2 . The landscape of parents staying at home is changing, challenging old ideas about who takes care of the children. While moms usually did this in the past, a recent study by Pew Research Center shows more dads are staying at home. Over the last 30 years, the number of dads staying at home has gone up from 11% in 1989 to 18% in 2021.

Economics is the most significant part of this change. As women do better in school — with 53.1% of adults with a bachelor’s degree being women and get better jobs, families are thinking about different ways to share responsibilities. Women are getting better paying jobs, like in medicine and law, making some families decide that having the dad at home and the mom as the main earner is the best choice. Chris Braaten from California knew his wife, with a higher degree, could earn more, so he happily stayed at home.

The wish for one parent to stay at home often matches what both partners want. Many dads, not happy with their jobs, find more joy in taking care of their children. Spending meaningful time with family and feeling satisfied often matter more than staying in the workforce.

The high cost of childcare is also making parents think differently. Childcare can be very expensive, ranging from $4,810 to over $15,000 per child each year. This leads some families to consider new ways, like having the dad stay home, to handle these costs.

Cannon Ingalls and Jeff Carlson show this too. Ingalls, moving from Missouri to Minneapolis, chose his wife’s better-paying job over his own. Carlson in Colorado found that most of his salary was going to childcare, so he decided to stay at home to avoid money stress.

As the idea of parents staying at home continues to change, economic factors, along with new thoughts about gender (性别) roles and a wish for more meaningful family time, are making more dads choose to stay at home.

1. How is Paragraph 1 mainly developed?

A．By sharing stories of dads staying at home.

B．By presenting data over the past three decades.

C．By comparing the income of different families.

D．By stressing the benefits of women’s education.

2. What mainly contributes to more stay-at-home dads?

A．Social expectations in today’s society.

B．Fathers being dissatisfied with their jobs.

C．Changing preferences in family structures.

D．Changes in women’s education and economic roles.

3. Why are Chris Braaten and Cannon Ingalls mentioned in the text?

A．To serve as typical examples.

B．To show their close relationship.

C．To show their different personalities.

D．To provide some background information.

4. What is a suitable title for the text?

A．The Decline of Traditional Gender Roles

B．The Growing Trend of Stay-at-Home Dads

C．The Challenges Faced by Working Mothers

D．The Effects of Traditional Parenting Methods

3 . Madden is an 8-year-old boy. He was playing with his toys in front of the window. Suddenly, he saw water flowing into the ______. He shouted to his mom Sandy. “Look, Mom, here comes the ______!” Sandy saw the house lifted up off its ______ and it began to be carried away by the water.

Sandy thought quickly and found a big basin (盆) to put Madden in. They ______ out of the house. The flood was so strong that the basin ______. Sandy managed to put Madden in again. But the flood suddenly took Sandy away. She lost ______ of his son. All she could hear was Madden crying, “Mommy!”

After being ______ from his son, Sandy tried all her best to find safety and she was ______.

But as a mother, she couldn’t imagine ______ his son. She cried for help, wishing someone could lend a hand. Then came a rescue team and the ______ started. One hour, two hours, three hours… But there was still no ______ of Madden. Worse still, it was growing ______. Sandy began to ______.

Then came good news. Madden was found on the top of a small house, safe and ______. He said he believed his mother was waiting for him. Sandy said she couldn’t ______ the rescuers’ efforts enough.

1.

A．basin

B．river

C．yard

D．well

2.

A．rain

B．flood

C．stream

D．sun

3.

A．base

B．wall

C．roof

D．exit

4.

A．marched

B．jogged

C．struggled

D．rolled

5.

A．cracked

B．disappeared

C．shook

D．overturned

6.

A．charge

B．sense

C．sight

D．breath

7.

A．separated

B．saved

C．transported

D．delivered

8.

A．unique

B．professional

C．responsible

D．lucky

9.

A．helping

B．losing

C．calming

D．trapping

10.

A．research

B．legend

C．search

D．hike

11.

A．sign

B．symbol

C．alarm

D．whistle

12.

A．warm

B．dark

C．normal

D．strange

13.

A．watch out

B．check out

C．take control

D．break down

14.

A．powerful

B．sound

C．active

D．wise

15.

A．appreciate

B．accept

C．supply

D．compare

4 . It was a regular school day, and the air was filled with the usual sounds of chatter and laughter as students prepared for their lessons. Little did I know that this day would soon take a ________ turn, making it an unforgettable day.

As the bell rang, signaling the beginning of our English class, we entered the classroom, completely ________ of the coming danger. The teacher began the lesson, and we were really ________ our literature lesson when, out of nowhere, a loud fire alarm ________ everything.

Panic spread as we understood how ________ it was. Smoke filled the hallway, and a sharp burning smell hung in the air. The neat classroom turned into a mess as everyone ________ to the door, trying to get away from the coming danger.

In all the chaos, I noticed my ________ Sarah looking obviously scared by her desk. I quickly ________ she needed help. Without hesitation, I rushed over, took her shaky hand, and told everyone to stay calm. We went through the thickening smoke together, and each ________ felt like a really long time.

As we reached the door, it felt hotter, and we knew we had to hurry. With hearts ________, we hurried into the playground where teachers and students were making sure everyone stayed sate.

Outside, we took a moment to catch our breath, ________ by the loud sounds of approaching fire trucks. Seeing parts of the building on fire, a sense of ________ washed over us, knowing that we had made it out unharmed.

After everything happened, I couldn’t help but reflect on the events of that day. ________ it taught me it’s important to stay calm when things get ________ and how helping others during hard times matters. It was a day when ordinary students became unlikely heroes, bound together by the shared ________ to overcome the unexpected challenges.

1.

A．classic

B．dramatic

C．powerful

D．graceful

2.

A．independent

B．tolerant

C．fluent

D．unaware

3.

A．into

B．onto

C．behind

D．against

4.

A．destroyed

B．interrupted

C．buried

D．sheltered

5.

A．formal

B．unique

C．severe

D．awkward

6.

A．hurried

B．delivered

C．jogged

D．hesitated

7.

A．sister

B．mother

C．classmate

D．teammate

8.

A．protested

B．reminded

C．stressed

D．realized

9.

A．flight

B．step

C．wave

D．foot

10.

A．racing

B．debating

C．suffering

D．begging

11.

A．greeted

B．conducted

C．surrounded

D．attracted

12.

A．stress

B．sadness

C．confidence

D．relief

13.

A．Breaking through

B．Going through

C．Making out

D．Working out

14.

A．tough

B．plain

C．various

D．specific

15.

A．contribution

B．ambition

C．determination

D．addiction

6 . Conflict (冲突) between teenagers and parents happens for a lot of reasons. Sometimes conflict happens between teenagers and parents just because conflict happens between human beings anyway. Humans have different needs, different feelings, different opinions about what they want, and the relationship with people can be really difficult. However, teenagers can cause further conflict because of the hormonal (生理的) changes that are happening and the stage of life that they're in.

Teenagers and parents have different understanding about rules and at times they find it difficult to look into the future. So parents and teenagers will often experience conflict about many things, do chores, homework, whether teenagers speak respectfully or not and about what they're allowed to do.

Before we think about rule boundaries (界线) for teenagers, we need to make sure that we have a really good relationship base. There's no point saying “From now on, you have to listen to me”: if you don't have a positive relationship with your teenager. We need to go back and make sure there is some degree of shared respect, and some degree of positive communication and enjoyment being together. you do that first, it means that rule boundaries are a lot easier to set up.

Often we're dealing with conflict on the fly. This is not the right time to be dealing with it. We really want parents and teenagers to sit down and think about the kinds of things that may happen in the house before the problems come. The more detailed your rule boundaries are for teenagers, the more likely it is that they are going to follow them. So this means we don't have rule boundaries like “Have the bathroom cleaned”. It needs to be “The floors mopped, nothing on the countertop and the mirrors cleaned by ten o'clock every Saturday”: Rule boundaries need to be written down, and set out ahead of time so the teenager knows exactly what's expected.

1. What's important to set up a rule boundary easily for teenagers?

A．Being strict from the start.	B．Developing a good relationship with them first.
C．Saying"No" to their requirements.	D．Avoiding close talks with them.

2. Which of the following rules are teenagers most likely to follow?

A．Doing some housework.	B．Having a good reading habit.
C．Cleaning the bathroom.	D．Finishing your homework by five.

3. What do the underlined words "on the fly" in the last paragraph probably mean?

A．In a hurry.

B．On the plane.

C．By oneself.

D．Another day.

4. What's the best title for the text?

A．Growing Pains	B．Teenage Problems
C．Parent-Child Conflict and Solutions	D．Knowing the Conflict

7 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Who might the speakers be?

A．Police officers.

B．Doctors.

C．Passengers.

2. What did the old lady say?

A．She didn’t see anything.

B．The traffic lights broke down.

C．The red car was driving very fast.

3. What were the kids doing when the accident happened?

A．Crossing the street.

B．Playing in their front yard.

C．Standing on the street corner.

4. What caused the accident according to Mr. Bates?

A．The red car.

B．The dog.

C．The blue car.

8 . 目前，中国很多城市出现了共享单车（bicycle-sharing），受到人们的欢迎，同时也出现了一些问题。请以“Bicycle Sharing”为题写一篇英语短文，内容要点如下：
1.方便出行；健康环保；
2.随意停放；人为损坏；
3.你的看法。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头已给出，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：randomly     adv.随意地

Bicycle Sharing

Nowadays, bicycle sharing has come into people’s lives in many cities in China and it has become a popular means of transport .

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . In various restaurants worldwide, there’s a new sight-child-sized robots. These robots can welcome guests, show them to their tables, deliver food and drinks, and even transport dirty dishes back to the kitchen. Some believe these robot waiters could be a solution to today’s worker shortages in the restaurant industry, with tens of thousands of them now in use.

But other people think that robots can’t replace human workers. Robot waiters can’t take orders, and they struggle with steps, limiting their abilities.

Despite these disadvantages, their use is growing. For example, in Madison Heights, Michigan, Li Zhai faced difficulty finding enough workers for his restaurant, Noodle Topia. To address this, he purchased robots from Pudu Robotics. These robots have been a success, with one leading diners to their seats, another delivering food, and a third transporting dirty dishes.

Zhai found that using these robots reduced his need for employees. Three robots now do the work of what used to require five or six people. In terms of cost, a robot costs around $15 000, while a human can cost $5,000 to $6,000 per month. These robots also have a surprising benefit-they free up human servers to spend more time with customers, resulting in increased tips, Additionally, diners often share videos of the robots on social media, attracting more visitors to the restaurant.

However, not all restaurants have had the same success. For instance, Chili’s (奇利斯餐厅)introduced robot servers in 2020, expanding the test to 61U.S. restaurants before suddenly stopping the program. The robots were criticized (批评) for their slow movement and getting in the way of human servers. A survey showed that 58% of guests believed the robots didn’t improve their overall dining experience.

1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?

A．To introduce a survey about robot waiters.

B．To show the success of robot waiters in restaurants.

C．To describe the appearance of child-sized robots in restaurants.

D．To discuss the challenges of hiring human workers in restaurants.

2. What does the underlined word “address” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Solve.

B．Narrow.

C．Ignore.

D．Control.

3. What does Paragraph 4 mainly talk about?

A．The history of robot waiters in the U.S.

B．The challenges of introducing robot servers.

C．The effect of social media on the restaurant industry.

D．The advantages of using robots in the restaurant industry.

4. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．All restaurants with robot servers are successful.

B．The use of robot waiters still has a long way to go.

C．Robot waiters are cheaper to employ than human workers.

D．The restaurant industry is not affected by worker shortages.

10 . Social media allow teenagers to create online identities, communicate with others and build social networks. These networks can provide teenagers with valuable support. Teenagers also use social media for entertainment and self-expression. And the platforms can expose teenagers to current events, allow them to communicate across geographic barriers and teach them about different kinds of subjects, including healthy behaviors. However, social media use can also negatively affect teenagers, distracting them, influencing their sleep, and exposing them to bullying (恐吓), rumor (谣言) spreading, untrue views of other people’s lives and peer pressure.

There are steps you can take to encourage responsible use of social media and limit some of its negative effects.

Set reasonable limits. Talk to your teenager about how to avoid letting social media affect his or her activities, sleep, meals or homework. Encourage a bedtime routine that avoids electronic media use, and keep cellphones and iPads out of teenagers’ bedrooms. Set an example by following these rules yourself.

Monitor your teenager’s accounts. Let your teenager know that you’ll be regularly checking his or her social media accounts. You might aim to do so once a week or more. And make sure you follow through.

Explain what’s not OK. Discourage your teenager from gossiping, spreading rumors, bullying or damaging someone’s reputation—online or otherwise. Talk to your teenager about what is appropriate and safe to share on social media.

Encourage face-to-face contact with friends. This is particularly important for teenagers who are vulnerable to social anxiety disorder.

Talk about social media. Talk about your own social media habits. Ask your teenager how he or she is using social media and how it makes him or her feel. Remind your teenager that social media is full of unrealistic images.

If you think your teenager is experiencing signs or symptoms of anxiety or depression related to social media use, talk to your child’s health care provider immediately.

1. How does the author mainly develop the first paragraph?

A．By providing reasons.	B．By making comparison.
C．By following the order of importance.	D．By raising questions.

2. What’s a better way to avoid being affected by cellphones?

A．Powering them off.	B．Putting them in the schoolbag.
C．Keeping them out of bedroom.	D．Listening to them instead of watching.

3. What does the underlined word “vulnerable” in paragraph 6 probably mean?

A．Warm-hearted.

B．Easily hurt.

C．Deeply moved.

D．Hard-working.

4. Who is the text written for?

A．Teenagers.

B．Officials.

C．Teachers.

D．Parents.