1 . How to Avoid Internet Addiction
Internet addiction is a common problem that can be just as damaging as any other form of addiction. Maybe you are concerned that you are too dependent on the Internet and feel very upset.
Reach out to friends and family to build more in-person connections If you desire social interaction, call up a friend and make plans to do something fun.
Use relaxation techniques to reduce stress and anxiety. Yoga, meditation, muscle relaxation, and deep breathing are all great ways to relax when you’re feeling stressed.
Watch for signs of Internet addiction and seek help if you notice them. If you are concerned about becoming addicted to the Internet, staying aware of the signs of Internet addiction may help you know when to seek help. Be on the lookout for any signs that you may have become addicted.
A.Act right away to limit your Internet usage. |
B.Replace Internet use with a-healthy activity. |
C.Arrange a family dinner or a game night also helps. |
D.Employ your extra time to do something worthwhile. |
E.Following are several strategies to limit your Internet usage. |
F.You are likely to think that the Internet addiction will ruin your life. |
G.You should not reach for your smart phone or laptop when you are feeling pressured. |
2 . Many researchers refer to coral reefs (珊瑚礁) as the rainforests of the sea because they are not only very beautiful but also cuucial to the health of our oceans. Sadly, these delicate ecosystems face they is from pollution and overfishing. In an inspiring cooperatton, Mote Marine Laboratory (MML) and the Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge (CWVC) have joined hands to restore (恢复) the coral reefs off the coast of Kev West, Florida.
On a sunny day in Key West, a group of 31 wounded and injured veteratis, together with six Mote staff members, set out on a misirn to restore the Higgs Head coral reef. Equipped with specialized waterproof prosthulies and a shared determination, the group managed to plant a record-breaking 1,040 corals on the reef.
The planting mission not only belps to replace corals lost to disease, hurricanes and rising water temperatures, but symbolizes the adaptation and strength of both wounded veterans and the coral reefs themselves. Dr. Michael P. Crosby, President of MML stated, “The inspirational CWVC motto ‘I am wounded, not conquered (征服)’ is also applicable to coral reefs in Key West.”
Florida’s populations of coral reefs were once filled with life. The living coral cover, which represents the proportion of the reef covered in living coral, has plummeted from over 30% four decades ago to a mere 1-5% today, however. MML’s research and restoration programs offer hope for the recovery of Florida’s coral reefs and other coral ecosystems worldwide.
As wounded veterans and scientists work side by side to restore coral reefs, the impact of their collective efforts extends far beyond the ocean floor. The restoration missions not only help to heal the wounds of war but also provide a renewed sense of purpose for those who have sacrificed so much. Andrew Lourake, CWVC Vice President confirms, “The challenge, friendship and knowing they are making a difference are the highlight of the year for almost all our participants.”
By combining cutting-edge science, community engagement, and the spirit of resilience (复原), MML and CWVC are paving the way for a brighter future for our coral reefs. They inspire us all to protect and preserve these invaluable ecosystems, ensuring that future generations can wonder at their beauty and biodiversity.
1. Why does the author mention coral reefs in paragraph 1?A.To lead in the topic of the text. |
B.To compare them with rainforests. |
C.To highlight the threats facing them. |
D.To focus on their significance in ocean’s health. |
A.The motivational effect of the motto. |
B.The mufupte significance of this mission. |
C.The background for carrying out the mission. |
D.The cooperation of veterans and Mote staff members. |
A.Spread widely. | B.Improved greatly. |
C.Disappeared completely. | D.Decreased sharply. |
A.Unclear. | B.Critical. | C.Appreciative. | D.Doubtful. |
3 . “I’ll be there in a few minutes. I’m playing a game with a friend, a guy named Snoopy,” my 15-year-old son shouted from his room. “Oh, what is Snoopy’s real name?” I asked. “I have no idea,” he said. “Where is he from?” I continued. He responded, “I think somewhere in Canada. Oh, wait, it doesn’t even matter because Snoopy just left the game and he has been replaced with a robot.” “Your friend is replaced by a robot?” “It doesn’t matter, Dad. It happens all the time! The game continues.” My son doesn’t mind playing with a person or a robot, which is typical of gamers these days. I wonder whether the face-to-face experience of friendship that I grew up with will be lost by our ohildren.
Aristotle, the great Greek thinker and educator. has pointed out that shallow friendship is easily formed but also easily quit because such bonds are weak and uncerturn. Deep friendship, by contrast, is when you care for your friend for his sake, not for any benefit you can get. This is selfless friendship. You can have only a couple of these friends because they require lots of time and effort. You must make sacrifices (牺牲) for each other.
Presence in friendship requires “being with” and “doing for”. Perhaps the most typical feature of deep friendship is “doing for”, as my friend has my back in trouble or brings me soup when I’m sick. Only strong bonds have the power to motivate real sacrifices. But it is unclear why online “friends” would bother to do the hard work of friendship. When I asked my students whether they had people in their lives who would bring them soup when they were sick, they laughed at my Stone Age question and said they’d just order soup online.
Digital life fills and absorbs waking life time so that people do not join in example cases of friendship, like sports, collective arts, free range childhoods, etc. In this way, digital life may produce false friendships.
1. How does the author lead in the topic of the text?A.By presenting a dialogue. | B.By bringing in a robot friend. |
C.By telling an interesting joke. | D.By introducing an online game. |
A.False friendships are sure to arise in digital life. |
B.Real care and commitment strengthen real friendship. |
C.Strong connections can be formed easily in Internet age. |
D.Teenagers today can turn to online friends in tough times. |
A.Youth Friendship in Digital Background |
B.Deep Friendship and Stliless Friendship C |
C.Face-to-face Experience of Friendship |
D.Benefits from Online Friendship |
4 . John Dewey
Birthplace: Burlington, Vermont, United States
A faithful advocate of progressive education and liberalism, the American philosopher was the founder of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. John Dewey’s famous writings included The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology and Human Nature and Conduct. According to him, passion for knowledge and intellectual curiosity were central to a teacher.
Savitribai Phule
Birthplace: Naigaon, India
Savitribai Phule was a revolutionary social reformer who devoted her life to educating girls and bringing about gender (性别) equality in the face of resistance from the conservative Indian society. Phule, who was illiterate (文盲的) until her marriage, went on to become a teacher, an achievement accomplished first by an Indian woman. With her husband, she founded schools for girls in Maharashtra.
Maria Montessori
Birthplace: Chiaravalle, Italy
Maria Montessori was an Italian educator and physician best known for developing the Montessori method of education, a student-friendly method, which is being used in several public and private schools around the world. In 2020, she was nominated (提名) by Time magazine as one of their Top 100 Women of the Year.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Birthplace: Geneva, Switzerland
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, composer, and writer. His political philosophy influenced aspects of the French Revolution. He also helped develop modern economic, political, and educational thought. His writing inspired a complete change in French drama and poetry. His works also influenced such writers around the world as Tolstoy.
1. Who set up the University of Chieage Laboratory Schools?A.Savitribai Phule. | B.John Dewey. |
C.Maria Montessori. | D.Jean-Jacques Rousseau. |
A.He founded schools for girls in Maharashtra. |
B.He emphasized teachers’ passion and curiosity. |
C.He developed a student-friendly teaching method. |
D.He had a great impact on French drama and poetry. |
A.They were all influential in education. |
B.They all fought for gender equality in schools. |
C.They were all nominated as Top 100 Teachers of the Year. |
D.They all helped develop political and educational thought. |
5 . Seven years ago, my father was in the hospital, and I was informed that he was in the end-of-life stage. He had wanted to be at home during his final moments, so I arranged for him to return home. He spent only one more night there, but he wasn’t alone. A Marie Curie nurse was by our side.
Facing the emotions that come with knowing a loved one is at the end of their life can be irresistible. Having a nurse with us made it easier to cope with these feelings. That’s why I made the decision to join Marie Curie.
Working for the charity, I find myself on duty during most Christmases, a typical time for healthcare assistants like us. Our role is to support families and the individuals who are dying. We do whatever they need us to do. For instance, one family asked us to play Christmas carols throughout the night. We accommodate such requests. What we do during Christmas is what we do throughout the year — we aim to please families.
You might assume that being with families during their last Christmas would be a sad experience. But for the families in my experience, it’s not. I remember one particular family—three sisters — and the fourth was in the end-of-life stage. When I arrived, she was unconscious, and I knew she might not make it through the night. But sitting with the sisters, talking about their childhood, past Christmases and sharing photos, it was a special time. They mentioned that their sister had asked for peaches and cream earlier that day, and they made sure she got it. She went to sleep, and we lost her that night. The sisters expected it, they thanked me, and it was a comforting experience. I’ll always remember the peaches and cream!
I’ve lost count of the number of stories like this. I feel honored to be there with them. We can’t change the unavoidable, but we can make a difference.
1. What inspired the author to work for Marie Curie?A.Her dream to be a nurse. | B.Her love for charity work. |
C.Her experience of her father’s death. | D.Her professional medical background. |
A.Satisfy. | B.Ignore. | C.Express. | D.Submit. |
A.They tried every means to save their sister. |
B.They were desperate about their sister’s death. |
C.They didn’t expect that their sister died so soon. |
D.They stayed positive during their sister’s final moment. |
A.Ambitious. | B.Brave. | C.Confident. | D.Devoted. |
6 . The organic foods have gained a lot of popularity as they are being considered as healthier and tastier. A fair number of people advocate a large-scale shift to organic farming from conventional agriculture. But this might not seem well-founded.
Since the mid-19th century, conventional industrial agriculture has become incredibly efficient on a simple land to food basis. Conventional farming gets more and more crop per square foot of land, which can mean less wilderness needs to be transformed to farmland.
To make farming more efficient, conventional agriculture uses a significant amount of synthetic fertilizer each year, and all that nitrogen (氮) enables much faster plant growth. However, the cost is paid in vast polluted dead zones at the mouths of many of the world’s rivers, because much of the nitrogen ends up running off the soil and into the oceans. This also makes conventional farming one of the major threats to the environment.
To weaken the environmental impact of agriculture, improve soil quality as well as produce healthier foods, some farmers have turned to organic farming. Environmentalists have also welcomed organic food as better for the planet than the food produced by agricultural corporations. Organic practices — refusing artificial fertilizers and chemical pesticides—are considered far more sustainable. Sales of organic food rose 7.7% in 2010, up to $26.7 billion — and people are making those purchases for their moral senses as much as their tongues.
Yet a new meta-analysis in Nature does the math and comes to a hard conclusion: organic farming produces 25% fewer crops on average than conventional agriculture. This is definitely a downside of organic farming, especially when global population is still growing rapidly.
In the Nature analysis, scientists performed an analysis of 66 studies comparing conventional and organic methods across 34 different crop species, from fruits to grains. They found that organic farming delivered a lower output for every crop type, though the difference varied widely. For crops like fruit trees, organic trailed (落后于) conventional agriculture by just 5%. Yet for major grain crops and vegetables — all of which provide the world’s main calories-conventional agriculture outperformed organics by more than 25%.
What that means is that while organic farming may be more sustainable than conventional agriculture, there are trade-offs (此消彼长) with each. So an ideal global agriculture system may borrow the best from both systems rather than upholding merely organic or conventional practices.
1. What do we know about conventional farming?A.It produces more crops with fewer fertilizers. |
B.It achieves efficiency at a huge cost to the environment. |
C.If offers a long-term solution to global demand for food. |
D.It performs far better for each crop type than organic farming. |
A.Employing organic farming to plant rice. | B.Adopting organic practices to grow potato. |
C.Using conventional methods to plant cabbage. | D.Applying conventional farming to grow apple. |
A.To compare two types of farming. | B.To criticize conventional agriculture. |
C.To discuss the development of farming. | D.To argue for a realistic agriculture system. |
7 . Just a year ago, Sarah fulfilled the dream of owning her own bakery, which was very popular in the local and provided a well-off life for Sarah and her family. But last February, all fell apart, after a car accident left Sarah disabled. “I could barely talk or move,” she sobbed.
Darkness and depression drowned Sarah, help seemed out of reach; she couldn’t afford a psychologist. Even worse, she had no health insurance.
So her doctor suggested a mental-health app which offers free chatbot service. It is described as a “friendly” and “mental” tool, asking the patient some questions, like “How are you feeling?” or “What’s bothering you?”After the patient responds to the questions, the computer analyzes the words and phrases in the answers, and then delivers supportive messages which have been prewritten by trained human psychologists.
That is how Sarah found herself on a new frontier of technology and mental health. Advances in artificial intelligence are increasingly being looked to as a way to help people who suffer from mild depression or anxiety.
There are, of course, still plenty of doubts about whether machines can read or respond to the human emotions accurately. “Artificial intelligence is still not at a point where they can copy the complexities of human emotions, let alone imitate mental care,” a psychology professor in a mental health center said.
However, supporters of chatbot treatment say the approach may also be the only realistic and affordable way. It meets a huge worldwide need for more mental healthcare at a time when there are simply not enough professionals to help all the people who could benefit.
1. What can we know about Sarah from the first two paragraphs?A.Her family fell apart in an accident. | B.She was nearly drowned in an accident. |
C.She suffered a series of misfortunes then. | D.Her dream came true despite an accident. |
A.It is unable to respond to human emotions. | B.It may not react to human emotions correctly. |
C.It copies the complexities of human emotions. | D.It imitates mental care from human psychologists. |
A.To introduce a free mental-care chatbot. | B.To encourage readers to learn from Sarah. |
C.To suggest a new way to do mental research. | D.To call for more attention on mental healthcare. |
8 . In the age of the selfie, taking photos of yourself has become a daily activity. Half of all teenagers regularly post selfies. But what happens when the desire for the best selfie starts damaging nature—or even ourselves?
Social media tourism is dramatically changing who visits natural places like Figure Eight Pools in Sydney’s Royal National Park. Many people are now drawn to these places for the best selfie background. These new tourists, motivated to seek out photos and selfies, sometimes ignore warning signs or bans on drones (无人机). Thus, many people have been severely injured or killed by taking risky selfies and photos in dangerous locations. Additionally, drone use can cause environmental harm if drones catch fire or batteries leak.
The search for the perfect selfie can also harm animals, protected plants and even First Nations rock art. In some cases, selfies have become a long-term threat to ecosystems.
But for land managers, perhaps the biggest challenge is satisfying increased interest while keeping people safe. They are working to assist this new demand by reshaping nature to make better scenery—and keep visitors safer. At Moran Falls in Queensland’s Lamington National Park, a famous view had been blocked by plants, driving some visitors to jump the fence at the viewing platform and stand directly on top of a very tall cliff (悬崖). As a solution, land managers have the trees trimmed (修剪) and then use the fallen branches to hide the track made by selfie-seekers.
These land managers are wondering why traditional measures like signs and warnings often prove ineffective? The answer may lie in social recognition For many, the risk seems worth the reward if it means gaining admiration on social media. Nature-based content on popular social media platforms like TikTok often performs very well, giving other would-be influencers the motive to seek out new locations. This problem has been created by the combination of social media and human psychology. To solve it, we might look at how these two factors interact. Responsible selfie and tourism campaigns on popular social media platforms could be a start.
1. Why are many people attracted to visit places like Figure Eight Pools?A.To appreciate the natural beauty. | B.To seek adventure and excitement. |
C.To search for the ideal selfie setting. | D.To test the use of drones for photography. |
A.By listing figures. | B.By giving examples. |
C.By analyzing causes. | D.By making comparisons. |
A.Risks are often ignored by people | B.Rules are rarely followed by people. |
C.Exploring new attractions is preferred. | D.Social media attention is valued more. |
A.Launching tourism campaigns | B.Promoting proper behaviors online |
C.Banning selfies in natural landscape. | D.Restricting access to social media platforms. |
9 . An essential writing skill is the ability to use plain language effectively to convey ideas clearly. Plain language involves using direct and accessible language with a straightforward structure. To write in plain language, it is important to follow certain guidelines.
Plain language avoids using vocabulary that requires specialized knowledge. If you work in IT, you can comfortably use the word “latency” with your colleagues.
Plain language is more than word choices, though. It also involves structuring writing to prioritize clarity.
It is important to note that not every guideline for plain writing will apply to every piece of writing. The ultimate goal is to create contents that are accessible and easily understood. By using plain language, you demonstrate respect for your readers’ time and intelligence.
A.That is because they know what it means. |
B.This can be achieved in the following ways. |
C.Thus, it develops positive relationships with them. |
D.In many cases, this means writing in the second person point of view. |
E.One key aspect of plain writing is ensuring sentences are as short as possible. |
F.This can be especially important for those who speak English as a second language. |
G.Plain language reduces the risk of misunderstandings caused by confusing language choices. |
10 . Here are my top choices for the world’s best eco-hotels for holidays. A visit to any of these hotels promises a memorable and fulfilling vacation.
Bambu Indah (Bali)This small hotel is the exact picture of what it calls “old-school Bali”—a restful and laid-back experience in harmony with nature. Spend your days at Bambu Indah in natural river swimming pools fed by waterfalls, open-air bamboo structures on stilts (高跷) above the rice fields.
Why Book:
● There are only oil lamps in the hotel in an effort to reduce light pollution.
● Mosquito nets around beds catch cool air as part of a cooling solution that avoids traditional air conditioning and lessens the carbon footprint.
● Banana leaves are used as plates and papaya stems as straws as part of the hotel’s no-plastic policy.
The Stanford Inn By The Sea (California)The Stanford Inn paints a picture of wellness that extends beyond diet and exercise. Private classes and scissions in nutrition and healthy living are provided and a large greenhouse houses a saltwater swimming pool for year-round use.
Why Book:
● The inn hosts students in its Environmental Leadership Field school, providing these students with 4- to 6-week explorations into sustainability.
● The property has been practicing organic farming for more than 30 years.
Soneva Kiri (Thailand)Just 90 minutes from Bangkok, within a rainforest, guests can enjoy the unspoiled beauty and beaches of Soneye Kiri. Night diving and dining in a mushroom cave are just a couple of the unforgettable activities on offer.
Why Book:
● A 2% environmental tax on all stays goes toward the Soneva Foundation, which invests in various projects.
● Soneva funds the organization Care for Children, which has opened a foster care (寄养) training and resource center in Thailand.
● Partnerships with NGOs and other organizations help protect local marine life.
1. What is special about Bambu Indah?A.It used to be a school. | B.It prefers non-electrical devices. |
C.It charges environmental tax. | D.It has a saltwater swimming pool. |
A.Jack, who loves adventures. | B.Mary, who is active in charity. |
C.Tom, who majors in engineering. | D.Kate, who favors organic produce. |
A.They are friendly to the environment. |
B.They are located deep in the rainforest. |
C.They support local community projects. |
D.They offer luxurious holiday experiences. |