Now there is an increasing number of inactive people, namely the “mouse potato”. A mouse potato is someone who sits in front of his or her computer all day and eats junk food instead of regular meals. Why are we becoming potatoes and what can we do to avoid it?
One reason behind it is our modern way of life. We don’t have as much time to prepare and eat food as we used to.
If we want to be healthy, we should make good choices about what we eat. It is not necessary to become a vegetarian, but we must make sure that our diet is varied and balanced. A healthy diet should give us the calories we need but not contain too much fat and sugar. The number of calories our body needs depends on what our body type is, how much we weigh and how active we are.
Teenagers need about 2,500 calories a day.
Junk food has a lot of calories but few nutrients, vitamins and minerals, Some food does have nutrients, for example pizza, but because it contains too many calories, it is still called junk food. A healthy diet should include a variety of food, most of which should be rich in nutrients.
If we make the right choices about what we eat, we will be healthier and have more energy to enjoy the good things in life.
| A．Choosing what to eat is no longer as easy as it once was. |
| B．That does not mean that we are never allowed to eat junk food. |
| C．A balanced diet combined with exercise is the recipe for a healthy life. |
| D．Girls usually need a bit less and people who play sports may need more. |
| E．A large breakfast, one containing about 700 calories, will help lose weight. |
| F．Fast food restaurants are everywhere and supermarket shelves are filled with ready-made pre-prepared dishes. |
| Dear headmaster, As president of Sullivan Junior High School’s student council, I have been chosen to write to you on behalf of the eighth grade class. We would like to propose an eighth grade promotion trip to Sea World in San Diego, California. We chose Sea World for several reasons. In science class, we have been studying oceans and the marine life. Going to Sea World would provide us with the opportunity to visit these creatures and to better understand their habitats. This could be a once in a lifetime experience for those of us who have never been outside Arizona. We will have lots of fun and learn at the same time. The close location of San Diego was also a factor in planning this trip. San Diego can be reached by bus in about six hours. If the buses leave Sullivan after school on Friday afternoon, we should arrive in California in time to have a late dinner and get settled into our hotel rooms before midnight. |
You may be asking yourself. “How will this trip be financed?” We are suggesting that the school host an “Oceans of Fun” night for family, friends, and community members for a small fee. The activities would be organized and supervised by eighth grade students. Some of our ideas for the night include a Surfer’s Snack Shop with homemade treats for sale, Pirate Pete’s Treasure hunt, and a short production of “A Whale of a Tale.” This would the best chance to show our ocean animal reports. Many of the eighth grade students have gone to school together since kindergarten. We believe that this trip would be a fantastic way to celebrate friendships. This trip may also be one of the last times we see our friends because students from Sullivan Junior High School attend four different high schools. We invite you to our next student council meeting on December 7, 2013, to discuss your thoughts and work out any concerns you still may have. Thank you for taking the time to consider our request for an eighth-grade promotion trip. Sincerely, Julie Martino |
1. Who has written this letter? What is she?
2. What idea has the author mainly expressed in Paragraph 4?
3. Why has the author written this letter?
4. Why does the author mention that many students have gone to school together since kindergarten in Paragraph 5?
3 . To Their Own Beat
When Los Lobos perform in concert today, audiences in the thousands cheer them on. It’s hard to believe that the group started out as just another garage band playing popular rock-and-roll tunes from the radio, In 1974 four high school friends from East Los Angeles formed Los Lobos ( Spanish for “The Wolves” ) .
Like many garage bands, these friends might have simply gone their separate ways after high school. But the members of Los Lobos wanted to keep making music together. They decided to change their musical style and began focusing on traditional Mexican music that showed their tradition.
“We pulled out all those records we used to beg our parents not to play around our friends and found an incredible wealth of music,” says Perez. “These guys (on the records) were doing amazing things with their instruments, and we started trying to pick up on it. ”
The group put aside its electric guitars for the acoustic ones used in traditional Mexican music. For several years Los Lobos played at weddings or parties—any event that needed live music. They also landed a regular engagement (合同) at a Mexican restaurant.
By 1978 Los Lobos had made enough money to record their first album (唱片) , and they sold copies of it wherever they performed. They also returned to their electric guitars to get closer to a Tex-Mex sound, which is a mixture of traditional Mexican music, rock and roll, country music, and the blues. This new, louder sound produced one unexpected result: the group was fired from the restaurant.
But it didn’t matter that Los Lobos had lost their one steady job, because they had found a position that no other group took up. They had combined electric and acoustic instruments and blended (混合) musical styles in their own way. Steve Berlin joined the band in 1983 as the saxophone and keyboard player, adding to the band’s unusual sound.
“We didn’t so much want to recycle the music we’d grown up with as much as find the common links between it and all the other styles and sounds that were all around us,” Perez explains. “It became a mission ... bringing music together to bring people together. ”
In the 1980s Los Lobos gained the attention of several record companies. They were hired to perform on the soundtrack to the film La Bamba, which earned them a Golden Eagle Award. They have since earned many awards, including two Grammys and an MTV Video Music Award. Their many records have been very successful, and they have toured the world.
Even after 30 years of making music together, Los Lobos continues to experiment with their sound. They never moved far away from their Mexican roots, however. They still include traditional music in their live performances, sharing their history—and their culture—with their fans.
1. Los Lobos recorded their first album after they_______.| A．lost their job at a restaurant |
| B．began playing acoustic guitars |
| C．won an award for a film soundtrack |
| D．added saxophone and keyboards to their sound |
| A．Paragraph 1. | B．Paragraph 4. | C．Paragraph 6. | D．Paragraph 8. |
| A．The way they recorded their first album. |
| B．Their blending of different types of music. |
| C．Their decision to play traditional Mexican music. |
| D．The fact that they performed and toured the world. |
| A．Music is best when played with traditional instruments. |
| B．Music must be recorded to be passed down. |
| C．Music should remain the same over time. |
| D．Music can show many cultures. |
4 . In comparison to many closely-related species, the human child takes a long time to grow up and requires a high degree of parental investment(亲情投资). Human children need more time to reach maturity(成熟)than other closely-related species.
A new study finds that one reason is the large amount of energy that the brain requires as it grows.
Christopher Kuzawa, first author of the study, explained: “Our findings suggest that our bodies can’t afford to grow faster during the toddler(幼童)and childhood years because a huge quantity of resources is required to fuel developing the human brain. As humans we have so much to learn, and that learning requires a complex and energy-hungry brain.”
Data from the study shows that at the moment when children’s bodies are growing the least-on average, at four years old-their brains are using the highest percentage of glucose(葡萄糖). That means that 40% of the child’s total energy expenditure is being used by its brain.
The findings support the theory that children take so long to mature because of the energy-intensive task of growing a massively over-sized brain in comparison to the brain-to-body weight ratio of other species.
Kuzawa continued: “After a certain age it becomes difficult to guess a toddler or young child’s age by their size. Instead you have to listen to their speech and watch their behavior. Our study suggests that this is no accident.”
Body growth nearly stops at the ages when brain development is happening at a lightning pace, because the brain is using up the available resources.”
“The mid-childhood peak in brain costs has to do with the fact that there are a huge number of synapses(神经元突触), connections in the brain, at this age, when we learn so many of the things we need to know to be successful humans.”
1. Why does it take people so long to grow up?| A．They need to store energy to grow later. |
| B．They need time to adapt to their environment. |
| C．Most of the energy is used for brain development. |
| D．They need a high degree of parental investment. |
| A．At about four years old. | B．At about two years old. |
| C．At about one year old. | D．At about five years old. |
| A．Why toddlers and children need plenty of resources. |
| B．The reason why it takes human infants a long time to grow up. |
| C．The reason why human infants are similar to other animals. |
| D．Why the brains of people need a large amount of energy. |
| A．age | B．their size |
| C．listen to their speech | D．guess their age by listening and watching |
5 . Dog walkers should show consideration, not just for the dog in their home or car, but also for their environment. Doing so will help keep the local area clean and pleasant, especially for people out walking their dog or taking children to the park.
A considerate dog walker will take steps to prevent their pets from producing waste wherever they want to. Dog waste is particularly unpleasant and should be avoided at all costs. Not only is it nasty to walk in a dirty area, but it is also a serious health risk. Dog fouling ( 污垢) is a criminal offence in the UK and carries a maximum fined ￡1,000 if the case goes to court (法庭). Dog walkers should always be prepared to pick up after their dog by carrying dog waste bags or even plastic carrier bags that can be used. Do not run the risk of allowing your dog to make a public area dirty by always having a steady supply of bags with you during dog walks. Carrying a single bag during a walk is not always enough, as some dogs will need to go twice or perhaps even three times during walks.
Some dog owners are not willing to admit that their pets is a challenge or troublesome. Rather than dislike the suggestions that dogs should be kept under control, you should see it as your duty to protect other dogs, children and anyone else from harm. Do know troublesome behaviors such as aggression (攻击) towards other dogs or children and make every effort to keep your dog under control. Avoid areas where you know other dogs or children will be. They can do this by showing respect for other people’s property, picking up after their dog and by keeping challenging dogs under control.
1. The writer advises dog walkers to show consideration mainly for having_____.| A．a clean car | B．a comfortable home |
| C．a good environment | D．a very pleasant park |
| A．Highly unpleasant or annoying. | B．Very boring and tiring. |
| C．Specially disappointing | D．Surprising or astonishing. |
| A．fined more than ￡1,000 | B．ordered to pick it up at once |
| C．ordered to give one one waste bag | D．considered to break the law. |
| A．To keep their dogs under control. | B．To try to make their dogs keep clean. |
| C．To stop their dogs from being harmed. | D．To respect other people’s property. |
6 . Very far away from the city lived a poor farmer and his wife. In front of their house was a small dirt road. Very few cars drove on this road because it was so far from the city. On the dirt road, there was a big hole filled with water. The hole was very deep, but drivers on the road didn’t know just how deep. Drivers always drove into the hole, but they never drove out.
One day, a man in a new car was driving down the road. He saw the hole with the water, but he didn’t think it was very deep. He drove into the hole, but he couldn’t drive out. The man saw the farmer on his tractor working in the field, and he signaled to the farmer. The farmer drove over to the man in the new car.
“Is there a problem?” asked the farmer.
“Yes,” said the man. “My car is stuck in this hole. Can you help me?”
“Maybe,” said the farmer. “But I’m very busy.”
“If you help me, I’ll pay you,” said the man.
“OK,” said the farmer. The farmer pulled the car out of the hole with his tractor, and the man paid him a lot of money. The man looked at the farmer and said, “You must make a lot of money pulling cars out of this hole day and night.”
“Actually, no,” said the farmer.
“Why not?” asked the man.
“The hole is very deep, and a lot of people get stuck and ask for help. But I don’t make money day and night because I don’t pull cars out at night.”
“At night I’m busy filling the hole with water,” answered the farmer.
1. Why did very few cars drive on the small dirt road?| A．Because the road was dirty. | B．Because it was so far from the city. |
| C．Because very few people knew the way. | D．Because the drivers knew there was a hole. |
| A．he just learnt to drive a car | B．it was the first time that he passed there |
| C．he knew how deep the hole was | D．he knew the farmer in the field |
| A．Drivers didn’t see there was a hole on the road. |
| B．The man drove into the hole and never drove out. |
| C．The farmer was busy filling the hole with water at night. |
| D．The driver made a lot of money pulling cars out of the hole day and night. |
| A．The road | B．The city | C．The car | D．The man |
7 . In the annals of human history, few subjects have generated as much excitement, debate, and guess as artificial intelligence (AI). This revolutionary technology, which enables machines to perform tasks that once required human intelligence, has the potential to transform every part of our society, from healthcare and finance to transportation and entertainment.
At its heart, AI is all about data. Massive amounts of data are fed into algorithms that learn from this data, allowing them to make predictions, recognize patterns, and even make decisions. This “machine learning” is the driving force behind many of the AI applications we see today, from virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa to more advanced systems like IBM’s Watson, which can analyze vast amounts of information to assist doctors in diagnosing diseases.
The transformative potential of AI is undeniable. In the medical field, for instance, AI can assist in early detection of diseases, predict patient outcomes, and even suggest treatment options. In finance, algorithms can predict stock market trends, and provide personalized financial advice. In transportation, self-driving cars equipped with AI systems promise to reduce accidents, ease traffic jams, and transform urban landscapes.
However, with great potential comes great responsibility. The rise of AI has caused debates about is ethical implications (道德含义). The machines are only as good as the data they are fed, and there’s a growing concern about biases (偏见) being built into AI systems. For instance, facial recognition technologies, used in everything from unlocking phones to police monitoring cameras, have come under check for misidentifying individuals based on race or gender.
Moreover, the widespread adoption of AI could lead to significant job displacement. While new roles and industries might emerge as a result of AI, it is not sure that these will pay off the jobs lost. This could increase income inequalities and causes difficulties to social systems.
Another major concern is the “black box” nature of AI. Many AI systems operate in ways that even their creators don’t fully understand. This can be problematic, especially in critical applications like healthcare or criminal justice where understanding the logic behind a decision is important.
Then there’s the potential for AI to be weaponized. In the hands of evil actors, AI could be used to spread misinformation, control public opinion, or even engage in internet warfare. The global community must come together to set standards and regulations to prevent such misuse.
On the brighter side, many experts believe that by setting the right frameworks and investing in education and retraining, we can use the power of AI for the greater good. By fostering (促进) a culture of continuous learning and staying abreast (并排的，并肩的) of technological advancements, society can benefit from the promise of AI while avoiding its potential dangers.
In conclusion, artificial intelligence stands as one of the most profound inventions of our time. While it offers vast opportunities, it also poses significant challenges that we, as a society, must welcome. As we stand at this technological crossroads, our choices will determine whether AI serves as a benefit or a harm for humanity.
1. Which of the following best describes the method by which machines acquire the capability to perform tasks that traditionally required human intelligence?| A．By programming predefined rules. |
| B．Through user interactions every day. |
| C．By ingesting and processing vast amounts of data. |
| D．Via regular software updates from developers. |
| A．By citing numerous statistical data. |
| B．By presenting both the positive potential and the challenges of AI. |
| C．Through personal experiences. |
| D．By focusing on the negative effects of AI. |
| A．The Rise of Virtual Assistants: Siri and Alexa |
| B．Understanding the Mechanisms Behind AI Algorithms |
| C．Artificial Intelligence: Charting the Course for Tomorrow’s Tech |
| D．Balancing the Potential and challenges of AI in Modern Society |
| A．AI has already replaced most human jobs and is the leading cause of unemployment. |
| B．The global community has taken measures to prevent AI misuse. |
| C．The operation of many AI systems is easily understood by their creators. |
| D．The solving to the dilemma brought by AI needs collective efforts of our society. |
8 . Festivals are a part of our culture. We have grown up around them and have embraced them as a part of our lives.
Festivals are celebrated with people.
Festivals also mean that the entire family can be together and celebrate something they believe in. Kids and parents find time to help each other to decorate their house, prepare delicacies, make gifts, etc.
Festivals also mean gift-giving and sharing. The exchange of gifts teaches children to share joys during festivals
| A．Festivals have much more to offer to the people. |
| B．Festivals are a great way to understand one’s culture. |
| C．This allows children to form a stronger bond with their family. |
| D．Children are particularly the ones who enjoy festivals more than adults. |
| E．On these days people from all walks of life come together to celebrate life. |
| F．Children share sweets and gifts with relatives and friends to spread the joy of celebrations. |
| G．Celebrations always involve people coming together and helping each other to have a good time. |
9 . Frozen in time, a 125-million-year-old mammal attacking a dinosaur. A 39-million-year-old whale, the heaviest animal that ever lived. The oldest known jellyfish, from 505 million years ago. Paleontology (古生物学) produces newsworthy discoveries.
Fossils (化石), moreover, provide direct evidence for the long history of life, allowing paleontologists to test hypotheses (假设) about evolution with data only they provide. They allow investigation of present and past life on Earth. Flows of biological diversity, appearances of new life forms and the extinctions of long existing ones, would go undiscovered without these efforts. But the headlines over exciting new fossils greatly underestimate the true importance of paleontology. Its real significance lies in how such discoveries brighten the grand history of life on Earth. From its beginnings, more than three billion years ago, to the present day, fossils record how life adapted or disappeared in the face of major environmental challenges.
Paleontologists provide us with a unique vantage on modern climate change. They play an essential role in interpreting ancient environments, in reconstructing ancient oceans, continents and climates. Fossils provide key limitation on the climate models that are essential for predicting future climate change. And the fossil record gives important insights into how life will respond to predicted future climate conditions, because these have occurred before in Earth’s history.
In addition, paleontology has provided a fundamental contribution to human thought: the reality of species extinction and thus of a world that has dramatically changed over time. In documenting the history of life, paleontologists recognized that many extinction episodes could occur suddenly, such as the event 66 million years ago that ended the dinosaurs. The search for the causes of past mass extinctions started pioneering studies from across the scientific spectrum (科学界), focusing on potential future threats to humanity.
Not only do paleontologists know what happens to life when things go bad, they also know how long it takes for ecosystems and biodiversity to recover from these disasters, which can take far longer than modern humans have existed.
Paleontologists thus provide a unique perspective on the nature and future long-term ecological impact of the current human-produced biodiversity crisis, the so-called Sixth Extinction, and therefore the importance of protecting modern biodiversity. The very concept of a Sixth Extinction would not exist without paleontologists documenting the first five.
Paleontologists know that understanding life’s past is critical to anticipating and adapting to life’s and humanity’s future. Paleontology is important because it brings its unique and critical perspective to current challenges in climate change, biodiversity loss and the environment. Paleontologists can predict the future because they know the past.
1. The first two paragraphs are written to _______.| A．describe an event | B．raise a question |
| C．present an opinion | D．make a comparison |
| A．A positive effect. | B．A valuable suggestion. |
| C．A quick decision. | D．A comprehensive view. |
| A．Ecological recovery takes shorter than imagined. |
| B．Past lessons can help to predict the future threats. |
| C．Paleontologists can handle the biodiversity crisis. |
| D．Fossil studies focus on the causes of mass extinctions. |
| A．Paleontology: A Pioneering Study |
| B．Paleontology: A History Recorder |
| C．Paleontology Tells More About Nature Than Humans |
| D．Paleontology Is Far More Than New Fossil Discoveries |
Group-Chat Culture Is Out of Control
For better or worse, we might be in the Age of the Group Chat. In a recent survey, most people said they felt stressed out by group messages, which can feel like a part-time job.
Connection is wonderful. Grexts, short for group texts, have the feature of imitating the casual back-and-forth of a dialogue, and the result can be more dynamic and fun than a two-person thread. Having a chat going also means you have a space to share your updates throughout the day, a reminder that you’re part of something.
Some researchers call this “ambient(周围的) virtual presence”: Even when you’re alone, you’re not alone. One researcher compares this phenomenon to echolocation(回声定位), the process that some animals, such as bats and dolphins, use to locate objects: They produce a continuous sound and use the resulting echo to sense their surroundings. Humans might use technologies such as group chats in a similar way—as a call-and-response, taking in information about their social networks and locating themselves within those webs.
But taking in too many signals can be overwhelming. Professor Bayer argued that group chats can create a “waterfall type of effect”, where messages keep flooding in and adding up. Eventually, you’re underwater. Another researcher suggested that different chat members all bring their own personalities, communication styles, and expectations for group norms. Without a standard etiquette (礼仪), people have varied opinions about what degree of responsiveness is required—which can cause real tension.
Grext anxiety is hard to resolve because it isn’t just about the group-chat or even mobile technology in general; it’s about the tension between being our own person and being responsible to others. Ultimately, most of us do want connection, even if it involves some duties.
1. What is the feature of Grexts?2. How might humans use group chats like echolocation?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
▶Without a standard etiquette, people have different ideas about what messages should be answered.
4. Please describe how another mobile technology affects your relationship with others. (In about 40 words)
