2 . A new study from the Netherlands has found that an important factor in a child’s ultimate level of education, even more important than their own family’s economic situation, is whether they grow up with rich neighbors nearby.

Researcher Agata Troost and her colleagues at Delft University of Technology used a national database to track the address of every Dutch baby born in 1995, a total of 140,338 people, from birth to age 23. Using geolocating software, they drew up a socioeconomic profile (概况) for each child's immediate neighborhood, figuring the percentage of neighbors who were rich, middle class or disadvantaged.

After controlling a number of other factors, including parents’ earnings and levels of education, the researchers found that a child's own experience of wealth or poverty mattered less to their ultimate level of schooling than exposure to well-off neighbors. The data suggest that growing up in a rich area, with well-maintained parks, libraries and soccer fields, as well as interactions with educated neighbors, could boost a poor child's ability to see beyond their immediate horizons (眼界).

“Rich families create neighborhoods and activities that create opportunities,” said Ms. Troost, and these advantages are shared with other children who happen to live nearby. The finding echoes an earlier study by Mr. Chetty and his colleagues, which showed that having even one inspiring teacher in middle school can improve a student’s career prospects. Whether in the classroom or on the street, it seems that social interactions outside the family can start a young person's motivation and ambition.

At the same time, the study also stressed the importance of the home environment. When parents are well educated, children are likely to be, too. And that's the moral of the story: Neighborhoods can have different effects on different children, depending on how educated their parents are, whether they are male or female, and how much casual contact they have with people who are different from their own families. “Location, location, location” may be a old saying for buying a house, but we're learning that it also holds true for children's development.

1. What aspect of the research is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．Its purpose.

B．Its principle.

C．Its method.

D．Its result.

2. What does the underlined word “echoes” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Goes against.

B．Agrees with.

C．Works for.

D．Relates to.

3. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．An advertisement.

B．A novel.

C．A magazine.

D．A guidebook.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．The Benefits of Educated Parents	B．The Power of a Good Neighborhood
C．The Decisive Factor in a Child's Growth	D．The Location Your New House Should Have

4 . It’s not uncommon in Alabama to hear the words “ma’am” or “sir” being used by a very young child. Like “please“ or “thank you, ”to many Southern parents, saying “ma’am” or “sir” is part of raising children right, a way to show respect, part of common manners.

And so, I can imagine how angry Teretha Wilsonmust felt last month, when her 10-year-old son Tamarion was punished by his teacher for calling her “ma’am. ” His punishment: having to write the word “ma’am” four times on each line of a piece of notebook paper, front and back.

Wilson said that she first noticed that her son was sad when he came home from North East Carolina Preparatory School. He explained what had happened. Wilson said that they had taught Tamarion to use “ma’am” or “sir” as a sign of respect when talking to adults.

Surely that teacher was new and not from the South, I thought. It seems that a little communication with the parents would have been better than requiring a written punishment for something that, culturally, is seen as good behavior.

I might get my “Southern card” pulled for this. Unlike many moms, I don’t require my children to say “sir” o “ma’am. ” They know the words, and know that it’s a polite thing to say. Perhaps I don’t teach it because it wasn’t something that was required of me as a child, I guess.

But they are required to say “please” and “thank you.”   If they ask a question, they’d better say “May I” and they know they must ask to be excused before leaving the dinner table. The thing is, manners are a part of preparing your children for the world around them. And it should be up to the parents to decide what those manners are — whether that means using “mat’am” or “sir” or saying “please” and “thank you. ” The child should not be punished for using those signs of respect, but instead praised.

1. Why was Tamarion punished?

A．The teacher caught him breaking school rules.	B．He failed to write the word “ma’am” right.
C．The teacher thought he didn’t respect her.	D．He didn’t call the teacher “ma’am. ”

2. What does the author think the teacher should do?

A．Ask the boy’s thoughts first.	B．Go to the South to have a look.
C．Use other kinds of punishment.	D．Have a talk with the boy’s parents.

3. What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 5?

A．She hasn’t taught her kids the Southern way of being polite.

B．She requires her kids to say “sir” or “ma’am.”

C．She will learn from Southern parents.

D．She is not a Southern American.

4. What does the author want to show in the last paragraph?

A．Good manners are important.

B．Kids learn good manners at dinner.

C．Parents should set a good example to their kids.

D．Parents instead of teachers should punish the kids.

5 . 听下面一段较长对话, 回答以下小题。
1. What was the man doing when he saw the accident?

A．On his way to the museum.

B．On his way to the library.

C．On his way home.

2. What was the truck driver doing before the accident?

A．Driving from the opposite direction.

B．Parking by the side of the street.

C．Making a phone call in the truck.

3. Who called the ambulance?

A．The woman.

B．The man.

C．A man nearby.

4. What’s the woman’s suggestion to the man?

A．Be careful when walking.

B．Try to forget the experience.

C．Don’t ride a car.

6 . A lot of your childhood was probably spent in an ordinary classroom with old desks and chairs. That's because you went to an average school. So whether you loved your school or wished you went to one of the following now, you'll never think of schooling the same way again.

Train Platforms as School Rooms

Now, most children have to take a bus or train to school. However, they don't usually stop on the platform and learn maths. In Orissa, India, in order to try to lower the chances of children quitting school, one woman decided that she would bring the school to the kids and it certainly worked!

Floating School

Each year in summer, the rivers in Bangladesh flood. And kids are left without a way to school. However, one clever town decided to have lessons on 100 boats instead as well as health care centre and homes. With the internet access, computers and a library it's a pretty high tech school!

Elf School

In Iceland there are a lot of stories about elves. According to the school there are different types of elves that have a variety of uses. The school generally trains people in the practice of elves in the hope they can somehow help the government. The Icelandic police have been known to ask for an elf's help when meeting trouble.

Real Life Clown School

The Ringling Brothers set up a number of courses and schools around the United States to teach the students the art of clowning around. Imagine wearing a bright red nose while kids are laughing around you for a balloon animal.

1. Who was Train Platform School built for?

A．The students willing to learn the art of clowning

B．The students who cannot pay their high education.

C．The children who cannot catch the train to school.

D．The young children who are forced to quit school.

2. Which school only exists during one particular time of the year?

A．Elf School.	B．The Floating School.
C．Real Life Clown School.	D．The Train Platform School.

3. What is special about Real Life Clown School?

A．The students can have classes on trains.	B．The school trains people to help society.
C．The students use computers and a library.	D．The students learn to entertain children.

7 . The modern as well as lively island nation Singapore is very well-known across the globe for its evolution and making itself tip-top of education center. The last decade has well and truly seen its rise as a popular study destination. Singapore is home to some of the top universities in the world. It has rapidly become one of the top choices for international students.

The cost of living is big in Singapore. Thus, many rely on a part-time job to help their finances while they are studying. Today 75% of international students are engaged in some type of part-time work. Most find their part-time jobs from workclass.com, which is a leading platform in providing jobs by its cooperation with top-class companies and brands. They keep up-to-date with the fresh and new porosities for the natives as foreign students and scholars.

Any international student before starting to work must take care of many things, particularly his student work pass as well as permission from the university. While searching for a suitable job, it is important to take various things into account, such as the strict laws in the country.

A good job for international learners should:

◆Fit a student’s lifestyle—Part-time jobs that leave enough time for your curriculum and studying or offer flexible working hours.

◆Enable a student to develop stronger language skills—vital for international students who are not native English speakers.

◆Help a student mix quickly into a new culture and meet new friends.

◆Basically, offer some good work experience and open more career opportunities.

1. What makes Singapore a popular study destination?

A．Low living expenses.	B．World-Famous universities.
C．Easy entrance exams.	D．Full-time job opportunities.

2. How do most of the international students find their part-time jobs?

A．By directly applying to companies.	B．By getting information from a website.
C．By seeking their teachers’ opinions.	D．By following the native students.

3. Which meets the requirement of a good part time job for international learners?

A．It helps improve social status.	B．It only admits English-speakers.
C．It benefits future career choices.	D．It offers fixed working hours.

8 . Taking online classes from far away

Faiqa, a 15-year-old freshman at a public high school, logs in to her all-remote classes each night from Pakistan in a time zone nine hours ahead. Max, who also attends school in the same state, has joined his Advanced Placement history class for about two months from Guayaquil, Ecuador.     1    . During the pandemic, almost nothing about school has been normal, so administrators and teachers have come up with a solution:     2    . Some students in immigrant communities are logging in to school from thousands of miles away.

It is unclear how widespread the practice is. But out-of-country logins have become increasingly common since late fall according to educators in the country.     3    , and others temporarily left their homeland to care for sick relatives. However, because of the pandemic, they all can’t come back home. Remote education is really useful for them.     4    . “We recognize that the challenges of the pandemic may have temporarily changed circumstances for our families, and our schools are delivering strong virtual instruction to those who have chosen to learn remotely,” Ms. Filson, the district’s spokeswoman, says in a statement.

Max says he is grateful that he is still able to log in to classes during the special period of time. “    5    ,” he says.

A．Missing school for a long time is really bad

B．Some families paid a visit to other countries

C．I’m desperate to get back to the online world

D．students take virtual classes from outside the state

E．over two-thirds of young students find it easier to learn lessons online

F．Max’s schoolmate, Naobe, participates in classes from northern Honduras

G．The officials say it is possible for students to log in from anywhere in the world

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.

2. What food will neighborhood food banks refuse?

A．Boxed meals.	B．Canned chicken.
C．Glass bottles of milk.	D．Oil used for cooking.

3. Why does the author write this text?

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.

10 . I've discovered the joy of a new thing. Online grocery shopping. But I actually enjoy going to the supermarket.

Seems I'm not the only one，only about 3% of people do grocery shopping online，compared with around 30 % who shop for clothes and electronics. I was interested，so I decided to do my own very unscientific research.

Step one: I talked to a small group of friends about their preferences.One mother described it as the happiest thing in her week when she was stuck at home with two small kids and handsome young men would arrive at the door bearing groceries.Seems busy mums are very much in favour of home deliveries(送货).

Step two: sign up and try it myself. My choice was Aussie-owned Countdown.

I managed to do the whole shop in about 15 minutes. The only problem is that you have to place an order of at least $ 50 and pay the seemingly standard $ 15 delivery fee. But given the cost of groceries，who has ever left a supermarket spending less than $ 50? l was impressed Countdown offered same-day delivery on a Sunday when I placed my order at 9:30 am.

Sure enough，at about 2:30 pm，I got a phone call from a delightful courier chap（快递员)called Ian，who told me he was at my house with the groceries and was leaving them on the back deck. Two minutes later he called again saying he'd left the groceries in the house because we'd left the backdoor wide open.He even offered to lock the house up and put the key some where safe.

I have a real fear that we will more and more quickly move to online shopping for everything and shops will become something of the past.

As a teenager，hanging around the shops on a Saturday with friends is what we did.So even though I enjoy the experience of online grocery shopping，perhaps I'll just stick with my regular trips to my local New World to keep real shops alive a bit longer.

1. What did the mother mentioned in Paragraph 3 think of online grocery shopping?

A．She loved it.	B．She was against it.
C．She would give it a try.	D．She had no interest in it.

2. What did the author like most about online Countdown?

A．Its high quality groceries.	B．Its low delivery fees.
C．Its good service.	D．Its low prices.

3. Why does the author prefer supermarket shopping?

A．She finds it much easier.	B．She can save more money
C．She has a fond feeling for it.	D．She had a bad online shopping experience.

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A．Is Online Shopping Popular?	B．The Joy of Grocery Shopping
C．The Future of Online Shopping	D．Is Supermarket Shopping Dying?