1 . These days there is so much tempting technology to look at: smart phones, tablets, computer games and TV screens. Much of children's entertainment and education comes from using them, so it's no wonder they spend so much time staring at them. But even if the saying that looking at a screen for too long gives you square eyes isn't true, there is still some concern. So, should we be worried?
Certainly for children who spend hours glued to a screen, there is a concern that their health might be at risk. Also there is a fear that their eyesight is declining too. Although there's not much evidence to prove this yet, recent findings have brought the problem into light.
Chris Hammond, consultant at St Thomas' Hospital, says “We find short-sightedness is becoming more common It has greatly spread in East Asia, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea where approaching 90 of 18-year-olds are now short-sighted.”
But can this be linked to children's obsession with using electronic gadgets? Annegret Dahlmann, expert at Moorfields Eve Hospital in London. says lack of natural light seems to be the key issue. She's suggested that children in East Asia study a lot, using computers, smart phones or tablets, and they go outside less. Wearing glasses is one solution, but it's not ideal.
This leads to a dilemma: achieving short-term academic success or protecting your long-term eyesight. It's always going to be a challenge to drag children away from their screens and it's likely that more and more studying will be done online. But despite that, Professor Hammond says. “In countries like urban China, where 10% of children in each class per year are becoming short-sighted from about the age of six. there's an argument for saying we should be trying to prevent it.” It's evidence we can't turn a blind eye to. So, maybe it's time to hit the “off” button and get our children outside?
1. What can we infer from the first two paragraphs?| A．Recent findings have opened our eyes to the issue of eyesight. |
| B．Looking at a screen for too long will get you square eyes. |
| C．It has been confirmed that children's eyesight is failing. |
| D．Using electronic gadgets affects children's education. |
| A．Wearing glasses. | B．Heavy school work. |
| C．Lack of natural light. | D．Booming technology. |
| A．Learning online or offline. |
| B．Reading for pleasure or exams. |
| C．Focusing on study or protecting eyesight. |
| D．Protecting eyesight or promoting technology. |
| A．Study hard. | B．Head outdoors. | C．Quit computer. | D．Challenge more. |
2 . Everyone has a phone in their pocket nowadays, but how often do we really use them for their original purpose – to make a call? Telephone culture is disappearing. What brought us to this moment, and what are its effects?
“No one picks up the phone anymore,” wrote Alex C. Madrigal on The Atlantic. “The reflex (习惯性动作) of answering –built so deeply into people who grew up in 20th-century telephonic culture – is gone.”
The shift is of course due in large part to more communication options: Texting with photos, videos, emojis, reaction gifs, links and even voice messages can be a more attractive option.
Texting is light and fun, not nearly as demanding of your attention as a phone call. It can also be done with multiple people at the same time. Social media, email and video calls have also eaten away at traditional phone calls.
In recent years, another reason has caused people to ignore phone calls completely: robocalls. Robocalls are automated (自动化的) messages from organizations verifying (核实) your phone number or telemarketers trying to sell something. Americans received 22.8 billion robocalls halfway through 2020, equaling an annual rate of 45.6 billion, slightly below 2018 numbers, according to YouMail, a robocall protection service and blocking app.
As telephone culture disappears, what is the loss of a singular family phone doing to the family unit? Early landline phones united family members, whereas mobile phones isolate (使隔绝) them.
“The shared family phone served as an anchor (给以安全感的物品) for home,” said Luke Fernandez, a Weber State University computer-science professor and co-author of Bored, Lonely, Angry, Stupid: Feelings About Technology, From the Telegraph to Twitter. With smartphones, “we have gained mobility and privacy. But the value of the home has been diminished, as has its ability to guide and monitor family behavior and perhaps bond families more closely together,” Fernandez said.
Of course, as technology progresses, lives always change for better or for worse. With the loss of telephone culture, families will need to find other ways to unite.
1. What has caused the traditional telephone to lose its appeal according to the text?| A．People’s addiction to social media. |
| B．People’s preference for robocalls. |
| C．People’s growing need for privacy. |
| D．People’s wide range of communication choices. |
| A．Strengthened | B．Reduced. | C．Instructed. | D．Enriched. |
| A．Smart phones tie families together. |
| B．Smart phones help people monitor family behavior. |
| C．The use of mobile phones has affected family bonds. |
| D．The value of home depends on how phones are used. |
| A．The downfall of traditional telephone culture. |
| B．The past and future of telephones. |
| C．The development of communication tools. |
| D．The relation between phone use and family bonds. |
3 . How many phone numbers can you remember by heart? It’s probably fewer than you would like. Actually, you are not alone. Out of more than 1,000 Americans who were surveyed, more than half said that they couldn’t recall the phone numbers of their friends and neighbors. In their eyes, there is no point in filling their heads with phone numbers if they are all stored in smart phones that are with them almost all the time.
In fact, most people are suffering from a sort of digital amnesia(健忘). more than 90% of those surveyed agreed that they used the Internet as an online of their brains. Rote memorization(死记硬背) was once an important part of modern education, but we just need a click or slide now. That’s making us worse at remembering things.
Researchers found that when people expected to use the information online, they were less likely to remember actual facts, but more likely to remember how to find them. As a result, we are already becoming ones with our computer tools, growing into interconnected systems that remember less by knowing information than by knowing where the information can be found.
However, some believe it isn’t necessarily a bad thing--maybe it gives them more chances to think through things. We certainly acquire more knowledge now than ever, even if it isn’t all stored in our brains.
Even so, I still believe that there are more risks to this new world of memory beyond losing our ability to recall some information such as who the 15th President was. That kind of information may always be a click away, but the important things are personal ones, like the way your parents smiled at your wedding. It’s harder to recall or find online. If you’re relying on yourself to keep track of those memories, they will be much more meaningful.
1. Paragraph 1 is mainly used to _______.| A．serve as the background | B．introduce the topic |
| C．explain new research | D．show some data to readers |
| A．Dealing with too many things | B．Seldom thinking about questions |
| C．Relying on the internet too much | D．The changes of their memories. |
| A．over 90% people are suffering from digital amnesia |
| B．people can gain knowledge more easily than before |
| C．rote memorization no longer exists in modern life |
| D．People find it hard to remember how to find information |
| A．Worried | B．Optimistic |
| C．Disappointed | D．Confident |
4 . With the cost of college rising in the U.S.， some students are washing their hands of the American education system, grabbing their passports, and seeking cheaper degrees abroad. The number of students doing so has increased 2 percent annually in recent years, according to the Department of Education.
In 2009， Jessica Fuller, then 25， was employed at a small private university in Philadelphia as a clerk in an office. Bored with her job and becoming increasingly interested in healthcare industry, Fuller knew she would need a master's degree in public health for her dream career.
At first, Fuller wanted a school in New York and Pennsylvania, but with many programs costing over 30， 000 per year for tuition alone, she decided on an option she could better afford-the Netherlands. A similar degree in health economics cost less than 17， 000 for a one-year program.
To finance her education at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Fuller took out$30,000 bank loan through her mother's credit, which covered tuition fees, as well as air travel and living expenses for her year abroad.
The cost may be lower, but is the quality of education overseas just as good as an American university？ Jessica Fuller says in her case, yes she found a consulting job with Marsh Inc. as an International Knowledge Manager shortly after she graduated from Erasmus University, and said that the university——and its location——were definitely a factor.
"Many Erasmus professors were world-famous experts in their fields, "said Fuller. "Considering the variety of the students, the class discussions were very robust. Having an ' international 'advantage made a huge difference.
1. Why did Jessica Fuller want to study for a master's degree？| A．She could afford tuition at Erasmus University. |
| B．Her job required more professional skills. |
| C．She was bored with healthcare industry. |
| D．Her interest was public health. |
| A．using her own credit card |
| B．having a part-time job |
| C．getting a scholarship from the university |
| D．obtaining a loan from a bank |
| A．awkward and fruitless | B．strong and vigorous |
| C．peaceful and pleasant | D．brief and informal |
| A．choose to study overseas | B．look for jobs abroad |
| C．seek education of higher quality | D．take a one-year program |
5 . Waste can be seen everywhere in the school. Some students ask for more food than they can eat and others often forget to turn off the lights when they leave the classroom. They say they can afford these things. But I don’t agree with them.
Waste can bring a lot of problems. Although China is rich in some resources, we are short of others, for example, fresh water. It is reported that we will have no coal or oil to use in 100 years. So if we go on wasting our resources, what can we use in the future and where can we move? Think about it. I think we should say no to the students who waste things every day. Everybody should stop wasting as soon as possible.
In our everyday life, we can do many things to prevent waste from happening, for example, turn off the water taps when we finish washing, turn off the lights when we leave the classroom, try not to order more food than we need, and so on. Little by little, everything will be changed. Waste can be stopped one day if we do our best.
1. What may happen in 100 years?| A．We may still have enough oil. |
| B．We may still have enough coal. |
| C．We may have a little oil. |
| D．We may have no coal or oil to use. |
| A．Waste brings problems. |
| B．Waste can bring no problem. |
| C．China is rich in fresh water. |
| D．Students never waste things. |
| A．Stop Wasting |
| B．School Life |
| C．Waste in the School |
| D．Rich Resources in China |
利用下面所给的词语，写一篇50词左右的小短文。
decline, declare, blame, worldwide, primitive, characteristic, be harmful to, be home to, be native to, be such that…
要求：至少使用其中的5个词语，并用下划线标出。
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7 . How often do you exercise? A new study finds that most kids aged 12 to 15 aren't getting enough physical activity. The results are based on about 800 kids. As part of the study, the young teens tracked and reported on their own activity levels, and took physical exams.
The US fitness guidelines recommend an hour or more of physical activity every day. According to the study, only 1in 4 kids in the US get enough physical activity.
“It's certainly very worrying to see that our kids are engaging in such a limited amount of physical activity each day,” said Dr. Stephen Pont. He is an expert on children's health.
Few kids in the survey met the guidelines for physical activity that raises the heart rate and makes them breathe harder. Overall, about 25% said they got an hour of that kind of violent exercise every day. Kids also reported on which activities they did most often outside of the school gym class--basketball for boys and running for girls.
The study found that obese（肥胖的） teens were less active than normal-weight girls and boys. Overweight girls were slightly less active than normal-weight girls, but levels were similar among overweight and normal-weight boys. The study also said that the overall obesity rate for children aged 2 to 19 is 17%, or about 12.5 million kids.
“There's always room for improvement,” said health expert Tala Fakhouri, who was the lead author of the study. She also said the results provide useful information to help with fitness campaigns such as Lets Move, which was launched by Michelle Obama in 2010. To inspire kids to eat right and get in shape, Michelle visited schools and held exercise events. She also called on schools to offer regular gym classes.
The study also suggests kids who get physical education at school may get better grades.
1. What is the result of the new study?| A．It is important to take physical exams |
| B．Most US kids don’t get enough exercise |
| C．Kids should get physical activity every day |
| D．800 kids don’t get enough physical activity. |
| A．To help kids to keep fit. |
| B．To hold exercise events. |
| C．To offer regular gym classes. |
| D．To provide useful information. |
| A．do better in their studies |
| B．try their best to get in shape |
| C．be more willing to help others |
| D．be less active than fat children |
| A．visited | B．stopped |
| C．started | D．improved |
8 . Today almost everyone knows computers and the Internet.If I ask you what the most important in your life is，maybe you will say“computers and the Internet”．
The first computer was made in 1946.It was very big but it worked very slowly.Today computers are getting smaller and smaller.But they work faster and faster.What can computers do？A writer has said，“People can't live without computers today.”
The Internet came a little later than computers.It is about twenty－five years later than computers.But now it can be found almost everywhere.We can use it to read books，write letters，go shopping，play games or make friends.
Many students like the Internet very much.They often go into the Internet as soon as they are free.They make friends on the Internet and maybe they have never seen these friends.They don't know their real names，ages，and even sex.They are so interested in making“unreal friends”that they can't put their heart into study.Many of them can't catch up with others on many subjects because of that.
We can use computers and the Internet to learn more about the world.But at the same time,we should remember that not all the things can be done by computers and the Internet.
1. The Internet cannot be used for ________．| A．studying | B．shopping |
| C．thinking | D．playing |
| A．1960 | B．1971 |
| C．1980 | D．1985 |
| A．Few students like going into the Internet. |
| B．Students use the Internet to make“unreal friends”． |
| C．These“unreal friends”always meet each other. |
| D．Students know the friends on the Internet very well. |
| A．It is wonderful. |
| B．It can make students study harder. |
| C．It is not good for students. |
| D．It is helpful，but we can't do everything on it. |
9 . The idea behind Facebook is to make us feel connected all the time．But in my research, I’ve found that the truth is quite different．
Technology, it turns out, has made being alone seem like a problem that needs solving．When young people are alone, even for a minute or two, they feel the need to connect, to get on Facebook or some other social networks and chat．But in connecting, they often end up feeling more isolated．Why？Because by being in constant(不断的)connection, they lose the ability to feel satisfied with their own company(独处)．
Facebook can help us keep in touch with our friends, but we too often use it instead of spending facetoface time with them．And since we feel the need to keep up with them online, we don’t have moments of loneliness where we can collect our thoughts and learn how to be comfortable being alone．
—Sherry Turkle, Professor
Facebook connects more of us to more of our friends and family in more places than we have ever been connected before．Yes, Facebook is a huge time sink—maybe the biggest ever．Many people post useless stuff．And seeing too much of your friends’ lives can make you jealous(嫉妒的), but it won’t make you lonely．
Jane, a former student of mine, who is back in New York after living abroad for ten years, told me that Facebook helps her a lot．The first time she moved back to New York from abroad, she felt disconnected from her family and friends．Now，because of lots of photos and information updates(更新), she knows what is happening with her friends all the time．
In fact, if you are lonely in real life, you will be lonely online as well．
—Sree Sreenivasan, Chief Digital Officer
1. The underlined word “isolated” in Paragraph 2 means“________”．| A．free | B．selfish | C．careless | D．lonely |
| A．feel satisfied with our life | B．avoid using social networks |
| C．keep in touch with our friends | D．enjoy moments of loneliness |
| A．Hopeful． | B．Doubtful． | C．Thankful． | D．Regretful． |
| A．educate | B．discuss | C．persuade | D．introduce |
内容包括：
1. 写信目的；
2. 个人优势
3. 能做的事情
注意事项：
1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头语和结束语已为你写好，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：新型冠状病毒肺炎：COVID-19；垃圾箱：trash bin
Dear Sir or Madam,
Thank you for reading my letter.
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Yours,
Li Hua
