1 . Have you heard of the term “tweenager”? It’s a slang(俚语)word used in the UK to describe children between about ten and twelve years old. They are between being a junior and a teenager, you see. Why do the press and media refer to kids in this way?
Well, more and more companies now create products and services for tweenagers. They seem to tell us that tweenagers must have more money, freedom and influence upon their parents than they’ve ever had before.
Most children in the UK today get more pocket money than kids did a decade ago. Despite problems happening fairly often and regularly in the economy, parents generally have more money to give than before, since they are having fewer children on average than in the past. In addition, a higher divorce(离婚)rate in the UK makes parents try to compensate(补偿)by buying presents for their children. It’s a bad habit for both parents and children to get into, but parents are under constant pressure from commercial marketing and the requests of their children.
You may wonder how tweenagers have more freedom than previous generations. Well, UK children today are very media-and computer-literate. They have access to much more information about life and the world. They may have experienced a lot in life as well. With such sophistication(老于世故)at such a young age, it’s no wonder tweenagers are able to influence their parents.
Now UK tweenagers are also very fashion-conscious and concerned about their images. In a world of television programs that promise immediate success and fame at a young age, some people think it’s extremely important to look fashionable.
So what does tweenage fashion look like? It’s lots of brightly colored materials, particularly pink, and usually plain, not patterned. There are plenty of bows, necklaces and bracelets, too.
But can it really be healthy for us to encourage kids to be like adults at a young age? Are we stealing childhoods in return for a bit of profit? Well, the UK government is certainly concerned, and for that reason has strict laws preventing companies from clearly and openly marketing their products and services at children.
1. What is the use of the first paragraph?| A．To explain a concept and bring up the topic. |
| B．To tell the difference between a junior and a teenager. |
| C．To show why people in the UK prefer to use the slang. |
| D．To state how the slang came into being and make a summary. |
| A．He doesn’t give a certain answer. | B．He doesn’t agree with it. |
| C．He doubts about it. | D．He supports it. |
| A．They have learned more about life and the world. |
| B．They can receive more advanced school education. |
| C．Their parents have less time to take good care of them, |
| D．Their parents are under constant pressure from their work. |
| A．They are afraid of being laughed at by others. |
| B．They have less freedom than previous generations. |
| C．They wish to become successful and famous quickly. |
| D．The media often encourage kids to be like adults at a young age. |
2 . The village of Hallstatt in Austria is a collection of old buildings. In summer, the mountains are green and the village is lovely. In winter, it’s like something out of a snow-covered fairy tale. Now it is being overrun with tourists, partly because it looks like the village from the movie Frozen. The town’s mayor is actually hoping that many tourists will stay away.
Hallstatt is small. Fewer than 800 people live there. But the number of visitors who arrive each day is huge — up to 10,000 visitors a day. Hallstatt’s popularity first began when it became a World Heritage Site in 1997. But the number of visitors increased quickly after the release of Disney’s movie Frozen in 2013. Though much of Frozen was based on life in Norway, Hallstatt looks a lot like Arendelle, the main village in the movie. Some people believe that Arendelle was based on Hallstatt.
Much of the tourism is driven by social media. Many of the visitors seem mainly interested in taking photos with the village in the background. Some local people feel stressed about it. With 10,000 visitors a day, that’s over 12 tourists for every person in Hallstatt. One man said his mother had woken up one day to find tourists in her bedroom.
The mayor would prefer to have fewer tourists. He thinks the town would be just fine with about one third fewer visitors each year. Starting from this year, Hallstatt will begin a program to reduce the number of buses bringing visitors to the village.
Before the tourism boomed, local people would leave Hallstatt to find work. Now many people depend upon the tourists for their living. Hotel rooms can cost between $350 and $450. And it costs over one dollar to use the public bathroom in Hallstatt. With 10,000 visitors a day, even toilets can be good business.
1. What do we know about the village of Hallstatt in Austria?| A．It has appeared in many famous movies. |
| B．It is beautiful but crowded with tourists. |
| C．It has a small population for its bad weather. |
| D．It is an old village with poor customer service. |
| A．Visitors were welcome to stay at local homes. |
| B．Local life was badly influenced by visitors. |
| C．Social media brought visitors to his village. |
| D．The locals had a close relationship with visitors. |
| A．Sigh. | B．Drop. | C．Decline. | D．Rocket. |
| A．Hallstatt is having fewer visitors for the high cost. |
| B．Local people are satisfied with their life in Hallstatt. |
| C．Tourism brings both trouble and benefits to local people. |
| D．Local people have difficulty improving the housing service. |
1. 养宠物的现象；
2. 养宠物的优缺点；
3. 其他……
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear editor,
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
4 . As 17-year-old Norwood drove through St. Petersburg, Florida, last February, the laughter and chatter from the four teenage girls inside her car quickly gave way to sharp cries. A car behind heavily hit them, sending their black car into a tree five meters away. As smoke rose from the other car, a bystander (旁观者) shouted, “It’s about to blow up! Get out!”
Terrified but not hurt, she got out through the window. Along with two of her friends, who’d also managed to free themselves, she ran for her life. But halfway down the street, she realized that her best friend, Simmons, wasn’t with them. Norwood ran back and found Simmons stuck in the back seat. “She wasn’t moving,” Norwood told Inside Edition. She threw open the back door and pulled her friend out, trying to avoid the broken glass.
She dragged Simmons to safety and placed her on the ground. “I put my head against her chest. No sign of life. That’s when I started CPR (心肺复苏术).” Norwood, who longed to have a career in medicine, had passed the national CPR test just the day before.
Looking down at her dying friend, Norwood knew she had only a little time to practice what she’d learned. She started pumping Simmons’s chest and breathing into her friend’s mouth. No response. She tried again and again. Slowly, Simmons began coughing and opening her mouth for air. The CPR worked! Soon, doctors arrived and rushed Simmons to the hospital. And then she heard how her best friend had saved her life. “I wasn’t shocked,” Simmons told CNN. “She will always help any way she can.”
1. What is the best title for the text?| A．Breath of Life | B．A career in medicine |
| C．A Car Accident | D．Practice what one learns |
| A．Their car broke down. |
| B．They sat by a smoking flat. |
| C．Their lives were in danger. |
| D．They blocked the traffic. |
| A．She fell out of the car and struck her head. |
| B．She became unaware of the surroundings. |
| C．She was unable to move in the front seat. |
| D．She got seriously hurt but wide awake. |
| A．Unskilled but practical. | B．Typical but useless. |
| C．Strange but successful. | D．Repeated but effective. |
5 . The Internet plays a big part in human life. We use it for work and pleasure. We use it to learn a new language. We find advice on it. We use it to connect with family and friends. We use it to stay in touch with events we care about.The list goes on and on.
As far as the Internet being a part of our lives, well, that train has left the station. There is no going back to an Internet-free life. But can using the Internet too much be bad for our health? It might be, say researchers. A new study finds that heavy Internet use may be connected to high blood pressure in a young group: teenagers.
The study results show that teens who spend at least 14 hours a week only online may cause high blood pressure, which makes their hearts and blood vessels(血管) work too hard. Over time, this extra pressure increases the risk of a heart attack. High blood pressure can also cause heart and other diseases.
The Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan did the study. 335 young people, from 14 to 17 years old, took part in it. 134 of the teens were described as “heavy Internet users”. And researchers found that out of these 134 teens, 26 had high blood pressure. The researchers said the study was the first to connect heavy Web use with high blood pressure.
The lead researcher is Andrea Cassidy-Bushrow. She says, “Using the Internet is part of our daily life, but it shouldn’t ruin(毁坏) us.” Ms. Cassidy-Bushrow adds that it is important for teens to stop to have a rest regular from their computers or smartphones and do some kind of physical activity. She also suggests that parents shouldn’t let their children use the Internet for more than two hours a day, five days a week.
1. What does the underlined part “that train has left the station”mean in Paragraph 2?| A．The train has changed its course. |
| B．Life without the Internet is nowhere to be found. |
| C．The Internet brings great changes to people’s life. |
| D．The Internet has improved people’s life. |
| A．There was no similar study like it before. |
| B．Most of the young people had high blood pressure. |
| C．Adult people aged above 17 took part in the study. |
| D．Over half of the teens in the study were heavy Internet users. |
| A．That teenagers shouldn’t use the Internet. |
| B．That the Internet will ruin human life in the future. |
| C．That smartphones are more harmful than computers. |
| D．That regular breaks are necessary when using the Internet. |
| A．Heavy Internet users are mostly teenagers. |
| B．Every coin has two sides—so does the Internet. |
| C．Too much Internet use may be bad for teenagers. |
| D．How to prevent teenagers from using the Internet. |
6 . For several months, Cara has been working up the courage to ask her mother about what she saw on the Internet. Not long ago, the 11-year-old found out that her mother had been posting her photos in her blog, without her agreement, for much of her life. "There are pictures I don't like of myself. It would be an embarrassment(令人尴尬的事)if my friends see those photos online," she said. "Now I'm even worried anytime someone has a phone out around me. I'm afraid that my photos could be taken and posted somewhere."
Not all kids feel the same when finding out they've been living a life online. Some are happy. In the fourth grade, Nate searched his name and found that he was in a news report about his making a beautiful kite in his third-grade class. He was really happy with that and he decided to search online every few months, hoping to find other things about himself online.
"I was surprised, really surprised," he said. "It made me feel famous."
He even kept saying, "Oh, I'm in a news report online." Although his friends knew that, many of his friends refused to stay close to him.
Like most other kids, Cara and Nate grew up in a society rich with social media. While many kids may not yet have accounts(账户)themselves, their parents, schools, sports teams, and organizations have been building an online presence for them since their birth. According to a study from the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida, 92 percent of kids under the age of 2 already have their own life online.
"The blog posts are sure to follow the children into adulthood," says the study. "Therefore, we have to be careful about putting the children's personal information online."
1. Why does Cara want to stop her mother putting her pictures online?| A．She is not a very pretty girl. | B．Her friends keep laughing at her. |
| C．She does not like being photographed. | D．Some of the pictures are embarrassing. |
| A．They felt really happy for him. | B．Many of them stayed away from him. |
| C．Many of them did not believe him. | D．They also opened their own accounts. |
| A．parents should keep their kids away from the Internet |
| B．pictures should not be put online without kids' agreement |
| C．kids should not tell their stories of success to their friends |
| D．putting kids' information online might lead to some problems |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By reasoning. |
| C．By following time order. | D．By comparing. |
7 . A single cigarette sold on a street corner may not cost a lot; however, the whole costs of smoking are huge.
First, consider the cost of human life. About 10 people die of a tobacco-related disease every minute. Most of these preventable deaths happen in low-income and middle-income countries. The World Bank says each of these countries has a total national income of less than $ 12,746.
The World Health Organization says tobacco kills 6 million people yearly -a number that is expected to rise to 8 million by 2030 unless immediate action is taken.
But smoking costs more than the life of a person. It can affect the health of the whole country. The World Health Organization says low-income countries depend heavily on taxes from cigarettes. They use the money, in part, to pay the costs of health care for tobacco-related diseases.
But the illegal trade in tobacco products is further testing the economies of low-income countries. WHO officials say the illegal trade earns about $ 31 billion every year.
Douglas Bettcher is the director of the W HO s Department for the Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases. He calls the illegal trade a monster with many heads. He says the trade enables young people to buy cigarettes at low prices, become addicted to tobacco and suffer from serious health problems. It also increases crime and reduces taxes.
The World Health Organization is strongly suggesting that the U. N. member states sign an agreement to end the illegal trade in tobacco products. Eight countries have agreed to the agreement. But the agreement of 32 other countries is still needed for it to become an international law.
If the agreement succeeds, governments could put people who trade illegal tobacco products in prison-another cost to countries budgets.
1. Where are people dying of a tobacco related disease mostly from?| A．Developed countries. | B．Old countries. |
| C．Underdeveloped countries. | D．New countries. |
| A．Destroying the environment. |
| B．Being harmful to human life. |
| C．Affecting the whole country’s economy. |
| D．Causing the illegal trade. |
| A．Some action has been taken by the WHO. |
| B．The illegal trade in tobacco products is harmful. |
| C．Young people who are addicted to smoking may commit a crime. |
| D．An agreement to end the illegal trade in tobacco products is being signed. |
| A．Smoking Costs More than You Think |
| B．Different Ways to Stop Smoking |
| C．The Illegal Trade in Tobacco Products |
| D．Immediate Action to Stop Smoking |
8 . Bacteria are an annoying problem for astronauts. The microorganisms(微生物) from our bodies grow uncontrollably on surfaces of the International Space Station, so astronauts spend hours cleaning them up each week. How is NASA overcoming this very tiny big problem? It’s turning to a bunch of high school kids. But not just any kids. It is depending on NASA HUNCH high school classrooms, like the one science teachers Gene Gordon and Donna Himmelberg lead at Fairport High School in Fairport, New York.
HUNCH is designed to connect high school classrooms with NASA engineers. For the past two years, Gordon’s students have been studying ways to kill bacteria in zero gravity, and they think they’re close to a solution(解决方案). “We don’t give the students any breaks. They have to do it just like NASA engineers,” says Florence Gold, a project manager.
“There are no tests,” Gordon says. “There is no graded homework. There almost are no grades, other than ‘Are you working towards your goal?’ Basically, it’s ‘I’ve got to produce this product and then, at the end of year, present it to NASA.’ Engineers come and really do an in-person review, and...it’s not a very nice thing at times. It’s a hard business review of your product.”
Gordon says the HUNCH program has an impact(影响) on college admissions and practical life skills. “These kids are so absorbed in their studies that I just sit back. I don’t teach.” And that annoying bacteria? Gordon says his students are emailing daily with NASA engineers about the problem, readying a workable solution to test in space.
1. What do we know about the bacteria in the International Space Station?| A．They are hard to get rid of. | B．They lead to air pollution. |
| C．They appear in different forms. | D．They damage the instruments. |
| A．To strengthen teacher-student relationships. |
| B．To sharpen students’ communication skills. |
| C．To allow students to experience zero gravity. |
| D．To link space technology with school education. |
| A．Check their product. | B．Guide project designs. |
| C．Adjust work schedules. | D．Grade their homework. |
| A．NASA: The Home of Astronauts |
| B．Space: The Final Homework Frontier |
| C．Nature: An Outdoor Classroom |
| D．HUNCH: A College Admission Reform |
9 . Don’t be afraid! We are not encouraging people to steal. It’s one of the most popular topics currently talked about by people in cities, together with，“How many vegetables did you steal today?” or, “It’s harvest time for your peaches,” and，“I bought you a new car today.”
Listening to a conversation like this, you do not have to feel strange. These people don’t really have their own farms or so much money that they can casually (随意地) buy someone else a car.
They are just playing games on Social Networking Sites(SNS) like kaixin001.com. Can you imagine millions of people in China spending lots of time on SNS playing games and talking to friends? This is especially true of white-collar workers in cities. Take kaixin001.com for example — the number of current members has already hit 38 million.
However, the large number of people using SNS highlights another problem. That is, lots of people choose to escape from reality. NSN just offers them a virtual(虚拟的) environment where they can escape from reality.
Different games provide netizens with different experiences: dreaming, chatting and playing. It offers people the opportunity to escape from reality. But the virtual world is not the real one; no one can live in it forever, and reality is not as surfing on the Internet.
Since this kind of social networking sites have become so popular, people have started to think about moving it into the real world. And as far as we know, a farmland of this kind exists in Shanghai where it has reached its first base.
After playing the “Happy Farm” game on kaixin001.com, would you like to put yourself among the real world while smelling the fragrances (芳香) of the countryside? Recently a farmland service called “Happy Farm in Reality” was opened in the suburbs of Shanghai where white-collar workers can experience the real farmers’ life for themselves.
1. What’s the writer’s purpose for the first paragraph?| A．To encourage readers to be brave. |
| B．To tell the readers not to steal. |
| C．To tell the readers some shocking news. |
| D．To introduce some game. |
| A．The real world. | B．Farmland in Shanghai. |
| C．The virtual world. | D．An expensive car. |
| A．Millions of people in China are spending lots of time on SNS. |
| B．People steal vegetables on SNS for a living. |
| C．Lots of people play games on SNS to escape from reality. |
| D．White-collar workers can have the real farmers’ life. |
| A．politics | B．entertainment |
| C．economy | D．sports |
10 . Chinese students always complain that they’re under great pressure and don’t get enough sleep. But they may be surprised to learn that they’re much luckier than their peers (同龄人) in South Korea and Japan, according to a recently published report, conducted by Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences on the physical and mental health of senior high school students in the three Asian countries.
According to the study among nearly 6,000 high school students in the three countries, Chinese students are the tallest but poorest in physical fitness. Chinese students are on average 168.17cm, compared with 167.61cm for South Korean students and 164.70cm for Japanese students. Chinese students asked for sick leave more than students in other countries. About 72 percent of Korean students never asked for sick and injury leave during high school, compared to 53 percent for Japanese students and 45 percent for Chinese students. Moreover, Chinese students drink alcohol and smoke earlier than Korean and Japanese students. Around 70 percent of Chinese students have drunk alcohol, compared to 50 percent for Korean and Japanese students.
According to the survey, Japanese and South Korean students suffer more pressure than their Chinese peers. Statistics (统计) show 16 percent of students in China said they experienced mental pressure often over the past year, while the numbers in Japan and South Korea were 33 percent and 47 percent respectively. Their worries come from “study”, “future after graduation”, “friendships” and “relationship with their parents”. To go with stress, 57.9 percent of Korean students sleep the least, less than six hours a day, compared with 46.6 percent of Japanese students and 30 percent of Chinese students.
More Chinese students were satisfied with their physical appearance, double that of students in the survey from Japan and South Korea. The report said that over half of students in South Korea had tried to lose weight in the past year, while in China the figure was only 22 percent.
In measures of self-worth, such as “I think I am valuable” and “I think I am successful”, “I can complete many things”, “I won’t give up to failure,” Chinese students showed greater self-confidence than students in Japan and South Korea.
1. What’s the main idea of the passage?| A．Chinese students always complain that they’re in bad condition. |
| B．Chinese students are much luckier than their peers in the Republic of Korea and Japan. |
| C．Chinese teenagers drink alcohol and smoke earliest and smoke earliest among the three countries. |
| D．There is a report on the physical and mental health of senior high school students. |
| A．the height | B．the percentage |
| C．the weight | D．the number |
| A．study and career | B．physical appearance |
| C．friendships | D．family relationship |
