1 . The pandemic has affected nearly all aspects of modern life, from the clothes we wear to the food we eat. There is one thing, however, that has remained almost unchanged: the emojis we send.
According to data from the Unicode Consortium (统一码联盟), nine of the 10 most-used emojis from 2019 also ranked among the top 10 this year. The tears of joy emoji ranked No.1, despite members of Gen Z deeming it uncool.
“It speaks to how many people use emojis. If emojis were a purely Gen Z thing, then you wouldn’t see it so highly ranked,” said Alexander Robertson, an emoji researcher at Google. “Because of the large number of people using emojis, even if one group thinks something is lame, they have to be a really big group to affect these statistics.”
And it makes sense that Gen Z would think that certain emojis aren’t fashionable. It’s part of the “teenager experience of creating a sense of subculture where there’s a right way and a wrong way of behaving.” Plus, there is a range of laughter that can be expressed: There’s light chuckling. There’s acknowledgement laughter, which is just a marker of empathy. Using emojis, such as the skull face (“I’m dead”) or crying face ( uncontrollable tears of laughter), can help to illustrate that range.
“It basically indicates that we have what we need to communicate a broad range of expression, or even very specific concepts,” Mr Robertson said. “You don’t necessarily need a Covid emoji.”
“We did see a rise in the use of the virus emoji. But it wasn’t made remotely into the most-commonly used ones because we still had plenty to laugh about and plenty to cry about, whether it was because of the pandemic or not,” said Lauren Gawne, a senior lecturer in linguistic at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia.
“Even in the midst of this massive global pandemic that preoccupied so much of our time,” She added. “We still spent a lot of time wishing each other happy birthday or checking or laughing about some new and unexpected elements of this slow-burning weirdness.”
1. Why does the tears of joy emoji ranked No.1 despite the dislike from the Z generation?| A．The emoji is a purely Z generation thing. |
| B．The Z generation are too young to influence the rank. |
| C．Though they dislike it, the Z generation vote for it ultimately. |
| D．The Z generation take up a very small portion in emoji users. |
| A．the virus emoji | B．a Covid emoji |
| C．the use of the virus emoji | D．the rise in the use of the virus emoji |
| A．The massive global pandemic has come to an end. |
| B．The pandemic has little influence on people’s daily life. |
| C．We have a broad range of expression for communication. |
| D．Some new and useful emojis are created to replace the virus emoji. |
| A．The Pandemic and the Emoji. |
| B．Gen Z, the Emoji Generation. |
| C．The Emoji of the Year. |
| D．The Rise of Virus Emoji |
2 . This question has fascinated behavioural scientists for decades: why do we give money to charity?
The explanations for charitable giving fall into three broad categories, from the purely altruisic (利他的)— I donate because I value the social good done by the charity. The “impurely” altruistic— I donate because I extract value from knowing I contribute to the social good for the charity. And the not-at-all altruistic— I donate because I want to show off to potential mates how rich I am.
But are these motives strong enough to enable people to donate as much as they would want to? Most people support charities in one way or another, but often we struggle to make donations as often as we think we should. Although many people would like to leave a gift to charity in their will, they forget about it when the time comes.
Many people are also aware that they should donate to the causes that have the highest impact, but facts and figures are less attractive than narratives. In a series of experiments, it was found that people are much more responsive to charitable pleas that feature a single, identifiable beneficiary(受益者), than they are to statistical information about the scale of the problem being faced. When it comes to charitable giving, we are often ruled by our hearts and not our heads.
The good news is that charitable giving is contagious—seeing others give makes an individual more likely to give and gentle encouragement from an important person in your life can also make a big difference to your donation decisions— more than quadrupling them in our recent study. Habit also plays a part— in three recent experiments those who volunteered before were more likely to do donate their time than those who had not volunteered before.
In summary, behavioural science identifies a range of factors that influence our donations, and can help us to keep giving in the longer term. This is great news not just for charities, but also for donors.
1. What can we learn about people who do charitable giving?| A．Most people support charity as often as they think they should. |
| B．Some people don’t want to leave a gift to charity until the time comes. |
| C．Those who donate because they can gain an advantage are purely altruistic. |
| D．Some people send money to charity simply to tell others they are wealthy. |
| A．Not revealing the names of the donors. |
| B．Showing figures about the seriousness of the problem. |
| C．Telling stories that feature a single, recognizable beneficiary. |
| D．Reminding people to write down what to donate in the will in advance. |
| A．People will learn from others and follow the suit. |
| B．Many people are familiar with charitable giving. |
| C．Charitable giving helps the beneficiary in all aspects. |
| D．Charitable giving can bring a lot of benefits to donors. |
| A．To persuade more people to donate. |
| B．To explain the science behind why people donate. |
| C．To criticize some false charitable giving behaviours. |
| D．To explore approaches to making people donate more. |
3 . Many kids help out around the house with chores such as emptying the dishwasher, putting laundry away, and taking out the trash. In exchange, some kids get allowances or other rewards such as extra computer time.
But some people do not think that kids should get rewards for doing chores. Susie Walton, a parenting educator and family coach, believes that by rewarding kids, parents are sending a message that work isn’t worth doing unless you get something in return. “Running any kind of household is a team effort,” Susie said. “A home is a living space for everyone in the family. It’s important for kids to see that we all have responsibilities in the house, and that families decide together how they want their home to look, and how they are going to keep it looking like everyone wants it to look.”
Other people believe that getting a cash allowance or other rewards motivates kids to do chores, and it also teaches them real world lessons about how we need to work to earn money. There are also new applications that give kids points and digital gifts that can be redeemed (兑取) either online or in the real world. With the Chore Monster app, kids earn digital points by completing chores that they can turn in for real-life rewards such as extra Xbox time or a trip to the mall. “Our goal is to encourage kids to earn rewards.” says Chris Bergman, founder of Chore Monster. “Kids need positive reinforcement to help motivate them.”
What do you think? Should kids be rewarded for doing chores? Or should kids help out around their homes without getting anything in return?
Write a 200-word response. Send it to tfkasks4you@timeforkids. com. Your response may be published in a future issue of Time For Kids. Please include your grade and contact information of your parent or teacher if you want your response to be published. The deadline for responding is 18 February.
1. How does the author start the passage?| A．By stating his own experiences. | B．By presenting some facts. |
| C．By comparing different views. | D．By listing some evidence. |
| A．Kids should be rewarded for doing chores. |
| B．Parents decide what kids can do for the family. |
| C．Kids have the responsibility to share housework. |
| D．Kids can get extra computer time for doing chores. |
| A．Chris Bergman’s opinion on raising kids. |
| B．Main reasons why kids need encouragement |
| C．How to motivate kids to try new applications. |
| D．The advantage of rewarding kids for doing chores. |
| A．To invite readers to express their opinions. | B．To present the author’s viewpoint about parenting. |
| C．To call on readers to reflect on their behavior. | D．To inform readers of two different opinions. |
4 . We all have a tendency to fake laugh, particularly when authority figures in our lives try to make a joke that just doesn’t land. Though it might feel rude not to laugh when your in-laws or boss try to say something funny, pretending to do so might not be much better. It turns out, even if you think that your forced laughing sounds genuine, people are usually pretty good at separating truly spirited belly laughs from fake ones. But how can they possible know the difference?
Well, when researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles studied the acoustic and perceptual differences between real and fake laughter, they found that some of the sounds associated with genuine laughter is “really hard to fake.” In their study, the researchers determined that subjects were only fooled by 37 percent of fake laughter.
The most prominent factor distinguishing real laughter from fake laughter is duration — or, more specifically, the number of breaths taken in in between sounds. Seeing as it takes more effort and concentration to fake a laugh as opposed to do it genuinely, people tend to pause more in between their “ha-ha’s” when they’re faking it. Evidently, that pausing is pretty noticeable.
“A fake laugh is basically an imitation of a real laugh, but produced with a slightly different set of vocal muscles controlled by a different part of our brain,” Greg Bryant, the lead UCLA researcher on the study, explained. “The result is that there are subtle features of the laugh that sound like speech, and ... people are unconsciously quite sensitive to them.”
People have also proven to be emotionally sensitive to laughter as well. “Our rains are very sensitive to the social and emotional significance of laughter,” said Carolyn McGettigan, a scientist at Royal Holloway, University of London.
McGettigan conducted a 2014 study that recorded participants’ brain responses as they listened to the same people produce genuine laughter by watching funny videos, as opposed to fake laughter. “During our study, when participants heard a laugh that was posed, they activated regions of the brain associated with mentalizing in an attempt to understand the other person’s emotional and mental state,” she said.
So, while we may understand that certain social situations sometimes require fake laughter, most of the time, our instincts and emotional intelligence are just too smart to buy into them.
According to McGettigan, that’s a good thing. “Evolutionarily speaking, it’s good to be able to detect if someone is authentically experiencing an emotion or if they’re not,” she said. “Because you don’t want to be fooled.”
1. What do researchers at the University of California want to find out in this study?| A．What is the difference between a fake laugh and a real one. |
| B．Which part of the brain controls the sound of our laughter. |
| C．Why do people need to fake laugh when they don’t want to. |
| D．How to laugh as genuinely as possible when you are faking it. |
| A．you seem more concentrated when you laugh for real |
| B．you take more breaths when you try to fake a laugh |
| C．a fake laugh often happens after a sudden pause |
| D．a real laugh usually lasts longer than a fake one |
| A．Certain social situations may require us to fake a laugh. |
| B．Evolution has enabled us to recognize other’s emotions. |
| C．By instincts, we are able to tell a person’s mental state. |
| D．We can sense other’s emotional state when they laugh. |
5 . WRINKLES are big business. Around the world, people are living longer and populations are ageing. Most people can expect to make it to their 60s at least. As the number of older people increases, so does the desire to cover up one of ageing’s most obvious signs. Recent market research found that consumers in the US spent ＄9. 1 billion on anti-wrinkle creams and moisturisers in 2021 and will be spending nearly ＄13 billion in 2027.
That expenditure is essentially a vanity project driven by a desire or pressure to look younger. There is no shortage of options, often at very high prices. However, there is a growing case for that bill to be picked up by healthcare providers and private insurers.
Wrinkles are much more than a cosmetic(美容的) problem. There is growing evidence that they aren’t just a rough indicator of our biological age, but are also a key driver of ageing. Wrinkled skin seems to release harmful substances that speed up ageing in our brains and bodies. That makes sense when you consider that skin is on the frontline. Because it is exposed to sunlight, pollutants and other insults, it ages faster than the rest of our bodies, and then seems to drag the rest of our bodies with it. Ageing is also a leading cause of illness and, ultimately, death. By the time we are in our 60s, most of us have at least one age-related disease, and they accumulate greatly from then on at huge cost to the health services. Those costs are only going to rise as the population gets older.
The goal of the recent anti-ageing research is to extend health span-in other words, to delay the development of age-related diseases. It looks as though dealing with the causes of wrinkling offers a fairly simple way of achieving this, thereby saving taxpayers billions. And if we all end up looking younger as a result, then that is something worth celebrating.
1. What does the underlined word “that expenditure” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．The beauty cost. | B．The ageing sign. |
| C．The market research. | D．The health concern. |
| A．Because they make people look older. |
| B．Because they help figure out all health problems. |
| C．Because they bring people psychological discomfort. |
| D．Because they somewhat worsen one’s physical condition. |
| A．To save taxpayers money. |
| B．To identify the cause of wrinkling. |
| C．To screen age-related diseases early. |
| D．To slow down the progression of age-related diseases. |
| A．Cosmetic products—Not just for the rich. |
| B．Wrinkles—First sign of ageing. |
| C．Cosmetic products—Price-rocketing business. |
| D．Wrinkles—Not just skin deep. |
6 . The idea of people taking photographs in front of Van Gogh’s Sun flowers or Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus was once considered so unsatisfactory that galleries banned visitors from using selfie sticks (自拍杆). However, the annoyance at social media platforms such as Instagram has turned into a bit of a love affair—with one gallery creating a period of time to help visitors take better photos and videos to share with their followers.
The Old Royal Naval College, in Greenwich, southeast London, is reducing visitor numbers on Mondays for its Museum of the Moon artwork “for those looking for the perfect Insta shot”. It will sell 400 tickets a session in its Painted Hall rather than the usual 800, so influencers (网红) can show their best sides without the crowds. The college, which is displaying a seven-metre model of the moon, created by the artist Luke Jerram, tells ticket holders, “Posing, influencer photo shoots and selfies are encouraged.” Sarah Codrington, head of marketing at the college, said, “Social Media Mondays” were partly about appealing to influencers but also freeing up the rest of the week for visitors who might be inconvenienced by people dressing themselves up for their Instagram feed.
Jerram, whose Museum of the Moon has been displayed in numerous venues (场馆); said, “I had not been consulted about Social Media Mondays but approved. People sometimes complain that there are so many people there that they weren’t having the best experience. People were lying on the floor and doing selfies. Part of the fun of the artwork is watching others interact with it.” He said he welcomed selfie-takers because they usually put away their cameras after ten minutes and engaged with the work. “People are going to have their close encounter with the moon, not necessarily to see an artwork,” he said.
Brian Sewell, the late art critic, once was disappointed that it was impossible to see paintings “because people are too busy taking photos”. But Jerram said galleries should accept it. “Now everyone is their own media and broadcasting company,” he said. “They are broadcasting their experience of the world.”
1. What is the new measure of the Old Royal Naval College according to the passage?| A．It has set aside a special time for visitors like influencers. |
| B．It has taken severe measures to prohibit using selfie sticks. |
| C．It is appealing to visitors to share photos on their social media. |
| D．It is discouraging visitors from approaching Sun flowers or The Birth of Venus. |
| A．To attract influencers of media. | B．To profit by selling more tickets. |
| C．To exhibit the model of the moon. | D．To satisfy the needs of different visitors. |
| A．It mainly benefits influencers. | B．It advocates dressing up for Instagram. |
| C．It might inconvenience some visitors. | D．It is actually a win-win practice. |
| A．Luke Jerram is a famous influencer. |
| B．Brian Sewell supports taking selfies in galleries. |
| C．Luke Jerram thinks galleries should not reject selfie-takers. |
| D．Brian Sewell is always broadcasting his experience of the world. |
7 . For years, Esther Ruth Mbabazi’s had stuck to her approach to photography. Be invisible. Don’t influence the scene. Then, in 2019, the 28-year-old Ugandan had an opportunity to do just the opposite.
That’s when Mbabazi got linked with the Gulu for Women With Disabilities Union (GUWODU), a professional and social center in a small city in Uganda’s north. There, she partnered with seven women on a portrait (肖像) series that was a celebration of individuality and personal expression. “I was tired of the images I constantly encountered there, especially here in Uganda, where people with disabilities are robbed of their personalities,” said Mbabazi. “They’re photographed as people who can’t do anything. I didn’t want my images to look like that.”
Over one year, she made four trips to Gulu and photographed women she came across, including a land mine survivor missing a leg, a deaf mother of four, and a blind musician. They posed in custom dresses, created by a Kampala-based designer, against backdrops (背景幕布) of art and handiwork they had made. When Mbabazi inquired the women how they preferred to be seen, they responded: as capable, equal, intelligent. In other words, the respect that Ugandans with special needs often are denied.
Joyce Auma, 25, who uses wheelchair, chose a blue patterned top and skit that contrasted beautifully with the bright green and blue backdrop. Another, Laker Irene Odwar, who lost her leg in a land mine at age 16, chose a pale blue jacket and a shirt with a smart silk scarf.
On her last trip to Gulu, Mbabazi delivered large, framed copies of the portraits to those who posed for them. As Mbabazi explains, “They said, ‘This shows me as I am in my full existence, my full body, as I am’.” Mbabazi desires the photos will be exhibited publicly, to help transform how the women are seen, and treated, by others.
1. What is Mbabazi’s original principle in photography before 2019?| A．Making the scene invisible. | B．Designing the scene in advance. |
| C．Avoiding her impact on the scene. | D．Adopting techniques to improve the scene. |
| A．Her passion for photography. | B．Her experience with GUWODU. |
| C．The suggestion from her partners. | D．The dissatisfaction with her own images. |
| A．They are fond of bright colours. | B．They are all survivors of a disaster. |
| C．They live with disability to some degree. | D．They have a talent for designing custom dresses. |
| A．To demonstrate the individuality of Uganda women. |
| B．To reveal the actual living condition of disabled females. |
| C．To exhibit the charm of ladies dressed in designed custom dresses. |
| D．To challenge the unfair way disabled women are viewed and treated. |
8 . Massimo Bottura opened a restaurant in Italy in 1995 which is a two-time winner of the world’s best. Today, his cooking empire
At Refettorio Ambrosianos, dinner guests are greeted by name and dine on fine china at tables. The menu changes daily,
Chefs at Refettorio cook free meals with
| A．extracts | B．expands | C．exposes | D．estimates |
| A．consequences | B．fantasies | C．achievements | D．entertainments |
| A．depending on | B．insisting on | C．switching on | D．calling on |
| A．comprise | B．link | C．trace | D．consume |
| A．obtained | B．displayed | C．transformed | D．interpreted |
| A．quantity | B．suspect | C．ambition | D．pleasure |
| A．challenges | B．expectations | C．boundaries | D．conflicts |
| A．Ultimately | B．Actually | C．Barely | D．Merely |
| A．contradictory | B．abstract | C．complex | D．traditional |
| A．reveal | B．recall | C．regain | D．react |
| A．occupied | B．tricked | C．comforted | D．committed |
| A．leftovers | B．grains | C．desserts | D．recipes |
| A．clarified | B．acknowledged | C．qualified | D．protected |
| A．defend | B．blame | C．strengthen | D．defeat |
| A．vivid | B．remarkable | C．amusing | D．optimistic |
9 . Often when I mention I have a Ph.D. in physics and astronomy, the response I get from people is “Oh, you must be so smart!” In general, people tend to associate science with “braininess”. It is usually the way society sees scientists versus non-scientists.
Science writer Kat Arney explored this issue in a column for the Royal Society of Chemistry. As she points out, this seemingly unbreakable association between braininess and science influences children’s views of their future. Those who do not see themselves as being among the cleverest in class will automatically discount the idea of a career in a scientific area, even if they find science interesting and do well in the subject.
This stereotype (刻板印象) affects young girls. School-aged girls slightly outperform boys in math and science. However, men take up a bigger amount of positions at science, from undergraduate science majors to administrative positions with the power to hire and promote. In other words, the message of braininess matching scientific skills is applied more heavily to men than to women.
The problem is far worse when the message is used to generalize about groups, especially race. When combined with the cultural belief that only the “brainy” are worthy of scientific training, it becomes a self-reinforcing (自我强化的) cycle. You will hear that African-American under-representation in science is because they are not “smart” enough. In fact, black-majority schools are often underfunded. They lack teachers, supplies and other necessities for STEM preparation. To make matters worse, their students are faced with daily challenges to their intelligence for those who do earn STEM degrees.
The truth is, none of us are born scientists. We often say, “children are natural scientists.” What we really mean is that they are naturally curious and willing to experiment in ways adults are generally trained out of. They have to be taught to channel that curiosity into productive pathways. And we have to do a lot better at not reinforcing the message that scientists are smarter than non-scientist and that only the geniuses can do science.
1. What is a commonly held belief of scientists according to the author?| A．Children are true scientists. |
| B．Men are better scientists than women. |
| C．Scientists are smarter than non-scientists. |
| D．African-Americans are least likely to be scientists. |
| A．School girls can’t perform well in science and maths. |
| B．Young girls are willing to choose a career in a scientific area. |
| C．Young girls take up a smaller number of positions at science. |
| D．School girls see themselves as not being among the cleverest in class. |
| A．Their low intelligence. | B．The self-reinforcing cycle. |
| C．The majority of black students in their schools. | D．A lack of school resources for STEM teaching. |
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. | C．Neutral. | D．Ambiguous. |
Technology has started to take over the world. It may seem like a huge advancement to society, but large setbacks come equally.
We now live in an age of social media. We have never been as
While some may see social media’s positive effects
To understand technology, one must know
