2 . Parenting styles have evolved over the years in response to the rapid social changes. Whether it is tapping technology or applying the best parenting practices, parents nowadays generally invest more time in finding out how best to raise their child.

Modern parents have access to the internet and social media for ideal parenting advice and tips. There are also numerous parenting groups for different age groups on social media that parents can join. A parent can post questions from how to manage the constant cries of an infant to how to talk to a moody teenager, and chances are, the parent will be flooded instantly with advice and relevant articles. The availability of resources has helped modern parents to be more involved and supportive of their children’s development, academically, emotionally and socially. Modern parents are also keener to find out about effective parenting methods to raise disciplined and confident children.

Meanwhile, one of modern parenting styles, helicopter parenting, arises. When parents become over-involved, over-concerned and over-controlling, they start helping children with what they are capable of on their own, for example, selecting activities and friends for them. Such a parenting style can restrict the children’s ability to handle responsibilities independently. Children might be ill-equipped with life skills such as operating a stove or monitoring their schoolwork. Overprotecting children from failures may also be prevented from developing resilience (韧性) and acquiring skills like problem-solving.

On the other hand, parents in the past tended to supervise (监管) less. Children were given more control over how they managed their schoolwork and the friends they chose to play with. They were often expected to shoulder the responsibilities of caring for younger siblings and managing household chores. Living in the preinternet era, parents were less informed about different parenting approaches and personalities.

There is no one right way to raise a child and there is no need to doubt about the best parenting style. Each child is unique and should be raised differently by parents who are present, but not hovering (盘旋);who are supportive but not controlling; and who protect but not spoil.

1. What does the author explain by mentioning “an infant” and “a moody teenager” in paragraph 2?

A．Devotion to kids.

B．Easy access to guidance.

C．Effective parenting.

D．Tricky parenting problems.

2. What does paragraph 3 mainly talk about concerning modern parenting?

A．Its benefits.	B．Its influence.
C．Its characteristics.	D．Its type.

3. What can we learn about parents in the past?

A．They had strengths and weaknesses in parenting.

B．They were wiser than modern parents in1 parenting.

C．They were to blame for child development prospect.

D．They contributed to the children’s well-rounded abilities.

4. What is the purpose of writing the article?

A．To recommend how to parent wisely.

B．To appeal to learn from modern parents.

C．To inform how parenting has changed.

D．To introduce two parenting strategies.

3 . Be it sugar or social media, the response in our brain is the same: It produces a “feel-good” chemical called dopamine. It first brings about pleasure, but it doesn’t last very long. It is then followed by pain so that we have to search for the pleasurable things again.

“This cycle of pleasure and pain made sense in the time of early humans when we had to constantly search for our basic needs-food, water, shelter,” says Dr. Anna Lembke, a Stanford Medical School researcher. “But our brains weren’t adjusted to put out the ‘fire of dopamine’ caused by pleasurable things that are so easily available in modern life.”

In addition, when we’re repeatedly exposed to pleasure-producing things, we’re not able to take joy in the same rewards. Instead, we need stronger and stronger stimulus (刺激) just to feel good. Otherwise, the cycle will lead us to anxiety, depression and many other problems.

“This is a universal problem—not one limited to those struggling with the disease of addiction. If we want to stay mentally healthy, we must rethink how to break the cycle in a dopamine-overloaded world,” says Lembke.

Her suggestions for the addicts?

Take a 30-day break from anything that we rely on for pleasure. This doesn’t mean going cold turkey forever. But this first month is key to breaking the pleasure-pain cycle and it’s a lot easier to cut out an addictive behavior entirely at first. Then re-introduce the pleasurable things little by little, like just a few bites of ice cream at a time or just one hour online a night.

Another strategy is to create physical distance between us and our addiction. That could mean just removing the addictive thing from our personal space. For someone who’s addicted to video games, that could mean a separate laptop for work and one for play.

“In a time of abundance, we have to strike a pleasure-pain balance, which means intentionally avoiding pleasure and seeking the kind of purposeful pain that keeps us healthy, such as exercise,” Lembke says. “By doing so, we will reset reward pathways and eventually be a lot happier. It’s not easy, but it’s well worth doing in the long term.”

1. What can we learn about dopamine from the text?

A．It has always been harmful to humans.

B．It gives us less joy for the same rewards.

C．It can be caused by anything available.

D．It can lead to a lasting good feeling.

2. What do the underlined words “going cold turkey” probably mean?

A．Abandoning.

B．Waiting.

C．Cooking.

D．Repeating.

3. What does Dr. Anna Lembke suggest we do in the long term?

A．Avoid pleasure in life.

B．Set a strict limit on pleasurable things.

C．Change reward pathways.

D．Expose ourselves to repeated rewards.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．Ways to Live With Dopamine in Peace

B．Tips on Getting Rid of Social Media Addiction

C．Strategies for Making Most of the Modern Life

D．The Need to Strike a Pleasure-pain Balance

7 . Last summer, the story about a CEO who encouraged employees to take mental health days spread online. It led to many media stories about the importance of taking care of your mental health including taking a mental health day when you need one.

But what about kids? Should you let your child take a mental health day from school? The answer isn’t a simple yes or no. It’s important for kids to power through some discomfort, like going to school even when they’re afraid of giving a presentation, or when they don’t have their math homework done. There’s a lot of value in showing them that they’re stronger than they think. But when they’re feeling so bad that they’re struggling to function, and going to school is likely to make it worse, a mental health day might be just what the doctor ordered.

Letting kids take the occasional(偶尔的) mental health day-maybe once or twice a year-could make them believe that taking care of their minds is vital, just as they should take care of their bodies. It can also be a great opportunity to help them sharpen their emotional skills and build the mental muscles they need to stay strong.

A good way to spend a mental health day is to use the time to do the following things.

Solve a problem. If your child is stressed out by a specific problem, you might be able to turn a mental health day into a problem-solving opportunity.

Practice self-care. If your child is exhausted or overworked, an occasional day off may help him recuperate. It could be an opportunity to develop healthier habits, like going to sleep earlier, eating nutritious (有营养的)food, and getting plenty of exercise.

See a professional. If your child is struggling to attend school, seek professional help. Schedule an appointment with your pediatrician(儿科医生)to talk about your child’s mental health needs. A physician may refer you to a mental health professional if it’s necessary.

1. What did people do after reading the story about a CEO?

A．They decided to take more days off work.

B．They realized mental health needs care too.

C．They decided to read some media stories about him.

D．They became worried about employees’ mental health.

2. Which of the following shows the author’s opinion?

A．All children need a mental health day.

B．Kids need a mental health day less than adults.

C．Schools should arrange regular mental health days.

D．A mental health day is sometimes necessary for children.

3. What does the underlined word “recuperate” in Paragraph 6 mean?

A．Recover.	B．Think.
C．Sleep.	D．Exercise

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

A．When do kids need mental health days?

B．Why do people need mental health days?

C．How can kids make use of mental health days?

D．Should kids be allowed to take mental health days?

8 . Last summer, Steven Eaton received more than 200 young people on his organic farm. None of them said that they wanted to make money from farming. Some of them described it as a kind of protest against the idea that success means a big paycheck and many took it as a means to protect the environment.

Steven Eaton understands such idealists(理想主义者)and he was one of them about a decade ago. In 2010, he was in a law school in Washington, DC, but not enjoying it much. Then he applied to work on a farm in West Virginia in summer.

“I felt lost when I was in the city. It’s in the field that I found peace and harmony in my life,” recalls Eaton, who now runs an organic farm close to New York City. “So I went back to West Virginia after graduation.”

Farming—the independence and the connection to something as real as soil and food—was the one thing that he wanted to throw himself into. And he’s been doing it ever since.

But it wasn’t always a big happy folk dance.

“I had a lot of failures in the first couple of years and I didn’t really know what I was doing,” he laughs.

Eventually, he learned to be realistic about farming. “It’s good to be an idealist. But if you’re going to stick with it, and expect to make a living at it, you’ve got to be realistic about the business aspects: Money, managing money, borrowing money, and all the things that a business person has to do. You have to learn to like that and be willing to be good at that. That may even mean burning a little more fossil fuel, so you can get your produce to cities, where people pay higher prices.”

That sense of farming as a practical form of idealism is probably the biggest thing the young people have to learn. When you’re farming, you have to put survival first.

1. Why did many of the young people want to become farmers?

A．To make a lot of money.	B．To apply their learning to practice.
C．To protect the environment.	D．To study the pollution in agriculture.

2. Which of the following best describes Steven Eaton as a law student?

A．Idealistic.

B．Realistic.

C．Selfless.

D．Successful.

3. What message does Steven Eaton want to convey to the young people?

A．Put environment before profit.

B．Be realistic about the business aspects.

C．Stick to your idealism forever.

D．Find a much easier job than farming.

4. What does the author think of Steven Eaton’s advice?

A．Outdated.

B．Useless.

C．Funny.

D．Valuable.

9 . Strategies for Getting Kids off Screens

It’s time to keep kids off the screens! Parents should use the winter vacation to remind their children of what it’s like to play freely, offline for hours on end.     1    . Here are some practical strategies for giving kids a screen-free winter.

Set clear screen time limits

Establish how many minutes or hours you’re OK with them each week, and make it something that can never be changed. For example, you could say they’re allowed to watch for an hour on Sunday morning, or for 15 minutes in the evening while dinner is being made, or none at all for the rest of the winter—and then stick to it.     2    

Get kids cooking

Involve them in meal preparation by assigning recipes that you’d like them to make each day.     3    . And you’ll have many tasty dishes at the end of it,

    4    

There are numerous half- and full-day camp options and lessons that can occupy a child’s time, such as swimming, art classes, tennis, dinosaur camp and sports camp. Look around your community for activities that can get them out of the house for a few hours each day.

Establish a reading routine (习惯)

    5    . Take your kid along to choose what she or he wants to read, and that will help keep them enthusiastic. Back home and see if you can set up a comfortable reading corner where they will be willing to read and let reading become a good habit gradually.

A．Sign up for lessons

B．Assign household work

C．That helps stop arguments of screen time

D．Of course, this is easier said than done

E．Master some basic tricks, using a homemade tool

F．They’ll develop new skills at cutting, cooking and baking

G．Go to the library once a week to store up fresh reading material

10 . George Turner, 48, owner of Penuel Bicycles in Inglewood, California, talks with respect about his childhood BMX dirt bike. “I was mad keen on cycling.” he says. “I did whatever it took to get on that bike, as long as I was home before dark.” Home meant housework, homework and annoying brothers. But a bike meant escapes.

In 2010, George transformed his childhood love into a livelihood, and opened his bicycle shop, Penuel Bicycles. The shop fulfilled a lifelong dream. Before that, he had worked for years delivering boxes for FedEx while selling bike accessories online.

“Bicycles kept me out of trouble,” George remembers. “They were part of my life.” He figured that was still true for kids when he opened Penuel Bicycles. George expected parents to crowd inside, eager to buy shiny new bikes for their kids. He looked forward to helping boys and girls discover the joy of riding — and stay out of trouble — just as he had.

None of that happened, however.

George found that kids these days lead a different life. Usually, they don’t want a bike for their birthday. And most of them ever don’t know how to ride a bike. Instead of getting out and riding, they prefer spending their time on their phones indoors. As kids don’t ride, it is impossible that parents crowd in his shop to buy new bikes. Nine years after opening his Penuel Bicycles, George feared that he had to close the shop.

Then in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation. Surprisingly, the pandemic saved George’s business. During the pandemic, many American people found that cycling was a good way to exercise and also a safe way to get around. The demand for new bikes kept growing and people in George’s neighborhood pulled out their old bikes and wheeled them to Penuel Bicycles to get repaired. Now he is trying his best to meet his customers’ needs and hopes that his customers can really discover the joy of riding.

1. What did the bike mean to George in his childhood?

A．Taking up sports.	B．Getting away from daily routine.
C．A precious birthday gift.	D．A convenient vehicle.

2. What is George’s lifelong dream?

A．Making a big fortune.	B．Being a member of FedEx.
C．Opening his own bicycle shop.	D．Helping people pursue riding pleasure.

3. Why was George’s bike business once in a tough situation?

A．The lifestyle of kids changed.	B．He wasn’t good at management.
C．Bikes were not as charming as before.	D．His business was affected by the pandemic.

4. What’s the best title of the passage?

A．Joy of Wheel	B．Passion for Exercise
C．Improvement of Bike Business	D．Increasing Demand for New Bikes