1 . Which of your children is your favorite? Your response is probably “none of them.” What kind of parent would choose one child as his or her favorite? The truth might be surprising to you.

Years of research supports what many have suspected-most parents have a favorite child. Studies have explored reasons from birth order to gender (性别) and shared interests. Yet even with years of research that supports this idea, most parents tend to deny the fact that they have a favorite child. Even if there is no obvious parental favorite among siblings (兄弟姐妹), studies have shown that children often feel preferential treatment of their sibling by their parents. Favoritism often results in family conflicts and feelings of sadness among family members whether parents’ favoritism is real or only felt. Thus both the kids and their parents tend to be plagued by the favoritism.

The question isn’t whether or not you have a favorite child, since it’s pretty clear that many parents do. Typically, favoritism has little to do with loving one child more. It is more about how your personality resonates (产生共鸣) with one child’s personality more than the others’. Essentially, it’s a question of “like”. Still, why is it so hard for us to admit that one of our children might be our favorite? Some parents might worry about harming their children emotionally or psychologically. Some parents confuse liking one child’s personality with the love they show to each child. However, when recognizing that you might hold preferential feelings towards one child you are taking an important step towards creating a better relationship with all of your children.

Instead of denying the fact, you can reflect on how you relate to each of your children. Examining your feelings towards each of your children can provide a greater insight into your own personality and how you function in relationships -- and in fact, how you consider your children might reflect more about your thoughts and feelings of yourself than them. Increased awareness about your inner world can help you build and keep healthier relationships with your children.

1. How do most parents respond to the result of the research?

A．They’re quite concerned about it.	B．They’re unwilling to admit it.
C．They’re sensitive to it.	D．They’re regretful about it.

2. What does the underlined word “plagued” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Encouraged.

B．Troubled.

C．Separated.

D．Confused.

3. According to the passage, why do parents have a favorite child?

A．Because the child is worth more love.

B．Because the child has a good personality.

C．Because the child has more in common with them.

D．Because the child knows how to please them

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Is it OK to have a favorite child?

B．What kind of kids do parents prefer?

C．How can parents get along well with children?

D．Why do parents treat their kids differently?

2 . Act Your Shoe Size, Not Your Age

As adults, it seems that we are constantly pursuing happiness, often with mixed results. Yet children appear to have it down to an art and for the most part they don’t need self-help books or methods.     1     Children’s way is usually more effective than grown-ups’. Perhaps it’s time to learn a few lessons from them.

What does a child do when he’s sad? He cries. When he’s angry? He shouts. Scared? Probably a bit of both.     2     So they don’t influence our behavior. But too often we take this process too far and end up suppressing ( 压 抑 ) emotions, especially negative ones. What we need to do is find a way to acknowledge and express what we feel appropriately, and then again, like children—move on.

    3     If we adults could be obsessed with a bit of silliness and giggling like them, we would reduce the stress hormones (荷尔蒙), improve blood flow to our hearts and even have a greater chance of fighting off infection. All of them would, of course, have a positive effect on our happiness levels.

A couple of Christmases ago, my daughter, who was nine years old at the time, got a Superman T-shirt for Christmas. It cost less than a five but she was overjoyed, and couldn’t stop talking about it. However, too often we adults believe that a new job, bigger house or better car will be the magic silver bullet that will allow us to finally be content.     4    

Having said all above, it’s necessary to add that we shouldn’t try too hard to be happy.     5     Overthinking it will make it more difficult for us to gain happiness. We need to look to the example of our children, to whom happiness is not a goal but a natural byproduct of the way they live.

A．Scientists tell us this can have the opposite effect.

B．Have you ever noticed how much children laugh?

C．As we grow up, we learn to control these emotions.

D．Instead, they look after their well-being unconsciously.

E．Actually, being grateful for small things is a better way.

F．Indeed happiness consists in the possession of a lot of money.

G．People laughing without cause can find the true meaning of happiness.

3 . Always late? Here are some tips to break the habit

We’ve all run late before, whether it was because of a missed alarm, failing to find the right outfit, or getting stuck in traffic. It can turn into a routine for some, and if you’re constantly finding yourself on the later side of a deadline, consider these tips to break the habit.

Stop snoozing (小睡)

It’s so easy to keep on pressing that snooze button in the morning. We tell ourselves “    1     ,” but most of the time that isn’t the case, and we end up late and stressed. Just put your alarm across the room to force yourself out of bed, or go to bed earlier.

    2    

A busy lifestyle means a busy to-do list. When a random task comes into your mind, like replying to an email or unloading the dishwasher, say no to the urge. Chances are that it will still be there later.

Take transition activities into account

If you take a bus to school every morning, you probably have to walk to the bus station and then wait for a few minutes.     3    . These activities can regularly slip our minds when assessing time, but they add up!

Reframe your thinking about being early

Earliness is not a waste of time.     4    . Giving yourself those minutes of calm allows you to re-center your mind. Plus, you may even have time to leisurely complete some tasks like replying to emails, reading a book or making a to-do list.

Think and prepare ahead

Consider which activities from your morning routine take up most of your time and tackle them the night before.     5    . Whatever frees up some important time for you the next day is okay.

A．In fact, it’s quite the opposite

B．I’ll just do everything else faster

C．Besides, there may be a traffic jam

D．Resist doing just “one more thing”

E．Realize how long things actually take

F．You could lay your clothes out, for example

G．Just allow yourself extra time to complete it

4 . Shark fishing is ________ and involves hard physical work, but it’s one of the few ways to ________ their families.

A．funny; promote

B．fancy; amuse

C．worthy; serve

D．risky; support

5 . Darwin thought maybe animals ________ as they adapted to their changing environment. He also suspected that finches ________ from a common ancestor.

A．evolved; were evolved	B．had evolved; had been evolved
C．evolved; had evolved	D．had evolved; had evolved

6 . — Why are so many northern Chinese visiting Southeast Asia countries recently?
— They are trying to get a temporary ________ from the cold weather in winter.

A．outline

B．property

C．contest

D．shelter

7 . A team of researchers from the Universities of Washington and Toronto have developed an app, FeverPhone, suitable for diagnosing (诊断) a patient’s fever.

“As an undergraduate, I was doing research in a lab where we showed that you could use the temperature sensor in a smartphone to measure air temperature,” says lead author Joseph Breda. “When I came to the UW, my adviser and I wondered how we could apply a similar technique for health. We decided to measure fever in an accessible way. The primary concern with temperature isn’t that it’s a difficult signal to measure; it’s just that people don’t have thermometers (体温计).”

“In a wave of flu, for instance, people running to the emergency room can take a week sometimes. So if people were to share fever results with public health agencies through the app, this earlier sign could help us take action sooner,” adds Mastafa Springston, co-author of the study.

The trick is to use the temperature sensor already present in a smartphone. A patient holds the smartphone’s display against their forehead for 90 seconds, and the rise in temperature is compared against the surrounding temperature to determine their core body temperature — using a machine learning model trained on a number of test cases to calibrate the results.

It may sound like a crazy approach, but in testing, the FeverPhone app was able to estimate the core body temperature of 37 patients in a real emergency department with an average error of 0.23℃ — around half the 0.5℃ error range required for clinical use.

“We started with smartphones since they’re easy to get data from,” Breda says. “I am already working on seeing if we can get a similar signal with wearables like smartwatches. What’s nice, because watches are much smaller, is their temperature will change more quickly. So you could imagine having a user put a Fitbit to their forehead and measure in 10 seconds whether they have a fever or not.”

1. What inspired Breda to develop FeverPhone?

A．His adviser’s suggestion.	B．His previous research success.
C．His past experience in the UW.	D．His concerns about air temperature.

2. What does the underlined word “calibrate” in paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Access.

B．Repeat.

C．Doubt.

D．Adjust.

3. What did the testing show about FeverPhone?

A．It was effective in measuring body temperature.	B．It was hardly suitable in a real emergency.
C．It was more useful than a real thermometer.	D．It was no more than a crazy solution.

4. Which is the most suitable title for the text?

A．FeverPhone can save you from hospital visits

B．Your smartphone can become a thermometer

C．Wearables provide a quicker temperature reading

D．The temperature sensor is present in a thermometer

8 . Replacement is_________ if the products are not up to the standard.

A．criticized

B．revealed

C．released

D．guaranteed

9 . He renounced his claim to the_________.

A．threat

B．cruelty

C．property

D．apology

10 . After climbing to the top of Mount Tai, Allan_________ all his energy and decided to have a rest.

A．confirmed

B．confused

C．consumed

D．conducted