1 . Fast food chains have tried for years to appeal to customers who care about their health. They have added lighter food to their menus, such as salads and yogurt. Of course, the lighter food goes with the usual burgers, fried chicken and shakes.
Menus have changed over the past three decades. According to a recent study, fast food menus are less healthy than they were 30 years ago. The study suggests the problem is getting worse. The fat, salt content and size of fast food meals are the problem. They are often the reason for the rising obesity (肥胖) rate among adults in the United States. The researchers found that the average main dish weighed more in 2016 than in 1986. It also had more calories and more sodium (钠). One expert said, “The restaurants have not done enough. The big picture is that there have been some positive changes, but they are small. Overall, the changes have gotten worse.”
The average fast food dessert had more calories in 2016. It also weighed more than the average fast food dessert thirty years earlier. Restaurants are counting on bigger sundaes and cookies to increase the amount spent on each order. For example, McDonald’s recently introduced “donut sticks” dusted with sugar. Six sticks have 280 calories. But you can also order 12 sticks for less than the cost of two single orders.
The researchers found that, over the 30 years, there were more calories in items like chips, soup, and French fries. Sodium content rose even though portion(一份) size did not grow much. When consumed together as a single meal, the study found that the average main dish and side order account for nearly 40 percent of a 2000-calory daily diet.
1. Why do fast food chains provide lighter food?A.To match the fast food. | B.To attract more customers. |
C.To reduce the cost of each meal. | D.To improve the health of customers. |
A.They take in more calories from fast food. |
B.They have little time to exercise regularly. |
C.They eat much more dessert after every meal. |
D.They eat fast food more frequently than before. |
A.Showing the way of restaurants’ making cookies. |
B.Presenting the popularity of restaurants’ new food. |
C.Stressing the increase in restaurants’ food varieties. |
D.Explaining the intention of restaurants’ adding dessert. |
A.Fast Food Is Still Killing Us | B.Don’t Eat Any Fast Food Now |
C.Try to Eat More Lighter Food | D.People Are Becoming Fatter and Fatter |
2 . We all love our parents and turn to them when we’re in need, but would you like them to hear the conversations you have with your friends in the school playground or lunch queue? Social networking sites have become virtual extensions of the school hallways, so would you add your parents as “friends” and allow them to view your online activities and conversations with friends?
In the past the generation gap included a technology gap, where children were up to date with the latest technology and parents were left behind, content to continue their day-to-day lives as they always had because they had no need to be tech-savvy. However, more and more parents are beginning to realize just how important social networks are in their lives. This realization has given many parents the motivation to educate themselves about social networking sites.
These days many people are attracted to social networking sites because they can choose who they have around them; there’s also a certain amount of control over privacy that we don’t get in real life. Sometimes we feel that privacy is violated when we must accept a “friend” request from a parent or family member.
It’s a difficult choice whether or not to allow a parent to become a part of our online lives. On the one hand we don’t want to “reject” their request because that might hurt their feelings or make them feel you have something to hide. On the other hand if you do accept, then you could have a sense of being watched and no longer feel free to comment or communicate the way you did before.
A recent survey suggested that parents shouldn’t take it personally if their child ignores their request: “ When a teen ignores a parent’s friend request, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are hiding something, but it could mean that this is one part of their life where they want to exert their independence.”
Perhaps talking with parents and giving explanations would help soften the blow when you do choose not to add them to your friends list.
1. Many parents teach themselves social networks because ________.A.they are not content with their daily life | B.they regard social networks important |
C.they are curious to explore new technologies | D.they want to view their children’s online activities |
A.They can’t choose friends around them. | B.They have nothing to hide. |
C.They don’t want to teach their parents. | D.Their privacy can not be guaranteed if so. |
A.teens value their privacy and independence | B.a teen’s rejection means they have something to hide |
C.a teen’s rejection means nothing special | D.independence is everything teens desire |
A.How to bridge the generation gap. | B.How to make friends on social networks. |
C.How to explain to parents about the rejection. | D.How to use the social networking sites. |
3 . Many of us live with a roommate at some stage. Sometimes, there can be problems. Who hasn’t had an argument about whose turn it is to take out the rubbish or who should be the one to clear up after dinner? However, living with another person also comes with many benefits.
You know that there’s always someone else around, which can help you feel safer. There is always someone to talk to, so you never feel lonely. Besides these obvious benefits, there are some you may not notice. For example, we’re actually more likely to eat healthier food when living with others.
To examine the effect of living alone, Australian university researchers did much research and found that people living alone tended to eat less fresh food, which can have a significant negative effect on long-term health. However, those living with others generally benefited from a more varied diet compared to those living alone.
What could explain these findings? The researchers believe the social and cultural roles played by cooking, food preparation and eating may be important considerations. For example, those living with friends have someone else to go shopping with, and thus are likely to buy higher-quality fresh food regularly.
Cooking skills may be another factor. If people living alone find they do not have the knowledge required to prepare a particular dish or cook a certain food, they may fall back on ready-made, less healthy food. However, if they live with at least one other person, they may be able to ask for help.
In addition, people living alone can eat whatever they want at any time of the day or night. However, it’s helpful to have someone around who questions your decision to eat frozen pizza at 3 am. In other words, roommates can draw your attention to unhealthy routines.
So, if you now live alone and find yourself fighting a losing battle against poor eating habits, why not consider sharing a home with someone else? You could encourage one another to be healthier and more well-being.
1. The author uses the first paragraph to________.A.introduce the topic of the text |
B.remind readers of their roommates |
C.show the problems of living with others |
D.recall the experience of sharing a room |
A.the reasons for living with others |
B.the benefits of having a roommate |
C.the way of dealing with a roommate |
D.the importance of communicating with others |
A.hunt for | B.cut down on |
C.depend on | D.give up |
4 . 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 |
Studying abroad is the realization of the dream, which might have been in your heart since you were kid. You are not alone. In recent years, studying abroad is getting more and more popular in China.
Of course, studying abroad provides a whole new opportunity to explore a completely new culture. You will experience new climate, new food and new customs, thus broadening your horizons. You can also learn a new language, so that you will become fluent in the language at last. Staying in a different country far from your parents makes you absolutely free to do whatever you like, and you have to learn to depend on yourself.
But, like all the other things under the sun, studying abroad also has certain disadvantages. People from different cultural backgrounds have different habits. So you will have to change many of your habits and adapt yourself to new culture. Furthermore, you may feel lonely and homesick. In addition, the living costs and tuition fees will be high, which will become a heavy burden upon your parents.
Whatever you do, both new opportunities and challenges will present themselves. Of course, you can’t be afraid of facing challenges. The most important thing is that you should take all the challenges into consideration before you make a decision to study abroad. My advice is: look before you leap.
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Have you seen people who take pictures of food for more than 10 minutes before eating? How about those who beautify their selfie (自拍) so much that they can’t be
Take my friend Chen for example. Every time we went to a restaurant, she would not take a
Many people care too much about others’ opinions and try too hard to
If they really want an elegant life, they should put more
A.envied | B.admired | C.defeated | D.recognized |
A.survive | B.exist | C.flood | D.spot |
A.how | B.what | C.where | D.whom |
A.bow | B.bite | C.breath | D.break |
A.offered | B.served | C.ordered | D.prepared |
A.cooking | B.washing | C.setting | D.collecting |
A.arranged | B.messy | C.casual | D.correct |
A.dishes | B.restaurants | C.pictures | D.tables |
A.choice | B.chance | C.excuse | D.reason |
A.months | B.years | C.weeks | D.days |
A.comfort | B.inspire | C.please | D.discourage |
A.independent | B.generous | C.responsible | D.confident |
A.secret | B.healthy | C.peaceful | D.real |
A.rarely | B.hardly | C.exactly | D.nearly |
A.change | B.difficulty | C.guidance | D.harm |
A.question | B.dislike | C.follow | D.doubt |
A.effort | B.ambitions | C.feelings | D.money |
A.other than | B.more than | C.rather than | D.less than |
A.identifying | B.amusing | C.persuading | D.accepting |
A.simplifying | B.ruining | C.beautifying | D.worsening |
7 . More and more shoppers are buying things online these days, allowing them to avoid aggressive salespeople and long lines at checkout counters. In spite of online convenience, however, there are some items—like clothes—that customers prefer to examine before buying. In light of this, two companies are Ending ways to modernize stores and bridge the gap between online and in-store retail.
Hointer, a software company that also sells designer jeans, has created a fast and painless shopping experience for its customers. Shoppers walk into a Hointer store and select one of the many pairs of jeans hanging down from bars. Then they point their smartphones at the tag and activate the Hointer app, after which they select the size and press “try on” The app then directs them to a specific dressing room. German-made robots search for the desired jeans and deliver them through a chute to the dressing room in about 30 seconds. Immediately after unwanted pairs of jeans are dropped through another chute, the “outbox”, they disappear from the list in the app.
Purchases at Hointer are made with a swipe of a credit card. And a salesperson is optional. This allows Hointer to hire fewer people and focus on their goal: developing technology that supports a retail revolution.
Men's clothing retailer Bonobos has come up with a more personalized shopping experience. Although it is in fact an online retailer, Bonobos has decided to open a handful of stores called Guide shops. Shoppers make an appointment online before arriving at a Guideship, where they receive one-on-one attention from a fitting guide. Because these shops have limited stocks, shoppers aren't able to take home the clothes they select. But guides help shoppers make online purchases before they leave, after which the items will be delivered to customers in one or two days. Following the purchase, the Bonobos customer service database keeps a record of each shopper's size, making future online purchases easier.
While Hointer focuses on convenience, Bonobos Guide shops focus on customer service. But both efforts have one thing in common: giving clothing retailers a new look for the 21st century.
1. The two companies are finding ways to modernize their stores because ______.A.online shopping is losing its popularity |
B.in-store retail makes higher profits |
C.people's demand for in-store shopping still exists |
D.store sales keep declining without high technology |
A.It's a software company as well as a jean producer. |
B.Shoppers can turn to a salesperson when necessary in Hointer. |
C.The Hointer app makes clothes shopping more time-consuming. |
D.Shoppers are welcomed by German-made robots in Hointer. |
A.he needs to make an appointment online in advance |
B.he has to make online purchases in the store |
C.he should help create the customer service database |
D.he can receive one-on-one attention from a guide |
A.High Technology in Stores | B.Advantages of In-store Shopping |
C.Competition between Two Companies | D.New Experience of Shopping for Clothes |
8 . Life in the Internet age is lonely—or is it? That's what experts in human interaction(交往)are debating(争论) after a new Stanford University survey has been published.
According to the study, the more time people spend online, the less they can spare for reallife relationships with family and friends. The researchers asked 113 people about the Web's influence on daily activities. 36% of those people are online for more than five hours a week. "As Internet use becomes more widespread, it will have an increasingly isolating(孤立的) effect on society," says Robert Kraut, one of the researchers.
Scholars (学者)and Web lovers criticized(批评)the study for stretching its data to make the "isolating" point. While 13% of regular Web users admitted the loss of time with loved ones, 60% reported watching less TV. The survey also shows that email is the most popular online activity. If some of webheads(网虫) spend what was once passive TV time keeping company with friends via emails, "that's a move towards greater connectedness," says Paul Resnick, a professor at the University of Michigan.
This isn't the first claim that the Web should be criticized. A 1998 report monitored 73 Pittsburgh-area families' Net use for a year. People who used the Internet more "talked less to family members and reported being lonelier and more depressed," says Robert Kraut.
"It's true that there have been big declines in social connectedness over the past decades, but those declines began before the Internet was invented," says Thomas Putnam.
As Amitay Etzioni says, the Internet gives us a different kind of social life—not better or worse than before, but just different.
1. Who claimed that the Web had negative influence?A.Robert Kraut. | B.Paul Resnick. |
C.Thomas Putnam. | D.Amitay Etzioni. |
A.the study conducted by Stanford University |
B.the survey made by the University of Michigan |
C.the conclusion in a report written in 1998 |
D.the opinion expressed in Bowling Alone |
A.watching TV used to take time away from staying online |
B.36 % of Web users spend more than five hours a week online |
C.the Web was blamed more than once for causing an isolating effect |
D.the Web has the same influence as telephones and televisions |
9 . “Nomophobia”, NO Mobile Phone phobia(恐惧) is a 21st-century term for the fear of not being able to use your smartphone. Smartphone addiction is on the rise, surveys show, and a new study released adds to a growing body of evidence that smartphone addiction is harming our minds literally.
Smartphone addiction affects many people from all across the globe. Over 1.8 billion people own smartphones and the average owners check their screens 150 times a day. Considering those numbers, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when 44% of people (compared with 20% in 2011) admit feeling anxious when they can’t have access to their phones.
Researchers from Harvard University used brain imaging to study the brains of 19 teenage boys who were diagnosed with smartphone addiction. Compared with 19 teenagers who were not addicted, the brains of the addicted boys had significantly higher levels of GABA, which decelerates neurons (神经元), than levels of glutamate-glutamine, which energizes brain signals. That results in poorer attention and control, which you don’t want to have, because you want to stay focused. So that means you are easier to get distracted.
“Addicted teenagers in the study also had significantly higher scores in anxiety, depression and levels of impulsiveness (冲动) ,” said Dr. Leslie Perlow, who led the study.
If you seem to have the symptoms of smart device addiction, experts have some suggestions in addition to mindfulness training. First, turn off your phone at certain times of the day, such as in meetings, when having dinner, playing with your kids, and of course, driving. Remove social media apps, like Facebook and Twitter from your phone, and only check-in from your laptop. Try to stop yourself to 15-minute intervals at set times of the day when it won’t affect work or family life. Don’t bring your cellphone and its harmful blue light to bed, and use an old-fashioned alarm to wake you. And last, try to replace your smart device time with healthier activities such as meditating or actually interacting with real people.
1. What is the conclusion of the research?A.Smartphone addiction leads to distraction. |
B.Smartphone addiction easily causes anger. |
C.Smartphone addiction is harmful to the mind. |
D.Smartphone addiction brings about anxiety and depression. |
A.In Paragraph 2. | B.In Paragraph 3. |
C.In Paragraph 4. | D.In Paragraph 5. |
A.Speeds up. | B.Slows down. |
C.Adds to. | D.Cuts down. |
A.To use an old-fashion cellphone. | B.To participate in more social activities. |
C.To stop fifteen-minute intervals. | D.To turn off the blue light on bed. |
10 . Hundreds of children are being treated for sleep problems in Wales every year. In some cases,babies,infants (婴儿)and teenagers have been admitted to hospital in north Wales alone.
The Children’s Sleep Charity said many children were suffering from lack of sleep mainly because of technology use. Public Health Wales said sleep was as important to a child’s health as healthy eating and exercise,and children with poor sleep patterns were more likely to be fat.
Statistics obtained (获得) under the Freedom of Information Act by BBC Wales found at least 408 children have been admitted to hospitals across Wales suffering from sleep disorders since March 2013.
Children aged between 0 and 4 made up the highest number of inpatients (住院病人),with some newborns being treated for sleep-related problems from the day of birth.
Vicki Dawson,who set up the Children’s Sleep Charity (CSC),said sleepless nights were putting both children and parents in anxiety. “Their weight and growth may also be affected as well as their mental health,”she said.
Teachers said children showing signs of sleep shortage and tiredness in class were a concern as they couldn’t concentrate for long periods.
Psychologist Amy McClelland,of Sleep Wales,saida common problem was that children were “over excited”before bed and that families should get back to basics. “Think 1950s family home. Dinner as a family,read,chat,a film maybe,lights off and then bed. ”She added.
1. What’s the main reason why children are short of sleep?A.Less exercise. | B.Eating habits. |
C.Technology use. | D.Sleep patterns. |
A.Infants. | B.Teenagers. |
C.Teachers. | D.Parents. |
A.Chatting and films make children sleep more. |
B.It is difficult for children to read before bed. |
C.Being too excitedis good for sleep habits. |
D.Relaxation has a bad effect on children. |
A.Ways to Treat Sleep Problems | B.Sleep Problems of Welsh Children |
C.Sleep Habits of Welsh Children | D.The Problems of Welsh Children |