1 . No business would welcome being compared to gambling (赌博). Yet that is what is happening to makers of video games. For years parents have complained that their children are “addicted” to their video games and smartphones. Today, however, even more doctors are using the term. On January 1 this year, “gaming disorder” — in which games are played uncontrollably, despite causing harm — gained recognition from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Are games really addictive? Psychologists have different opinions. Those who don’t think so say that this is just another moral panic. Similar warnings have been given about television, rock’n’roll, jazz, comic books, novels and even crossword puzzles, but it turns out that they are not as harmful as expected.
However, supporters argue that game developers have the motivation and the means to design their products to make them extremely attractive. For one thing, the business- model has changed: In the old days, games were bought once and for all. But these days, games are free and money is earned from buying of in-game goods, which ties playtime directly to profit they make. For another, game-makers combine psychological theory and data, which helps them maximize the playtime. Smart phones and modern video game machines use their permanent Internet connections to send gameplay data back to developers. In this way products are constantly adjusted to encourage players’ spending. The biggest spenders are known as “whales”, a term that originated in casinos (赌场).
The gaming industry should realize that, in the real world, it has a problem, and that problem is growing. Now that gaming addiction comes with an official WHO recognition, diagnoses will become more common. Anyway, being put together with gambling in the public mind, fairly or not, will not do the industry any good.
1. What do we know from Paragraph 1?| A．It is not suitable to compare video games to gambling. |
| B．Parents complain about their children’s addiction to gambling. |
| C．Gaming addiction was officially recognized as a disease. |
| D．More doctors are against the use of the term “addicted”. |
| A．Unexpected addiction caused by science and technology. |
| B．Wrong judgment on how harmful something is. |
| C．Trouble caused by someone’s immoral behavior. |
| D．A shocking statement of the unexpected panic. |
| A．They don’t charge players for in-game goods. |
| B．They keep players’ video game machines updated. |
| C．They reward big spenders with a unique title. |
| D．They adjust products based on received data. |
| A．offer a suggestion | B．make a prediction |
| C．give a warning | D．put forward a solution |
2 . The summer holidays have just begun, but it is a busy morning at Cadoxton Primary School, in Barry, an industrial town in Wales. It runs a summer programme for hard-up (拮据的) children, providing meals and activities over the holidays with the aim of helping kids to spend the time more meaningfully. As young people run laughing and screaming into the school cafeteria for breakfast, their parents hung out, some visibly relieved. Just three days into the six-week school holidays one mother says her nine-year-old daughter has already asked five times to go bowling. “Without the school’s help,” she says, “it would be a long and expensive six weeks.”
In the popular imagination, school summer holidays conjure up (使……呈现于脑际) a picture of carefree youthful exploration. But many parents rely on the term-time services that schools give their kids, such as tutors and meals. If the holidays approach, they can suddenly find their schedules and budgets stretched. Researchers also say that the long break often sets back children’s learning, and that children from poorer backgrounds are desperately affected due to their shortage of money.
Many poor children fall behind their wealthier peers over the holidays. “Summer is the most unequal time of the year,” says Matthew Boulay of the National Summer Learning Association. “Well-off parents can fill the gap left by school and consolidate (使巩固) their children’s unfamiliar knowledge well, keeping their children stimulated with summer camps, trips abroad or private tutors. Poorer families, apparently, find this harder, since their income is relatively low and demand for sponsored activities offered by governments,” he adds.
Holidays can be a financial stress, which is absolutely true. In countries where some children receive free school meals, summer means bigger grocery bills for hard-up families. Households where both parents work have to pay for extra childcare, too. The Family and Childcare Trust, a charity, says that in Britain, where childcare costs are the highest in the OECD, a club of mostly rich countries. Parents will spend an average of 33 per child per week on childcare this summer, mainly because of the sharp shortage of governmental funding sponsor.
1. What is the purpose of the summer programme?| A．To lengthen students’ school life. | B．To keep students busy all the time. |
| C．To provide students with free meals. | D．To enrich students’ summer holidays. |
| A．Rich. | B．Tight. | C．Reasonable. | D．Affordable. |
| A．Badly-off parents are likely to give up sponsoring their kids. |
| B．Well-off parents are unwilling to offer their kids extra tutors. |
| C．Students from poor family can well deal with the peer pressure. |
| D．Students from rich family can strengthen their learned knowledge. |
| A．Because of insufficiency of free tutors. | B．Because of shortage of social sponsor. |
| C．Because of shortage of free school meals. | D．Because of lack of governmental support. |
1. What is the woman mainly talking about?
| A．A foreigner. | B．A hobby. | C．A report. |
| A．Around 15%. | B．Around 21%. | C．Around 35%. |
| |||||
| 69% of the travelers try to put down their smartphones on vacation. | 1/3 of Americans always spend their time on the phone on holiday. | 16% of UK travelers always check their phones on vacation. | Most important objects USA: Mobile phone AUS: Camera UK: Sunscreen | ||
Holidays booking (预订) | |||||
| 3/4 of the travelers prefer to book trips online. | 84% of Americans say they are most likely to book online. | 3% of Australians book travel by phone. | |||
根据材料内容选择最佳答案。
1. What do one third of Americans always do during trips?
| A．They always try to put down their phones. |
| B．They always use a lot of sunscreens. |
| C．They always take cameras with them. |
| D．They always spend time on the phone. |
| A．two | B．three | C．four | D．five |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
①From social media users.
②From other travelers’ reviews.
③From family and friends.
④From travel companies.
⑤From travel guides.
| A．①④ | B．②⑤ | C．②③ | D．④⑤ |
| A．The text is written to change travelers’ habits. |
| B．UK travelers use mobile apps the least during trips. |
| C．Sunscreen is the most important object for a US traveler. |
| D．Most travelers like to communicate with their friends on vacation. |
5 . In recent years advances in medical technology have made it possible for people to live longer than in the past. New medicines and machines are developing every day to extend life.
However, some people, including some doctors, are not in favor of these life extending measures, and they say that people should have the right(权利) to die when they want. They say that the quality of life is as important as life itself, and that people should not be forced to go on living when conditions of life have become unbearable. They say that people should be allowed to die with dignity(尊严) and to decide when they want to die.
Others don’ t agree and say that life under any conditions is better than death and that the duty of doctors is always to extend life as long as possible. And so the battle goes on and on without a definite(明确的) answer.
1. People can live longer than in the past. It’ s because________.| A．medical technology develops | B．we have big hospitals |
| C．there are many good doctors | D．we eat better than before |
| A．the doctors | B．the surroundings |
| C．his or his family | D．the patient himself or herself |
| A．death is better than life | B．life is better than death |
| C．neither life nor death is good | D．none of the above |
| A．The increasing crime rate. |
| B．The coverage of newspapers. |
| C．The impact of mass media. |
7 . 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? |
8 . Julie Kenerson loved taking her two sons Lukas and his brother Jake who used a wheelchair due to his rare illness, to the Charlestown playground in Mayor Thomas M. Menino Park.
In 2019, Jake passed away at age 11 from complications of his metabolic (新陈代谢的) disorder.
Over the past decade, playground accessibility has advanced due to more awareness and more options for designers. Parents like Julie are telling public officials and planners that more work still needs to be done to make playgrounds truly inclusive.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires equal access for people with disabilities in public spaces, was passed in 1990. But it didn’t specifically address outdoor recreation in its original regulations. Updated guidance came in 2010, and any playground that is now built or renovated must be ADA-compliant. But, according to Julie, there is a gap between what she calls “ADA on paper” and “the lived experience of ADA”.
| A．Fortunately, those in charge are listening. |
| B．But not all playgrounds were accessible to Jake. |
| C．However, some officials turn a deaf ear to Julie’s requests. |
| D．The playground has plenty of wheelchair-accessible designs. |
| E．One of Julie’s main themes is that play should be for everyone. |
| F．Hence, she still attempts to make playgrounds accessible to all. |
| G．Since then, Julie has been on a special playground-related mission. |
9 . School uniforms are traditional in Britain. Pupils at about 90 percent of British secondary schools wear uniforms. When every pupil in the school wears the uniform, nobody has to worry about fashion and they feel that they belong to a group. Some people believe that a school uniform can help students pay attention to schoolwork. But some schools in Britain and other countries are starting to drop the traditional uniforms.
An Australian school has decided to drop its traditional school uniform, hoping new sportswear will encourage students to take part in more activities. School headmaster Elisabeth Lenders said the uniform change had been in the works for several years. “We decided that in 2018-2019,” she said. “The importance is clear: to make young people live happy, healthy lives.”
Ms. Lenders said World Health Organization research reported 90 percent of young Australians and New Zealanders were not getting the minimum daily levels of activity they needed in order to lead a healthy life.
As well as the new uniform, she said the school would change timetables to make sure there would be chances for students to take part in physical activity every day.
Ms. Lenders said in the past, a uniform was about all looking the same but in the 21st century it was important for students to be able to choose clothes that they liked.
And this Australian school had made an online survey about the uniform change and had received great support from parents and students. Tara, mother of Ava in Year 7, said it was a great move from the school. “These are the challenges of our time, and we want young people to think about them,” she said. “It is bigger than just throwing out the old uniform. It’s about what the role of education is about. And for me, it’s helping young people to live a happy, healthy and productive life.”
1. What does the underline word “that” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．physical activity | B．uniform change |
| C．happy life | D．students’ health |
| A．helps students to live a healthy life | B．gives students a sense of belonging |
| C．leaches students to dress fashionably | D．helps students to pay attention to study |
| A．Students there may wear different kinds of clothes. |
| B．It’s not clear whether the change is good for students or not. |
| C．Parents have different opinions towards the change of uniform. |
| D．The change receives strong support from students and parents. |
| A．Novel. | B．A guidebook. |
| C．A newspaper. | D．A book review. |
10 . The COVID-19 pandemic began in late 2019 and for the best part of two years, children were forced to learn at home, staring at computers. As they start the 2023-24 school year, a terrifying proportion still seem barely to be back.
According to a study published in early August, in the 2021-22 academic year 28% of schoolchildren missed at least three and a half weeks of school. The study, conducted by Thomas Dee, an education professor at Stanford University, found that “chronic (长期的) absenteeism”, defined as when a pupil misses 10% of the school year, almost doubled overall between 2018-19 and 2021-22. In Alaska, nearly half of all pupils missed enough school to be counted.
Explaining this is tricky. Students skip school for many reasons: lack of transport, poverty, the weather. But these are unlikely to have worsened recently. A more reasonable explanation for the lasting rise is that, having experienced remote learning, some students — and perhaps their parents — no longer think it necessary or even worthwhile to sit in a classroom. “It’s the same thing as in the workplace,” says a teacher in New Orleans. “Once you’ve gone down to only being there two or three days a week, coming back all five is hard.”
Attending school in person is important. Studies show that children who skip more school get significantly worse grades. One published by the Institute of Labour Economics by three American academics found that missing ten maths classes reduced the chance of a high school student graduating on time by 8%. Schools also connect pupils to important services. In Baltimore, schoolchildren can get free meals or be fitted for glasses through school, and their parents can be hooked up with social services. Educators can also spot if a child is being ill-treated or neglected. Pupils develop social skills in school, take part in after-school programmes and learn sports.
There are few easy fixes, though some look for them. Chicago Collegiate is encouraging attendance by giving pupils individual rewards and by holding class pizza parties. In Baltimore, Mayor Brandon Scott plans to award the school with the most improved attendance rate. Most teachers, however, are simply trying to adapt. “Our youngsters, the competition for their attention has never been more difficult,” sighs a teacher in a New York City middle school. The challenge, he says, is to “attract kids to school”.
1. What’s the real reason for the rise in chronic absenteeism after the pandemic?| A．Economic challenges. | B．Worsening transportation. |
| C．Online learning experience. | D．Irresponsible school teachers. |
| A．It lowers the risk of falling ill. |
| B．It improves academic performance. |
| C．It offers access to important services. |
| D．It promotes the development of social skills. |
| A．Effects. | B．Origins. | C．Responses. | D．Solutions. |
| A．Various measures have been taken to improve school attendance. |
| B．In-person attendance at school is beneficial to students’ development. |
| C．Chronic absenteeism in schools saw a significant rise after the pandemic. |
| D．Online learning is gaining in popularity among students and parents. |
