1 . The Internet has led to a huge increase in credit card (信用卡) fraud. Your card information could even be for sale in an illegal web site. Web sites’ offering cheap goods and services should be regarded with care. Online shoppers who enter their credit card information may never receive the goods they thought they bought. The thieves then go shopping with your card number or sell the information over the Internet.
Computers hackers have broken down security systems, raising questions about the safety of cardholder information. Several months ago, 25,000 customers of CD Universe, an online music retailer (零售商) , were not lucky. Their names, addresses and credit card numbers were posted on a Web site after the retailer refused to pay US $157,828 to get back the information.
Credit card companies are now fighting against online fraud. MasterCard is working on plans for Web-only credit card, with a lower credit limit. The card could be used only for shopping online.
However, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep from being cheated.
Ask about your credit card company’s online rules: Under British law, cardholders have to pay the first US $78 of any fraudulent spending.
And shop only at secure sites; Send your credit card information only if the Web site offers advanced secure system.
If the security is in place, a letter will appear in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. The Web site address may also start https: //--the extra “s” stands for secure. If in doubt, give your credit card information over the telephone.
Keep your password safe: Most online sites require a user name and password before placing an order. Treat your passwords with care.
1. What do most people worry about the Internet according to this passage?| A．A lot of stolen credit-cards were sold on the Internet. |
| B．Fraud on the Internet. |
| C．Many Web sites are destroyed. |
| D．Many illegal Web sites are on the Internet. |
| A．Cheating. | B．Sale. | C．Payment. | D．Safety. |
| A．The customers give them the information. |
| B．The thieves steal the information from Web sites. |
| C．The customers sell the information to them. |
| D．The thieves buy the information from credit-card firms. |
| A．Four. | B．Three. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
| A．Order the TV set at once. |
| B．Do not buy the TV set on this site. |
| C．E-mail the site your credit card information. |
| D．Tell the site your password and buy the TV set for you. |
2 . Handing your baby a phone or a tablet to play with may seem like a harmless solution when you’re busy, but it could actually affect their development, a new study has found.
Having anywhere from one to four hours of screen time per day at age l is linked with higher risks of developmental delays in communication skills, fine motor skills, personal and social skills,and problem-solving skills by age 2, according to a study of 7,097 children published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. The study measured how many hours children used screens per day at age 1 and how they performed in these developmental domains (领域) at ages 2 and 4. Both measures were according to the mothers’ self-reports.
By age 2, those who had had up to four hours of screen time per day were up to 3 times more likely to experience developmental delays in communication and problem-solving skills. Those who had spent four or more hours with screens were 4.78 times more likely to have underdeveloped communication skills,1.74 times more likely to have poor performances in fine motor skills and two times more likely to have underdeveloped personal and social skills by age2. By age 4, risk remained only in the communication and problem-solving categories.
“One of the areas that is relatively understudied in the whole screen time literature is looking at the impacts of screen exposure on very young kids, especially when screens are introduced to babies,” said Dr. John Hutton, an associate professor of general and community pediatrics (儿科) at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. “It’s definitely a global concern, and I think the findings should really be applied to other countries as well.”
“Technology use can take time away from interpersonal relationships that develop social skills since real people are more multidimensional than characters on a screen.” Hutton added. Looking at people’s faces is when our brains turn on to figure out how to interact with them.
1. What does the new study focus on?| A．A baby’s mental health. | B．Children’s developmental skills. |
| C．A kid’s academic performance. | D．Students’ creative abilities. |
| A．Analyzing data. | B．Giving examples. |
| C．Reviewing literature. | D．Doing experiments. |
| A．The impact of screen exposure should be studied. |
| B．The findings should be applied to certain countries. |
| C．Global attention should be paid to kids’ screen hours. |
| D．Screens should be introduced to more and more babies. |
| A．What Faults Can Be Found with Screens |
| B．What Difficulties A Young Kid Will Face |
| C．How Screens Change Developmental Skills |
| D．How Screen Time Influences Kids’ Development |
3 . The Global Food Donation Policy Atlas has issued a recent report in order to recommend ways to increase food donations, reduce food waste, and fight hunger, which may help Kenyan leaders meet 2030 food waste reduction goals.
Food donation can reroute eatable food—that would otherwise give off greenhouse gasses in a landfill—to those experiencing hunger. According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, 3.5 million Kenyans, roughly 37 percent of the population, face severe hunger. At the same time, the Policy Atlas reports roughly 40 percent of food produced within Kenya goes to waste. But Broad Leib, Deputy Director of Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC), sees some promising changes. “While progress is not happening as quickly as needed, Kenya’s food loss index has been steadily reduced from 1,744 metric tons in 2017, to 1,531 in 2018, to 1,446 metric tons in 2019, indicating a steady improvement and national commitment to food loss reduction,” reports Broad Leib.
According to the Policy Atlas, motivating food donation with rewards is particularly important, which helps food donors and food recovery organizations make up for costs necessary for recovery, storing, processing, and transporting food for donation.
“A major driver of food waste is inconsistent or unclear date labels that cause confusion among all actors along the value chain and limit the ability of businesses to donate food. This increases the likelihood that much safe food will go to waste,” Broad Leib tells Food Tank. However, he acknowledges Kenya’s current dual (双的) date labeling laws. While food may lose its freshness over time, it is still eatable before expiration (到期). Dual date labeling on packaged foods reduces bewilderment by defining dates for both safety and quality. This helps reduce considerable waste and responsibility for donors.
Broad Leib believes that the private sector can also play a significant role in decreasing food waste in Kenya. It is vital for consumer education campaigns. FLPC’s research shows that public-private initiatives can help raise awareness among consumers and donors around issues of food waste and food donation.
1. What changes does Broad Leib see?| A．People in Kenya no longer suffer hunger. |
| B．Kenya has gradually reduced its food waste. |
| C．Kenya is not committed to reducing food loss. |
| D．Progress in reducing food waste is happening quickly. |
| A．Sadness. | B．Convenience. | C．Confusion. | D．Emotion. |
| A．By increasing storehouses. |
| B．By fighting hunger with rewards. |
| C．By reducing food produced within the country. |
| D．By using double date labeling on packaged food. |
| A．Consumer education campaigns are the most important. |
| B．Only the private sector is helpful in reducing food waste. |
| C．Private and public joint efforts matter around food issues. |
| D．Broad Leib doesn’t agree with FLPC on food waste reduction. |
1. 调查结果的描述；
2. 简单评论；
3. 你的建议。
注意：
1. 词数 80 左右;
2. 短文的题目和首句已为你写好。
How would you use the smart phone?
A survey on how students would use the smart phone has been conducted recently.
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5 . While I was jumping rope, my smartphone took a fall to the floor which created cracks (裂缝) on my screen. However, the music kept playing. 30 minutes later, I could see only one-tenth of my screen while the rest was black. The next morning, I decided not to use it for 24 hours. I felt a sense of calm that day, which led to my not using it for one week. One week ended up becoming 60 days in total without my smartphone.
Here are some advantages I noticed in this challenge.
You’ll become “bored”
Without my phone, I became bored, but my mind went through all kinds of topics, Boredom (无聊) is a perfect way to create new ideas on a business or project. When you are bored, you allow your mind to relax to reach all possibilities.
You’ll be able to reduce your “work” hours
A survey found that adults checked their smartphones 85 times a day, or once every 10 minutes. As I learned in my challenge, by not having my smartphone, I fell into deep work more easily, so I completed my tasks in a shorter time.
You’ll improve your mental health
Without my phone, I avoided reading negative news and comments. While that helped make a big improvement in my mental health, the biggest reason for it was truly communicating with people. It brought me more connections with humans in the real world. I went to more dinners with friends and asked more questions to strangers.
1. Boredom is a good way for the writer ________ .| A．to create new ideas | B．to start a business |
| C．to set up a project | D．to relax the body |
| A．more terribly | B．more quickly |
| C．more carelessly | D．more comfortably |
| A．Chatting on the phone. | B．Reading negative news. |
| C．Communicating in the real world. | D．Avoiding meeting friends and strangers. |
6 . Back in April, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, made a dramatic attempt at a hostile takeover of Twitter, for a cool $44 billion. That’s a lot of money, even for a billionaire tycoon (巨头), and the takeover attempt quickly slid into court battles. But whoever wins (we’re not going to know for some time), I think the most interesting part of the story is the more fundamental question: why would Musk even want to buy Twitter in the first place?
If you look at the size of Twitter, its appeal isn’t obvious. The company makes a relatively small profit each year, and in terms of the number of users, Twitter is a relative minnow among social media networks. It has around 436 million users every month, which isn’t nothing—but is also a long way behind the likes of Facebook (near three billion), Instagram (two billion), and TikTok (one billion). So why does Musk want to spend a considerable slice of his own enormous fortune on a social network that not many people, in the grand scheme of things, actually use?
The answer might be what makes Twitter so interesting: what it lacks in revenue, size or growth potential, it makes up for in a much harder to define way. It carries absolutely enormous cultural power, and has an unrivalled ability to shape the news we read, the content we consume and the culture we live in.
1. What’s the author’s initial reaction to Musk’s takeover of Twitter?| A．Approving. | B．Confused. | C．Indifferent. | D．Objective. |
| A．By giving reasons. | B．By answering questions. | C．By making comparisons. | D．By showing processes. |
| A．Compared with other social media, Twitter has its own value. |
| B．Twitter is as interesting and attractive as other social media. |
| C．Twitter will be even more successful than other social media. |
| D．Twitter’s profit will be much easier to measure in the future. |
| A．To provide some background information about Musk. |
| B．To explore the motivation for Musk’s takeover of Twitter. |
| C．To inform people of Musk’s sudden takeover of Twitter. |
| D．To express his concern about the coming court battles. |
7 . 
Cheating can happen in a lot of different ways.When people cheat,it’s not fair to other people，like the kids who studied for the test or who the true winners of a game were.
Many people like the action of cheating.In their opinion,it makes difficult things seem easy,like getting all the right answers on the test.But it doesn't solve the problem of not knowing the material and it won't help on the next test—unless the person cheats again.
Some people lose respect for cheaters and think less of them.The cheaters themselves may feel bad because they know they shouldn't get that good grade.And,if they get caught cheating,they will be in trouble at school，and maybe at home,too.
Some kids cheat because they're busy or lazy and they want to get good grades without spending the time studying.Other kids might feel like they can’t pass the test without cheating.Even when there seems to be a “good reason” for cheating,cheating isn’t a good idea.
If you were sick or upset about something the night before the day and couldn’t study,it would be better to talk with the teacher about this.And if you don’t have enough time to study for a test because of swim practice,you need to talk with your parents about how to balance swimming and school.A kid who thinks cheating is the only way to pass a test needs to talk with the teacher and his or her parents so they can find some solutions together.Talking about these problems and working them out will feel better than cheating.
1. What does the author think when kids cheat in class?| A．It is unfair to other people. |
| B．It does harm to their health. |
| C．Teachers should punish them. |
| D．Teachers shouldn't stop them at once. |
| A．Because they think the material in the test is very difficult. |
| B．Because they want to do better than the others. |
| C．Because cheating can make hard things seem very easy. |
| D．Because they have little time to study their lessons. |
| A．Some kids can’t pass the test without cheating. |
| B．Why kids cheat in the test. |
| C．Cheating isn’t a good idea. |
| D．Some kids don't spend the time studying. |
| A．Cheaters are often thought highly of. |
| B．People show no respect for those who cheat. |
| C．Parents whose kids cheat are often in trouble. |
| D．Kids cheat in the test because of swim practice. |
8 . Twenty-five years ago, most young Britons wanted a career in law, to be a doctor, or, if they were creative enough, to take up singing. But today, things stand differently.
According to a survey by Tesco Mobile, a UK company, the “dream job” of young people aged between 16 and 25 in the UK is a video blogger (写博客的人), or “vlogger (视频博主)”．The survey, carried out among 1,002 people, found that as many as 40 percent of them put vloggers as their number one choice on a list of ideal careers.
This change is undoubtedly as a result of the Internet and social media.They have made it so much easier to reach the audience of the world, without having to enter a career in show business in the traditional way.
In the past, the biggest stars were trained by the Hollywood studios; now, anyone with a computer camera can become a star. Vloggers are the big stars of today because they are normal people interacting (交流) with their fans about everyday life.
However, what people see is only the bright side of being a vlogger and they fail to notice the fact that only those who are successful earn fame (名声) and fortune. For every success there are hundreds of others who never get off the starting line. There are the dreams that come true and the dreams that remain dreams forever.
Although being vloggers is popular, some young people choose to follow careers that don’t necessarily earn them fame, but allow them to make good use of the Internet to share their hobbies.Young Israeli David Leshaw, for example, runs a business called the Finishers Club.It’s an online platform for runners to keep a record of their races.His job allows him to express his enthusiasm, and is always a learning experience.And that’s enough for him．
1. Why do more and more young Britons choose to be vloggers?| A．Vloggers can earn little fame and money on the Internet. |
| B．There is too much competition in the traditional show business. |
| C．The Internet makes it convenient to become vloggers. |
| D．Anyone with a computer will surely become a star. |
| A．Only a few vloggers can be successful. | B．A vlogger can not earn fame or fortune. |
| C．Being a vlogger is not a good career. | D．Dreams will come true one day. |
| A．Learn from others. | B．Become an online hit. |
| C．Hold running races. | D．Mix jobs with hobbies. |
| A．Most young Britons choose to be vloggers as their jobs. |
| B．The Internet is influencing young Britons’ career choice. |
| C．The Internet is taking the place of traditional studios. |
| D．Young Britons can not find jobs without the Internet. |
9 . From self-driving cars to care bots for elderly people, the rapid development in technology has long represented a possible threat(威胁) to many jobs normally performed by people. But experts now believe that almost 50 percent of occupations existing today will be completely unnecessary by 2025 as artificial intelligence (AI) continues to change businesses.
“The next fifteen years will see a change in how we work, and a change will necessarily take place in how we plan and think about workplaces,” said Peter Andrew, director of Work pace Strategy for CBRE Asia Pacific. A growing number of jobs in the future will require creative intelligence, social skills and the ability to use artificial intelligence.
The report is based on interviews with 200 experts, business leaders and young people from Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. It shows that in the US technology already destroys more jobs than it creates. But the report states, “Losing occupations does not necessarily mean losing jobs—just changing what people do.” Growth in new jobs could occur as much, according to the research. “The growth of companies that have the speed and technological knowledge will directly challenge big companies,” it states.
A report by Pew Research Center found 52 percent of experts in artificial intelligence and-robotics were optimistic about the future and believed there would still be enough jobs in the next few years. “The optimists pictured a future in which robots do not take the place of more jobs than they create,” according to Aaron Smith, the reports co-author. “Technology will continue to affect jobs, but more jobs seem likely to be created. Although there have always been people out of work, when we reach a few billion people there will be billions of jobs. There is no shortage of things that need to be done and that will not change,” Jonathan Grudin told researchers.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．The result of job reduction. |
| B．The fast development of AI. |
| C．The future life of elderly people. |
| D．The influence of technology on jobs. |
| A．Take the place of AI. |
| B．Work in a traditional way. |
| C．Take up jobs requiring creativity. |
| D．Enjoy better and changeable workplaces. |
| A．More people will suffer unemployment. |
| B．More jobs tend to appear in the future. |
| C．Job competition is likely to grow sharper. |
| D．Technology will have less control over jobs. |
| A．Are People Losing Their Jobs? |
| B．The Requirements for Future Jobs |
| C．The Challenging Life in the Future |
| D．Does Technology Simplify Everything? |
10 . New efforts are being made to prevent American college campuses from cigarette smoking. Twenty colleges in the United States recently received money to help protect their campuses from the harm of cigarettes.
Supporters say that every child deserves to grow up in a safe and healthy environment free from harmful second-hand cigarettes. And in November, smoking at college campuses may become illegal.
Before banning smoking at college campuses, the US has passed laws banning smoking at most workplaces. 27 American states ban smoking in all indoor workplaces.
Those supporting smoke-free at workplaces and college campuses give one major reason: the bad influence of smoking on health.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says smoking has a great influence on health. They think cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States. Smoking is responsible for 480,000 deaths every year.
Supporters say the bad influence of second-hand smoke makes it a public health problem. Some also say that college campuses are a good place to ban smoking.
Gary Reedy, the CEO of the American Cancer Society, said it was important to stop college students from smoking, and he expected to successfully create a cigarette-free generation (世代).
The CDC found that 13 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 24 smoke cigarettes. Reedy says that reducing the number of college students who smoke can help reduce the number of older adult smokers. He also says once a person starts smoking, it is hard to stop.
1. Who are the new efforts good for?| A．College students. | B．The CDC. |
| C．Young smokers. | D．People in public places. |
| A．The bad influence of smoking. | B．Money wasted on cigarettes. |
| C．Laws passed by the US. | D．Public attention to health. |
| A．Smoking spreads easily among college students. |
| B．Smoke-free campuses have a long-term influence. |
| C．It is easier for college students to stop smoking. |
| D．There’re more older adult smokers in the world. |
| A．Second-hand smoke is affecting college students too |
| B．Groups take steps to protect college students |
| C．Cigarettes should be totally banned in college |
| D．Banning smoking is being tried at US colleges |
