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Hello, everyone!
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Thank you for your attention.
2 . While retiring ahead of time may be easier on the body, a new set of research has found that it may not be so beneficial for the mind. The study, conducted at Binghamton University, finds that an early retirement can speed up the usual rate of cognitive (认知的) decline among the elderly.
The research team analyzed China’s new rural pension system, as well as China’s most recent Retirement Longitudinal Survey, in order to investigate the effects of early retirement and pension benefits on individual cognition among adults over the age of 60. After going over all of the data, the research team noted a clear trend: people receiving pension benefits were experiencing much more rapid mental decline than those still on the workforce. Surprisingly, females seemed to experience even sharper mental decline after retiring early. Overall, the results support the hypothesis (假设) that decreased mental activity accelerates cognitive decline.
Nikolov, the lead researcher, had actually conducted previous studies that found retirement led to a number of positive physical health benefits for retirees, such as improved sleep patterns, less stress, and reduced alcohol consumption. However, retirement is also usually accompanied with a decline in social activities and less overall interaction with people, which has also been linked to cognitive decline.
“For cognition among the elderly, it looks like the negative effect on social connection far outweighed the positive effect of the program on fitness and sleep.” Nikolov says. “Or social connection may simply be the single most powerful factor for cognitive performance in old age.”
The research team are hopeful that their findings will be considered by older adults when thinking about retirement, but perhaps more importantly, they hope that policy makers in developing countries take note while drawing up new pension plans. They recommend building social get-togethers and workshops for recent retirees to help lessen the predicted decline in social interaction and creative thinking that often comes along with retirement.
1. Which of the following best describes retiring ahead of time for the mind?| A．Useless. | B．Beneficial. | C．Damaging. | D．Improving. |
| A．Men retiring as plans. | B．Women retiring early. |
| C．Women over the age of 60. | D．Men retiring ahead of time. |
| A．Longer sleeping time. | B．Fewer social activities. |
| C．More alcohol consumption. | D．More time with family members. |
| A．We should help the retired people |
| B．We should not retire in the modern world |
| C．Early retirement is not so good for the old |
| D．The government should make a new policy |
3 . The cultural products we create reflect the times we live in. “Works of popular culture, we reasoned, should reflect the extent to which nature occupies our collective consciousness (集体意识), ” says psychologist Dr Selin Kesebir. “If novelists, songwriters or filmmakers have fewer encounters with nature these days than before, or if they don’t expect their audiences to respond to it, nature would feature less frequently in their works.”
The researchers drew up a list of 186 nature-related words belonging to four categories: general words relating to nature such as cloud, or sunrise; names of flowers; names of trees; and birds’ names. Then they analyzed how often these occurred in the output of popular culture. They looked at English-language fiction, pop songs and film plots, each of which featured thousands of examples.
The results were consistent across books, songs and movies. “The space taken by nature has been decreasing in the collective imagination and cultural conversation since the 1950s. Nature features significantly less in English popular culture today than it did in the first half of the 20th century” says Dr Kesebir.
Why? Some people suggest it’s the growth of cities that has fuelled the change. “Urbanization swallows up natural areas and cuts people off from their natural surroundings,” says Dr Kesebir. But, she goes on, the growth rate of cities over the 20th century is gradual, but the data shows a marked change from the 1950s onwards. So it’s not just the fact that fewer of us are living in rural areas that explains the decline (减少).
More likely, she believes, we’re seeing the impact of technological change leading to more indoor recreational activities. Yes, TV, video games and the Internet are to blame. “These technologies may well have been substituted for nature as a source of joy, recreation and entertainment.”
Books, songs and films shape our culture as well as reflecting it, says Dr Kesebir. “The declining cultural attention to nature means a muting of the message that nature: is worth paying attention to and talking about. It also means a loss of opportunities to awaken curiosity, appreciation and awe for nature.”
1. How did the researchers conduct their study of popular culture?| A．By having interviews. | B．By doing field research. |
| C．By analyzing collected data. | D．By referring to previous studies. |
| A．It highlighted fictional stories. | B．It caught the public’s imagination. |
| C．Its nature elements were greatly reduced. | D．Its focus shifted from fiction to conversations. |
| A．Technology. | B．The population. |
| C．City development. | D．The environment. |
| A．Explanation. | B．Silence. | C．Exchange. | D．Emphasis. |
High school years are a large part in shaping
Peer pressure is the influence from members of one’s peer group. This can include influencing another to drink, smoke, cheat on a test, lie, skip class, and etc. The list is
Despite the fact that peer pressure is most commonly seen as a very negative issue, it can
1.你的经历；
2.你的感想。
注意：
1.写作词数应为80个左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
A First Aid Experience
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan was
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the
According to The Guardian, the Japanese government argued that they
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on March14 once again denounced (谴责) Japan’s unilateral (单边的) decision to dump nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea,
7 . Since finishing my studies at Harvard and Oxford, I’ve watched one friend after another land high-ranking, high-paying Wall Street jobs. As executives with banks, consulting firms, established law firms, and major corporations, many are now
On the surface, these people seem to be very lucky in life. As they left student life behind, many had a
The thing is, a number of them have
People often speak of trying a more satisfying path,
In a society that tends to
| A．much | B．never | C．very | D．well |
| A．least | B．last | C．first | D．best |
| A．shared | B．paid | C．equaled | D．spent |
| A．committed | B．witnessed | C．admitted | D．classified |
| A．complain | B．dream | C．hear | D．approve |
| A．curious | B．guilty | C．envious | D．empty |
| A．accustomed | B．appointed | C．accessible | D．available |
| A．also | B．but | C．instead | D．rather |
| A．let out | B．give away | C．give up | D．believe in |
| A．fundamental | B．practical | C．impossible | D．unforgettable |
| A．take off | B．drop off | C．put off | D．pay off |
| A．missing | B．inspiring | C．sinking | D．shining |
| A．measure | B．suffer | C．digest | D．deliver |
| A．catastrophes | B．motivations | C．campaigns | D．decisions |
| A．assessed | B．involved | C．covered | D．estimated |
1. 调查结果和评论；
2. 你的建议。
注意：1. 写作词数应为80个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
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9 . Are you a moviegoer? If so, then there’s no better place to watch something than on the big screen at the cinema. You enter the dark hall and take your seat, ready to be entertained.
Over the last few years, cinemas have seen a resurgence (复兴). Customers have been attracted by comfortable seats, and lots of choice of things to watch. Multiplexes (多放映厅影院) can screen up to twenty films at the same time, catering for all different tastes.
One answer to that question is convenience. Rather than going out, it’s so much easier to stay in and watch a movie on a high-definition TV screen via a streaming service.
| A．This isn’t great news for cinemas. |
| B．There’s plenty of choice, and it’s relatively cheap. |
| C．This has put the future of cinemas under the spotlight. |
| D．The idea of waiting to make your movies more profitable doesn’t make sense. |
| E．But recently, so new cinemas have had to close because of reduced ticket sales. |
| F．In addition, 3D and even 4D movies can give the audience an extra immersive experience. |
| G．But while you engage yourself in some movie magic, many others are now getting their film fix at home. |
10 . These days, it’s not unusual to see middle-aged men collecting Star Wars action figures, office workers wearing Hello Kitty accessories, or celebrities like David Beckham playing with Lego bricks. It’s becoming more and more common to see adults taking an interest in toys, comic books and the activities that are traditionally associated with children. This phenomenon has given rise to a new word: kidult.
What lies behind the phenomenon? One is about adults’ nostalgia(怀旧之情) for the carefree days of childhood, and this is especially true with today’s fast-paced, stressful lifestyles. Another is about a societal change in recent decades where people are starting families later. As a result, they have more time and money to spend on themselves. Some adults could only window-shop for their dream toys when they were kids, but now they can afford that radio-controlled car or high-priced doll they have always wanted.
Businesses have been quick to exploit the kidult trend, and the number of toy stores that target adults has risen. Companies are repackaging products from past decades and also bringing out new ones for adults. Lego, for example, has brought out an architectural series featuring landmarks from around the world.
Society traditionally disapproves of adults who refuse to put aside childhood interests, viewing the refusal as a sign of social immaturity and irresponsibility. Those who agree with this view sometimes claim that kidults are suffering from the pop-psychology concept known as Peter Pan Syndrome, an anomaly(异常) that people remain emotionally at the level of teenagers. On a grander scale, these kidult opponents argue that such delayed adulthood causes couples to marry later and have fewer children. This in turn can lead to shrinking national economies, for there needs to be a generational replenishment(补充) of the workforce.
From the standpoint of kidults, though, this phenomenon is seen as nothing but harmless fun. Kidults insist that having youthful interests keeps them young, happy and creative, and their refusal to conform to society’s acceptable tastes shows independent thinking. Besides, they argue that being part of the social trend of delayed adulthood is not purely a personal choice. The real causes include expensive housing, increased educational requirements for employment and poor work opportunities.
Whether the kidult phenomenon will continue to grow or prove to be a passing trend is anyone’s guess. As the debate about it continues, remember that there is nothing wrong with being young at heart.
1. What does the kidult phenomenon refer to?| A．Adults act like children. | B．Adults like playing with children. |
| C．Adults go in for collecting toys. | D．Adults have child-like tastes. |
| A．High pressure of modern life. | B．More choices about toys. |
| C．Different living conditions. | D．Good memories of childhood. |
| A．Get used to. | B．Look forward to. |
| C．Make way for. | D．Take advantage of. |
| A．By strongly opposing kidult opponents. |
| B．By refusing to take a stand on the issue. |
| C．By presenting both sides of the argument. |
| D．By convincing readers to accept kidults. |
