1 . We’ve all heard the dangers of helicopter parenting. Remaining too involved in a kid's life, especially throughout college, can lead to depression, lack of self-reliance and some other mental problems.
This wisdom seems sound. But some academics and educators now say they see signs of a troubling resistance. The concern: that too much of warnings and horror stories — the cover of Julie Lythcott-Haims’ bestseller How to Raise an Adult instructs moms and dads to avoid “the overparenting trap” — is discouraging parents from getting involved at all.
“Yes, parents can be intruders（unpopular people）,” says Marjorie Savage, a researcher in the University of Minnesota. “At the same time, there are increasing examples of parents refusing to step up when students genuinely need their family.” At Hofstra University, for example, parents now ask embarrassedly about mental-health and campus-safety resources, as if bringing up those topics were forbidden, says Branka Kristic, who heads the family-outreach programs. And Savage recalls talking to a mom who kept quiet about her son’s signs of depression until right before he failed a semester. She did not want to “helicopter in”.
That means colleges, which have spent the past decade learning to cope with parents who get too involved, now have a different problem. In recent years, hundreds of colleges have either launched or increased their parent offices, which serve as one-stop shops for moms and dads looking to make complaints, report problems and generally stay in touch.
Much of this began, of course, because schools were forced to cope with a generation of students connected with their parents like never before. On average, they communicate 22.1 times per week, according to research from Barbara Hofer, a psychology professor at Middlebury College. That’s more than twice the rate of a decade ago, before almost every student had a smartphone.
With some moms and dads thinking twice of contacting the school in the first place, some programs are being used to encourage a more balanced approach, often through email and other social media. Hofstra’s Kristic advises parents to “be a guide, while granting that the student owns the journey”. That means asking questions, listening to answers, being patient and trusting kids to resolve their own problems. But if issues persist, or if a student is in serious mental or physical danger, it also means hopping in the chopper, at least for a little while.
1. In paragraph 3, parents of Hofstra University students are mentioned to __________.| A．show that parents have gone to the other extreme of overparenting |
| B．provide educators with a new understanding of overparenting |
| C．give a further example of supportive overparenting |
| D．place emphasis on the necessity of overparenting |
| A．having trust in kids | B．stepping in to solve kids’ problems |
| C．joining a family-outreach program | D．turning to social media for help |
| A．Mental-health and campus-safety resources are forbidden topics among parents. |
| B．How to Raise an Adult encourages parents to get engaged in family education. |
| C．Overparenting is no longer a problem because of students’ self-reliance. |
| D．There was less student-parent communication in the past than today. |
| A．Why Colleges Need Helicopter Parents |
| B．How to Improve Parent-school Relations |
| C．Why Overparenting Is in Question |
| D．How to Communicate More as Parents |
2 . What do you want to be when you are growing up? A doctor, an engineer — or maybe a footballer or actor? We all have big plans for our futures and believe there is a dream job waiting for us — one that will pay well and give great job satisfaction. But how realistic is that?
Today, in the UK at least, young people are being warned that some of their career hopes and dreams don’t match the types of jobs available. Research by the charity Education and Employers suggests five times as many 17 and 18 year-olds in the UK want to work in art, culture, entertainment and sport than there are jobs.
The excitement of working in these employment sectors (部门) is obviously an attraction. But those looking for these types of job will be disappointed. That’s what the report, Disconnected: Career ambitions and jobs in the UK, says. Writing about this for the BBC, Katherine Sellgren points out that although young people are keen to work in art, entertainment, culture and sport, the economy is unlikely to need them all. At the same time, there is a shortfall of young people wanting to work in careers such as catering and retail(零售).
Previous research about the career ambitions of young people by the Office for National Statistics also found a “reality gap” between their dreams and the sometimes disappointing truth by the time they reached their early to late-20s. Apart from those who aimed to go into teaching, fewer than one in 50 were in the jobs they had wanted — such as a doctor, vet, firefighter or actor. Most were working as sales assistants, careers or in sales and marketing.
Although it’s good to have ambitions, the aims of young people need to be realistic. This latest report suggests that children need to be made more aware of a wider variety of occupations at a younger age. It also calls for improved career advice in secondary schools. A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions told the BBC that “early careers advice can help young people set out on the right path to the job that channels their interests and unlocks their potential.”
1. Which employment sector in the UK needs more people to work in?| A．Sport. | B．Service industry. |
| C．Art & culture. | D．Entertainment. |
| A．ambition and reality | B．males and females |
| C．theory and practice | D．the past and the present |
| A．They ought to be offered better career advice in secondary schools. |
| B．They should know more kinds of jobs at an early age. |
| C．The government should create more jobs for the young. |
| D．Their employment ambition should be realistic. |
| A．Unemployment Problems in Britain |
| B．Young People’s Lifestyles in Britain |
| C．Tips for Finding Dream Jobs in Britain |
| D．Unrealistic Career Ambitions in Britain |
1. Who is the man?
| A．A repair man. | B．A doctor. | C．A neighbor. |
| A．Tomorrow afternoon. | B．Tomorrow morning. | C．In a little while. |
| A．Broke a small window. |
| B．Repaired a window for the woman. |
| C．Played ball with the woman’s children. |
| A．The children played ball in the house. |
| B．The window was of poor quality. |
| C．The woman broke it by accident. |
4 . While getting into Harvard Law School is not easy for anyone, Rehan, a sanitation worker (环卫工人) from Bowie, Maryland, worked hard to achieve it. And he doesn’t take all the
When he was 8, his mother left the family and his father had to
“It was the first time in my life that people who weren’t my father or my brother really just
During his junior year at Maryland, his father was ill. To
| A．view | B．credit | C．emotion | D．strategy |
| A．struggle | B．compete | C．organize | D．suffer |
| A．Curiously | B．Luckily | C．Actually | D．Obviously |
| A．investigated | B．refused | C．attracted | D．preferred |
| A．Therefore | B．Moreover | C．However | D．Anyway |
| A．amazing | B．confusing | C．plain | D．anxious |
| A．recognized | B．reminded | C．forgave | D．encouraged |
| A．smart | B．worthwhile | C．responsible | D．unusual |
| A．admired | B．registered | C．promoted | D．exchanged |
| A．challenges | B．comments | C．honor | D．average |
| A．experiments | B．contents | C．studies | D．arrangements |
| A．observe | B．affect | C．improve | D．save |
| A．Because of | B．Instead of | C．Other than | D．Rather than |
| A．work | B．issue | C．lecture | D．summary |
| A．adapted to | B．contributed to | C．applied to | D．referred to |
| A．partner | B．volunteer | C．master | D．supporter |
| A．cost | B．stress | C．limit | D．rent |
| A．accommodations | B．donations | C．sources | D．means |
| A．work out | B．fall apart | C．come true | D．give up |
| A．awkward | B．graceful | C．suitable | D．painful |
5 . Widespread descriptions of animals in pop culture could actually be hurting the animals’ survival chances in the wild, new research suggests.
Franck Courchamp of the University of Paris-Sud was interested in the idea of “charisma”(魅力) in animals. He wanted to know: What species do people consider charismatic? And what are the influences of being charismatic on populations in the wild?
In a research published this month, Courchamp and other researchers list the top 20 charismatic species. Most of the animals identified as charismatic are large mammals living on land. Coming in first place were tigers, followed by lions, elephants, giraffes, panthers, pandas, cheetahs, polar bears, wolves, and gorillas. However, at least half of the interviewees didn’t realize that five of the top ten most charismatic species are threatened. It is paradoxical that we haven’t been able to protect the species we care about the most.
The study also found that we are flooded with images of these creatures, even as they are becoming fewer in the wild. The study suggests that too much of imagery might be creating a “virtual(虚拟的) population” of the animals in peoples’ minds, making them believe there are far more individuals in the wild than is exact.
The study authors suggest that companies who benefit from the use of these images should set aside a small percentage of their profits to protection efforts and informational campaigns (运动). “That would be not only something fair, but that would be something that could bring a win-win situation for them,” Courchamp says. It could bring them positive public relation, for example. Besides, if a company’s mascot(吉祥物) goes extinct, that could hurt them from a marketing standpoint, Courchamp says. Some companies do take this to heart, he says, noting protection efforts by Jaguar and Lacoste. But not enough companies are “truly concerned about the protection of the species that they work on,” he adds.
1. It can be inferred that the widespread images of animals in pop culture ______.| A．leads people to forget the less charismatic animals |
| B．makes a false impression of the animals’ real situation |
| C．raises people’s wildlife protection attention and efforts |
| D．brings a win-win situation for both animals and companies |
| A．It is important to protect these endangered species. |
| B．It is natural to regard the large mammals as charismatic. |
| C．It is terrible that the species are dying out at an alarming speed. |
| D．It is strange that people’s thoughts contrast with their behaviors. |
| A．giving examples | B．taking quotes |
| C．making comparisons | D．using numbers |
| A．Annoyed. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Dissatisfied. | D．Positive. |
| trust replace contact through focus concerned content among |
While the Internet brings people closer together, it also harms friendships.
Firstly, talking online can’t
Secondly, the Internet makes people self-centered. For example, instead of communicating with their friends, some are only
Thirdly, online relationships may not be as they appear. Friendships are built based on
I think the best way to maintain healthy relationships is to
7 . Up-skilling is the future - but it must work for everyone
Automation and job replacement will be one of the most significant challenges for the global economy of the coming decades. A 2017 Mckinsey report established that 375 million workers will need to switch occupational categories by 2030. The World Economic Forum suggests that by 2022, automation will replace 75 million jobs globally - but create 133 million new ones.
Research into the likelihood that a job will be impacted by digitization has largely focused on the "auto-matability" of the role and the following economic regional and political effects of this. What this research doesn't take into account is something more important for the millions of taxi drivers and retail workers across the globe: their likelihood of being able to change to another job that isn't automatable. Recent research suggests that the answer to this may be that the skills that enable workers to move up the ladder to more complex roles within their current areas might be less important than broader skills that will enable workers to change across divisions.
In July, Amazon announced that it would spend $700 million retraining around 30% of its 300,000 US workforce. While praiseworthy, it will be interesting to see the outcome. In the UK, the National Retraining Scheme has largely been led by employers, meaning that those on zero-hours contracts and part-time workers - often low-skilled --- will miss out. Governance will be a crucial element of ensuring that such schemes focus on individuals and life-long learning, rather than upskilling workers into roles that will soon also face automation.
According to the Mckinsey report, "growing awareness of the scale of the task ahead has yet to translate into action. Public spending on labour-force training and support has fallen for years in most member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development," which impacts more than just the low-skilled.
The global impact of automation is also put into relief by research demonstrating that, between 1988 and 2015, income inequality increased throughout the world. Billions of people do not have the essentials of life as defined by the UN Sustainable Development goals.
Alongside climate change, automation is arguably tech's biggest challenge. As with globalization, governments and employers -- and us workers -- ignore its potential consequences at risk to ourselves.
1. It can be known from Paragraph 2 that ________.| A．recent research has found ways to face automation |
| B．broad skills are of great significance in changing jobs |
| C．regional economy can affect the automatability of a job |
| D．it is even harder for workers to move up the social ladder |
| A．Supportive. | B．Critical | C．Doubtful | D．Sympathetic |
| A．Less spending on training | B．A slowdown of globalization |
| C．Social unrest and instability. | D．An increase in income inequality |
| A．argue the urgency of creating new jobs |
| B．compare globalization with automation |
| C．analyze the automatability of certain jobs |
| D．stress the important of upskilling workers |
8 . Small talk has a reputation for being uninteresting, and for good reason. Pointing out the fact that it’s raining seems as ridiculous as pointing out the fact that you have a head—you’re fully aware of both things, and don’t require an outsider to confirm them. But despite being evident and often painfully dull, small talk has an important role to fulfil, enabling us to leap over a number of social obstacles towards improved, meaningful interaction.
Humans can be sensitive souls. We each have our boundaries and lists of potential upsets, which when broken, cause us to either gently back away to an alternative position in the room, or become cross at the person. Small talk is first a way to test the waters with an unfamiliar person, so that you may better understand their personality. When finding yourself positioned closely to a person who you know little about, it’s much safer to point out the rainy sky than to share your political views on a sensitive topic. Until you know the person better, heavier topics should probably be kept under wraps, so you won’t find yourself on the receiving end of a cold stare.
Though insignificant, small talk still has great power. When talking with fellow humans, much of our soul is exposed through non-verbal communication. A response to “how was your weekend” can unveil much about the person’s character. The length of their response might indicate their level of self-confidence; the tone of speaking might show how agreeable a person is; their slightly lowered head, as if protecting themselves from attack, a possible sign of a regrettable history of bullying.
As more of a person’s character is revealed, we have the insight needed to determine whether to broach more significant topics—the things that we actually want to talk about. Conversation is a great educator, and deep conversation establish lasting bonds with our fellow humans, forming precious friendships that paint our lives with vibrant colors. Such friendships begin with small talk.
1. What is described in the first paragraph?| A．The first stage of human interaction. |
| B．Ridiculous human behavior in communication. |
| C．Absence of communication between strangers. |
| D．The difficulty of having deep conversations. |
| A．Because they are fond of heavy subjects. |
| B．Because they are enthusiastic about politics. |
| C．Because they are too sensitive about topics. |
| D．Because they fail to manage interpersonal distance. |
| A．The length of the answer. | B．The quality of the voice. |
| C．The position of the head. | D．The distance between speakers. |
| A．Reputation of Small Talk | B．Ways of Understanding Personality |
| C．Significance of Small Talk | D．Challenges of Deep Conversation |
No More Food Waste
Last week Meituan co-published a proposal with a number of business organizations, including the China General Chamber of Commerce and China Cuisine Association, calling on restaurants to stop food waste and help
“Restaurants should innovate means of publicity using official accounts on social media and live-streaming to promote and advocate food-saving actions,” the proposal said.
Meituan and the organizations are advocating that merchants offer
Catering associations in more than 18 provinces have also joined the campaign to eliminate food waste. On Friday the China Cuisine Association announced that it had
The Wuhan Catering Association
To curb (限制) portrayals of food waste on social media platforms, popular Chinese video platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou have stepped up content
Now if users search certain keywords, such as “eating show” or “competitive eaters”, a cautionary message pops up to remind them to cherish food and maintain a
Across the country, about 40% of all the food Americans buy ends up in the trash. That food waste costs the average family of four about $1,500
The state of Vermont has long been a leader in environmental issues. Now it has just
As of July 1st, it became the first state in the nation to make it illegal for residents to throw their food scraps into the trash. That means everyone in the state — from businesses to residents — must now keep their food waste out of the garbage.
10 . As a CEO of a startup, you get used to hearing"no".You also face an endless continuation of what feels like shocking crises, like nearly running out of cash, losing a key customer,discovering a widespread product failure, or having to shut down operations because of a global pandemic. But it turns out that these disasters can actually be good for you. In fact,I'm not sure whether you can innovate without them. Here's what all our crises have taught me.
It's good to be uncomfortable. We once had a key customer request-a battery capability that we'd never developed before. The customer made it clear that if we couldn't develop this capability, they'd be less confident in our product. We wrestled with the risks, not least of which was the potential embarrassment if we couldn't meet the customer's needs. We knew we'd face many technical problems if we tried to go into operation. Yet we decided to try to satisfy the customer, even if it wasn't obvious at first how we could get it done. A few weeks later we delivered something beyond what the customer had asked for, and we've since grown this capability into a powerful sales tool and potential revenue stream-not to mention it strengthened our relationship with the customer.
Short-term failure is good. A few years ago, our company began to expand our manufacturing output in response to a customer's need. In the process we discovered something unusual we hadn't seen during smaller-scale production. Our team dived into failure analysis, and we finally put the problem down to a single material within the battery. We'd used this material for years, but now we needed a replacement. Once we made that change,the battery quality and reliability greatly improved.
It's okay to show weakness. One of my hardest days as CEO was the day when I found out I was pregnant.We were in the middle of raising a funding round, and I had been traveling nonstop for a year. Until that day, I had assumed that my role as CEO was to display strength and confidence. With the mounting pressure I was harder on myself than I needed to be, and now I had the added stress of being pregnant.I decided to acknowledge to my team that I was breaking down. They united together and found ways to operate more smoothly and communicate more effectively, supporting me to focus my time on most pressing goals. This gave me not only the space to plan for the company’s future,but also to prepare for my own new normal: leading while becoming a first-time mother.
1. What does the underlined word "them" in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Frequent rejections. |
| B．Financial crises. |
| C．Global pandemics. |
| D．Endless disasters. |
| A．Customers' requests should be carefully evaluated. |
| B．Meeting challenges can bring about extra benefits. |
| C．The company should keep launching new products. |
| D．Innovation is the only way to win fierce competition. |
| A．By drawing a comparison. |
| B．By giving an example. |
| C．By challenging assumptions. |
| D．By doing an experiment. |
| A．Learn to let go |
| B．Make it as a CEO |
| C．Think deep sometimes |
| D．Make friends with crises |
