1 . China has set new rules limiting the amount of time children can play online games. The rules limit children to just three hours of online game playing a week. That is one hour between 8 p. m. and 9 p. m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday most weeks.
Li Zhanguo has two children aged 4 and 8. Even though they do not have smartphones, they enjoy playing online games. Like many other parents. Li is happy with new government rules. But experts say it is unclear if such policies can help prevent addiction to online games. Children might just get addicted to social media instead. In the end, experts say, parents should be the ones to set limits and support good practice.
There has been a growing concern in China about gaming addiction among children. Government reports in 2018 found that about one in ten Chinese children were addicted to the Internet. The new rules are part of an effort to prevent young people from spending too much time on unhealthy entertainment. That includes what officials call the “irrational fan culture”
Under the new rules, the responsibility for making sure children play only three hours a day as largely on Chinese gaming companies like Net Ease and Ten cent. Companies have set up real-name registration systems to prevent young users from going past game time limits. They have used facial recognition technology to check their identities. And they have also set up a program that permits people to report what is against the law. It is unclear what punishments gaming companies may face if they do not carry out the policies. And even if such policies are performed, it is also unclear whether they can prevent online addiction.
A specialist treating Internet addiction expects about 20 percent of children will find ways to break the rules by borrowing accounts of their older relatives and find a way around facial recognition. In his opinion, short-video alps such as Douyin and Kuaishou are also very popular in China. They are not under the same restrictions as games.
1. When can children play games according to the new rules?A.Between 8 p. m. and 9 p. m. On Friday. | B.Between 8 p. m. and 9 p. m. On Tuesday. |
C.Between 10 p. m. and 11 p. m. On Saturday. | D.Between 10 p. m. and all p. m. On Thursday. |
A.the new rules can stop children’s addiction to social media |
B.companies are more responsible for kids ‘ obeying the rules |
C.the new rules will help prevent children playing online games |
D.parents play a greater part in limiting the time of online games |
A.Design an advanced program. | B.Use facial recognition systems. |
C.Set up real-name registration systems. | D.Borrow accounts of their older relatives. |
A.Rules Limiting Short-video alps | B.Rules Limiting Video Game Time |
C.Rules Banning Irrational Fan Culture | D.Rules Breaking Addition to Social Media |
2 . The rate of childhood obesity in the U. S. has tripled over the past 50 years. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) made waves this year by recommending that doctors put obese kids as young as two years old on intensive, family-oriented lifestyle and behavior plans. It also suggested prescribing weight-loss drugs to children l2 and older and surgery to teens 13 and older. This advice reflects the organization’s adoption of a more active position on childhood obesity.
Yet the lifestyle programs the AAP recommends are expensive, inaccessible to most children and hard to maintain. Few weight-loss drugs have been approved for children. And surgery has potential risks and few long-term safety data. Furthermore, it’s not clear whether interventions in youngsters help to improve health or merely add to the psychological burden overweight kids face from the society.
Rather than paying close attention to numbers on a scale, the U. S. and countries with similar trends should focus on an underlying truth: we need to invest in more and safer places for children to play where they can move and run around, climb and jump, ride and skate.
Why is it so hard to get kids moving? Experts blame the problem on the privatization of sports — as public investment in school-based athletics dwindles, expensive private leagues have grown, leaving many kids out. In addition to fewer opportunities at school, researchers cite increased screen time and a lack of safe places for them to play outside the home. New York City, for example, had 2,067 public playgrounds as of 2019 — a very small amount for its large population. In Los Angeles in 2015, only 33 percent of youths lived within walking distance of a park.
Kids everywhere need more places to play. Public funding to build and keep up these areas is crucial, but other options such as shared-use agreements can make unused spaces available to the public. These opportunities aren’t primarily about changing children’s waistlines — they’re how we keep childhood healthy and fun.
1. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?A.Childhood obesity is well under control in recent years. |
B.Weight-loss surgery are recommended to children 12 and older. |
C.AAP plays a more active role in fighting against childhood obesity. |
D.Expensive as it is, lifestyle programs are practical for most children. |
A.decline | B.quit | C.increase | D.develop |
A.Prepare fitness equipment at home. |
B.Live within walking distance of a park. |
C.Promote investment in private athletics. |
D.Open up playgrounds when school’s out. |
A.Sports play an important role in children’s growth. |
B.More safe areas for outdoor fun are in urgent need. |
C.Family-oriented lifestyles are crucial to children’s health. |
D.Medical intervention is important to ease psychological burden. |
3 . Contact between adolescents (between the ages of 15 and 19) and their peers (同龄人) is a universal characteristic of all cultures. However, the nature and the degree of such contact
This pattern of age segregation (隔离) in American society did not become usual until the beginning of the industrialized society. Changes in the
Research
A.reveal | B.vary | C.imply | D.prove |
A.younger children | B.professional teachers | C.close relatives | D.responsible researchers |
A.interest | B.attitude | C.workplace | D.age |
A.slightly | B.seldom | C.regularly | D.further |
A.resulted in | B.objected to | C.held back | D.checked out |
A.solution | B.factor | C.concern | D.argument |
A.spending | B.volunteers | C.partners | D.population |
A.increase | B.share | C.disappearance | D.selection |
A.opposes | B.doubts | C.supports | D.changes |
A.diets | B.activities | C.expenses | D.necessities |
A.in addition | B.as a result | C.in particular | D.for example |
A.late | B.typical | C.early | D.common |
A.pressure | B.networks | C.skills | D.background |
A.culture | B.pressure | C.respect | D.education |
A.develop | B.control | C.escape | D.apply |
4 . The world food safety could be in danger because of a number of food production shocks (冲击), according to an Australian study.
The researchers from the University of Tasmania found that there were 226 shocks in the area of food production across 134 nations and the frequency has been increasing over the past 50 years.
According to Cottrell, a researcher from the University of Tasmania, the main causes behind the shocks are different. For crops, extreme weather events such as floods and no rain for a long time play the biggest part. Weather also plays a role in livestock(家畜)production, but disease plays a bigger role. Disease also leads to aquaculture(水产业)shocks, while in the ocean most of the food shocks are caused by overfishing.
“When we look at the food production systems, covering crops, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture,” Cottrell said, “we find that crops and livestock are more easily affected than aquaculture. And some countries in South Asia are more frequently affected than others.”
The effects of production shocks reached far away from where they happened. When one means of food production is greatly reduced, it will cause unexpected results. “The India got a lot of food production shocks in crops and livestock, largely because of floods,” Cottrell explained. “If countries like India are shocked and the rice production is much smaller, they’ll probably send less goods to another country. And that shock suddenly starts to affect all the trade partners of the major producers as well.”
According to what Cottrell said, while the international community faces a great challenge to these problems, steps taken now can help fight against unexpected shocks in the future. “This can be done through measures such as food store systems so that they are better able to deal with the effect which is caused by problems such as climate change.” said Cottrell.
1. What do we know about food production shocks?A.Their causes are different in different production areas. |
B.Some diseases are the main cause. |
C.Extreme weather is the biggest shock. |
D.Overfishing is the main cause. |
A.Livestock in Australia. | B.Crops in Australian. |
C.Fisheries in India. | D.Livestock in South Asia. |
A.To show India sells a lot of crops to other countries. |
B.To show the shocks can cause unexpected results. |
C.To show Indian shocks are more often. |
D.To show India has a lot of flood. |
A.Results Caused by the Problem of Global Food Safety |
B.Measures Solving the Problem of Global Food Safety |
C.Production Shocks Threatening Global Food Safety |
D.The Importance of Global Food Safety |
5 .
Chen Chen is 8 years old. For the Spring Festival this year he was given an iPad as a present and never goes anywhere without it.
Many children in China are suffering the same problem:
“There are about 30 shortsighted children coming every day,” said Hu Dali, a doctor at Guiyang Aier Eye Hospital. “Half of those children are suffering from reduced vision because they have played with mobile phones and iPads for too long.”
Experts say children’s version is not yet fully developed and their eyes get tired more easily.
The iPad uses a very bright LED backlight. A user’s pupils (瞳孔) have to keep getting used to the new light levels. If children stare at an iPad screen for a long time, their eyes do not have time to rest.
Experts suggest that users should hold their iPad between 40—60 centimeters away from them. The brightness of the screen should be made comfortable for children. Parents should also stop their children from using an iPad for more than one hour every day.
A.IPad use is damaging their eyesight |
B.A month later his eyesight has reduced to 300 degrees |
C.Children go eye bad due to the iPad |
D.How an iPad influences children |
E.This will make their eyesight worse over time |
F.It does harm to their eyesight |
G.This means the iPad has a greater effect on their eyes |
6 . You know the feeling — you have left your phone at home and feel anxious, as if you have lost your connection to the world. “Nomophobia” (无手机恐惧症) affects teenagers and adults alike. You can even do an online test to see if you have it. Last week, researchers from Hong Kong warned that nomophobia is infecting everyone. Their study found that people who use their phones to store, share and access personal memories suffer most. When users were asked to describe how they felt about their phones, words such as “hurt” (neck pain was often reported) and “alone” predicted higher levels of nomophobia.
“The findings of our study suggest that users regard smartphones as their extended selves and get attached to the devices,” said Dr Kim Ki Joon. “People experience feelings of anxiety and unpleasantness when separated from their phones.” Meanwhile, an American study shows that smartphone separation can lead to an increase in heart rate and blood pressure.
So can being without your phone really give you separation anxiety? Professor Mark Griffiths, psychologist and director of the International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University, says it is what is on the phone that counts — the social networking that creates Fomo (fear of missing out).
“We are talking about an Internet-connected device that allows people to deal with lots of aspects of their lives,” says Griffiths. “You would have to surgically remove a phone from a teenager because their whole life is ingrained in this device.”
Griffiths thinks attachment theory, where we develop emotional dependency on the phone because it holds details of our lives, is a small part of nomophobia. For “screenagers”, it is Fomo that creates the most separation anxiety. If they can’t see what’s happening on WeChat or Weibo, they become panic-stricken about not knowing what’s going on socially. “But they adapt very quickly if you take them on holiday and there’s no Internet,” says Griffiths.
1. Which of the following may Dr Kim Ki Joon agree with?A.We waste too much time on phones. |
B.Phones have become part of some users. |
C.Addiction to phones makes memories suffer. |
D.Phones and blood pressure are closely linked. |
A.We worry we may miss out what our friends are doing |
B.We fear without phones we will run into a lot of trouble |
C.We are accustomed to having a phone on us |
D.We need our phones to help us store information |
A.Approved of. | B.Relied on. | C.Opposed to. | D.Determined by. |
A.In a research report. |
B.In a science textbook. |
C.In a popular science magazine. |
D.In a fashion brochure. |
7 .
Another popular tool for finding a job is the Internet. For example, people around the world can use the Craigslist Web site to buy things, meet people or find a job.
Another useful way to find a job is through a university.
At times, some experts(专业人士) can also help people find a job. Susan Miller has her own company called California Job Services in Los Angeles. She says her company helps people find a job by first helping them understand their strengths, goals and interests.
A.It is said that the site can receive two million new jobs each month. |
B.Looking after children or cleaning houses can get well paid. |
C.Such services include looking after children or cleaning houses. |
D.For example, students at the University of Texas can go to the job center to get help. |
E.Then she provides them with methods to help them find the right job. |
F.People can find jobs in many ways. |
G.People can find jobs with difficulty. |
Many parents don’t know how much exercise their children need to do every day to stay
The Youth Sport Trust leader, Ali Oliver said, “We have seen a drop in young people’s physical activity in recent
Meanwhile, figures from Sport England show only 17.5% of children are doing sports continuously. There is also a
This week thousands of people will get together
9 . Justice is something we all desire, and the hope is that our legal system can be fair. In the past, people often saw injustices taking place that went unpunished. Some of these people got fed up, took matters into their own hands, and became vigilantes (治安员). They played the role of judges, jury and executioners (执行者). Today, the same thing is happening on a much larger scale, and it is known as Internet vigilantism.
Internet vigilantism works by first identifying a person who has committed a crime or done something that is considered uncivil.
Our modern age that is filled with digital cameras has made injustice easy to record, and the Internet has made it easy to distribute the evidence instantly. This method has been successful in many cases for tracking down people who have committed crimes. It also has been very helpful in keeping those with power in check. Keeping power in check is the upside of distributing evidence only if justice is reached through proper channels.
However, there are two sides to Internet vigilantism. When Internet citizens gang up on people for minor crimes or small faults, those who are the focus of the gangs can have their lives ruined. The vigilantes gather information on the Internet and use it to publicly shame the person. The accused person thus loses all his or her rights to privacy and everything about him or her is brought out into the open. Internet vigilantism violates basic human rights to privacy and can cause serious damage to people or their reputations.
Another problem is that it also has a negative effect on the friends and family members of the person being shamed. Innocent people with the same name as the accused can also get caught in the cross fire. Worst of all, the person being targeted rarely gets a chance to defend himself or herself.
We need to ask ourselves how far we will go to punish someone and how much privacy they deserve. When it comes to Internet vigilantism, remember that it is very easy to post an opinion or video anonymously (匿名地) online and give a one-sided or partial account of the truth. Like so many other aspects of life, we must resist passing judgment before fully understanding a situation.
1. What is the function of Paragraph 1?A.To explain what is justice. | B.To introduce the legal system. |
C.To lead into the topic. | D.To compare some phenomena. |
A.accuse the person who loses privacy |
B.identify a person who broke the law |
C.protect the privacy and reputation of the accused person |
D.protect people with the same name as the accused person |
A.Optimistic. | B.Approval. | C.Subjective. | D.Objective. |
A.“Justice” on the Internet | B.How Much Privacy They Deserve |
C.Criminals Tracked Down | D.Internet Vigilantism Works Well |
10 . In the past, video conference technology was mainly used for just a few elements of business meetings or hangouts (聚集处) with friends and family. Now, video conference tools are important for our productivity, learning and social interaction. We use them not only for fun, but mainly as a meaningful part of our work.
However, once we start to join endless video calls for a few hours each day, we become very tired. This term is called “zoom tiredness”, and it’s related to overusing virtual (虚拟的) communication platforms.
There are some advantages of using video conferencing tools. Without them, it might be impossible for us to work from home. But what we haven’t expected is a price that we need to pay for that sort of convenience.
When we are having a face-to-face conversation with others, everything seems pretty natural. While speaking, you look into the eyes, sometimes slightly moving your stare onto something else. You know when to stop talking and when to speak up. Even if you’re in a conference room with 10 people, you don’t have a terrible feeling of being observed all the time. You notice that people mostly look at the person who is speaking, and then they move their attention onto someone else. But when you use a teleconferencing tool, things are different. Being physically on camera makes you very aware of being watched all the time, because you don’t know who is looking at you. You just see many faces on your screen.
Marissa Shuffler from Clemson University once said, “When you’re on a video conference, you know everybody’s looking at you; you are on stage, so there comes the social pressure—a feeling like you need to perform. Being performative is stressful.”
Moreover, there is another interesting tendency as far as video calls are concerned. Who are you looking at most of the time? The answer is yourself. For most people, it’s hard not to look at their own face if they can see it on the screen. We are likely to make sure that our head is at the right angle and that our shirt is tidy.
1. What might cause the so-called “zoom tiredness”?A.The fast pace of modern life. |
B.Getting bored with video calls. |
C.The wide spread of video technology. |
D.Spending too much time on video calls. |
A.Higher cost | B.More pressure |
C.More free time | D.Better performance |
A.The popularity of video calls | B.People’s attitude towards video calls |
C.Some unexpected effects of video calls | D.Changes in people’s way of communication |