1 . Launched in 2004 by then-Harvard University student Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook became the biggest social media platform in the world just five years later. It was young people who helped Facebook initially shoot to success, but today’s youth think that “Facebook is for old people”, reported the Daily Star.
In 2015, a survey found that 71 percent of teens aged 13 to 17 used Facebook. But in 2022, that number dropped to 32 percent, reported NBC News. Alex Tani, a 25-year-old from the UK, said that when he started university in 2016, his tutors always set up student groups on Facebook to help everyone stay in touch and interact. But by the time his younger brother went to university three years later, this wasn’t the case.
Today’s younger generation prefers to use other social platforms, such as Instagram, a photo and video-sharing social networking service also owned by Facebook’s parent company Meta, and TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, said NBC News. These two platforms are different from Facebook in that they are mainly image-based and video-based, not text-based. Visual culture is a rising trend and young people have grown tired of reading people’s remarks on Facebook, said Forbes.
Another reason for Facebook’s decline in popularity is AI. According to The Guardian, TikTok’s “most powerful tool” is its algorithm (算法) which predicts what content you want to see. It shares related content with you from people you may not follow based on what you’ve watched before. This saves people the effort of searching for what they like, and so becomes an “escape for them”, said North Carolina State University.
Going forward, Facebook plans to use AI in a similar way as TikTok to show short videos and give users a better platform to discuss video content, said Fortune Media. Only time will tell whether it can stay “young” or remain as a platform used only by “old people”.
1. Why does the author mention Alex’s experience?| A．To compare differences between the brothers． | B．To show Facebook is losing its advantage. |
| C．To illustrate how Facebook works. | D．To emphasize the importance of Facebook. |
| A．Protecting privacy. | B．Being text-based. |
| C．Providing visual enjoyment. | D．Being abundant in remarks. |
| A．Misty. | B．Predictable. | C．Promising. | D．Depressing. |
| A．Facebook Struggles for the Favor of the Youth | B．Facebook: The Biggest Social Media Platform |
| C．TikTok Becomes a Favorite Online Destination | D．AI: A Powerful Tool in Social Media Platforms |
2 . Smartphones and other digital devices control and consume our attention. This is true for young people. On public transport, they are checking social media or playing an addictive game rather than sleeping. Very few people are reading a book or having a conversation with fellow travelers.
Children today are digital natives. This means they have never known life without internet access. They have been raised on clicks. They jump from content to content without a second thought. In the words of the philosopher Han in his 2021 book Non-things, this kind of nonstop excitement means that we quickly come to need a new exciter. We get used to seeing reality as a source of exciters and surprises. We struggle to focus our attention on any one thing. This will disturb our cognitive (认知) system.
Books can train the brain to deeply focus its attention on one task while mobile devices encourage us to hang over the surface of things, but we do not fully grasp them. When we receive information in large amounts, it stops being meaningful. When faced with a large amount of it, our brains react by blocking the information. But the discarded content does not simply disappear from our minds. Instead, it remains. This prevents us from figuring out what we are interested in. It limits our attention length.
Mobile phone addiction and the way young people learn are both directly connected to the concept of mind wandering. Too much information input makes us switch off and lose attention. And this can be damaging in the long term.
In order to recover attention, the brain needs to take a break. It needs to find time and space where it can be free from constant noise. Adults can make the effort to find these much-needed spaces to focus attention. Children, on the other hand, have not yet gained this. They run the risk of never recovering their attention spans. If we give children and teenagers access to digital devices before they have developed these skills, their attention will be free to wander. It will then become harder and harder for them to focus on a task for the necessary amount of time.
1. What is a common scene among the young on public transport?| A．They are talking with each other. | B．They are usually sleeping. |
| C．Most of them are absorbed in reading. | D．They are lost in their phones. |
| A．It reduces our ability to focus. |
| B．It weakens our need for fun immediately. |
| C．It increases our interest in traditional media. |
| D．It enables us to see reality as a source of surprises. |
| A．Mobile devices help us to fully understand books. |
| B．Smartphone addiction stops us forming a lasting attention. |
| C．Being exposed to smartphone information blocks our brain. |
| D．The information we get will disappear soon from our minds. |
| A．A science magazine. | B．A book review. |
| C．A biology textbook. | D．A smartphone ad. |
3 . The house had been cleaned and decorated elegantly. The air smelt fresh. Little labels on all we saw around the house displayed important details: date of purchase and the current selling price. We were at a garage sale. There was no talking or bargaining. Buyers could pick up at the listed price.
All efforts that release cash that is locked into stuff touch me deeply. If they break conventional ideas, I will like them even more. It is my view that people love to follow suit and end up with emotions they ought to feel, rather than being true to themselves. To say that one does not care for one’s grandmother’s necklace is considered rude, so one would simply keep it in the locker and pass it on to the next generation.
No longer so, I am guessing.
It’s not always about money, but perhaps about considering one’s choices. My argument always is to use stuff, if you like it so much. Wear those pieces of jewellery; use those pieces of furnitures; take home those piles of old-time bedsheets. But if none of them fit into your current home, allow someone else to take them home. Turn those properties over instead of leaving them unused.
Hoarding (囤积) is not a virtue. It is a waste of the money that is locked into the property you are hoarding. I may use it sometime in the future, say some. Give that a time frame. If you are holding something you haven’t used even once in five years, ask yourself if someone else may need it. Don’t sell if you don’t care for money; but do give it away.
All else needs to earn their place for their value and usefulness for you. Celebrate the liberation from hoarding and let there be light!
1. What do people often do at the garage sale?| A．Purchase a garage. | B．Label their belongings. |
| C．Talk about decoration. | D．Trade their unused stuff. |
| A．To call for respect towards the elderly. |
| B．To advocate holding onto the family tradition. |
| C．To show the financial condition of an average family. |
| D．To prove people tend to follow suit against their wills. |
| A．It is a good idea to save money. |
| B．A good taste counts in purchase. |
| C．Unused items deserve a new owner. |
| D．The outdated should be thrown away. |
| A．To call on people to get rid of hoarding. |
| B．To show his worry about wasting resources. |
| C．To draw attention to conserving the traditions. |
| D．To inspire people to spend more on meaningful things. |
4 . Many often find themselves considering jobs below their skill level in worsening employment markets. But it turns out that working in a job below your skill level harms your later chances of getting hired for a better-paying job more appropriate to your qualifications.
Sociologist David Pedulla at the University of Texas conducted a study to examine how jobs below a person’s skill level affect future employability. He tailored 2,420 applications and submitted them to 1,210 job listings posted in five major cities across the U.S. He varied the applications by gender, and also by employment status for the previous year. Then he used computer models to analyze and compare the results. The results show that applicants who were positioned as working below their skill level, regardless of gender had the lowest chances of getting called for a job interview.
These results should serve as a warning to anyone considering taking a job below their skill level. While it might pay the bills in the short term, it can significantly hammer one’s ability to return to the relevant skill level and pay grade at a later date.
Why might this be the case? Pedulla conducted a follow-up study with 903 employers. He asked them about their ideas of applicants with each kind of employment history, and how likely they would be to recommend each kind of candidate to an interview. The results show that employers believe that men who are employed in positions below their skill level are less committed and less competent than men in other employment situations. Those surveyed also believed that women working below their skill level were less competent than others, but did not believe them to be less committed.
The results of studies suggest that work below skill level signals to employers men’s incompetence and a lack of commitment. This is a disturbing reminder that the sword of gender bias (偏见) does in fact cut both ways.
1. Why do many people choose jobs below their skill level?| A．They fear bearing duties. | B．They lack-self-confidence. |
| C．They face a tough economy. | D．They pursue better-paying jobs. |
| A．By conducting interviews. | B．By researching examples. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By doing surveys. |
| A．Ensure. | B．Weaken. | C．Test. | D．Exercise. |
| A．Men are more likely to get promoted. |
| B．Women are more devoted and capable. |
| C．Women behave better in jobs below skill level. |
| D．Men show talents in work of the relevant level. |
5 . How to deal with decision paralysis (瘫痪)
If you’ve ever gone online to order something during a work break-let’s say a new electric toothbrush-expecting it to be fairly easy, but instead you found yourself overwhelmed by the huge number of choices available, you’ve experienced decision paralysis.
You’re shocked that there are so many factors to consider; not only the basics, such as price and delivery time, but there are many other factors like battery duration, warning lights for too much pressure and even fancy apps.
This is just one example of decision paralysis-when the huge number of choices and the difficulty of weighing the supermarket up-leads you to freeze. It used to be thought that increased choice could only be a good thing for consumers and they would welcome it, but actually it can bring the opposite effect and cause people to walk away.
If you’re willing to put in the effort, a practical approach is to reduce the mental complexity involved in a decision by doing a little research.
| A．You could always make a random choice. |
| B．Make some brief notes about the prior factors to you. |
| C．There are various ways to overcome decision paralysis. |
| D．You’ll end up with a score showing you the most favourable decision. |
| E．The clock is ticking on your break and it’s impossible to make a decision. |
| F．This is all that you’ll miss out on once you choose to go down a particular path. |
| G．In other life situations, it might be the weight of the decision that bears down on you. |
6 . While screen time is known to affect sleep, new research suggests that interactive (互动的) activities, such as texting friends or playing video games, put off and reduce the time spent asleep to a greater degree than passive (被动的) screen time like watching television, especially for teens.
The team studied the daytime screen-based activities of 475 teenagers using daily surveys. They asked the teens how many hours they had spent that day communicating with friends through social media and how many hours they spent playing video games, surfing the internet and watching television or videos. Finally, the researchers asked if they had joined in any of these activities in the hour before bed.
Next, the team measured their sleep time for one week. The researchers found that the teens spent an average of two hours per day communicating with friends via social media, about 1.3 hours playing video games, less than an hour surfing the internet and about 1.7 hours watching television or videos. For every hour throughout the day that they used screens to communicate with friends, they fell asleep about 11 minutes later averagely. For every hour to play video games, they fell asleep about 9 minutes later. Those who talked, texted or played games in the hour before bed lost the most sleep: about 30 minutes later.
Interestingly, David, lead author of the study, said the team found no obvious relations between passive screen-based activities and sleep. “It could be that passive activities are less mentally exciting than interactive activities,” said Anne, co-author of the study. “It’s a tricky situation,” she said. “These screen tools are really important to everyone nowadays, so it’s hard to put a limit on them, but if you’re really looking out for a teenager’s health and well-being, you might consider limiting the more interactive activities, especially in the hour before bed.”
1. Which of the following belongs to interactive screen activities?| A．Seeing movies. | B．Watching videos. |
| C．Texting friends. | D．Surfing the internet. |
| A．Lucy who watched a three-hour movie before going to bed. |
| B．Jack who had a 30-minute video chat with his brother before bed. |
| C．Sam who played computer games for two hours throughout the day. |
| D．Amy who chatted with her friends on WeChat for one hour in the morning. |
| A．Frightening. | B．Awkward. | C．Hopeless. | D．Encouraging. |
| A．Screen time activities cut down our sleep hours |
| B．Interactive screen use reduces sleep time in teenagers |
| C．Passive screen use is better than interactive screen use |
| D．Parents should prevent children from using social media |
7 . About two months ago, I removed Uber Eats from my phone. Not because I didn’t like using it. I loved it. Like most cheap, modern luxuries though, there are hidden costs.
“Restaurants are barely surviving. Delivery apps will kill them” was a headline in a newspaper, one of many stories exploring the unfair sign-up strategies and high fees taken by these tech companies. Moreover, there were reports about bad working conditions for delivery riders, leading to tragic accidents, even deaths. That’s truly unbearable!
I deleted the app and haven’t used it, or any of its competitors, since. Instead of ordering online, now I either cook something or get takeaway nearby. Cooking better food has been a great motivation for me. On lazy nights, I’ve discovered that I can still make a satisfying meal by using whatever ingredients I have on hand. This approach has also saved me much money. As with lots of online shopping, I’d been ordering food without much thought about the cost. Cooking is almost always cheaper and so is old-school takeaway.
These changes have cost me one thing — time. One reason the apps are so popular is that they meet the needs of the convenience-seeking, time-starved individuals. But rather than adding to my stress, having to plan meals again somehow made life less so. Some days it’s been a good motivation to stop work earlier, and engage in activities like going to the shops, or start chopping onions. Walking to pick up takeaway forces you to go for a walk. The change in habit forced me to be on my devices a bit less and to be in my actual life and neighbourhood a bit more.
The process has made me think about how technological advances do save us time, but time for what? For me, the answer was often just more time working, or more time online. Making my own food feels like taking back time I had given up for things far less nourishing (有营养的).
1. Which might be the reason for the author to remove Uber Eats?| A．Her passion for cooking. | B．Her boredom with online ordering. |
| C．Her preference for another app. | D．Her concern for its negative impacts. |
| A．Addictive and money-saving. | B．Cheap and convenient. |
| C．Time-consuming but rewarding. | D．Motivating but stressful. |
| A．Reflecting on the influence of hi-tech. |
| B．Adapting to life free of delivery apps. |
| C．Getting into a healthy eating habit. |
| D．Rediscovering the fun of cooking. |
| A．My Order Never Arrived |
| B．Why Uber Eats Gets Less Active |
| C．What Delivery Apps Can Not Offer Me |
| D．The Convenience Was Not Worth The Cost |
8 . The printed book is back. Recent studies have shown that students remember more information when they read a paper book compared to reading an e-book. One school responded to these findings by ditching its e-readers. The students found that “the ease of navigation (导航)” was greater when using a traditional book.
I love the way we now judge printed books using the language of the digital world. E-books may come with “navigational tools,” but it turns out the best navigational tools are the “devices” at the ends of your arms. You can use them to flip the pages forward and backward.
Fans of digital books may point out that e-readers have a handy “search” tool. Old-fashioned books also have a search function, in which you turn back to the opening part to help you remember the hero’s name. They even have a “bookmark system,” which uses something called a “bookmark.”
Can a traditional book offer all the features of an e-book? Alas, no. It has no “progress bar (进度条)” indicating how much of the book has been read. Luckily, a clever tip is available: turn your book so that it can be viewed from the side or top. It will naturally form two parts joined in the middle. If the left part is thicker than the right one, you are more than halfway through.
Admittedly, e-books are lighter than paper books, but one must question whether this is really an advantage. In secondary school my body figure was actually transformed by the daily need to carry textbooks. For me and my fellow students, these weighty books would draw our shoulders back and our chests forward.
Educational fashions come and go, so maybe the return of traditional books won’t last. But for the moment, I find myself welcoming their wonderful return.
1. Which can best replace the underlined “ditching” in paragraph 1?| A．Referring to. | B．Getting rid of. |
| C．Getting used to. | D．Making use of. |
| A．Bookmarks. | B．Fingers. | C．The progress bar. | D．The opening part. |
| A．To explain an opposing idea. | B．To provide additional information. |
| C．To support the author’s argument. | D．To connect paragraph five and paragraph six. |
| A．Why the Printed Book Is Back? |
| B．How the Printed Book Benefits us? |
| C．What Future the Printed Book Faces? |
| D．Which Is Better, Printed Book or E-book? |
9 . According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employees over 50 make up more than one-third of the workforce in the United States. And the labor force aged 75 and older is expected to increase by 96.5% by 2030. As the workforce ages and increasing numbers of grandparents care for their grandchildren, what once was intended for new parents is now applied to grandparents. Some workplaces are offering a new paid leave policy (政策) for older workers—grandternity leave.
As the name suggests, one of the most popular use cases for grandternity leave is employees taking time off when they become grandparents to help care for their grandchildren. It also enables employees to take paid leave to deal with medical treatment, spend time with their families, and take time away from work as needed.
In a competitive labor market with more than 10 million open jobs, employers still struggle to retain senior employees. They fall under the Baby Boomer generation and are characterized by their deep love for work and company responsibility. They are prized for their historical knowledge and old-fashioned work ethic (职业道德). Therefore, employers are seeking new, nontraditional benefits for these employees to prevent them from taking another job. Grandternity leave is just one example of personalized benefits suitable for older workers.
A handful of companies are already starting to offer their own form of grandternity leave. For example, Saga has rolled out a five-day paid grandternity leave to its 2,500 employees. Scott Merry, a 57-year-old IT specialist with Saga took grandternity leave to care for his new-born grandson. “It was just wonderful. It’s nice to work in this type of culture which values family time.” he said. Another company that became an early adopter (使用者) is HireVue. “Attracting and employing a various workforce should be top of mind for any organization,” said one of HireVue’s managers. “Offering a variety of benefits like grandternity leave is key to that.”
1. What does paragraph 1 focus on about the policy?| A．Its application. | B．Its influences. | C．Its limitations. | D．Its background. |
| A．Cut down. | B．Kick out. | C．Hold onto. | D．Pay for. |
| A．It is a win-win practice. | B．It has been adopted widely. |
| C．It has a two-sided nature. | D．It is key to business success. |
| A．To introduce a new paid leave. | B．To call for better working conditions. |
| C．To recommend several leading companies. | D．To warn of the effect of population ageing. |
10 . According to Americans for the Arts, more than two-thirds of U.S. adults say that the arts “lift me up beyond everyday experiences.” Still, only 30 percent attended a concert of any type in 2017; 23 percent visited an art museum; six percent attended a literary event. Fewer than half actively created art of any kind.
What has caused this phenomenon is that we do not have time for art — we are weighed down by our day-to-day responsibilities. Maybe you like to play a little background music while you work but most of us rarely, if ever, went to see a live performance, let alone visited a gallery. And reading poetry? Perhaps not since high school.
Too often, we let the realities of life get in the way of the arts, which can feel insignificant by comparison. But this is a mistake. The arts might be the single most in-depth experience you will ever be given to explore the nature and meaning of life. And if you make time to consume and produce art, you will find your life become fuller and happier.
Some philosophers address the problem of life consumed by work and material pursuits. They argue that art provides relief from this routine, expanding our perspective and bringing us closer to true reality.
Think of a time when you heard a piece of music and wanted to cry. Or recall your fast heartbeats as you stared at a delicate lifelike sculpture. Chances are that it probably stimulated (刺激) a sudden awakening, much like the shock from a lungful of pure oxygen after breathing in smoggy air.
If you are among those who feel that art is “pure pleasure to experience and participate in,” you might see it the same way you see eating out, or skydiving: as a luxury (奢侈品) item in your limited budgets of time and money. As such, it probably gets the same sort of treatment as any minor hobby. Don’t make this error. Treat art more like exercise or sleep: a necessity for a life full of deep satisfaction.
1. What does paragraph 1 focus on?| A．The opinion of U.S. adults about art. |
| B．The types of art that U.S. adults engage with. |
| C．The mismatch between value and behaviour as to art. |
| D．The connection between everyday experiences and art. |
| A．Art reveals the nature of life. | B．Art gives way to material pursuits. |
| C．Life without art is meaningless. | D．Background music is a kind of art. |
| A．Art awakes people’s talents. | B．Art improves physical health. |
| C．Art brings us closer to nature. | D．Art makes life fuller and happier. |
| A．Art: A Habit, Not a Luxury | B．Art: A Bridge, Not a Barrier |
| C．Art: A Decoration, Not a Reality | D．Art: A Pleasure, Not a Burden |
