1 . China has set new rules limiting the amount of time children can play online games. The rules limit children to just three hours of online game playing a week. That is one hour between 8 p. m. and 9 p. m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday most weeks.
Li Zhanguo has two children aged 4 and 8. Even though they do not have smartphones, they enjoy playing online games. Like many other parents. Li is happy with new government rules. But experts say it is unclear if such policies can help prevent addiction to online games. Children might just get addicted to social media instead. In the end, experts say, parents should be the ones to set limits and support good practice.
There has been a growing concern in China about gaming addiction among children. Government reports in 2018 found that about one in ten Chinese children were addicted to the Internet. The new rules are part of an effort to prevent young people from spending too much time on unhealthy entertainment. That includes what officials call the “irrational fan culture”
Under the new rules, the responsibility for making sure children play only three hours a day as largely on Chinese gaming companies like Net Ease and Ten cent. Companies have set up real-name registration systems to prevent young users from going past game time limits. They have used facial recognition technology to check their identities. And they have also set up a program that permits people to report what is against the law. It is unclear what punishments gaming companies may face if they do not carry out the policies. And even if such policies are performed, it is also unclear whether they can prevent online addiction.
A specialist treating Internet addiction expects about 20 percent of children will find ways to break the rules by borrowing accounts of their older relatives and find a way around facial recognition. In his opinion, short-video alps such as Douyin and Kuaishou are also very popular in China. They are not under the same restrictions as games.
1. When can children play games according to the new rules?A.Between 8 p. m. and 9 p. m. On Friday. | B.Between 8 p. m. and 9 p. m. On Tuesday. |
C.Between 10 p. m. and 11 p. m. On Saturday. | D.Between 10 p. m. and all p. m. On Thursday. |
A.the new rules can stop children’s addiction to social media |
B.companies are more responsible for kids ‘ obeying the rules |
C.the new rules will help prevent children playing online games |
D.parents play a greater part in limiting the time of online games |
A.Design an advanced program. | B.Use facial recognition systems. |
C.Set up real-name registration systems. | D.Borrow accounts of their older relatives. |
A.Rules Limiting Short-video alps | B.Rules Limiting Video Game Time |
C.Rules Banning Irrational Fan Culture | D.Rules Breaking Addition to Social Media |
2 . The rate of childhood obesity in the U. S. has tripled over the past 50 years. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) made waves this year by recommending that doctors put obese kids as young as two years old on intensive, family-oriented lifestyle and behavior plans. It also suggested prescribing weight-loss drugs to children l2 and older and surgery to teens 13 and older. This advice reflects the organization’s adoption of a more active position on childhood obesity.
Yet the lifestyle programs the AAP recommends are expensive, inaccessible to most children and hard to maintain. Few weight-loss drugs have been approved for children. And surgery has potential risks and few long-term safety data. Furthermore, it’s not clear whether interventions in youngsters help to improve health or merely add to the psychological burden overweight kids face from the society.
Rather than paying close attention to numbers on a scale, the U. S. and countries with similar trends should focus on an underlying truth: we need to invest in more and safer places for children to play where they can move and run around, climb and jump, ride and skate.
Why is it so hard to get kids moving? Experts blame the problem on the privatization of sports — as public investment in school-based athletics dwindles, expensive private leagues have grown, leaving many kids out. In addition to fewer opportunities at school, researchers cite increased screen time and a lack of safe places for them to play outside the home. New York City, for example, had 2,067 public playgrounds as of 2019 — a very small amount for its large population. In Los Angeles in 2015, only 33 percent of youths lived within walking distance of a park.
Kids everywhere need more places to play. Public funding to build and keep up these areas is crucial, but other options such as shared-use agreements can make unused spaces available to the public. These opportunities aren’t primarily about changing children’s waistlines — they’re how we keep childhood healthy and fun.
1. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?A.Childhood obesity is well under control in recent years. |
B.Weight-loss surgery are recommended to children 12 and older. |
C.AAP plays a more active role in fighting against childhood obesity. |
D.Expensive as it is, lifestyle programs are practical for most children. |
A.decline | B.quit | C.increase | D.develop |
A.Prepare fitness equipment at home. |
B.Live within walking distance of a park. |
C.Promote investment in private athletics. |
D.Open up playgrounds when school’s out. |
A.Sports play an important role in children’s growth. |
B.More safe areas for outdoor fun are in urgent need. |
C.Family-oriented lifestyles are crucial to children’s health. |
D.Medical intervention is important to ease psychological burden. |
Many parents don’t know how much exercise their children need to do every day to stay
The Youth Sport Trust leader, Ali Oliver said, “We have seen a drop in young people’s physical activity in recent
Meanwhile, figures from Sport England show only 17.5% of children are doing sports continuously. There is also a
This week thousands of people will get together
4 . Thirteen-year-old Kaylee has a lot of friends — 532, actually, if you count up her online friends. And she spends a lot of time with them.
But is it possible that Kaylee’s online friendships could be making her lonely? That’s what some experts believe. Connecting online is a great way to stay in touch, they say. However, some experts worry that many kids are so busy connecting online that they might be missing out on true friendships.
Could this be true? During your parents’ childhoods, connecting with friends usually meant spending time with them in the flesh. Kids played Scrabble around a table, not Words With Friends on their phones. When friends missed each other, they picked up the telephone. Friends might even write letters to each other.
Today, most communication takes place online. A typical teen sends 2,000 texts a month and spends more than 44 hours per week in front of a screen. Much of this time is spent on social media platforms (平台).
In fact, in many ways, online communication can make friendships stronger, “There’s definitely a positive influence. Kids can stay in constant contact, which means they can share more of their feelings with each other,” says Katie Davis, co-author of The App Generation.
Other experts, however, warn that too much online communication can get in the way of forming deep friendships. “If we are constantly checking in with our virtual words, we will have little time for our real-world friendships.” says Larry Rosen, a professor at California State University. Rosen also worries that today’s kids might mistake the “friends” on the social media for true friends in life. However, in tough times, you don’t need someone to like your picture or share your blogs. You need someone who will keep your secrets and hold your hand. You would like to talk face to face.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?A.To summarize the text. | B.To tell about true friends. |
C.To bring up a discussion. | D.To encourage online friendship. |
A.In person. | B.In advance. | C.In any case. | D.In full measure. |
A.Worried. | B.Positive. | C.Confused. | D.Unconcerned. |
A.It’s wise to turn to friends online. |
B.It’s easier to develop friendships in reality. |
C.Social media help people stay closely connected. |
D.Teenagers need focus on real-world friendships. |
5 .
Cheating can happen in a lot of different ways.When people cheat,it’s not fair to other people,like the kids who studied for the test or who the true winners of a game were.
Many people like the action of cheating.In their opinion,it makes difficult things seem easy,like getting all the right answers on the test.But it doesn't solve the problem of not knowing the material and it won't help on the next test—unless the person cheats again.
Some people lose respect for cheaters and think less of them.The cheaters themselves may feel bad because they know they shouldn't get that good grade.And,if they get caught cheating,they will be in trouble at school,and maybe at home,too.
Some kids cheat because they're busy or lazy and they want to get good grades without spending the time studying.Other kids might feel like they can’t pass the test without cheating.Even when there seems to be a “good reason” for cheating,cheating isn’t a good idea.
If you were sick or upset about something the night before the day and couldn’t study,it would be better to talk with the teacher about this.And if you don’t have enough time to study for a test because of swim practice,you need to talk with your parents about how to balance swimming and school.A kid who thinks cheating is the only way to pass a test needs to talk with the teacher and his or her parents so they can find some solutions together.Talking about these problems and working them out will feel better than cheating.
1. What does the author think when kids cheat in class?A.It is unfair to other people. |
B.It does harm to their health. |
C.Teachers should punish them. |
D.Teachers shouldn't stop them at once. |
A.Because they think the material in the test is very difficult. |
B.Because they want to do better than the others. |
C.Because cheating can make hard things seem very easy. |
D.Because they have little time to study their lessons. |
A.Some kids can’t pass the test without cheating. |
B.Why kids cheat in the test. |
C.Cheating isn’t a good idea. |
D.Some kids don't spend the time studying. |
A.Cheaters are often thought highly of. |
B.People show no respect for those who cheat. |
C.Parents whose kids cheat are often in trouble. |
D.Kids cheat in the test because of swim practice. |
6 . Park, a 30-year-old Korean housewife, recently took a personality test to figure out who she is. “Just like many other people, I don’t exactly know who I am,” she told The Korea Times. “Sometimes I am curious what makes me feel good or bad. I’ve taken several different types of tests to know myself better and the MBTI is one that I tried recently.” In Korea, the MBTI personality test has become the newest trend, particularly among millennials (千禧一代).
MBTI, which stands for Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, is a personality test. People answer a questionnaire based on a personality theory. A Hankook survey taken last December found that over half of Koreans have taken the MBTI test. Nine out of every 10 people aged between 19 and 28 responded they took the test. Meanwhile, for those who had never been involved in the test, three quarters showed strong interest, indicating the personality type test has become a phenomenon for younger generations.
The MBTI craze among the younger generation, who are struggling with an uncertain future, reflects their desire for acceptance and comfort in knowing there are like-minded people out there. “The country has limited resources and geography, while its people feature a certain devotion and goal-oriented (目标导向型的) characteristic,” said Lee Myung-jin, a professor of sociology at Korea University. Consequently, they have grown eager on various personality indicators that provide them comfort.
As MBTI has gone viral among younger Koreans, businesses and media have begun to promote products using the personality test. But such MBTI-based marketing strategies have annoyed some younger people who don’t rely on the results of the test. However, experts agree that the popularity of the test also brings some positive implications. “I believe we’re in a transition period,” Kim Jae hyoung, a head researcher of the Korea MBTI institute said. “This trend could develop a social acceptance and affection for mental guidance in the future.”
1. What’s the text mainly about?A.A social phenomenon. | B.A disturbing crisis. |
C.A young generation | D.A commercial test. |
A.To give an example. | B.To establish the context. |
C.To make a contrast. | D.To introduce the woman. |
A.75% of them have taken the MBTI test while the rest have not. |
B.They can secure a more definite future with the help of the test. |
C.The trend reflects their inner desire to seek a sense of belonging. |
D.The test serves as a handy approach for them to know more people. |
A.The new trend brings about more harm than good. |
B.Young Koreans should focus on their businesses. |
C.Experts need to put efforts in adapting the test. |
D.The test opens a window for mental guidance. |
As a parent, I’m torn by society’s love affair with phones. On the one hand, it’s awesome to be able to know that our kids have a means of
So I often think whether kids
According to
So what’s your opinion? Ban phones and leave kids without a means of communication,
With the development of modern technology, people can stay
Once joining the WeChat, people can find more and more people start to add them
However, addiction to WeChat will rob people of the time that should otherwise
9 . An idea that started in Seattle’s public library has spread throughout America and beyond. The concept is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time.
In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit (追求) to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools. The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched the “If All of Seattle Read the Same Book” project in 1998. Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong Kong.
In Chicago, the mayor (市长) appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the “One Book, One Chicago” program. As a result, reading clubs and neighborhood groups sprang up around the city. Across the US, it appeared that parents and children read to each other at night and strangers chatted away on the bus about the stories and character.
The only problem arose in New York, where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse (多样的) population. This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity can be achieved or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point, putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.
Finally, as Nancy points out, the level of success is not judged by how many people read a book, but by how many people are benefited by the process, or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not have shared a word.
1. What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy?A.To invite authors to guide readers. | B.To encourage people to read and share. |
C.To involve people in community service. | D.To promote the friendship between cities. |
A.They had little interest in reading. |
B.They were too busy to read a book. |
C.They came from many different backgrounds. |
D.They lacked support from the local government. |
A.communicated with each other | B.discussed the meaning of a word |
C.gained life experience | D.used the same language |
A.the careful selection of a proper book |
B.the growing popularity of the writers |
C.the number of people who benefit from reading |
D.the number of books that each person reads |
10 . The idea of low material desire, low consumption and refusing to work, marry and have children, concluded as a “lying down” lifestyle, recently struck a chord with many young Chinese who are eager to take pause to breathe in this fast-paced and highly-competitive society.
Many millennials (千禧一代) and generation Zs complained to the Global Times that burdens, including work stress, family disputes and financial strains, have pushed them “against the wall”. They said they hate the “involution(内卷),” joking that they would rather give up some of what they have than get trapped in an endless competition against peers.
“Instead of always following the ‘virtues’ of struggle, endure and sacrifice to bear the stresses, they prefer a temporary lying down as catharsis (宣泄) and adjustment,” said a scholar. “It is no wonder that some young people, under the growing pressures from child-raising to paying the mortgage (按揭) today, would try to live in a simple way and leave the worries behind.”
Interestingly, the majority of millennials and Gen Zs reached by the Global Times, who claim to be big fans of the lying down philosophy, acknowledged that they only accept a temporary lying down as a short rest. It is true that with the great improvement of living conditions, some Chinese youth have partially lost the spirit of hardship and are not willing to bear too much hard work. But in fact, lying down is not entirely comfortable. Young people who lie down always feel guilty about their constant loss of morale (士气) far beyond their reach.
“Young people on campus have both aspirations and confusion about their future, but most of us have rejected setting ourselves up in chains to waste opportunities and challenges,” a postgraduate student told the Global Times. “It’s no use running away. I have to ‘stand up’ and face the reality sooner or later.”
1. What does the underlined phrase in paragraph 1 mean?A.Warned. | B.Punished. | C.Amused. | D.Touched. |
A.Improvements in living conditions. |
B.Growing pressure from family and social life. |
C.Increasing material possessions from families. |
D.Temporary adjustment to failure in competitions. |
A.Understanding. | B.Intolerant. | C.Supportive. | D.Unclear. |
A.They never really drop their responsibilities. |
B.They really enjoy the “lying down” lifestyle. |
C.They find their dreams far beyond their reach. |
D.They would rather escape than take challenges. |