1 . Is there a link between social media and depression? Do Facebook and Instagram have a negative impact on your mental health? It’s complicated.
Sometimes, looking through Instagram just makes you feel bad. You try not to envy your friends, but they always seem to be traveling somewhere cool, eating something fancy, or looking cute in perfect just-rolled-out-of-bed hair. On the other hand, there are times when you laugh at funny memes (表情包), catch up with old friends, and feel happy to belong to fun social media communities. Clearly, social media isn’t all bad.
People are increasingly suspecting that there’re potential problems of social media. Things like cyberbullying (网上欺凌) , screen addiction, and being exposed to endless filtered images (美颜) that make it impossible not to make comparisons between yourself and others often make the news. In July, a big study came out in the journal JAMA titled “Association of Screen Time and Depression in Adolescence.” This big headline seems to confirm what a lot of people have been saying — screen time is horrible for young people.
The study followed over 3,800 adolescents over four years as part of a drug and alcohol prevention program. Part of what the investigators measured was the teens’ amount of screen time, including time spent on social media, as well as their levels of depression symptoms. One of their main findings was that higher amounts of social media use were associated with higher levels of depression. That was true both when the researches compared between people and compared each person against their own mental health over time.
Case closed? Not so fast. Before we end the debate once and for all, let’s take a closer look at this and other studies. Let’s ask ourselves: what exactly is the relationship between social media use and depression? It turns out there are several warnings.
1. Why do people sometimes feel bad when looking through Instagram?| A．They lack contact with old friends. | B．They can travel nowhere. |
| C．They don’t look perfect. | D．They feel unbalanced. |
| A．To comment. | B．To prove. | C．To suggest. | D．To explore. |
| A．Depression is related to social media use. |
| B．Teens’ amount of screen time is limited. |
| C．It is not easy to tell reasons for depression. |
| D．Social media contributes to physical health. |
| A．How to reduce depression? | B．Does social media cause depression? |
| C．Shall people reduce screen time? | D．Why is it time to give up social media? |
2 . A man with advanced Parkinson’s disease (帕金森氏症) is now able to walk almost normally again thanks to electrodes implanted (电极植入) in his spinal cord (脊椎), researchers said on Monday. The medical first was achieved by Swiss researchers who had previously pioneered similar breakthroughs to help disabled people walk again.
“This could be a game-changing technology to help bring back movement in people with advanced Parkinson’s,” said David Dexter, research director at Parkinson’s UK.
Marc Gauthier, the 62-year-old patient who lives in France, has suffered from the brain disorder for about 30 years. Like more than 90 percent of people with advanced Parkinson’s, Mar c has had great difficulty walking. What are known as “freezing” experiences — during which patients are unable to move for a limited time, putting them at risk of falling — are particularly awful, Marc told AFP.
Much remains unknown about Parkinson’s disease, making treatment difficult. But the disease can seriously affect the lives of patients, sometimes keeping them to bed or a wheelchair. So when the opportunity came to go through an operation in Switzerland, Marc gladly accepted the chance.
“Now I can do whatever I want,” Marc says. “I can go for a walk and go out shopping by myself.” He adds that he can now walk much more easily — he is even planning a trip to Brazil — but it still requires concentration, particularly when climbing upstairs.
The Swiss team, led by surgeon Jocelyne Bloch and neuroscientist Gregoire Courtine , implanted a complex system of electrodes called a “neuroprosthesis (神经假体)” at important points along Marc’s spinal cord. The neuroprosthesis was first tested on animals, and then implanted in Marc, who has used it for roughly eight hours a day over nearly two years.
The Swiss team has expanded their experiment to a group of six Parkinson’s patients, aiming to know how it could help others, given the disease affects people in different ways. However, treatment using the implant could be quite expensive, potentially limiting how many patients would have access.
1. What is David Dexter’s attitude to the Swiss breakthrough?| A．Unconcerned. | B．Doubtful. | C．Positive. | D．Unclear. |
| A．Volunteer as a tour guide in Brazil. | B．Run to his heart’s content. |
| C．Go to the supermarket alone. | D．Make a phone call while climbing the stairs. |
| A．It was first tested on Marc Gauthier. | B．It is hardly affordable for ordinary people. |
| C．It has been performed on many patients. | D．It was done by researchers in the UK. |
| A．A Spinal Implant Allows a Parkinson’s Patient to Walk Again |
| B．Parkinson’s Patients Have to Deal With Difficulties in Life |
| C．Swiss Experts Have Created a Drug to Treat Parkinson’s |
| D．New Technology Prevents People From Developing Parkinson’s |
3 . Are you pessimistic by nature? Well, it’s not good for your brain. A new study has found that repeated negative thinking in later life is linked to cognitive(认知) decline and greater deposits(沉积) of two harmful proteins responsible for Alzheimer’s disease(阿尔茨海默病).
Negative thinking behaviors, such as reflection about the past and worry about the future, were measured in more than 350 people over the age of 55 over a two-year period. About a third of the participants also had a brain scan to measure deposits of proteins, which cause Alzheimer’s disease. The scans showed that people who spent more time thinking negatively had more harmful proteins, worse memory and greater cognitive decline than people who were not pessimists.
The study also tested for levels of anxiety and depression and found greater cognitive decline in depressed and anxious people, which agrees with previous research. But proteins did not increase in people who were already depressed and anxious, leading researchers to suspect that repeated negative thinking might be the main reason why depression and anxiety lead to Alzheimer’s disease.
“This is the first study showing a biological relationship between repeated negative thinking and Alzheimer’s disease, and gives physicians a more precise way to assess risk and offer treatment,” said neurologist Dr. Richard Isaacson. “This study will change the way I care for my patients at risk.”
Fiona Carragher, who is chief policy and research officer at the Alzheimer’s Society in London, pointed out that this isn’t saying that a short-term period of negative thinking will cause Alzheimer’s disease. “Most of the people in the study were already identified as being at higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” she added. “so we need more research to see if these results exist within the general population.”
1. What does the study show?| A．Negative thinking removes harmful proteins in brain. |
| B．Optimistic people have better cognitive ability. |
| C．Alzheimer’s disease leads to worse memory. |
| D．Continuous pessimism may result in Alzheimer’s disease. |
| A．Constant negative thinking may cause depressed people to get Alzheimer’s disease. |
| B．Long-term negative thinking is the reason for cognitive decline. |
| C．Alzheimer’s disease probably results in the increase in harmful proteins. |
| D．Anxiety and depression are the main causes of Alzheimer’s disease. |
| A．Neutral. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Negative. | D．Uncaring. |
| A．The research needs to be further improved. |
| B．The study will provide a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. |
| C．The following research will focus on short-term negative thinking. |
| D．The general population has a lower risk of having Alzheimer’s disease. |
1. 表示关心和同情；
2. 提出合理化建议；
3. 表达愿望和祝福。
注意:1.词数80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear John,
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sincerely yours,
Li Hua
5 . How to Help a Friend with Depression
If you have a friend who is suffering from depression, you may be unsure about what you should do to help. There are several ways that you can help a friend with depression.
As soon as you suspect that your friend is suffering from depression, you should encourage him or her to see a doctor. Your friend may be denying that there is a problem or maybe even embarrassed to admit that there is a problem. The extra encouragement of a friend may be all that your friend needs to seek help.
Supporting your friend
Depression can make people feel isolated and like no one cares. Even if you have shown your concern by doing things to help your friend, he or she may need to hear you say that you are there for them in order to believe it. Let your friend know that you are available.
Depression can also make a person feel worthless, but you can use encouraging words to support your friend until your friend remembers his or her worth again.
Moving beyond depression with your friend
As your friend begins to feel better, keep your friend moving beyond depression by planning some fun outings.
| A．Those who laugh last laugh best. |
| B．Choose activities that you both enjoy. |
| C．Encouraging your friend to talk to you. |
| D．Helping your friend get treatment for depression. |
| E．Laughter is known as the best medicine for a reason. |
| F．Therefore, they can contact you right away if they need you. |
| G．You could say, “You are such a gifted artist. I really admire your talent.” |
6 . What is a hero? We may think of the fictional characters with supernatural powers or great people who can influence world events. Now, as the nation continues its all-out efforts to fight against the novel coronavirus pneumonia(COVID-19), medical staff have become heroes in the eyes of the public.
As of Feb 19, a total of 32,000 medical staff outside Hubei province have been working to treat patients around the center of the outbreak.
Zhang Dingyu, the president of Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, is one of these heroes. Since the hospital received the first seven patients in December, Zhang has been so busy that he barely gets any sleep. Even suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (肌萎缩侧索硬化), the 56-year-old doctor is doing his best to quicken his pace to save precious time for infected patients. “I have to run, racing against time to save more patients from the deadly disease, because I don’t have much time left in my life,” Zhang told Xinhua News Agency.
With the duty of saving lives, many medical professionals like Zhang have been working long hours for days, despite their fear and worries.
Lu Jingjing from Wuhan Children’s Hospital also works at a temporary mobile hospital. She does not let her parents know that she is now working with novel coronavirus-infected patients.
When her parents ask for a video chat, Lu says she is working and lets her husband and children chat with them instead.
“It’s dangerous but we should win the battle with the virus as soon as possible, so that medical staff and patients can go back home,” she told China Daily.
US writer Khalil Gibran (1883-1931) once wrote, “Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but the manifestations of strength and resolution.” It’s true for the medical workers.
Everyone has fear, especially when it comes to deadly diseases. But for medical staff, saving lives comes first and is enough for them to be brave and stay on the front. They may look like ordinary people in daily life, but in these extraordinary times, they are heroes.
1. What is the author’s main purpose in writing this article?| A．To explain what makes a modern-day hero. |
| B．To praise medical staff for their efforts to fight the NCP. |
| C．To describe what measures China has taken to deal with the virus. |
| D．To show the difficulties faced by medical staff treating NCP patients. |
| A．His illness has turned him into an impatient man. |
| B．His illness makes him work without fear. |
| C．He feels sorry for himself because of his illness. |
| D．He wants to help as many patients as possible. |
| A．She is too busy and has no time for video chats. |
| B．She doesn’t want her parents to worry about her. |
| C．It’s not allowed to make a video call from the hospital. |
| D．There is no WiFi signal at the temporary mobile hospital. |
| A．results | B．differences |
| C．indications | D．advantages |
| A．He isn’t feeling well. |
| B．He doesn’t wear coat. |
| C．He feels the weather is cold. |
| A．She was ill in bed. | B．She passed the exam. | C．She is telling a lie. |
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in Canada has organized a group of doctors to help sick people in the past few months. The doctors will send patients to art galleries, instead of
Dr Helene Boyer,
China finished construction on an emergency hospital that
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