1 . Conflict (冲突) between teenagers and parents happens for a lot of reasons. Sometimes conflict happens between teenagers and parents just because conflict happens between human beings anyway. Humans have different needs, different feelings, different opinions about what they want, and the relationship with people can be really difficult. However, teenagers can cause further conflict because of the hormonal (生理的) changes that are happening and the stage of life that they're in.
Teenagers and parents have different understanding about rules and at times they find it difficult to look into the future. So parents and teenagers will often experience conflict about many things, do chores, homework, whether teenagers speak respectfully or not and about what they're allowed to do.
Before we think about rule boundaries (界线) for teenagers, we need to make sure that we have a really good relationship base. There's no point saying “From now on, you have to listen to me”: if you don't have a positive relationship with your teenager. We need to go back and make sure there is some degree of shared respect, and some degree of positive communication and enjoyment being together. you do that first, it means that rule boundaries are a lot easier to set up.
Often we're dealing with conflict on the fly. This is not the right time to be dealing with it. We really want parents and teenagers to sit down and think about the kinds of things that may happen in the house before the problems come. The more detailed your rule boundaries are for teenagers, the more likely it is that they are going to follow them. So this means we don't have rule boundaries like “Have the bathroom cleaned”. It needs to be “The floors mopped, nothing on the countertop and the mirrors cleaned by ten o'clock every Saturday”: Rule boundaries need to be written down, and set out ahead of time so the teenager knows exactly what's expected.
1. What's important to set up a rule boundary easily for teenagers?| A．Being strict from the start. | B．Developing a good relationship with them first. |
| C．Saying"No" to their requirements. | D．Avoiding close talks with them. |
| A．Doing some housework. | B．Having a good reading habit. |
| C．Cleaning the bathroom. | D．Finishing your homework by five. |
| A．In a hurry. | B．On the plane. | C．By oneself. | D．Another day. |
| A．Growing Pains | B．Teenage Problems |
| C．Parent-Child Conflict and Solutions | D．Knowing the Conflict |
2 . In various restaurants worldwide, there’s a new sight-child-sized robots. These robots can welcome guests, show them to their tables, deliver food and drinks, and even transport dirty dishes back to the kitchen. Some believe these robot waiters could be a solution to today’s worker shortages in the restaurant industry, with tens of thousands of them now in use.
But other people think that robots can’t replace human workers. Robot waiters can’t take orders, and they struggle with steps, limiting their abilities.
Despite these disadvantages, their use is growing. For example, in Madison Heights, Michigan, Li Zhai faced difficulty finding enough workers for his restaurant, Noodle Topia. To address this, he purchased robots from Pudu Robotics. These robots have been a success, with one leading diners to their seats, another delivering food, and a third transporting dirty dishes.
Zhai found that using these robots reduced his need for employees. Three robots now do the work of what used to require five or six people. In terms of cost, a robot costs around $15 000, while a human can cost $5,000 to $6,000 per month. These robots also have a surprising benefit-they free up human servers to spend more time with customers, resulting in increased tips, Additionally, diners often share videos of the robots on social media, attracting more visitors to the restaurant.
However, not all restaurants have had the same success. For instance, Chili’s (奇利斯餐厅)introduced robot servers in 2020, expanding the test to 61U.S. restaurants before suddenly stopping the program. The robots were criticized (批评) for their slow movement and getting in the way of human servers. A survey showed that 58% of guests believed the robots didn’t improve their overall dining experience.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To introduce a survey about robot waiters. |
| B．To show the success of robot waiters in restaurants. |
| C．To describe the appearance of child-sized robots in restaurants. |
| D．To discuss the challenges of hiring human workers in restaurants. |
| A．Solve. | B．Narrow. | C．Ignore. | D．Control. |
| A．The history of robot waiters in the U.S. |
| B．The challenges of introducing robot servers. |
| C．The effect of social media on the restaurant industry. |
| D．The advantages of using robots in the restaurant industry. |
| A．All restaurants with robot servers are successful. |
| B．The use of robot waiters still has a long way to go. |
| C．Robot waiters are cheaper to employ than human workers. |
| D．The restaurant industry is not affected by worker shortages. |
3 . When we open a news app, we’ll notice that every second, we are presented with so much information that our brain just can’t keep it. The matter is made worse by our belief in “multi-tasking” which is, more often than not, simply another term for divided attention.
Control the information flow
Set up a new account on social media and follow only accounts or people that are really valuable.
It is unnecessary to throw away the phone but do give ourselves a time limit, Say, “I will only use this app for 20 minutes” or “I will only read this magazine after dinner.”
Acknowledge our limits
We’ll never read all the news. We’ll never read all the “must-read” articles.
| A．Set a time limit |
| B．Focus on one task |
| C．Pick only the content which entiches us |
| D．In other words, our brain is better than we think it is |
| E．Accept the fact that we can only choose two or three |
| F．After all, we are human beings who can only take in so much a day |
| G．Actually, it’s much better to have a little remembered than a lot forgotten |
4 . Young children are significantly more likely than adults to have their opinions influenced by robots according to a new research. The study, conducted-at the-University of Plymouth, compared how adults and children respond to an identical (相同的) task when in the presence of both their peers (同龄人) and robots.
It showed that while adults regularly have their opinions influenced by peers, something also demonstrated in previous studies, they are largely able to resist being persuaded by robots. However, children aged between seven and nine were more likely to give the same responses as the robots, even if they were obviously incorrect.
The study asks people to look at a screen showing four lines and say which two match in length. When alone, people almost never make a mistake but when doing the experiment with others, they tend to follow what others are saying.
When children were alone in the room in this research, they scored 87%on the test, but when the robots join in their score drops to 75%. And of the wrong answers, 74% matched those of the robot.
Professor Belpaeme said, ”People often follow the opinions of others and we’ve known for a long time that it is hard to resist taking over views and opinions of people around-us. But as robots will soon be found in the home and the workplace, we were wondering if people would follow robots. What our results show is that adults do not follow what the robots are saying. But when we did the experiment with children, they did. It shows children can perhaps have more of an affinity (亲和力)with robots than adults, which does pose the question: What if robots were to suggest, for example, what products to buy or what to think?“?
1. What did the adults do when staying with robots?| A．They generally refused the robots’ effects. |
| B．They totally accepted the robots’ suggestions. |
| C．They tried to persuade robots to resist them. |
| D．They usually compared robots with their children. |
| A．Because children were not as clever as the adults. |
| B．Because robots reflected better than human beings. |
| C．Because robots in the presence made mistakes. |
| D．Because children wanted to affect the robots on purpose. |
| A．He is optimistic about the result. | B．He is worried about the future. |
| C．He doesn’t care about the result. | D．He doubts the result of the research. |
| A．What is the meaning of the research? |
| B．What should adults do to avoid the problem? |
| C．Why are children more likely to be influenced? |
| D．What will be done to solve the problem? |
5 . Josie, who is 17 years old, said, “Why do my parents do the same things they tell me not to do? For example, my mum stops me from shouting through the walls and asks me to go and speak to her face-to-face, but she always shouts through the walls to me. What can I do?”
That is a very good point. Parents can be completely inconsistent (不一致), and usually they don’t realize it. You see this a lot in many things like smartphones. Parents always say to their kids, “Oh, you can’t use that. That device (设备) is bad for you, so stop using it at the table. It’s harmful.” But then they are on theirs continually. So what do you expect teenagers to do?
The whole “Do as I say, not as I do” thing is an annoyance, especially for a teenager who is dying for independence and respect but isn’t getting them.
What can teenagers do with it? I would say you should point it out by calmly saying something like “You tell me not to scream through the walls, but you do it to me, so you can understand where I’m coming from. That’s not ideal.” They might object to it, but I think most parents who care about being parents would logically say, “That’s a reasonable point.”
There are a lot of conflicts (矛盾) going on between teenagers and their parents, but a lot of studies show that the conflicts are resolved a lot more when they turn into a dialogue.
If you can talk at a time when you’re both feeling a bit calmer, like just in the kitchen or doing something unimportant, then go in and say, “Can I just mention it? You tell me not to do this, but you do it too.” If you can approach it in a more calm and stress-free manner, most parents will respond positively.
1. How did Josie feel according to her words in paragraph 1?| A．Hopeful. | B．Bored. | C．Proud. | D．Confused. |
| A．The parents’ smartphones. | B．The tables in the house. |
| C．The devices in the house. | D．The teenagers’ points. |
| A．Object to it personally. | B．Complain of it continually. |
| C．Talk with their parents calmly. | D．Do some studies differently. |
| A．To list a fact. | B．To offer a suggestion. |
| C．To show a result. | D．To ask a new question. |
6 . Music festivals are highly popular events during the summer months, attracting thousands of festival-goers who camp on-site. However, the question arises as to whether the tents left behind can be recycled.
While some festival organizers claim that they recycle the tents, the answer is not so straightforward. Every year, thousands of tents are abandoned (拋弃) at festivals, and it’s not just post-festival laziness or poor weather that is to blame. According to a recent survey, many festival-goers leave their tents behind because they believe they will be donated to charities. But unfortunately, this is only wishful thinking.
Matt Wedge, the director of Festival Waste Reclamation & Distribution, says that the number of tents left behind is increasing, estimating that around 20% of the tents at this year’s Leeds Festival were abandoned, which amounted to about 7,000 tents. He adds that Reading and Leicester festivals are usually just as bad but twice as big, meaning that 14,000 tents could have been abandoned there.
In terms of addressing this problem, one popular idea is to employ a tent deposit scheme (保证金计划). Under this scheme, festival-goers would pay a deposit to bring their tent to the festival, which would be returned to them if they take their tent home. “A similar thing happens with litter. Some festivals make attendees pay a £10 ‘eco bond’, which will be returned to them if they fill up a bag of rubbish and hand it in at the end of the festival,” he adds.
The shocking images of abandoned tents are more than just a comment on the environmental impacts of the festival itself. They are in fact a dramatic symbol of our throwaway culture. Just as images of clean fields at Glastonbury represent a refreshing sign of hope for what could be, the ultimate (最后的) message is to make it a habit to take your tent home at least. It’s the best thing people can do.
1. Why are tents left behind after music festivals according to the recent survey?| A．Most of the tents are of poor quality. |
| B．Some people are too lazy to take the tents home. |
| C．Poor weather makes it difficult to recycle the tents. |
| D．Many people mistakenly think they will be donated. |
| A．There is an increasing demand for tents. |
| B．A large percentage of tents are abandoned. |
| C．Tents take a fair amount of energy to make. |
| D．Festival tickets are more expensive than tents. |
| A．How charities do with the tents. |
| B．How landfills improve work efficiency. |
| C．Methods to employ more festival volunteers. |
| D．Attempts to reduce litter and abandoned tents after festivals. |
| A．To stress the importance of music festivals. |
| B．To introduce popular music festivals in the world. |
| C．To make people pay attention to the quality of tents. |
| D．To call on people to protect the environment during festivals. |
7 . In 2020, Pink launched the world Regret Survey, the largest survey on the topic ever undertaken. With his research team, Pink asked more than 15, 000 people in 105 countries, “How often do you look back on your life and wish you had done things differently?” Most of them said regret was at least an occasional part of their life. Roughly 21 percent said they felt regretful all the time. Only 1 percent said they never felt regretful.
If you are of the “no regrets” school of life, you may think that all this regret is a recipe for unhappiness. But that isn’t the case. Letting yourself be overwhelmed by regret is indeed bad for you. But going to the other extreme maybe even worse. To extinguish your regrets doesn’t free you from shame or sadness but causes you to make the same mistakes again and again. To truly get over our guilt requires that we put regret in its proper place.
Uncomfortable as it is, regret is an amazing cognitive (认知的) feat. It requires that you go back to a past scene. Imagine that you acted differently to change it, and with that new scene in mind, arrive at a different present — and then, compare that fictional present with the one you are experiencing in reality. Not all regrets are the same, of course. Pink says they come in four basic varieties, and an instance of regret may involve just one combination.
Many connection regrets overlap (重叠) with moral regrets, which can come about after you go against your own values. For example, you may pride yourself on being a loving person, and thus regret not living up to this image in the relationship you harmed. Moral regrets can also involve (涉及) just yourself. Maybe you regret not living up to your commitment (承诺、保证) to your health when you ate a whole pizza or skipped the gym.
If not analyzed and managed, any variety of regret can be harmful to your health. Regret is linked to depression and anxiety, and excessive regret can have a bad effect on your immune system. But regret doesn’t have to be put aside and ignored.
1. What could be concluded from Pink’s research ?| A．Half of the people felt regretful. |
| B．Most people lived without regrets. |
| C．None could live a life without regrets. |
| D．The majority of the people had regrets. |
| A．Admit. | B．Destroy. | C．Treasure. | D．Advance. |
| A．The harm of moral regrets. |
| B．The importance of commitment. |
| C．The relationship between regrets and values. |
| D．The connection between reality and imagination. |
| A．Types of regrets. | B．Causes of regrets. |
| C．Benefits of experiencing regrets. | D．Ways of dealing with regrets. |
8 . Humans have long known that being in nature is good for the mind and body. From indigenous (本土的) adolescents completing the adult ceremony in the wild to modern East Asian cultures taking “forest baths”, many have looked to nature as a place for healing and personal growth. But the question still remains. How can nature make it?
There is no doubt that being in nature reduces the physiological symptoms of stress in our bodies. What this means is that we are less likely to be anxious and fearful in nature, and therefore we can be more open to other people and creative patterns of thought. Also, nature often leads to awe, wonder and respect, all these emotions facilitating everything from physical to mental health. There is also some evidence that exposure to nature impacts the brain. Viewing natural beauty makes specific reward circuits in the brain associated with dopamine release, a chemical that gives us a sense of purpose, joy and energy to pursue our goals.
But, regrettably, people seem to be spending less time outdoors and less time in nature than before. It is also clear that, in the past 30 years, people’s levels of stress and sense of “busyness” have risen dramatically. These joint forces have led environmental writer Richard Louv to coin the term “Nature Deficit Disorder”—a form of suffering that comes from a sense of disconnection from nature and its powers.
Perhaps we should take note and try a course corrective. The 19th century philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote about nature, “There I feel that nothing can befall me in life—no disgrace, no calamity.” The science speaks to Emerson’s intuition. It’s time to realize that nature is more than just a material resource. It’s also a pathway to human health and happiness.
1. Why are “indigenous adolescents” and “modern East Asian cultures” mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To clarify a viewpoint. | B．To answer the question below. |
| C．To present the natural scenery. | D．To show the cultural differences. |
| A．Restricting. | B．Exposing. | C．Promoting. | D．Covering. |
| A．Uneasy. | B．Indifferent. | C．Humorous. | D．Proud. |
| A．Is It Time to Challenge Yourself in Nature? |
| B．Do You Know Nature Is a Material Resource? |
| C．Why Do We Care about the Natural Environment? |
| D．What Can Happen When We Connect with Nature? |
9 . It’s not easy to feel like you’re always under the spotlight being judged for each little mistake you make. Your mind is in an endless circle playing what you said and did over and over again. And you wish you had a time capsule (胶囊) to go back and make things change if you find mistakes. You fear what others will think about you and that they will dislike you. You want to be socially perfect.
Academically, you work long endless hours just to make those excellent marks. Although most would say “it’s good to have high standards (标准)”, they have no idea about the internal bell you put yourself through to achieve perfection. If you come up to less than your desired goal, you will feel as though you have failed, but you’re far from failing; you just don’t see it that way. So instead you are telling yourself that you’re stupid, and not smart. The pressure you place on yourself weighs you down and you wear the “not good enough” label each and every day.
You not only have high standards for yourself but you also have them for others. If people don’t perform up to your expectations then you will think them not good enough. This causes a lot of frustration because you can’t trust anyone to get things right. So instead of being a team player you fly solo and try to do two or three jobs at once. Your unrealistic expectations cause you to criticize and judge others and that leads to problems in other aspects of your life.
The attempt to be perfect is called perfectionism and it’s damaging our emotional and mental health. We fight for perfection of our body, our performance, and our relationships. In a society that overstates mistakes, is it any wonder that so many young people attempt the impossible task of being perfect?
We all have fears and make mistakes, and that’s perfectly OK. It’s our imperfections that makes life interesting and they help us grow into a stronger and more adaptable person. We don’t have to achieve the impossible. We are designed to be perfectly imperfect.
1. Where is the text most likely from?| A．A diary. | B．A novel. | C．A magazine. | D．A guidebook. |
| A．Nobody is perfect. | B．Be generous with praise. |
| C．There is no best, only better. | D．A contented mind is an everlasting feast. |
| A．The society plays a role in perfectionism. |
| B．More and more people are making mistakes. |
| C．Many young people find it impossible to be perfect. |
| D．It’s unusual for a society to seek perfectionism nowadays. |
| A．It’s unbearable. | B．It`s part of our life. |
| C．It has to be overcome. | D．It does harm to our mental health. |
10 . “Whenever I am in a group of people, I feel like everyone knows what to say except me. When I try to join in, I get anxious and have a struggle
Individuals experiencing this type of social
Fitting into groups of people requires
Some individuals are like chameleon (变色龙) in that they
| A．reading | B．pronouncing | C．grasping | D．writing |
| A．exposed | B．caged | C．perceived | D．judged |
| A．remoteness | B．discomfort | C．event | D．reality |
| A．transparent | B．rigid | C．urgent | D．disappointed |
| A．insisting on | B．breaking with | C．sticking up | D．talking over |
| A．critical | B．effective | C．contradictory | D．tentative |
| A．contribution | B．requirement | C．assignment | D．socialization |
| A．patience | B．honesty | C．curiosity | D．agreement |
| A．sacrifice | B．claim | C．examine | D．present |
| A．hobbies | B．approaches | C．views | D．promises |
| A．naturally | B．partly | C．vaguely | D．merely |
| A．explain | B．support | C．help | D．adapt |
| A．conclusion | B．awareness | C．decision | D．point |
| A．rewarded | B．removed | C．disconnected | D．connected |
| A．resist | B．allow | C．miss | D．undergo |
