Sophia Richardson: Both my parents are really important to me. My parents are really more than friends. They’re the people I can open up and talk to. Ta
lking to them is like talking to one of my friends. They’ve been there for me and given me good advice on a lot
of my problems.
Stacey Avnes: My Jewish big sister is important to me. Her name is Lauren. We’ve been together for two years. My mom is a single mom and she is very busy. Lauren is someone who helps me deal with all this stuff because she’s someone I can talk to. She’s like a second mom to me and also a best friend. If I have any problem, I can call her and she’ll co
me and pick me up and we’ll go to a park and talk.
Jean Park: It’s my uncle who is important to me. When I’m with him, I’m grateful（感激的） for the small things—being alive and healthy; having a good family and friends. He’s also very grateful for the small things and gives back to his community（社区）.
Melaku Shierfaw: My father is important to me. He came here from a rich family in Africa. But when he came, he didn’t
take any money and started fresh. He showed that he could do everything by himself without the help of others and he’s successful. It shows me that I can do anything as long as I try.
Kalin Scott-Wright: My great grandmother is in charge of our whole family. She was born in 1920. I know she went through a lot in her life. She was a very strong woman and she raised my mom and took her in. She had a kind spirit and loved me and my brother. She’ll always be there for me although she’s not alive any longer.We can infer that Sophia .
| A．is always in trouble |
| B．has few friends |
| C．gets along well with her parents |
| D．depends too much on her parents |
What do we know about Stacey’s big sister?
| A．She is very lonely. |
| B．She is a single mother. |
| C．She is Stacey’s only friend. |
| D．She often helps Stacey. |
What does Jean’s uncle teach her?
| A．To be grateful for the small things in life. |
| B．To be ready to help her community. |
| C．To treat others like friends. |
| D．To have a good family. |
From his father, Melaku has learnt that .
| A．not everyone can be successful |
| B．money is not important in one’s life |
| C．one should never ask others for help |
| D．he can do anything as long as he tries |
Picking a university is a tense period of asking yourself which institution is most relevant. That's why university rankings play such a vital role in students searching for their next academic direction. Rankings are also an inescapable part of the reputation and brand image of universities. "No university website is complete without the claim to be in the top 100 for something or other," reported the BBC. The reason is simple: Rankings help them to attract students, staff and research investment.
Currently there are numbers of university rankings, and each has its own list of criteria. But the main categories are the same: academic reputation, graduates' performance and faculty resources.
However, experts point out the ranking process isn't entirely reliable. Mark Kantrowitz, a US financial aid researcher, said university rankings were mostly just for show. He wrote in The New York Times. "It may give your parents better bragging rights, but that's about it."
Moreover, it's not difficult to see the limitations of university rankings. Many rankings focus on the number of times research work is cited (引用) by other researchers. It helps British and US universities to dominate global rankings because English is the favored language of academia, John O'Leary, a member of the QS academic advisory board, told The Gunrdian,. Also, rankings such as QS mainly focus on the qualities of the university rather than its students. "Any university ranking is likely to help students make better decisions about where to study, but the need to balance them with other more human factors is also important," said Phil Moss, an education and admissions consultant. "Advice from graduates or current students can be as valuable in providing a genuine insight into the experience or quality of a particular degree program. It can also add an element that rankings can never convey-the actual emotion of a university experience."Why do universities consider rankings important?
| A．Rankings make them more appealing. |
| B．Rankings are students' only reference. |
| C．Rankings can increase their academic level. |
| D．Rankings help them complete their websites. |
What does the underlined "It" in paragraph 4 refer to?
| A．Acadenuc research work. |
| B．The number of researches. |
| C．The way of ranking universities. |
| D．The limitation of university ranking. |
According to John O'Leary, what helps British and US universities rank well?
| A．The wide use of English in academia. |
| B．Their outstanding qualities. |
| C．Their graduates' excellent performance. |
| D．The academia's favor to them. |
Besides ranking, what does Phil Moss suggest you should refer to if you're picking a university?
| A．Investment in education. |
| B．Guidance from professors. |
| C．Information on websites. |
| D．Suggestions from students. |
In US, the potato is one of the most widely consumed crops. French fries are commonly found in typical American fast-food burger joints and cafeterias. French fries were introduced to the US when Thomas Jefferson served them in the White House during his presidency from 1801 t0 1809. Potato chips are popular with consumers as well.
The humble potato is more than just a kind of food. In many ways it's part of the American pop culture. Let's take a look at some pop culture potatoes.
Mashed Potato dance
The Mashed Potato dance is a craze that began in 1962. The name of the dance came from the song it accompanies, Mashed Potato Time, performed by American R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp. The move vaguely resembles that of the Twist dance style, by Sharp's fellow Philadelphian,
Chubby Checker.
Hot Potato!
Hot Potato! is an action puzzle video game released in 2001. In the game the player must drive a bus and clear the road of alien potato beings. The potato beings are either red or blue; when two like-colored potatoes touch each other, they disappear. .Over the years, Hot Potato! has received mostly positive reception from critics.
Mr. Potato Head
Mr. Potato Head is an American toy invented by George Lerner in 1949. The toy consists of a plastic potato model and a variety of plastic parts like hands, feet, ears and mouths. In 1952, Mr. Potato Head became the first toy advertised on television. This commercial revolutionized marketing and caused a boom that solidified this toy's place in American pop culture.Which is the newest to the American pop culture?
| A．French fries. | B．Mashed Potato dance. |
| C．Hot Potato! | D．Mr. Potato Head. |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．French fries were popular in US when first served in the White House. |
| B．Mashed Potato Time came from Mashed Potato dance. |
| C．Players can play Hot Potato! on their phone. |
| D．Mr. Potato Head can be taken apart. |
Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
| A．Enjoy American Fast Food |
| B．Have Fun with Potatoes |
| C．Different Uses of Potatoes |
| D．American Food Culture |
The Internet is full of headlines that grab your attention with buzzwords (流行词). But often when we click through, we find the content hardly delivers and it wastes our time. We close the page, feeling we've been cheated. These types of headlines are called "click bait".
A headline on Busin,esslnsider.com reads: "This phrase will make you seem more polite". First, when you click through, you find another headline: "Four words to seem more polite." Then, on reading the article, you find it's actually an essay about sympathy. And what are the four words? They're "Wow, that sounds hard." On some video websites, you might encounter headlines such as "Here's what happens when six puppies visited a campus". Turns out it's just some uneventful dog footage (镜头).
Nowadays, with the popularity of social media, many news outlets tweet (推送) click bait links to their stories. These tweets take advantage of the curiosity gap or attempt to draw the reader into a story using a question in the headline. These click bait headlines are so annoying that someone is attempting to save people time by exposing news outlet click bait through social media. The Twitter account @SavedYouAClick, run by Jake Beckman, is one such example.
Beckman's method is to grab tweets linking to a story and retweet them with a click-saving comment. For example, CNET tweeted "So iOS 8 appears to be jailbreakable but...", with a link to its coverage of Apple's product announcements. Beckman retweeted it with this comment attached: "... it hasn't been jailbroken yet."
Since founding the account, Beckman's Twitter experiment has brought him more than 131,000 followers. Beckman said that @SavedYouAClick is "just my way of trying to help the Internet be less temble." Asked about his goal, he said, "I'd love to see publishers think about the experience of their readers first. I think there's an enormous opportunity for publishers to provide readers with informative updates that include links so you can click through and read more.The article on Businesslnsider.com turns out to be___.
| A．useful suggestions on politeness |
| B．an essay about another topic |
| C．an article hard to understand |
| D．a link to a video website |
Why are readers often cheated by tricky headlines?
| A．Social media has become more popular. |
| B．Readers have questions to be solved. |
| C．Such headlines are fairly attractive. |
| D．There're always stories behind them. |
Beckman attached his comment to CNET's tweet to ___
| A．criticize CNET |
| B．save readers' time |
| C．advertise apple's new product |
| D．tell readers something about iOS 8 |
In the last paragraph, Beckman appeals that _____
| A．publishers be more responsible for the link |
| B．readers think about their needs before reading |
| C．publishers provide more information for readers |
| D．people work together to make the Internet less temble |
When I first heard about geocaching（地理寻宝），I was skeptical. But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like an interesting idea.I at least wanted to try it once.
Having familiarized myself with how the game works,I set out in search of my first cache. My trip took me through a series of lively hutong（胡同）,past a number of small temples, and right into the courtyard of a quiet youth hotel.I spent several minutes looking around, but couldn't find anything. Just before l was about to give up,I spotted a colorful object in the crack of a wall. Could it be the hidden cache?
At that moment a group of backpackers amved. According to the game's rules, people who are not in the game must not be allowed to find out about secret caches. So I pretended to make a phone call while waiting for them to leave. When the coast was clear,I grabbed the object. It was the cache! I opened it and pulled out a crumpled（皱的）sheet of paper with several names and celebratory messages written on it.I added my own and replaced the cache in its hiding place, ready for the next geocacher to find.
It may seem like a simple game, but the idea that there are caches hidden all around us is exciting. Once you're hooked, it's easy to set yourself the goal of finding every single cache in a neighborhood or even an entire city. The real treasure, however, is not the cache itself, but the places it takes you to.
Hunting for further caches has since introduced me to places which I didn't even know existed. Some are peaceful parks, while others are forgotten historical sites.A few caches have even been in places I passed regularly without giving them any thought. Now,Ifeel a much closer connection.What was the author's initial attitude to geocaching?
| A．He thought it interesting. |
| B．He wanted to try it at once. |
| C．He showed little interest in it. |
| D．He found it unsuitable for him. |
Where did the author find the cache?
| A．In a hutong. | B．In a temple. |
| C．In a well. | D．In a hotel. |
When a group of backpackers were approaching, the author____.
| A．pretended to be cleaning the yard |
| B．made a call to other geocachers |
| C．didn't allow them to come in |
| D．tried to keep the cache secret |
In what way does the author benefit from geocaching?
| A．He's more familiar with the city. |
| B．He has found much treasure. |
| C．He has made more friends. |
| D．He has mastered hunting. |
Ever since Canadian psychiatrist Michael R. Phillips, who works in China, released his report saying China’s suicide rate from 1995 to 1999 reached 0.023 percent, the country has been ranked among those with the highest suicide rates in the world. But Jing Jun, a professor of sociology in Tsinghua University, challenges that view and presents the true picture through his nationwide research.
Jing and his students took one year to set up the first national database on suicide rate to grasp the overall trend of suicides in China. They collected data from the Health Statistics Annuals of the World Health Organization (sample size 10 million), and the country’s Health Statistics Annuals (which cover 100 million people). The database covers 23 years, from 1987 to 2009. Jing calculates the suicide rate in China based on these data. Though the suicide rate was comparatively high in the early years, his study shows it has dropped in recent years, as opposed to the ascending trend in the rest of the world.
According to Jing’s calculation, China’s suicide rate had dropped to about 0.01 percent in 2004. In 2009, the figure dropped further to 0.007 percent, which is rather low compared with the global rate of 0.016 percent. Even if the “missing” suicides were added, China’s suicide rate in 2009 would still be below 0.008 percent.
Jing has found that one of the main reasons why the suicide rate has dropped was the steady and big decline in the number of suicides committed by rural women. In the early years, researchers generally agreed that the suicide rate among Chinese women was higher than among men, which is pretty rare in the rest the world. But the suicide rate among Chinese women, especially in rural areas, has declined remarkably in recent years. In fact, it is almost equal to that of Chinese men.
As a sociologist, Jing regards suicide as a social issue, and believes improvement of social policies will reduce the suicide rate even further. More people’s lives can be saved if the authorities adjust to social environment for the better, he concludes.From Jing’s search, we can see ________.
| A．China has been ranked among those with the highest suicide rates in the world |
| B．in the rest of the world suicide rate has been rising quickly in the last few years |
| C．different from Michael R. Philip’s idea, the trend of suicides in China is declining |
| D．the suicide rate among Chinese women is lower than that of men |
The data in Para. 2 is mainly to prove that ________.
| A．the result from Jing’s research is believable |
| B．Jing’s research is more complicated than Michael R. Phillip’s |
| C．Jing has made great efforts to make the research |
| D．China’s suicide rate was comparatively low all the time |
Why has the suicide rate in China dropped steadily according to Jing Jun?
| A．Because the life level of Chinese people has improved a lot. |
| B．Because China’s government has adopted measures to reduce the suicide rate. |
| C．Because the number of Chinese women who commit suicide has declined. |
| D．Because the world environment affects the suicide rate in China. |
In Jing’s opinion, what should be done to reduce the suicide?
| A．Pay more attention to rural women. |
| B．Continue to improve social environment. |
| C．Set up more mental health centers. |
| D．Make policies to prevent suicides. |
We can infer that the text is _______.
| A．a news report |
| B．a research report |
| C．a description of suicides |
| D．an introduction to a professor |