1 . Do you find yourself waiting for the next MrBeast video to drop so you can see his latest challenge? Or perhaps the newest experiment from Mark Rober? Maybe you’re wild about Harry Styles or Timothee Chalamet. You follow them on social media, connect with other fans online and maybe even message them now and again. Even though these people are celebrities, you feel like you know them.

Most of us form relationships of some sort with celebrities and fictional characters. We imagine having a conversation with that person or asking for advice. Sometimes we develop a more romantic crush. Embarrassing as it may sometimes feel, this is perfectly normal. Scientists call these faux friendships “parasocial relationships”. Social relationships involve two or more people. Parasocial ones, on the other hand, are completely one-sided.

Decades ago, parasocial relationships happened between TV viewers and the people on screen. This was especially true for talk-show hosts and newscasters who spoke directly to the camera. People watching felt as though these TV personalities were talking directly to them. Over time, they felt a close connection with them. It wasn’t just people on TV. Beatles fans went wild for the band, just as Harry Styles fans do today.

More recently, parasocial relationships have shifted to other types of screens. Many people, from children to adults, have some form of screen that they use for entertainment. Even young children form parasocial relationships with on-screen personalities. Big Bird and Elmo from Sesame Street can seem like friends. So can animated characters or superheroes.

“We root for them,” says Kristin Drogos. “We want them to do well.” Drogos is a communication researcher at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It’s that positive feelings toward these on-screen personalities that cause us to form a parasocial bond with them. And that connection can be powerful.

1. What does the author intend to do in Paragraph 1?

A．To suggest several ways to kill time.

B．To reflect the diversity of people’s interests.

C．To show people’s attachment to famous people.

D．To confirm the benefits of watching celebrities.

2. Which can best replace the underlined word “faux” in Paragraph 2?

A．Innocent.

B．Imaginary.

C．Fashionable.

D．Abnormal.

3. What can be concluded about recent parasocial relationships?

A．They can exist between human beings and non-humans.

B．People are more willing to become friends with talk-show hosts.

C．Superheroes are more popular among adults as on-screen friends.

D．Celebrities make the best of parasocial relationships to attract more fans.

4. What will the text probably talk about next?

A．How parasocial relationships benefit people.

B．What can influence a parasocial relationship.

C．How to communicate with on-screen friends.

D．What people share in parasocial relationships.

2 . Adapted from Liang Xiaosheng’s award-winning novel, the realistic drama A Li felong Journey recently has been a huge hit on TV and online.     1    

Given that A Lifelong Journey is set in the 1960s, it’s not surprising that the family has to deal with lots of social changes and uncertainties, like the restoration of Gaokao, the country’s reform and opening-up, the passion for private business and so on.     2     To create the neighborhood, the shooting crew built a set covering 8, 000 square meters in Changchun, Jilin province, collecting many old items, such as old-fashioned televisions and calendars, to re-create the past. The clothing, like Lei Feng-style hats, and interior spaces, also play an essential part, changing with time as the plot develops.

The five virtues in Confucianism—benevolence (仁), righteousness (义), courtesy(礼), wisdom and trust can be found in the lead character Zhou Bingkun, the youngest son in the family.     3     In the show, Zhou Bingkun used to be a factory worker, the one who has taken care of the big family and friends selflessly.

Following the lives of Zhou’s family, the drama gives viewers an insight into the lives of ordinary Chinese.     4     It is the kind of show that strikes your heartstrings and leaves you in tears even if you’ve already read the book.     5    

A．No wonder viewers thought highly of this drama.

B．It is time to create such a drama to remember the bygone times.

C．China has witnessed dramatic changes over the past five decades.

D．And it explores themes of family, friendship and romance in a bittersweet story.

E．He was played by Lei Jiayin, who says he can almost “see his father” in the drama.

F．Disney has also announced it has acquired the drama series for an international release.

G．Most of the narrative took place in a shantytown (棚户区), where Zhou’s family lives.

3 . When A33, a theater in Beijing, hosted a new stand-up comedy show（脱口秀), to the surprise of the organizers, nearly 250 people turned up and laughed together. Six years ago, that would have been unbelievable. Indeed, there were even cases of shows having more performers than viewers.

Wan Da, one of the performers, said, “Many people are worried about the future of stand-up comedy, a genre (类型) that is very popular in the U.S. after its introduction in China. Can it adapt itself here? But as the results show, there is no need to worry. We have survived and carried on some of the best American traditions.”

Programs such as Rock& Roast, a comedy talk show competition, which are thought to help people reduce their pressure, drive audiences to offline performances for a real laugh. “Generally, our audiences are in the 20-35 age group, but recently some older people are reported to go to the theatre,” said Song Qiyu, a performer and founder of Beijing Comedy Center.

Compared to traditional Chinese comedy performances, the stand-up comedy has a lower bar as it doesn't require years of professional training. This allows everyone to take part. Work experience and personal observations of life are the sources of their inspiration. Different lives and jobs make the performances varied, giving them unique individual colors.

Joe Wong, a humorist from Jilin province, whose performance in Washington, D.C. in 2010 attracted much attention across China's social media, is happy to see the development of the industry in China. However, he has a warning, too: There is huge space for the genre in China, but we should be careful of growing too fast as the market still needs good works.

In China, many fresh college graduates join. Through their efforts, the industry will improve its standards and popularity as well as influence.

1. What can we learn about the stand-up comedy from Paragraph 2?

A．It develops well in China.	B．It is created by Americans.
C．It faces an uncertain future.	D．It is very popular in Beijing.

2. Why can everyone join the stand-up comedy industry?

A．They have a gift for talking.	B．It needs plenty of performers.
C．It needs no special backgrounds.	D．Most people have a sense of humor.

3. What is Joe Wong's suggestion for the stand-up comedy?

A．Learning from America.	B．Offering quality content.
C．Keeping creating works.	D．Employing fresh graduates.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．The stand-up comedy: a rising industry	B．A33: a quickly growing comedy theatre
C．Why does the stand-up comedy get popular?	D．How does the stand-up comedy survive in China?

4 . China’s TikTok, which has taken the world by storm, is working its magic in its home nation, too.

The Chinese version of TikTok, called Douyin, has amassed (累积) 400 million daily active users, parent company Byte Dance (字节跳动) revealed in its annual report this week. This is an impressive growth for the addictive video app, which had 250 million daily active users in January last year.

The report, which describes users’ behavior and trends, shows the cultural difference between China and the US, said Katherine Wu, an investor at New York-based firm Notation Capital.

Things that trend in these two countries are completely different. For example, knowledge-based content is extremely popular in China, but less so in the U.S. Also, those creators that did the most dance videos in China are users born in the 60s, while in the US, it seems that it’s mostly teenagers who are creating the dances.

Byte Dance claimed that Douyin has established itself as the largest knowledge, culture and art platform in China. 14.89 million “knowledge-based content videos” were shared on the app last year, it claimed. For example, one of the world’s most valued startups claimed that the number of users who posts videos about chemistry reached 130 million people last year. “On the art and culture front, videos related to those topics had 543.1 billion plays on Douyin last year.” it claimed.

Education has become a main use case for Byte Dance. TikTok, which is estimated to have earned more than $50 million last year, already counts educational content as one of the most consumed categories on its app across the world. The app launched an educational campaign in India last year, where it has amassed more than 200 million users.

1. The difference in trends between China and the US reflects the difference in ________.

A．culture	B．education
C．knowledge	D．hobby

2. What videos are mostly shared on TikTok in China?

A．Music videos	B．Knowledge-based videos
C．Humorous videos	D．Videos about chemistry

3. The passage is written by ________.

A．analyzing reasons	B．showing survey results
C．stating arguments	D．providing statistics and examples

4. What’s the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

A．To introduce the app --TikTok.

B．To help customers use TikTok.

C．To reveal the popularity of TikTok.

D．To recommend TikTok to customers.