1 . Anxious thinker. Loner. Wallflower. These are some negative comments for “introvert” (内向者), showing a common mind-set in America. Actually they just interact differently; they do well when given time alone to think and prefer close conversations.
American society is ruled by the “Extrovert Ideal (外向理想型)”: successful people take risks and always voice their opinion, whether or not they know what they’re doing. The problem is that people value this ideal so much that they often ignore meaningful opinions from the quieter introverts. Isn’t there something problematic about having to get our thoughts out before we finish thinking about them?
Over-stressing the Extrovert Ideal can lead to unwise decisions. In one case, several introverts, who tend to be more careful and think more, pointed out warning signals before the economic downturn of 2008. But the decision makers — often the bold, risk-taking types —ignored their opinion. People say introverts often overthink every decision. Yes, maybe we think before we speak. But is that really so bad?
Of course, social skills are important for everyone. But the misunderstanding about how introverts work creates a cultural bias (偏见). Required class participation at school often leads to students shouting out whatever thoughts come to their mind, too pressured by their participation grade to take the time and think of a meaningful response. During the Covid-19quarantine, some of my classes started using Parlay, a website that allows for discussions through anonymous (匿名的) written comments. I saw that many of my classes were able to have deeper conversations this way, freed from the pressures of having to speak up on the spot. So encouraging a balanced variety of learning methods can reduce the existing bias.
Society seems to think only the loud and outgoing ones can make a difference. But Rosa Parks was known for being “soft spoken” and “timid.” Gandhi said, “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” So please, give us introverts a chance to change the world in our own quiet way!
1. What is the author’s attitude towards the “Extrovert Ideal”?| A．Objective. | B．Doubtful. | C．Favorable. | D．Unclear. |
| A．The benefit of the Extrovert Ideal. | B．The introverts’ poor social skills. |
| C．The harm of over-valuing extroverts. | D．The extroverts’ ways of decision-making. |
| A．requiring no class participation | B．providing online learning platforms |
| C．allowing different learning styles | D．conducting free classroom discussions |
| A．Brave. | B．Lazy. | C．Easygoing. | D．Shy. |
2 . Despite common concerns that the social is competitive, cooperation (合作) among strangers has gradually increased in the U.S. since the 1950s, according to the research published by the American Psychological Association.
“We were surprised by our findings that Americans became more cooperative over the last six decades because many people believe U.S. society is becoming less socially connected and less trusting,” said lead researcher Yu Kou, PhD, a professor of social psychology at Beijing Normal University.
The researchers analyzed 511 studies conducted in the United States between 1956 and 2017 with a total of more than 63,000 participants(参与者). Those studies included lab experiments measuring cooperation among strangers. The study found a small, gradual increase in cooperation across the 61-year period, which the researchers said may be linked to great changes in U.S. society. The increase in cooperation was related with increases in social wealth, income inequality and the number of people living alone.
Increased cooperation has been linked with market competitiveness and economic growth in former research. As more people live in cities and on their own, they may be forced to cooperate with strangers, said study co-author Paul Van Lange, PhD. He said, “U.S. society may have become more self-centered, but people have not.”
The researchers note that former studies have found that levels of cooperation do not differ by sex or race in the U.S. However, the studies were conducted in lab settings primarily with only college students as participants, so the findings may not be representative (代表性的) of real-life situations or of U.S. society as a whole.
1. How did the researchers draw the conclusion?| A．By doing street surveys. |
| B．By conducting lab experiments. |
| C．By analyzing collected examples. |
| D．By interviewing different strangers. |
| A．The finding was predicted. |
| B．The data before 1956 could not be found. |
| C．The cause for the increase in cooperation was not clear at all. |
| D．Increase in cooperation was connected with many fields of society. |
| A．A magazine. |
| B．A newspaper. |
| C．A diary. |
| D．A website. |
| A．Conducting more experiments in the real-life situations. |
| B．Finding the period when cooperation among strangers increased. |
| C．Making sure levels of cooperation may be different by sex or race in the U.S. |
| D．Discovering the connection between increase in cooperation and changes in U.S. society. |
| A．Fifty | B．Five | C．Fifteen |
4 . Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020, public health and government officials have put social distancing rules in place and advised people to stay at home as much as possible. Many schools around the world started online learning.
Do teenagers have it easy being home all the time? Not necessarily. They can’t connect with teachers and friends in person and do outdoor activities. They are even concerned about the deadly disease. These have caused a rise in anxiety among young people.
In a study of about 1,500 teens last spring, 70% kids said that they were struggling with anxiety and 45% had felt more stressed than usual. Poncin, a professor of clinical child psychiatry (精神病学), said that it’s difficult to show exactly what is causing the increased stress. Some factors focus on our communities and families, while others are individual (个别的). “There are many stress factors that teens are worried about, like their parents losing jobs, family members getting sick, parents not being home, not talking with friends, and more,” Poncin said. “Teens need to learn how to be together and how to talk and be with people.”
Thinking about something over and over also builds stress. To help ease (缓解) their worries, teens can bike, walk the dog or even pick up a new hobby.
In my home state of North Carolina, Roy Goode, head of the local educational agency, is especially concerned about students who don’t have the resources they need to learn at home. “Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders,” he said. “We need to make sure they all have a chance to succeed so we can overcome any challenge that comes our way.”
1. Why does the author list the numbers in paragraph 3?| A．To tell the reasons leading to anxiety. | B．To stress the importance of being together. |
| C．To show teens’ increased mental problems. | D．To stress the need for dealing with sadness. |
| A．He believes chatting online helps. | B．He thinks teens should learn at home. |
| C．He thinks there are different reasons for teens’ stress. | D．He believes government is responsible for Covid-19. |
| A．Stay at home alone. | B．Develop new hobbies. |
| C．Play computer games. | D．Have a walk with friends. |
| A．A diary. | B．A magazine. | C．A guidebook. | D．A novel. |
5 . These days, it's not unusual to see middle-aged men collecting Star Wars action characters, office workers wearing Hello Kitty decorations, or famous people like David Beckham playing with Lego bricks. It's becoming more and more common to see adult taking an interest in toys, books and the activities that are traditionally designed for children. This phenomenon has led to a new word: kidult.
What lies behind the phenomenon? One is that adults miss their happy days of childhood, and this is especially true with today's fast-paced, stressful lifestyles. Another is that adults have more time and money to spend on themselves. Some adults could only window-shop for their dream toys when they were kids, but now they can afford that radio-controlled car or high-priced doll they have always wanted.
Society traditionally disapproves of adults who continue their childhood interests, viewing it as a sign of irresponsibility. Those who agree with this view sometimes believe that kidults are suffering from Peter Pan Syndrome, a state of mind where people do not want to grow up.
From the view of kidults, though, this phenomenon is seen as nothing but harmless fun. Kidults think that having youthful interests keeps them young, happy and creative, and their refusal to meet with society's acceptable tastes shows independent thinking. Besides, they argue that being a kidult is not just a personal choice. The real causes include expensive housing, increased educational requirements for work and poor work opportunities.
1. According to the text, a kidult is________.| A．an adult who hasn't grown up | B．a kid who lives with an adult |
| C．an adult who has a simple mind | D．an adult who takes up childhood interests |
| A．Refuses. | B．Forgives. | C．Encourages. | D．Respects. |
| A．To introduce a rising phenomenon. | B．To complain about strange people |
| C．To encourage studies on kidult culture | D．To present reasons for the kidult culture. |
6 . Sustainability(可持续性), one of the biggest topics of the last decade, has become the ray of hope to protect the planet. It's a topic we can't ignore and we must act now in a more sustainable way.
What does that mean for the world of technology? E-waste is one of the planet's biggest contributing waste problems.
Not only e-waste, but the materials that go into tech products are part of the problem. Take the smartphone industry for example, dozens of metals, minerals which have to be taken from the earth(including 16 of 17 rare metals) go into making phones. And with demand for mobile phones bigger than ever, it's a problem that needs to be solved.
With a challenge comes an opportunity, and there's already some progress happening - great news for those of us wanting to be more sustainable with our tech. People used to turn their noses up at the idea of a second-hand product, but there's been a huge increase in demand for refurbished tech(翻新技术). For example, refurbished smartphone sales in the US have risen by 28% in the last 12 months while brand new sales have fallen by 21%.
Many communities are making an effort to deal with e-waste as well. Cities, schools, or churches will sometimes hold events to collect e-waste and send it to recycling centers. Some companies even offer buy-back programs where people will be given cash if they turn in old devices.
So the next time you want to deal with your e-waste, whether a smartphone, a laptop, an MP4 player or other, consider the more environmentally-friendly choices. It is possible to be sustainable with your tech after all.
1. What is the main purpose of paragraph 1?| A．To explain what is sustainability. |
| B．To introduce the topic of the text. . |
| C．To give us an example of sustainability. |
| D．To show different topics of sustainability. |
| A．E-waste is the biggest waste problem. |
| B．E-waste can't be dealt with in the end. |
| C．People act in a more sustainable way than before. |
| D．People would choose second-hand products in the past. |
| A．MP4 players | B．e-books |
| C．laptops | D．smartphones |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Unclear, |
| C．Negative. | D．Supportive. |
7 . Getting less sleep has become a bad habit for most American kids. According to a new survey(调查) by the National Sleep Foundation, 51% of kids aged 10 to 18 go to bed at 10 pm or later on school nights, even though they have to get up early. Last year the Foundation reported that nearly 60% of 7- to 12-year-olds said they felt tired during the day, and 15% said they had fallen asleep at school.
How much sleep you need depends a lot on your age. Babies need a lot of rest: most of them sleep about 18 hours a day! Adults need about eight hours. For most school-age children, ten hours is ideal(理想的). But the new National Sleep Foundation survey found that 35% of 10- to 12-year-olds get only seven or eight hours. And guess what almost half of the surveyed kids said they do before bedtime? Watch TV.
“More children are going to bed with TVs on, and there are more opportunities(机会) to stay awake, with more homework, the Internet and the phone,” says Dr. Mary Carskadon, a sleep researcher at Brown University Medical School. She says these activities at bedtime can get kids all excited and make it hard for them to calm down and sleep. Other experts say part of the problem is chemical. Changing levels of body chemicals called hormones not only make teenagers’ bodies develop adult characteristics, but also make it hard for teenagers to fall asleep before 11 pm.
Because sleepiness is such a problem for teenagers, some school districts have decided to start high school classes later than they used to. Three years ago, schools in Edina, Minnesota, changed the start time from 7:25 am to 8:30 am. Students, parents and teachers are pleased with the results.
1. What is the new National Sleep Foundation survey on?| A．American kids’ sleeping habits. | B．Teenagers’ sleep-related diseases. |
| C．Activities to prevent sleeplessness. | D．Learning problems and lack of sleep. |
| A．7 hours. | B．8 hours. |
| C．10 hours. | D．18 hours. |
| A．They are affected by certain body chemicals. |
| B．They tend to do things that excite them. |
| C．They follow their parents’ examples. |
| D．They don’t need to go to school early. |
In general, single-letter prefixes(前缀) have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce(电子商务) first came into use.
Most “i” products are targeted at （针对）young people and considering the major readers of Independent’s “i”, it’s no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.
But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King’s College, London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines. “Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn’t have one clear definition（定义）,” he says.
“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now connected with portability (轻便) .”adds Thorne.
Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.
Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade(十年).
But as history shows, people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was connected with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the fashion disappeared.
1. People use iPlayer to __________.
| A．listen to music | B．make a call |
| C．watch TV programs online | D．read newspapers |
| A．young readers | B．old readers |
| C．fashionable women | D．engineers |
| A．popular | B．uncertain |
| C．clear | D．unique |
| A．portable | B．environmentally friendly |
| C．advanced | D．recyclable |
| A．“i” products are often of high quality |
| B．iTeddy is alive bear |
| C．the letter “b” replaces letter “i” to name the products |
| D．the popularity of “i” products may not last long |
9 . Norm Pethrick，a 36-year-old man in Australia's northern city Darwin，was praised on Thursday for jumping onto a crocodile's back to save his wife Wendy at Litchfield National Park，a popular tourist spot southwest of Darwin，a local newspaper reported.
Ms Pethrick was standing on a river bank Wednesday afternoon when the saltwater crocodile lunged（扑），locking its jaws on both her legs as it tried.to drag her underwater.
Norm Pethrick，who with his wife had been collecting water，immediately went to help her.He jumped onto the back，poked（戳）the eyes of the crocodile and finally got his wife free.
Ms Pethrick was later taken to Royal Darwin Hospital for a medical treatment.The doctors said she was suffering eight puncture wounds（伤口）in her right leg，a puncture wound in her left leg and a serious cut to one of her fingers.
〝This could have been a fatal and tragic situation，"said the general manager of Royal Dar-win Hospital（RDH），Dr Len Notaras，according to a local report.He said Ms Pethrick was saved by her husband's"quick and diligent actions〞.
Dr Notaras also said she would remain in hospital for three to four days and have an operation to clean the wounds，which are easy to get infected because of bacteria（细菌）on the teeth of the crocodile.
1. This passage is most likely to be found in ____.| A．a travel guide | B．a newspaper |
| C．a textbook | D．a novel |
| A．swimming in the river | B．standing on the river bank |
| C．watching the crocodile | D．fishing in the water |
| A．Her eyes were badly poked. |
| B．She had eight wounds altogether. |
| C．One of her fingers also got hurt. |
| D．One of the crocodile's teeth was found in her leg. |
| A．brave | B．diligent |
| C．quick | D．humorous |
| A．The husband should save the wife |
| B．A man saves wife's life from crocodile's jaws |
| C．A crocodile is not so dangerous as people imagine |
| D．Human beings can beat crocodiles sometimes |
