4 . Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it, and to go in to their offices and schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening.

One advantage of living outside London is that the houses are cheaper. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent. With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one’s own.

Then, in the country, one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town. Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time on trains or buses, one can sleep better at night. Besides, during weekends and on summer evenings, one can enjoy the fresh, clean air of the country. If one likes gardens, one can spend one’s free time digging, planting, watering, and doing the hundred and one other jobs which are needed in a garden. Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up, one has the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature.

Some people, however, take no interest in country things: for them, happiness lies in the town, with its cinemas and theatres, beautiful shops and busy streets, dance-halls and restaurants. Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London. An occasional walk in one of the parks and a fortnight’s (two weeks) visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want: the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night.

1. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Some people who work in the country prefer to live in the city

B．Some people who work in the city prefer to live in the country

C．Those who live in London wake up early and get home late

D．Those who live in London must travel by train, car or bus every day

2. A flat without a garden in London costs about the same as ____________.

A．a small house with a garden in London

B．a large house with a garden in the country

C．a small flat with a garden in the country

D．a small house with a garden in the country

3. According to the passage, one disadvantage of living in the country is ____________.

A．one can’t sleep so well as in the city	B．one has to spend more time on transport
C．one has to spend a long time in the garden	D．one is likely to be poorer

4. People who take no interest in country things probably ____________.

A．spend all of their time in the town	B．feel their life is not worth living
C．enjoy cinemas, shops and crowds	D．share the secret of Nature

5. The underlined phrase the rest in the last paragraph means ____________.

A．the rest of their time	B．the rest of the people
C．the rest of the country	D．the rest of the parks and sea

5 . A new study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family claims that all that time you spend parenting just doesn’t matter. But it’s a claim that, despite the enthusiastic and widespread coverage by the media, does not hold water.

The research suggests that child outcomes (including behavior problems, emotional problems, and academic performance) are barely connected with the time that parents spend with their children. The researchers examined the time diaries of 1,600 children, looking at parenting time and outcomes when the kids were aged 3 to 11 in 1997, and again in 2002, when they were between 8 and 16. (A time diary is a detailed report of all activities you carry out in a day. )

This research largely reflects the failure of the authors to correctly measure parental input. It just looked at time diaries from two particular days-one a weekday and the other a weekend day.

Trying to get a sense of the time you spend parenting from a single day’s diary is a bit like trying to measure your income from a single day. If yesterday was payday, you looked rich, but if it’s not, you would be reported as poor. You get a clearer picture only by looking at your income — or your parenting time—over a more meaningful period.

What you did yesterday should not be taken as representative of what you did last year, This is why most high-quality studies of parenting time focus instead on how often parents read to their children, play with them or help their with homework over a period of a month or longer — long enough to represent their different approaches to parenting.

As an exhausted parent who doesn’t get enough time to work out, and who hasn’t seen a movie for months, I understand why so many of us might seize on studies suggesting that we should take more time for ourselves. Perhaps we should. But I agree with Ariel Kalil, a developmental psychologist, on the suggestion “that when parents spend high-quality time with their children, their children are more likely to succeed.”

1. By saying in Paragraph 1 “ ... it’s a claim that ... does not bold water”, the author means the claim is not ________.

A．reasonable

B．surprising

C．confusing

D．usual

2. The study was conducted to explore the link between ________.

A．children’s habits and parents’ influence	B．parenting time and child outcomes
C．time diaries and child development	D．daily activities and children’s problems

3. How is Paragraph 4 mainly developed?

A．By giving descriptions.	B．By analyzing the cause.
C．By making a comparison.	D．By offering research findings.

4. The author may agree that high-quality studies of parenting time should ________.

A．be completed in one month.	B．adopt some different approaches.
C．concentrate mainly on learning time.	D．be based on data of a longer time period.

5. What can we learn about the author’s life?

A．He goes to bed early every night.	B．He has little interest in movies.
C．He has little time for himself.	D．He leads a very easy life.

6 . One of the biggest complaints in modern society is being over-scheduled. Ask people how they are and the answer usually is “super busy,” “crazy busy”. _________ is just “fine” any more.

When people aren’t super busy at work, they are crazy busy exercising, entertaining or parenting. And if there is ever a still moment for thoughts--for example, while waiting _________ at the supermarket or sitting in traffic—out come the mobile phones. So it’s worth noting a study published last month in Science, which shows how _________ people will go to avoid the examination for our thoughts.

“We had noted that we are so dependent on our mobile phones that people seem to find any _________ they can to keep busy,” said Timothy Wilson, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia. In his experiments involving 700 people, the majority found it _________ to be alone with their thoughts for just 6 to 15 minutes.

It could be because human beings, as problem solvers and meaning makers, when _________, tend to think about what’s wrong in their lives. When we aren’t _________ our Facebook page, the things we haven’t figured out appear in our minds—_________ relationships, professional failures, health concerns, etc. Unless there is a solution, these thoughts just repeat themselves in our heads.

But you can’t solve problems _________ you don’t allow yourself time to think about them. It has actually been __________ by our culture, which values doing more than thinking and believes answers are in your hand __________ in your head. “We all feel that busyness is normal but it’s really harmful,” said Timothy. “There’s a widespread belief that thinking will only slow you down and get __________, but it’s the opposite.” __________ negative feelings only makes them more powerful, he said. Allowing and tolerating the flow of thoughts is part of the solution itself, such as meditation(冥想).

Negative feelings are sometimes hard, but they are part of everyone’s life, especially if you are busy. It is those deep and troubling feelings, and how you __________ them, that make you who you are. While busyness may seem to prevent the flow of sadness, it may also limit your ability to be filled with __________.

1.

A．Nobody

B．Somebody

C．Everybody

D．Anybody

2.

A．in order

B．in line

C．in panic

D．in public

3.

A．far

B．long

C．often

D．much

4.

A．place

B．reason

C．excuse

D．solution

5.

A．uncertain

B．unfair

C．unpleasant

D．unwise

6.

A．left out

B．left off

C．left behind

D．left alone

7.

A．deleting

B．uploading

C．updating

D．downloading

8.

A．close

B．healthy

C．difficult

D．harmonious

9.

A．unless

B．while

C．though

D．if

10.

A．ignored

B．invited

C．invented

D．interrupted

11.

A．apart from

B．more than

C．except for

D．rather than

12.

A．all the way

B．by the way

C．in your way

D．on your way

13.

A．Holding on

B．Holding out

C．Holding back

D．Holding up

14.

A．meet with

B．get away with

C．keep pace with

D．deal with

15.

A．joy

B．relief

C．anxiety

D．sorrow

7 . 假如你是李华，某英文报社正在举行主题为“周六关闭智能手机”的活动，你很感兴趣并愿意参加。请给此报社发一封英文电子邮件，内容包括：
1. 对此项活动感兴趣的原因；
2. 关闭手机后，你准备在本周六安排哪些活动；
3. 打算呼吁身边更多的人加入此项活动；
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Sir or Madam,

I am pleased to learn about your appeal to spend a Saturday without using smartphones.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

8 . Are you happy with your appearance?     1    

“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.     2    

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?

    3     . According to Huxiu News, over six in ten girls choose not to take part in certain daily activities, such as attending school, because they feel bad about their looks. As much as 31 percent of teenagers avoid speaking up in class because they worry that others will notice their looks.

“Many teenagers are upset about their appearance because they believe in unrealistic standards of beauty,” experts say.       4     Seeing all these things can make anyone believe that they’re too dark, too fat, too short, or too tall.

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.

    5     Plus-size models are being featured in some fashion shows. All of us should be just as confident as they are.

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.

9 . A shocking 53.6 million metric tons of electronic waste was discarded last year, a new UN-backed report has revealed. The report shows that e-waste is up by 21% from five years ago. This isn’t surprising, considering how many more people are adopting new technology and updating devices regularly to have the latest versions, but the report also shows that national collection and recycling strategies are nowhere close to matching consumption rates.

E-waste contains materials including copper (铜), iron, gold and silver, which the report gives a conservative value of $ 57 billion. But most are thrown away or burned rather than being collected for recycling. Precious metals in waste are estimated to be worth $ 14 billion, but only $ 4 billion-worth is recovered at the moment.

While the number of countries with national e-waste policies has grown from 61 to 78 since 2014, there is little encouragement to obey and a mere 17% of collected items are recycled. If recycling does occur, it’s often under dangerous conditions, such as burning circuit boards to recover copper, which “releases highly poisonous metals” and harms the health of workers.

The report found that Asia has the highest amounts of waste overall, producing 24.9 million metric tons (MMT), followed by Europe at 12 MMT, Africa at 2.9 MMT, and Oceania at 0.7 MMT.

But whose responsibility is it? Are governments in charge of setting up collection and recycling points, or should companies be responsible for recycling the goods they produce? It goes both ways. Companies do need to be held accountable by government regulations and have incentives to design products that are easily repaired. At the same time, governments need to make it easy for citizens to access collection points and deal with their broken electronics in a convenient way. Otherwise, they may turn to the easiest option — the landfill.

1. What does the underlined word “discarded” most probably mean?

A．increased

B．distributed

C．thrown away

D．consumed

2. What do the statistics in Paragraph 2 show?

A．The functions of policies.	B．The great damage to environment.
C．The change of consumption rates.	D．The urgency of recovering e-waste.

3. What is the problem with recycling e-waste at present?

A．It does harm to the workers’ health.	B．It lacks national policy support.
C．It hardly makes profits.	D．It takes too much time.

4. How should the problem be solved according to the passage?

A．New technology should be used to update old devices.

B．Governments and companies should take responsibilities.

C．Non-poisonous metals had better be used in e-device.

D．Citizens must play a key role in recycling e-waste.