1 . Twelve-year-old Catherine has a lot of friends—632, actually, if you count up her online friends. And she spends a lot of time with them.
But is it possible that Catherine’s online friendships could be making her lonely? That’s what some experts believe. Connecting online is a great way to stay in touch, they say. However, some experts worry that many kids are so busy connecting online that they might be missing out on true friendships.
Could this be true? During your parents’ childhoods, connecting with friends usually meant spending time with them in the flesh. Kids played Scrabble around a table, not words with friends on their phones. When friends missed each other, they picked up the telephone. Friends might even write letters to each other.
Today, most communication takes place online. A typical teen sends 2,000 texts a month and spends more than 44 hours per week in front of a screen. Much of this time is spent on social media platform.
In fact, in many ways, online communication can make friendships stronger. “There’s definitely a positive influence. Kids can stay in constant contact, which means they can share more of their feelings with each other,” says Katie Davis, co-author of The App Generation.
Other experts, however, warn that too much online communication can get in the way of forming deep friendships. “If we are constantly checking in with our virtual world, we will have little time for our real-world friendships,” says Larry Rosen, a professor at California State University. Rosen also worries that today’s kids might mistake the “friends” on the social media for true friends in life. However, in tough times, you don’t need anyone to like your picture or share your blogs. You need someone who will keep your secrets and hold your hand. You would like to talk face to face.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?A.To tell about true friends. | B.To start a discussion. |
C.To encourage online friendships. | D.To summarize(总结) the text. |
A.In any case. | B.In public. | C.In person. | D.In advance. |
A.Unconcerned. | B.Positive. | C.Worried. | D.Confused. |
A.Teenagers need to focus on real-world friendships. | B.It’s easier to develop friendships in real life. |
C.It’s wise to turn to friends online. | D.Social media help people stay closely connected. |
2 . Are you happy with your appearance?
“Almost all the girls with single-fold eyelids (单眼皮) in our class have had double eyelid operations,” Zeng, a Senior 2 student from Chengdu, told Xinhua. Zeng had the same surgery done this summer.
From popular photo-editing apps to plastic surgery (整形手术), it seems that large eyes, pale skin and a skinny body are the only standard for beauty these days. But can following this standard really make us feel good about ourselves?
“Many teenagers are upset about their appearance because they believe in unrealistic standards of beauty,” experts say.
However, trying to live up to strict standards can make us feel anxious. What troubles us is not just our “imperfect” looks, but the fact that we criticize ourselves too much.
A.Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. |
B.Body image anxiety is common among teenagers. |
C.Guys care just as much as girls do about their body image. |
D.Some teenagers might feel negative about their appearance. |
E.It’s common for teenagers to feel confident about their appearance. |
F.She and many of her classmates believe bigger eyes look more beautiful. |
G.Perfect faces and bodies are everywhere in advertising, TV shows and social media. |
3 . Every festival has its own meaning. Labor Day, for example, celebrates the value of hard work. Thanksgiving is about showing thanks to people around you. And Valentines’ Day is a time when you express love to your loved ones. But somehow it now seems that all festivals we just care about one thing — shopping. And that can be a big problem.
“In a way, over-consumption (过度消费) is the mother of all our environmental problems,” Kalle Lasn once told CNN. Lasn is the organizer of Buy Nothing Day, a day set up in Canada in 1992 to fight against unhealthy spending habits, and has now become an international event. It’s held on the day, which is known as Black Friday — a famous shopping day in the US and Canada.
You can see the irony (讽刺) here.
Even though the idea of Buy Nothing Day was brought up 26 years ago, we seem to need it now more than ever. It’s just as Lasn said, all the different kinds of pollution in our lives today — bad air quality, the reduction of forest area, endangered animal species, and plastic bags found in the ocean — seem to be the same cause: over-consumption.
The latest example is the Singles’ Day shopping craze of Nov 11, which saw a new sales record. But as Nie Li, a campaigner at Greenpeace, told Reuters, “Record-setting over-consumption means record-setting waste.” And it was reported that last year the Singles’ Day packages left more than 160,000 tons of waste, including plastic and cardboard. The Collins Dictionary has also just named “single-use” its Word of the Year, pointing out the problem that there’re too many things we tow out after only using them once.
So, Buy Nothing Day might only be here for one day a year, but it’s not just to remind us to the a break from shopping on that day, but to change our lifestyle completely, focusing on fun “with people we care about” rather than wasting money on useless things.
1. What’s the authors purpose of writing the first paragraph?A.To express the people’s love for all festivals. |
B.To talk about the meaning of the festivals. |
C.To appreciate the value of the festivals. |
D.To bring out the topic of the passage. |
A.To help people save money. | B.To cut the cost for daily life. |
C.To prevent over-consumption. | D.To set up a new sales record. |
A.Opposed (反对的). | B.Supportive. |
C.Unknown. | D.Neutral (中立的). |
A.Creating a New Lifestyle | B.Buy Nothing Day |
C.Festivals Around the World | D.A Change in People’s Life |
4 . From a very early age, some children exhibit better selfcontrol than others. Now, a new study that began with about 1,000 children in New Zealand has tracked how a child’s low self-control can predict poor health, money troubles and even a criminal record in their adult years.
Researchers have been studying this group of children for decades now. They observed the level of self-control the youngsters displayed. Parents, teachers, even the kids themselves, scored the youngsters on measures like “acting before thinking” and “Persistence in reaching goals.” The study led by Moffitt of Duke University and colleagues followed 1,000 children from birth to age 32 in Dunedin, New Zealand.
“The children who had the lowest self-control when they were age three to ten, later on had the most health problems in their 30s,” Moffitt said, “and they had the worst financial situation. They were more likely to have a criminal record and to be raising a child as a single parent on a very low income.” Moffitt explained that self-control problems were widely observed, and weren’t just a feature of a small group of misbehaving kids.
Moffitt said it’s still unclear why some children have better self-control than others, though she said other researchers have found that it’s mostly a learned behavior, with relatively little genetic influence. But good self-control can be set to run in families because children with good self-control are more likely to grow up to be healthy and prosperous parents. But the good news, Moffitt said, is that self-control can be taught by parents, and through school curricula that have been shown to be effective.
1. Children with low self-control are more likely to ________.A.become wealthy in later life |
B.get good school performance |
C.have better financial planning |
D.adopt negative behaviors |
A.Self-control cannot be taught in schools. |
B.The study is restricted within few participants. |
C.It’s never too late to deal with self-control problems. |
D.Good parenting can improve self-control and life success. |
A.Child’s Selfcontrol Predicts Future Health, success |
B.Kids are Encouraged to Take Risks at an Early Age |
C.Children’s Development Cannot be Changed by Teachers |
D.How to Teach the Kids a Bit of Self-control in schools |
A.the research has been carried out for five years |
B.self-control in kids tends to determine their future |
C.self-control was assessed by children’s intelligence |
D.children’s self-control is almost the same at early age |
5 . Our local Community Youth Club is a very popular organization with young people in my town. I have been a member for four years now and I’ve taken part in a lot of interesting projects. These include fun activities such as holiday camps and discos. We have organized sports competitions and we even made a video.
But it isn’t all just enjoyment, we have also started doing social work to help people in our neighbourhood. We have organized activities for small children during the holidays. We have also formed a social support group to help young people stop smoking.
We are particularly proud of the most recent group we have created. It organizes regular visits to the local old people’s home. This idea came from a school visit to an old people’s home. My class spent an afternoon at a home and everyone found the visit very rewarding.
The old people at the home were very excited by our visit. They were very talkative and they told us their personal stories. During our visit, the home was filled with the sound of laughter. We sang songs and played games with the old people and had tea together. But we realized that life wasn’t always easy. Some of them were in poor health and were very unhappy. They couldn’t go outside and the visits by children brought some sunshine into their lives.
Many young people like me do not live with our grandparents and we have very little contact with elderly people. As a result, many young people don’t know what they are like and we have a lot of wrong ideas about them. We have little or no idea of the kind of lives they lead in their homes. After this visit, my friends and I decided we should do something to help improve the quality of their lives.
Since the creation of our visiting group, over twenty volunteers have joined us. Up to now, we have organized three group evenings and a concert.But it is the individual (单独的) visits which are the most important. Club members regularly visit old people and everyone finds the experience rich and rewarding.
1. As for Community Youth Club’s future, the author’s attitude to it is ________.A.positive | B.negative |
C.neutral | D.indifferent |
A.works at an old people’s home |
B.lives with her grandparents |
C.lives in an old people’s home |
D.regularly visits old people |
A.only organizes fun activities for young people |
B.has made a video about life in an old people’s home |
C.has arranged a school visit to the local old people’s home |
D.mainly does social work |
A.are not interested in how old people live |
B.do not want to get to know old people |
C.have very little contact with old people |
D.live with their grandparents |
6 . Every culture has a recognized (公认的) point when a child becomes an adult, when rules must be followed and tests passed.
In China, although teenagers can get their ID cards at 16, many only see themselves as an adult when they are 18. In the US, where everyone drives, the main step to the freedom of adult life is learning to drive. At 16, American teens take their driving test. When they have their license (执照), they drive into the grown-up world.
“Nobody wants to ride the cheese bus to school,” said Eleanor Fulham. 17. “It’s like you’re not cool if you don’t have a car,” she said.
According to a recent research, 41% of 16 to 19 year-olds in the US own cars, up from 23% in 1985. Although, most of these cars are bought by parents, some teens get part-time jobs to help pay.
Not all families can afford cars for their children. In cities with undergrounds and limited (有限的) parking, some teenagers don’t want them. But in rich areas outside the city, if there are no undergrounds, and bicycles are more for fun than cars, it is strange for a teenager not to have a car.
But police say 16-year olds have almost three times more accidents than 18 and 19 year-olds. This has made many parents stop before letting their kids drive. They need to wait until they are more experienced.
Julie Susiana, of Virginia, decided that her son Chad, 15, will wait until he is 17 to apply for his learner’s permit (许可).
Chad said he has accepted his parents’ decision, although it has caused some laughing from his friends. “They say that I am unlucky,” he said. “But I’d rather be alive than driving, and I don’t really trust my friends on the road either.”
In China as more families get cars, more 18 year-olds learn to drive. Will this become a big step to becoming an adult?
1. Which may NOT be taken into consideration when deciding whether to buy a car?A.How rich the family is. |
B.Whether the kid is old enough. |
C.What traffic condition there is around. |
D.Whether it’s practically needed. |
A.an American culture about teenagers’ driving |
B.a change in the Chinese culture |
C.a cultural difference between America and China |
D.the relationship between driving and a person’s development |
A.Cars Helping You to Grow Up |
B.Driving into the Grownup World |
C.Teenagers’ Driving in America |
D.Recognized Point of Becoming an Adult |
A.they want to show themselves off |
B.they are not experienced drivers |
C.older people always drive better |
D.they never drive carefully on the road |
Computer Science Career Opportunities
Computer scientists and engineers continue to be in great demand. As businesses everywhere use increasingly sophisticated and complex computer technology in their daily operations, there is a greater need for the expertise of highly-skilled professionals. As a result, there are more jobs created in the U.S. than transferred offshore.
In fact, good jobs — offering a high salary, interesting work and benefits — are plentiful in the computer science field. However, to obtain one, you will need to complete a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in the subject area. Most colleges and universities offer degrees in computer science and computer engineering, and Cabrillo College courses transfer to the majority of them.
Once you have completed your degree in computer science, a typical career path is software development. The U.S. Department of Labor lists software developers among the fastest growing occupations in the U.S. The most recent study predicts that software developer jobs will grow by 24.0% nationally in the ten-year period ending in 2026. By comparison, the average job growth rate for all occupations is 7.4% for the same period. In California, jobs for software developers, applications are expected to increase by 40.1%, between 2016 and 2026, far exceeding the average rate for all occupations of 10.7%.
Because of the high demand for job candidates with a computer science background, careers in computer science-related fields are well-remunerated. The average starting salary for a new computer science graduate is over $72,000 per year nationally, while the median salary for all software developers and programmers is over $103,000 annually. By comparison, the median salary for all occupations is $50,516 per year. Thus, as a computer science graduate, you can expect to make more than twice the salary of most occupations.
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8 . What is the connection between violence and sports? Psychologists(心理学家) say that there are many reasons for violence at sports events. One is alcohol(酒精).
David Sampson, a sports sociologist, agrees. “These are often celebratory riots(暴乱)— a large number of very happy people mixed in with large amounts of alcohol. They don’t often seem dangerous in the beginning, but things get violent quickly. ”
Dave Zarifis, head of public safety at Northern Iowa University says, “Some people don’t even come to celebrate.
Social psychologist Dr Sharon Kennedy says that there are a few things officials can do to prevent violence.
A.They just follow the crowd. |
B.Many fans drink a lot at games. |
C.They want to drink hard and make trouble. |
D.Another reason for violence at sports events is the crowd itself. |
E.Making sure that an area is not overcrowded is very important. |
F.Be careful when you are at a stadium because there are cameras there. |
G.Never follow blindly no matter how many people are doing the same thing. |
9 . Being stuck behind crowds of slow walkers when you’re in a hurry is one of the most annoying things. But now, Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex, one of the UK’s largest shopping malls, has introduced its very own fast lane (通道) for shoppers in a hurry, aiming to help impatient shoppers avoid slow walkers and the anger that goes with them.
The Lakeside Shopping Center in Essex has introduced a 720foot “fast lane” reserved for fast walkers only, just in time for the Christmas rush. The center's management team said: “the lane will help the shoppers who know where they want to go quickly and don't want to get caught in behind unhurried shoppers at the busiest time of the year.”
The fast lane was introduced after a MasterCard survey found that 80 percent of consumers found slow walkers their biggest annoyance while shopping. The research also found that the average walking speed slowed down by 21 percent during the Christmas shopping period, as most shoppers spent more time window shopping during this period.
Gary Mortimer, an expert from the Queensland University of Technology, said he wasn’t surprised by the promotion about the launch of the fast lane, and thought the concept would appeal to shoppers all over the world. “Crowded parking lots and busy shopping centers tend to be two of the biggest complaints of shoppers over the festive season,” he said. “I think the fast lanes are a new approach. However, I suspect it will be a bit like fast lanes on the highway, so it might end up being more trouble than its worth.”
The MasterCard survey also identified the four most common types of shoppers. They include “Skaters” —the 31 percent of shoppers who try and make their way through crowds politely, “Dodgers”—the 51 percent of customers who move down the paths to avoid slow walkers, “Bulldozers” —the 11 percent who push their way through crowds, and “Tutters”—the 15 percent who express their frustrations to slow walkers.
1. The fast lane is intended for the shoppers who ________.A.can't move quickly because of physical disabilities |
B.buy things on their shopping lists quickly |
C.take their time to do window shopping |
D.want to leave the mall quickly |
A.Supportive. | B.Indifferent. |
C.Critical. | D.Objective. |
A.Skaters. | B.Dodgers. |
C.Bulldozers. | D.Tutters. |
A.Shopping can be annoying sometimes. |
B.How to avoid “slow walkers” when shopping. |
C.The problems that shopping centers face during busy holidays. |
D.The shopping mall creates the fast lane to avoid “slow walkers”. |
10 . As globalization continues to make the world a smaller place, and goods become more accessible across borders, concerns about food safety in the AsiaPacific region have steadily risen over the years. An APEC forum is being held in Beijing, to find ways to better address the problem.
156 participants from 19 APEC economies and 4 nonAPEC members attended the APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum, which has been actively looking for ways to strengthen food safety standard in the region, without affecting trade.
“As consumers are faced with more varieties of food, the potential food safety risk also becomes bigger.This forum has helped APEC economies to cooperate in supervision(监督), exchange information, and improve the overall food safety standard in the AsiaPacific region,” said director of China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision Wu Qinghai.
For the first time the forum has brought together highlevel regulators, academics, and industry stakeholders to talk about their respective roles in safety supervision.They say governments alone cannot shoulder this heavy duty.
In China, the continuous food safety problems have greatly hurt consumers’ confidence in domestic products; therefore more turned to imports. However, problems related to quality of those imported goods also began to show. In July this year, more than 400 batches (批) of food imported from 35 countries and regions were found substandard by the country’s top quality supervisor.
Governments and industries have been brought closer by this forum.As food moves more freely beyond borders, this forum is hoped to promote safety control cooperation, so APEC members can better benefit from the economic integration(经济一体化).
1. The last but one paragraph tells us that ________.A.the Chinese customers are more satisfied with their food safety |
B.food imported from other countries is indeed high in quality |
C.many Chinese customers would rather buy some foreign food |
D.there are only 35 countries and regions exporting food to China |
A.send a letter about | B.deal with | C.deliver a speech on | D.call off |
A.People can buy foreign food more easily than ever. |
B.The more varieties of food, the bigger the potential food safety risk. |
C.Food safety problems have appeared many times before this forum. |
D.Governments have started their cooperation with academies and industries before this forum. |
A.It has greatly influenced the economy in the area. |
B.It has long been able to put every side’s efforts together. |
C.It helps to bring government regulators and industries together. |
D.It has found ways to deal with safety problems. |