1 . The New Year is the moment when people vow to improve their fitness. They join gyms, swear off alcohol and adopt healthier diets. These resolutions usually do not last beyond January.
But some employers try to help their workers stick to their goals by offering “wellness” programmes. One of the longest-running examples began in 1979 at Johnson & Johnson (J&J), an American health-care company. The plan promotes weight loss, smoking quitting and efforts to reduce blood pressure. The firm claims it reduced medical costs by $400 an employee per year, and resulted in fewer workers suffering from heart disease or high blood pressure.
Yet an examination of the data by Martin Cherniack of the University of Connecticut found that in 2005-2008, a sharp jump in alcohol use, depression and stress among J&J employees occurred. This took place just at the same time when the firm had a target of lifting productivity by 9% a year. So the employees may have been leaner and fitter, but it is possible that workplace pressure to produce more means greater stress.
All this suggests that employee well-being is a rather more complex topic than can be tackled by a programme devoted to exercise and healthy living. A study by RAND Europe, a research institute, found that obvious bad habits such as smoking and high alcohol use were in fact not associated with lower productivity, while obese workers were no more likely to take time off than anyone else. The biggest productivity problems were associated with lack of sleep, financial concerns and mental-health issues—factors that may well be directly linked to work-related stress.
It seems reasonable for companies to expect some level of economic return on any wellness programme that they provide. But a better impact on confidence and enthusiasm (and thus productivity) might occur if workers felt that their managers had a real interest in their welfare.
1. What is Johnson & Johnson’s plan?| A．To improve employees’ fitness. | B．To increase their productivity. |
| C．To reduce their medical cost. | D．To raise their welfares. |
| A．It solved all the health problems. | B．It worked to a certain extent. |
| C．It could do nothing about health. | D．It hardly improved their health. |
| A．Exercise and healthy living. | B．The New Year resolution. |
| C．Work-related stress. | D．Heavy medical costs. |
| A．By focusing on productivity. | B．By being carried out continuously. |
| C．By winning managers’ support. | D．By improving employees’ welfares. |
2 . Chinese students always complain that they’re under great pressure and don’t get enough sleep. But they may be surprised to learn that they’re much luckier than their peers in South Korea and Japan, according to a recently published report, conducted by Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences on the physical and mental health of senior high school students in the three Asian countries.
According to the study among nearly 6,000 high school students in the three countries, Chinese students are the tallest but poorest in physical fitness. Chinese students are on average 168.17cm, compared with 167.61cm for South Korean students and 164.70cm for Japanese students. Chinese students asked for sick leave more than students in other countries. About 72 percent of Korean students never asked for sick and injury leave during high school, compared to 53 percent for Japanese students and 45 percent for Chinese students. Moreover, Chinese students drink alcohol and smoke earlier than Korean and Japanese students. Around 70 percent of Chinese students have drunk alcohol, compared to 50 percent for Korean and Japanese students.
According to the survey, Japanese and South Korean students suffer more pressure than their Chinese peers. Statistics show 16 percent of students in China said they experienced mental pressure often over the past year, while the numbers in Japan and South Korea were 33 percent and 47 percent respectively. Their worries come from “study”, “future after graduation”, “friendships” and “relationship with their parents”. To go with stress, 57.9 percent of Korean students sleep the least, less than six hours a day, compared with 46.6 percent of Japanese students and 30 percent of Chinese students.
More Chinese students were satisfied with their physical appearance, double that of students in the survey from Japan and South Korea. The report said that over half of students in South Korea had tried to lose weight in the past year, while in China the figure was only 22 percent. In measures of self-worth, such as “I think I am valuable” and “I think I am successful”, “I can complete many things”, “I won’t give up to failure,” Chinese students showed greater self-confidence than students in Japan and South Korea.
1. What’s the main idea of the second paragraph?| A．Chinese teenagers are tallest, but most unhealthy. |
| B．Chinese students drink most alcohol and smoke earliest. |
| C．Japanese students ask for least sick leave. |
| D．Chinese students ask for sick leave most often. |
| A．Chinese students are luckiest, yet most unsuccessful. |
| B．Chinese students are confident in themselves and luckier. |
| C．Japanese students are most stressed. |
| D．South Korean students sleep the least. |
| A．The height. | B．The percentage. | C．The weight. | D．The number. |
| A．study and career | B．physical appearance | C．friendships | D．family relationship |
3 . Being a teenager can be hard, for you have to face a lot of difficult problems, but a new program called Nfusion is working hard to help teens with mental(精神的)health needs. Nfusion gives teenagers classes where they study or discuss some troubling subjects. Drugs and bullying(欺凌)are just a few of the topics discussed during the class on Saturday.
"I had a bad attitude, " said 17-year-old Titeana Davis. Davis went through the Nfusion Program last year. The teen, who once had trouble with her attitude towards others, says the program has changed her life. "They taught me a bad attitude is not going to get you anywhere, "said Davis.
Nfusion is a new program that meets teens mental health needs and provides help for their families. The program is designed to help teens aged 14—21 live through a difficult period.
"They're still growing, still developing and still there are a lot of things they don't know how to address. So this is a good program for them to be a part of, " said Lakicha Jemigan, who worked for the Nfusion Program.
Teens like Davis are just a few who have come through the program successfully. Now thanks to Nfusion, Davis says she's looking forward to a bright future. "After I graduate from college, I want to work at a primary school and I want to be a second grade teacher, " added Davis.
1. Why is it necessary to help teens?| A．Teens are in need of money. |
| B．They have to face a lot of problems. |
| C．Teens may face lots of problems in their study. |
| D．Teens are too weak to deal with lots of difficulties. |
| A．To provide teens with some programs. |
| B．To help teens fight for a better future. |
| C．To help teens receive a good education. |
| D．To meet the mental health needs of teens. |
| A．look for | B．deal with | C．talk about | D．learn from |
| A．She became a teacher. | B．She worked for Nfusion. |
| C．She went back to school. | D．She got along well with others. |
Eating shows originated in South Korea and soon became
As a result, nowadays, when searching keywords such as “eating show” or “big stomach king” on the websites in China, what users see is a reminder that
Previously, food waste in China was a common occurrence. According to a joint report
Therefore, it's time to enhance public
After all, good food consumption habits are signs of social progress and civilization.
5 . For much of human history and in many places, girls were considered property, or required to obey their fathers until the day they had to start obeying their husbands. In most of the world that vision of girlhood now seems not merely old-fashioned but unimaginably remote. In field after field girls have caught up with boys. Globally, young women now outnumber (数量超过) young men at university. Girl babies are more wanted than ever before. Even in places, such as China, where the sex-selective abortion of girls has been common, it is becoming less so. Girls are also less likely to be married off in childhood. In 1995 almost six in ten girls in South Asia were married before reaching 18; that has fallen by half.
When societies handle girlhood well, the knock-on effects are astonishing. A girl who finishes secondary school is less likely to become a child bride or a teenage mother. Education boosts earning power and widens choices, so she is less likely to be poor or to suffer domestic abuse. She will have fewer children, and invest more in them. They will be less likely to die in babyhood, or to grow up stunted physically or mentally. She will read to them more and help them with their homework. All this means they will learn more, and earn more as adults. A recent study estimated that, if 100% of their girls completing secondary school is ensured, it could lead to a lasting boost to GDP.
Despite the benefits of nurturing girls, some countries have still failed to grasp them. Only one girl in three south of the Sahara finishes her secondary education. The COVID-19 pandemic could disturb progress for girls in poor countries, or even reverse it. When Ebola forced west African schools to close in 2014, many girls dropped out, never went back and ended up pregnant or as child laborers. UNICEF warns that something similar could happen with COVID-19—but on a larger scale.
1. What's the main idea of the first paragraph?| A．Girls suffer a lot in human history. |
| B．Girls' situation has improved a lot globally. |
| C．Girl babies are more welcomed than ever before. |
| D．Girls do much better than boys in many fields. |
| A．There are more young women than young men at university in China. |
| B．A girl who completes secondary school will have more children. |
| C．Children of the girls with schooling may end up earning more as adults. |
| D．Economy of countries is largely determined by the education level of girls. |
| A．Healthy. | B．Confident. | C．Underdeveloped. | D．Unstable. |
| A．To prove COVID-19 is more serious than Ebola. |
| B．To warn that girls may suffer a lot in COVID-19. |
| C．To appeal to all to pay attention to the poor countries. |
| D．To stress the importance of controlling the disasters. |
6 . Last month, Justin Valdez, a college student, was shot in a subway station in San Francisco. The surveillance video(监控录像) showed that before Justin was killed, the killer pulled out his gun several times, and even wiped his nose with it. However, nobody noticed the killer. The surrounding passengers all focused on their cell phones.
We may see the same scene everywhere in our life: in subway stations, restaurants, elevators and so on, people are watching their cell phones. From a family reunion to a date with a friend, people couldn’t stop checking their twitter and facebook on the cell phones and ignoring the persons in front completely, Phubbing(低头症) not only involves young people, but also the elderly and kids.
“Phubbing” is a new term which comes from the words“phone” and “snub”(冷落). It describes the habit of snubbing someone in favor of a cell phone. The word “phubbing” was included in the Australian National Dictionary in 2012. Obviously, the indifference (冷漠) and rudeness of the information age are spreading globally.
A Stop Phubbing campaign website has been set up. You can find the slogan of the website as follows: “stop twittering, stop posting photos…enjoy your food, enjoy the music and respect others.”
Phubbing appears harmless. However, it does influence our life. Jimmy, an epicure(美食家), wrote in his blog: “I can no longer focus on what I am eating since I started twittering. My skill of food photography has improved very fast, while my interest in food drops as a result.” Let us put down our cell phones and re-enjoy the real taste of our food and the warmth of interpersonal communication.
1. The case of Justin Valdez is given in the first paragraph to show .| A．gun violence happens easily in the US |
| B．phubbing may lead to terrible disasters |
| C．the killer didn’t mean to kill him |
| D．the killer had made a careful plan |
| A．He will give you an immediate reply. |
| B．He will stop looking at his cell phone. |
| C．He will pay no attention to you. |
| D．He will be very angry with you. |
| A．phubbing is actually harmless |
| B．phubbing stops people enjoying their life |
| C．phubbing affects people’s eating habits the most |
| D．phubbing helps people improve their photographic skills |
| A．The phenomenon of phubbing. |
| B．The popular campaign of stop phubbing. |
| C．The meaning of the word “phubbing”. |
| D．The great harm of phubbing. |
