1 . A study of more than five million books, both fiction and non-fiction, has found a marked decline in the use of emotional words over time. The researchers form the University of Bristol used Google Ngram Viewer, an online database for finding the frequency of terms in scanned books, to look for more than 600 particular words identified as representing anger, dislike, fear, joy, sadness and surprise.
They found that almost all of the categories showed a drop in these “mood words” over time. Only in the category of fear was there an increase in usage.
“It is a steady and continuous decline,” said Dr Alberto Acerbi. He assumed that the result might be explained by a change in the position occupied by literature, in a crowded media landscape. “One thing could be that in parallel to books the 20th century saw the start of other media. Maybe these media—movies, radio, drama—had more emotional content than books.”
Although both joy and sadness followed the general downwards trend, the research, published in the journal PLOS One, found that they also exhibited another interesting behavior: the ratio (比率) between the two varied greatly, apparently mirroring historical events. During the Roaring Twenties the joy-to-sadness ratio reached its highest point that would not occur again until before the recent financial crash. Then, in 1941, the ratio plunged at the height of World War II.
Nevertheless, the researchers held a reserved opinion about their claim that their result reflected wider social trends. In the paper, they even argue that the opposite could be true. “It has been suggested, for example, that it was the suppression (压抑) of desire in ordinary Elizabethan English life that increased demand for writing ‘filled with romance’… perhaps,” they conclude, “songs and books may not reflect the real population any more than catwalk models reflect the average body.”
1. The study was carried out by way of_________.| A．scanning the books with an online scanner | B．counting the number of words in the books |
| C．searching digitized texts for emotional words | D．analyzing different topics of the books |
| A．Usage decreased in all the categories of mood words. |
| B．Usage of most mood words kept falling over time. |
| C．The decline was caused by the rise of other media. |
| D．The unfavorable position of literature led to the decline. |
| A．increased | B．changed | C．dropped | D．twisted |
| A．their research result reflected wider social trends. |
| B．their research result was the contrary of social trends. |
| C．there was a suppression of desire in Elizabethan English life. |
| D．catwalk models reflect the population better than songs and books. |
2 . Twenty-five years ago, most young Britons wanted a career in law, to be a doctor, or, if they were creative enough, to take up singing. But today, things stand differently.
According to a survey by Tesco Mobile, a UK company, the “dream job” of young people aged between 16 and 25 in the UK is a video blogger, or “vlogger” (视频博主). The survey, carried out among 1,002 people, found that as much as 40 percent of them put vlogger as their number one choice on a list of ideal careers.
This change is undoubtedly as a result of the Internet and social media. They have made it so much easier to reach audience of the world, without having to enter a career in show business in the traditional way.
In the past, the biggest stars were trained by the Hollywood studios; now, anyone with a computer camera can become a star. Vloggers are the big stars of today because they are normal people interacting with their fans about everyday life.
However, what people see is only the bright side of being a vlogger and they fail to notice the fact that only those who are successful earn fame and fortune. For every success there are hundreds of others who never get off the starting line. There are the dreams that come true and the dreams that remain dreams forever.
Although being vloggers is popular, some young people choose to follow careers that don’t necessarily earn them fame, but allow them to make good use of the Internet to share their hobbies. Young Israeli David Leshaw, for example, runs a business called the Finishers Club. It’s an online platform for runners to keep a record of their races. His job allows him to express his enthusiasm, and is always a learning experience. And that's enough for him.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．Most young Britons choose to be vloggers as their job. |
| B．The Internet is influencing young Britons’career choice. |
| C．The Internet is taking the place of traditional studios. |
| D．Young Britons can not find jobs without the Internet. |
| A．Vloggers can earn greater fame and more money on the Internet. |
| B．There is too much competition in the traditional show business. |
| C．The Internet makes it convenient to enter show business. |
| D．Anyone with a computer will surely become a star. |
| A．Only a few vloggers can be famous and wealthy. |
| B．A vlogger can not earn fame and fortune. |
| C．People often see the bright side of being a vlogger. |
| D．Dreams will always remain dreams. |
| A．Learn from others. | B．Become an online hit. |
| C．Hold running races. | D．Combine jobs with hobbies. |
3 . My two daughters and I got into the car to spend our weekend in Florida. Autumn, the elder one, offered to drive. I sat next to her, and Amber sat in back. After setting off, the three of us sang to the radio at the top of our voice.
It was a great trip until the rain poured and the rain was too heavy. “I have to pull over, ” Autumn said. She tried to enter the far right lane (车道) to find a place to stop, but trucks ran fast, making water onto our car. The car was out of control, then worse — it started to move left and right. Autumn fought to control it but it was too late. We ran into a truck. The girls jumped out of the car. My chest felt much pain.
“Get out, Mom. Come on！” Amber cried. “I can't,” I said. Autumn took out her cellphone, “There's been an accident. Send an ambulance (救护车)！” Amber and Autumn pulled me out of the car and helped me lie on my back in the grassy area by the roadside. I had to calm myself and looked up. A man held a large umbrella over me and other kind faces appeared above me. A woman helped to treat a cut over Amber's eye. Another woman came close to me and said, “No one in the truck was injured. Help was on the way.” The woman mentioned she was a nurse; the other woman who took care of Amber's cut was an eye specialist. We couldn't have asked for better care.
In the hospital the pain in my chest began to disappear. Later, the tests at the hospital made sure we had no serious injuries. We'd left all our troubles behind thanks to these kind people, who seemed to be angels (天使) in my eyes.
1. How did the author and her two daughters feel after setting out?| A．They were worried about the weather. |
| B．They enjoyed themselves greatly. |
| C．They thought it was a long journey. |
| D．They felt lucky to take the journey. |
| A．To stop by the roadside. |
| B．To follow the truck closely. |
| C．To get into the fast traffic lane. |
| D．To move the car left and right. |
| A．Unexpected heavy rain |
| B．Leave our troubles behind |
| C．Kind angels saved the day |
| D．My two kind daughters |
4 . The requirements for high school graduation have just changed in my community. As a result, all students must
Supporters claim that there are many
In my view, service learning is a great way to
| A．spend | B．gain | C．complete | D．save |
| A．and | B．or | C．but | D．for |
| A．Subjects | B．Ideas | C．Procedures | D．Examples |
| A．With | B．Before | C．During | D．After |
| A．diary | B．report | C．note | D．notice |
| A．courses | B．benefits | C．challenges | D．features |
| A．beyond | B．about | C．over | D．in |
| A．careful | B．proud | C．tired | D．aware |
| A．possess | B．apply | C．include | D．develop |
| A．Gradually | B．Finally | C．Luckily | D．Hopefully |
| A．through | B．across | C．of | D．on |
| A．So | B．Thus | C．Since | D．While |
| A．deal with | B．look into | C．point out | D．take down |
| A．argue | B．doubt | C．overlook | D．admit |
| A．much | B．full | C．less | D．more |
| A．cost | B．pay | C．care | D．praise |
| A．contribute | B．appeal | C．attend | D．belong |
| A．Therefore | B．Otherwise | C．Besides | D．However |
| A．courage | B．desire | C．emotion | D．spirit |
| A．decision | B．purpose | C．solution | D．result |
5 . Journalists need to be able to report the facts without unfairness and use only the right ways to get these facts. Unfortunately, not every journalist always does this.
Sting (圈套) operations to get a story are causing a lot of argument. They involve leading a well-known person into a false situation with the hope that they will do something newsworthy.
For example, in 2010 a newspaper accused the professional snooker player John Higgins of taking money to throw a game. Higgins and his manager met with two men who said they would give him money if he lost matches on purpose. The meeting, which took place in a hotel room, was planned and secretly filmed by the newspaper. Higgins agreed to do it but said later that he had only done so because he thought the two men were criminals and he had been frightened. It turned out that they were reporters from the newspaper itself.
While sting operations might be legal, phone-hacking (电话窃听) is certainly not. In 2007, the editor of a leading UK newspaper and a private detective had hacked into hundreds of voicemail messages of people who worked for the British royal family. The information they got was used in newspapers.
Although the editor said he regretted doing this and apologized, the judge sentenced him to four months in prison. He warned other journalists not to make the same mistake. Since then though, many famous people such as Jude Law and Sienna Miller have been subjected to illegal phone-hacking by journalists.
The paparazzi (狗仔队) are famous for following the rich and famous hoping to get a photograph to sell to the papers. In the last years of her life, singer Amy Winehouse was followed by photographers everywhere she went, and it got so bad that in 2009 she went to court and asked a judge to stop them. The judge warned the journalists and ordered the photographers to stay away from her home. Many other famous persons also need similar court orders to protect themselves and their families.
1. What happened to Higgins in 2010?| A．He was tricked by two journalists. | B．He was threatened by his manager. |
| C．He lost a lot of money. | D．He met two criminals. |
| A．He was kept separate from the famous. | B．He was asked to leave the newspaper. |
| C．He was warned seriously. | D．He was put into prison. |
| A．Amy Winehouse. | B．Sienna Miller |
| C．John Higgins | D．Jude Law |
| A．Good newspapers, heavy duties | B．Being responsible reporters |
| C．Making interesting news | D．Bad ways, bad news |
6 . Many people who work in London want to live outside it and to go to their offices, factories or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this
One benefit of living outside London is that houses are
Some people, however, take no interest in country things; for them，
| A．shows | B．expresses | C．means | D．need |
| A．home | B．family | C．flat | D．house |
| A．cleaner | B．nicer | C．bigger | D．cheaper |
| A．money | B．to lend | C．to borrow | D．to hire |
| A．him | B．its | C．one’s | D．their |
| A．free | B．far | C．out | D．absent |
| A．If | B．Although | C．Because | D．After |
| A．little | B．less | C．longer | D．better |
| A．on | B．for | C．at | D．by |
| A．cold | B．warm | C．fresh | D．pleasant |
| A．prefers | B．likes | C．wants | D．interests |
| A．day | B．rest | C．spare | D．whole |
| A．made | B．brought | C．carried | D．needed |
| A．come on | B．come to | C．come up | D．come over |
| A．work | B．society | C．science | D．nature |
| A．health | B．happiness | C．wealth | D．future |
| A．know | B．feel | C．understand | D．hope |
| A．wasting | B．finding | C．living | D．spending |
| A．for | B．to | C．of | D．at |
| A．hope | B．wish | C．ask | D．want |
7 . How often do you exercise? A new study finds that most kids aged 12 to 15 aren't getting enough physical activity. The results are based on about 800 kids. As part of the study, the young teens tracked and reported on their own activity levels, and took physical exams.
The US fitness guidelines recommend an hour or more of physical activity every day. According to the study, only 1in 4 kids in the US get enough physical activity.
“It's certainly very worrying to see that our kids are engaging in such a limited amount of physical activity each day,” said Dr. Stephen Pont. He is an expert on children's health.
Few kids in the survey met the guidelines for physical activity that raises the heart rate and makes them breathe harder. Overall, about 25% said they got an hour of that kind of violent exercise every day. Kids also reported on which activities they did most often outside of the school gym class--basketball for boys and running for girls.
The study found that obese（肥胖的） teens were less active than normal-weight girls and boys. Overweight girls were slightly less active than normal-weight girls, but levels were similar among overweight and normal-weight boys. The study also said that the overall obesity rate for children aged 2 to 19 is 17%, or about 12.5 million kids.
“There's always room for improvement,” said health expert Tala Fakhouri, who was the lead author of the study. She also said the results provide useful information to help with fitness campaigns such as Lets Move, which was launched by Michelle Obama in 2010. To inspire kids to eat right and get in shape, Michelle visited schools and held exercise events. She also called on schools to offer regular gym classes.
The study also suggests kids who get physical education at school may get better grades.
1. What is the result of the new study?| A．It is important to take physical exams |
| B．Most US kids don’t get enough exercise |
| C．Kids should get physical activity every day |
| D．800 kids don’t get enough physical activity. |
| A．To help kids to keep fit. |
| B．To hold exercise events. |
| C．To offer regular gym classes. |
| D．To provide useful information. |
| A．do better in their studies |
| B．try their best to get in shape |
| C．be more willing to help others |
| D．be less active than fat children |
| A．visited | B．stopped |
| C．started | D．improved |
Is It the Pig from Angry Birds?
An ancient clay pig statue has become
Archaeologists(考古学家）found the tiny pig statue
The village was situated about eight kilometres outside Sanxingdui, a Bronze Age kingdom.
Chinese Internet users expressed their amazement. On Weibo, one person expressed his
The research team claimed
9 . After bikes and umbrellas are made sharable across China, some companies started eyeing the fitness market, so shared gym rooms have hit the streets in Beijing.
Unlike regular gyms that provide large, open spaces for many members to share at the same time, the newly built shared gym rooms are small, stand-alone rooms for a person to use, often set up near living communities.
Every four-square-meter room is equipped with a treadmill (跑步机), an air cleaner, a mirror, a television and an air conditioner, and users can let down the curtains for privacy. When exercising, users can listen to music, watch movies and check emails by connecting to the Internet by the screen fixed on the treadmill. There’s no shower or washbasin.
Similar to using a shared bike, users can locate a shared gym room by smartphone application, book a room in advance and then need to scan (扫描) a QR code for use. A refundable deposit (保证金) of 99 yuan is required, and users are charged 0.2 yuan per minute.
The shared gym rooms are created by Misspao, a Beijing-based technology company founded in July. Within two weeks since it was founded, the company has already got two rounds of funding valued over 100 million yuan, Yicai Global reports. The idea of the shared fitness experience is not entirely nascent. Last December, the Shanghai-based technology company VRUN set up shared treadmills in office and apartment buildings.
The sharing economy is still becoming popular in China. According to Yicai Global, confident investors are pouring millions into sharing start-ups. In March, the State Information Center published a report which predicts that the total value of China’s sharing economy will see a yearly growth of 40% in the coming years, and it is expected to contribute around 10% to the country’s GDP by 2020.
1. What makes the shared gym room different from the regular one?| A．Offering open spaces. | B．Standing in the living zone. |
| C．Holding one person at a time. | D．Having some advanced equipment. |
| A．Users can have a shower in it after exercise. |
| B．Users who want to use it need a smartphone. |
| C．Users who use it first need to pay for 99.2 yuan. |
| D．Users’ privacy can’t be protected while they are exercising. |
| A．Simple. | B．Popular. | C．Satisfying. | D．New. |
| A．To introduce shared gym rooms. |
| B．To advertise a technology company. |
| C．To predict the future of the sharing economy. |
| D．To persuade people to support the sharing economy. |
10 . For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?
Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.
In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the topic is—politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg—the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority—someone who actually knows something—and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.
1. Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?| A．Both are about where to draw the line. |
| B．Both can continue for generations. |
| C．Neither has any clear winner. |
| D．Neither can be put to an end. |
| A．The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents. |
| B．The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict. |
| C．The teens cause their parents of misleading them. |
| D．The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict. |
| A．give orders to the other |
| B．know more than the other |
| C．gain respect from the other |
| D．get the other to behave properly |
| A．Solutions for the parent-teen problems. |
| B．Examples of the parent-teen war. |
| C．Causes for the parent-teen conflicts. |
| D．Future of the parent-teen relationship. |
