1 . Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends. Is this a good thing? Sometimes, when Mr. Ballmer and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk about interests both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager.
“I would never have said to my mom, ‘Hey, the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?” says Ballmer. “There was just a complete gap in taste.”Music was not the only gulf. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectations, earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to move in separate orbits.
Today, the generation gap(代沟) has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families. Conversations on subjects such as sex and drugs would not have taken place a generation ago. Now they are comfortable and common. And parent-child activities, from shopping to sports, involve a feeling of trust and friendship that can continue into adulthood. No wonder greeting cards today carry the message, “To my mother, my best friend.”
But family experts warn that the new equality (平等) can also result in less respect for parents. “There’s still a lot strictness and authority (权威) on the part of parents out there, but there is a change happening,” says Kerrie, a psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College, “In the middle of that change, there is a lot of confusion among parents.”
Family researchers offer a variety of reasons for these changing roles and attitudes. They see the 1960s as a turning point. Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic process that encourages everyone to have a say.
“My parents were on the ‘before’ side of that change, but today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the ‘after’ side,” explains Mr. Ballmer. “It’s not something easily accomplished by parents these days, because life is more difficult to understand or deal with, but sharing interests does make it more fun to be a parent now.”
1. The underlined word “gulf” in Para. 3 most probably means ________.| A．interest | B．problem | C．difference | D．habit |
| A．Parents help their children develop interests in more activities. |
| B．Parents put more trust in their children’s abilities. |
| C．Parents and children talk less about sex and drugs. |
| D．Parents share more interests with their children. |
| A．Less confusion among parents |
| B．New equality between parents and children |
| C．More respect for parents from children |
| D．More strictness and authority on the part of parents |
| A．describe the difficulties today’s parents have met with |
| B．discuss the change of the parent-child relationship |
| C．suggest the ways to handle the parent-child relationship |
| D．stress the importance of parent-child relationship |
2 . The Global Food Donation Policy Atlas has issued a recent report in order to recommend ways to increase food donations, reduce food waste, and fight hunger, which may help Kenyan leaders meet 2030 food waste reduction goals.
Food donation can reroute eatable food — that would otherwise give off greenhouse gasses in a landfill — to those experiencing hunger. According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, 3.5 million Kenyans, roughly 37 percent of the population, face severe hunger. At the same time, the Policy Atlas reports roughly 40 percent of food produced within Kenya goes to waste. But Broad Leib, Deputy Director of Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC), sees some promising changes. “While progress is not happening as quickly as needed, Kenya’s food loss index has been steadily (稳步地) reduced from 1,744 metric tons in 2017, to 1,531 in 2018, to 1,446 metric tons in 2019, indicating a steady improvement and national commitment to food loss reduction,” reports Broad Leib.
According to the Policy Atlas, motivating food donation with rewards is particularly important, which helps food donors and food recovery organizations make up for costs necessary for recovery, storing, processing, and transporting food for donation.
“A major driver of food waste is inconsistent or unclear date labels that cause confusion among all actors along the value chain and limit the ability of businesses to donate food. This increases the likelihood that much safe food will go to waste,” Broad Leib tells Food Tank. However, he acknowledges Kenya’s current dual (双的) date labeling laws. While food may lose its freshness over time, it is still edible before expiration (到期). Dual date labeling on packaged foods reduces confusion by defining dates for both safety and quality. This helps reduce considerable waste and responsibility for donors.
Broad Leib believes that the private sector can also play a significant role in decreasing food waste in Kenya. It is vital for consumer education campaigns. FLPC’s research shows that public-private initiatives can help raise awareness among consumers and donors around issues of food waste and food donation.
1. What changes does Broad Leib see?| A．People in Kenya no longer suffer hunger. |
| B．Kenya has gradually reduced its food waste. |
| C．Kenya is not committed to reducing food loss. |
| D．Progress in reducing food waste is happening quickly. |
| A．Delicious. | B．Convenient. | C．Eatable. | D．Affordable. |
| A．By increasing storehouses. |
| B．By fighting hunger with rewards. |
| C．By reducing food produced within the country. |
| D．By using double date labeling on packaged food. |
| A．Private and public joint efforts matter around food issues. |
| B．Consumer education campaigns are the most important. |
| C．Only the private sector is helpful in reducing food waste. |
| D．Broad Leib doesn’t agree with FLPC on food waste reduction. |
3 . I decided to write the article on British Sign Language (BSL) being taught in school. This is because both of my parents are completely deaf which means they can’t hear at all and another reason I decided to do this topic is because I have realised how much of a problem it has become.
It might come to a surprise to learn that nearly all communication is non-verbal (非语言的) and only a little bit is verbal. Over half of the non-verbal communication is body language. Deaf pupils often struggle (挣扎) in school because they can’t get proper help from their teachers as they might not understand each other.
Sign Language is a language that uses hand gestures and body language. These are different ways of communication that deaf or hard of hearing people use to communicate with people. Some deaf people are what you might call “mute”, which means they use Sign Language but don’t use speech. Other deaf people may use speech, most of whom either use hearing aids or have a cochlear implant (人工耳蜗) which can help them hear.
By teaching BSL it would open doors for the deaf community and it would reduce a lot of language barriers (障碍) between deaf and hearing people. The more people learning BSL through education means that it would give deaf people more options for further education and good jobs. By teaching Sign Language in school it can help deaf awareness (意识). With young people growing up and learning it together there wouldn’t be a problem with getting jobs.
I think that deaf awareness is better than it used to be but it still isn’t good enough. In the end teaching Sign Language will be the best for everyone. There would be less language barriers, which means communication will be easier between hearing people and deaf people.
1. What made the author write the text?| A．His own hearing problem. | B．The difficulty of the deaf. |
| C．The school’s sincere invitation. | D．His parents’ encouragement. |
| A．They are too shy to ask for help. |
| B．Their classmates use body language. |
| C．Their teachers are unwilling to help them. |
| D．They have difficulty communicating with others. |
| A．We should offer deaf people good jobs. |
| B．Schools should teach British Sign Language. |
| C．Schools should provide further education for the deaf. |
| D．Young people should learn more about Sign Language. |
| A．It is nearly close to success. | B．It still needs to be improved. |
| C．It isn’t understood by hearing people. | D．It’s bad for breaking language barriers. |
4 . A good vegan milk (纯素奶) needs to look like milk and taste like milk, whether it contains fat or not. Vegan milk is only one example in the growing types of plant-based alternatives (替代品) to animal products, such as meat, cheese, eggs and fish. Burger King and McDonald’s sell vegan pies. Last year the world’s largest producer of canned tuna, Thai Union, began to sell a plant-based product. Growing sales show the growing taste for this type of food, which means alternative proteins have come a long way since 1980s.
Producing techniques have been improved, resulting in better products and lower prices of them, which meet the needs of a growing number of people. Some vegetarians say no to meat, but yes to fish. Some people are trying to cut fat for health reasons. Fitness lovers want to develop muscular mass and strength without building up fat. Concerns about animal rights and greenhouse gas from raising livestock (家畜) are driving the environmentalists to limit their intake of animal-based proteins. As is reported, producing a gram of beef gives off 25 times the amount of greenhouse gas as producing a gram of tofu.
However, plant-based proteins are a tough sell in giant markets like India, where diets are already plant-rich, or Nigeria, where meat-eating is a sign of being rich. That limits their global popularity. What’s more, animal products, including milk and meat, are better for children’s bone development, though lab-grown meat and dairy are becoming more nutritious.
All this suggests that alternative proteins have far to go to replace the animal kind. Plant-based foods may no longer be only a side dish in diets, but their makers’ place as the main dish is another matter.
1. Why does the author mention vegan milk in the first paragraph?| A．To encourage a healthy diet. |
| B．To show people’s growing taste. |
| C．To stress the importance of milk. |
| D．To introduce the topic of the passage. |
| A．Ways to meet the needs of people. |
| B．Benefits of animal-based products. |
| C．Results of improved producing techniques. |
| D．Reasons for choosing plant-based products. |
| A．Indian Diets are rich in plant. |
| B．Eating meat means being rich. |
| C．Plant-based products are produced in labs. |
| D．Plant-based products are bad for children. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Objective. | D．Unclear. |
The Internet is an
| A．He was rescued on the 16th floor. | B．He pressed the wrong button. | C．He got stuck in the lift. |
7 . While teenagers who are at risk of depression with risky behaviors — drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and cutting classes often alert parents and teachers that serious problems are brewing, a new study finds that there’s another group of adolescents who are in nearly as much danger of experiencing the same mental symptoms.
These teens use tons of media, get insufficient sleep and have a sedentary (不爱活动的) lifestyle. Of course, that may sound like a description of every teenager on the planet. But the study wars that it is teenagers who engage in all three of these practices in the extreme that are truly in a dangerous position. Because their behaviors are not usually seen as a red flag, these young people have been called the “invisible risk” group by the study’s authors.
The study’s authors surveyed 15,395 students and analyzed nine risk behaviors, including excessive alcohol use, illegal drug use, heavy smoking and high media use. Their aim was to determine the relationship between these risk behaviors and mental health issues in teenagers. The group that scored high on all nine of the risk behaviors was most likely to show symptoms of depression; in all, nearly 15% of this group reported being depressed, compared with just 4% of the low-risk group. But the invisible group wasn’t far behind the high-risk set, with more than 13% of them exhibiting depression.
The findings caught Carli off guard. “We didn’t expect that,” he says. “The high-risk group and low-risk group are obvious, but this third group was not only unexpected. It was so distinct and so larger — nearly one third of our sample — that it became a key finding of the study.”
Carli says that one of the most significant things about his study is that it provides new early warning signs for parents, teachers and mental health-care providers. And early identifications, support and treatment for mental health issues, he says, are the best ways to keep them from turning into full-blown disorders.
1. Which teenager probably belongs to the “invisible group”?| A．A teenager who drinks frequently. | B．A teenager who exercises regularly. |
| C．A teenager who skips school. | D．A teenager who suffers from a lack of sleep. |
| A．It was conducted by analyzing and comparing the previous data. |
| B．It was intended to dig into the reasons for depression. |
| C．It revealed an alarming rate of the invisible group suffering depression. |
| D．Its findings were under expectation of the research team. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Positive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．introduce a new therapy for teens’ mental disorder |
| B．war about the unobserved signals for teens’ mental problems |
| C．share a novel psychological experiment with teens |
| D．caution teens against developing unhealthy habits |
Japan said on Tuesday that it had decided to
The
“The Japanese government ignores concerns and strong opposition both at home and abroad. Such an
Greenpeace(绿色和平组织)criticized Japan’s plan and said there are other solutions that should
9 . Twenty-five years ago, most young Britons wanted a job in law, to be a doctor, or, if they were creative enough, to take up singing. But today, things stand differently.
According to a research by Tesco Mobile, a UK company, the “dream job” of young people aged between 16 and 25 in the UK is a video blogger, or “vlogger”. The research, carried out among 1, 002 people, found that as much as 40 percent of them put vlogger as their number one choice on a list of ideal careers.
This change is undoubtedly as a result of the Internet and social media. They have made it so much easier to reach audience around the world, without having to enter a career in show business in the traditional way.
In the past, the biggest stars were trained by the Hollywood studios; now, anyone with a computer camera can become a star. Vloggers are the big stars of today because they are normal people interacting with their fans about everyday life.
However, what people see is only the bright side of being a vlogger and they fail to notice the fact that only those who are successful earn fame and money. For every success there are hundreds of others who never get off the starting line. There are the dreams that come true and the dreams that remain dreams forever.
Although being vloggers is popular, some young people choose to follow careers that don’t necessarily earn them fame, but allow them to make good use of the Internet to share their hobbies. Young Israeli David Leshaw, for example, runs a business called the Finishers Club. It’s an online platform for runners to keep a record of their races. His job allows him to express his fun and is always a learning experience. And that’s enough for him.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．Most young Britons choose to be vloggers as their job. |
| B．The Internet is influencing young Britons’ career choice. |
| C．The Internet is taking the place of traditional studios. |
| D．Young Britons cannot find jobs without the Internet. |
| A．Vloggers can earn more fame and money on the Internet. |
| B．There is too much competition in the traditional show business. |
| C．The Internet makes it convenient to enter show business. |
| D．Anyone with a computer will surely become a star. |
| A．Only a few vloggers can be famous and wealthy. |
| B．A vlogger cannot earn fame and fortune. |
| C．All vloggers start at the same starting line. |
| D．Dreams will always remain dreams. |
| A．Learn from others. | B．Become an online hit. |
| C．Hold running races. | D．Combine jobs with hobbies. |
10 . After their business trip, John and Mary returned, eager to see their lovely children. As they drove into their hometown feeling glad to be back, they noticed
But John
But John drove up and stopped and they were both horror-stricken to see the whole house in
In spite of Mary’s disagreement, John
The baby-sitter had left them at this home while she did some shopping.
1.| A．direction | B．mistake | C．danger | D．smoke |
| A．home | B．plant | C．store | D．kitchen |
| A．ran | B．walked | C．drove | D．rode |
| A．at | B．off | C．to | D．on |
| A．whispered | B．nodded | C．disagreed | D．required |
| A．ruins | B．pieces | C．flames | D．silence |
| A．pushed | B．seized | C．greeted | D．stopped |
| A．basement | B．department | C．house | D．hall |
| A．went | B．reached | C．asked | D．rushed |
| A．heavily | B．slightly | C．partly | D．terribly |
| A．If | B．As | C．Since | D．Unless |
| A．comforted | B．delivered | C．recognized | D．protected |
| A．cheering | B．freezing | C．waiting | D．suffering |
| A．many | B．several | C．three | D．two |
| A．dangerous | B．foolish | C．practical | D．painful |
| A．Therefore | B．So | C．Instead | D．But |
| A．wide | B．endless | C．narrow | D．dirty |
| A．particular | B．interesting | C．familiar | D．fortunate |
| A．car | B．sunlight | C．crowd | D．arms |
| A．rescued | B．found | C．lost | D．missed |
