1 . Why can’t we stop longing for the good old days
People in many countries are longing for the good old days. But when exactly were the good old days? Podcaster Jason Feifer devoted an episode of his program to this question. The most popular answer seemed to be the 1950s, so Mr. Feifer asked historians whether Americans in that decade thought it was particularly pleasant. Definitely not. In the 1950s, American sociologists worried that rampant individualism was tearing the family apart. There were serious racial and class tensions, and everyone lived under the nuclear threat.
In fact, many in the 1950s thought that the good old days were to be found a generation earlier, in the 1920s. But in the 1920s, child psychologist John Watson warned that because of increasing divorce races, the American family would soon cease to exist. Many people at the time idealized the Victor inn era, when families are strong and children respected their elders.
Why are human beings always so nostalgia for past eras that seemed difficult and dangerous to those who lived through them? One possibility is that we know we survived past dangers, so they seem smaller now. But we can never be certain we will solve the problems we are facing today. Radio didn't ruin the younger generation, but maybe the smart phone will.
Another reason is that historical nostalgia is often colored by personal nostalgia. When were the good old days? Was it, by chance, the incredibly short period when you happened to be young? A U.S. Poll found that people born in the 1930s and 1940s thought the 1950s was America’s best decade, while those born in the 1960s and 1970s preferred the 1980s.
This kind of nostalgia has neurological roots. Researchers have found that we encode more memories during adolescence and early adult hood than any other period of our lives, and when we think about the past, this is the period we most often return to. Moreover, as we grow more distant from past events, we tend to remember them more positively.
Obviously, some things readily were better in the past. But our instinctive nostalgia for the good old days can easily deceive us, with dangerous consequences. Longing for the past and fear of the future inhibit the experiments and innovations that drive progress.
Vaccination, steam engines, railroads and electricity all met with strong resistance when they were first introduced. The point isn’t to show how silly previous generations were. The same kinds of anxieties have been expressed in our own time about innovations like the internet, video games and stem-cell research.
And not all fears about the future are unbounded. New technologies do result in accidents, they disturb traditional cultures and habits, and they destroy old jobs while creating new ones. But the only way to learn how to make the best use of new technologies and reduce risks is by trial and error. The future won’t be perfect, but neither were the good old days.
1. The word “rampant” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ________| A．limited | B．reasonable | C．uncontrolled | D．traditional |
| A．when American families still remained strong and children respected their elders |
| B．that was believed by Americans born in the 1930s and the 1940s to be the best decade |
| C．that saw a sharp increase in individualism and divorce rate in American society |
| D．when radical and class tensions became more serious but people no longer lived under the nuclear threat |
① people have a better memory of adolescence and early adulthood.
② More dangerous things happen during their youth and they learned how to survive them.
③ The dangers in youth were smaller and easier for people to deal with.
④ people remember events in their youth more positively as time goes by.
| A．①② | B．①③ | C．①④ | D．②④ |
| A．The current generation is not as silly As the previous generations. |
| B．It is unwise to be simply opposed to any new inventions and technologies. |
| C．People are constantly deceived by their instinctive nostalgia for the good old days. |
| D．The internet, video games and stem-cell research pose great threats to humanity. |
2 . The Internet, E-commerce and globalization are making a new economic era possible. In the future, capitalist markets will largely be replaced by a new kind of economic system based on networked relationships, contractual (契约的) arrangements and access rights.
Has the quality of our lives at work, at home and in our communities increased in direct proportion (比例) to all the new Internet and business-to-business Internet services being introduced into our lives? I have asked this question of hundreds of CEOs and corporate executives in Europe and the United States. Surprisingly, virtually everyone has said, “No, quite contrary.” The very people responsible for showing in what some have called a “technological renaissance” say they are working longer hours, feel more stressed, are more impatient, and are even less civil (礼貌的) in their dealings with colleagues and friends—not to mention strangers. And what’s more revealing, they place much of the blame on the very same technologies they are so aggressively championing (捍卫).
We are told that access would make life more convenient and give us more time. Instead, the very technological wonders that were supposed to liberate us have begun to enslave us in a web of connections from which there seems to be no easy escape.
If an earlier generation was concerned about the goal to enclose a vast geographic frontier, the generation to come, it seems, is more caught up in the colonization (殖民) of time. Every spare moment of our time is being filled with some form of commercial connection, making time itself the scarcest of all resources. Our e-mail, voice mail and cell phones, our 24-hour Interact news and entertainment all seize for our attention.
While we have created every kind of labor-and-time-saving device to serve our needs, we are beginning to feel like we have less time available to us than any other humans in history. That is because the wide spread of labor-and-time-saving services only increases the diversity, pace and flow of common day activity around us. For example, e-mail is a great convenience. However, we now find ourselves spending much of our day anxiously responding to each other’s electronic messages. The cell phone is a great time-saver, except now we are always likely to reach someone else who wants our attention.
Social conservatives talk about the decline in civility and blame it on the loss of a morality and religious values. Has anyone bothered to ask whether the fast speed culture is making all of us less patient and less willing to listen, consider and reflect?
Maybe we need to ask what kinds of connections really count and what types of access really matter in the e-economy era. If this new technology revolution is only about efficiency, then we risk losing something even more precious than time—our sense of what it means to be a caring human being.
1. According to the passage, a large number of CEOs think that________.| A．technology has a great impact on their lives |
| B．technology should be aggressively championed |
| C．technology renaissance should be pushed forward |
| D．technology actually results in a decline in their life quality |
| A．Time available. | B．Time saving devices. |
| C．Access to information. | D．Technological wonders. |
| A．Cell phones can save time as they help us reach those who want our attention. |
| B．Social conservatives blame the loss of morality on the decline in civility. |
| C．High efficiency is even more precious than being a caring human being. |
| D．It is difficult for us to avoid the influence of technology wonders. |
| A．The New Internet Life | B．The Declining Quality of Life |
| C．The Disadvantages of Too Much Access | D．The Failure of Technological Renaissance |
3 . There are times when murder is not committed because of cruelty. People may kill for other reasons such as anger, misunderstanding, and fear. Everyone has made mistakes because of such feeling. For society, it is a serious mistake to take the life of someone who has killed because it teaches everyone that forgiveness is unnecessary.
The government has the difficult job of deciding who is innocent and who is guilty, and this job can never be done perfectly. If capital punishment(死刑)is allowed, there always exists the possibility that an innocent person will be executed by mistake. When that happens, an even worse crime has been committed—the killing of an innocent person by the government. Then there is the fact that the poor and minorities get the death penalty more often than whites do. Furthermore, the idea that capital punishment stops criminals from committing murder is doubtful; studies have been unable to show that the fear of capital punishment stops someone from committing murder more than other punishments. And let us not forget that murdering the murderer is a violent act in itself; it is revenge(复仇).
The U.S. government once followed the example of Germany, Britain, France, and other nations that no longer execute their citizens-however, since 1977, our society has been allowing capital punishment again, at a high cost. We cannot imagine the pain of family members who have been waiting for years for the government’s decision to execute or not execute their loved ones. It also costs the taxpayer millions of dollars more to execute a criminal than to imprison that criminal for life. Prison is a better form of punishment because it protects society and punishes criminals by taking away their freedom.
People can change, even people who have made terrible mistakes. Life in prison gives people the chance to change. Caryl Chessman is an example of someone who became a better person in prison. He taught other prisoners how to read, and he wrote several books. Before his execution, he wrote that he had finally learned not to hate.
Chessman learned this important lesson in prison. But a dead man learns nothing, and an executed person will never change. When a government kills, it is murdering hope.
1. According to the passage, all the followings are the results of the capital punishment EXCEPT that________.| A．capital punishment doesn’t necessarily put an end to crimes |
| B．execution may cause an innocent person to die |
| C．the blacks get executed more often than the whites do |
| D．capital punishment may arouse a desire for revenge |
| A．Execution will cause the pain of the criminal’s family members. |
| B．Life imprisonment is more expensive than execution. |
| C．Some murders are mistakes, caused by anger or fear. |
| D．America used to be among the nations which abandoned execution. |
| A．everyone can become a better person in prison |
| B．everyone can make terrible mistakes |
| C．execution robs people of the chance to change |
| D．It is always a good thing to learn not to hate |
| A．Not all people who kill are cruel. | B．Capital punishment is revenge. |
| C．Prison can sometimes improve a person. | D．Execution is not a better form of punishment. |
4 . Beware of Phone/Online Scams(诈骗)
Have you been the victim of a phone/online seam? If you ever think that there’s really no reason to worry, just remember the following statistics.
—315,000 cases broken in 2015-2017 in China.
—More than billions of money involved.
—Victims of 19 years old top the list in terms of age.
—Victims of 18-25 years old account for 52.4% of the whole.
—……
And here in below we are sharing 4 typical types of Phone/Online scams and how to deal with them.
 | Hello, this is XX police station, you're involved in a case of money laundering(洗钱)(or some other financial crime). We need your cooperation with the investigation……Please transfer your money into the national security account. Tip 1: If you are really involved in financial crime, police will visit your home at the first opportunity and take you for investigation. Police are not so dumb as to inform you via telephone. And there is no such thing as national security account. | Hey: Wang(he may know your name). Drop by my office tomorrow morning. BTW, I will be treating some VIP clients soon. I need you to transfer some money into this account. It will refund your money tomorrow. Tip 2: Think about it. How could any boss in the world ask you for money? Meeting VIP clients without a cent in his pocket? And why doesn't he ask you to give the money to him in person? He is nobody but a scam! |  |
 | You've got a package which contains illegal drugs or goods. You are now requested to call this number to contact the Public Security Bureau. (Then it all follows scenario预设). Tip 3: Public Security Bureau WILL NOT deal with cases via phone calls. NEITHER WILL they send out notification via message. | (In some cases the number is disguised as authentic bank number through software). We are sorry to inform you that you have a bank overdraft. Please contact this customer service representative. His number is XXXXXXXXXX. Tip 4: DO NOT panic. REMEMBER to dial the official contact number of the back to double check. |  |
When receiving phone calls/emails from unidentified resources, please pay special attention if the conversation involves any of the following:
●bank cards
●lucky draw
●Transferred to government authorities, including but not limited to police, court/judge, etc.
●secured account
●refund related to online shopping
None of the above business will be carried out on phones or via emails/unofficial website links. So you may just treat them as spams.
Moreover, how to safeguard yourself?
●Never transfer money without face-to-face confirmation.
●Only do business online with those you know and trust or on the official website of the online retailer.
●Protect your personal information, including photo-ID numbers and copies, bank account and passwords.
●Don't trust website links in emails or text messages without verified sources.
●Never believe in Pie in the sky. If something is too good, it won't be true.
1. Which of the following statements is TRUE about the survey of Phone/Online seams?| A．Statistics imply it's unnecessary to worry about the situation. |
| B．The number of those who are cheated is on the rise. |
| C．Nearly one third of a million cases remain to be solved. |
| D．Comparatively speaking, young adults are harder-hit age groups. |
| A．The police call to request your cooperation for a financial crime. |
| B．The boss asks you to transfer money to a VIP client via phone. |
| C．An unverified message informs you to collect a ¥500,000 prize. |
| D．The official website of an online retailer advertises for a business partner. |
| A．An email for college students. |
| B．A document for government authorities. |
| C．A law journal for E-business practitioners. |
| D．A security brochure for the public. |
5 . In 2002, an Australian man went to his friend’s 2lst birthday party. He got drunk, tripped on some steps and cut his lip. He took a picture of his injuries and shared it with his friends on an online forum. “And sorry about the focus,” he wrote, “it was a selfie.” That was the first recorded use of the world “selfie”. Word of the Year for 2013, in honour of the term that had taken over the world thanks to millions of smart phone self-portraits and the resulting shares on social media.
So what does the choice of the word say about our culture? Mary Elizabeth Williams, writing in Salon magazine, says the word reminds us that contemporary culture is defined by our narcissism (自恋). Megan Jackson from a local newspaper points out a selfie may only focus on appearance.
Selfies invite judgment based on appearance alone. What kind of cultural influence does this have on women? Erin Gloria Ryun on Jezebel says selfies teach young woman to obsess over their appearance and judge themselves on the basis of beauty rather than accomplishments. “They’re a reflection of the way we teach girls to see themselves as decorative,” said Ryun.
In Slate magazine, Rachel Simmons has the opposite view. She argues that selfies are an example of young women promoting themselves and taking control of their own self-presentation. Think of each one, she says, as “a tiny pulse of girl pride—a shout-out to the self”.
1. Which of the following is TRUE about the first use of “selfie”?| A．An Australian man created it to celebrate his friend’s 21st birthday. |
| B．It was created by chance when a drunken man shared his photo online. |
| C．The Oxford Dictionary gave it credit for the creation of smart phone. |
| D．The social media were so advanced that they made the word transmitted. |
| A．Mary Elizabeth. | B．Megan Jackson. |
| C．Erin Gloria Ryun. | D．Rachel Simmons. |
| A．the introduction of the word “selfie” | B．the choice of the word “selfie” |
| C．the history of the word “selfie” | D．the characteristics of the word “selfie” |
6 . In America, after middle school comes high school, which includes grades 9 through 12. Students are required to take compulsory subjects like English, social studies, math, science, and physical education. In addition, they choose among elective subjects (选修科目) to complete their high school education. Electives include subjects in technology, music, art, and foreign languages.
Each student in the school has their own locker (储物柜) for books and personal items. This convenience saves students from carrying textbooks, and allows students a small space they can decorate with (以……装饰) posters and favorite objects.
Cheating in any form is strictly prohibited (禁止) in American schools. And in fact, high school students usually don’t cheat. If they are caught cheating, they will have to face severe punishment.
Each school holds certain yearly activities for all school students, such as homecoming (返校节), prom night (学年舞会), holiday celebrations, etc.
Most high schools have at least one sports team that competes in local games, and all students are encouraged to take part in athletics. Schools often offer football, baseball and softball, basketball, volleyball, tennis, and soccer. Some may even have sports like golf, swimming, gymnastics and cross-country skiing.
Many high school students have part-time jobs by the age of 15 or 16, some even earlier. Their first jobs are often babysitting or cutting lawns (草坪), but later they will likely get a job at a fast-food restaurant, video store, or clothing shop.
Sixteen years old is legal (法定) driving age in most states, and students usually want to own a car as soon as they can. Some parents allow their children to drive a family car, and may even buy a car as a graduation present. Others prefer that their sons and daughters earn enough to buy a used car. Many teenagers feel it’s necessary to own a car, and will do whatever it takes to be able to drive.
1. Which statement is right according to the passage?| A．Cheating is strictly banned (禁止) only in American high schools. |
| B．Teenagers in America can be allowed to drive after sixteen years old. |
| C．Schools encourage all students to take part in sports. |
| D．English, social studies, math, science, and physical education are elective subjects. |
| A．voluntary | B．difficult | C．optional | D．necessary |
| A．all high school hold some activities for students every year, like homecoming. |
| B．American parents usually buy cars as graduation presents for their children. |
| C．if the American boys and girls can earn enough money they can buy a used car to drive. |
| D．high school students must have part-time jobs by the age of 15 or 16. |
| A．a locker can give students a small space to save money. |
| B．students can share their lockers. |
| C．students can put their posters and favorite objects in the lockers. |
| D．school provides students lockers to keep their books and personal things. |
7 . Yu Pengnian is an 88-year-old real estate Chinese businessman. He amassed a fortune of $1.3 billion dollars during his career but instead of keeping the money and living like an emperor, he decided to give it all away. All of his fortune will be spent on helping poor Chinese students get a better education.
And Yu isn’t the only super-rich person in China who has this spirit of giving. Chen Guangbiao, a Jiangsu recycling tycoon, has given millions of dollars to charity and promises to give all of his money to charity when he dies.
Yu and Chen are among the many businessmen who have become prosperous during China’s economic rise. An American business magazine, Forbes, estimates that there are 117 billionaires in China and hundreds of thousands of millionaires. What sets Yu and Chen apart from the rest, though, is their tremendous generosity when it comes to donating money to charity.
Last week Bill Gates and Warren Buffett came to Beijing. Gates and Buffett, two of the world’s richest men, are also the world’s biggest philanthropists. They invited fifty of China’s richest people to have dinner with them and talk about the spirit of giving. At first, only a few people accepted their invitation. It seemed some of the invited guests were afraid that Buffett and Gates were going to pressure them into giving their wealth to charity.
A lot of people are angry at the billionaires who are not willing to give away their fortunes. They criticize them for being miserly and not caring about the poor and the less fortunate. But I think this criticism is wrong. A gift, any gift, should come from the heart. Instead of criticism, these reluctant billionaires should be encouraged to follow the examples of Yu Pengnian and Chen Guangbiao. Encouragement is always a better strategy than criticism. As we say in English, “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.”
1. He amassed a fortune of $1.3 billion dollars during his career… The word “amassed” means________.| A．stimulated | B．contemplated | C．immigrated | D．accumulated |
| A．helping poor Chinese students get a better education |
| B．helping the students in earthquake-stricken area |
| C．helping his off-springs lead a rich life in the future |
| D．achieve his aim of living like an emperor |
| A．Yu Pengnian is the only super-rich person in China who has the spirit of giving. |
| B．Chen Guangbiao is a real estate Chinese businessman. |
| C．Yu and Chen become wealthy during the rise of China’s economy. |
| D．When Bill Gates and Warren Buffett invited fifty of China’s richest people to have dinner with them, they all felt honored and accepted their invitation at once. |
| A．When it comes to charity work, they are very generous. |
| B．They had dinner with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, talking about the spirit of giving. |
| C．They are pressured into giving their fortune to charity. |
| D．They are both businessmen. |
| A．The author wants to tell us that flies prefer honey to vinegar. |
| B．The author wants to prove that encouragement is always a better strategy than criticism when it comes to charity. |
| C．The English saying expresses the main theme of the passage. |
| D．The author wants to criticize those billionaires who are not willing to give away their fortunes for being miserly and not caring about the poor and the less fortunate. |
8 . According to a report from the Ministry of Public Security. Yichen (奕辰) and Yinuo (一诺) are the most popular names for newborns in 2020. More than 14,000 boys were named Yichen while over 24,000 girls were given the name Yinuo.
More and more parents are giving their babies longer names to make their names stand out. There are around 3 percent of people with four or more characters in their names.
To help avoid too common names, new parents are able to check how many people are using a certain name on the website of the Ministry of Public Security.
As to the ranking of surnames (姓), the largest group of newborns shared the surname Li, with 726,000 new babies have this surname. Wang, Li, Zhang, Liu and Chen are the top five common surnames in China in 2020, the same as in 2019. 30.8 percent of the total population in China has these five surnames.
Although the common practice is to adopt (采用) the surnames of their fathers, more children have taken their mothers’ surnames because of the country’s second child policy. In 2020, about 7.7 percent of the 10 million newborn babies used their mothers’ surnames.
1. More than 14,000 new born boys are named ________ in 2020.| A．Yichen | B．Yinuo | C．Yiwei | D．Yihan |
| A．wish a good luck | B．to honor their mothers |
| C．make more friends | D．avoid too common names |
| A．Zhang | B．Li | C．Wang | D．Liu |
| A．they are the second child in their families |
| B．their mothers’ surnames are more popular |
| C．their parents follow an old tradition in China |
| D．their parents want to make their names special |
9 . Age has its privileges (特权) in America, and one of the most important of them is the senior citizen discount. Anyone who has reached a certain age — in some cases as low as 55 — is automatically entitled to a dazzling array of price reductions at nearly every level of commercial life. Eligibility (资格) is determined not by one’s need but by the date on one’s birth certificate. Practically unheard of a generation ago, the discounts have become a routine part of many businesses — as common as color televisions in motel rooms and free coffee on airliners.
People with gray hair often are given the discounts without even asking for them; yet, millions of Americans above age 60 are healthy and solvent (有支付能力的). Businesses that would never dare offer discounts to college students or anyone under 30 freely offer them to older Americans. The practice is acceptable because of the widespread belief that “elderly” and “needy” are synonymous. Perhaps that once was true, but today elderly Americans as a group have a lower poverty rate than the rest of the population. To be sure, there is economic diversity within the elderly, and many older Americans are poor. But most of them aren’t.
It is impossible to determine the impact of the discounts on individual companies. For many firms, they are a stimulus to revenue. But in other cases the discounts are given at the expense, directly or indirectly, of younger Americans. Moreover, they are a direct irritant (刺激物) in what some politicians and scholars see as a coming conflict between the generations.
Generational tensions are being fueled by continuing debate over Social Security benefits, which mostly involve a transfer of resources from the young to the old. Employment is another sore point. Supported by laws and court decisions, more and more older Americans are declining the retirement dinner in favor of staying on the job — thereby reducing employment and promotion opportunities for younger workers.
Far from a kind of charity they once were, senior citizen discounts have become an economic privilege to a group with millions of members who don’t need them. It no longer makes sense to treat the elderly as a single group whose economic needs deserve priority over those of others. Senior citizen discounts only enhance the myth that older people can’t take care of themselves and need special treatment; and they threaten the creation of a new myth, that the elderly are ungrateful and taking for themselves at the expense of children and other age groups. Senior citizen discounts are the essence of the very thing older Americans are fighting against — discrimination by age.
1. We learn from the first paragraph that ______.| A．offering senior citizens discounts has become routine commercial practice |
| B．senior citizen discounts have enabled many old people to live a comfortable life |
| C．giving senior citizens discounts has boosted the market for the elderly |
| D．senior citizens have to show their birth certificates to get a discount |
| A．tax | B．expense | C．profits | D．expansion |
| A．Businesses, having made a lot of profits, should do something for society in return. |
| B．Old people are entitled to special treatment for the contribution they made to society. |
| C．The elderly, being financially underprivileged, need humane help from society. |
| D．Senior citizen discounts can make up for the inadequacy of the Social Security system. |
| A．Senior citizens should fight hard against age discrimination. |
| B．The elderly are selfish and taking senior discounts for granted. |
| C．Priority should be given to the economic needs of senior citizens. |
| D．Senior citizen discounts may well be it type of age discrimination. |
10 . The United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 9, 2020. The Nobel Committee (委员会) is recognizing the group for its efforts to fight hunger and improve conditions for peace in areas affected by wars. The World Food Program has long been offering help to some of the world’s most troubled places. For example, the WFP created a special service that successfully kept providing help all over the world after the outbreak of COVID-19 stopped nearly all international flights.
Berit, chairwoman of the Nobel Committee, said on Friday, “With this year’s award, the committee wishes to turn the eyes of the world to the millions of people who suffer from or face the problem of hunger.” In announcing the award, the Nobel committee said “At present, food is the best vaccine (疫苗) against COVID-19.” And it added, “There will be 265 million people going hungry within a year, so of course this is also a call to the international community to offer enough fund to the World Food Program.”
Dan Smith, a director, said the Nobel committee had wanted to send a message of both hope and support for worldwide group work among countries “Hunger, just like climate change and the present COVID-19, is a world problem that can only be properly addressed by all countries working together,” he told Reuters, a British news agency.
The award comes with a gold medal and $1.1 million——a small amount compared to the money the WFP needs for its work. So far in 2020, the WFP has received almost $6. 4 billion in money or goods from all over the world.
1. Why does the committee decide to award the prize to the WFP?a. To encourage giving money to the WFP.
b. To attract worldwide attention to global hunger.
c. To honor the WFP’s hard work to cure COVID-19.
d. To recognize the WFP’s efforts to fight global hunger.
| A．abc | B．abd | C．acd | D．bcd |
| A．Viewed. | B．Worked. | C．Solved. | D．Encouraged. |
| A．The problem of climate change will soon end. |
| B．The worldwide food problem is still very serious. |
| C．People have lost hope in face of the food problem. |
| D．Worldwide group work has always focused on the food problem. |
| A．It’s still too little for the WFP’s programs. |
| B．It will all be given to each WFP member. |
| C．It can help solve many of the WFP’s problems. |
| D．It’s enough to support the WFP’s work for a long time. |
| A．The WFP’s Great Efforts Are Made. |
| B．The WFP Provides International Medical Help. |
| C．The WFP Wins the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020. |
| D．The Nobel Peace Prize Comes with a Gold Medal and $1. 1 Million. |
