1 . Many teens may feel anxious sometimes. It's the kind of nervousness that makes you bite your fingers before a big test. We spend more time online than we should. We feel good about ourselves or bad based on how many Likes and Followers we get on social media. Young people are developing a wrong view of life.
On the screen, we see what people want to show us. People usually only post photos where they are looking at their best. They meet friends around them and seem that they are having a great time. No one seems sad or lonely. In short, life is wonderful. But sooner or later, our young people compare their real life to it. They find that theirs doesn't seem as fun or exciting and grow worried that they may be missing out.
No wonder teachers are reporting more anxious students. It's reported that a lot more college students feel —too much anxiety. The percentage jumped from 50% in 2016 to 62% in 2021. Anxiety is now the most common mental-health problem in my country. It affects nearly one-third of teens and adults.
Certainly, we can't blame （责备）it on social media alone. We expect too much from our children and a lot of these expectations aren't reasonable. Their plans are packed with sports, clubs and homework. They don't have enough free time. We want our children to succeed, and we don't care how much it costs.
As parents, we must have more balance. On one hand, we push too hard, and on the other hand, we make life too easy for children. We shouldn't and can't promise our children that they will always be happy. We shouldn't try to protect them from the problems of everyday life. Let them solve the problems in person.
1. What does the underlined word “theirs” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Young people's life. | B．Young people's friends. |
| C．Young people's photos. | D．Young people's parents. |
| A．The cost from parents. | B．The duty of social media. |
| C．The hobbies of young people. | D．The expectations from parents. |
| A．Try to meet teens' expectations. | B．Help teens with their homework. |
| C．Give teens more free time to play sports. | D．Allow teens to solve their own problems in life. |
| A．What Causes Teens' Nervousness | B．How to Deal with Teens' Anxiety |
| C．How to Treat Social Media Suitably | D．What a View of Life Means to People |
2 . The COVID-19 vaccination（接种疫苗） rate in the US has fallen to new lows in recent weeks, threatening President Joe Biden’s goal of having 70 percent of American adults with at least one shot by July 4.
With just less than one month from July 4, the current vaccination rate will put the US at somewhere between 67 percent and 68 percent of the adult population with at least one dose（剂量） by Independence Day. To reach 70 percent by July 4, around 1.6 percent of the population needs to get their first dose per week from now until July 4.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention（CDC） reported last week that 63 percent of adults had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That was up slightly from 62 percent from the report a week before. The additional 1 percent of adults completing their first dose is the lowest since the CDC started tracking the vaccination rate in mid-February.
On average, fewer than 1 million shots are given out per day, a decline of more than two-thirds from the peak of 3.4 million in April, The Washington Post reported. In South Carolina, about 71,000 residents got a shot in the week leading up to June 3, compared to a high of nearly 300,000 in one week in early April, according to data from the CDC.
The slowdown is more prominent across the South and Midwest. Twelve states have seen vaccinations fall to 15 daily shots per 10,000 residents. Less than a quarter of black Americans had received their first COVID-19 shot as of June 7.
James Hildreth, CEO of Meharry Medical College, told Politico, “We need to make a stronger effort to bring the vaccine to the communities, rather than relying on the communities to come to vaccination centers.”
The sharp decline in vaccination began in mid-April when federal officials temporarily stopped the use of the Johnson＆Johnson vaccine while they investigated rare blood-clotting（凝血） reactions.
The “low-hanging fruit—those people who absolutely want to get vaccinated without you telling them anything” have already been vaccinated, which has led to the slowdown, Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on a White House-organized call with community leaders last week, according to the Post.
1. What can we learn from the text?| A．Dr Anthony Fauci is in charge of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. |
| B．In South Carolina, about 300,000 residents got a shot in the week leading up to June 3 |
| C．In mid-April federal officials temporarily suspended the Johnson＆Johnson vaccine. |
| D．Less than one fourth of Americans had received their first COVID-19 shot by June 7. |
| A．Meaningful. | B．Obvious. | C．Inspiring. | D．Complex. |
| A．By giving the vaccine shot at the communities. |
| B．By offering the vaccine to the public for free. |
| C．By frequently informing the public of the vaccine. |
| D．By urging the communities to come to vaccination centers. |
| A．Biden wishes to have 70% of adults with one shot by July 4 |
| B．CDC has been tracking the vaccination rate since mid-February |
| C．Some Americans need to get vaccinated without telling them to |
| D．Biden’s July 4th vaccine goal may be missed |
3 . The British poet Matthew Byrne moved to Beijing in 2013 and felt that the capital city's poetry scene was lacking．His obsession（痴迷）for starting poetry events led to the foundation of the Spittoon Collective in May 2015．“At that time，the literary activity in Beijing was The Bookworm based in Sanlitun，”Byrne says．
While some of Beijing's literary institutions would go on to close in the fall of 2019，Spittoon would continue to grow as a community for poets and writers，as well as musicians and others in the creative scene．
Byrne describes the Spittoon Collective as a platform for people to share ideas，from literary works to different forms of art，with projects developing from the creative energy within the community．
Spittoon originally started as a poetry night at the Mado Bar in Dongcheng District 's Baochao Hutong． Byrne says，“In Beijing，you have these wonderful hutongs，ancient structures where you can walk down and visit cool bars，so I thought it would be good to have a poetry event as it seemed like poetry belonged naturally to this area．”
He adds，“The objective now is to discover Chinese voices and broadcast them to the rest of the world．We create a kind of theme park-like atmosphere where every Thursday is occupied by a different literary style or art form．”
The readings would mainly be in English，but with an international community，a new section called“Poetry-in-Translation”was started，which featured works in Chinese，French，Arabic，Russian，Spanish and other languages．
Joining organized activities like Spittoon can be a major help for those caught up in a boring life．And it's especially important for the people who have moved to China as they need to build new relationships while living in a different country．
1. What can we know about the Spittoon Collective?| A．It was closed in 2019． |
| B．It was set up in 2013 in Beijing． |
| C．It's popular with literature lovers． |
| D．It's a community just for foreigners． |
| A．To attract students' love of poetry． |
| B．To expand China's literature globally． |
| C．To make Beijing's hutongs famous． |
| D．To combine poetry with the hutong． |
| A．Beneficial． | B．Negative． | C．Challenging． | D．Controversial． |
| A．Unclear． | B．Intolerant． | C．Doubtful． | D．Favorable． |
4 . There you are, looking through your WeChat moments or your Weibo feed, and you come across a post saying something like this: “I just got accepted to Harvard and 0xford! Are they sure they didn’t mix my applications up with somebody else’s?”
This person is clearly humblebragging. The term “humblebrag” was first coined back in 2010 by the late US comedian Harris Wittels, and it describes when someone makes a seemingly modest statement, but the actual purpose is to bring attention to something they are proud of.
The example above is a modesty-based humblebrag. The person wants to tell others: “I got accepted to Harvard and Oxford!” However, they don't want to seem too proud of their accomplishments. So, instead, they word it in a way to be more modest and bring down the importance of their achievements.
Although people who humblebrag think it will make them more likeable because they aren’t talking proudly about their victories, a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology showed that humblebragging actually has the opposite effect.
“Humblebragging doesn’t have the intended result because it seems insincere. That ‘poor me’ attitude combined with self-promotion does not lead to a favorable impression,” said Ovul Sezer, the lead author of the study and an assistant professor of organizational behavior at the University of North Carolina, US. “ Even simply bragging or complaining (抱怨) is better, because at least those messages are seen as more sincere.”
Sezer’s study also found that nearly 60% of humblebrags were complaint-based humblebragging, with most people humblebragging about their looks, followed by their money or wealth, and finally about their performance at work. “It’s such a common phenomenon. All of us know some people in our lives, whether in the social media or in the workplace, who do this annoying thing,” commented Sezer, adding that we all do it to some extent.
So, if you want to share your achievements with others, what’s the best way to do it then? Sezer suggests that people admit their self-promotion and harvest the rewards of being sincere. She also suggests finding a go-between, adding, “If someone brags for you, that’s the best thing that can happen to you, because then you don’t seem like you’re bragging.”
1. The underlined word “coined” in Paragraph 2 probably means “________”.| A．recognized | B．invented |
| C．bought | D．copied |
| A．Hesitating to talk about your achievements. |
| B．Bringing people’s attention to your achievements. |
| C．Talking proudly about your achievements in the social media. |
| D．Pretending to be modest when talking about your achievements. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Ambiguous. |
| C．Supportive. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．Share their achievements with their best friends. |
| B．Bring down the importance of their achievements. |
| C．Find someone else to talk about their achievements. |
| D．Talk about their achievements after someone else does. |
5 . Although vaccines are required for entry into school in most places in the United States, the government does allow for exceptions, like religious reasons.
In the last few years, the rates of vaccine-preventable illness have been on the rise. In most cases, these outbreaks began with children who were unvaccinated. To deal with this threat, some schools in New York have been refusing to allow unvaccinated children to attend school. Several parents thought this was unfair and filed lawsuits. Just recently, though, a court ruled in favor of the city schools.
The court made the right decision. Vaccine policy depends not only on the added protection that vaccines provide for those who get shots, but also on the decreased likelihood that anyone will come into contact with the disease. This is known as community immunity. It refers to the fact that when enough people are immunized, then there really can’t be an outbreak. And if there can’t be an outbreak, then everyone is protected.
This is important, because there are people who cannot be given immunizations for various reasons. For example, small babies can’t be given all vaccines.
In 1995, the chicken pox vaccine was introduced in the United States. Over time, more and more children received it. In 2011, a study looked at how the program affected the number of children who died from the disease.
The first thing noted in the paper was that death from chicken pox went down considerably after the vaccine was introduced. From 2001 through 2007, the rates of death remained much lower, with just a few children dying from chicken pox nationally each year.
What’s more from 2004 through 2007, not one child less than 1 year of age died in the United States from chicken pox. This is important, because we cannot give the chicken pox vaccine to babies. In other words, all those babies were saved not because we vaccinated them against this illness, but because older children were.
Therefore, people who refuse to vaccinate their children aren’t just putting themselves at risk — they’re putting everyone else in danger, too.
1. Whose interest did the judges take into consideration?| A．Students’. | B．School leaders’. | C．Several parents’. | D．Unvaccinated kids’. |
| A．Requiring everyone to be immune. |
| B．Vaccinating babies as early as possible. |
| C．Making sure enough people get vaccinated. |
| D．Separating unvaccinated people from vaccinated. |
| A．The vaccine is safe for every kid. | B．No deaths have been seen since 2004. |
| C．The vaccine has lowered the death rate. | D．The vaccine is more effective among babies. |
| A．No vaccine, no risk. | B．No vaccine, no school. |
| C．Vaccination is a personal choice. | D．Vaccine-preventable illness is dropping. |
6 . 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.
On average 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 peopled 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．Calculating students' happiness. |
| B．Asking students certain questions. |
| C．Analyzing data from a survey. |
| D．Doing experiments on screen time. |
| A．By making a comparison. |
| B．By giving an example. |
| C．By making an argument. |
| D．By introducing a concept. |
| A．To draw a conclusion from the study. |
| B．To offer some advice to the readers. |
| C．To prove social activities' importance. |
| D．To support the researchers' finding. |
| A．Quitting Phones Equals Happiness |
| B．Screen Time Should Be Banned |
| C．Teens' Lives Have Changed Sharply |
| D．Screen-addicted Teens Are Unhappier |
7 . There is no doubt that to study abroad gives you an excellent opportunity to learn things which are very helpful in your career building.
Today Canada has earned a good name in providing quality education and safe and healthy environment for its students. That is why more than 130,000 international students enroll (登记入学) every year in famous Canadian universities. It is an ideal education destination and gives students a unique experience of education and its diverse arts and culture. Canada spends a lot on education and is ranked the highest in G-8 countries.
To study in Canada is very cost-effective. These universities are affordable compared to other universities in the world such as in the US, New Zealand and the UK where cost of education and living is very high. According to a survey in 2006, Canada offered the lowest tuition fees (学费) for foreign students compared to the UK and Australia.
The low rate of crimes and the peaceful and safe environment of the country also attracts a lot of international students to Canadian universities. Canada has 92 universities and 175 community colleges and university degrees have three levels ― Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral.
A Bachelor’s degree in Canada is for three or four years’ full-time study depending on the nature of the programme you are doing. On the other hand, a Master’s degree consists of two years of study. For a Doctoral programme in Canadian universities, you require a minimum of three to four or sometimes five years of research and study.
You can also find many diploma and certification (认证) programmes in Canadian universities where the time is generally one year. Some of the Canadian universities are well-regarded worldwide and the degree and diploma gained from these Canadian universities are recognized globally and promise a bright future. After the completion of studies, a person could also find great job offers in Canada itself. International students require a work permit to work on campus.
1. What can we infer from the passage ?| A．Canada has 267 community colleges in all. |
| B．To study in Canada is cheaper than in Australia. |
| C．Canada is the richest one among G-8 countries. |
| D．130,000 Chinese students come to Canada yearly. |
| A．8 years. | B．9 years. | C．10 years. | D．11 years. |
① Quality education. ② Safe environment. ③ Diverse culture.
④ Bright job future. ⑤ High scholarship. ⑥ Low tuition fees.
| A．② | B．③ | C．④ | D．⑤ |
| A．Ignore. | B．Doubt. | C．Support. | D．Oppose. |
8 . If you want to make a difference in your community, be part of something bigger than yourself, or just earn some required volunteer hours, then these organizations with volunteer chances are good choices for you.
Habitat for Humanity
Everyone deserves to have a place they call home. By volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, you can play a role in building up your community. Their Habitat Youth Programs accept volunteers between the ages of 5 and 40 for everything from home construction to affordable housing advocacy (宣传).
The Humane Society
Whether you'e a dog person or a cat person, you can join the Humane Society in their fight against animal cruelty. Find volunteer chances in your state, and take part in outreach, phone banking, or helping out at a local shelter.
Meals on Wheels
For those teens who just got their driving license (驾照) and like to get behind the wheel, here's a volunteer chance that will make driving worthwhile. Meals on Wheels is on a duty to meet the nutritional and social needs of the old. 225 million meals have been sent so far. Connect with your local provider to find out how you can take part.
Best Buddies
Volunteer with Best Buddies to help end the social, physical, and economic Isolation（孤立）of 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and you'll make some new pals in the process! Join a school chapter or start your own to use friendship as a tool for a wide community.
1. What can you do as a volunteer of Habitat for Humanity?| A．Bring down housing prices |
| B．Build homes for the community. |
| C．Prepare teens for their future jobs. |
| D．Get more teens to join in volunteering. |
| A．Old people in need. | B．Drivers on the street. |
| C．Disabled people suffering hunger. | D．Teens eager for a driving license. |
| A．Best Buddies. |
| B．Meals on Wheels. |
| C．Habitat for Humanity. |
| D．The Humane Society. |
9 . Are people less or more happy when they get older? A study in 2018 found that people generally become/happier and experience less worry after age 50. In fact, it found that by the age of 85, people are happier with their life than they were at 18.
Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the-study. His team found that levels of stress were the highest among adults between the ages of 22 and 25.
Happiness was the highest among the youngest adults and those in their early 70s. But the people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their 70s and 80s.
The survey also found that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older.
The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But, they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.
| A．Stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their 50s. |
| B．So why will happiness increase with age? |
| C．Researchers surveyed more than 150,000 American adults. |
| D．At that time, the people were between the ages of 18 and 85. |
| E．However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men. |
| F．Happiness is not the only thing that apparently improves with age. |
| G．The survey did find an increase during middle age, especially in women. |
10 . Back in Brisbane, Australia, for the Christmas break, I found myself in a public transport dead zone. Bikeless, 7 kilometers from where I was meeting friends and unwilling to get a taxi, I decided to borrow an electric scooter. The trip took far longer than it would have by bike, mainly because of a major spill halfway there. A rock, hit at speed, is a terrible thing: weeks later, I still had the red knees of a primary schooler.
E-scooters have appeared in Brisbane like a rash. In the UK, they are legal only on private land, but the Department for Transport is discussing how to regulate them on public roads and pathways, with the potential for legalisation later this year.
Other cities that have e-scooter rental programs have had teething problems. In Paris, mayor Anne Hidalgo described the situation last year as messy. She has announced that the city is reducing its number of e-scooters to 15,000 and plans to create laws banning them from pavements (人行道). France has put into force laws limiting e-scooter speeds to 25 kilometres per hour.
Similar to dockless (无桩的) hire bicycles, e-scooters are parked on pavements and people leave them up trees or throw them into rivers. Rough handling shortens their lifetime, which is bad for both profitability and the environment. Analysis suggests that the average e-scooter’s lifetime is just three months.
I think e-scooters are an essential part of the effort to make city transport greener. They are seen as a solution to the “last mile” problem — a potential way to reduce transport jam by rapidly getting someone to their final destination. Cars can take up 28 times the space of a person riding a bicycle.
As far as the environmental effect goes, recent research suggests that e-scooters are not as green as walking or cycling, but they are still better than cars. And despite numerous reports of serious accidents, scooting is about as safe as cycling.
Stephen Gossling at Lund University in Sweden has suggested we build car-free “micromobility” streets, where cyclists, pedestrians (行人) and e-scooters could share the road. He thinks this will reduce accident risks and invite more vulnerable (易受伤害的) traffic participants, such as children, to become active transport users.
If more e-scooters mean fewer cars on roads, an improvement in local air quality is also a likely outcome. When 20 kilometers of roads in central London closed for World Car-Free Day last September, a temporary air quality monitor in Regent Street reportedly registered a 60% drop in nitrogen dioxide.
1. What does the underlined part “a major spill” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．A serious fall. | B．A sudden illness. |
| C．A legal defense. | D．A terrible breakdown. |
| A．They are illegal on pavements. | B．They are already out of fashion. |
| C．They are facing more restrictions. | D．They are more common on private land. |
| A．They are not as safe as cycling. |
| B．They stand up to rough handling. |
| C．They are as green as cycling or walking. |
| D．They play a big role in the “last mile” problem. |
| A．To set up more care-free days. |
| B．To invite more cyclists to use e-scooters. |
| C．To get vulnerable pedestrians off the road. |
| D．To separate cars from e-scooters on the road. |
