1 . At some point, something will have to be done about the stuffed toys (毛绒玩具). I haven’t counted them because, truthfully, I’m not prepared to know how many there are. Lately, our neighborhood’s message boards are filled with posts about parents trying to make space, to clear out the things their kids no longer need. The tone of some of these posts can best be described as “emergency”. “Help!” they sometimes begin. “I have to get this out of my house.”
“The proliferation (激增) of children’s toys is the outcome of a long, gradual cultural change,”says Gary Cross, a professor at Pennsylvania State University. To understand how we got here — drowning (淹没于) in all those stuffed toys and bricks — it helps to look as far back as the late 19th century. “Parents were no longer passing their jobs on to the children,” Cross says. “Instead, they connect across generations through the gifting process. From the early 20th century on, goods became the things that define relationships between family members, and the way of marking success as a family.”
Then, how can parents deal with the proliferation of children’s toys at home? Naeemah Ford Goldson, a professional organizer, is also a mom of two. In her own home, Goldson likes to include her kids in the work of sorting out their toys. They know that the items they don’t need anymore will be given to people who can use them, to families who might not be as fortunate as theirs. “Doing so helps them build those habits of letting go,” she says, “so then they don’t become adults who are too dependent on material things instead of experiences, or people, and the memories we make with people.”
Her idea made sense. She told her 5-year-old they should pick some to give to kids in their community who came from another country and had to leave their toys behind. She immediately took a pink bear from the pile.
1. Why does the author present the posts in paragraph 1?| A．To show the popularity of children’s toys. |
| B．To offer suggestions about choosing children’s toys. |
| C．To praise the role of social media in buying children’s toys. |
| D．To introduce the influence too many children’s toys bring about. |
| A．Children’s demands. | B．The growth of technology. |
| C．The traditions in the 18th century. | D．The practice of gifting among family members. |
| A．Involve her kids in organizing toys. | B．Put away toys for her kids. |
| C．Buy her kids fewer toys. | D．Sell unwanted toys to neighbors. |
| A．The Rise of Toy Stores in Neighborhoods | B．The Importance of Choosing Proper Gifts |
| C．The Challenge of Managing Children’s Toys | D．The Joy of Collecting Children’s Toys |
2 . Are you one of those people who like spending time alone? If so, you probably already know that there are some people who will scold you for it. They think you are alone because you are anxious around other people and just don’t have very positive relationships with humans.
This is a common phenomenon of being alone for too long. Recently, scholars have increasingly recognized the value of spending time alone.
As important as that distinction is, some scholars believe it is not enough. Even people who choose to be alone, they point out, can do so for different reasons.
For young people, spending time al one for positive reasons is associated with a number of healthy psychological experiences. Those who are alone for negative reasons are worrying. However, wanting to be alone for positive reasons and wanting to be alone for negative reasons are not completely separate.
| A．They have even documented it. |
| B．They are forced to spend much time alone. |
| C．There is a small relevance between the two. |
| D．They assume you are lonely and depressed. |
| E．The two have nothing to do with each other. |
| F．Some reasons for being alone are likely to cause trouble. |
| G．How do you decide whether being alone is good or bad? |
3 . The development of technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI), is changing the job market, resulting in both new opportunities and challenges. It is a chief concern for students thinking about their employment.
Employers are paying more attention to human-centered skills such as problem-solving, and creativity. The ability to master these skills is becoming significant in the job market today. However, most education systems still attach more importance to knowledge transfer, memorization and tests, and fail to foster human-centered skills. Therefore, it is of importance for young people to actively seek out opportunities to build them.
By developing a connection to the world around them, and a deeper understanding of the systemic issues that exist within it, students can strengthen skills such as cooperation and problem-solving. For example, Esther, an 18-year-old student, worked with her friends to develop a digital skills programme for young people, after discovering that only three in every 20 students in her community in Lagos were confident in using technology. Through the activity, Esther learned about her community’s needs, found a sense of purpose and practised skills. Her intention was not to improve employability, but the skills she developed are exactly those that will set her up in a changing workplace.
These are uncertain times, to be sure. Young people may worry about their job opportunities. But with the human-centered skills developed, the possibilities for careers are at the fingertips and the future is far more attractive.
1. What is a chief concern for students who think about their employment?| A．Automation in almost all industries. |
| B．The development of advanced technology. |
| C．The impact of technology on the job market. |
| D．Employers’ increasing focus on human-centered skills. |
| A．Develop. | B．Affect. | C．Protest. | D．Conduct. |
| A．To improve her employability. |
| B．To select her future field of work. |
| C．To learn about advanced technology with friends. |
| D．To promote technology use among young people. |
| A．How to plan your future career? |
| B．Future job market will be challenging |
| C．How to build your human-centered skills? |
| D．Human-centered skills will be important for future jobs |
4 . Social media and the Internet are powerful tools that are an important part of our everyday lives. We use them to learn, communicate, work, and more.
Schedule your Internet time
A hobby gives you something to spend time on that’s not the Internet. Take a yoga class, start learning to play an instrument, start gardening, sign up for the gym, or do anything else that interests you. At the beginning, commit to spend just 1 hour a week on the hobby, then gradually ram p up the hours or take up more hobbies. Make sure you turn off your phone or hide your devices while you do your chosen hobby.
Spend more time with friends offline.
Make it a point to schedule in-person social activities. Go to dinner with friends once a week, get together with a group of people for a weekend hike, or reach out to people you haven’t seen in a while and schedule a catch-up date. If you feel like you don’t have anyone to spend time with, reach out to acquaintances and ask them to join you for lunch or a coffee—you can always make new friends!
| A．Cut out Internet use for a set period each week. |
| B．Do a screen-free hobby for at least an hour a week. |
| C．Using technology right before bed can negatively affect sleep quality. |
| D．But, sometimes, using them too much can negatively affect our lives. |
| E．Create a clear division between Internet time and time for other things. |
| F．You can also join a club to spend more time on off line social activities. |
| G．So you don’t get interrupted or distracted by social media and the Internet. |
5 . Vegetarians would rather not be forced to eat meat. Yet the reverse compulsion is hidden in the proposals for a new plant-based “planetary diet.” Nowhere is this more visible than in India.
Earlier this year, the EAT-Lancet Commission released its global report on nutrition and called for a global shift to a more plant-based diet and for “substantially reducing consumption of animal source foods.” In countries like India, that call could become a tool to aggravate an already tense political situation and stress already undernourished populations.
The EAT report assumes that “traditional diets” in countries like India include little red meat, which might be consumed only on special occasions or as minor ingredients in mixed dishes.
In India, however, there is a vast difference between what people would wish to consume and what they have to consume because of innumerable barriers around class, religion, culture, cost, geography, etc. Policymakers in India have traditionally pushed for a cereal-heavy “vegetarian diet” on a meat-eating population as a way of providing the cheapest sources of food.
Currently, under an aggressive Hindu nationalist government, Muslims, Christians, disadvantaged classes and indigenous communities are being compelled to give up their traditional foods.
None of these concerns seem to have been appreciated by the EAT-Lancet Commission’s representative, Brent Loken, who said “India has got such a great example” in sourcing protein from plants.
But how much of a model for the world is India’s vegetarianism? In the Global Hunger Index, the country ranks 102nd out of 117. Data from the National Family Health Survey indicate that only 10 percent of infants of 6 to 23 months are adequately fed, which is why calls for a plant-based diet modeled on India risk offering another whip with which to beat already vulnerable communities in developing countries.
A diet directed at the affluent West fails to recognize that in low-income countries undernourished children are known to benefit from the consumption of milk and other animal source foods, improving cognitive functions, while reducing the prevalence of nutritional deficiencies as well as death.
EAT-Lancet claimed its intention was to “spark conversations” among all Indian stakeholders. Yet vocal critics of the food processing industry and food fortification strategies have been left out of the debate. But the most conspicuous (明显的) omission may well be the absence of India’s farmers.
1. What is more visible in India than anywhere else according to the passage?| A．People’s positive views on the proposals for a “planetary diet”. |
| B．People’s reluctance to be compelled to eat plant-based food. |
| C．People’s preferences for the kind of food they consume. |
| D．People’s unwillingness to give up their eating habits. |
| A．Radically change their dietary habits. | B．Keep them further away from politics. |
| C．Make them even more undernourished. | D．Substantially reduce their food choices. |
| A．People’s diet will not change due to the EAT-Lancet report. |
| B．Many people simply do not have access to foods they prefer. |
| C．There is a growing popularity of a cereal-heavy vegetarian diet. |
| D．Policymakers help remove the barriers to people’s choice of food. |
| A．It may benefit populations whose traditional diet is meat-based. |
| B．It may be another blow to the economy in developing countries. |
| C．It may worsen the nourishment problem in low-income countries. |
| D．It may help narrow the gap between the rich and poor countries. |
6 . As the shift from traditional farming to modern farming is progressing, the use of technology such as drones (无人机), robots and machinery has also begun, producing favorable results and increasing efficiency in the industry. A farmer from the Philippines, Rey Kent Dejesica, wanted to help and contribute to the agriculture industry. Through an advertisement, he saw DIAGRAS drones and was interested in the idea of drones being used for farm applications.
In the Philippines, when people think of farmers or agriculture, they usually picture long hours working in the sun. Farming is an onerous process, especially for young people, who like everything instant. “Rice and bananas are the primary sources of income in my city. I want to contribute to the agriculture industry in a way to reduce growers’ expenses and make the usage of pesticides (农药) more precise and efficient because I’ve seen how innovative individuals are and how they always find ways and methods to make tasks easier,” Rey Kent Dejesica said.
“Using drones as a sprayer (喷雾器) also lessens human labor. Besides that, we can obtain a bird’s-eye view of fields and spay crops precisely and effectively with drones,” Rey Kent Dejesica said. Moreover, farmers stated that the use of drones also minimized the Panama disease. “After we switched to drone technology, our field became more beautiful,” they added.
Agriculture is the main source of income for some Asian regions. Parts of Asia are now going through a rapidly aging farmer population and a fear of food shortage. That is why the youth must be part of the trade to ensure food security in the future. Advancements in agricultural technology such as drones can attract the youth back to the farming scene.
Armed with his knowledge of drone technology and having a positive attitude, Rey Kent sets an example for the next generation of farmers. May this be a stepping stone showing that farming is not something to be embarrassed about, but to be accepted through applying new technology.
1. Why was Rey Kent Dejesica interested in using drones for farming?| A．He was influenced by his parents. |
| B．He was doing experiments with drones. |
| C．He wanted farmers to stop using pesticides. |
| D．He aimed to use them to help the agricultural industry. |
| A．Simple. | B．Creative. | C．Heavy. | D．Dangerous. |
| A．Helpful. | B．Harmful. | C．Useless. | D．Funny. |
| A．The aging farmer population in Asia. | B．The importance of food security in the world. |
| C．The youth’s role in high-tech agriculture. | D．The advancements in agricultural technology. |
7 . Recently, after I gave a virtual presentation on my book Indistractable, a listener wrote something in the Zoom chat that drove me crazy, “This is great but wouldn’t work for me. I’m a Gemini (双子星座的人).”
Ironically, the Zoom listener is right. If she thinks she’s incapable, she’ll prove it correct — whether it has anything to do with the stars and moon or not. Her inflexible self-identification denies her the chance to improve her life. It’s incredibly self-limiting.
That’s why we should stop defining ourselves as fixed identities and nouns, and instead start describing ourselves using verbs.
Words are powerful. Linguistic research shows that language shapes people and culture; it can also give us insight into ourselves and our behavior. In a well-known study, researchers Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobsen had all students in the same elementary school take a standard IQ test. Then they randomly selected a group of students, regardless of their test results, and told teachers the group would show “dramatic intellectual growth”. Eight months later, those students scored significantly higher on an IQ test. The study concluded that teachers’ positive perception of students correlated to those students’ high performance on intellectual and academic tests. The labels the children received became a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy (预言).
That’s because language shapes expectations, which shape our reality. If we have experiences that lead us to label ourselves with specific nouns during our life, then we are likely to stick with those labels and the behaviors that go with them.
Using verbs to identify ourselves is an effective method for releasing “trapped priors”—a term in psychology for a perception of reality that’s affected or trapped by past experiences. Verbs are action words well suited to describing short-lived behaviors that can and do change. They don’t lay claim to our entire identity, but they acknowledge that we are people first and foremost, not whatever a singular noun may say we are. So, instead of saying, “I am a procrastinator (拖拉者)”, you should say, “I am a person who often procrastinates.”
By focusing on our behaviors, not fixed characteristics, we can release harmful perceptions of ourselves that hold us back from trying methods that might improve our lives — like those that can help us achieve the critical skill of being indistractable.
1. What does the author want to show through the example of the Zoom listener?| A．The concept of flexible self-identification. |
| B．His confusion about the way to self-identify. |
| C．His understanding of proper self-identification. |
| D．The negative effects of using nouns to define oneself. |
| A．Self-fulfilling prophecies change over time. |
| B．Encouragement promotes students’ improvement. |
| C．Language usage will have an impact on teaching. |
| D．IQ has little to do with students’ academic performance. |
| A．By highlighting their behaviors. |
| B．By focusing on their advantages. |
| C．By analyzing their typical characteristics. |
| D．By assessing their academic performance. |
| A．Nouns are more powerful than verbs |
| B．Your words can determine your future |
| C．How we define ourselves really counts |
| D．Our option of words reflects our identity |
8 . Whenever he can, 15-year-old Elliot Morgan practices basketball in his backyard. He says it’s a good stress-reliever. But it wasn’t that long ago that he didn’t have time for this new hobby. “There were times in the summer when I would spend four or five hours a day on my phone,” he says. When school started in the fall, Morgan found himself scrolling (划屏) as soon as he woke up. “I realize I start to avoid workouts because I’m on my phone,” he says. “It’s affecting my focus.”
It has become clear that social media is a key player in many drivers of unhealthy habits. Social media apps are designed to encourage overuse, and teenagers are more likely to be influenced because their brains are at an important period of development that makes it harder to be free from temptation (诱惑). All of this makes limiting use more challenging — even for families who set rules.
“It’s a really big problem,” says Elliot’s mom, Alyssa. She was shocked when she discovered Elliot had bypassed parental controls and was spending five hours a day on social media. “I asked him, ‘Can you just take a look and see? Just tell me what you think. Does this feel good to you?’” she says.
Elliot hadn’t realized how many hours he was on social media. And he was at a loss. With his mother’s help, he tried to start cutting back. After several months, he decided to delete (删除) social media apps altogether. “After that, I actually sleep enough and feel better,” he says. He’s now closer with his friends because they spend more time talking instead of scrolling. And joining school clubs has also helped him reduce time on his phone.
1. What can we learn about Elliot from the first paragraph?| A．He is always late for class. | B．He used to work out early. |
| C．He likes football at school. | D．He lost himself in his phone. |
| A．They tend to develop bad habits. | B．They will take up more challenges. |
| C．They can improve reading skills. | D．They find it hard to make friends. |
| A．Uncaring. | B．Positive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Unclear. |
| A．Lonely. | B．Simple. | C．Enjoyable. | D．Difficult. |
9 . Science is increasingly central to our lives — from its role in creating day-to-day objects such as the smartphones in our pockets, to the big challenges of tackling disease, addressing climate change and focusing on biodiversity loss.
Many of the changes that the discipline brings are hugely beneficial, but they often come with potential downsides that demand public debate. Will artificial intelligence take people’s jobs or destroy elections with false news? How fast can we practically achieve a net zero economy?
For the crucial public debate that is needed on all this to take place, we must have a scientifically literate population. But there is a divide between the scientifically minded and those who choose not to engage with science.
It saddens me that our culture now views science as difficult, which discourages many from taking an interest in it. A British Science Association (BSA) survey recently suggested that only around a third of 14- to 18-year-olds find scientists inspirational or consider the subject to be relevant to their lives.
In fact, science is interlinked with every aspect of our existence and people from all walks of life and of all ages should be able to access it easily. The invention of the printing press was crucial to the Enlightenment because it democratised (普及) knowledge. So, in this increasingly science-centred world, the same attention should be given to popular science writing as is given to other forms of literature.
The Royal Society Science Book Prize is the only one in the world to promote popular science writing. Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time, which was shortlisted (把……列入入围名单) for the prize in 1989, was written for readers who had no prior knowledge of physics and has since become a universally recognised text on the universe.
Democratising science has never been more important. There are so many scientific stories to be told that can help us better understand ourselves. A society equipped with a solid understanding of the issues of the day is a society more able to respond to them in a better way.
1. What does the underlined part “all this” in paragraph 3 refer to?| A．Beneficial scientific advancements. |
| B．Challenges facing human beings. |
| C．Potential downsides of science. |
| D．Disagreements between scientists and the public. |
| A．They have great respect for scientists. |
| B．They feel disconnected from science. |
| C．They know little about the Enlightenment. |
| D．They wish to land a career in the scientific field. |
| A．It won an international book prize. |
| B．It focused on important life issues. |
| C．It was written by a highly-honoured author. |
| D．It democratised knowledge about the universe. |
| A．The crisis of science in our modern life |
| B．We must rely on science to tackle our problems |
| C．Popular science books have never been more important |
| D．Public debate about science could never be more necessary |
10 . In 2009, when Qatar (卡塔尔) bid to host the 2022 Football World Cup, it promised a carbon-neutral (碳中和) event. Even back then, the prospect of neutralizing the carbon-dioxide emissions (排放) generated by hosting hundreds of thousands of fans in newly constructed stadiums, in a desert state, seemed fanciful. So it is proving. In their greenhouse-gas accounting report, published last year, FIFA (国际足联) and the Qatari organizers estimated that the World Cup would generate 3.6 million tons of CO2 emissions. Estimating emissions for big sporting events is a relatively new practice and methods can vary, but that figure is higher than any recent World Cup or Olympics.
It is also likely to be a significant underestimate. A report in May 2022 by Carbon Market Watch (CMW), a climate watchdog (监督者), found that the official forecast failed to account accurately for the emissions generated from stadiums. FIFA, which insists its method is “best in practice”, reckons that the majority of the emissions (52%) will come from fans and players travelling to Qatar, while less than 25% are from stadium construction. That is because organizers expect these stadiums to be used for years after the World Cup, spreading their carbon footprint way into the future.
CMW believes such an excuse is far from reasonable. Before the World Cup, Qataris were able to get by with only one stadium, it points out. Consequently, it estimates that the emissions from stadium construction for the World Cup are undercounted by a factor of eight. It puts the real figure at 5 million tons. Though it amounts to less than 0.02% of the world’s annual emissions, sports teams and organizations should have set a positive example in this.
To remove the doubt from outside, Qatar has established the Global Carbon Council (GCC), a dedicated environmental agency. Beyond adjusting for World Cup emissions, the GCC will promote a path to “a low-carbon future”, a great step for a country with the world’s highest emissions per person. Yet the agency is still at its early stage. Only six projects, saving less than 600,000 tons, have been approved so far.
1. What is the main problem Qatar and FIFA are faced with at present?| A．The 2022 World Cup isn’t as successful as it should be. |
| B．They may fail to keep the promise to hold a green event. |
| C．The figure they published is higher than that of other events |
| D．They are unfamiliar with the new practice of the World Cup. |
| A．By insisting on its way of environmental protection. |
| B．By promising to use the new stadiums for more years. |
| C．By blaming the greenhouse-gas emissions on travelers. |
| D．By cooperating with Carbon Market Watch for instructions. |
| A．5 million tons accounts for a little of the annual emissions. |
| B．The stadium construction for the World Cup sets a bad example. |
| C．The method they employed in estimating the emissions is unscientific. |
| D．There will be more stadiums than Qatar actually needs after the World Cup. |
| A．The GCC is an agency specially established for the World Cup |
| B．The Qataris attach great importance to environmental protection. |
| C．The Qataris need to make more efforts to hold a carbon-neutral event. |
| D．The GCC has achieved a lot in cutting down greenhouse-gas emissions. |
