1 . Children with strong family connections are associated with a high likelihood of flourishing in life, a study found. “What is different about this study is that it shows that family connection is associated with thriving and not just surviving or avoiding harm,” said lead study author Dr. Robert Whitaker.
Researchers surveyed over 37,000 children in 26 countries. In the study, family connection was determined by a mean score of five categories: care, support, safety, respect, and participation. Flourishing was determined by a mean score of six categories: self-acceptance, purpose in life, positive relations with others, personal growth, environmental mastery and autonomy. The essence of family connection is children feeling that they are accepted and cared for at home, which allows them to learn what their strengths and weaknesses are in a safe environment as they are building their identity,Whitaker said.
Children with the greatest level of family connection were over 49% more likely to flourish compared with those with the lowest level of family connection, according to the study. The highest scores in both family connection and flourishing came from children who said they lived with both parents, had enough food or never had their family worrying about finances. Researchers then controlled the data for families’ poverty levels to remove the effect they might have had on the numbers. After controlling the data, the strength of family connection still impacted how much children flourished.
According to Whitaker, adults have a very powerful influence on the emotional climate in the home, so it’s important to create a space where children feel seen and heard. A great opportunity to strengthen family bonds is around the dinner table. Adults should create an environment where children feel comfortable speaking freely. While they are talking,grown-ups should show that they have a genuine interest in what their children are saying. Silence is also another powerful form of communication, Whitaker said. Children and parents spending time together in silence or even doing chores can create a connection.
1. What is the study mainly about?| A．The importance of family connection to children’s survival. |
| B．The relationship between family connection and children’s success. |
| C．The factors affecting children’ self-acceptance. |
| D．The impact of poverty on children’s development. |
| A．Children who live with a single parent. |
| B．Children who have enough food and money. |
| C．Children who know of their strengths and weaknesses. |
| D．Children who have a whole family and economic security. |
| A．Family income. | B．Parents’ educational level. |
| C．Children’s age and gender. | D．The number of people in the family. |
| A．By showing respect when children are talking. | B．By talking about their own problems. |
| C．By keeping silent when disagreements arise. | D．By backing children’s opinions forever. |
2 . In a fast developing world, many old-fashioned skills seem to be disappearing. It’s hard to find people who know such skills as sewing, but a few decades ago, it was common for every person to learn them.
Now many would think sewing isn’t as useful today. The garment (服装) industry is producing clothing that is cheaper, faster and more fashionable than ever, making it possible to buy a suit for less than $10 at home.
However, that doesn’t mean clothing isn’t indestructible (破坏不了的). Garments with simple tears that could be fixed in seconds with a needle are just thrown away. This causes more than 26 billion pounds of garbage and millions of dollars wasted because of a tear. Even dirty or worn clothing that still has plenty of usable cloth is being thrown away.
The ability to create hand-made clothes doesn’t only reduce waste. It is also tailor-made just for you. Most buy clothes made for a general body type, and to get it tailored by a professional is expensive. So why not do it yourself?
Perhaps the greatest problem of sewing is simply the time involved. Buying a skirt online takes a few seconds. Making a skirt can take weeks. But learning to sew doesn’t always involve complicated projects. Instead they might just be simple adjustments to help the garments fit or match your style.
Schools could easily teach sewing. Yet, they focus more on college preparations, ignoring traditional skills. Actually sewing is a valuable skill to be used in daily life. It wouldn’t take much time to teach children how to sew.
So, instead of letting old things die in this new age of the Internet, how about learning some of the lost skills that helped us for so long?
1. Why do some people think the sewing skill is less useful?| A．Because cloth is too expensive. |
| B．Because sewing is a bit boring to learn. |
| C．Because hand-made things are easily broken. |
| D．Because clothes are cheaper and convenient to buy. |
| A．It contributes to creativity. | B．It’s environmentally-friendly. |
| C．It pushes the garment industry. | D．It gives costumers a typical look. |
| A．They make the skills easy to learn. | B．They set the skills as basic subjects. |
| C．They make every effort to teach the skills. | D．They fail to give the skills enough attention. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Uncaring. | D．Opposing. |
3 . Attitudes to industrial espionage (间谍活动)
What do people think about stealing and selling industrial secrets?
A. Sarah J. , an industrial chemist
For some years now I have been engaged in highly secret chemical research. Because there is so much industrial espionage now, I have got used to a certain lack of freedom. There is an atmosphere of suspicion almost everywhere, and I am well aware of the dangers of talking about my work, or even of telling new acquaintances where I work. I know I must keep my work secret.
B. Charles S. , an inventor
There was a time, when I was employed as a scientific adviser to a large company, where I though there was too much secrecy in industry. I have an agent who looks after a part of my business and she has always insisted that I take out patents on all of my inventions, however ridiculous they may look. She also insists on my locking away all plans and technical drawings.
C. Peter L. , a science teacher
I teach chemistry and physics to young people up to the age of 18 to the best of my ability in the hope that they will go to university and eventually go into industry. I hate the whole business of industrial spying. I know it goes on and I warn my students about getting involved in buying or selling secrets. And old friend of mine is a mechanical engineer and although he says he has no important information, he has had his phone tapped (窃听), and he has been approached b a representative of another large company.
D. Laura B. , an advertising executive
Some fellow sales executives and I were discussing the question of industrial espionage in conference recently. While the others felt it only took place in the manufacturing industries, I pointed out that it was just as prevalent in area like sales, advertising, insurance and other service industries. It’s a fact of life: we all have our secrets that other companies would pay a lot of money to see.
1. Who points out that spying takes places even in service industries?| A．Sarah. J. | B．Laura | C．Charles S. | D．Peter L. |
| A．important | B．attractive | C．different | D．common |
| A．a magazine. | B．a poster. | C．a science fiction | D．an ad. |
4 . According to the UN report, nearly 54 million tons of e-waste was generated around the world in 2019. It includes everything from phones and computer monitors to larger items like refrigerators and old fax machine.
Rwanda is one of only 13 countries in Africa that have passed a national law regarding e-waste rule. It has led to the first official recycling and reusing facility in the country. Operational since early last year, this public-private partnership between the government and Enviroserve became a source of pride for Rwanda. The plant can process up to 10,000 tons of e-waste per year. According to managing director Olivier Mbera, Enviroserve has already repaired and reused more than 5,000 computers, which were sold to public schools. To date, it has processed more than 4,000 tons of e-waste and created more than 600 jobs.
Conveyor belts（传送带）sort plastics from metals, while particular space collects phosphor（磷）from old tube TVs. Circuit boards（电路板）pile up in bags and batteries are constantly being tested. Every piece of e-waste is thoroughly collected or pressed. The dangerous materials which can poison the environment are separated from the valuable ones.
"Globally, waste is not only increasing in quantity, but also in its complexity and composition," says Okechukwu Daniel Ogbonnaya, country representative for Rwanda at the Global Green Growth Institute, an intergovernmental organization for sustainable（可持续的）economic growth. "Within an electronic device, there's gold, silver and so on and these sorts of elements could be taken out, providing new business opportunities for small businesses and even for big cities to generate income. Rwanda is one of our earliest pioneer members and they've done really well when it comes to its shift to a green growth pathway," he adds.
Mbera points to Enviroserve's success in Rwanda as a potential beginning for an e-waste movement across Africa. "We're talking with different governments in Africa to establish similar facilities in their countries," he says. One thing is certain: it will take all nations to combat the growing e-waste crisis.
1. What can we know about e-waste recycling facility in Rwanda?| A．It is the first plant to reuse e-waste in Africa. |
| B．It is managed entirely by the government. |
| C．It has already processed 10,000 tons of e-waste. |
| D．It manages e-waste in an eco-friendly way. |
| A．Electronic devices are made of gold and silver. |
| B．E-waste can contain potential treasure. |
| C．Simple electronic devices are in great need. |
| D．Rwanda is the only nation to recycle e-waste. |
| A．Create. | B．Handle. | C．Discover. | D．Reach. |
| A．Rwanda is coping with the rising e-waste crisis. |
| B．Lots of electronic devices are wasted in the world. |
| C．A great deal of e-waste is poisoning the environment. |
| D．E-waste is increasing in complexity and composition. |
5 . The prestigious (久负盛名) Peking University and Tsinghua University held graduation ceremonies on the same day this year. The presidents of the two universities delivered excellent speeches at the ceremonies as they used words, phrases or ways of expression that are very popular on the Internet currently. At the same time, graduation speeches by other university presidents were also under the spotlight for the same reason. Their speeches were warmly welcomed by students as they contained many fashionable words today, such as "floating clouds" ( meaning "too small and of little importance to mention") and "gelivable" (meaning " very helpful") . In the speeches , these university presidents recalled campus life together with students and finally moved all the audiences. They were very different from the usual run of lectures.
Many university presidents have changed their regular manner of addressing graduation ceremonies from an advising and preaching (说教) mode to a more fashionable and funny approach. They try to use those words popular among young people in their speeches.
In the past, university presidents' speeches were criticized for being too standard and lacking sentiment. Now , they quote fashionable words in their addresses, reflecting they are starting to adopt more everyday attitudes to students. The use of these new expressions has triggered a heated discussion. It focuses on the question of whether university presidents should speak in an informal way at graduation ceremonies.
Supporters agree with the new approach. They consider it good to build close ties with students by using the youth's own words. Opponents argue the new ways have no practical value or significance for education but are merely to please those leaving university.
1. What would be the best title for this passage?| A．Should University Heads Use Terms of Youth |
| B．Must University Presidents Learn to Please Students |
| C．Must University Presidents Meet Students' Needs |
| D．Should University Heads Use Newly-created Words |
| A．University presidents consider it good to build close ties with students. |
| B．More and more students are eager to make speeches in public. |
| C．The new ways of making speeches are popular with the young. |
| D．University presidents have special opinions about the world. |
| A．Break off | B．Set off | C．Sum up | D．Focus on |
| A．Many people are likely to be influenced by the Internet. |
| B．The writer thinks it necessary for us to follow the traditional customs. |
| C．More and more words are changing with the development of technology. |
| D．People argue about whether to use fashionable words on formal occasions. |
6 . More young Chinese are making preparations for their future by buying life and medical insurance, Chen Meiling reports. Jessie Dong, 30, sent her life insurance policy to her mother, which says, if she dies before 50, family members will get a compensation (补偿)of 3 million yuan (S458,820).
Recently, the only child of her mother's colleague died at the age of 35, and all that was left to his lonely, old parents was sorrow. Dong, a researcher of social science in Beijing, says she doesn't want such a tragedy (悲剧) to happen, and hopes to be able to support her family even if she is gone. Buying insurance became one of her wisest choices.
She pays about 350 yuan every month for the life insurance, and about 300 yuan annually for critical illness insurance with coverage of 4 million yuan, in case she runs out of money for “having to treat a serious disease someday” "It's a good way to face the unpredictable risks of life with a small amount of money. Of course hopefully I won't use it," she says, adding she purchased insurance on Alipay, as she is too busy to visit insurance companies in-person, and she plans to continue investing (投资)in it.
The younger generation, those born in the 1990s, in China is showing a higher interest in buying insurance, driven by the increased awareness of crisis and a willingness to improve risk resistance ability, experts say. The fact that more people get severe diseases at a younger age or feel their worse health condition, as well as uncertainties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic(流行病) to both their personal lives and on a Socio-economic level, also strengthens anxiety and is contributing to the trend.
1. What does the first paragraph mainly tell us?| A．The young are afraid of dying. |
| B．Jessie Dong’s mother has passes away. |
| C．Jessie gain a large sum. |
| D．Buying life insurance’s popular with the young. |
| A．By WeChat. | B．By Alipay. |
| C．In cash. | D．By Taobao. |
| A．Their serious diseases and poor health. |
| B．Their higher interest and awareness of crises. |
| C．Their life of high quality and living standard. |
| D．Their personal lives and socio-economic level. |
| A．A Future Plan | B．A Good Choice |
| C．A Health Investment | D．A Large Company |
