A.power B.days C.unique D.connected E.young F.priority G.effectively H.exposed I.monitor J.settings K.suffer |
Raising a teenager today can be a challenging job. Long gone are the innocent
Today’s teens spend an average of 7.5 hours a day
However, protections such as parental control
One of the best of these new services is TeenSafe.com. It’s an online service that allow parents to
2 . One of the best parts of travel is always the food. Or, more specifically, the junk food. It’s a delight people are unlikely to get to experience during the pandemic. But in one corner of the Internet, hungry people are keeping the joy of international snacks alive.
On r/SnackExchange, users trade the delights of their homeland by mail. First, you find someone on the board to swap (交换) with. You and your partner then post each other a box full of local finest processed foods, eventually uploading photos of your haul (收获) on the board for others to see.
First created in 2010, r/SnackExchange’s membership now totals 102,000. Most come to experience snacks they can’t find at home.
For the users who take part in snack exchanges, it’s a way to learn more about the world. For Meghan Quallick, a snack swapper from California, part of the motivation for swapping with an Australian was to get her hands on a specific item: Cadbury Black Forest bars. A colleague of hers had eaten the chocolate bars on a trip to Australia in years past and fallen in love with them, but was then unable to source them at home. Quallick’s snack partner included 10 bars of the chocolate in her package. “To get some and bring them to her was pretty exciting,” Quallick said. “My colleague had tears in her eyes.”
Snack exchanges do come with obvious financial disadvantages. Part of the process is to agree on a budget before you swap — on average that’s around the US$40-50 mark. But you should be prepared to spend twice as much on shipping as the actual snacks. Occasionally swappers get scammed (欺骗) by partners who don’t deliver on their end of the deal.
Often, the snack exchanges are about more than just the food. Heather Clarke, a snack swapper from Melbourne says, “They’re often cultural exchanges as well. You get people going, ‘Can you tell me what this is?’” Often, users enclose (随信附上) instructions on how to best consume the snacks. Going the extra mile is in the spirit of the community.
1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?A.The history of snack exchanges. | B.How users exchange snacks on r/ SnackExchange. |
C.Why people love to exchange snacks. | D.The influence the pandemic has on snack exchanges. |
A.She got what she desired to eat from Quallick. | B.She failed to find a swapper online. |
C.She found the snack she ate before online. | D.She quarreled with Quallick. |
A.Swappers easily get scammed. |
B.Swappers seldom find exactly what they want. |
C.Swappers may spend more time than usual shopping. |
D.Swappers have to spend more on shipping. |
A.They should be improved. | B.They are lacking in community spirit. |
C.They promote cultural exchanges. | D.They should have detailed guides from swappers. |
3 . The southwestern United States has experienced drought for more than 20 years. Arizona has increasingly pumped (抽吸) water from underground, but that meets less than half of what the state needs. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of new residents arrive every year, and more communities are built. One report shows that a large area near Phoenix doesn’t have enough groundwater for all the homes that developers want to build there. That means 800,000 people.
Some experts say the solution is to import water from outside the state. One idea is to build a $5.5 billion desalination (脱盐) plant on Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. The plant would remove salt from the water and pump that water to Arizona through a 200-mile pipeline. Supporters say this could provide a water supply for decades.
Environmentalists see a different future. Some of the salt taken out of the Sea of Cortez might end up back in the ocean, harming wildlife. The pipeline would damage land where people and animals live. And the desalination process uses lots of energy. This would create greenhouse gases, the very gases that are causing the conditions that have led to Arizona’s water problems.
Margaret Wilder is a professor at the University of Arizona, in Tucson. She warns that big projects like this one could be used to show much more unsustainable development in the desert in the future. Moreover, desalinating water would likely be a massive expenditure for Arizonans. Cities pay about $50 to $150 for 326,000 gallons. That’s enough for a family of three in Phoenix for a year. Desalinated water could charge 20 times as much.
Environmentalists say the government should focus on cutting the demand for water rather than increasing the supply. That would mean taking water-saving measures and limiting how many homes are built. Thousands of households in Tucson, Arizona, are collecting rainwater and using it for cooking, drinking, and in their gardens. Government leaders have taken notice. Tucson also helps residents pay for equipment that collects rainwater for home use.
1. What is the problem faced by the southwestern United States?A.A population increase. | B.A serious heatwave. |
C.A waste of resources. | D.A water shortage. |
A.It provides a long-term solution to drought. |
B.It would harm the planet from various aspects. |
C.It fails to take people’s basic needs into account. |
D.It draws people’s attention to environmental destruction. |
A.Affordable. | B.Costly. | C.Unsafe. | D.Beneficial. |
A.People are unsatisfied with the government’s water measures. |
B.Collecting rainwater is the key to meeting water demands. |
C.People are exploring water resources with official support. |
D.Public concern about water safety has increased. |
“All suspects reportedly
The Beijing News reported that over the past months, this case of the 13-year-old boy, inhumanly killed by his three classmates,
The victim and his classmates are “left-behind children”,
The case has triggered an outpouring of grief on social media, with
1. Who are the target customers of Bill Bird’s workshop?
A.Those who prefer fashionable shoes. |
B.Those who need unusual-sized shoes. |
C.Those who like to order shoes quickly. |
A.The lack of computer technology. |
B.The shortage of skilled workers. |
C.His outdated shoe-making skills. |
A.Fashionable. | B.Interesting. | C.Devoted. |
6 . Are you one of those people who like spending time alone? If so, you probably already know that there are some people who will scold you for it. They think you are alone because you are anxious around other people and just don’t have very positive relationships with humans.
This is a common phenomenon of being alone for too long. Recently, scholars have increasingly recognized the value of spending time alone.
As important as that distinction is, some scholars believe it is not enough. Even people who choose to be alone, they point out, can do so for different reasons.
For young people, spending time al one for positive reasons is associated with a number of healthy psychological experiences. Those who are alone for negative reasons are worrying. However, wanting to be alone for positive reasons and wanting to be alone for negative reasons are not completely separate.
A.They have even documented it. |
B.They are forced to spend much time alone. |
C.There is a small relevance between the two. |
D.They assume you are lonely and depressed. |
E.The two have nothing to do with each other. |
F.Some reasons for being alone are likely to cause trouble. |
G.How do you decide whether being alone is good or bad? |
1. What percentage of the Indian youth are hopeful for the future?
A.53%. | B.49%. | C.20%. |
A.Energy. | B.Technology. | C.Environment. |
A.Giving a lesson. | B.Hosting a show. | C.Broadcasting news. |
8 . Vegetarians would rather not be forced to eat meat. Yet the reverse compulsion is hidden in the proposals for a new plant-based “planetary diet.” Nowhere is this more visible than in India.
Earlier this year, the EAT-Lancet Commission released its global report on nutrition and called for a global shift to a more plant-based diet and for “substantially reducing consumption of animal source foods.” In countries like India, that call could become a tool to aggravate an already tense political situation and stress already undernourished populations.
The EAT report assumes that “traditional diets” in countries like India include little red meat, which might be consumed only on special occasions or as minor ingredients in mixed dishes.
In India, however, there is a vast difference between what people would wish to consume and what they have to consume because of innumerable barriers around class, religion, culture, cost, geography, etc. Policymakers in India have traditionally pushed for a cereal-heavy “vegetarian diet” on a meat-eating population as a way of providing the cheapest sources of food.
Currently, under an aggressive Hindu nationalist government, Muslims, Christians, disadvantaged classes and indigenous communities are being compelled to give up their traditional foods.
None of these concerns seem to have been appreciated by the EAT-Lancet Commission’s representative, Brent Loken, who said “India has got such a great example” in sourcing protein from plants.
But how much of a model for the world is India’s vegetarianism? In the Global Hunger Index, the country ranks 102nd out of 117. Data from the National Family Health Survey indicate that only 10 percent of infants of 6 to 23 months are adequately fed, which is why calls for a plant-based diet modeled on India risk offering another whip with which to beat already vulnerable communities in developing countries.
A diet directed at the affluent West fails to recognize that in low-income countries undernourished children are known to benefit from the consumption of milk and other animal source foods, improving cognitive functions, while reducing the prevalence of nutritional deficiencies as well as death.
EAT-Lancet claimed its intention was to “spark conversations” among all Indian stakeholders. Yet vocal critics of the food processing industry and food fortification strategies have been left out of the debate. But the most conspicuous (明显的) omission may well be the absence of India’s farmers.
1. What is more visible in India than anywhere else according to the passage?A.People’s positive views on the proposals for a “planetary diet”. |
B.People’s reluctance to be compelled to eat plant-based food. |
C.People’s preferences for the kind of food they consume. |
D.People’s unwillingness to give up their eating habits. |
A.Radically change their dietary habits. | B.Keep them further away from politics. |
C.Make them even more undernourished. | D.Substantially reduce their food choices. |
A.People’s diet will not change due to the EAT-Lancet report. |
B.Many people simply do not have access to foods they prefer. |
C.There is a growing popularity of a cereal-heavy vegetarian diet. |
D.Policymakers help remove the barriers to people’s choice of food. |
A.It may benefit populations whose traditional diet is meat-based. |
B.It may be another blow to the economy in developing countries. |
C.It may worsen the nourishment problem in low-income countries. |
D.It may help narrow the gap between the rich and poor countries. |
9 . As the shift from traditional farming to modern farming is progressing, the use of technology such as drones (无人机), robots and machinery has also begun, producing favorable results and increasing efficiency in the industry. A farmer from the Philippines, Rey Kent Dejesica, wanted to help and contribute to the agriculture industry. Through an advertisement, he saw DIAGRAS drones and was interested in the idea of drones being used for farm applications.
In the Philippines, when people think of farmers or agriculture, they usually picture long hours working in the sun. Farming is an onerous process, especially for young people, who like everything instant. “Rice and bananas are the primary sources of income in my city. I want to contribute to the agriculture industry in a way to reduce growers’ expenses and make the usage of pesticides (农药) more precise and efficient because I’ve seen how innovative individuals are and how they always find ways and methods to make tasks easier,” Rey Kent Dejesica said.
“Using drones as a sprayer (喷雾器) also lessens human labor. Besides that, we can obtain a bird’s-eye view of fields and spay crops precisely and effectively with drones,” Rey Kent Dejesica said. Moreover, farmers stated that the use of drones also minimized the Panama disease. “After we switched to drone technology, our field became more beautiful,” they added.
Agriculture is the main source of income for some Asian regions. Parts of Asia are now going through a rapidly aging farmer population and a fear of food shortage. That is why the youth must be part of the trade to ensure food security in the future. Advancements in agricultural technology such as drones can attract the youth back to the farming scene.
Armed with his knowledge of drone technology and having a positive attitude, Rey Kent sets an example for the next generation of farmers. May this be a stepping stone showing that farming is not something to be embarrassed about, but to be accepted through applying new technology.
1. Why was Rey Kent Dejesica interested in using drones for farming?A.He was influenced by his parents. |
B.He was doing experiments with drones. |
C.He wanted farmers to stop using pesticides. |
D.He aimed to use them to help the agricultural industry. |
A.Simple. | B.Creative. | C.Heavy. | D.Dangerous. |
A.Helpful. | B.Harmful. | C.Useless. | D.Funny. |
A.The aging farmer population in Asia. | B.The importance of food security in the world. |
C.The youth’s role in high-tech agriculture. | D.The advancements in agricultural technology. |
10 . Recently, after I gave a virtual presentation on my book Indistractable, a listener wrote something in the Zoom chat that drove me crazy, “This is great but wouldn’t work for me. I’m a Gemini (双子星座的人).”
Ironically, the Zoom listener is right. If she thinks she’s incapable, she’ll prove it correct — whether it has anything to do with the stars and moon or not. Her inflexible self-identification denies her the chance to improve her life. It’s incredibly self-limiting.
That’s why we should stop defining ourselves as fixed identities and nouns, and instead start describing ourselves using verbs.
Words are powerful. Linguistic research shows that language shapes people and culture; it can also give us insight into ourselves and our behavior. In a well-known study, researchers Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobsen had all students in the same elementary school take a standard IQ test. Then they randomly selected a group of students, regardless of their test results, and told teachers the group would show “dramatic intellectual growth”. Eight months later, those students scored significantly higher on an IQ test. The study concluded that teachers’ positive perception of students correlated to those students’ high performance on intellectual and academic tests. The labels the children received became a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy (预言).
That’s because language shapes expectations, which shape our reality. If we have experiences that lead us to label ourselves with specific nouns during our life, then we are likely to stick with those labels and the behaviors that go with them.
Using verbs to identify ourselves is an effective method for releasing “trapped priors”—a term in psychology for a perception of reality that’s affected or trapped by past experiences. Verbs are action words well suited to describing short-lived behaviors that can and do change. They don’t lay claim to our entire identity, but they acknowledge that we are people first and foremost, not whatever a singular noun may say we are. So, instead of saying, “I am a procrastinator (拖拉者)”, you should say, “I am a person who often procrastinates.”
By focusing on our behaviors, not fixed characteristics, we can release harmful perceptions of ourselves that hold us back from trying methods that might improve our lives — like those that can help us achieve the critical skill of being indistractable.
1. What does the author want to show through the example of the Zoom listener?A.The concept of flexible self-identification. |
B.His confusion about the way to self-identify. |
C.His understanding of proper self-identification. |
D.The negative effects of using nouns to define oneself. |
A.Self-fulfilling prophecies change over time. |
B.Encouragement promotes students’ improvement. |
C.Language usage will have an impact on teaching. |
D.IQ has little to do with students’ academic performance. |
A.By highlighting their behaviors. |
B.By focusing on their advantages. |
C.By analyzing their typical characteristics. |
D.By assessing their academic performance. |
A.Nouns are more powerful than verbs |
B.Your words can determine your future |
C.How we define ourselves really counts |
D.Our option of words reflects our identity |