2 . Everyone has a phone in their pocket nowadays, but how often do we really use them for their original purpose—to make a call? Telephone culture is disappearing. What brought us to this moment, and what are its effects?

“No one picks up the phone anymore,” wrote Alex C. Madrigal on The Atlantic. “The reflex(习惯性动作) of answering—20th-century telephonic culture—is gone.”

The shift is of course due in large part to more communication options: texting with photos, videos, emojis, reaction gifs, links and even voice message s can be a more attractive option.

Texting is light and fun, not nearly as demanding of your attention as a phone call. It can also be done with multiple people at the same time. Social media, email and video calls have also eaten away at traditional phone calls.

In recent years, another reason has caused people to ignore phone calls completely: robocalls. Robocalls are automate(自动化的) messages from organizations verifying(核实) your phone number or telemarketers trying to sell something. Americans received 22.8 billion robocalls halfway through 2020, equaling an annual rate of 45.6 billion, slightly below 2018 numbers, according to You Mail, a robocall protection service and blocking app.

As telephone culture disappears, what is the loss of a singular family phone   doing to the family unit? Early landline phones unified family members, whereas mobile phone s isolate(隔离) them.

“The shared family phone served as an anchor for home,” said Luke Fernandez, a Weber State University computer-science professor and co-author of Bored, Lonely, Angry, Stupid: Feelings About Technology, From the Telegraph to Twitter. “With smart phones, we have gained mobility and privacy. But the value of the home has been weakened, as has its ability to guide and monitor family behavior and perhaps connect families more closely,” Fernandez said.

Of course, as technology progresses, lives always change for better or for worse. With the loss of telephone culture, families will need to find other ways to unite.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” the old     1     (say) goes. Unfortunately, as a teenager, dark thoughts about your physical appearance can hang     2     you all the time like a rain cloud. These thoughts can have a negative effect     3     people of any shape or size, both male and female, and it is important to guard     4     the causes behind them. Standards of beauty in the media can have a big influence on     5     you think of your physical appearance. Teens try to copy the looks of their favorite stars but these standards are     6     (simple) impossible for most of the population to live up     7    . They will end up     8    (feel) worse about themselves.

Friends also influence the way you view your physical appearance. Some of your friends may be good-looking or have a great fashion sense     9     can make you feel like you are living in their shadow. They may show     10     their beautiful dresses or strong bodies online.

5 . When someone asks me what I do first thing in the morning I feel ashamed. Then, I have to shamefully admit that I turn my alarm (闹钟) off on my phone and scroll (滚屏) through WeChat. Before I’ve even had the chance to brush my teeth or wash my face I’m already right away attracted by whatever people are doing online. And I know it needs to change.

But the last time I was asked this question was about two months ago and have I changed my ways? Not even a little bit. We all know how unproductive social media (社交媒体) can be. So why is it so easy to get addicted to (沉溺于) a huge mass of pretty pictures, and funny behavior and ideas? And why is it so hard to change? Lisa Lewis, a doctor in Brookline tells me the answer is simple. “It’s because the point of these apps is to keep you looking,” she says. “They want you to buy, and get you to follow and like. Their only purpose is to win your attention.”

She says you must have a purpose when it comes to using any social media apps. “Don’t just go on and scroll.” she explains. “Just like you wouldn’t walk up to the refrigerator and stare at what’s inside for no reason, don’t do the same with social media.” If social media is reducing your productivity and overall health, Lewis offers these steps:

First, set a goal whenever you use a social media app. If you use WeChat to get inspiration to exercise, do that and then get off it. Next, you can use a timer. These days you can set a timer for how many hours a day you spend on social media. Set it and stick to it. And finally, you can create a prize to strengthen the behavior. When you set that timer and stick to it, positively strengthen the behavior with anything from tasty food, to things you’ve been eyeing on Amazon.

One incident will always come to my mind when I think of China. One day, I was off work early in my hometown in Western Nepal. I was about to leave     1     one of my friends stopped me, proudly     2    (show) a brand new phone. It     3     (fix) to his waistbelt in a beautiful case. Obviously, most of the questions targeted at him     4     (be) about this expensive looking and shining mobile phone. His exact words: “Thanks to China and its people, I could afford this phone. I don’t think we could have such cheap and excellent phones     5     them”. If not for the cheap Chinese goods, the world’s poor can’t afford to buy many things they badly need.

Over the past 70 or so years, China     6     (become) world leader. This shows that it’s possible for sing     7     country to rise from the rubble(废墟)of wars, shame and poverty. It also shows that a country’s     8    (develop) is possible when you have good plans and a strong will!

China has lifted 850 million out of absolute poverty in forty years,     9     is a great achievement in the world history. Besides, it is     10     (true) wishing to help: other poor countries to develop.

These are the reasons I love China and I want it to prosper forever.

7 . Becoming famous is the dream of many, and Tian is getting closer to that dream.

Tian, 30, is a white-collar worker in Beijing. On short video application Douyin, Tian has more than 2,000 fans. So far, she has received more than 50,000 likes on the Dubsmash-like app. On her page on Douyin, Tian shares everything, from her son’s daily activities, to her pet dogs, to little skits (段子) made up by her and her husband. “Making funny videos, and combining them with music is really interesting,” Tian said. “Of course, I make the videos for fun because it is quite relaxing.”

China’s short video market has seen great growth, according to a report. The report said that China’s short video market was valued at 5.73 billion yuan ($900 million) in 2017, an increase of 184 percent. The industry value is expected to go up to the 30 billion mark in 2020. Companies like Tencent, Sohu and Iqiyi have all started providing short video content.

“Short videos are popular because they are an addition to traditional audio and video content on the internet,” said Sun Jiashan with the Chinese National Academy of Arts.

Fans say that the short videos help them “chill out” from a stressed-out lifestyle. “My favorite videos are all about pets,” said Zhou Na, a nurse in Hefei, capital of East China’s Anhui province. “After a whole day’s work, watching the 15-second videos makes me laugh, which reduces my pressure.”

8 . You know the feeling — you have left your phone at home and feel anxious, as if you have lost your connection to the world. “Nomophobia” (无手机恐惧症) affects teenagers and adults alike. You can even do an online test to see if you have it. Last week, researchers from Hong Kong warned that nomophobia is infecting everyone. Their study found that people who use their phones to store, share and access personal memories suffer most. When users were asked to describe how they felt about their phones, words such as “hurt” (neck pain was often reported) and “alone” predicted higher levels of nomophobia.

“The findings of our study suggest that users regard smartphones as their extended selves and get attached to the devices,” said Dr Kim Ki Joon. “People experience feelings of anxiety and unpleasantness when separated from their phones.” Meanwhile, an American study shows that smartphone separation can lead to an increase in heart rate and blood pressure.

So can being without your phone really give you separation anxiety? Professor Mark Griffiths, psychologist and director of the International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University, says it is what is on the phone that counts — the social networking that creates Fomo (fear of missing out).

“We are talking about an Internet-connected device that allows people to deal with lots of aspects of their lives,” says Griffiths. “You would have to surgically remove a phone from a teenager because their whole life is ingrained in this device.”

Griffiths thinks attachment theory, where we develop emotional dependency on the phone because it holds details of our lives, is a small part of nomophobia. For “screenagers”, it is Fomo that creates the most separation anxiety. If they can’t see what’s happening on WeChat or Weibo, they become panic-stricken about not knowing what’s going on socially. “But they adapt very quickly if you take them on holiday and there’s no Internet,” says Griffiths.

Nowadays, more and more parents pay great attention to their children. However, we find     1     common that parents and children lack communication.

More than one reason contributes    2    the problem.

To begin with,the reason why parents spend    3    (little) time with their children is that the heavier social pressure often makes children    4     (ignore) by them. The second, although parents want to talk with their children, some of them don’t know much about the skills in communication or the necessary knowledge of education, which will have a big effect     5     communication. However, the most important reason may be the    6    (tradition) ideas of authority (权威) most parents have. Thus, when     7    (face) the children,parents are not     8     (like) to communicate with them as friends.

To sum up, the solution concerning the problem    9     (be) to diminish (减小) the gap between parents and children. Therefore, in order to make a better atmosphere     10     the children grow up, the parents should ensure the stability (稳定) of the family and act as good friends to the children.