1 . Before the Internet age, critical thinking was the most important skill of people. But in the digital age, according to Anastasia Kozyreva, a famous psychologist, a more important skill is critical ignoring..
As researchers point out, we live in an attention economy where content producers on the Internet compete for our attention. They attract us with many eye-catching stories while providing little useful information, so they can expose us to profit-generating advertisements. Therefore, we are not customers but products, and each link we click is a sale of our time and attention. To protect ourselves from this, Kozyreva advocates (提倡) for learning the skill of critical ignoring, in which readers can control their information environment to reduce exposure to raise information.
According to Kozyreva, critical ignoring includes three strategies. The first is to design our environments, which includes removing low-quality yet hard-to-resist (难以抵制的) information from around. Successful dieters need to keep unhealthy food out of their homes. Similarly, we need to set up a digital environment where attention-grabbing items are kept out of sight. Like dieting, if one tries to depend on willpower not to click eye-catching "news", he'll surely fail. So, it's better to keep them out of sight at first!
The next is to evaluate the reliability (可靠性) of information, whose purpose is to protect you from false information. It can be realized by checking the source in the mainstream, news agencies, which are trustworthy.
The last is: "never feed the trolls." Trolls are some people who spread false information online to cause harm. Do not correct them, because they do not care about whether the information is correct. Annoying others is their goal. So, never respond to their bad behaviour with our attention.
By using the above critical ignoring skills, we can make the most of the Internet while avoiding falling victim to those who try to control our attention, time, and minds.
1. What can we learn about the attention economy from paragraph 2?| A．It offers more information. | B．It features depressing stories. |
| C．It saves time for Internet users. | D．It seeks profits from each click. |
| A．To discuss the quality of information. | B．To prove the benefits of healthy food. |
| C．To show the importance of environments. | D．To explain the effectiveness of willpower. |
| A．Review their intention. | B．Turn a deaf ear to them.. |
| C．Correct their behaviour. | D．Send hard facts to them. |
| A．Reasons for critical thinking in the attention economy. |
| B．Practising the skills of critical ignoring in the digital age. |
| C．Maximizing the benefits of critical ignoring on the Internet. |
| D．Strategies of abandoning critical thinking for Internet users. |
1. How long did Mike work on his school paper?
| A．3 hours. | B．2 hours. | C．1 hour. |
| A．It got injured. | B．It became trapped. | C．It was lost. |
| A．He fed it. | B．He saved it by himself. | C．He called for help. |
| A．Opposed. | B．Supportive. | C．Indifferent. |
1. What happened to the man?
| A．He hurt his nose. | B．He broke his leg. | C．He slipped over. |
| A．Fix his bone. | B．Cover his nose. | C．Stop the bleeding. |
4 . Editor’s note: An increasing number of Chinese people, especially the young, are more willing to celebrate Western festivals. Should we celebrate foreign festivals? Forum (论坛) readers share their opinions. You’re welcome to add yours.
Dinah (China)
I enjoy the happy atmosphere of both Chinese and Western festivals. As long as it is meaningful for me, I will celebrate it with my boyfriend, and my parents! I like Western festivals and often celebrate them without even knowing the origins of them. Why? Because what I really appreciate is just the happy atmosphere.
SharkMinnow (Canada)
Western Festivals are more like parties or games for some Chinese. Also, spending money = good for economy. Most Chinese don’t take Western festivals as seriously as their own. It’s like a game or party in my eyes. A way to blow off steam and have fun (and spend money).
Travis (UK)
As an Englishman teaching here in China for two years, my friends have got used to, and enjoy when I celebrate my festivals. My school also likes it as well, although this year they asked me not to scare the teachers so much on Halloween. My Chinese friends enjoy taking part in my festivals, as they also learn more about my culture, and the history that goes with it…
Leesinchina (US)
Cherish your own festivals. It would be a pity if the Chinese accepted these Western days — first, because they have absolutely nothing to do with traditional Chinese culture. Second, they are a big trick by the big stores to get more money out of you. Stick to your own festivals — they actually mean something to you — rather than following western customs for no good reason.
1. What matters most according to Dinah?| A．The atmosphere when celebrating festivals. |
| B．The people with whom to celebrate festivals. |
| C．Celebrating Chinese festivals with her family. |
| D．Celebrating Western festivals in a good atmosphere. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Indifferent. | C．Neutral. | D．Negative. |
| A．A newspaper. | B．A debate. | C．A website. | D．A text book. |
1. Why does the man make the call?
| A．He hurt his back. |
| B．He feels pain in his shoulder. |
| C．He wants more medicine. |
| A．9:00 a.m. | B．11:00 a.m. | C．4:00 p.m. |
It was 8 a.m. Kathy，a 25yearold nurse，had just finished a 2hour night shift at a hospital. She was tired, but glad to be sailing along highway to where she lived. Although the local government had posted a snow alert (预警), the calm grey sky convinced Kathy the drive would be safe. “I figured I'd be in bed in an hour，” she said.
Snow began when she was halfway home. Listening to the radio, Kathy learned the highway was closed because a tractor had slid off the road. She texted some friends and her mom, and tried not to sleep as she waited.
After a couple of hours, however, conditions worsened. Strong winds began rocking Kathy's car. She couldn't see anything outside, and snow was drifting up her doors. “It was”, she said, “a total white out and rows of cars and trucks”.
Late in the afternoon a police officer came and asked if she was in any difficulty. She said she was fine. She asked the police officer if there was any way to get past the trucks. “No, ma'am，” he answered. “You're not going anywhere.”
As it got dark, Kathy began to worry. She texted his brother Cris, telling him to drive snowmobiling buddy (雪地汽车) to get to the highway and find her.
As Cris rode slowly alongside the rows of cars and trucks, people would roll down their windows and ask for help. But Cris didn’t stop. He explained he was picking up his sister. He told them, “Nobody's coming and I can't take you.”
Near 10 p.m. Cris reached Kathy. He directed Kathy to pull her car onto the roadside and asked her to get into his snowmobiling buddy.
As they headed for home, the fun started. About five kilometres into the journey, Cris made a mistake. What he thought was a shallow ditch (浅沟) turned out to be a deep trough (水槽). Instead of coming out the other side, they just kept going down. They were trapped. And feathery snow was over their heads.
注意： 80词左右，衔接度，时态语态、标点符号、卷面书写。At that moment, they had to take action to get out of the deep trough.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. What is the relationship between the speakers?
| A．Classmates. | B．Co-workers. | C．Teacher and student. |
| A．She ate weight-loss pills. |
| B．She skipped the PE class. |
| C．She’s concerned about her appearance. |
| A．103. | B．127. | C．134. |
1. When was the man called?
| A．Today. | B．Yesterday. | C．Two days ago. |
| A．She is ill. | B．She is dead. | C．She is injured. |
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