1 . A 12-year-old girl from Virginia, US, never thought that a simple message she put online could bring her big problems. She posted the words, “Killing. Meet me in the library Tuesday”, with three emojis (表情符号) of a gun, a knife and a bomb (炸弹) on Instagram, a social media (社交媒体). She was told that she broke the law because of threatening (威胁) her school.
This problem is not far away from us. Not long ago, Ni Hanxiang, a Chinese student at a university in the US, was sent back to China after expressing on social media that he would kill his teachers if he failed to pass his exams.
In China, posting threatening words online is also against the law. In 2013, Wu Hongfei, a singer, got into trouble for saying on Weibo that she wanted to blow up a building.
“Threatening happens not only face to face but also through the Internet, social media and the telephone,” said Mr. Cao, a lawyer from Chongqing. “Although the law of China protects people’s right of free speech, it doesn’t include words that threaten others’ lives and national safety.”
“Some people may not mean to threaten. They may just be trying to say ‘I’m strong’,” said Fred Pratt, a lawyer from the US.
The girl’s mother said her daughter was a good kid who had never been in trouble before. Ni Hanxiang also said he didn’t realize that what he put online was so serious.
“But not knowing the law doesn’t mean the law will treat you any differently if you break it,” says David Allen Green, a lawyer from the UK. So, do you think we’d better spend a minute or two thinking about the words or emojis we use on social media before we press “send”?
1. The 12-year-old girl from Virginia put the words “Killing. Meet me in the library Tuesday”, with three emojis ______.A.in her own diary | B.in a letter to her friend |
C.on a social media | D.on the wall of the library |
A.because he broke the US law | B.because he wasn’t honest |
C.after he killed his teachers | D.after he blew up a building |
A.Fred Pratt thinks some people may not mean to threaten |
B.the girl’s mother didn’t think her daughter was a bad child |
C.cheating in an examination at school may get you into trouble |
D.Putting threatening words on QQ may bring you problems |
A.we shouldn’t break the US law if we study at a university in the US |
B.students and singers shouldn’t post words or emojis on social media |
C.students should study hard at school and not use the Internet too much |
D.we should be careful when we send words or emojis on social media |
2 . Most children now chat daily either online or through their mobile phones. They are connecting to a huge number of other children all over the world. Some are shy “in real life” but are confident to communicate with others online; others find support from people of their own age on relationship issues, or problems at home.
Sometimes the online world, just like the real world, can introduce problems, such as cheating or arguments. Going online is great fun, but there are also a few people who use the Internet to do bad things. Children must know that there are both the good things and the dangers on the Internet.
To keep children safe, your management must cover the family computer. Just as you decide which TV programmes are suitable, you need to do the same for the websites and chatrooms your children visit. Remind your children that online friends are still strangers and there are dangers too.
Computer studies are part of schoolwork now, so it’s likely that your children may know more than you do. We get left behind when it comes to the interactive areas of websites, like chatrooms and message boards, which are especially strange. The language of chat is strange to many parents, too. Chatters love to use abbreviations (缩写) such as: atb — all the best, bbfn — bye bye for now, cult8r — see you later, gr8 — great, Idk — I don’t know, imbl — it must be love, kit — keep in touch, paw — parents are watching, lol — laugh out loud, xint — excellent!
It seems like another language, and it is!
1. The passage is meant for _______.A.children | B.teachers | C.parents | D.net bar owners |
A.not allow them to use the Internet | B.surf the Internet together with them |
C.teach them to use correct net words | D.choose suitable websites and chatrooms for them |
A.bbfn | B.paw | C.cul8er | D.lol |
A.The chat language is strange to adults. | B.The Internet is not good for children. |
C.Children can chat so much online. | D.The Internet is a good place for children. |
A.some of them are shy in real life |
B.some of them like connecting to other children |
C.they have bad relations with their parents |
D.they find support from people of their own age on relationship issues, or problems at home |
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4 . Staying in on a Friday might feel like a good idea—you could really use the “alone time” after a busy week—until you get on Instagram. You see your friends eating at that new restaurant you have been wanting to try, and then you start watching another friend’s story before they set out on an exciting road trip.
Suddenly, that alone time you chose doesn’t feel so good anymore. You feel like it’s boring to stay at home—you may even question the purpose of your very existence. Don’t worry, that anxiety is common—and not that new. You are experiencing FOMO, or the fear of missing out.
We are always comparing ourselves to people around us, but sometimes that self-comparison can lead to some pretty bad feelings. “FOMO” is about having thoughts on missing out on opportunities which might increase our happiness,” says Dr. Aarti Gupta. “Humans are social beings and depend on each other to survive, and being left out or not being in the know could have, once upon a time, been a matter of life or death.”
If you find yourself comparing yourself to others in a way that doesn’t feel productive, Gupta recommends practicing an abundance mindset: “This means remembering that there are plenty of opportunities to go around for everyone, and just because someone else found success doesn’t mean that you won’t.” So next time you see someone else win, try congratulating them instead of feeling unhappy.
So the next Friday night you decide to stay in, keep in mind that we are always missing out on something. Choosing one activity or path simply means you’ll miss out on others.
“I think the irony of all of it is that it’s called FOMO, the fear of missing out. But actually, what it is doing is that it’s making you miss out on today and that comfortable bed that you are in right now, or the job that you’re in right now or the relationship that you are in right now because you are so worried about what else is out there,” says Gupta. You can fight FOMO simply by being more fully present and invested in the life you have today.
1. What would make you experience FOMO when staying at home?A.Having dinner alone. | B.Having nothing to do. |
C.Hearing friends’ bad news. | D.Seeing friends’ colorful life. |
A.The effect of FOMO. | B.How to avoid FOMO. |
C.The reason for FOMO. | D.How to deal with FOMO. |
A.Being more creative. | B.Being less competitive. |
C.Being less self-doubting. | D.Being more self-dependent. |
A.Making more new friends. | B.Living in the here and now. |
C.Following your own feelings. | D.Taking part in more activities. |
5 . As an English, I can speak three languages - English, German and French, so do you think the British people are very good language learners? The fact is that they aren’t.
Some statistics (数据) from the survey done by the European Commission (欧盟委员会) showed that 62% of the British people only speak English, 38% speak at least one foreign language and 18% speak two or more. Compared with the British people, 56% of the people in other European countries speak at least one foreign language and 28% speak two or more. From this you can see that the British people are famous for not speaking foreign languages and that they are not good language learners in Europe.
And the survey also showed that English is the most widely-spoken foreign language. Many European people can have a conversation in English. That’s why y people don’t think it is necessary to lean a foreign language.
In Britain, students are not required to learn a foreign language. That means learning a foreign language is only an option at school. In UK schools it is common for children to start learning a foreign language at 11 and many of them give it up at 14. So why don’t students continue learning foreign languages at school? Because they think it is more difficult to get good marks in languages than in other subjects such as science or history.
To solve this situation, the British government is looking for different ways to improve language learning at school. One way is to start learning it at a much younger age. Another one is to give school children more choices.
Changing the British attitude (态度) to learning foreign languages may be a hard task but the government decides to try!
1. Which country does the writer come from?A.America. | B.China. | C.Britain. | D.Egypt. |
A.They are good language learners |
B.62% of them speak two or more languages. |
C.They are famous for speaking foreign languages. |
D.More than half of them only speak English. |
A.science or German | B.history or German | C.science or history | D.German or French |
A.a choice | B.a game | C.a mistake | D.a conversation |
A.Speaking English | B.Foreign Language Learning in UK |
C.Schools in UK | D.Young English Learners |
6 . We are in the midst of a battle for our attention. Our devices have affected our brains and destroyed our collective ability to concentrate. Journalist Johann Hair’s new book, Stolen Focus, has just joined the voice s complaining about the great influence of the digital age. His and other recent books reflect a public perception that our focus is under attack.
Indeed, in out new research, we found some clear concerns. We surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,093 UK adults in 2021. Half of those surveyed felt their attention ans were shorter than they used to be, compared with a quarter who didn’t. And three quarters of participants agreed we’re living through a time when there’s non-stop competition for our attention between a variety of media channels and information outlets (渠道).
There has long been a worry about the threat to attention brought by new cultural forms, whether that’s social media or the cheap paperback sensation novels of the 19th century. Even as far back as ancient Greece, the philosopher Socrates complained that the written words created “forgetfulness in our souls”. There has always been a tendency to fear the effects that new media and technologies will have on our minds.
The reality is that we simply don’t have long-term studies that tell us whether our attention spans have actually shrunk. What we do know from our study is that people overestimate some of the problems. There’s no such thing as an average attention span. Our ability to focus varies hugely depending on the individual and the task at hand.
It’s also important not to ignore the many benefits that technology brings to our life. Much of the public surveyed recognized these, so while half thought big tech and social media were ruining young people’s attention spans, roughly another half felt that being easily distracted was more to do with people’s personalities than any negative influence that tech ho logy may or may not have. Also, half of the public believed multitasking at work and switching frequently between emails, phone calls, and other tasks can create a more efficient and satisfactory work experience.
1. What might be the theme of the books mentioned in Paragraph 1?A.The main focus of social media. |
B.The great influence of public opinion. |
C.The attention crisis in the digital age. |
D.The fierce competition in the digital age. |
A.They were frequently disturbed by digital devices. |
B.They felt it hard to acquire useful information online. |
C.They had shorter attention spans than average people. |
D.They felt challenged by fierce competition from others. |
A.To stress new cultural forms have limitations. |
B.To show worry about attention is an age-old problem. |
C.To prove the important role he played in literary history |
D.To explain cultural differences between the past and the present. |
A.People tend to overestimate their ability es. |
B.Digital distractions might have potential benefits. |
C.Technology’s benefits have been largely ignored. |
D.Switching between different tasks frequently is difficult. |
A.Digital devices can benefit our work. |
B.We should say “No” to digital devices. |
C.We should think highly of new cultural forms. |
D.Digital distractions really affect us so much. |
7 . As a young girl growing up in France, Sarah Toumi dreamed of becoming a leader who could make the world a better place. Her passion to help others was awakened when, from the age of nine, she accompanied her Tunisian father to his birthplace in the east of the country during holidays. There she organized homework clubs and activities for children.
Toumi witnessed first-hand the destructive effect of desertification (沙漠化). “Within 10 years rich farmers became worse off, and in 10 years from now they will be poor. I wanted to stop the Sahara Desert in its tracks.” A decrease in average rainfall and an increase in the severity of droughts have led to an estimated 75 percent of Tunisia’s agricultural lands being threatened by desertification.
Toumi recognized that farming practices needed to change. She is confident that small land areas can bring large returns if farmers are able to adapt by planting sustainable crops, using new technologies for water treatment and focusing on natural products and fertilizers rather than chemicals.
In 2012, Toumi consolidated (巩固) her dream of fighting the desert. She moved to Tunisia, and set up a programme named Acacias for All to put her sustainable farming philosophy (理念) into action. “I want to show young people in rural areas that they can create opportunities where they are. Nobody is better able to understand the impact of desertification and climate change than somebody who is living with no access to water.”
By September 2016, more than 130, 000 acacia trees had been planted on 20 pilot farms, with farmers recording a 60 percent survival rate. Toumi estimates that some 3 million acacia trees are needed to protect Tunisia’s farmland. She expects to plant 1 million trees by 2018. In the next couple of years, Toumi hopes to extend the programme to Algeria and Morocco.
1. How did Toumi’s holiday trips to Tunisia influence her?A.They made her decide to leave the country. |
B.They helped her better understand her father. |
C.They aroused her enthusiasm for helping others. |
D.They destroyed her dream of being a teacher. |
A.Low rainfall. | B.Soil pollution. | C.Cold weather. | D.Forest damage. |
A.To create job opportunities for young people. |
B.To help the children obtain a basic education. |
C.To persuade the farmers not to use fertilizers. |
D.To promote the protection of their farmland. |
A.Saving Water in Tunisia | B.Holding back the Sahara |
C.Planting Trees of Native Species | D.Fighting Poverty in North Africa |
8 . The sky is blue, and the sunshines on the street in Paris, where Mr. Gallais has been selling old classic books to tourists for more than 30 years.
Locals and tourists around the world would come to Mr. Gallai’s shop and 230 other open-air booksellers’ to buy book. However, because of the lockdown regulations to control the COVID-19 pandemic, the booksellers had to face the problem of losing the business and living difficulties these years.
“Sales have decreased by an average of 80 percent this year,” Mr. Gala is said, “which is throwing many booksellers into dangerous situations.” Still, some booksellers want to work. They are eager to keep the tradition that dates back to the l6th century. Many of the booksellers are retired workers living on pensions (养老金). They gather literature books and magazines. A growing number of people in their 30s and 40s have joined their ranks. They want to feel free from working outside an office in rain or shine.
Even before the pandemic, the booksellers were fighting with the cultural changes that people don’t read paper books as much as they used to. If they do read paper books, most readers will often choose Amazon.com to buy ones.
1. How long has Mr. Gallais been selling old classic books along the bank?A.More than 16 years. | B.More than 19 years. |
C.More than 23 years. | D.More than 30 years. |
A.The booksellers’ competition. | B.The lockdown regulations. |
C.The trend of a new profession. | D.The popularity of E-books. |
A.They are not willing to accept advances. |
B.They are eager to live a challenging life. |
C.They want to feel free from working outside. |
D.They can earn a large amount of money. |
A.Mr. Gallais isn’t a bookseller. |
B.Middle-aged people don’t join the ranks. |
C.Retired booksellers don’t gather literature books and magazines. |
D.Booksellers make efforts to keep the bookselling tradition. |
9 . Oil and gas have made Qatar (卡塔尔) the richest country in the world-rich enough to be ready to spend $200 billion for the 2022 World Cup. But has limitless wealth brought the country happiness?
“We have become urban,” says Dr Kaltham Al Ghanim a professor at Qatar University. “Our social and economic life has changed-families have become separated; consumption culture has taken over.”
From desperate poverty less than a century ago, this, after all, has become the richest nation in the world. What’s less well understood is the influence of such rapid change on Qatari society itself. You can feel the pressure in Doha, the capital city of Qatar. The city is a building site, with whole districts either under construction or being destroyed for redevelopment. The local media report that 40% of Qatari marriages now end in divorce. More than two-thirds of Qataris, adults and children, are overweight.
Qataris benefit from free education, free healthcare, job guarantees, even free water and electricity, but abundance has created its own problems.“It’s confusing for graduates to be faced with 20 job offers,” one academic at an American university campus in Qatar says.“People feel huge pressure to make the right decision.”
In a society where Qataris are outnumbered roughly seven-to-one by foreigners, long-term residents (居民) speak of a growing frustration among graduates that the most satisfying jobs go to foreigners.
The sense is deepening that, in the rush for development, something important has been lost. Qatari family life is atomising. With children almost universally being raised by nannies (保姆) from the Philippines, Nepal or Indonesia, differences in culture and opinions are widening between the generations.
The 2022 football World Cup was held in Qatar. Mariam Dahrouj, a journalism graduate, speaks of a sense of threat. “People in Qatar are afraid,” she says. “Suddenly all the world wants to see us. We are a closed community, and they want to come and bring their differences. How can we express our values?”
1. What can we learn about Qatar?A.Its capital is neat and modern. | B.It’s experiencing great changes. |
C.Most Qataris are rich and healthy. | D.Great wealth brings Qataris great happiness. |
A.They have to work with foreigners. |
B.They can hardly find an interesting job. |
C.They have difficulty in making a choice. |
D.They have become lazy because of abundance. |
A.losing meaning | B.gaining support |
C.being improved | D.becoming divided |
A.feel frightened | B.express no interest |
C.ignore the differences | D.want to adjust their values |
10 . Live streaming (直播) is booming, with viewers watching nearly 4 billion hours of live stream in the gaming part alone, in 2020.
To stream or not to stream—that is the question with over 50 million American online creators. With over seven-in-ten people in the US using social media such as YouNow, Facebook Live, YouTube Live and Twitch, sharing a moment, routine, or an exciting experience with others has never been so easier for US streamers.
For some, the motivation(动机) to live stream is for fun, while others are seeking to become famous.
Back in 2016, researchers studied live streams coming from the US, Japan and Germany on YouNow, Periscope and UStream. They found a wide variety of motivations, with a large majority (大多数) using live streaming for their own entertainment.
The main motivation of US streamers was to reach a specific target group, for example, by performing music. Their goal was to improve their personal image and to develop their fan. On the other hand, socializing(社交) was the main motivation for Japanese streamers. They need to communicate with their audience. Finally, German streamers’ motivations were to reduce their boredom(无聊). And they’re not alone. Boredom was also a strong problem found in both American and Japanese streamers in 2016. In short, many people turned to live streaming to help pass the time and to reduce their boredom.
And then there’s a new type of live streaming where streamers don’t perform, interact or even communicate with their viewers. Instead, the live stream shows uninterrupted(不间断的) everyday activities such as sleeping and studying. Streamers put their cameras on their beds and go to sleep. In February 2020, Chinese streamer YuanSan live streamed his 2-day “sleep-stream” which, to his surprise, attracted 18 million viewers. In an interview, YuanSan said that his motivation was to reduce his boredom. “I was so bored that I decided to live stream myself sleeping. What I discovered was that viewers on the internet were even more bored than I was.”
1. What is the probable reason for the rise of live streaming in the US?A.The fast network connections. | B.Streamers’ desire to share. |
C.People’s need for entertainment. | D.The huge number of online viewers. |
A.To enjoy themselves. | B.To make money. |
C.To make friends. | D.To be famous. |
A.Various ways of streaming. | B.Positive influences of streaming. |
C.Great achievements of streamers. | D.Different motivations of streamers. |
A.It is boring to stream online. |
B.Streaming can improve his sleep. |
C.Streaming can help reduce boredom. |
D.It is important to communicate with viewers. |