2 . Kindness is seen as a true strength, and the success of civilizations relies on kindness. As parents and teachers, we also teach children from a young age to “be kind to one another” and “treat others the way you want to be treated.”

In addition to being helpful to our interpersonal relationships, research has shown that kindness can even contribute to our well-being. According to the Mayo Clinic, when we perform acts of kindness, the pleasure center in our brain is activated, releasing the stress-reducing hormone (激素). Individuals who volunteer on a regular basis report greater life satisfaction. And what is even greater is that kindness rarely stops with just one person. There can be a positive contagion (扩散) effect, where other people are motivated to be nice if they receive a random act of kindness. The question then arises: Could kindness be harmful to us when it has such clear benefits? Let’s think about this in the workplace or in an organization.

You are the new person on the team and you want to be well-liked and respected by your colleagues. You are a kind person and tell your team, “Let me know how I can help you; I’m always available to help.” Though you may truly mean this, there are unfortunately people in this world who can see your kindness as a weakness. This can lead to you being taken advantage of by others.

Let’s fast forward a year. You have been in your position now for one year, and you are working with the same team. You are noticing that your colleagues continue asking for your help over and over again. In fact, the only time they communicate with you is when they need something. You have been so helpful to your colleagues and there has rarely been any return from them.

In a very broad sense, it is advantageous to be kind to others, and your kind acts will be appreciated and, perhaps, paid forward. However, you need to be willing to say “no”. Recognize when your plate is already too full. When people ask you a favor, assess if you have the time, energy, and attention to give to them. To truly be kind, sometimes you need to be more comfortable saying “no” to others and saying “yes” to yourself.

1. What has the Mayo Clinic found concerning kindness?

A．It does good to our mind.

B．It reduces hormone levels.

C．It adds years to people’s life.

D．It leads to the success of civilizations.

2. What might the new person feel one year later?

A．Grateful.

B．Bored.

C．Disappointed.

D．Energetic.

3. What does the underlined part in the last paragraph mean?

A．When you’re too full to eat anything.

B．When your kind acts get appreciated.

C．When you should ask others a favor.

D．When you’re physically and mentally tired.

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

A．Your kindness counts for your well-being!

B．Are we tiring ourselves with kindness?

C．Why are random acts of kindness important?

D．Never underestimate the power of kindness at work!

4 . People in Japan tend to live longer and stay healthier in their later years, with an increasing number of old people living alone. Japan is on a fast track to “ultra-age” with people aged 65 or above accounting for 28 percent of its total population in 2019；it was 26.7 percent in 2017. On the other hand, the number of births in 2019 fell to its lowest (about 941,000) since records began in 1899.

Demand for care services for elderly people has increased. A shrinking (缩小) working population means fewer able-bodied adults are available to look after the elderly. State-provided facilities for the elderly are not enough, which causes elderly people to turn to private ones but they are expensive.

The country will be short of 380,000 of health nurses by 2025. The government has to turn to advanced robots to meet the shortage. A study found that using robots encouraged one third of the people to become more active and independent. Yet there is no robot that can provide the emotional support to the elderly.

Japan provides a case study for China, which is also faced with a fast aging population. 17.23 million babies were born in China in 2019, about 630,000 fewer than in 2018. People aged 60 accounted for 17.3 of China’s population in 2019. With a shortage of elderly care facilities and unbalanced supply, China may find it hard to deal with the rapidly increasing number of senior citizens.

To meet the challenge, the Chinese government should make policy changes, which Japan is unwilling or unable to do or even consider. China should pay attention to the signals its aging population is sending and take proper and timely action.

1. What do we learn about the old Japanese?

A．More and more old Japanese prefer to live on their own.

B．A lot of old Japanese have to continue working at old age.

C．Some old Japanese remain active with the help of robots.

D．Japanese aged 65 or above make up one third of its population.

2. What can we know about state-provided care facilities for the elderly in Japan?

A．They are expensive.	B．They are inconvenient.
C．They are affordable.	D．They are fashionable.

3. What do the Japanese do to deal with the shortage of health nurses?

A．They hire foreign health nurses.

B．They employ advanced robots.

C．They set up more nursing schools.

D．They train the elderly to tend themselves.

4. What is the main idea of the last two paragraph?

A．Japan has to take action to deal with the aging population.

B．Robots can’t provide emotional support to the elderly.

C．China is now faced with a fast aging population.

D．Japan’s aging population issue is a timely lesson for China.

5 . Recently, research on how a new virtual (虚拟的) reality (VR) experience educated primary children about the fire disasters was done. It was developed by the University of South Australia, aiming to educate children to learn how to be safer in a fire.

Focusing on children aged 10-12 years old, the new VR experience presents a situation where children are tasked to look after a friend’s dog just before a fire event begins to spread. They participate in a series of problem-solving activities to help save and protect themselves and the dog.

The findings showed that more than 80 percent of children reported that they felt more confident to calmly assess the situation and make wise decisions to protect themselves from a fire. This isl especially important considering that 91 percent of participants originally lacked any knowledge of fires, and that 67 percent had said that they were too young to make safety decisions in a fire.

The researchers believed such immersive (沉浸式的) VR experiences had real potential (潜力) to attract and educate the young. “As children born in digital times, they are interested in such technology and they can experience events realistically yet within the safe environment.” said Delene Weber, one of the researchers. “Well-designed VR can provide a chance for children to apply newly-acquired knowledge, strengthen their learnt concepts, and enable immediate reaction—all incredibly valuable learning tools.”

Meanwhile, because children have fewer life experiences, aren’t as physically strong, and are less likely to have learned much about fire safety, they’re often most at risk. Yet the ability for children to contribute to fire safety at their household should not be underestimated (低估).

“Children do not need to be passively attacked by disasters and with purpose-built virtual reality experiences such as these, we can help children understand the risks and realize they can help,” said Weber.

1. How does the new VR experience try to educate children?

A．By introducing a virtual friend to them.	B．By finding the causes of a fire event.
C．By letting them solve virtual problems.	D．By guiding them to ask a dog for help.

2. What did the result of the research about VR experiences show?

A．Many children found it hard to adapt to them.

B．They helped children deal with fire postively.

C．They benefited children with knowledge of animals.

D．Most children had a misunderstanding about them.

3. What is Weber’s attitude towards the new VR experiences?

A．Doubtful.

B．Indifferent.

C．Disapproving.

D．Supportive.

4. What can be the most suitable title for the text?

A．VR experiences educate kids to survive a fire	B．VR experiences make learning easier for kids
C．VR education appeals to the young generation	D．VR technology makes no sense in fighting a fire.

7 . Have you ever run into a careless cell phone user on the street? Perhaps they were busy talking, texting or checking updates on WeChat without looking at what was going on around them. As the number of this new “species” of human has kept rising, they have been given a new name — phubbers（低头族）.

Recently, a cartoon created by students from China Central Academy of Fine Arts put this group of people under the spotlight. In the short film, phubbers with various social identities(身份) bury themselves in their phones. A doctor plays with his cell phone while letting his patient die, a pretty woman takes selfie in front of a car accident site, and a father loses his child without knowing about it while using his mobile phone. A chain of similar events eventually leads to the destruction of the world.

Although the ending sounds overstated, the damage phubbing can bring is real.

Your health is the first to bear the effect and result of it. “Constantly bending your head to check your cell phone could damage your neck,” Guangming Daily quoted doctors as saying. “the neck is like a rope that breaks after long-term stretching.” Also, staring at cell phones for long periods of time will damage your eyesight gradually, according to the report.

But that’s not all. Being a phubber could also damage your social skills and drive you away from your friends and family. At reunions with family or friends, many people tend to stick to their cell phones while others are chatting happily with each other and this creates a strange atmosphere, Qilu Evening News reported.

It can also cost you your life. There have been lots of reports on phubbers who fell to their death, suffered accidents, and were robbed of their cell phones in broad daylight.

1. For what purpose does the author give the example of a cartoon in Paragragh2?

A．To inform people of the bad effects of phubbing.

B．To advertise the cartoon made by students.

C．To indicate the world will finally be destroyed by phubbers.

D．To warn doctors against using cell phones while treating patients.

2. Which of the following is NOT a risk a phubber may have?

A．His social skills could be affected.

B．His neck and eyesight will be gradually harmed.

C．He will cause the destruction of the world.

D．He might get separated from his friends and family.

3. Which of the following may be the author’s attitude towards phubbing?

A．Supportive.	B．Opposed.
C．Optimistic.	D．Objective.

4. What may the passage talk about next?

A．Advice on how to use a cell phone.	B．People addicted to phubbing.
C．Measures to reduce the risks of phubbing.	D．Consequences of phubbing.

9 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Being nearsighted is far more common than it once was. The case rate of myopia (近视) in Americans     1     (increase) by 66 percent since the early 1970s, according to a study by the National Eye Institute; in China and other East Asian countries, more than half of recent high school graduates are thought     2     (be) the persons who suffer myopia.

Myopia results when eyeballs are     3     (long) than normal, changing the angle at which light enters the eye and the ability to focus     4     distant objects. The disorder     5     (usual) begins before adolescence, when the eye is growing, but it can worsen in early adulthood.

Some experts connect the myopia to the many hours young people spend in staring at     6     (computer) and other screens. But a recent study published in JAMA Ophthalmology suggests that a greater factor may be a side effect of all that screen-watching — it’s     7     (keep) children inside.

This new study shows that a lack of direct sunlight may damage vision. Strong correlations   (关联) were found between current eyesight and     8     (people) lifetime exposure to sunlight. Those     9     had gotten the most sun, particularly between the ages of 14 and 19, were about 25 percent less likely to have developed myopia by middle age. Exposure to sunlight up to     10     age of 30 also brought a protective benefit.