1 . A night at the movies is always a good idea. But when you leave the theater and realize you just dropped $45 on a ticket and some snacks, you’ll wish you had been patient enough to wait until the movie came out on Netflix. The average movie ticket price in the United States in 2000 was $5.39; now, a ticket is over $9.
The main reason that movie tickets have gotten so expensive is because of inflation (通货膨胀). It was actually more expensive to go to the movies in the 70s than it is now. A ticket in 1978 cost $2.34. If you plug that into an inflation calculator, the same ticket would cost you $9.46 today. According to the National Association of Theater Owners, the average cost for a ticket today is $9.11.
Another reason you need to spend some of your life savings to see a movie on the big screen is that theaters are competing with streaming services that produce their own films, such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon. And let’s be honest, sitting at home on your sofa or in your bed is more comfortable than sitting in a cold theater.
Because of streaming technology, theaters have to do something to bring in customers. Attractions—including alcohol, reclining seats (躺椅), surround sound, and 3-D movies are all examples of that. And those upgrades come at a price, leading to more expensive tickets.
“There’s all that extra cost, and it’s really important for theater owners and companies to make that experience as enjoyable as possible,” Patrick Corcoran, vice president of the National Association of Theatre Owners told Marketplace. “Because you’re offering a superb experience—audience expectations are for the latest and greatest technology. Audiences are willing to pay more for a particular experience.”
1. According to the passage, what makes movie tickets so expensive?| A．The viewers are wealthier than before. |
| B．The movie theatres offer popcorns, alcohol for free. |
| C．Inflation has made the ticket price appear higher than before. |
| D．The popular movies with famous stars deserve the high price. |
| A．Netflix is always a better choice for movie viewers than theatres |
| B．with comfortable seats, theatres are more attractive than streaming services |
| C．the viewers actually pay more for the updates of the movie theatres |
| D．the theater owners and companies update the theaters to make the theatres famous |
| A．It’s unwise for viewers to pay so much to watch a movie in the theater. |
| B．The high price of a movie ticket is supposed to agree with a wonderful experience. |
| C．It’s a waste of money to provide the latest technology in the theatre. |
| D．The viewers would prefer to sit at home on the sofas or in the beds. |
| A．Behind the Increasing Price of Movie Tickets |
| B．Technological Improvement on Movie Theatres |
| C．The Competition between Movie Theatre and Streaming Services |
| D．How to Save the Viewers’ Wallets |
2 . Teens don’t understand the big fuss (小题大做). As the first generation are to grow up in a wired world, they hardly know a time when computers weren’t around, and they eagerly catch the chance to spend hours online, chatting with friends. So what?
But researchers nationwide are increasingly worried that teens are becoming isolated, less skillful at person-to-person relationships, and perhaps numb to the cheating that is so much a part of the e-mail world. “And a teen’s sense of self and values may be changed in a world where personal connections can be limitless,” said Shetty Turkle.
Another researcher, Robert Kraut, said he’s worried about the “opportunity costs” of so much online time for youths. He found that teens who used computers, even just a few hours a week, showed increased signs of loneliness and social isolation. “Chatting online may be better than watching television, but it’s worse than hanging out with real friends,” he said.
Today’s teens, however, don’t see anything strange in the fact that the computer takes up a central place in their social lives. “School is busy and full of pressure. There’s almost no time to just hang out,” said Parker Rice, 17, “Talking online is just to catch time.”
Teens say they feel good about what they say online or taking the time to think about a reply. Some teens admit that asking someone for a date, or breaking up, can be easier in the form of a message, though they don’t want to do so. But they insist there’s no harm.
1. The researchers argue that ________.| A．teens develop a different sense of values |
| B．nothing is wrong with teens’ chatting online |
| C．teens can manage their social connections |
| D．spending hours online does much good to teens |
| A．teens’ pleasant online experience |
| B．teens’ computer skills and schoolwork |
| C．the effects of the computer world on teens |
| D．different opinions on teens’ chatting online |
| A．Teens are more skillful at person-to-person relationships. |
| B．Teens showed decreasing signs of loneliness and social isolation. |
| C．Chatting online is worse than hanging out with real friends. |
| D．Asking someone for a date, or breaking up can be more difficult in the message form. |
| A．describe computer research results. |
| B．draw attention to teens' computer habits. |
| C．suggest ways to deal with teens' problems. |
| D．discuss problems teens have at school. |
3 . Is looking fashionable more important than being comfortable? Many people seem to think so, judging by the things they wear. But fashion is not everything. It is more important to be a healthy and good person.
People go to great lengths to be fashionable. Some people think they have to have a certain body type, so they go on extreme, unhealthy diets in order to change their bodies. In addition, many women wear uncomfortable fashions, such as high-heeled shoes that create blisters and tight body shapers that limit blood flow. Men and women alike spend time and money on products that change their natural hair color and use hot irons and blow dryers to curl or straighten their hair. Some people spend several hours a day in front of a mirror. Is fashion important enough to spend so much time and effort on changing how you look like?
If the purpose of fashion is to make a person feel good, it does not make sense that he or she would go through so much discomfort to be fashionable. Fashion should not come first. People should prioritize being healthy and positive. What people wear does not indicate anything about their personalities. Instead of spending hours choosing a suit, perhaps you should call your friends and do something together! Instead of going on strict diets and starving, why not eat some healthy foods and then exercise? By doing these things, you can keep a healthy lifestyle and truly grow as a person.
1. The author’s main purpose in writing the text is to ________.| A．show readers advantages and disadvantages of dieting |
| B．persuade readers to value health more than fashion |
| C．tell readers ways to become fashionable |
| D．inform readers of the latest fashion trends |
| A．Fashion can make people do some unhealthy things. |
| B．Fashion increases famous people’s self-respect. |
| C．When you look good, you feel good. |
| D．People need to diet to lose weight. |
| A．Shopping for fashionable clothes. |
| B．Starting a new diet with a friend. |
| C．Going skating with friends. |
| D．Changing the hairstyle every week. |
We often see bullies(恃强凌弱者) on television shows. They like to give people a hard time for no reason at all. They call people names, take their things and make them feel scared over and over again. Bullying can also happen in real life, especially at school.
What caused the bullying? There are many reasons that can cause a child to become a bully. If a child is bullied by his or her parents, that child likely to imitate this behavior at school, according to The Huffington Post. In addition, a child who has been given too much power at home is also likely to become a bully. The child may believe he or she has the right to bully others at school because he or she is treated like an emperor at home. Some children are also said to become bullies because he have been influenced by violent films and games .They are said to be too young to tell between right and wrong.
School bullying can have a great influence on someone’s life Xi Leng (not her real name） was bullied during her early days at school. Even though she turned 20 this year, she is still affected badly by her experiences during her terrible time at primary school. “I really struggled every day back then, and even thought about killing myself,” Xi wrote on Zhihu, a question-and-answer website, remembering how her books were covered with graffiti(涂鸦), and her name was deliberately changed on her homework before it reached the teachers.
In order to solve the problem of school bullying, guidelines were released on Nov 1 by nine government departments, including the Ministry of Education and the Supreme People’s art(最高人民法院). For example, schools have been told to make students more aware of bullying, to inform students about its consequences and to teach them to protect themselves. In addition, students who have serious problems with their behavior may now be sent to special schools.
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5 . “Acting immaturely(不成熟地)” is used to describe fully grown adults who act like child. It has hit the headlines again recently, after the story of a 48-year-old man who lives at home with his mother, and hasn’t had a job in seven years, aroused much heated debate online.
According to reports, the 48-year-old is an excellent student, who has a master’s degree that he earned while studying abroad. But since returning home six years ago, he has refused to work and chooses to live on his mother’s pension(退休金), which has to cover both her medical expenses and his living costs. His mother, who is in her 80s, blames herself, saying that she regrets letting her son take advantage of her.
But netizens believe that it was not all her fault. “A 48-year-old adult with a master’s degree from overseas should know by now how to take care of himself,” said Liu Guangming, a doctor of psychology.
This is not the only case of adults acting immaturely to have been reported in recent years. Among college students, these people are not hard to find. Most Chinese born in the 80’s or 90’s are the only child. Since birth, they have been the center of attention. Their parents helped them every step of the way, while they only needed to follow their parents’ advice and live under their protection. But when it came time to go to college, where they needed to manage their own affairs, many started to break down. That’s why time management, and other life skills, are so important. It’s not really that difficult to feed and clothe yourself after all. Nor should you find it impossible to attend class or make time to study.
Though independent living may be hard for most fresh men(大一新生), psychological(心理的) independence is what helps college students become adults. Anxiety and frustration resulting from psychological dependence will only create barriers for self-improvement in future.
1. What happened to the 48-year-old according to the news reports?| A．He lost his job and has been out of work for seven years. |
| B．He returned home after he earned a doctor’s degree abroad. |
| C．He has depended on his mother since he went back from abroad. |
| D．He has refused to work because he thinks it hard to find a good job. |
| A．They are used to being dependent on their parents’ advice and protection. |
| B．They are unwilling to follow their parents’ advice. |
| C．They feel anxious and frustrated while studying in college. |
| D．They no longer need their parents’ protection after entering college. |
| A．The importance of adults acting maturely. |
| B．Approaches to becoming psychologically independent. |
| C．Harmful influences of being psychologically dependent. |
| D．Other reported cases of adults acting immaturely. |
If there was one thing you could make parents understand about kids, what would it be? That is one of the questions TFK and KidsHealth. org recently asked in an anonymous(匿名的) survey conducted online. More than 8,000 kids answered. “We just want to spend time with you,” said a 12-year-old child. “At 13, you can’t treat me like I’m 6,” another kid said. An 11-year-old child wrote, “Being a kid is a lot harder than it looks.” The kids who took our survey made it clear that they want to feel close to the important people in their life—their mum, dad and other caring adults. But their answers also show that it is not always easy to deal with these close relationships.
Many kids—two out of three—said they get along pretty well or very well with their parents. About four out of five kids told us that they have fun with their parents. But that doesn’t mean they never disagree. In fact, most kids reported arguing with their parents, at least sometimes. “It’s absolutely normal to disagree and argue,” says D’Arcy Lyness, a child psychologist. “But it’s also important to learn how to do so respectfully.” About half of the kids said they are doing that. When they disagree with their parents, they say they discuss issues calmly.
But two out of five kids said arguments tend to involve yelling at each other. Lyness points out that shouting never helps. “Speak up, and let your parents know your ideas and your opinions,” she advises. “But be patient. Don’t use a raised, angry voice.”
Kids made it clear that they would rather avoid conflict altogether. Not surprisingly, three out of four kids admitted lying at times. Many said they lie to avoid getting in trouble or disappointing their parents. According to Lyness, lying isn’t just wrong. It can actually get negative results. Telling the truth builds trust. “When parents can trust you, they are more likely to give you more freedom and more privileges,” she says.
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7 . Imagine that you, a newly-graduated student were looking for a single apartment. You wandered into a housing agent and learnt that there were three apartments available. The three apartments were almost the same in every aspect except their distances to your workplace and street noise levels. Apartment A takes the longest to go to work, but it is also the quietest. Apartment C takes the least time, but sits near a busy, noisy street. Apartment B is moderate on distances and street noise. Assume that you value convenience as much as quietness. Which apartment will you take?
You may find the decision somehow difficult. After all, all apartments seem similarly desirable, and each apartment has its unique advantages and disadvantages. Unable to figure out whether you should give up convenience for quietness, you are likely to end up with Apartment B—the one with relatively moderate value on convenience and quietness. Researchers call this the “compromise effect”—under decision conflicts, consumers tend to take the middle route, a tendency that grows increasingly obvious as the number of available choices increases.
What exactly motivates consumers to choose a middle or compromise option? You choose the middle apartment because you are determined to look for the “best” apartment—one that takes the least time to your office and at the same time lies in the quietest neighborhood. Unfortunately, such a satisfying option doesn’t exist in a compromise choice set—a shorter distance requires you to give up some quality sleep, and quietness at night comes at the cost of hurry in the morning, particularly if you are late. It is a powerful psychological principle that losses can weigh twice as much as same sized gains. Unwilling to give up either benefit, you are likely to end up with a compromise option—you don’t gain, nor do you lose.
1. The example of a student looking for an apartment is to ________.| A．introduce the topic. | B．describe the situation |
| C．explain the problem | D．give the evidence |
| A．give up convenience | B．deal with decision conflicts |
| C．gain rather than lose | D．find satisfying options |
| A．Benefits of a compromise. | B．Importance of a compromise. |
| C．Ideas against a compromise. | D．Reasons for a compromise. |
Physical exercise is very important for our bodies in order for us to stay healthy. The food we eat turns into our body's source of energy. When we exercise, the energy we get from food allows our heart to send blood to our muscles. Exercise makes our heart and muscles stronger and it can also refresh our mind. If you exercise regularly, we will feel better and have a more pleasant view on life.
Some western countries, such as the United States, have problems with the lack of exercise done in their society. In the US, many people don't exercise because it is hard for them to find the time. Most people work from dawn until dusk, and by the time they get home from work they are too tired to go to the gym. While they are at work, they do not get much exercise sitting at their desk passively.
Some Westerners can get exercise from walking to work. However, the majority of people cannot do this because they live too far from their work, so they have no choice but to drive or take.
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9 . What's the attraction of coffee shops? It's been said that Jk Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books sitting in one in Edinburgh.
Many people spend hours in these places nursing a coffee as they work away on their laptops. But if you're spending all day buying one expensive coffee after another and haven't sold your first novel yet, the costs can really add up.
For those who work outside of a traditional office or just want to take time out, there's a new choice in London: a pay-per-minute cafe. You can stay for as long as you like in the Ziferblat coffee shop. You'll be given a clock when you come in to keep time. When you leave, you return the item and pay the bill.
The cost of hanging out, eating, working and meeting new people in the place is 3p per minute-or £ 1.80 an hour. The shop's owner, Ivan Meetin, says: “Everything is free, except the time you spend there”. Customers help themselves to coffee and cookies. They can also bring their own food to eat while accessing the internet through Wi-Fi.
Meetin's customers clearly are not the types who rush to work with a paper cup to drink from at their desks. They are there for the relaxed atmosphere. Informality(随性) is at the heart of Meetin' s concept. He's always loved the idea of building his own house. “With my mats, we were building treehouses where rules of society didn't exist,” he says.
Meetin believes his coffee shop is a bit like “social media”, but with a face Like-minded people go there to socialize. Some feel so much at home that they wash the dishes.
The concept of coffee shops, where you pay for the time and not for the cup, has proved popular in Russia. Only time will tell if the British will warm to the idea.
I'd like to try it at least once. Who knows-I might even start writing my own novel. If coffee shops are good enough for Jk Rowling to spend quality time in, why can't I?
1. Which profession is known for working in coffee shops?| A．Scientists. | B．Journalists. |
| C．Novelists. | D．Nurses. |
| A．People meet others who share their interests. |
| B．People feel like spending quality hours there. |
| C．They provide people with a unique atmosphere. |
| D．They can be too expensive to use sometimes. |
| A．You can complete a lot of work in a cafe. |
| B．A new coffee shop charges people by the minute. |
| C．More and more money is being spent in cafes. |
| D．J. K. Rowling wrote her books in a cafe. |
| A．Pay as You Sit | B．Enjoy Free Coffee |
| C．Come and Drink | D．Write in the Cafe |
10 . If you want to disturb the car industry, you’d better have a few billion dollars: Mom and pop carmakers are unlikely to beat the biggest car companies. But in agriculture, small farmers can get the best of the major players. By connecting directly with customers, and by responding quickly to changes in the markets as well as in the ecosystems (生态系统), small farmers can keep one step ahead of the big guys. As the co-founder of the National Young Farmers Coalition(NYFC，美国青年农会) and a family farmer myself, I have a front-row seat to the innovations among small farmers that are transforming the industry.
For example, take the Quick Cut Greens Harvester, a tool developed just a couple of years ago by a young farmer, Jonathan Dysinger, in Tennessee, with a small loan from a local Slow Money group. It enables small-scale farmers to harvest 175 pounds of green vegetables per hour — a huge improvement over harvesting just a few dozen pounds by hand — suddenly making it possible for the little guys to compete with large farms of California. Before the tool came out, small farmers couldn’t touch the price per pound offered by California farms. But now, with the combination of a better price and a generally fresher product, they can stay in business.
The sustainable success of small farmers, though, won’t happen without fundamental changes to the industry. One crucial factor is secure access to land. Competition from investors, developers, and established large farmers makes owning one’s own land unattainable for many new farmers. From 2004 to 2013, agricultural land values doubled, and they continue to rise in many regions.
Another challenge for more than a million of the most qualified farm workers and managers is a non-existent path to citizenship — the great barrier to building a farm of their own. With farmers over the age of 65 outnumbering(多于) farmers younger than 35 by six to one, and with two-thirds of the nation’s farmland in need of a new farmer, we must clear the path for talented people willing to grow the nation’s food.
There are solutions that could light a path toward a more sustainable and fair farm economy, but farmers can’t clumsily put them together before us. We at the NYFC need broad support as we urge Congress to increase farmland conservation, as we push for immigration reform, and as we seek policies that will ensure the success of a diverse and ambitious next generation of farmer from all backgrounds. With a new farm bill to be debated in Congress, consumers must take a stand with young farmers.
1. The author mentions car industry at the beginning of the passage to introduce ________.| A．the progress made in car industry |
| B．a special feature of agriculture |
| C．a trend of development in agriculture |
| D．the importance of investing in car industry |
| A．Loans to small local farmers are necessary. |
| B．Technology is vital for agricultural development. |
| C．Competition between small and big farm is fierce. |
| D．Small farmers may gain some advantages over big ones. |
| A．To gain more financial aid. | B．To hire good farm managers. |
| C．To have farms of their own. | D．To win old farmers’ support. |
