优点:1. 话题广泛;2. 图片丰富;3. 有助于提高学习兴趣。
建议:适当降低词汇难度。
注意:
1. 词数:100词左右;书信的格式已为你写好,不计入总词数;
2. 可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
Dear Editor,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Best regards,
Li Hua
2 . In 2012, fewer than 7% of Americans had read poetry, which was down from 17% in 1992. In 2015, poetry was one of the least popular art activities for American grown-ups, with under 10% picking up a book and reading for pleasure. Just when it seemed to be on its deathbed, Instapoetry — easy-to-understand poems that are short enough to fit in your Instagram description — came to save the day.
Instapoetry appeared thanks to social media and Instapoems are usually no longer than a few lines and very direct. The influence Instapoetry has made in the poetry world is great. In 2017, poetry sales were twice what they were in 2016. In 2018, 28 million Americans were reading poems, which was the highest percentage (百分比) of poetry readership in nearly twenty years.
Many people have raved about the new type of poetry. The fact that it’s direct while also being touching is what interests many readers. Before the appearance of Instapoetry, many people thought of poetry as being long and difficult to understand. With Instapoetry, it is easy to understand what the author is trying to say. Readers don’t feel stupid or think the poetry needs to be studied carefully. It’s just simple beauty.
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though. Instapoetry has been criticized (批评) for having no meaning and for seeming like passing thoughts thrown on paper, packed up (包装) all pretty and given to the general public. Instapoetry has also been seen as a disgrace (耻辱) to writers who have worked tirelessly to improve their skills and achieve recognition.
In a world filled with a huge amount of entertainment (娱乐活动), people often choose things that are more showy, eye-catching and don’t take up too much time. Instapoetry fits the bill perfectly. While poets who choose to stick to traditional poetry should certainly keep writing, Instapoetry could be just what the poetry world needs to get it back on its feet.
1. What do the numbers in paragraph 1 show?A.The difficult situation of poetry. |
B.The most popular art activities of Americans. |
C.The falling popularity of physical poetry books. |
D.The reasons why Americans have lost interest in poetry. |
A.Refused. | B.Praised. | C.Translated. | D.Changed. |
A.A social media user who has no interest in poetry. | B.A professor who studies the history of poetry. |
C.A salesman who sells poetry collections. | D.A poet who writes traditional poetry. |
A.When is a poet an Instapoet? |
B.Why are we so worried about Instapoetry? |
C.How is Instapoetry changing the way we see the world? |
D.Are Instapoets harming the art of poetry or bringing it to life? |
3 . Editor’s note: An increasing number of Chinese people, especially the young, are more willing to celebrate Western festivals. Should we celebrate foreign festivals? Forum (论坛) readers share their opinions. You’re welcome to add yours.
Dinah (China)
I enjoy the happy atmosphere of both Chinese and Western festivals. As long as it is meaningful for me, I will celebrate it with my boyfriend, and my parents! I like Western festivals and often celebrate them without even knowing the origins of them. Why? Because what I really appreciate is just the happy atmosphere.
SharkMinnow (Canada)
Western Festivals are more like parties or games for some Chinese. Also, spending money = good for economy. Most Chinese don’t take Western festivals as seriously as their own. It’s like a game or party in my eyes. A way to blow off steam and have fun (and spend money).
Travis (UK)
As an Englishman teaching here in China for two years, my friends have got used to, and enjoy when I celebrate my festivals. My school also likes it as well, although this year they asked me not to scare the teachers so much on Halloween. My Chinese friends enjoy taking part in my festivals, as they also learn more about my culture, and the history that goes with it…
Leesinchina (US)
Cherish your own festivals. It would be a pity if the Chinese accepted these Western days — first, because they have absolutely nothing to do with traditional Chinese culture. Second, they are a big trick by the big stores to get more money out of you. Stick to your own festivals — they actually mean something to you — rather than following western customs for no good reason.
1. What matters most according to Dinah?A.The atmosphere when celebrating festivals. |
B.The people with whom to celebrate festivals. |
C.Celebrating Chinese festivals with her family. |
D.Celebrating Western festivals in a good atmosphere. |
A.Optimistic. | B.Indifferent. | C.Neutral. | D.Negative. |
A.How should we celebrate festivals? |
B.Should we celebrate foreign festivals? |
C.Why are more young people celebrating foreign festivals? |
D.Are more Chinese people willing to celebrate foreign festivals? |
A.A newspaper. | B.A debate. | C.A website. | D.A text book. |
4 . Culdesac, which describes itself as “the first car-free neighborhood in the Us”, admitted its first 36 residents in Tempe, Arizona, US, earlier this year. The $170 million neighborhood, with its white buildings and narrow walkways, is expected to hold around 1, 000 people when the full 760 units are completed by 2025. Similar projects in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Houston, Texas, are also underway.
In a country as car-dependent as the US, Culdesac is no lack of foresight (远见). Although some densely populated (人口密集的) coastal Us cities like Boston and New York City are walkable and have ample public transportation options like taxis, buses and light rails, the majority of Americans are entirely dependent on cars to get around.
This dependence on cars doesn’t come cheap, unfortunately. In a 2023 study, the American Automobile Association said that it costs an average of about 89,000 yuan per year to own and maintain a car in the US.
So, what is stopping Americans from abandoning cars and accepting relatively cheaper choices like e-bikes? In a word, unsafe roads that prioritize cars over people. According to a 2018 report by WHO, the US traffic accident death rate is about 50 percent more than similar nations in Western Europe. At the same time, walkers and cyclists in the US are often blamed for being hit by drivers rather than the other way around.
Still, there’s hope. By choosing a new car-free way of living, US projects like Culdesac can provide another way of living that’s both healthier and more affordable and, in turn, influence others to live a better way as well. As Vanessa, a resident of Culdesac, said, “For some, cars equal freedom, but for me, it’s limitation, Freedom is being able to just simply walk out and access places. “
1. What can we learn about Culdesac from the text?A.It is expected to hold only 1, 000 people, | B.It is the world’s largest car-free neighborhood, |
C.It will be finished by the end of this year. | D.It is thought to be forward-thinking. |
A.Enough. | B.Possible. | C.Similar. | D.Special. |
A.Maintaining a car is cheap. | B.E-bikes are not widely available. |
C.Road conditions are unsafe. | D.Drivers are respected by others. |
A.Limiting freedom of movement. | B.Making local residents feel safer. |
C.Encouraging people to explore their communities. | D.Promoting a cheaper and healthier way of living. |
Gather together a couple of good friends and take a leisurely walk through the streets—this is what many youngsters in China enjoy doing when they pay a visit
The origins of Citywalk can be traced (追溯) back to London, England. Strictly speaking, this form of urban tourism
Up to now, the Citywalk trend
In short, Citywalk not only offers
6 . Two hours of screen time a day is enough to “dumb down” children or result in depression or physical illness, a global study has found.
The global study analyzed data measuring screen time, physical activity, mental health indicators and physical illness reported by 577, 000 children aged 11, 13 and 15 from 42 rich countries. It found that screen time—not including school work—averaged 6. 3 hours for boys and 5. 4 hours for girls.
The Australian-led study shows girls experience unhealthiness after just two hours watching screens including television, social media or online gaming. However, boys are more likely to be physically active, they can safely spend twice as much time on screens each day before suffering health problems.
Dr Khan said too much time spent watching TV, gaming or on social media could lead to “reduced learning abilities”. “If you spend more time on screens you are likely not to do well in your study performance.”
“We also found there were some benefits during the first hour of daily screen use, but bad effects on mental health kick in after 75 minutes in girls and 105 minutes in boys,” Dr Khan said. The solution to mental health the study found was an hour of physical activity, and no more than two hours a day using screens, apart from schoolwork. That is to say, children need to balance screen time with “green time” outdoors. Children who exercise or play outdoors regularly are healthier and happier, the study shows.
Melbourne dad, Tom Hindhaugh, said he tried to reduce screen time for his son, Patrick, 13. “Clearly we need those screens for homeschooling. Technology is the necessary way kids can communicate and hang out with each other,” he said. “But we need to get children outside and moving. Physical activity is the key for their health, whether it’s walking, riding a bike or kicking the football.”
1. What does the study focus on about children?A.Their screen time. | B.Their health habits. |
C.Their gender difference. | D.Their school performance. |
A.Boys perform no better in study than girls. |
B.Boys are better at physical activity than girls. |
C.Girls spend more time on school work than boys. |
D.Girls are more likely to suffer ill-health than boys. |
A.The balance of school work. | B.The proper time of daily screens. |
C.The advantage of green time. | D.The necessity of regular activities. |
A.To express parents’ concern. | B.To show a successful example. |
C.To support the writer’s opinion. | D.To present an education method. |
A.103. | B.127. | C.134. |
8 . Happiness is not a warm phone, according to a new study exploring the link between young life satisfaction and screen time. The study was led by professor of psychology Jean M. Twenge at San Diego State University (SDSU).
To research this link, Twenge, along with colleagues Gabrielle Martin at SDSU and W. Keith Campbell at the University of Georgia, dealt with data from the Monitoring the Future (MtF) study, a nationally representative survey of more than a million U.S. 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders. The survey asked students questions about how often they spent time on their phones, tablets and computers, as well as questions about their face-to-face social interactions and their overall happiness.
The study found that teens who spent more time in front of screen devices — playing computer games, using social media, texting and video chatting — were less happy than those who invested more time in non-screen activities like sports, reading newspapers and magazines, and face-to-face social interactions.
“The key to digital media use and happiness is limited use,” Twenge said. “Aim to spend no more than two hours a day on digital media, and try to increase the amount of time you spend seeing friends face-to-face and exercising — two activities reliably linked to greater happiness.”
Looking at historical trends from the same age groups since the 1990s, it’s easy to find that the increase of screen devices over time happened at the same time as a general drop-off in reported happiness in U.S. teens. Specifically, young people’s life satisfaction and happiness declined sharply after 2012. That’s the year when the percentage of Americans who owned a smartphone rose above 50 percent. By far the largest change in teens’ lives between 2012 and 2016 was the increase in the amount of time they spent on digital media, and the following decline in in-person social activities and sleep.
1. Which method did Twenge’s team use for the study?A.Analyzing data from a survey. | B.Asking students certain questions. |
C.Calculating students’ happiness. | D.Doing experiments on screen time. |
A.By making an argument. | B.By giving an example. |
C.By making a comparison. | D.By introducing an idea. |
A.To draw a conclusion from the study. |
B.To support the researchers’ finding. |
C.To prove social activities important. |
D.To offer some advice to the readers. |
A.Quitting phones equals happiness. | B.Screen time should be banned. |
C.Teens’ lives have changed sharply. | D.Screen-addicted teens are unhappier. |
1. What happened to the woman?
A.She left her handbag on the bus. |
B.She missed the No. 22 bus yesterday. |
C.She didn’t find City Bus Company. |
A.They didn’t find anything like that. |
B.Someone found it and gave it to them. |
C.It was certain that someone took it away. |
10 . At the start of every working week, millions of people around the world get ready for something they do endlessly, joylessly and badly: a meeting.
The reason is simple, says Madeleine de Hauke, a meeting coach and teacher in an Antwerp Management School. “We spend our lives and huge amounts of money on meetings, but there’s very little work that helps people run them effectively.”
Madeleine is correct. Running a meeting well takes skill. People need to know ahead why they are meeting, what they are supposed to achieve, who really needs to be there and how they should contribute. That sounds obvious but it is not, as anyone who has been to a pointless meeting knows. Yet meeting leaders are expected to learn all this on the job. I cannot remember ever being taught how to organize a meeting, and I have rarely had a job requiring me to do it.
I also like Madeleine’s descriptions of what she calls the Meeting Monsters: people who destroy meetings with all sorts of annoying behaviors. There is the unkind off-topic speaker. The non-stop noise in the background. The confusing rambler whose speech is endless. The rude multi-tasker. The one who says nothing but emails later to say what was decided will never work.
The trouble is, we are all meeting monsters sometimes, says Madeleine. A good meeting leader knows how to stop this behavior, or make sure it never starts by making it clear what will and won’t be allowed.
A bad meeting is like a virus (病毒). By failing to produce good decisions it often requires another meeting to be held, then another and another. Luckily there is no need for a vaccine (疫苗), just a bit more care and preparation, and an understanding that there is no shame in being taught how to lead a meeting well.
1. What cause bad meetings according to the author?A.Boring meeting activities. | B.Untrained meeting leaders. |
C.Careless meeting coaches. | D.Unreasonable meeting schedules. |
A.Never stopping his chatter. | B.Scaring meeting attendees. |
C.Always raising questions. | D.Refusing to finish his tasks. |
A.It makes the attendees sick. | B.It fails to produce decisions. |
C.It results in more meetings. | D.It requires care and preparation. |
A.Spend More for Meeting Attendees | B.Get Ready for Bad Meetings |
C.Start the Week with a Meeting | D.Kill the Meeting Monsters |