1 . For primary and middle school students, being able to cook has become a must. They will also need to learn how to plant vegetables, raise chickens or ducks and fix computers or fridges under new requirements for labor education. The MOE(教育部) brought out a new standard for labor education in schools last year. Starting from the 2022 fall term, students in primary and middle schools have to take courses on labor skills at least once a week.
Labor education helps students value hard work. The new standard includes three types of labor tasks: housework, school labor and community volunteer services.
Schools in China have traditionally placed more focus on studying, and many have seen housework as a waste of children’s time. But according to the MOE, labor education must be built up to help students improve social values and develop an interest in labor.
Liu Fang, am other of 6-year-old twins in Beijing, strongly supports labor education. For the past year, she has trained her daughters to do housework and make simple dishes for the family.
“The main idea is to let them share duty as family members and become independent as they can,” said Liu. “Through doing housework, their hand-eye coordination(手眼协调), time management and organization skills can be trained and it’s also good to help them relax.”
Through such education, Liu said her twins have found fun in doing housework and are more independent.
1. What CAN’T a middle school student learn through labor education?| A．How to plant vegetables. |
| B．How to be more careful in class. |
| C．How to fix computers or fridges. |
| D．How to raise chickens or ducks. |
| A．It started in the fall term of 2022. |
| B．It is for students from primary school to college. |
| C．Students have to take labor courses twice a week. |
| D．It includes two types of labor tasks. |
| A．pay more attention to students’ study | B．let students study to cook |
| C．pay more attention to students’ health | D．let students do housework |
| A．It’s too simple for students. | B．It helps students develop different skills. |
| C．It is boring for students. | D．It is a waste of students’ time. |
2 . As Internet users become more dependent on the Internet to store information, are people remembering less? If you know your computer will save information, why store it in your own personal memory,your brain? Experts are wondering if the Internet is changing what we remember and how.
In a recent study, Professor Betsy Sparrow conducted some experiments. She and her research team wanted to know the Internet is changing memory. In the first experiment, they gave people 40 unimportant facts to type into a computer. The first group of people understood that the computer would save the information. The second group understood that the computer would not save it. Later, the second group remembered the information better. People in the first group knew they could find the information again, so they did not try to remember it.
In another experiment, the researchers gave people facts to remember, and told them where to find the information on the Internet. The information was in a specific computer folder (文件夹). Surprisingly, people later remembered the folder location better than the facts. When people use the Internet, they do not remember the information. Rather, they remember how to find it. This is called “transactive memory (交互记忆)”.
According to Sparrow, we are not becoming people with poor memories as a result of the Internet. Instead, computer users are developing stronger transactive memories; that is, people are learning how to organise huge quantities of information so that they are able to access it at a later date. This doesn’t mean we are becoming either more or less intelligent, but there is no doubt that the way we use memory is changing.
1. What is the effect of the Internet according to Sparrow’s research?| A．We are using memory differently. |
| B．We are becoming more intelligent. |
| C．We have poorer memories than before. |
| D．We need a better way to access information. |
| A．To introduce the main topic. |
| B．To show the author’s attitude. |
| C．To describe how to use the Internet. |
| D．To explain how to store information. |
| A．Sparrow’s team typed the information into a computer. |
| B．The two groups remembered the information equally well. |
| C．The first group did not try to remember the information. |
| D．The second group did not understand the information. |
| A．To keep the information in mind. |
| B．To change the quantity of information. |
| C．To organise information like a computer. |
| D．To remember how to find the information. |
3 . The Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania live a life that has not changed much over ten thousand years. They have no crops, no house animals, no permanent shelters. In spite of long exposure to agriculturalist groups around them, the Hadza have maintained their lifestyle.
The story of the spread of agriculture is the story of growing population density (密度). Villages formed, then cities, then nations. Agriculture’s rise, however, came with a price. It introduced infectious diseases, social inequality, occasional famines (饥荒) and war. Professor Jared Diamond of UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) has called the adoption of agriculture “the worst mistake in human history”— a mistake from which we have never recovered.
Looking at the Hadza, you can see why he came to this conclusion. They do not engage in warfare. They do not live densely (稠密地) enough to be threatened by an infectious outbreak. They have no known history of famine (饥荒). The Hadza diet is more stable (稳定 的) and varied than that of most of the world’s citizens. They live almost entirely free of possessions. They enjoy an extraordinary amount of leisure time, “working” — actively pursuing food — only four to six hours a day.
The chief reason the Hadza have been able to maintain their lifestyle so long is that their homeland is not an inviting place. Recently, however, population growth has brought a flood of people into Hadza lands. The region has generally been viewed by outsiders as unused, a Place in need of development. The Hadza, who by nature are not a combative (好战的) people, have almost always moved away instead of fighting.
There are many things to envy about the Hadza, mostly what free spirits they appear to be. Free from schedules, jobs, bosses, bills, traffic, taxes, laws, social duties and money. But who of us could live like them? It’s incredibly risky. Medical help is far away. One bad fall from a tree, one bite from a snake, and you’re dead. The fact is that it’s too late for us to go back to the Hadza lifestyle. Of greater concern is that soon it may be impossible for them to maintain theirs.
1. What does the underlined word “It” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Agriculture’s rise. | B．The growth of population. |
| C．The formation of village. | D．The appearance of a city. |
| A．They are always busy in all seasons |
| B．They like fighting with the other nations |
| C．They are often in hunger because of fight |
| D．They are always leading a free life without fight. |
| A．It’s convenient for the people of Hadza to get medical care. |
| B．It’s worth visiting the beautiful scenery of the Hadza. |
| C．Visitors can be welcomed warmly by the people of the Hadza. |
| D．The author is worried about the current situation of the Hadza. |
| A．Agriculture of the Hadza | B．The Unique Hadza Lifestyle |
| C．The Attractive Diet of the Hadza | D．The Medical Care of the Hadza |
