2 . According to Nielsen, the average number of mobile phone calls we make is dropping every year, after hitting a peak in 2007. And our calls are getting shorter: In 2005 they averaged three minutes in length;   now they’re almost half that.

We are moving, in other words, toward a fascinating cultural transition: the death of the telephone call. This shift is particularly plain among the young. Some college students I know go days without talking into their smartphones at all.

This generation doesn’t make phone calls, because everyone is in constant, lightweight contact in so many other ways: texting, chatting, and social-network messaging. And we don’t just have more options than we used to. We have better ones: These new forms of communication have exposed the fact that the voice call is badly designed. It deserves to die. Consider: If I suddenly decide I want to dial you up, I have no way of knowing whether you’re busy, and you have no idea why I’m calling.

We have to open Schrodinger’s box every time, having a conversation to figure out whether it’s OK to have a conversation. Plus, voice calls are emotionally high-bandwidth, which is why it’s so weirdly exhausting to be interrupted by one. (We apparently find voicemail even more torturous: Studies show that more than a fifth of all voice messages are never listened to.)

The telephone, in other words, doesn’t provide any information about status, so we are constantly interrupting one another. The other tools at our disposal are more polite. Instant messaging lets us detect whether our friends are busy without our annoying them, and texting lets us ping one another but not at the same time. (Plus, we can spend more time thinking about what we want to say.) Despite the hue and cry about becoming an “always on” society, we’re actually moving away from the demand that everyone should be available immediately.

We’ll still make fewer phone calls, as most of our former phone time will migrate to other media. But the calls we do make will be longer, reserved for the sort of deep discussion that the medium does best.

As video chatting becomes more common, enabled by the new iPhone and other devices, we might see the growth of persistent telepresence, leaving video-chat open all day so we can speak to a spouse or colleague spontaneously. Or, to put it another way, we’ll call less but talk more.

1. The writer of the text thinks that what is happening with mobile phone calls is ________.

A．an unexpected occurrence	B．a strange but very predictable fact
C．an interesting social phenomenon	D．negative for social interaction

2. In paragraph 3, the writer’s attitude towards phone voice calls is ________.

A．doubtful	B．concerned
C．positive	D．negative

3. What does the writer think will happen to voice calls in the future?

A．They will only be used in emergencies.

B．They will continue to get more expensive.

C．They will only be used between family members.

D．They will be used mainly for intimate and detailed discussions.

3 . Directions：After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

If you used the term“business echics”in the 1970s, when the field was just starting to develop, a common response was: Isn’t that an oxymoron(矛盾修辞法)?”That jump（妙语）would often be followed by a recition of Milton Friedman’s famous quotation     1     corporate executives’ only social responsibility is to make as much money for shareholders     2     is legally possible.

Over the next 40 years, however, business people stopped     3    （quote）Friedman and began to talk of their responsibilities to their companies’ stakeholders, a group that includes not only shareholders, but also customers, employees and members of the communities     4     they operate.

In 2009, an oath     5    （circulate）among the first class of Harvard Business School to graduate after the global financial crisis.     6    who took it—admittedly, a minority—swore to pursue their work“in an ethical manner”and to run their enterprises“in good faith, guarding against decisions and behavior that advance my own narrow ambitions but harm the enterprise and the societies     7    serves.”     8    then, the idea has spread, with students from 250 business schools taking a similar oath. This year, all Dutch bankers, 90,000 of them, are swearing that they will act with integrity,     9     （put）the interests of customers ahead of others（including shareholders），and behave openly, transparently, and in accordance with their responsibilities to society. Australia has a voluntary Banking and Finance Oath, which obliges those taking it（more than 300 people have so far），among other things, speak out     10    wrongdoing and encourage others to do the same.

4 . Leftover again? Hurray

Here’s the deal: You’re as hungry as a horse and you want a delicious meal from a fine restaurant, but you’re a little low on funds.

So what do you do? If you happen to live in Europe, the answer is as easy as pie: You pull out your smartphone or tablet, and tap Too Good To Go, Europe’s most popular app. Approximately 23,000 restaurants and food sellers post their leftover offerings on the app for half their usual cost.

Why all this incredible generosity? Unbelievably, one-third of the world’s food is thrown away, and nearly one billion people don’t have enough to eat. Besides, burning wasted food releases harmful carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change. That’s why environment-minded companies around the world are creating apps for phones, tablets, and other smart devices that connect uneaten food with people who want or need it.

After a long day at work, Anne, a 34-year-old student, pulls out her smartphone and chooses a noodle dish—pasta with mushrooms. Then she heads to a restaurant on the banks of the Spree River, where the owner packs her dinner and also offers her a scoop of free ice cream, which is a reward for bringing her own container.

Indeed, there are many programs serving the same mission around the world. In America, people are using an app called Food for All. One hour before a restaurant closes, its staff can post leftover meals to the app for up to 80 percent off menu prices. The app also allows customers to donate leftover meals to others.

In the Netherlands, 77,000 people have downloaded an app called NoFoodWasted. This program allows grocery store workers to share products that are approaching their expiration dates with customers who might need them.

Some countries are taking their commitment to reducing food waste a step further. France and the Czech Republic, for example, have laws that prohibit restaurants and grocery stores from throwing away food. Instead, workers are required to donate that food to charity.

So think about if there might be a better use for your uneaten vegetables. The planet will thank you.

1. What is this passage mainly about?

A．Restaurants can post leftover meals on the app Food for All.

B．Apps are designed connecting leftover food with people in need.

C．Stores share food approaching their expiration dates with customers.

D．It’s popular for people to claim food that might otherwise be thrown away.

2. What is the result when lots of food is thrown out and later burned up?

A．Carbon dioxide is given off, worsening the problem of climate change.

B．Some countries have laws making restaurants donate the food they make.

C．Governments have made many apps that let people find cheap meals.

D．Nearly one billion people on the planet do not get enough food to eat.

3. What can you infer from the passage?

A．Anne packed a tasty pasta and mushroom dish to give away to charity.

B．The restaurant Anne visits sells its leftover food at a discount each day.

C．The 80-percent-off deal offered on app is not available during lunch hours.

D．Laws have been passed to prevent restaurants from throwing out leftover food.

4. This passage would be most useful for a student research project on _____.

A．application of technology to help solve the problem of leftover food

B．laws to help promote the safe transportation and sale of food products

C．restaurants using high-tech solutions to reduce packaging waste

D．methods to design apps that connect restaurants with customers

5 . Summary Writing

When you hear the final whistle

One of the hardest things for any sportsperson to do is to know when to retire. But even harder is finding the answer to the question “What am I going to do with the rest of my life?”

Some sportspeople go on playing too long. Perhaps they just can’t stand life without the “high” of playing professional sport. Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all time retired three times. He retired once from the Chicago Bulls, made a successful comeback with the Bulls, then retired again. His second comeback with an inferior team ended in failure and he retired forever at the age of 38. Jordan said, “There will never be anything I do that will fulfill me as much as competing did.”

Others can’t resist the chance of one last “pay day”. Muhammad Ali needed the money, but his comeback fight, at the age of 39, against Trevor Berbick, was one of the saddest spectacles in modern sport. After losing to Berbick, Ali retired permanently. Three years later he developed Parkinson’s disease.

For some people, the pain of retirement never leaves them. As Jimmy Greaves, an ex-England international footballer said, “I think that a lot of players would prefer to be shot once their career is over.” Many of them spend their retirement in a continual battle against depression, alcohol, or drugs.

But for the lucky few, retirement can mean a successful new career. Franz Beckenbauer is a classical example of a footballer who won everything with his club, Bayern Muaich. After retiring he became a successful coach with Bayern and finally president of the club. John McEnroe, the infamous “bad boy” of tennis, is now a highly respected and highly paid TV commentator. But sadly, for most sportspeople these cases are the exceptions.