I was ________ by other kids mainly because of my hearing aid. And I also had ________ with my school work. When others laughed at me, I thought of myself as a ________ boy who wasn’t smart enough to keep up with the class.

Mrs Jordan, my 5th grade teacher, ________ all of that with a simple sentence. One morning, she asked the ________ a question. I read her lips from my front-row seat and immediately raised my hand because I knew the answer. But when she called my name, I was ________. Here was an opportunity to ________ the teacher and showed her I was worthy of her love. Maybe I would even impress my classmates a little. I didn’t want to blow it. Despite my fears, I took a deep ________ and answered her question.

I will never forget what ________ next. “THAT’S GREAT, STEPHEN!” Mrs. Jordan ________ with sparkling eyes and a wide smile. I regained confidence and ________ a little taller in my chair.

From that day forward, my grades and speech ________ greatly. My popularity among my peers increased. It was all because the praise and encouragement Mrs Jordan gave me.

1.

A．hard

B．small

C．great

D．meaningful

2.

A．completely

B．originally

C．generally

D．simply

3.

A．blind

B．deaf

C．lonely

D．short

4.

A．heard of

B．talked of

C．looked up to

D．made fun of

5.

A．attempt

B．capability

C．difficulty

D．eagerness

6.

A．wise

B．intelligent

C．unfortunate

D．stupid

7.

A．proved

B．realized

C．changed

D．defeated

8.

A．professionals

B．class

C．staff

D．boys

9.

A．pleased

B．curious

C．satisfied

D．frightened

10.

A．challenge

B．promise

C．impress

D．move

11.

A．breath

B．look

C．step

D．dive

12.

A．worked

B．happened

C．disappeared

D．mattered

13.

A．cried

B．whispered

C．asked

D．replied

14.

A．stood

B．grew

C．walked

D．sat

15.

A．benefited

B．missed

C．improved

D．recovered

7 . Sumiel, a 71-year-old, was no stranger to the struggles of kidney (肾) disease. He was on the transplant list (移植名单), but no matches had yet _________. So he continued with his treatments at a medical center 30 miles from home.

One day, he took a taxi home after his _________ with the doctor. As they set out on the 40 minute _________ to Sumiel’s home in Salem, he and the driver, Letts, got to _________. Sumiel mentioned that he’d enjoyed _________ and helped others in his community before. But he was doing less these days because the treatments left him_________ tired. Then Sumiel revealed that he was _________ a kidney giver. Letts said, “I’d like to see if I could be a _________ to give you a kidney.” Sumiel agreed, though he didn’t _________ much of it as they kept driving.

Letts was __________ to his word. He got in touch with Sumiel just a few hours later, and by the next week, Letts had__________ the kidney transplant program. After a month’s long screening __________ — including an interview, sharing medical records, and testing the __________ were: Letts was an ideal donor, and he and Sumiel were a perfect match.

Fourteen months after they ended up in the same taxi by __________, Sumiel and Letts had their surgeries. It was a __________. They kept in touch and looked forward to the day they could reunite.

1.

A．happened

B．appeared

C．proved

D．showed

2.

A．argument

B．agreement

C．promise

D．appointment

3.

A．drive

B．walk

C．chance

D．march

4.

A．bargaining

B．complaining

C．chatting

D．reasoning

5.

A．struggling

B．volunteering

C．competing

D．wandering

6.

A．usually

B．basically

C．extremely

D．normally

7.

A．searching for

B．picking out

C．preparing for

D．getting through

8.

A．partner

B．game

C．pair

D．match

9.

A．predict

B．think

C．learn

D．work

10.

A．fair

B．strange

C．true

D．certain

11.

A．contacted

B．connected

C．abandoned

D．launched

12.

A．decision

B．operation

C．practice

D．process

13.

A．solutions

B．results

C．purposes

D．evidences

14.

A．arrangement

B．design

C．chance

D．invitation

15.

A．success

B．task

C．responsibility

D．glory

8 . We’ve all been there—you’ve sent a message and it’s marked “read”, but you haven’t heard anything back. What’s the deal? While being left on read (已读不回) can be confusing, it’s also pretty common.     1     Here are a few tips.

Expect the best. Remind yourself that the person is probably just busy. Ask yourself if you actually know their schedule. There could be some time commitments you aren’t aware of. Here are a few other reasons for a delayed response.     2     They put their phone away to focus on work or school. They accidentally forgot to reply. Maybe they thought about what they wanted to say but didn’t actually text it.

Resist the temptation (诱惑) to double-text.     3     If you send a lot of follow-up texts, it’ll be hard for them to keep up and they might get stressed. Leave them with just one text to catch up on—the other person will probably appreciate your patience.

Read over your previous messages. See if there are any confusing texts that you need to clarify. It’s okay if you review your message again and notice that it might have been a little unclear—it happens!    4    

    5     Keep it out of sight and get some peace of mind. Don’t let it upset or confuse you. If you get your mind off any notifications, you’ll be able to brainstorm new ways to spend your time.

A．Put your phone away.

B．Fix your attention closely on text responses.

C．Give them a little space so they have a chance to reply.

D．They want to give you a longer response but can’t right now.

E．Ask yourself why being left on “read” frustrates or confuses you.

F．You can keep the situation from bothering you until you hear back.

G．You might feel relieved when you find something that is easy to misread.

9 . Looking back, Geoff Banks of Devon, England can hardly even remember how he first started writing to his American friend, Celesta Byrne.

Geoff and Celesta were given each other’s names and addresses as part of a school pen pal program back in 1938. They’re both now 100 years old, and a lot has changed in the past 84 years: their age changed ;their appearance changed; but one thing has not—they still use the traditional way to contact.

“I honestly struggle to remember something, but I was talking to Celesta recently and I think it was something to do with an American school’s scheme,” Geoff said,” They matched us up with Americans for a pen pal relationship, and somehow I ended up with this letter from an American girl, and we’ve just kept corresponding (通信) ever since.”

Geoff and Celesta’s relationship never turned romantic, but they shared a lot over the decades. They kept up their correspondence through World War II, sending updates about their families, friends, and work. In 2002, they finally got a chance to meet in person during a trip to New York City. Two years later, they met up again, but ever since then they’ve gone back to pen and paper.

Recently, they’ve switched to digital forms of communication to stay in touch. Their children have helped them set up email accounts. “I’ve known this new thing called Zoom, I think, now to chat with her, but I leave all the technology to younger people. Deep down, I refuse to use Zoom. Writing to Celesta has been a source of great satisfaction for me over the years,” said Geoff.

Celesta says their relationship is “like people who live next door”. “You know how they’re doing, you say a few words, and then you both go to work,” she explained. “She’s always been there to write to, even if it was just birthday cards and Christmas cards.” Geoff added.

1. What do Geoff and Celesta insist on doing over the 80 years?

A．Sending cards.	B．Writing to each other.
C．Enjoying telling jokes.	D．Struggling to remember things.

2. What do Geoff Banks’ words in Paragraph 3tell us?

A．When they ran a scheme.	B．Why they liked writing.
C．What they both liked to do.	D．How they got in touch.

3. Which of the following can best describe the relationship between Geoff and Celesta?

A．stable and romantic.	B．harmonious but short.
C．close and lasting.	D．difficult but satisfying.

4. What is the purpose of this text?

A．To introduce a way to make friends.

B．To teach us skills of writing letters.

C．To tell us a tale of lifelong friends.

D．To stress the power of technology.