A cashless society is defined as one that doesn’t use cash in monetary transactions (交易). These societies favor alternative means of payment, such
Of all the companies
There
China also has a vast cashless market,
Most merchants request payment via QR codes and it’s not uncommon
The growing cashless trend has led many people to wonder
2 . As is known to all of us, Extroverts(性格外向的人) are those sociable individuals who always seem to be the life and soul of the party, often outspoken and able to express their opinions easily.
Many of us are taught to admire some traits of extroverts from a very young age and are often encouraged to interact, play and communicate with extroverts.
Lack of social contact, something extroverts are skilled in, can lead to depression, loneliness, and even early death.
So what are the benefits of introversion? These introvert people seem to have more time for deeper thinking and reflection and thus can become more balanced.
Everyone has a different personality.
| A．It’s likely that people will be more outgoing truly instead of being encouraged |
| B．So what are the benefits of extroversion |
| C．However, not all of us are wired that way |
| D．They also tend to be good listeners and think before they speak |
| E．It is what makes people individual and unique |
| F．So is being an extrovert really better |
| G．It seems that at times people are made to be more outgoing |
3 . Workers are quitting their jobs. A lot of them. In fact, there are so many people that it seems that we’re still in the middle of the so-called Great Resignation (辞职). In the US, the Labor Department reported that 4.3 million Americans left their jobs in August 2021, making up about 2.9% of the national workforce — the highest number on record. In the UK, the number of open jobs was more than 1 million for the first time ever in August. There are several reasons why workers are walking away — poor working conditions, fears of getting infected with COVID-19 and a better understanding of life during COVID-19.
You may have heard the story that in the golden age of American labor, 20th-century workers stayed in one job for 40 years and retired with a gold watch. But that’s a total myth. The truth is that people in the 1960s and 1970s quit their jobs more often than they have in the past 20 years, and the economy was better off for it. Since the 1980s Americans have quit less, and many held on to valueless jobs for fear that the safety net wouldn’t support them while they looked for a new one. But Americans seem to have put an end to their persistence (坚持). And they’re being rewarded for their lack of patience: Wages for low-income workers are rising at their fastest rate since the Great Recession (大萧条). In fact, the number of the Great Resignation is really great.
Nearly 7 percent of employees in the “accommodations and food services” area left their jobs in August. That means one in 14 hotel clerks, restaurant servers, and barbacks said goodbye in a single month. Thanks to several pandemic-relief checks, a rent moratorium (缓交), and student-loan forgiveness, everybody, particularly if they are young and have a low income, has more freedom to quit the jobs they hate and hope for something else.
1. Which is one of the reasons why lots of workers are quitting their jobs in the US?| A．They find their life meaningless. |
| B．They want to get more freedom. |
| C．They are afraid of picking up COVID-19. |
| D．Their living conditions are very terrible. |
| A．Workers quit their jobs more frequently in the 1980s than in the 1960s. |
| B．Workers working for 40 years were awarded a gold watch in the 19th century. |
| C．All the workers’ wages are rising sharply since the Great Recession in the US. |
| D．Workers’ quitting their jobs more often contributed to the economic growth in the 1970s. |
| A．Legend. | B．Fact. | C．Secret. | D．Experiment. |
| A．The golden age of American labor has gone. |
| B．Americans are leaving their jobs in groups. |
| C．Young workers are fighting for freedom. |
| D．America’s economy is getting worse due to COVID-19. |
4 . A new study shows that U.S. teens see more television commercials (广告) for alcohol than for jeans, sneakers, or other teen products, the New York Times reported Dec. 18.
For the study, the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at Georgetown University studied the 208,909 alcohol commercials on television. They found that nearly 25 percent of the ads were viewed mainly by teenagers, rather than adults.
Furthermore, 12-to-20-year-olds viewed more commercials for beer and other alcoholic drinks than products marketed directly to young people, such as gum, snacks, and juice. “No one is watching what the industry is doing, and the industry is in denial (拒绝承认),” said David A. Kessler, dean of the School of Medicine at Yale and an adviser to CAMY.
The alcohol industry uses voluntary rules to reduce the number of ads seen by those under age 21. The rules say that ads should not air during programs where at least half of the audience is underage (未成年的).
“We do not forgive illegal underage drinking under any circumstances,” said Jeff Becker, president of the Beer Institute. “This industry does not, and never has, targeted our advertising to people who can’t legally buy our products.”
However, the report found that alcohol ads ran during 13 of the 15 most popular shows for teenagers, including “Seventh Heaven,” “Gilmore Girls, ” “Dark Angel,” “That ‘70s Show,” “Friends,” “E.R.,” and sporting events.
Jim O’Hara, executive director of CAMY, said the industry rules are false. He added, “These standards do not protect youth from exposure and overexposure to alcohol advertising and marketing.”
1. What’s the result of the study conducted by CAMY?| A．Teenagers like alcohol than jeans and sneakers. |
| B．Alduts see more alcohol ads on TV than teenager. |
| C．Teenagers see ads for alcohol ads on TV more than adults. |
| D．The older teenagers are, the better they like ads for alcohol ads. |
| A．The alcohol industry is widely praised. |
| B．The alcohol industry is closely watched. |
| C．The underage will see less ads for alcoholic drinks in the near future. |
| D．Young people can easily buy such products as alcoholic drinks, snacks and juice. |
| A．Dark Angel and Seventh Heaven are shows for adults. |
| B．The industry rules protect youth from alcohol advertising. |
| C．Not all the most popular shows for teenagers air alcohol ads. |
| D．Teenagers can drink alcohol with the permission of their parents. |
| A．Alcohol commercials on TV. |
| B．Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. |
| C．Illegal underage drinking is not permitted. |
| D．Teenagers see more TV ads for alcohol than other products. |
5 . New parents often spend a long time debating what to call their newborn. Should they name them after a relative, a famous person, or just pick a name at random?
Names usually stay with us for a lifetime, unless we decide to change them. They become part of our identity. Quite often we hear stories of celebrities giving their children unusual names, while other people give their children names which have special meanings, for example,
So, what if you don’t like your given name? A study led by psychologist Jean Twenge found that a person who hates the nickname given to them is more likely to have greater psychological adjustment issues — possibly due to low self-esteem. This is because our title becomes a symbol of our self.
And what if your name is no longer popular? While names like Ethel and Gladys were once in fashion, they now sound a bit out of date, which can be embarrassing.
However, if you choose an unusual name, it’s not all bad news. According to a study conducted by Professor David Zhu, people with uncommon names can develop a sense of uniqueness.
So, when choosing your successor’s name, there are a fair few things to consider — but going for something too common or too old-fashioned may not be a great choice.
| A．the name Sarah comes from a Hebrew word meaning “princess”. |
| B．They can often become more creative and open-minded. |
| C．A person who likes his name will be more self-confident. |
| D．For many of us it can be quite the tiring task, |
| E．And when it comes to unpopular names which aren’t fashionable, they may even affect our lives. |
| F．If we hate our name, our confidence may be affected. |
| G．Unpopular names also has many advantages. |
It was a bright spring afternoon along the Maryland coast, and Jonathan Bauer, 51, and his 13-year-old daughter, Ava, were enjoying it. They were driving with the windows down as they headed home on the Route 90 Bridge, which goes across the shallow waters of Assawoman Bay. Suddenly, the calm was disturbed by a loud sound.
Not far ahead of them, a black car was rushing from one side of the road to the other. To the Bauer’s horror, it knocked into a concrete barrier(水泥路障), and then came to rest over the edge (边沿) of the bridge. Bauer hit the brakes in time to avoid the vehicles in his path, but a white car struck his car.
Bauer stopped the car. “Ava, are you OK?” he asked. She was shaken, but unhurt. He ran to the white car. “Are you OK?” he asked the driver. She nodded, too shocked to speak.
And then an extremely loud sound came from the black car, whose back part hung out, 30 or more feet above the waters of the bay (海湾). The driver’s door opened and a man climbed out. He dropped to the ground, and then ran to the edge of the bridge. Bauer ran up beside him. The man pointed down, saying something in Spanish. In the water was a car seat. Next to it, a girl, about two years old, floated on her back, kicking and screaming.
Matters quickly went from bad to frightening when the little girl rolled over onto her stomach. Bauer waited for the driver to do something, but he didn’t move. Maybe he was in shock.
“Ava!” Bauer shouted, and removed his shoes. “Stay by the car and call 911!”
He held no idea about his chances jumping from this height into such shallow waters. Four feet of depth was the most he could hope for — he’d gotten his boat stuck here a time or two. And were there rocks in the shallow waters?
注意：
续写词数应为150左右。
He climbed onto the edge and jumped.
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A moment later a boat took Bauer and the rescued girl aboard.
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7 . What’s your baby doing right now? I hope he or she is not rolling on the floor. Such behaviour might seem natural and age-appropriate but this laid-back environment could come back to haunt you at a later date.
Eventually you may be forced to reflect upon those wasted opportunities. In allowing your baby to unproductively behave just like, well, a baby, you may be failing to foster his or her personal growth. Are you denying your child the chance to achieve his or her full potential as a well-rounded baby?
You see, some parents are hot-housing their infants as we speak. While your baby’s programme revolves around the traditional routines of sleeping, eating and playing, other people’s offspring are on the fast-track to certain giftedness. And Baby Einstein DVDs, which were all the rage when I was a new mother, are really the least of your problems.
Ever eager to exploit our perceived inadequacies, smart marketers have found something else for parents to feel guilty about. There’s a manufactured fear that we’re squandering those valuable moments when a baby’s brain is said to be like a sponge, ready and willing to soak up new information at an alarming rate.
I’ve never seen the point of deliberately setting up your little one to be more advanced than his or her peers. I like the idea of babies just being babies and children just being children. Anyway, if they can read at the age of three then what will they learn in their first year of school?
One thing’s for sure: for some people parenting has taken on the proportions of a competitive sport. Some children wrestle with after-school activities every day of the week. Others are enrolled in extra tuition — sometimes simply to reach an acceptable standard and other times in order to be top of the class. There are tennis camps, swim academies and dancing schools. Some households even speak English downstairs and French upstairs. What? That’s not how you run your home? Oh dear. I see bilingualism passing your child by, for sure.
1. What does the author imply in paragraph 2?| A．The author likes raising baby at home. |
| B．Many parents don’t realize their babies’ potentials. |
| C．We don’t have enough time or money to raise babies. |
| D．Many parents foster their children’s personal growth by any chance. |
| A．They were good enough for mothers. |
| B．They were effective in teaching babies. |
| C．They were cheaper than other products. |
| D．They were popular with many mothers. |
| A．It’s a good way to build up potentials. |
| B．It’s not helpful to baby’s development. |
| C．It’s vital to develop baby’s brain. |
| D．It’s not so cheap to be invested by all parents. |
| A．Give children more sports. |
| B．Develop children more. |
| C．Let babies grow as they are. |
| D．Develop children’s bilingualism. |
8 . Social media has completely taken over everyday life, affecting how society runs and changing individuals in ways that even they can feel. While social media can act as a platform for people to express themselves, it can also be overwhelming, especially for high school teens.
To teenager Bryson Lan, quitting social media helped eliminate (消除) a significant distraction in his routine and keep up with teachers. “I was scrolling through social networking sites so much,” Lan said. “I was also starting to struggle since I entered my high school year. When school started, I was super overwhelmed (不知所措的), and I was just not ready for it.”
Most teenagers fear that by eliminating these apps, they will miss out on connections with their peers and feel a significant loss to their social life. However, Lan found he didn’t miss anything during his time without social media.
Another problem with social media is the amount of “junk content” posted. People are regularly posting and updating on social media, and much of the content has no meaning to other viewers and is ultimately a time suck.
However, social media isn’t all negative. Social media can be a place to develop passions and boost creativity. For example, Lan found his interest in photography blossom after seeing works from other photographers on social media. “Social media is a good place where you can have a portfolio (作品集) or upload your works,” Lan said. “A lot of people have photography accounts or art accounts. In some ways, I think it actually furthers your hobby.” “Thanks to this revolutionary development of social media, we can enjoy a world where everyone is closer than before,” Lan said. “But we also need to have the skills to make good use of social media, and that depends on each person’s efforts.”
1. What did getting rid of social media bring Lan?| A．More distractions. | B．Confusion about life. |
| C．A smaller social circle. | D．More attention on his studies. |
| A．A waste of time. | B．A timetable. | C．A lack of time. | D．A time switch. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Unclear. | C．Objective. | D．Supportive. |
| A．Most teenagers’ opinions on social media. | B．The effects social media has on teenagers. |
| C．Innovative development of social media. | D．The problems social media brings people. |
注意：
1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，使行文连贯。
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内容包括：
1.大家的看法及理由；
2.你的观点。
注意：
1.写作词数应为80左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Is Reading a Book Better than Listening to It?
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