Liu Shuqi broke up with her boyfriend two months ago and has now found a new companion.
In a digital age
Lin Kaikai and Ye Youyou, two virtual beings,
2 . One October morning, in a protest led by Bike Grid Now, a Chicago-based group of cyclists, three dozen cyclists gathered outside Chicago’s downtown, before cycling together to City Hall. They spread across all three lanes, before pausing outside the entrance to block car traffic. After a police officer on a bicycle appeared, they rang their bells and headed for bike lanes, and then went to their jobs in the nearby offices.
Such protests now happen in Chicago almost weekly, demanding more safety for cyclists. In September, on “World Car Free Day”, several hundred cyclists blocked an eight-lane highway running alongside Lake Michigan. Similar protests have been held in many other American cities.
Bike activism is hardly new, yet the pace has accelerated, largely thanks to trends caused by COVID-19. Since the pandemic (疫情), more cyclists are on America’s roads than ever. Bicycle sales have risen—electric bikes outsold electric cars last year—and cycle hire schemes in American cities recorded more users than ever this past summer.
As more people are getting on bikes, they realise how unsafe many American streets are. Though bike lanes are proliferating in many cities, they aren’t protected. In 2020, 1,260 people nationwide were killed in crashes on bikes, a 44% increase on a decade before, according to the National Safety Council, a non-profit group. Some of that increase may be because more bikes are on the roads, but it also seems that people are driving more dangerously, too. Last year almost 43,000 people were killed in car crashes of all sorts, the highest figure since 2005.
Christina set up a website, Bike Lane Uprising, to report people who park in Chicago’s bike lanes. She says the site has been filled with such reports, but cyclists are making an effort to force changes. The city has, for example, put concrete barriers in some bike lanes to stop drivers from entering them. She says officials did this in response to protests. “There are so many bikers who are becoming single-issue voters,” she says. They may be starting a virtuous cycle.
1. What impression do we get about the protesters in paragraph 1?| A．They were in great anger. | B．They disobeyed the police. | C．They were office leaders. | D．They were well organized. |
| A．It sees an increase in the number of cyclists. | B．It worsens the road conditions for cyclists. |
| C．It brings about strict traffic rules on cyclists. | D．It brings forth rules to restrict their travels. |
| A．Decreasing. | B．Multiplying. |
| C．Popularizing. | D．Separating. |
| A．To get more people interested in cycling. | B．To show the government’s concerns for cyclists. |
| C．To urge officials to protect the rights of cyclists. | D．To present the virtue the cyclist protesters show. |
3 . Celebrities (famous people) are everywhere nowadays: on TV, in magazines, online. Is this concern with famous people harmless fun or is it bad for us? How many people are truly crazy about modern media idols? And on the other side of the coin, can fame be harmful to the celebrities?
Studies suggest that the vast majority of teenagers do not really worship celebrities. Researchers have identified three kinds of fans. About 15% of young people have an ‘entertainment-social’ interest. They love chatting about their favourite celebrities with friends and this does not appear to do any harm.
Another 5% feel that they have an ‘intense-personal’ relationship with a celebrity. Sometimes they see them as their soulmate. These people are more at risk from depression and anxiety. If girls in this group idolise a female star with a body they consider to be perfect, they are more likely to be unhappy with their own bodies.
That leaves 2% of young people with a ‘borderline-pathological’ interest. They might say, for example, they would spend several thousand pounds on a paper plate the celebrity had used, or that they would do something illegal if the celebrity asked them to.
What about the celebrities themselves? A study in the USA tried to measure narcissism or extreme self-centeredness, among the celebrities and other groups of adults. As was expected, the celebrities were significantly more narcissistic than the general population.
Four kinds of celebrity were included in the sample. The most narcissistic were the ones who had become famous through reality TV shows — they scored highest on vanity (自负) and willingness to exploit other people. Next came comedians, who scored highest on exhibitionism (表现狂) and feelings of superiority. Then came actors, and the least narcissistic were musicians. One interesting result was that there was no connection between narcissism and the length of time the celebrity had been famous.
So, what can we learn from this? People who are very successful or famous tend to be narcissists and are likely to be unsympathetic, self-seeking workaholics. As we can see from celebrity magazines, they are also often desperate and lonely. They make disastrous role models.
1. From the passage we can infer that ________.| A．most of teenagers show great respect for celebrities |
| B．some girls may wear clothes of the same style as their idols’ |
| C．all the three kinds of relationship with celebrities do harm to teenagers |
| D．some young people would break laws voluntarily for the benefit of their celebrities |
| A．Musicians feel modest about themselves. |
| B．Comedians tend to feel themselves superior to others. |
| C．TV stars feel the most narcissistic and tend to exploit others. |
| D．Celebrities are always desperate and lonely and make disastrous role models. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Negative. |
| C．Admiring. | D．Sympathetic. |
| A．Are celebrities bad for you? |
| B．What can we learn from celebrities? |
| C．How can young people be sensible fans? |
| D．Which kind of celebrities is the most narcissistic? |
TikTok is known for is viral videos. But for Gen Zers, those born
Nearly 40 percent of Gen Z
The main factor
TikTok’s rise as a discovery tool is part of a broader transformation in the digital world. While Google remains the world’s most used search engine, people in Western countries are
5 . Multitasking (多任务处理) refers to performing different activities at the same time,such as editing a document or replying to emails while participating in a teleconference. People think that they are capable of doing many things at once. However, the fact remains that they are merely switching from one job to the other.
Several types of research have been done to see how multitasking affects our brain. A study conducted to see if multitasking while driving was good or bad, concluded that performance is primarily reduced when there is a resource conflict.
According to studies, the only time you can multitask is when you’re doing two things and one of them doesn’t require your attention or mental energy, for example, jogging while listening to music. In many cases, multitasking has long-term, harmful effects on your health, well-being, and productivity.
Sometimes the tendency to multitask may take a toll on the relationship and the partner feels neglected. Imagine discussing something with your partner while he or she is constantly engaged on the mobile phone checking social media or email. How would that make you feel?
Researchers investigated if multitasking increases our productivity and effectiveness. The findings showed that multitasking made individuals less effective and productive, which is contrary to what most multitaskers believe.
There is a cognitive (认知的) cost every time we go from one task to another,which reduces our produetivity. Multitasking implies you are constantly shifting your attention between multiple tasks -— it is no different from being distracted.
We’d like to believe that doing numerous activities at once is achievable, but it comes at the cost of lowering the quality and amount of attention paid to each task. As a result, you’re less productive and less efficient than someone who concentrates on one task at a time.
What’s more, we lose time and energy when we switch tasks. A study found that when switching between different tasks, the amount of time wasted depends on various factors, and it could range from seconds to hours.
1. Why does the author mention jogging and listening to music?| A．To show multitasking is harmful. |
| B．To prove multitasking is difficult. |
| C．To show multitasking is possible. |
| D．To prove multitasking is rewarding. |
| A．Strengthen. | B．Damage. |
| C．End. | D．Start. |
| A．It extends working hours. |
| B．It improves work efficiency. |
| C．It affects work performance. |
| D．It does harm to mental health. |
| A．Is Multitasking a Good Thing? |
| B．Can We Do Multitasking at All? |
| C．How Do We Achieve Multitasking? |
| D．Why Do People Like Multitasking? |
6 . There are a lot of reasons we fail to make effective decisions. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest ones:
We’re unintentionally stupid. I like to think that I’m rational (理智的) and capable of interpreting all information in a non-biased way but that’s a dream. Cognitive biases (偏见) are great at explaining how our evolutionary programming leads us wrong.
We use the wrong model.
We fail to learn. We all know the person that has 20years of experience but it’s really the same year over and over.
Luckily, we can take steps to reduce the odds of stupidity and increase the chances of good decisions in each of these categories.
| A．We overlook doing right. |
| B．We collected the wrong information. |
| C．Well,that person is sometimes us. |
| D．We use mental models to make decisions. |
| E．Knowledge of these biases in advance rarely helps us make better decisions. |
| F．Making decisions with the wrong assumptions or facts is likely to lead to disaster. |
| G．We often want to feel good about ourselves first and the outcome we desire second. |
7 . Talking to an adult about feelings can be an uncomfortable experience for children and adolescents. While a mental health professional can provide a confidential(私密的)space, the first few interactions can still bring them a sense of uneasiness. But what if they could share how they honestly feel without interacting directly with another human? With this in mind, a recent study from the University of Cambridge tested a robot’s effectiveness in determining children’s well-being.
The study involved 28 children between the ages of 8 and 13 and their parents or guardians completing a well-being questionnaire focused on the young individuals. Then a human-like robot asked the young participants open-ended questions about happy and sad memories over the last week and had them respond to prompts(提示)around pictures. The parents or guardians and research team members observed the interaction from a separate room.
Children with mental well-being issues were likelier to divulge the extent of these problems while talking to the robot. Researchers also found they felt more negative than stated in the initial questionnaire. On the other hand, children without previously stated mental well-being concerns presented an even more positive image to the robot.
Actually, the idea that children would share more with a robot than parents or mental health professionals is easy to understand. “Not all children have a secure attachment style, meaning they feel safe and connected to their caregivers,” says Dr. Katherine Grill, a behavioral scientist. “Children without secure attachments often find comfort in companions like imaginary friends, In this instance, a robot may serve as a viable option for children to open up about their well-being. Even in cases where children have secure attachment styles, a robot may provide them with a non-judgmental relationship where they’ re willing to share their feelings.”
“While this study demonstrates the benefit of robots, it doesn’t remove the need for human interaction in the mental health field. Technology-enabled services mean digital support and even enhanced care, but they don’t replace work with a human being,” says Dr. Aaron Haddock, associate professor of Clark University. “After all, the relationship between clients and providers is a key driver of positive treatment outcomes.”
1. What were the children arranged to do in the study?| A．Share secrets with the other children. |
| B．Finish a questionnaire about their parents. |
| C．Interact with a human-like robot alone. |
| D．Draw pictures about their happy memories. |
| A．Reveal. | B．Assess. | C．Control. | D．Ignore. |
| A．Explain the results of the study. | B．Draw conclusions from the study. |
| C．Make evaluations about kids’ well-being. | D．Analyze the issues with health care. |
| A．Generally unconcerned. | B．Particularly disapproving. |
| C．Totally positive. | D．Relatively objective. |
8 . People who are in the same age group are called peers. When they influence each other, or try to get other people in this age group to do something, it’s called peer pressure. It’s something everyone has to deal with — even adults.
Peers can have a positive influence on each other. For example, if you are involved with a group of people that are ambitious and are working to succeed, you might feel pressured to follow suit to avoid feeling excluded (被排除) from the group.
You’ve probably had a parent or teacher to advise you to “choose your friends wisely”.
Even if you’re faced with negative peer pressure while you’re alone, you should stand firm, though it is tough to be the only one who says “no” to negative peer pressure.
| A．You can get help from yourself. |
| B．How does peer pressure affect us? |
| C．You are to handle peer pressure wisely. |
| D．Let’s talk about the causes of peer pressure. |
| E．Peer pressure is a big reason why they say this. |
| F．Sometimes peers influence each other in negative ways. |
| G．Therefore, you would be pressured into improving yourself. |
9 . Are you always looking at your mobile phone as you’re walking, playing with it as you’re studying, and reluctant to put it down as you go to bed? Tired of a life controlled by their mobile phones, many young people seem to be intent on working out how to overcome it.
One of the popular gadgets is the mobile phone isolation box. Users simply put their mobile phone in the box and set a time lock that will ban them from having access to the phone for a set time. Some boxes allow users to respond to emergencies. These isolation boxes can be adapted to almost all types of mobile phones on the market. The locking time generally ranges from one minute to 12 hours, and the price is generally about 100-200 Yuan. Xianfeng Technology, one of the sellers on Taobao says: “Our main customers are students and office workers. They usually ask for engraving some inspirational quotes on the box when buying. Some parents who feel their children are wasting time on Douyin and ruining their studies are also buying them. This physical box is much better than software on phones.” Xianfeng’s after-sales comment section is filled with positive comment from buyers who say the box has helped them become more self-disciplined.
However, Lin Tianqi, a college student says, because the lock time is set by users, whether they can achieve their goal depends on the individual. A five-hour lockup is too harsh, she says, but one of her friends locks the box for just 30 minutes, she seems to cheat herself. Liang Wenyu, another college student, sneers at these “flashy” attempts. “Regardless of the effectiveness of the isolation box, you might as well lock yourself up. As simple as that.” he says. “I can understand why they need these blood pumping quotes on the box — because they lack discipline. How about simply taking back your time. Self-disciplined people are bound to succeed without such gimmicks.”
1. What can we learn about the mobile phone isolation box?| A．It adapts to all types of mobile phones. |
| B．It allows users to use their mobile phones for a set time. |
| C．It has good market prospects. |
| D．It helps users abandon their mobile phones. |
| A．The lock time is a key factor for self-disciplined. |
| B．Self-discipline is up to the person, not an isolation box. |
| C．Two college students’ views on isolation box are unreasonable. |
| D．The isolation box needs improving due to its ineffectiveness. |
| A．Many young people attempt to stay away from mobile phones. |
| B．Different views on the mobile phone isolation box. |
| C．The mobile phone isolation box is used to help reduce mobile phone use. |
| D．Self-discipline is of great importance. |
10 . Many of us like to dine out and treat ourselves to delicious food. We are used to choosing hearty, fat-filled dishes and sugar-charged desserts, which are not easily cooked at home. The recent rise of light meals, however, gives diners smarter choice. According to Economic Daily, low-calorie, low-fat and high-fiber meals have become popular in China's restaurants and online delivery platforms.
The country saw a rapid expansion of restaurants specializing in light meals, from just 600 in 2017 to more than 3,500 in 2018. According to a report released by Meituan, a major online food delivery platform, the number of light meals ordered online also rose 75 percent from the previous year.
Having a light meal, however, doesn't mean eating only vegetables. Different from the meat-free lifestyle, a typical light dish avoids oily, salty and spicy food. Instead, it contains things like boiled meat, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Healthy nutrients（营养物）are the theme of the light meal.
These dishes are useful for keeping healthy and controlling your weight. That's probably why so many young people are into them. Diners see it as a great way to avoid becoming fat. "After eating several light meals, I felt my appetite（胃口）has shrunk. I now prefer light flavors," said Zou Jing, a college teacher in Wuhan. She shared a picture of her lunch: a mixture of beef, eggs, corn, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes.
These changes in eating behavior are connected to deeper changes in how people think about food, says Water Willet, chairman of the nutrition department at the Harvard T. Chan School of Public Health. "Diet quality, not quantity is important for both weight control and long term well-being," he said. So the next time you have a party with friends, try a light meal. It will satisfy not only your stomachs but maybe also your hearts.
1. How does the author prove the popularity of light meals?| A．By giving examples. | B．By giving descriptions. |
| C．By listing numbers. | D．By showing other people's opinions. |
| A．Taking in healthy nutrients. | B．Eating only vegetables. |
| C．Having a meat-free lifestyle. | D．Avoiding salty and spicy food. |
| A．They are usually colorful. | B．They can help people control their weight. |
| C．They are cheaper than other meals. | D．They are simple and convenient. |
| A．One's eating habit shows his personality. |
| B．Light meals will stay popular for a short time. |
| C．It's important to eat the right amount of good food. |
| D．There are changes in attitude toward healthy eating. |
