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. |
2 . Here is a great way for you to explore the beautiful countryside and colorful Chinese minority culture of southwest Guizhou during three days. Here is a suggested plan of a journey.
Day 1 Arrive in Zhaoxing Dong Village
Your personal guide will meet you at Congjiang train station and then drive you to Zhaoxing Dong Village. Your guide will walk around with you, explaining the style of the Dong wooden buildings, local customs, and the Dong people’s lifestyle. You can try a popular local snack: oil tea and sticky rice cakes with roast pork. The Dong people’s dancing and singing evening show is very enjoyable, too.
Day 2 Zhaoxing Rice Terraced Fields Hike and Villages
On the way to Huanggang Dong Village in the morning, you will stop to walk around the terraced fields and enjoy great views of the rice terraces and the villages on the mountain slopes. You will see more of the culture of the Dong people. They still live their traditional lives there, which have not been touched by tourism. In the afternoon, you will visit Biasha Miao Village and enjoy their traditional dancing and ceremony with guns.
Day 3 Zhaoxing Departure (离开)
In the morning, your guide will take you to visit a batik (蜡染) workshop. There, you can learn and experience making batik in the Dong style and appreciate the Dong people’s taste in art. You may even make a unique souvenir (纪念品) on your own. After that, your guide will send you to Congjiang Train Station for your departure.
1. When can people enjoy the Dong people’s dancing and singing during the journey?| A．On the first night. | B．On the third night. |
| C．On the first morning. | D．On the second morning. |
| A．Try oil tea. | B．Make batik. |
| C．Go around the terraced fields. | D．Visit Biasha Miao Village. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Health. | C．Travel. | D．Business. |
3 . Have you heard of depression (抑郁)? It’s a mental illness. People who have it may feel sad all the time or do something to hurt themselves. Now, doctors can put a “happy switch” in their heads to help them.
Doctors at Shanghai Ruijing hospital helped a patient Wu Xiaotian. Wu, 31, has had depression since he was 15 years old. The doctor did an operation on Wu. They put two long lines of electrodes (电极) inside his brain. The 16 electrodes are used to let out electricity on different parts of the brain, which can change the patient’s feelings. Wu can control the “happy switch” through an app on his phone. When feeling down, Wu turns on the switch and the electrodes start working. He is soon cheered up. “It feels like there is power rising from the inside of my body,” Wu said.
The hospital has tested the switch on 26 patients since 2020. Up to now, it has helped cut down a patient’s sad feelings by 60%, said the hospital.
But is the switch safe enough? Although patients like Wu feel great using it, the operation is actually a dangerous one. And doctors are still working to improve it. Also, doctors have to make sure that patients don’t rely on it. Healthy people shouldn’t use it, or it may be like a kind of drug for them.
1. What really makes the “happy switch” work?| A．The small “box”. | B．Electrodes. | C．Electricity. | D．An App. |
| A．Why people have bad feelings. | B．How the “happy switch” works. |
| C．How doctors do operations on brains. | D．Who will have the switch on their brains. |
| A．The switch still needs improving. | B．The switch is a kind of drug. |
| C．All patients who used it became healthy. | D．It can make all sadness go away. |
| A．The new operation is safe for humans. |
| B．Some people may use the switch to sell drugs. |
| C．Different kinds of people should try the switch. |
| D．People should also care about the bad points of the switch. |
After lunch we went out in the playground and ran around. All the boys had a competition to see who could spin around (快速旋转) in circles the longest. Michael Robinson won. Then we all sat down on the grass. That's when Ryan came up with a wonderful idea: we should buy the school. He said we could turn it into a video-game arcade (游乐场) and teach kids how to play video games.
I got all excited, because I like it so much. I started emptying out my pockets. The other boys emptied their pockets too. Then we added up all our money. We had one dollar and thirty-two cents.
“I don’t think it’s enough to buy a school,” said Ryan. We all got very worried.
“Well, how much do we need to buy a school?” I asked.
“I don't know,” said Ryan. “We’d better ask the headmaster, Mr. Klutz.”
We all rushed hopefully inside and asked Mr. Klutz how much it would cost to buy the school. Mr. Klutz asked why. I told him we wanted to turn it into a video-game arcade. “I can’t sell you the school, but if you kids read a million pages in books, you can turn the school into a video-game arcade for one night,” Mr. Klutz said. “Would it be okay if some of the other classes helped us out?” I asked. “Certainly,” Mr. Klutz said. “The more, the better.” We all jumped and shouted and couldn’t wait to start.
1. 根据文本内容从方框中选择恰当的词并用其正确形式填入文本图示中，每词限用一次，有两词为多余选项。wonderful excited worry hope suggest empty cheer play allow page curious cost | ||
| After lunch, we | | I got very |
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| We started to |
| We felt |
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| Ryan |
| We rushed inside with |
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| Mr. Klutz |
| We all |
根据文本内容回答下列问题。
2. What did all the other boys think of Ryan’s idea and why?
3. Why did Mr. Klutz ask the kids to read a million pages in books?
4. What do you think the boys will do next?
5 . How to keep your house clean
Pick up items before cleaningBefore you start deep cleaning, do some basic tidying up. Remember the saying, “
You just need an all-purpose cleaner, a disinfectant (消毒剂) and a window cleaner.
Try to set a timetable for daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning. Daily cleaning might include picking things up, cleaning kitchen and doing those dishes. Weekly cleaning might include cleaning the bathroom, washing sheets and towels. Monthly cleaning might include cleaning both the inside and outside of all your glass windows.
| A．Do cleaning regularly |
| B．That will take you more efforts |
| C．Remember to go from top to bottom |
| D．The disinfectant can be harmful to your skin |
| E．A place for everything and everything in its place |
| F．Create a list of important housework that needs to be done daily |
| G．That all-purpose cleaner will work on most places in your home |
6 . Have you ever seen people swimming dressed like a mermaid (美人鱼)? You may consider it as a show, a game or just for fun. But mermaid diving is a physical activity in which people compete with each other. Now, it is getting more popular. From September 19 to 20, mermaid divers from around the world got together in Sanya to compete in the 2023 China Mermaid Open Championship Atlantis Station and International Mermaid Contest.
Among them, Xiang Lei is a 29-year-old diver and performer in Sanya. Like everyone else, he found it hard to swim in a beautiful way when he first tried on the mermaid tail. “Mermaid diving needs good-looking moves,” he said. It was quite difficult for him to make the moves with his legs tied together. “Although it is not comfortable, you have to keep your face relaxed at the same time,” he said.
Mermaid diving is usually done without glasses and air canisters (气瓶). Divers need strong endurance (耐力), which is the most important. In this way, they can stay in water long enough. However, people can train themselves through running and swimming. Anyone in good health can learn to be a mermaid.
Xiang believes that mermaid diving shows unlimited beauty. “Many people think it’s a girls’ activity. But what truly moved me the first time I watched a mermaid diving contest was that there were mermen!” he said. “The beauty of mermaid diving means a lot. It can also be happy and fit for men.”
1. What is mermaid diving?| A．A show. | B．A meeting. | C．A sport. | D．A performance. |
| A．He couldn’t swim at all. | B．His face was not good-looking. |
| C．Mermaid diving hurt his eyes and nose. | D．It was hard to swim well with his legs as a tail. |
| A．Having strong endurance. | B．Being young. |
| C．Owning glasses and air canisters. | D．Living near the sea. |
| A．Beautiful mermaid divers. | B．Girls who like diving. |
| C．The first mermaid divers in the world. | D．Men who are mermaid divers. |
7 . I published my newest novel, Haven Lake, in May, and I have another book ready for publication in October. I have experienced more success as a writer than I ever imagined. So why is writing every new book harder than the one before? And how do I keep going despite my fears?
When I published my first book, I had become used to failure. I wrote many unpublished novels for over 20 years before selling the first. Now I'm here. My books have all sold out their advance (预订). The reviews have been largely positive. At the same time, I am still troubled by doubt.
I'm not alone in that. At a lecture I attended recently by Wally Lamb, he talked about how difficult it was to write the next novel after his novel, She's Come Undone, was brought into spotlight. Elizabeth Gilbert received over nine million views for her TED talk, where she admitted that she was afraid to write after the success of her book, Eat, Pray, Love. I don't have as many readers to disappoint as Lamb and Gilbert have, of course, but I worry about disappointing them all the same.
So I am afraid every day I write. I fear writing a book that isn’t interesting to readers. The only thing that keeps me going is this: I write because writing is the thing I love to do. My passion to tell stories makes me create characters. That‘s when I know the writing is true and good, whether readers find the book and love it or not.
1. What feeling does the author mainly express in Paragraph 1?| A．Thankfulness. | B．Interest. | C．Stress. | D．Impatience. |
| A．They have been as successful as imagined. | B．They were difficult to sell out their advance. |
| C．Most of them have received negative reviews. | D．Many of them were not able to be published. |
| A．Creating popular characters. | B．Disappointing the readers. |
| C．Finding proper publishers. | D．Failing to get success. |
| A．Writing forward. | B．Writing for publication. |
| C．What makes a good writer. | D．What to think when writing. |
8 . How to Avoid an Internet Addiction
It may seem like everyone surfs the web these days. But if you can’t have interest in other aspects of your life because of the Internet, you may be on your way to an Internet addiction. You might fear you’re the only one who has experienced that feeling.
More and more people in the world are becoming addicted to the Internet, and you are not the only one with this problem. So do not be embarrassed. Just be brave to admit that you are on your way to an Internet addiction. And then find others with the same problem and help each other beat it.
Set aside limited time for computer use.
Make sure not to turn it on too many times a week. If you have a laptop, make sure to put it somewhere that you can remember but not somewhere that you see every day. Try keeping the lid closed when you are not using it.
Call people instead of sending instant messages or texts.
If you are free on weekends, call friends and ask them to go outside to do something you enjoy, like playing a sport. This will take your mind off the computer.
Use an alarm clock or timer (计时器).
Before using your computer, decide on a time limit such as 30 minutes. Set the clock or timer and make sure that you get away from the computer when the time is up. Alternatively create a shutdown timer on your desktop.
| A．Being addicted to it is quite normal. |
| B．Admit you are at risk of an addiction. |
| C．The truth, though, is that it’s quite common to be an addict. |
| D．When the computer is not looking at you, you are less likely to use it. |
| E．This can be programmed to shut down your computer after the set time. |
| F．If you have a problem on weekdays, phone your friends or ask for help in person. |
| G．This will prevent you from using the Internet so often or going on to another page. |
9 . J. K. Rowling frequently shows there is magic every day. Her Harry Potter series has helped people through times of stress and depression and she is always there to deliver wise words of encouragement.
She is one celebrity who is very active on Twitter. So when a single dad named Matt Burke sent her a message thanking her for the series, she noticed. Her series had helped strengthen his relationship with his 9yearold daughter Bailey.
He included a link to his article titled Being a Broke Parent. He explained how he hadn’t found a level of financial stability that allowed him to pay bills on time and take his daughter on more activities and events. The family also doesn’t have the Internet or TV, which means there’s no “digital babysitter” and he has to rely on his own creative ways to bond with his daughter. Since he received the series, the main thing that has occupied them these days is reading books together.
Burke admits that he thought he was “too cool” for the books when they first came out and he was in his twenties, but he’s loving reading them now. “We switch off chapter by chapter reading them out loud，“Burke explains.” This not only allows her to get more used to reading aloud in front of someone, but it gets me directly involved in something she loves, and it gives me the chance to be very dramatic when I read my chapters and bring myself into the characters in the book, which has proven to be a ton of fun.”
After hearing Burke’s story, Rowling said how honored she was when Harry Potter was a part of his family’s life and offered Burke more books. Besides, people are also offering to send Burke more books as gifts. For Burke, this experience, far more than gifts, will be what he treasures.
1. Why did Burke thank J. K. Rowling according to the text?| A．She guided him how to write a good story. |
| B．She encouraged him when he was in trouble. |
| C．Her books helped him through times of confusion. |
| D．Her books helped him improve his bond with his daughter. |
| A．He has found it interesting to read the series. | B．He was too old to understand the series better. |
| C．He has chosen a better way of reading the series. | D．He hopes to play a role in the drama in the future. |
| A．Useless. | B．Normal. | C．Valuable. | D．Boring. |
| A．J. K. Rowling chooses to help improve kids’ health. |
| B．J. K. Rowling gives a magical gift to a single father. |
| C．J. K. Rowling has a deep influence on others’ growth. |
| D．Burke comes to know J. K. Rowling through her series. |
10 . How to Fall Off a Skateboard Safely
Skateboarding is very popular exercise. Learning how to fall safely in the course of skateboarding will keep you safer and relatively pain-free. In skateboarding, falling is a big part. It’s unavoidable.
Roll to land on your shoulder or back instead. When you fall, roll to land on your shoulder or back instead, tucking (收拢) in your elbows. The roll takes the energy out of the fall. If you can, roll with the fall — land on your shoulder and let the force of the fall play itself out with the roll.
Learn to run out of tricks. This is where you try something thrilling and the board goes wrong and you catch yourself running.
Wear kneepads on ramps (斜坡). If you are skateboarding on ramps, wearing kneepads can keep you safer from injuries. Teach yourself to always fall to your knees and slide down the ramp.
| A．It takes some getting used to. |
| B．It will hurt a little, but not so bad. |
| C．You can actually practice this and it is fun too. |
| D．Learn never to catch yourself with your hands. |
| E．Employ wrist guards to avoid injury to your wrists. |
| F．You can avoid serious injury with following practical tips. |
| G．So you should keep away from this type of exercise as much as possible. |
