1 . Many kids help out around the house with chores such as emptying the dishwasher, putting laundry away, and taking out the trash. In exchange, some kids get allowances or other rewards such as extra computer time.
But some people do not think that kids should get rewards for doing chores. Susie Walton, a parenting educator and family coach, believes that by rewarding kids, parents are sending a message that work isn’t worth doing unless you get something in return. “Running any kind of household is a team effort,” Susie said. “A home is a living space for everyone in the family. It’s important for kids to see that we all have responsibilities in the house, and that families decide together how they want their home to look, and how they are going to keep it looking like everyone wants it to look.”
Other people believe that getting a cash allowance or other rewards motivates kids to do chores, and it also teaches them real world lessons about how we need to work to earn money. There are also new applications that give kids points and digital gifts that can be redeemed (兑取) either online or in the real world. With the Chore Monster app, kids earn digital points by completing chores that they can turn in for real-life rewards such as extra Xbox time or a trip to the mall. “Our goal is to encourage kids to earn rewards.” says Chris Bergman, founder of Chore Monster. “Kids need positive reinforcement to help motivate them.”
What do you think? Should kids be rewarded for doing chores? Or should kids help out around their homes without getting anything in return?
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1. How does the author start the passage?| A．By stating his own experiences. | B．By presenting some facts. |
| C．By comparing different views. | D．By listing some evidence. |
| A．Kids should be rewarded for doing chores. |
| B．Parents decide what kids can do for the family. |
| C．Kids have the responsibility to share housework. |
| D．Kids can get extra computer time for doing chores. |
| A．Chris Bergman’s opinion on raising kids. |
| B．Main reasons why kids need encouragement |
| C．How to motivate kids to try new applications. |
| D．The advantage of rewarding kids for doing chores. |
| A．To invite readers to express their opinions. | B．To present the author’s viewpoint about parenting. |
| C．To call on readers to reflect on their behavior. | D．To inform readers of two different opinions. |
2 . Universities are expanding opportunities to spend a year overseas, meaning that not only language students benefit from time spent in another culture. Amanda Harper, head of placements and Bath University, says going abroad offers students the chance to widen their cultural horizons and develop an international network of friends and contacts.
‘One of my science students learned to dance salsa and speak Spanish during his year in Costa Rica,’ she says. ‘The students mature and their confidence increases. These changes are unquantifiable in terms of marks are the time management skills, presentation skills and ability to deal with the world of vastly improved when they come back from their placements.’
As it becomes increasingly difficult to stand out in the graduate job market, a year’s experience in another country could be what separates one student from others with the same results. A survey for the confederation of British industry found that fifty six percent of employers were not satisfied with graduates’ foreign language skills and forty percent were dissatisfied with candidates’ international cultural awareness.
Most overseas placements are taken in the third year of university, after which students return for a fourth and final year. Cassandra Popli, 22, who spent a year at California State University in Long Beach, got a job in California which she will take up after graduating from Swansea University this summer. ‘I feel like I have got so much more from that year abroad than I would have if I had stayed here,’ she adds.
Read the article and find words that collocate with the words 1-6. （从文中找出与以下结构搭配的词，每空填一个词）
1. expand
2. go
3. widen
4.
5. increase
6. take up a
3 . Empathy (同理心) is one of those strange qualities — something almost everyone wants, but few know how to truly give or receive it. In a world where self-satisfaction is emphasized, it is in short supply but high demand. This is all the more reason to teach the next generation what it means to have empathy for those around them.
What Is Empathy? — Many people confuse sympathy and empathy, but they are two distinct values. Empathy is not just the ability to understand someone's feelings; criminals often take advantage of people by appearing to understand their feelings and subsequently gaining their trust. Empathy is more than that. Not only is it the ability to recognize how someone feels, but it also values and respects the feelings of another person. It means treating others with kindness, dignity, and understanding.
Kids Need To See Adults Show Empathy — While some children are gifted with naturally kind hearts, in most cases kids need to see empathy modeled by the adults around them. It begins with the way parents relate to their children. Parents who show an interest in the things that matter to their kids and respond to emotions in a positive and caring way are teaching the skill of empathy.
Meet Emotional Needs — When children have their emotional needs met, two things happen. They learn how to meet the emotional needs of others and they are anchored in what they are receiving, meaning that they are secure enough to give to others when the need arises but first they need to receive. An empty jug cannot fill a cup.
It's a good idea to talk to kids about emotions and how other people experience them. Give their emotions names (for example, jealousy, anger, and love) and teach them that these are normal. Talk to them about how to handle emotions in a positive way and point out situations where other people are experiencing emotions. Teach them about respecting the emotions of others and show them how to act in a situation where a response is required.
1. Why is it that the next generation are taught to have empathy?| A．Because people tend to center themselves. | B．Because everyone lacks empathy. |
| C．Because empathy is a strange quality. | D．Because it's better to give than to receive. |
| A．When a mathematician is calculating the area of a farmland. |
| B．When a teacher is comforting a student about his failure in exams. |
| C．When a criminal is cheating a victim. |
| D．When a dancer is dancing to music. |
| A．An empty jug is too small to hold a cup. |
| B．It's a must to talk to kids about emotions. |
| C．Adults should set an example to kids. |
| D．Kids give empathy with their emotional needs met first. |
| A．How to train kids to have empathy. |
| B．How to distinguish sympathy and empathy. |
| C．How to help kids finish empathy-related tasks. |
| D．Whether kids can be trained to be more empathetic. |
4 . Why is the world’s population growing?
Statistics show that the average number of births per woman has fallen from 4.9 in the early 1960s to 2.5 nowadays. Furthermore, around 50% of the world’s population live in regions where the figure is now below the replacement level (i.e. 2.1 births per woman) and almost all developed nations are experiencing sub-replacement birth rate.
Russia is another country with population problems that could break its economic promise. Since 1992 the number of people dying has been bigger than that of those being born by a massive 50%. Indeed official figures suggest the country has shrunk by 5% since 1993 and people in Russia live a shorter life now than those in 1961.
| A．Why is this occurring? |
| B．How can the problem be solved? |
| C．The answer is not what you might think. |
| D．You might think that developing nations would make up the loss. |
| E．One solution obviously to import foreign workers via immigration. |
| F．A great decline in young work force is likely to occur in China for instance. |
| G．In 2030, a sixth of the country's potential work force could be totally uneducated. |
As is known to all, a positive parent-child relationship is
Parents should take the responsibility
No healthy parent-child relationship is without conflict. But as long as parents and children make a joint effort, they can settle the conflict and enjoy their time together.
Nations worldwide,
Over the past 75 years, the UN
In order to achieve the goal, the UN has gone through
Fewer people are using Facebook to discover and discuss news, as messaging apps such as WhatsApp gain
The seventh annual Digital News Report said the fall in users reading news on Facebook reflected concerns
The report sought to explore
The research, carried out by the University of Oxford’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, was based on
It
The number of those
The report’s lead author Nic Newman said, “ We’re seeing many switching
“This gives people more control…but also
8 . In my son’s room, there are two world maps — one large paper map of the world, and one cartoonish version with small pictures of animals and names. The second one arrived with a dry-erase marker, and my son and his friends have put that to use, “decorating” it with humorous words. It’s a map only an 8-year-old could love.
But underneath the funny writing, there is learning going on. He has learned where China sits in relation to the US on the map, and knows that Togo is a real country. He knows that Alaska looks like it is part of Canada, connecting us with our neighbors to the north.
He hasn’t traveled out of the country yet, but that is my goal for him ... to know and experience other cultures outside of his own through maps, and through traveling in the future. I want him to understand that all countries in the world are wonderful and influential in their own ways.
“Travel changes you,” said the late world-traveling chef（厨师）Anthony Bourdain. “As you move through this life and this world, you change things and you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life — as well as travel — leaves marks on you.”
Travel isn’t cheap, though, and not all families have the means to take their kids on a 10-country trip to Europe in the summer. Some families can’t even afford to take their kids out of their home city.
Even if you don’t have money to travel, get your kids a map. Get a subscription (订阅) to National Geographic (or go to the library and get them there). Learn a language together. Host an exchange student.
Consider opening your kids’ minds by exposing (使接触) them to different languages, foods, sights, etc. The earlier, the better. Because if we introduce children to people, places, and things that are different from what they know, they will be less afraid. They will be more understanding. And they’ll be more likely to reach out across any divide and improve the world for the future.
1. What does the author want her son to do by reading maps?| A．To simply have fun. | B．To become open-minded. |
| C．To get high grades in geography. | D．To develop an interest in traveling. |
| A．teaches people very little | B．is the only choice of the poor |
| C．is a special form of traveling | D．can be a little boring but meaningful |
| A．By giving explanations. | B．By providing examples. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By using someone’s words. |
| A．To show how to read maps. | B．To give advice on parenting. |
| C．To encourage people to travel. | D．To discuss different types of parenting. |
9 . Cars have become more than vehicles for moving things. They have stolen our American’s hearts. After the Second World War, middle-class white-collar workers
Our car culture really began to
We are a nation
My dad was particularly
| A．walked | B．cycled | C．flooded | D．struggled |
| A．drop | B．sail | C．help | D．divide |
| A．applied to | B．contributed to | C．responded to | D．took to |
| A．equaled | B．targeted | C．matched | D．favored |
| A．Driven | B．Ignored | C．Stopped | D．Beaten |
| A．in touch with | B．in love with | C．in control with | D．in line with |
| A．check | B．recognize | C．count | D．record |
| A．hurriedly | B．repeatedly | C．simply | D．badly |
| A．average | B．free | C．senior | D．junior |
| A．accustomed | B．friendly | C．important | D．devoted |
| A．push ahead | B．pull into | C．draw apart | D．drag off |
| A．quieter | B．easier | C．faster | D．better |
| A．conducted | B．booked | C．lasted | D．froze |
| A．managed | B．tried | C．wanted | D．decided |
| A．superb | B．unusual | C．typical | D．sensitive |
| 支持者认为 | 读小说可以丰富生活，释放压力，改善情绪，读小说可以净化心灵，引导做人，小说可以增加知识，拓宽视野…… |
| 反对者认为 | 读小说浪费时间，影响学习，一些小说内容不健康，没好处…… |
| 你的观点 | …… |
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