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 . Smartwatches and fitness trackers (健身追踪器) have gained popularity recently. These tools can record your daily steps, heart rates, etc.
It’s a struggle to overcome the addiction to fitness trackers.
Of course, failing to meet your daily goal can be discouraging. You might focus on your shortcoming rather than your progress. Another problem is that you might find yourself paying too much attention to the step number rather than how your body feels.
Therefore, if you’re spending too much time looking at your smartwatch, limit your daily step count to a comfortable level.
| A．How can you tell whether you’re addicted to your fitness tracker? |
| B．Actually this addiction to step count can be risky, mentally and physically. |
| C．Don’t overuse your smartwatch. |
| D．However, do you find yourself checking your steps and heart rates too often? |
| E．After all, reaching a daily step count can be so appealing. |
| F．Besides, you can find other things to do that don’t involve checking your fitness tracker. |
| G．It doesn’t covey what you’re really feeling. |
3 . The olive (橄榄) tree probably first grew in southern Asia. And then it spread to Mediterranean countries about 6,000 years ago. Since then, it has been important in Mediterranean people’s lives.
The olive tree grows in rocky places and it doesn’t need much water. Its fruit can be made into olive oil. People have used olive oil to cook dishes for centuries. But they haven’t only used it for cooking. Some ancient cultures believed that it was useful as medicine. In modern times, people still use olive oil both for its taste and its health advantages.
Olive oil has also been an important product in the business and culture of Mediterranean countries. In ancient Greece, for example, anyone who cut down an olive tree was heavily punished. Winners at the Olympic Games wore wreaths (花环). They were made of olive branches (树枝). Sometimes winners were also given a prize of olive oil. People from Greece built ships so that they could use olive oil for trade. But it was the Romans who grew the olive tree in the rest of southern Europe and northern Africa.
Today, olive oil is still a very valuable product, and many different kinds of olive oil are sold in countries all over the world.
1. Where did the olive tree probably first grow?| A．In Asia. | B．In Africa. | C．In Europe. | D．In America. |
| A．People started to cook with it recently. | B．It is made from olive branches. |
| C．People used it to build ships in Greece. | D．It can be good for health. |
| A．wore wreaths | B．were heavily punished |
| C．got a prize of olive oil | D．were regarded as heroes |
| A．the method of cooking | B．the trade of Greece |
| C．the history of the Olympic Games | D．the story of olive oil |
4 . Choosing the Right Resolution (决定)
Millions of Americans began 2014 with the same resolution they started 2013 with, a goal of losing weight. However, setting weight loss as a goal is a mistake.
To reach our goal of losing weight — the output, we need to control what we eat — the input (输入). That is, we tend to care about the output but not to control the input. This is a bad way to construct goals. The alternative is to focus your resolution on the input. Instead of resolving to lose weight, try an actionable resolution: “I’ll stop having desert for lunch,” or “I’ll walk every day for 20 minutes.” Creating a goal that focuses on a well-specified input will likely be more effective than concentrating on the outcome.
Recently a new science behind incentives (激励), including in education, has been discussed. For example, researcher Roland Fryer wanted to see what works best in motivating children to do better in school. In some cases, he gave students incentives based on input, like reading certain books, while in others, the incentives were based on output, like results on exams. His main finding was that incentives increased achievement when based on input but had no effect on output. Fryer’s conclusion was that the intensives for inputs might be more effective because do not know how to do better on exam, aside from general rules like “study harder.” Reading certain books, on the other hand, is a well-set task over which they have much more control.
As long as you have direct control over your goal, you have a much higher chance of success. And it’s easier to start again if you fail, because you know exactly what you need to do.
If you want to cut down on your spending, a good goal would be making morning coffee at home instead of going to a cafe, for example. This is a well-specified action-based goal for which you can measure your success easily. Spending less money isn’t a goal because it’s too general. Similarly, if you want to spend more time with your family, don’t stop with this general wish. Think about an actionable habit that you could adopt and stick to, like a family movie night every Wednesday.
In the long run, these new goals could become a habit.
1. The writer thinks that setting weight loss as a goal is a mistake because .| A．it is hard to achieve for most Americans |
| B．it is focused too much on the result |
| C．it is dependent on too many things |
| D．it is based on actionable decisions |
| A．they obeyed all the general rules |
| B．they paid more attention to exams |
| C．they were motivated by their classmates |
| D．they were rewarded for reading some books |
| A．“I’ll give up dessert.” |
| B．“I’ll study harder.” |
| C．“I’ll cut down my expense” |
| D．“I’ll spend more time with my family” |
| A．develop good habits and focus on the outcome |
| B．be optimistic about final goals and stick to them |
| C．pick specific actions that can be turned into good habits |
| D．set ambitious goals that can balance the input and output |
5 . How to keep a good friendship
It’s not easy for everyone to make friends. Once you have friends, it takes contributions and work on both sides to keep the friendship going. In order to keep a good friendship, you will have to take time to develop your friendship.
Work at keeping a two-way street with your friends. If only one person is attempting to be a good friend, the friendship isn’t going to work. It has to be a partnership where both contribute equally.
Try to avoid fighting and arguing. Naturally there will be times when you disagree with each other, but don’t blow things out of proportion(小题大做).
Never date each other’s boyfriend or girlfriend. This is something that can tear a friendship apart. Friends should have enough love and respect for each other not to do things to hurt each other.
Be there for each other through good times and bad times.
| A．Communicate with one another. |
| B．Speak up in order to protect your friend. |
| C．A good friendship is both give and take. |
| D．Instead, try to talk things over and put the situation to rest. |
| E．If you realize that, your friendship will greatly improve. |
| F．This includes not dating anyone your friend has dated. |
| G．Celebrate each other’s success, and help each other get through failures often. |
6 . Do you know that a fast reader can get the ideas better than a slow reader can? Of course, you save time by reading fast, but this is not the main reason for fast reading. The main reason is that you understand better what you are reading when you read fast.
As your eyes move along the lines of print, they make fixation(注视) or pauses stop. It is important that you see several words at a fixation. It is also important that your eyes leave a group of words quickly and move on to another group. The number of letters or words that you see at a fixation is called your eye span. Pay more attention to improving your rate(率) of reading. With practice, you can learn to read faster than you usually read.
The way in which you read always depends on what you are reading and for what purpose. You should know the different ways of reading so that you can use whatever method is necessary. Here are four ways of reading:
(1) Skimming is an important kind of reading. This method can be used when you wish to review something that you have forgotten. You can skim to get the main points.
(2) Rapid(快速的) first reading and then rereading certain parts carefully is important. You may use this type of reading to study a science lesson or a history lesson.
(3) You need to do careful reading and rereading sometimes. This type of reading is necessary for making an intensive(专心) study of your school subjects, solving maths problems or reading directions.
(4) Rapid reading is used when reading stories for enjoyment. You may also do rapid reading when reviewing materials that you already know well.
1. The main reason for reading fast is that you can ________.| A．understand better. | B．save time | C．get the ideas. | D．learn well |
| A．eyesight | B．the number of letters or words you see at a fixation |
| C．a group of words | D．your reading speed |
| A．the method that you like | B．your reading material |
| C．your reading purpose | D．both B and C |
| A．when you read a story for enjoyment |
| B．when you review a lesson that you already know well |
| C．when you read the directions before using a camera which is very expensive |
| D．when you wish to find a lost place that you have read |
7 . For some people charm (吸引力) is a natural gift, but for others being charming is a skill that they need to acquire in order to survive. If you want to charm someone, here are some ways on how to do it.
1.
2.
3. Show respect. By showing respect, you are expressing sincerity to that person. Learn how to politely introduce yourself. You don’t want to create an impression that you are overconfident. A handshake may be the most common way to do it. However, other traditions involve other forms of introductory gestures.
4. Always smile. Smiling is one of the basic ways to charm a person. By smiling a lot, you are creating a positive image for the person you wish to charm. Smiling is also a way of showing that person how glad you are to meet him. Remember to show a sincere and honest smile.
| A．Establish eye contact. |
| B．Avoid pretending to smile. |
| C．Show interest and enthusiasm. |
| D．Learn something about the person you wish to charm. |
| E．Try to find out his tradition and follow it accordingly. |
| F．When the person sees that you have the same interests, you can easily charm him. |
| G．When you are having a conversation, make him feel that he is in control of the conversation. |
8 . You can always see a beautiful sky at the top of the mountain, but you can’t see it before you reach the top.
Whenever the sun dropped and the blue sky came up, my father and I used to climb the mountain near my house. Walking together, my father and I used to have a lot of conversations through which I learned lessons from his experiences. He always stressed to me, “You should have objectives and capacity like the mountain.” This has largely influenced my life. Without such mountaineering opportunities, we wouldn’t have had enough time to spend together because my father was very busy himself. I believe mountaineering is really beneficial. It gave me time to talk with my father and to be in deep contemplation as well as develop my patience.
Once we climbed one of the highest mountains in our country. It was so challenging for me because I was only ten years old. During the first few hours of climbing, I enjoyed the fresh air, the birds’ singing, and the beautiful dances of butterflies; but as time passed, I got a pain in both of my legs. At that moment, I wanted to quit climbing. Actually, I hated it at that moment, but my father said to me, “You can always see a beautiful sky at the top of the mountain, but you can’t see it before you reach the top. You can always enjoy the scenes of many waterfalls, temples and countless peaks and valleys at the top of the mountain. Only there at the top, can you see all of those things, just like in life.”
At that time, I was too young to understand his words, but after that, I got new hope and confidence. Finally, I found myself standing at the top of the mountain. And there, I could see the whole of the sky, which was as clear as crystal.
1. From the passage we know that mountain-climbing was ________ for Father and Son.| A．stressful | B．enjoyable | C．risky | D．challenging |
| A．You can get everything you want at the top of the mountain. |
| B．The sky at the top of the mountain is always as clear as crystal. |
| C．Enjoy the beautiful life. |
| D．Never give up halfway |
| A．hated climbing mountains when he grew up |
| B．could understand his father though young |
| C．became a great success in his life |
| D．preferred crystal to the whole sky |
| A．Conversations between Father and Son. |
| B．Happy childhood and mountaineering. |
| C．The beautiful scenery and crystal. |
| D．Reaching the top of the mountain. |
9 . In China, tea is a traditional drink, which is not only good for your health but can also enrich your mind. The following are some information of teahouses.
Guozijian Yicheng Teahouse
Run by two beautiful girls who play the seven-stringed guqin, this place is elegant and classic. Guests here not only enjoy fragrant tea but also the beautiful music of guqin.
Address: No. 8, Guozijian Avenue, Dongcheng District
Minghui Teahouse
Located in an old temple, this teahouse will provide you a place of serenity. The teahouses here are divided into six private rooms so guests can be fully relaxed in the comfortable environment. The workers are all dressed in traditional clothes of the Qing Dynasty. When enjoying a cup of tea, you may feel your troubles have disappeared.
Address: Inside Dajue Temple, Haidian District
Peng Chacha
Besides fragrant tea, this place is also famous for its entertainment equipment as it offers playing cards, chess and many other games. Guests here can enjoy tea while chatting and playing games. On the first floor, there are many kinds of nuts and snacks to try. And the second floor has many small rooms, which offer more privacy for conversation.
Address: No. 549, Jianhe Road, Changning District
Taihe Teahouse
Showing a lot of special furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, this place attracts many people who appreciate traditional Chinese culture. As for the tea, its selection and quality may be beyond your imagination. Even the water for making tea is transported from the famous Hupao Spring in Hangzhou.
Address: No. 569, Pudong Avenue, Pudong New District
1. If you want to enjoy the music of guqin while drinking tea, you must go to_______.| A．Taihe Teahouse | B．Guozijian Yicheng Teahouse |
| C．Peng Chacha | D．Minghui Teahouse |
| A．calm and peace | B．anxiety and tiredness |
| C．noise and sorrow | D．joy and happiness |
| A．Enjoying tea. | B．Playing games. |
| C．Watching plays. | D．Chatting. |
| A．drinking tea is not good for your health but can enrich your mind |
| B．the workers in Peng Chacha are all dressed in traditional clothes of the Qing Dynasty |
| C．there are many kinds of nuts and snacks to try on the second floor in Peng Chacha |
| D．the water for making tea in Taihe Teahouse is transported from the famous Hupao Spring in Hangzhou |
10 . Darwin was not a bright boy. He was much slower than his younger sister, and he was in many ways a naughty boy. However, at the age of eight he was trying to make out the names of all plants he saw, and he was busy collecting all sorts of things and he even imagined producing coloured roses by watering them with certain coloured liquids. Once he read the book Wonders of the World, he wished to work wonders himself some day.
One summer vacation Darwin became a great collector of beetles (甲虫). At that time he only collected them but made no scientific study of them. One day on tearing off the bark (树皮) he saw some unusual beetles, and seized one in each hand, then he saw a third and new kind, which he didn’t want to lose, so he put the one that he held in his right hand into his mouth. But it sent out some gas, which burned his tongue. He was forced to spit it out. It was lost, so was the third one.
Darwin accepted the offer by the navy (海军) to go on a voyage to explore the Southern Sea in the name of the government on a warship at the age of twenty-two. He was on board for five years. And during the long voyage he collected a great many of facts in Natural Science.
1. In his early years, Darwin was _________ in producing coloured roses.| A．successful | B．helped | C．interested | D．not interested |
| A．to have a wonderful job |
| B．to work with surprising results |
| C．to make something difficult to understand |
| D．to produce beautiful things |
| A．taste the gas it sent out | B．spare his right hand to catch the third one |
| C．save the life of the beetle | D．eat it as he was hungry |
| A．“Wonders of the world” was his famous work. |
| B．He was forced to explore the Southern Sea by the government. |
| C．When he was young he showed interest in natural science. |
| D．He ran much slower than his younger sister. |
