2 . Have you heard of the term “tweenager”? It’s a slang(俚语)word used in the UK to describe children between about ten and twelve years old. They are between being a junior and a teenager, you see. Why do the press and media refer to kids in this way?

Well, more and more companies now create products and services for tweenagers. They seem to tell us that tweenagers must have more money, freedom and influence upon their parents than they’ve ever had before.

Most children in the UK today get more pocket money than kids did a decade ago. Despite problems happening fairly often and regularly in the economy, parents generally have more money to give than before, since they are having fewer children on average than in the past. In addition, a higher divorce(离婚)rate in the UK makes parents try to compensate(补偿)by buying presents for their children. It’s a bad habit for both parents and children to get into, but parents are under constant pressure from commercial marketing and the requests of their children.

You may wonder how tweenagers have more freedom than previous generations. Well, UK children today are very media-and computer-literate. They have access to much more information about life and the world. They may have experienced a lot in life as well. With such sophistication(老于世故)at such a young age, it’s no wonder tweenagers are able to influence their parents.

Now UK tweenagers are also very fashion-conscious and concerned about their images. In a world of television programs that promise immediate success and fame at a young age, some people think it’s extremely important to look fashionable.

So what does tweenage fashion look like? It’s lots of brightly colored materials, particularly pink, and usually plain, not patterned. There are plenty of bows, necklaces and bracelets, too.

But can it really be healthy for us to encourage kids to be like adults at a young age? Are we stealing childhoods in return for a bit of profit? Well, the UK government is certainly concerned, and for that reason has strict laws preventing companies from clearly and openly marketing their products and services at children.

1. What is the use of the first paragraph?

A．To explain a concept and bring up the topic.

B．To tell the difference between a junior and a teenager.

C．To show why people in the UK prefer to use the slang.

D．To state how the slang came into being and make a summary.

2. How does the author like the idea that parents buy presents for their children?

A．He doesn’t give a certain answer.	B．He doesn’t agree with it.
C．He doubts about it.	D．He supports it.

3. Why can tweenagers affect their parents more than those before?

A．They have learned more about life and the world.

B．They can receive more advanced school education.

C．Their parents have less time to take good care of them,

D．Their parents are under constant pressure from their work.

4. Why do tweenagers tend to look fashionable?

A．They are afraid of being laughed at by others.

B．They have less freedom than previous generations.

C．They wish to become successful and famous quickly.

D．The media often encourage kids to be like adults at a young age.

3 . Conflict (冲突) between teenagers and parents happens for a lot of reasons. Sometimes conflict happens between teenagers and parents just because conflict happens between human beings anyway. Humans have different needs, different feelings, different opinions about what they want, and the relationship with people can be really difficult. However, teenagers can cause further conflict because of the hormonal (生理的) changes that are happening and the stage of life that they're in.

Teenagers and parents have different understanding about rules and at times they find it difficult to look into the future. So parents and teenagers will often experience conflict about many things, do chores, homework, whether teenagers speak respectfully or not and about what they're allowed to do.

Before we think about rule boundaries (界线) for teenagers, we need to make sure that we have a really good relationship base. There's no point saying “From now on, you have to listen to me”: if you don't have a positive relationship with your teenager. We need to go back and make sure there is some degree of shared respect, and some degree of positive communication and enjoyment being together. you do that first, it means that rule boundaries are a lot easier to set up.

Often we're dealing with conflict on the fly. This is not the right time to be dealing with it. We really want parents and teenagers to sit down and think about the kinds of things that may happen in the house before the problems come. The more detailed your rule boundaries are for teenagers, the more likely it is that they are going to follow them. So this means we don't have rule boundaries like “Have the bathroom cleaned”. It needs to be “The floors mopped, nothing on the countertop and the mirrors cleaned by ten o'clock every Saturday”: Rule boundaries need to be written down, and set out ahead of time so the teenager knows exactly what's expected.

1. What's important to set up a rule boundary easily for teenagers?

A．Being strict from the start.	B．Developing a good relationship with them first.
C．Saying"No" to their requirements.	D．Avoiding close talks with them.

2. Which of the following rules are teenagers most likely to follow?

A．Doing some housework.	B．Having a good reading habit.
C．Cleaning the bathroom.	D．Finishing your homework by five.

3. What do the underlined words "on the fly" in the last paragraph probably mean?

A．In a hurry.

B．On the plane.

C．By oneself.

D．Another day.

4. What's the best title for the text?

A．Growing Pains	B．Teenage Problems
C．Parent-Child Conflict and Solutions	D．Knowing the Conflict

4 . Sometimes the stress of work can get to be so high, so it’s nice to get away for a while. However, even on vacation, it can be hard to leave all your worries at the office-especially when you think about the mountain of emails.

Iceland now offers a solution with a service called OutHorse Your Email. The service encourages visitors to disconnect and enjoy the country’s beauty while one of several highly trained Icelandic horses replies to any email. “When visitors travel to Iceland we want them to fully experience everything our nation has to offer,” one official said. “Our OutHorse Your Email service lets them do just that.”

To use the service, you should fill in a form on its website and your personalized out-of- office email will be written by one horse and sent automatically (自动地). The email explains the sender is away on vacation and that they’ve given their email jobs to one of Iceland’s four- legged animals. It then includes the message created by the animal. But how do horses type an email? They’ve got their own specially designed horse-sized keyboards in the fields and are able to walk across the keys. However, that still doesn’t mean coherency (条理性). They’re horses, after all. The result is just meaningless collections of letters.

This might seem like a joke, but is actually meant seriously. Nowadays the line between private life and work has become unclear. The service draws attention to the fact that people have the right to be away from work during their holiday. It also sends a message that Iceland is a unique destination by helping tourists go on a real holiday. It’ll surely put a smile on their face and make them want to vacation in Iceland.

1. What is a problem that people face when they are on vacation according to the text?

A．They prefer work to holidays.

B．They’re required to send emails.

C．They always keep their work in mind.

D．They feel uneasy without work at hand.

2. What can we know about the messages created by the horses?

A．They do not make any sense.

B．They will be reviewed by the sender first.

C．They’re expected to make the receiver laugh.

D．They’re created in the style the sender requires.

3. How does the author feel about OutHorse Your Email?

A．Advanced.

B．Competitive.

C．Educational.

D．Meaningful.

4. What is the main purpose of the text?

A．To show a way to develop the tourist industry.

B．To describe the new role of horses in travel.

C．To encourage people to travel in Iceland.

D．To introduce a new tourism service.

7 . Nearly half of us make New Year’s resolutions, but less than ten percent of us actually keep them. This can be due to lack of motivation or loss of interest, but it’s time for us to figure out ways to finish what we’ve started.     1                 

Lack of honesty

Are you truly devoted to running a marathon, losing weight, or whatever else you are promising to do? Be honest with yourself. We often find ourselves committing to things because we think we should.     2     You will only be disappointed in yourself. Make resolutions you actually want to achieve and are going to put a plan of action towards.

    3                

While you may have the best intentions with your resolution, you could be putting unnecessary pressure on yourself. Rather than associating the New Year with resolutions or changes you need to make, consider it a time for reflection on things you wish to work on throughout the year.     4              

If your goal was to send out ten resumes (简历) for a new job and you only sent out five, don’t beat yourself up for it. Rather, congratulate and reward yourself for making the effort toward your goal. That will give you the energy to continue working towards your initial (最初的) goal.

Giving up too easily

Whether you get discouraged or simply lose interest, giving up too easily is a big resolution breaker. Many people make their resolutions believing they can accomplish them.     5     To avoid this issue, try to set a standard for comparing throughout the year. By doing so, you can keep yourself on track throughout the year.

A．Wrong perspective (视角)

B．Narrow your resolution

C．Don’t waste your time on that.

D．But the excitement wears off and other priorities appear.

E．They thought they could stick to it because it’s what they want.

F．Here are reasons people don’t stick to their New Year’s resolutions.

G．Stop thinking about what you have not accomplished and focus on what you will accomplish instead.

8 . Textile(纺织品)waste is a growing problem for our environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported the US throws away more than 11 million tons of clothing every year. That is why some small businesses spotting the problem are beginning to recycle in ways they haven’t before.

Create Good Company is a clothing company that tries to produce sustainable clothing and repurpose older clothing into updated fashionable items. Maggie Hendricks, the owner of Create Good Company, said, “If you can improve what you find, why wouldn’t you do that instead of buying new things? It’s a big issue not to create new waste. I would say we are 90% recycled materials.”

According to the EPA, the average consumer(消费者)throws away 81.5 pounds of clothes every year. “Anywhere between 10%-17% of the waste that’s going into landfills(废弃物填埋场)is made up of things like textiles and clothing,” said Danny Katz with the CoPIRG Foundation. “A lot of the clothing that we’re producing doesn’t even get worn, so it’s going right to the landfill or even being burned and contributing to pollution that way. It’s really worrying.”

This is why businesses like Create Good Company exist — to use outdated clothing and turn it into dresses or jackets. “There’s just so much waste and so many big companies that might not think about it,” Hendricks said. “Just standing with other like-minded people who are interested in sustainability is important.”

Another important element Hendricks has focused on is creating these items and selling them at an affordable price. “Sustainability sometimes is green washed in companies and they make things more expensive,” Hendricks said. “That’s not how we become a sustainable world. I think making products affordable is important to me. I want to buy things that are better for the environment without throwing my pocketbook in the fire.”

1. What makes Danny Katz worried?

A．The use of old clothing.	B．The cost of textile pollution.
C．The effect of clothing waste.	D．The future of the textile industry.

2. What does Hendricks care more about when it comes to a sustainable product?

A．Its price.	B．Its sales.
C．Its producer.	D．Its quality.

3. What is the best title for the text?

A．The EPA’s measures to reduce textile waste.

B．Consumers being aware of the seriousness of textile waste.

C．Textile businesses’ social responsibility and their waste.

D．Small businesses working to prevent textile waste.

9 . Quantum ( 量子 ) computers have been on my mind a lot lately. A friend has been sending me articles on how quantum computers might help solve some of the biggest challenges we face as humans. I’ve also had exchanges with two quantum-computing experts. One is computer scientist Chris Johnson who I see as someone who helps keep the field honest. The other is physicist Philip Taylor.

For decades, quantum computing has been little more than a laboratory curiosity. Now, big tech companies have invested in quantum computing, as have many smaller ones. According to Business Weekly, quantum machines could help us “cure cancer, and even take steps to turn climate change in the opposite direction.” This is the sort of hype ( 炒作 ) that annoys Johnson. He worries that researchers are making promises they can’t keep. “What’s new,” Johnson wrote, “is that millions of dollars are now potentially available to quantum computing researchers.”

As quantum computing attracts more attention and funding, researchers may mislead investors, journalists, the public and, worst of all, themselves about their work’s potential. If researchers can’t keep their promises, excitement might give way to doubt, disappointment and anger, Johnson warns. Lots of other technologies have gone through stages of excitement. But something about quantum computing makes it especially prone to hype, Johnson suggests, perhaps because “‘quantum’ stands for something cool you shouldn’t be able to understand.” And that brings me back to Taylor, who suggested that I read his book Q for Quantum.

After I read the book, Taylor patiently answered my questions about it. He also answered my questions about PyQuantum, the firm he co-founded in 2016. Taylor shares Johnson’s concerns about hype, but he says those concerns do not apply to PyQuantum.

The company, he says, is closer than any other firm “by a very large margin ( 幅度 )” to building a “useful” quantum computer, one that “solves an impactful problem that we would not have been able to solve otherwise.” He adds, “People will naturally discount my opinions, but I have spent a lot of time quantitatively comparing what we are doing with others.”

Could PyQuantum really be leading all the competition “by a wide margin”, as Taylor claims? I don’t know. I’m certainly not going to advise my friend or anyone else to invest in quantum computers. But I trust Taylor, just as I trust Johnson.

1. Regarding Johnson’s concerns, the author feels ________.

A．sympathetic

B．unconcerned

C．doubtful

D．excited

2. What leads to Taylor’s optimism about quantum computing?

A．His dominance in physics.	B．The competition in the field.
C．His confidence in PyQuantum.	D．The investment of tech companies.

3. What does the underlined word “prone” in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?

A．Open.

B．Cool.

C．Useful.

D．Resistant.

4. Which would be the best title for the passage?

A．Is Johnson More Competent Than Taylor?

B．Is Quantum Computing Redefining Technology?

C．Will Quantum Computers Ever Come into Being?

D．Will Quantum Computing Ever Live Up to Its Hype?

10 . Some of Hawaii’s most popular musical artists have appeared before an unlikely audience, who are from a small elementary school on Oahu’s coast.

They all come with a purpose: The headmaster dreamed up the virtual concerts, presenting artists like internationally famous ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro, as a way of bringing together a community struggling with the pandemic. “We have probably the best ukulele player — one of the best ukulele musicians in the entire world — come and play for you guys tonight,” said Headmaster Keoki Fraser as children and parents tuned in from home computers. Fraser is trying to organize concerts every several weeks as his school, like most public schools in Hawaii, continues to educate its students remotely.

Tabitha Persaud, mom of three students, remembers Fraser coming to the parent-teacher association with the idea of approaching big names. “Can we do that?” she wondered. “Will they do that for us?”

“They’re in the same situation as we are. So, I mean, they don’t have to go anywhere or leave their home. We just hit them up,” said Fraser, who graduated from the local high school. “We love to get people that are influential and the kids look up to.”

During a recent Friday concert, Fraser invited former student Dylan Kunz, now a seventh grader, to play ukulele as one of the student performers to open for Shimabukuro. Kunz, who likes Shimabukuro, was excited. “He’s the reason I started playing,” he said. “It keeps me motivated to keep playing.”

The concerts are open to all. For one performance, about 1,200 viewers tuned in. “I think it’s so much fun to see the smiling, happy faces of all the kids,” said Amy Kunz, Dylan’s mom. “I think Headmaster Fraser, in doing this, is really hitting home from social and emotional aspects. Even though we’re not in school, we can still make these connections and have fun.”

1. What’s Headmaster Fraser’s purpose in organizing the concerts?

A．To encourage his students to learn from the musicians.

B．To develop closer ties between educators and kids.

C．To get his community united in the pandemic.

D．To strengthen the parent-teacher relations.

2. What concerned Tabitha Persaud before the concert?

A．Whether her family would be allowed to attend it.

B．Whether players like Shimabukuro would show up.

C．Whether Headmaster Fraser would agree with her idea.

D．Whether the parent-teacher association would break up.

3. What does the underlined part “hit them up” in the paragraph 4 mean?

A．Cheer them up.	B．Ask them for help.
C．Teach them a lesson.	D．Compete with them.

4. How did Amy Kunz respond to Headmaster Fraser’s behavior?

A．Grateful.

B．Curious.

C．Doubtful.

D．Worried