1 . Kindness and kids just seem to go hand in hand. But 62% of more than 2,600 participants in the NBC News State of Kindness Poll believe that today’s kids are less kind than those in the past. Women(66%) feel about this kindness fall more strongly than men(58%). Most of the participants who feel that way(77%) thank parents caused the seeming lack of kindness among today’s children, with a few thinking that society, schools, or friends caused it.
At the same time, Americans say they don’t put kindness first when it comes to teaching kids values. Among all participants, honesty is taught more than kindness as well as other things like courage, leadership and storing work ethic(道德). But the younger generation—those aged 18-24—think highly of kindness rules. They choose kindness by 10% over honesty as the most important quality to teach kids.
The question of whether kindness is learned or taught—or somewhere in between —causes different opinions. According to the study, Americans have different opinions on whether kindness in something one is born with or needs to be learned and nurtured over time. Slightly more than half(52%) of the participants believe that all of us are born with the ability to show kindness, while 48% believe kindness must be developed.
Parenthood(父母身份) makes a difference to your thoughts on the causes of kindness. Those without kids(56%) are more likely to think that people are born to be kind, while 50% of the participants with kids think kindness is developed.
Also, 51% of dads and 54% of men with no kids believe kindness is something time is born with. Slightly more than half of the moms say kindness must be learned, while 48% believe it is what one is born with.
1. 62% of the participants believe that today’s kids are ________.

A．born to be kind

B．taught to be less kind

C．not well educated at school

D．not so kind as kids in the past

2. What do participants aged 18-24 consider the most important for kids?

A．Honesty.

B．Leadership.

C．Kindness.

D．Courage.

3. The underlined word “nurtured” in Paragraph 3 means “_________”.

A．kept	B．developed
C．replaced	D．protected

4. How many moms in the study believe kindness is what one is born with?

A．48%

B．51%

C．52%

D．54%

5. What is the test mainly about?

A．causes of today’s kids being less kind.

B．The important qualities of today’s kids.

C．Different peoples opinions on kindness.

D．findings of research on today’s kids’ kindness

2 . People can be addicted to(沉溺于) different things — e.g. alcohol, drug, certain foods, or even television. People who have such an addiction are compulsive(强迫的):They have a very powerful psychological（心理上的）need that they feel they must satisfy. According to psychologists, many people are compulsive spenders. They feel that they must spend money. This compulsion, like most others, is impossible to explain reasonably. For compulsive spenders who buy on credit(以赊欠方式), charge accounts are even more exciting than money. In other words, compulsive spenders feel that with credit, they can do anything. Their pleasure in spending large amounts is actually greater than the pleasure that they get from the things they buy.

There is even a special psychology of bargain hunting. To save money, of course, most people look for sales, low prices, and discounts. Compulsive bargain hunters, however, often buy things that they don’t need just because they are cheap. They want to believe that they are helping their budgets(预算), but they are really playing an exciting game. When they can buy something for less than other people, they feel that they are winning. Most people, experts claim, have two reasons for their behavior: a good reason for the things that they do and the real reason.

It is not only scientists, of course, who understand the psychology of spending habits, but also business people. Stores, companies, and advertisers use psychology to increase business. They consider people’s needs for love, power, or influence, their basic values, their beliefs and opinions, and so on in their advertising and sales methods. Psychologists often use a method called “behavior therapy(疗法)” to help individuals solve their personality problems. In the same way, they can help people who feel that they have problems with money.

1. According to the psychologists, a compulsive spender is one who spends large amounts of money___.

A．and takes great pleasure from what he or she buys

B．in order to satisfy his or her basic needs in life

C．just to meet his or her strong psychological need

D．and feels he or she is cheated

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?

A．People spend money for exactly the same reason that they need to buy things.

B．Business people and advertisers can use the psychology of people’s spending habits to increase sales.

C．Business people understand the psychology of compulsive buying better than scientists do.

D．Compulsive bargain hunters do not have problems with money.

3. What is the text mainly about?

A．The psychology of money-spending habits.

B．The habits of compulsive spenders.

C．A special psychology of bargain hunting.

D．The use of the psychology of spending habits in business.

4. From the text we may safely conclude that compulsive spenders or compulsive bargain hunters _____.

A．are really unreasonable

B．need special treatment

C．are really beyond drugs

D．can never get any help to solve their problems with money

3 . Grandparents Answer a Call

As a third－generation native of Brownsville, Texas, Mildred Garza never planned to move away.Even when her daughter and son asked her to move to San Antonio to help with their children, she politely refused.Only after a year of friendly discussion did Ms.Garza finally say yes.That was four years ago.Today all three generations regard the move as a success, giving them a closer relationship than they would have had in separate cities.

No statistics show the number of grandparents like Garza who are moving closer to adult children and grandchildren. Yet there is evidence suggesting that the trend is growing.Even President Obama’s mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, has agreed to leave Chicago and move into the White House to help care for her granddaughters. According to a study by grandparents.com, 83 percent of the people said Mrs.Robinson's decision will influence grandparents in the American family.Two－thirds believe more families will follow the example of Obama’s family.

“In the 1960s we were all a little wild and couldn't get away from home far enough or fast enough to prove we could do it on our own,”says Christine Crosby, publisher of Grand, a magazine for grandparents. “We now realize how important family is and how important it is to be near them, especially when you’re raising children.”

Moving is not for everyone. Almost every grandparent wants to be with his or her grandchildren and is willing to make sacrifices, but sometimes it is wiser to say no and visit frequently instead.Having your grandchildren far away is hard, especially knowing your adult child is struggling, but giving up the life you know may be harder.

1. Why was Garza’s move a success?

A．It strengthened her family ties.

B．It improved her living conditions.

C．It enabled her to make more friends.

D．It helped her know more new places.

2. What was the reaction of the public to Mrs.Robinson’s decision?

A．17% expressed their support for it.

B．Few people responded sympathetically.

C．83% believed it had a bad influence.

D．The majority thought it was a trend.

3. What did Crosby say about people in the 1960s?

A．They were unsure of themselves.

B．They were eager to raise more children.

C．They wanted to live away from their parents.

D．They had little respect for their grandparents.

4. What does the author suggest the grandparents do in the last paragraph?

A．Make decisions in the best interests of their own.

B．Ask their children to pay more visits to them.

C．Sacrifice for their struggling children.

D．Get to know themselves better.

4 . “To educate a girl is to educate a thousand people,” says Maimouna Samaké, a mother of six children (including five girls). “If you put one seed in the ground and rain comes, it will grow to produce many seeds.”

Samaké, one of 2,000 residents, lives in a small village, Sounkala, in one of the world’s poorest countries. Now she has a chance to see this wish come true thanks to Build On, an American non-profit organization that is building a school in her community.

For 17 years, build On has been sending American high school students overseas to create schools in places where literacy (文化) and formal education are usually out of reach. The organization has built about 300 schools in Mali, Malawi, Nepal, Senegal, Nicaragua and Haiti. Its goal is to get young Americans in mostly urban areas to get involved in education. At the same time it can bring literacy to children and adults in poor villages in the developing world.

Sounkala’s current school only has about 70 children; mud floors, poor lighting, few desks and an absence of books mean that the school is not the most ideal learning environment. Therefore they certainly could use Build On’s help.

Samaké hasn’t been to school, but she wants a better future for her five daughters, including Ramatou, 12, and Mariam, 10. “When a woman attends school, she will teach what she learns to her children,” said Ramatou, who wants to become a doctor. “She will also know how to take better care of her family.”

Build On tries to build schools for grades one to three. If things go well over those three years, they return to help build another school for grades four to six, and then set up evening adult literacy classes.

Ramatou and Mariam will not learn inside the walls of build On school since they are already in the sixth grade, but Samaké hopes that they will be able to attend evening classes to continue learning.

1. Which of the following aspects of build On is NOT mentioned in the text?

A．Its history.	B．Its goal.
C．Its approach.	D．Its sources of funding.

2. According to the text, build On is most likely to help a school __________.

A．in a village in a developed country

B．in an urban area in a developing country

C．in a rural area in a developing country

D．in an earthquake-stricken area in a developed country

3. What do we know about Samakéand her family?

A．Samaké only has daughters.

B．Samaké is well-educated.

C．Ramatou is a doctor.

D．Mariam is in the sixth grade.

4. The text mainly tells us about __________.

A．people’s education conditions in poor areas

B．a woman’s dream of going to school

C．an organization that helps build schools for people in poor areas

D．build On’s great contributions to education

5 . Parents are fighting for their child’s right to rest across the country. Twenty-three elementary schools in Orange County, Florida, have been cutting back on rest, and even canceling it to increase class time.

In a recent Orange County School Board meeting, parents demanded that rest time be carried out in all local schools for all students. Angela Browning, a parent in the area, said that schools’ rest is ranging from zero to 30 minutes per day. “Five-year-olds not getting rest means abuse,” said Browning, whose twins in the second grade benefit from taking a break and learn better.

“The main reason for reducing the rest time is Common Core exams including math, language arts and literacy, where the students’ performance often controls teachers’ pay and sometimes teachers may lose their jobs. Many teachers are using that extra 20 minutes that would have been spent on the schools’ scores, everybody is stressful,” said Diana Moore, president of the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association.

The decision of whether reducing rest takes place, and for how long is up to each school’s rule. “Florida law requires that districts provide 900 teaching hours during the school year,” Florida’s Department of Education press secretary Cheryl Etters said in a statement. “Whether test is part of the school day is a decision made by the school board.”

Reducing test also can take away an opportunity for children to learn social skills, according to many experts. “In society, who cares if you have straight A’s and you get a scholarship to Harvard if you lack social skills?” said Mallet, a mother of two children.

1. What will Angela Browning agree with?

A．Kids of five years old had better get more break time.

B．Proper rest time improves children’s learning efficiency.

C．The more rest children have, the higher grades they will get.

D．Elementary schools should limit kids’ rest time to 30 minutes.

2. What drives so many teachers to reduce students’ rest time?

A．Parents’ demand.

B．Students’ lack of social skills.

C．Students’ bad behavior.

D．The link between their pay and school’s scores.

3. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Social skills are more important than high scores.

B．Whether students get A’s in school is very important.

C．Graduates from Harvard can’t find good jobs.

D．Rest time has nothing to do with students’ social skills

4. What’s the main idea of the text?

A．The government is to order schools to increase rest time.

B．Students expect to get more time to play in school.

C．Parents struggle for the rest right for their kids in school.

D．Teachers’ pay is related to their performance in teaching.

6 . In 2009, the Taiwu Elementary School Folk Singers were invited to perform in Belgium, France, Germany, and Luxemburg. In 2011, they were voted as one of the world’s top five performance groups by audiences of Japan Broadcasting Corporation’s Amazing             Voice program.
Thinking back the group’s first tour in Europe, Camake Valaule, a physical education teacher and the founder of the Taiwu Elementary School Folk Singers, admitted that he felt very nervous. He was worried that the audience would fall asleep since             most of the 75-minute performance was a cappella, that is, singing without instrumental sound. Surprisingly, the audience listened with full focus and high spirits. Camake said, “They told me afterward that through our performance, they had a             vision of our country, our village, without having to visit it. This experience greatly increased our confidence.”
According to Camake Valaule, singing traditional ballads has helped students and their parents to re-understand their culture. “It used to be that the only ones who could sing these songs were tribal elders aged between 50 and 60. Now with the children performing the pieces, parents are beginning to ask, ‘Why do we not know how to sing these ballads?’ Many times nowadays, it is the children who teach the songs to their parents, putting back the pieces of a blurred memory.
Winning international fame, however, was neither the original intention nor the main reason why Camake founded the group in 2006. The most important thing was to make children understand why they sing these songs and to preserve and pass on their             culture. Referring to the relocation of Taiwu Elementary School and Taiwu Village following Typhoon Morakot in August 2009, Camake said, “We could not take the forest or our houses in the mountains with us; but we were able to bring our culture             along. As long as the children are willing to sing, I will always be there for them, singing with them and leading them to experience the meaning of the ballads.”
1. Which of the following is true about Taiwu Elementary School Folk Singers?

A．The group was first established in 2009.

B．The group was founded by a PE teacher.

C．The singers usually sing popular folk songs.

D．The singers learn to sing from their parents.

2. On his first trip to Europe, why did Camake think the audience might fall asleep?

A．The average age of the audience was between fifty and sixty.

B．Most of the performance was not accompanied by any instrument.

C．Nobody could understand the language and the meaning of the songs.

D．The audience could not visualize the theme sung by the school children.

3. What does the underlined part “the pieces of a blurred memory” in the third paragraph most likely refer to?

A．The fading memories about old tribal people.

B．The children’s ignorance of their own tradition.

C．The broken pieces of knowledge taught at school.

D．The parents’ vague understanding of their own culture.

4. What did Camake realize after the incident of Typhoon Morakot?

A．The significance of the relocation of Taiwu Elementary School.

B．The need to respect nature to avoid being destroyed by it.

C．The importance of passing on the traditional culture.

D．The consequence of building houses in the forest.

7 . 语法填空

A man looking at his Smartphone while walking across a railway    1     (have) a close knock on Oct 22. He was so    2    (absorb) in his Smartphone that he didn't see a train approaching until it brushed past him,    3    (throw) him to the ground. This should serve    4    a warning that people should be aware of their surroundings, especially    5    crossing roads.    6    (lucky), the man survived, but the incident forced the driver     7    (stop) the train. An l8-minute delay followed the incident,    8    led to a break in the running of other trains on the route.

The Smartphone    9    (addict) has spread like an infectious disease. It's evident that it will do great harm to society. What's even    10    (bad),some addicts become impatient with relatives and friends. Some people blame the Smartphone for the sad story, yet in fact people's weakening self-control and self-discipline are to blame.

8 . Do you love Beats headphones, True Religion jeans, and UGG shoes? These are some of the most popular brands (牌子) around. They are also expensive. But some experts say they are not much better than cheaper brands.

For example, Jim Wilcox works for Consumer Reports. He tested all kinds of headphones. He says that $80 Koss Pro headphones provide basically the same quality and comfort as Beats. So why do people pay twice or even 10 times as much for the hottest brands?

Experts say it’s because fashionable, expensive brands send a message. Brands say “I belong” or “I can afford it.”

Some people think that expensive brand names are worth the price. They say that some designer clothes really are top quality and that they last longer than cheaper brands. Some teenagers choose to wear popular brands because these brands make them feel good about themselves.

Alexandra Allam, 17, likes to buy brand-name products. “I’d rather spend the extra money to get something I know I’ll be satisfied with,” she says. Her friend Emmy Swan agrees, saying “As long as you can afford it, it seems reasonable to buy what you want.” But not all teenagers agree. “Spending hundreds of dollars for designer sunglasses is stupid and unreasonable,” says Daniel Steinbrecher, 16. “It’s fake (假的) happiness.”

People who are against wearing expensive brand names say that many designer brands aren’t any better. “It’s wasteful to buy things just because they are popular,” says Edmund Williams, 15. “You’ll feel better if you buy things because you like them. If you have extra money to spend, it would be better to give it to people in need.”

1. The example of Jim’s report wants to tell us _____.

A．popular brands make people comfortable

B．Koss Pro headphones are better than Beats

C．the hottest brands are of the highest quality

D．lesser-known brands may offer the same quality as name brands

2. According to experts, people choose the hottest brands probably _____.

A．to show off

B．for their better quality

C．for their better designs

D．to belong to a special group

3. What does Edmund think of expensive brands?

A．They are not worth the price.

B．They make him feel confident.

C．They need to improve their quality.

D．They pay too much attention to personal likes.

4. The text is mainly about _____.

A．how to buy things reasonably

B．the competition between brands

C．the different values of teenagers

D．whether expensive brands are worth high prices

9 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式（不多于3个单词）。
What do people do with their old, out of date but still useful computers? Most people don’t know     1    to do with them. Many old computers are put away in homes. Many more     2    (throw) away as rubbish.
Finally, some companies are thinking of ways     3    (bring) down the number of old computers. Sony has agreed to help recycle old Sony products. Dell, Hewlett Packard and other     4    (company) now also take back some old computers.
In some countries, laws have been passed, too. Computer companies have to pay for collecting and     5    (recycle) their used products. And 70% of computer waste must be recycled. The idea behind the laws     6    (be) that computer companies themselves should pay for the cost. That will encourage them to make computers     7    (easy) to repair and upgrade (升级).
Yet while many people are throwing away good computers, others cannot afford     8    at all. Hundreds of organizations are working to solve this problem. They collect and repair old computers. Some also teach others how to repair computers.     9    computers then go to schools, charities (慈善团体) and people who need them. Giving a used computer to one of these organizations can turn one person’s rubbish     10    someone else's useful things and cut down waste, too.

10 . How long can human beings live? Most scientists who study old age think that the human body is ___ to live no longer than 120 years. However, 110 years is probably the longest that anyone could hope to live — if he or she is ___ healthy and lucky. Some scientists even say we can live as long as 130 years! Yet, our cells simply cannot continue to reproduce ___. They wear out, and as a result, we get old and ___ die.

Even though we can’t live forever, we are living a ___ life than ever before. In 1900, the average American life span(寿命)was only 47 years, but today it is 75 years!

When does old age begin then? Sixty-five may be out-of-date as the ___ line between middle age and old age. After all, many older people don’t begin to experience physical and mental ___ until after age 75.

People are living longer because more people ___ childhood. Before modern medicine changed the laws of nature, many children died of common childhood ___. Now that the chances of dying ____ are much lower, the chances of living long are much higher due to better diets and health care.

On the whole, our population is getting older. The ____ in our population will have lasting effects on our social development and our way of life. Some people fear such changes will be for the worse, while some see ____, not disaster. Today, many men and women in their "golden years" are healthy, still active, and young in ____ if not in age.

As our society grows old, we need the ____ of our older citizens. With long lives ahead of them, they need to ____ active and be devoted.

1.

A．designed

B．selected

C．improved

D．discovered

2.

A．completely

B．generally

C．apparently

D．extremely

3.

A．rapidly

B．harmlessly

C．endlessly

D．separately

4.

A．eventually

B．hopelessly

C．automatically

D．desperately

5.

A．busier

B．longer

C．richer

D．happier

6.

A．finishing

B．guiding

C．waiting

D．dividing

7.

A．stress

B．damage

C．decline

D．failure

8.

A．survive

B．enjoy

C．remember

D．value

9.

A．problems

B．fears

C．worries

D．diseases

10.

A．poor

B．young

C．sick

D．quiet

11.

A．changes

B．recovery

C．safety

D．increases

12.

A．dreams

B．chances

C．strengths

D．choices

13.

A．mind

B．appearance

C．voice

D．movement

14.

A．protection

B．suggestions

C．contributions

D．permission

15.

A．sound

B．appear

C．turn

D．stay