Nowadays, one of the common
2 . The recent reports of a 4-year-old girl on a Shanghai beach have gone viral on social media platforms, provoking debate about whether China should criminalize negligence in child supervision.
The father of the little girl claimed that he left her alone on the beach for about 12 minutes to fetch his phone. However, she was nowhere to be found when he was back. Surveillance (监控) videos show that she waited for about 10 minutes before walking toward the water’s edge alone, and then disappeared into the water. Two weeks later, her body was discovered about 100 kilometers away in neighboring Zhejiang Province.
The core issue in this case is the father’s leaving his young daughter unattended on the beach, causing her tragic death. Should such behavior, when it causes harm to a child, be seen as a criminal act? In an online survey, more than 90 percent of respondents insisted that the father be held legally responsible and face criminal punishments.
Nevertheless, according to Liu Chunquan, a lawyer, it may not satisfy the criteria for criminal negligence, since the primary focus of Chinese criminal law is on extreme cases of parental neglect, such as physical abuse and mental torture. Rarely do legal authorities charge parents; instead, they are just likely to face penalties consisting of warnings and fines.
In 2022, a 2-year-old baby drowned in a cesspool while in the company of his father. The court ruled shared responsibility between the father and the cesspool’s owner, with a 7:3 proportion. The owner was ordered to pay 20,000 yuan to the child’s family. Unluckily, similar cases do exist nationwide. Roughly, 100,000 children lose their lives in accidents annually in China, which is largely due to negligence, such as parents leaving their children unattended, either in locked cars or at home. Besides, drowning is now the main cause of death for children aged 1 to 14 years old.
It is no wonder that an increasing number of netizens request that specific laws and regulations be passed to ensure the safety of children and their well-being. Hopefully, criminalizing child supervision negligence in China can serve as a warning and precaution.
However, downsides of introducing such legislation may also emerge. For instance, it’s difficult to distinguish between a regrettable accident and criminal negligence, so that over-criminalization can be triggered, in which well-meaning parents making honest mistakes are charged with a crime.
Therefore, a more balanced approach to addressing the issue of infant safety should involve a combination of new legislation, education and support services. The ultimate objective is to prevent similar catastrophes in the future. We must recognize that children are not only their parents’ offspring, but also the nation’s future.
1. What can we infer from the tragedy of the 4-year-old girl?| A．Her father’s carelessness and negligence should be to blame. |
| B．The beach in Shanghai should not be open to small children. |
| C．Her father has been sentenced to severe penalties by the police. |
| D．She would have survived if she had not waited in the water for a long time. |
| A．Irresponsible adults contribute to children’s death. | B．People can’t be too concerned about child safety. |
| C．Kids shouldn’t be allowed to swim alone. | D．Parents’ constant monitoring is a must. |
| A．the mild penalties in the existing laws | B．parents’ ignorance of potential dangers |
| C．frequent occurrence of such incidents | D．masses of netizens’ urgent appeals |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Negative. | C．Objective. | D．Supportive. |
3 . In 2022, 61 companies in the United Kingdom (UK) took part in the world’s largest test of a four-day work week.
The pilot program, conducted in the UK, guided over 60 companies and almost 3, 000 workers through a six-month trial of a 4 day week, with no loss of pay for workers. Overall results show that almost every organization will stick to a 4-day week post-trial, with 91% definitely continuing or planning to continue, and a further 4% leaning towards continuing.
Companies rated their overall experience of the trials an average of 8. 5/10, with business productivity and business performance each scoring 7. 5/10. Profits rose by 35% over the trial periods when compared to similar periods from the previous year and hiring increased while absenteeism decreased.
Lead researcher, Professor Juliet Schor of Boston College observed an encouraging consistency in the data. “Results are largely steady across workplaces of varying sizes, showing it works for many types of organizations. There are also some interesting differences. We found that employees in non-profits and professional services had a larger average increase in time spent exercising, while those in construction enjoyed the largest reductions in burnout and sleep problems,” she said. Getting the carbon footprint down is also encouraging, with commuting (通勤) time falling by a half bour per week.
How did workers do more in less time? Some companies cut meetings, or made sure they were shorter. Others used technology to help workers get more done quickly. Some companies created a “focus time” so workers could work on just one thing without being interrupted.
In general, workers said the four-day work week left them feeling less tired. About 71% said they felt less “burnt out” with their new work hours, and 39% said they felt less stressed. On average, 73% of the workers were more satisfied with the time they spent working.
1. Which of the following best describes the experiment?| A．Controversial. |
| B．Ambitious. |
| C．Eventful. |
| D．Successful. |
| A．It’s a one-sided move. |
| B．It’s what technology brings. |
| C．I’s environmentally friendly. |
| D．It’s unfit for big companies. |
| A．Working habits. |
| B．Joy at work. |
| C．Health management. |
| D．Business performance. |
| A．Monday-Friday Model Is Outdated |
| B．Good Health Is Good Business |
| C．4-Day Workweek Trial Finishes |
| D．4-Day Workweek Could Be Coming |
4 . In the U.S., speaking more than one language fluently is not very common — except in Los Angeles, California. The city has one of the largest populations in the U.S. of young people between the ages of 18 and 34. More than half of them in Los Angeles are bilingual (会双语的).
Maria Elena Burgos, a mother of two American-born daughters, is cooking a Mexican breakfast. She says making Mexican food is just one of the many traditions in her home. Another is speaking Spanish to her children. “We want to keep Spanish somewhere in their learning too, not only at home.” Ms. Burgos thinks being bilingual will give them more opportunities in the future. Knowing Spanish also means the children can talk with their relatives in Mexico.
Ms. Burgos’ daughters both want to know their family’s culture. “We are doing this in order to go back to our roots because that’s part of who we are,” they say.
The U.S. Census Bureau says more than half the adults in the Los Angeles area between 18 and 34 years old speak a language other than English at home. For the whole country, the number of bilingual adults is only 25 percent. The number of bilingual speakers has gone up since the 1990s.
University of California Los Angeles professor Raul Hinojosa says that in the past, the children and grandchildren of immigrants (移民) did not continue to speak the parents’ native language. But now the opposite is true.
In the last ten years, more immigrant parents say they want their children to keep speaking their native language. Mr. Hinojosa calls their choice the “path of pride”. The decision to keep a native language is clear in Los Angeles now. And, as the number of minorities (少数民族) in the U.S. continues to grow, he thinks bilingualism will spread to the rest of the country.
1. Ms. Burgos hopes her two daughters can ________.| A．have a healthy diet | B．become true Americans |
| C．develop many good habits | D．have a competitive advantage |
| A．Bored. | B．Worried. | C．Interested. | D．Surprised. |
| A．are proud of their new country |
| B．speak English very fluently |
| C．are learning a second language |
| D．are forgetting their parents’ native language |
| A．more people will immigrate to the U.S. |
| B．the U.S. is on the path to bilingualism |
| C．the population of Los Angeles will drop |
| D．more minorities will be accepted by the U.S. |
5 . A huge fire broke out on 2 September 1666 in London. The fire, known as the Great Fire of London, was the worst fire in the history of London. It burned down more than three quarters of the old city.
The fire started in the very early hours of Sunday morning in the house of the king’s baker. A strong wind blew the fire from the baker’s house into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.
At that time, most of the buildings in London were made of wood, so it was easy for the fire to spread quickly. By eight o’clock, three hundred houses were on fire. By Monday, nearly a kilometre of the city was burning along the Thames River. On Tuesday, which was considered the worst day, the fire destroyed many well-known buildings, including the old St Paul’s Cathedral.
The fire burned until finally hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire were destroyed to create a firebreak. The fire then died out eventually with nothing left to burn.
1. Why is the fire of 1666 called the Great Fire of London?| A．The fire broke out in the capital of England. |
| B．The fire was the worst fire in the history of London. |
| C．People in England will never forget the fire. |
| D．The fire spread fast into Thames Street. |
| A．In the house of the king’s baker. |
| B．In Thames Street. |
| C．In the house of the baker’s neighbour. |
| D．In St Paul’s Cathedral. |
| A．It started in a baker’s house. |
| B．It broke out on a Sunday morning. |
| C．A hotel was next to the baker’s house. |
| D．Most of the buildings in London were wooden. |
| A．The old St Paul’s Cathedral. |
| B．Hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire. |
| C．Hundreds of wooden houses. |
| D．All of the above. |
6 . Searchers announced the recovery of one of the two black boxes, and human tissue (组织) debris from the crash site of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 on Wednesday night, three days after the Boeing 737-800 nosedived from cruising altitude and crashed into a forested hillside.
One of the black boxes found on Wednesday has been identified as the cockpit voice recorder (驾驶舱话音记录器). The black box’s recorder looks badly damaged from the outside, but its storage unit looks relatively intact. It has been sent to a professional civil aviation agency in Beijing for decoding, and hopefully the data stored inside will provide evidence for the accident investigation and help produce a credible accident analysis report. The search teams are going all out to find the other black box with professional tools.
Officials also released more information concerning the crash. The weather on the route of MU5735 was suitable for flying and there was no hazardous weather when the plane crashed. The communication connection between the plane and the ground was normal from the plane’s departure until its sudden fall in altitude. The plane started service in June 2015 and it had been maintained under strict standards of technical plans and in normal conditions. Before departure, the aircraft met the requirements for flying. Pilots on board were all in good health and their flying certificates were within the validity period.
Beijing EAPs Consulting, a firm which provided a free psychological services hotline immediately after the crash, told Global Times that it has answered many phone calls asking for assistance. The phone calls are from families, friends and colleagues of people on board, who are in a difficult time. Some pilots and flight attendants called in because they feel unsafe and uncertain about their careers. There are also people who want to know how to comfort their acquaintances that had loved ones on the plane. Mental support and psychological services in the first 24 to 72 hours after a tragedy is crucial for people involved to recover from the tragedy and minimize the trauma. For more information related to the plane crash, please click here to follow the latest news.
1. The underlined word in paragraph 1 can be replaced by________.| A．separated | B．fell | C．recovered | D．drove |
| A．The search for the other black box is still underway. |
| B．Pilots on board were not in good condition before departure. |
| C．The plane crashed into the city center. |
| D．The black box found appears intact outside. |
| A．Psychological support is of little use after the tragedy. |
| B．A company sends volunteers to the crash site. |
| C．Many crew members will quit their jobs immediately. |
| D．A company offers free psychological support to people related. |
| A．an online newspaper |
| B．a search report |
| C．a research paper |
| D．a book on psychology |
Nowadays, we can see phubbers watching their mobile phones everywhere. They can’t stop sending messages, surfing the Internet, listening music and even taking photos by using the mobile phone.
Actually, phubbing disturbs not only our study and our life. On the one hand, phubbers waste plenty of time play cell phone games and sending messages, particularly in the class. On the other, using the mobile phone for a long time can lead to healthy problems.
As far as I am concerned, it is high time that we put down the mobile phone and raise our heads up. Do cherish that is around us and appreciate the sceneries ahead of us. Only when we use the mobile phone reasonable, can you realize the happiness of life.
注意：1.词数100词左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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9 . Feeding America: by the Numbers
41.2 million Americans are food insecure, which means they don’t know when or how they’ll get their next meal.
13 million American children face hunger—That’s l in 6 kids. 1.5 million old soldiers receive food stamps (食品救济券).
27% of families with incomes above the poverty level are short of food. 18.7% of Mississippians are short of food (Highest rate of all states). 5. 4 million old people now face food insecurity in America. 8. 7% of Hawaiians are food insecure (Lowest rate of all states).
$1 donated (捐赠)to Feeding America will buy 10 meals for people facing hunger in America.
Want to Do Something?
One way to stop the hunger is through neighborhood food banks. They need three things: money, your time and food. If you plan to donate food, here are what food banks need most:
●Apple sauce
●Boxed meals
●Canned beans
●Canned chicken
● Canned chili
●Canned fish
●Cooking oil
●Dried herbs and spices
●Nuts
●Peanut butter
● Whole-grain cereal
Note:Avoid food with glass packaging (包装)because they can be broken in transport. Trusted Media Brands—Readers’ Digest’s parent company—has become an official media partner of Feeding America. See how you can help our efforts at feedingamerica. com.
1. How many kids are facing hunger in America?| A．5.4 million. | B．13 million. |
| C．41.2 million. | D．78 million. |
| A．Boxed meals. | B．Canned chicken. |
| C．Glass bottles of milk. | D．Oil used for cooking. |
| A．To show readers the problems of food safety. |
| B．To ask readers to help the poor out of poverty. |
| C．To inform readers of serious food shortages in America. |
| D．To encourage readers to donate food or money to food banks. |
For China’s post-90s generation, the beginning of this new decade means they
