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. |
Learning Chinese calligraphy
As someone who paints, draws, and loves all
After taking the lesson, I now understand the difficulty of calligraphy and that it will take efforts and commitment
3 . I felt anxious when going into my room from school. Every day, my room was something different. The hours away at school were long enough to cause a terrible change to my peaceful harbor. Today was no exception.
As I entered the house, Mom greeted me with a smile. It seemed like nothing was wrong. But I was still doubtful about it. Yesterday, around the mouth of my favorite figurine (小雕像) was a chocolate cookie. Obviously, Callie had enjoyed the cookie so much that she wanted to share it with my angel.
I looked around for Callie, who had just turned three. I didn’t see her, but I heard the TV blaring (发出声音) in the other room. As I examined the family room, I noticed it was pretty messy. There were toys all over the floor, but none of them seemed to be mine. Maybe she hadn't entered today. I was so hopeful that I breathed a sigh of relief.
I pushed my room door open and saw damage! There were a few headless dolls, some broken blocks, and a few juice-stained stuffed animals. “She did it again!” I screamed in anger. My mother ran up to me, embarrassed. She promised to put a Callie-proof lock on my door tonight. I felt better, because I knew that soon my room would truly belong to me. However, I was still angry with my little sister so I went into the family room to tell her how she had made life unpleasant for me. “Callie... ” I started. “Hooray!” she shouted.
She leaped off the sofa and hugged my knees with such happiness that I could only look down at her and smile. After all, she was only three and learning about the world in her own way. And she always chose to explore and destroy my room because she loved me, her big sister.
1. The purpose of the first paragraph is to introduce ______.| A．the unique family tradition | B．the background of the story |
| C．the challenges of school life | D．the troubles in high school |
| A．Naughty and lovely. | B．Smart and potential. |
| C．Horrible and awkward. | D．Shallow and energetic. |
| A．She was friendly to her sister. | B．She was angry with her sister. |
| C．She refused to accept her sister’s apology. | D．She thought her sister had done nothing wrong. |
| A．Her sister’s honesty. | B．The promise to her sister. |
| C．The love between sisters. | D．Her sister’s younger age. |
4 . When you think of a map, is north on the top or the bottom? Usually, maps are designed with north on top, though when we think about it, there is no logical reason for this bias (偏见). After all, there is no up or down in space. So what is wrong with south, east or west being on the top of the map? The answer is: nothing at all. In fact, north-up maps only became the norm in the last few hundred years.
Ancient Egyptian maps had south at the top because the Nile River flows downhill from mountains in the south to the Mediterranean Sea in the north. Mecca was to the south of most early Muslim civilizations, and south-up maps were designed so that viewers would look up to see Mecca. Medieval Christian maps had east at the top, as they believed the Garden of Eden was in the east. The only early maps that had north at the top were those of early China because the emperor lived in the north.
North seems to have settled at the top of maps during the 16th century, largely thanks to a Flemish mapmaker, Mercator. Mercator was a great admirer of an early Greek mapmaker, who, for reasons now unknown, put north at the top of maps, so Mercator did, too. When Mercator’s world map became the standard map to navigate the oceans, north up became standard as well.
What is the implication of this north-view of the world? Psychologically, people tend to think of up as good and down as bad. Just think of words and phrases like “upmarket”, “upbeat” and “moving up in the world”, and how they contrast with their opposites. Because north is so consistently put at the top of maps, people now think of north as good, too.
Several attempts have been made in recent years by introducing south-up maps to the market. These maps not only give us a chance to see the world differently, but also give everyone the chance to see themselves on top.
1. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?| A．North-up maps were rare in ancient times. |
| B．Deciding up or down in space is ridiculous. |
| C．Mecca maps were based on a legend. |
| D．The south-up map first appeared in ancient Egypt. |
| A．An illogical reason. | B．The spread of Mercator’s maps. |
| C．People’s preference for up. | D．An age-old tradition in Greece. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Supportive. | C．Uncaring. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．To criticize a phenomenon. | B．To compare various facts. |
| C．To correct a cultural bias. | D．To argue for a viewpoint. |
Jenny hated reading aloud in class. She was sure everyone got really bored listening to her. Once, when Jenny was reading out her holiday diary, Lee was even looking at his watch, a silver and blue one which seemed just magical（有魔力的）. It was time to go home.”Remember to work on your class speeches for homework,” Miss Walker called as everyone started talking and packing their school bags.
Jenny watched Lee walk ahead of her as they left school. He seemed so clever, and he had a certain sort of shining confidence. He was just one of those people who were good at everything. Jenny sighed（叹气）. As she turned the corner, she saw Lee's watch lying right in the middle of the path.
Jenny knew she should just pick it up and return it to him, but she didn't want to run after him. Jenny bent down quickly, picked up the watch and ran home. On arriving home, Jenny put it on almost without thinking. She was surprised it fitted so well. She walked to the mirror and started practicing her speech. Words just flooded out of her. “I'm going to talk about swimming. I have been lucky. I've won lots, of competitions. But when I'm in a race, I'm not really thinking about winning. I'm just loving the feeling of being in the water...” Jenny laughed with excitement. She walked across the room. She suddenly seemed to have a certain sort of confidence. Turning back to the mirror, Jenny saw a flash of light from the watch in the glass. The flashes of silver seemed almost magical. So maybe Lee's watch really have something magic about it.
The next day, as the lesson began, Miss Walker asked who was going to be brave and go first. Nobody moved. Jenny slowly raised her arm. Before Miss Walker could say anything, there was a shout from behind. “She’s stolen my watch!” Lee said angrily, “It went missing at school yesterday.”
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Everybody was fixing their eyes on Jenny, waiting for an explanation.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Miss Walker smiled and asked the class to listen to Jenny's speech first.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. 分析争吵原因；
2. 给出解决争吵的合理建议。
注意：
1. 词数80左右。
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3. 开头已经给出，不计入字数。
Dear Tom,
I’m sorry to hear that you have argued with your mother and are feeling very sad now.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
