1 . With the development of our society, cellphones have become a common part in our lives. Have you ever run into a careless cellphone user in the street? Maybe they were busy talking, texting or checking updates on WeChat without looking at what was going on around them. As the number of this new "species" of human has kept rising, they have been given a new name—phubbers (低头族).
Recently a cartoon created by students from China Central Academy of Fine Arts put this group of people under the spotlight. In the short film, phubbers with various social identities bury themselves in their phones. A doctor plays with his cellphone while letting his patient die. A pretty woman takes a selfie (自拍) in front of a car accident site. And a father loses his child without knowing about it while using his mobile phone. A chain of similar events will finally lead to the destruction(毁灭) of the world.
Although the ending of the film sounds unrealistic, the damage phubbing can bring is real. Your health is the first to bear the effect and the result of it. "Always bending your head to check your cellphone could damage your neck," Guangming Daily quoted doctors' words. "The neck is like a rope that breaks after long-term stretching." Also, staring at cellphones for a long time will damage your eyesight gradually, according to the report.
But that's not all. Being a phubber could also damage your social skills and drive you away from your friends and family. When getting together with family or friends, many people prefer to play their cellphones while others are chatting happily with each other and this creates a strange atmosphere, Qilu Evening News reported.
It can also cost your life. There have been lots of reports on phubbers who fell to their death, suffered accidents, and were robbed of their cellphones in broad daylight.
1. Why does the author give the example of a cartoon in Paragraph 2?| A．To suggest phubbers will destroy the world. |
| B．To call for people to go walking without phones. |
| C．To tell people the bad effects of phubbing. |
| D．To advise students to create more cartoons like this. |
① Destructing the world.
② Affecting his social skills.
③ Damaging his neck and eyesight.
④ Getting separated from his friends and family.
| A．①②④ | B．②③④ | C．①③④ | D．①②③④ |
| A．Supportive. | B．Confident. | C．Disapproving. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．Ways to avoid the risks of phubbing. | B．Bad effects of phubbing. |
| C．Daily life of phubbers. | D．Behaviours of phubbers. |
2 . Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends. Is this a good thing? Sometimes, when Mr. Ballmer and his 16 - year - old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk about interests both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager.
“I would never have said to my mom, ‘Hey, the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?” says Ballmer. “There was just a complete gap in taste.”
Music was not the only gulf. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectations, earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to move in separate orbits.
Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families. Conversations on subjects such as sex and drugs would not have taken place a generation ago. Now they are comfortable and common. And parent - child activities, from shopping to sports, involve a feeling of trust and friendship that can continue into adulthood.
No wonder greeting cards today carry the message, “To my mother, my best friend.”
But family experts warm that the new equality can also result in less respect for parents. “There's still a lot of strictness and authority on the part of parents out there, but there is a change happening,” says Kerrie, a psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College. “In the middle of that change, there is a lot of confusion among parents.”
Family researchers offer a variety of reasons for these evolving roles and attitudes. They see the 1960s as a turning point. Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic process that encourages everyone to have a say.
“My parents were on the "before' side of that change, but today's parents, the 40 - year - olds, were on the ‘after’' side,” explains Mr. Ballmer. “It's not something easily accomplished by parents these days, because life is more difficult to understand or deal with, but sharing interests does make it more fun to be a parent now.”
1. The underlined word gulf in Para. 3 most probably means ________ .| A．interest | B．distance |
| C．difference | D．separation |
| A．Parents help their children develop interests in more activities |
| B．Parents put more trust in their children's abilities |
| C．Parents and children talk more about sex and drugs |
| D．Parents share more interests with their children. |
| A．follow the trend of the change | B．can set a limit to the change |
| C．fail to take the change seriously | D．have difficulty adjusting to the change |
| A．describe the difficulties today's parents have met with |
| B．discuss the development of the parent - child relationship |
| C．suggest the ways to handle the parent - child relationship |
| D．compare today’s parent - child relationship with that in the past |
3 . It warmed my heart today to walk into the Thirsty Camel downtown in the Thanksgiving Day, for a quick lunch before a haircut and library trip. Ihan, a food shop owner, said that he was refusing to take money today because it was Buy Nothing Day. To increase awareness(意识) of the strange’s over-spending nature of our society, Ilan suggested a trade for food today. He simply asked that you offer something of equal personal value for the meal you received.
At first I was really uncomfortable, wondering if it would be fair to exchange a yet to be determined “I Owe You” (IOU) for food? What could I give him of equal value? After all, his food is the best in the town!
We ended up writing our IOU’s with promises of a book, some paintings and the offer of work in a variety of ways if he needs it.
I think the idea isn’t that the trade is “equal” so much as the importance of the kind of transaction. We put thought into our offer and we had an even greater understanding for the meals we ate.
We don’t buy a lot, especially at this upcoming time of year. We don’t give gifts at all in fact. The holiday time is spent enjoying each other’s company and doing things together with family and friends. This is what seems most sensible.
Ilan is a good person. We are all lucky to have someone like this in our community.
1. Ilan did not take any money that day in order to .| A．have a quick lunch before a haircut and library trip |
| B．trade for something of equal value in return |
| C．make people aware of their over spending |
| D．buy nothing that day to save some money |
| A．some promises | B．a book |
| C．some paintings | D．work in different ways |
| A．transport | B．trade |
| C．meal | D．giving |
| A．Disagreeable | B．Meaningless. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Supportive. |
4 . We all know what it is like to be unable to turn your head because of a cold in the muscles (肌肉) of your neck, or because an unexpected twist (扭曲) has made your neck ache. The slightest move makes you jump with pain. Nothing could be worse than a pain in the neck.
That is why we use the phrase to describe some people who give you the same feeling. We have all met such people.
One is the man who always seems to be clapping his hands—often at the wrong time—during a performance in the theater. He keeps you from hearing the actors.
Even worse are those who can never arrive before the curtain goes up and the play begins. They come hurrying down to your row of seats. You are comfortably settled down, with your hat and heavy coat in your lap. You must stand up to let them pass. You are proud of yourself-control after they have settled into their seats...Well, what now ... God, one of them is up again. He forgot to go to the men 's room, and once more you have to stand up, hanging on to your hat and coat to let him pass. Now, that is "a pain in the neck".
Another, well-known to us all, is the person sitting behind you in the movies. His mouth is full of popcorn (爆米花); he is chewing (嚼) loudly, or talking between bites to friends next to him. None of them remain still. Up and down, back and forth, they go for another bag of popcorn, or something to drink.
Then, there is the man sitting next to you at lunch, smoking. He wants you to enjoy it too, and blows smoke across your food into your mouth.
We must not forget the man who comes into a bus or subway and sits down next to you, just as close as you will let him. You are reading the newspaper and he gets closer so that he can read the paper with you. He may even turn the paper to the next page before you are ready for it.
We also call such a person a "rubber neck", always getting close to where it does not belong, like neighbors who watch all your visitors. They enjoy learning about your personal business. People have a strong dislike for "rubber necks". They hate being watched secretly.
1. According to the passage, how do you feel when late comers walk back and forth in front of you in a cinema?| A．Disturbed. | B．Bored. |
| C．Ignored. | D．Relaxed. |
| A．says bad words behind people |
| B．quarrels face to face with neighbors |
| C．bargains with salespeople over the price |
| D．asks about other people's business |
| A．Someone who often claps at the wrong time during a performance. |
| B．Someone who feels ache in his neck due to a cold in the muscles. |
| C．Someone who sits next to you smoking, which you never enjoy. |
| D．Someone who keeps eating or talking all through the movies. |
| A．To tell people what might be bad manners in public. |
| B．To criticize (批评) the people who might be "a pain in the neck". |
| C．To show anger to those who are described as "a pain in the neck". |
| D．To tell people how to stop the pain in the neck. |
5 . A Vietnamese man hopes to raise the quality of education in his country by building "parent libraries" in rural schools. Nguyen Quang Thach provides libraries to the schools so books are more available in farming communities. He works with publishers in Hanoi to get the books at reduced rates for teachers and their students.
Mr. Thach says most schools have enough textbooks. But he says many poor families have few books at home and do not visit school libraries. He learned this by talking with farmers, workers and students.
More than 90 percent of Vietnam's population can read and write. But academic performance in the schools remains low compared to other Southeast Asian nations. Corruption is a big part of the problem. Vietnamese media often have stories about teachers giving high grades in exchange for money.
Some experts criticize teaching methods that depend heavily on dictation. They say asking students to repeat everything a teacher says to the class harms their ability to think for themselves.
Nguyen Quang Thach says he wants people to invest money in books for a better future. To date, almost 1,000 parent libraries have been built in Thai Binh Province, Hundreds of books are in each one. Several other provinces have copied this model.
For each school, Mr. Thach helps build libraries for up to four classes. Other people then follow his example. Parents of school children pay three dollars each for the first year and one dollar in other years.
The head of the An Duc Secondary School, Pham Duc Duong, told reporter Marianne Brown that Mr. Thach's work has improved the quality of education.
"He says students have been doing better in competitions, especially in social science."
Duong Le Nga heads the school youth group. She says that after the libraries were built, students started asking teachers more questions. The students also set up debating teams. She thinks Mr. Thach's example helps students think more creatively ----"outside the box."
The deputy head of the school, Uong Minh Thanh, says many students there will work in factories. But after seeing the influence of the new libraries, he hopes the children will set high goals for themselves.
1. We can learn from the passage that Vietnamese teachers .| A．lack creative teaching methods |
| B．don't have a high salary to support family |
| C．make money by forcing students to attend classes |
| D．don't have enough books to read |
| A．Every school will be provided with four libraries. |
| B．Mr. Thach and parents co-fund for the libraries. |
| C．Parents pay three dollars every year. |
| D．Parents should pay four dollars in all. |
| A．have been doing better in compositions |
| B．need to have a box when thinking |
| C．are more creative in thinking than before |
| D．should set high goals for themselves |
| A．People think highly of Nguyen Quang Thach's “ parent libraries”project. |
| B．Vietnamese teachers' corruption is ruining the future of children. |
| C．Schools in Vietnam are in great need of libraries. |
| D．A Vietnamese helps the quality of education by a book revolution. |
6 . Children moving from primary to secondary school are ill-equipped to deal with the effect of social media, as it is playing an increasingly important role in their lives and exposing (暴露) them to significant risk, according to a recent report by the Office of the Children’s officer of England.
The report shows that many children in year 7 – the first year of secondary school, when most of the students will have a phone and be active on social media – feel under pressure to be constantly connected.
They worry about their online image ,particularly when they start to follow celebrities (名人) on Instagram and platforms. They are also concerned about “sharenting” – when parents post pictures of them on social media without their permission – and worry that their parents won’t listen if they ask them to take pictures down.
The report, which was created with data from focus group interviews with 8- to 12- year- olds, says, that although most social media sites have an official age limit of 13, an estimated (估计) 75 percent of 10- to 12- year- old have a social account.
Some of them are almost addicted to “likes”, the report says. Aaron, an 11- year- old in year 7, told researchers, “If I got 150 likes, that’s pretty cool, it means they like you.” Some children described feeling inferior (下级的) to those they follow on social media. Aimee, also 11, said, “You might compare yourself because you’re not very pretty compared to them.”
Children’s officer of England Anne Longfield is calling on parents and teachers to do more to prepare children for the emotion impact of social media as they get older. She wants to see the courses set for students in year 6 and 7.
“It is also clear that social media companies are still not doing enough to stop under-13s using their platform in the first place,” Longfield said.
“Just because a child has learned the safety messages at primary school does not mean they are prepared for all the challenges that social media will present,” Longfield said.
“It means a bigger role for schools in making sure children are prepared for the emotional demands of social media. And it means social media companies need to take more responsibility,” Longfield said.
1. What can we learn from the report?| A．An increasingly number of 7- year- olds are being exposed to social media. |
| B．Social media occupied too much time for secondary school students. |
| C．Many secondary school students suffer from social media-related stress. |
| D．The use of social networking is causing relationship problem with friends. |
| A．about how they are seen on social media sites. |
| B．about becoming addicted to social media. |
| C．that their parents will monitor their use of social media. |
| D．that their parents won’t allow them to post pictures. |
| A．tend to copy the celebrities they follow. |
| B．wish to be recognized by others. |
| C．ignore the number of likes they get. |
| D．feel inferior to their followers. |
| A．parents monitor how their children use social media. |
| B．social media companies set an official age limit of 13. |
| C．social media companies create special sites for children under 13. |
| D．schools help equip students for the challenge of social media. |
7 . Yasuda is 95 years old. Looking for easier ways to search the Web and send email, he bought Apple’s iPad. The company has sold 3.27 million iPads since they entered the market in April. Although it’s impossible to know with certainty how many seniors (老年人) are buying them, evidence suggests that it’s a hit with seniors.
The iPad’s intuitive interface (直观界面) makes it attractive to seniors around the world, says Takahiro Miura, a researcher at the University of Tokyou. “The iPad is a good tool for seniors because it’s very easy to use,” he says. Unlike the PC, it doesn’t require former knowledge.”
James Cordwell, a researcher in London, says the iPad’s popularity with seniors is helping Apple reach beyond its traditional base of young customers. “The world’s population, especially in developed markets, is getting older. It’s probably a market where Apple has least entered,” Cordwell says. Senior users are a key source of growth for them in the future.
Seniors make. up about 22 percent of the population in Japan. They may prove that seniors are willing to accept the iPad. Besides the customer group under 30, they spend more than any other group in the country, according to a report. Motoo Kitamura, 78, a former gas salesman, bought an iPad to help him communicate with his 2-year-old grandson and prevent him from experiencing some of the mental problems that sometimes come with getting older. “Trying new things like that is good mental exercise,” he says.
1. The underlined part “a hit” in Paragraph 1 probably means .| A．a sudden attack |
| B．a heavy burden |
| C．very familiar |
| D．quite popular |
| A．It has intuitive interface. |
| B．It is easy to operate. |
| C．People can use it as a way to do mental exercise. |
| D．Beginners can use it without similar experiences. |
| A．The traditional customers of Apples products are usually the young. |
| B．People above thirty are Apples largest customer group in Japan. |
| C．Seniors will soon grow into Apples largest customer group. |
| D．Seniors in Japan are fond of buying latest hi-tech products. |
| A．iPad influencing the customer group. |
| B．iPad leading Apple to seniors. |
| C．iPad’s arrival causing Japanese to think. |
| D．iPad beating the traditional PC. |
8 . Tennis great Billie Jean King is a great athlete and a pioneer in sport and she won four singles titles at the US Open between 1967 and 1974. Now, the same tennis officials with whom she often battled have paid her a special honor. US Open organizers named their venue(会场) the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at the beginning of this year’s championship. The decision came as a surprise to the star.
Billie Jean King had her first tennis lesson at the age of 11, and became interested in it. Six years later she made herself known winning the first of 20 titles at Wimbledon in the doubles championship. King went on to become the first female athlete to earn $100,000 in a year. But her greatest achievements may have been off the game. She devoted herself to fighting for equal status for women and women in sports that went far beyond tennis.
A unique opportunity arrived and it proved a perfect way for King to further change the place of women in sports in 1973. She was challenged to play a man-tennis great Bobby Riggs. The men organizing the event expected it would provide great entertainment and the event was reported by sportscaster(体育评论员) Howard Cosell. But King found he focused on her appearance, never mentioning her athletic achievements. King saw it as a crossroad in her battle for women’s equality in sports. She did win, further opening opportunities for girls in sports.
But some young female athletes now don’t take these opportunities seriously. When asked what they knew about King, they looked puzzled. “They’ve got many chances to play and it’s a good thing. However, we still have a long way to go for girls and women in sports and that’s what I want—I want the dream to be equal” She said.
1. Billie Jean King fought with tennis officials for .| A．better pay for herself |
| B．more chances to compete |
| C．the equality for women in sports |
| D．a special honor from them |
| A．her competition with Bobby Riggs in 1973 |
| B．being the first athlete to get a yearly income of $100, 000 |
| C．the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center |
| D．her victory in the doubles championship |
| A．To attract more audience for the interests of the organizer. |
| B．To increase Billie King’s fame in the sports field. |
| C．To make the sport tennis popular: |
| D．To further open chances for women in sports. |
| A．has always been respected and honored in sports from the start |
| B．thinks that the status women have got in sports is high enough |
| C．is disappointed at not being recognized by young female athletes |
| D．thinks inequality between men and women in sports still exists. |
9 . There are many different voices on charity donations recently. Chen TianQiao, one of the Chinese billionaires, gave away $115 million to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) to help promote brain research. Chen has been interested in the brain research, believing it can advance the industries of artificial intelligence and virtual reality. However, this huge donation has caused heated discussion among Chinese scholars and internet users.
Many criticized him for giving money to a foreign university rather than domestic institutes for brain research, which are developing fast and are catching up with the US in just a few years. RaoYi, a biologist at Peking University, even said the donation was a typical mistake.
Others, however, support his choice. They believe Caltech is a more reasonable choice compared with Chinese research Institutes. Caltech has a long history and has taken a leading position in biology, and therefore it produces more efficient results. What’s more, the results of the research will benefit not only the Americans, but also the rest of the world.
A similar controversial(有争议的) case started two years ago when Pan ShiYi, chairman of SOHO China, donated $15 million to Harvard University to help disadvantaged Chinese Students.
Many believe that China is still far behind in management and use of donated money, and that as a result, Chinese donators are looking abroad. In comparison, Western countries like the US, which have a long history of donating money, have well-developed systems that use money efficiently. They can also provide full access for donors who want to track the use of the money. To get more donations, Chinese universities should be braver and more honest. They need self-reflection rather than envy.
1. Why did Chen’s huge donations draw people’s attention?| A．It was used for brain research rather than for the poor. |
| B．It was not used efficiently. |
| C．It was the largest donation. |
| D．It should have been donated to a Chinese college. |
| A．home. | B．family. |
| C．household. | D．homepage |
| A．inform some Chinese students are poor at education |
| B．show off the generosity of Chinese billionaires |
| C．present the widespread disagreement over donating abroad |
| D．prove the Chinese are crazy about donations |
| A．Developing artificial intelligence. |
| B．Educating the braver and more honest graduates. |
| C．Developing fast to catch up with the US. |
| D．Developing systems to use the donations efficiently. |
10 . What should you think about in trying to find your career? You are probably better at some school subjects than others. These may show strengths that you can use in your work. A boy who is good at mathematics can use that in an engineering career. A girl who spells well and likes English may be good at office work. So it is important to do well at school. On the other hand, you may not have any specially strong or weak subjects but your records show a general satisfactory standard. Although not all subjects can be used directly in a job, they may have indirect value. Knowledge of history is not required for most just but if history is one of your good subjects you will have learned to remember facts and details. This is an ability that can be useful in many jobs.
Your school may have taught you skills, such as typing or technical drawing, which you can use in your work. You may be good at metal work or cookery (烹饪术) and look for a job where you can improve these skills.
If you have had a part-time job on Saturdays or in the summer, think what you gained from it. If nothing else, you may have learned how to get to work on time, to follow instructions and to get on with older workers. You may have learned to give correct change in a shop, for example. Just as important, you may become interested in a particular industry or career you see from the inside in a part-time job.
Facing your weak points is also part of knowing yourself. You may be all thumbs when you handle (运用) tools; perhaps you are a poor speller or cannot add up a column of figures. It is better to face any weaknesses than to pretend they do not exist. Your school record, for instance, may not be too good, yet it is an important part of your background. You should not be apologetic about it but instead recognise that you will have a chance of a fresh start at work.
1. According to the passage, the author encourage us to .| A．realise the importance of doing well at school. |
| B．take up part-time jobs as much as possible during the summer vacation |
| C．be good at all subjects. |
| D．use school performance to help to choose a career. |
| A．is a good way to earn extra money. | B．is helpless to find out his weak points. |
| C．is useful for his future work. | D．is a must to experience various jobs. |
| A．your background | B．your school record |
| C．your weak points | D．your part-time job |
| A．may do well in his future work if he chooses a career according to what he is skilled in. |
| B．will be a complete failure in his future work sooner or later. |
| C．must regret not having worked harder at school. |
| D．will receive further education after graduation. |
