It's 10:30 pm, and 11-year-old Brandon Blanco is sound asleep at home. Suddenly, a loud noise wakes him up. Naturally, Brandon reaches for his cell phone. The message becomes clear: "R U awake?"
Brandon' s use of technology doesn' t stop there. He also has a computer, a TV and three video-game consoles (控制台 ) in his room. With so many choices, it' s no surprise that when he isn' t at school, he spends nearly every waking minute using one or more of these devices
Brandon is hardly alone. According to a recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, kids aged 8 to18 are spending more time than ever before using electronic devices. How much time? More than seven and a half hours a day on average, the study found.
The jump is the result of a huge explosion in mobile devices, says Victoria Rideout, the lead author of the study. Today, nearly seven out of ten kids have cell phones. Just five years ago, it was four out of ten.
Often, kids multitask, or use more than one device at a time. " If you’ve got a chance to do something on your computer and take a phone call and have the TV on in the background, why not?" media expert Cheryl Olson says.
Most experts agree technology has much to offer kids. But some worry the kids could be missing out on other activities like playing outside or hanging out with friends. " It' s a matter of balance," says Olson." You’ve got to work on it. "
Multitasking while doing homework is another concern. Some kids listen to music, watch TV or use the phone while doing their homework. "It' s important to make sure that you can stop and concentrate on one thing deeply, " says Rideout.
With new and exciting devices hitting stores every year, keeping technology use in check is more important than ever. " Kids should try," adds Rideout. " But parents might have to step in sometimes. "Why do children spend more time in using electronic devices?
| A．Because more electronic devices are available to them. |
| B．Because electronic devices are more exciting than before. |
| C．Because they have less other activities. |
| D．Because they have less homework to do. |
It is known from the passage that ____.
| A．Brandon Blanco feels very annoyed about his late-night text |
| B．the teenagers using mobile devices have increased by 30% in the past five years |
| C．Cheryl Olson is not surprised about kids' increasing use of mobile devices |
| D．most experts think teenagers should not use electronic devices for their studies |
Which of the following is an example of multitasking according to the passage?
| A．Watching TV while using the computer. |
| B．Talking on the phone while staying with others. |
| C．Playing video games on the Internet. |
| D．Listening to music while relaxing. |
According to the passage, Victoria Rideout would probably agree that ____.
| A．kids should do homework while surfing the Internet |
| B．kids should do homework in a place without disturbance |
| C．kids should spend more time on homework |
| D．kids should have more homework than before |
If you are planning to study in the United States, you need to consider several factors. Everyone has different opinions about where is the best place to live in. Also, the best places to live are not always home to the best schools. Finally, many schools specialize in different areas of study. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, is a great school for computer science and technology-related fields of study. However, if you want to study oceanography（海洋学）, your interests may be better served by attending school in a place that is on a coastline or near the ocean.
Now I am sure that you know which schools are considered the best in the country. So I will tell you about which states I believe are the best to live in.
California is a nice state. Northern California specifically has very good weather. Los Angeles in Southern California is another story though. Life in Los Angeles is full of excitement and fast, and sometimes dangerous. As for me, I enjoy the time I spent in Massachusetts, Virginia and Maryland and these states have a lot of history and culture. The weather is not as perfect as California, but it is still quite nice. My favorite area of America is the Mid-west. Middle America, I think, is home to the true American sense of values. In addition, there are many good universities there.
Also, you need to think about your likes and dislikes and then research the various states. You like sunshine and hate snow? Then you probably won’t like the Midwest or even the Northeast. Open space, nature and peace and quiet? Then you probably should stay away from America’s large cities. Are you interested in government? Then Washington D.C. is the only place for you. Whatever you decide, put some thought into it. The place you live could be the difference between a great study-abroad experience and a state of great suffering on earth. From the first paragraph we can conclude （得出结论）that in the USA _______.
| A．all colleges and universities lie in big cities |
| B．all colleges and universities lie in beautiful places |
| C．famous colleges and universities lie in nice places |
| D．famous colleges and universities may not lie in nice places |
What should be considered first if you want to study in the USA?
| A．The climate. | B．The scenery. | C．The study condition. | D．The living condition. |
From the third paragraph we can find that _______.
| A．California is the best place to live in |
| B．California is the worst place to live in |
| C．California is a state with different climates |
| D．California is a small state in the USA |
If you study in Middle America, you can probably _______.
| A．find the best universities | B．feel the real character of the nation |
| C．meet the most famous professors there | D．face more difficulties |
From the last paragraph of this passage we can get to know that _______.
| A．Washington is the largest city in the USA |
| B．Washington is the political centre of the USA |
| C．you can’t find sunshine in the Midwest |
| D．you can’t find any universities out of big cities in the USA |
When you want to go shopping, decide how much money you can spend on new clothes. Think about the kind of clothes you really need. Then look for those clothes you really need. Then look for those clothes on sale.
There are labels(标签) inside all new clothes. The labels tell you how to take care of your clothes. The label for a shirt may tell you to wash it in warm water. A sweater label may tell you to wash in cold water. The label on a coat may say “dry clean only”, for washing may ruin this coat. If you do as the directions on the label, you can keep your clothes looking their best for a long time.
Many clothes today must be dry cleaned. Dry cleaning is expensive. When buying new clothes, check to see if they will need to be dry cleaned. You will save money if you buy clothes that can be washed.
You can save money if you buy clothes that are well made. Well-made clothes last longer. They look good even after they have been washed many times. Clothes that cost more money are not necessarily better made. They do not always fit better. Sometimes less expensive clothes look and fit better than more expensive clothes.If you want to save money, you had better buy clothes that ________.
| A．don’t fit you | B．don’t last long |
| C．need to be dry cleaned | D．can be washed |
The labels inside the clothes tell you________.
| A．how to keep them looking their best | B．how to save money |
| C．whether they fit you or not | D．where to get them dry cleaned |
The first thing for you to do before you buy clothes is ________.
| A．to look for well-made clothes | B．to see how much money you can spend on it |
| C．to know how to wash them | D．to read the labels inside them |
We learn from the passage that cheaper clothes ________.
| A．are always worse made | B．must be dry cleaned |
| C．can not be washed | D．can sometimes fit you better |
The best title for the passage should be ________.
| A．Buy Less Expensive Clothes | B．Taking Enough Money When Shopping |
| C．Being a Clever Clothes Shopper | D．Choosing the Labels inside New Clothes |
I travel a lot, and I find out different "styles" (风格) of directions every time 1 ask "How can I get to the post office?"
Foreign tourists are often confused (困惑) in Japan because most streets there don’t have names in Japan, people use landmarks (地标) in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, "Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop."
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, "Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile."
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. "How far away is the post office?" you ask. "Oh," they answer, "it’s about five minutes from here." You say, "Yes, but how many miles away is it?" They don’t know.
It’s true that a person doesn’t know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, ’Sorry, I have no idea." But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers "I don’t know." People in Yucatan believe that "I don’t know" is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan! When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place they usually _________
| A．describe the place carefully | B．show him a map of the place |
| C．tell him the names of the streets | D．refer to recognizable buildings and places |
What is the place where people measure distance in time?
| A．New York. | B．Los Angeles. | C．Kansas. | D．Iowa |
People in Yucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer ________
| A．in order to save time | B．as a test | C．so as to be polite | D．for fun |
Which sentence is true according to the text?
| A．There is no street names in Japan. |
| B．There is no landmarks in the countryside of American. |
| C．People in Yucatan always give wrong answers when asked the way. |
| D．People in Los Angeles measure distance in time, not miles when asked the way. |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．It’s important for travelers to understand cultural differences. |
| B．It’s useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly. |
| C．People have similar understandings of politeness. |
| D．New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors. |
From her first women’s hat shop, opened in 1910, Gabrielle Coco Chanel rose to become one of the most important fashion designers in Paris. Her fashion themes included simple suits and dresses, women’s trousers, perfume (香水) and so on.
She claimed a birth date of 1893 and a birthplace of Auvergne; she was actually born in 1883 in Saumur, though. Her mother worked in a nursing home for pool people. Gabrielle was born there. Her mother died whet she was only six.
She began to use the name Coco during a brief career a, a cafe and concert singer from 1905 to 1908. By the 1920s，her fashion house had expanded greatly. Her relaxing fashions, such as short skirts with casual look, were very different from the fashions popular in the formal decades.
In 1922 Chanel introduced a perfume, Chanel No.5 which became very popular and still remains a popular product today. Pierre Wertheimer became her partner in the perfume business in 1924. Wertheimer owned 70% of the company, Coco Chanel 10% and her friend, Bader, 20%. The Wertheimers continue to control the perfume company today.
She briefly served as a nurse in World War I. The fashion business in Paris was thus off for some years. In 1954 she came back and her women’s clothing business returned to its former popularity. Her natural, casual clothing once again caught the eye of women. She was still working in 1971 when she died.All of the following fashions belong to Chanel’s design style EXCEPT _____
| A．a comfortable suit | B．a tight dress |
| C．a short skirt | D．a loose sweater |
The right order of the following events should be ____
① Chanel began to do business with Wertheimer.
② Chanel served as a nurse.
③ Chanel worked as a singer.
④ Chanel introduced the perfume, Chanel No. 5.
| A．④①③② | B．①②③④ |
| C．③④①② | D．②③④① |
According to the passage, we can see that Chanel ____
| A．was brought up by her father |
| B．worked in a nursing home for some time |
| C．earned more than Wertheimer from the perfume company |
| D．had an active and creative mind |
Washington: A research conducted at the University of Maryland looks at the numerous complex reasons as to why young children decide to include or exclude (排斥) other kids from their group of friends.
It suggests that the kids’ decision-making process is much more complex than previously believed.
"They take into account group information, ranging from cliques (小圈子) and networks, when deciding what makes a group work well. Sometimes kids are excluded because they lack social skills, but a lot of time it has nothing to do with that. Instead it has to do with what we refer to as ’group membership’ such as gender, race, nation, and culture," says Professor Melanie Killen, the Associate Director of the Centre for Children Relationships and Culture at Maryland, who led the 4-year project.
Reporting their findings in the journal, the researcher said whatever was the reason, individuals who experienced long-term exclusion (排斥) from the group of friends suffered from depression, anxiety and loneliness.
The study looked at two models to define how children make decisions regarding acceptance of other kids in their group -- the individual social deficit model and the inter-group social cognition (认同) model. While the former says that children’s rejection occurs due to social deficits like shyness, wariness or fearfulness, the latter says that it happens because of group dynamics, prejudice and exclusion.
It was also found that the age of children was also a factor that influenced their decisions regarding other kids’ acceptance as friends.
"With age, kids become more aware of group dynamics, conventions, customs, and rituals. With this comes a greater concern about group functioning, which can lead to exclusion which can be negative from a social justice viewpoint," says Killen.
The researcher believes that her study may have many benefits, as it could provide insights into how to help when children are rejected by their peers.While making friends, kids think more about the following EXCEPT ______.
| A．social skills | B．culture | C．race | D．gender |
The underlined word "deficit" in Paragraph 5 may mean “_______”.
| A．skill | B．relationship | C．weakness | D．experience |
One of the major purposes of the research is to _______.
| A．tell the reader how to tell inclusion from exclusion |
| B．remind children to be careful while making friends |
| C．seek ways to help kids excluded by their peers |
| D．stop the children belonging to the inter-group social cognition model |
While making friends, children exclude those of social deficit model to _______.
| A．keep their groups purer |
| B．make their groups more socially powerful |
| C．refuse other customs and cultures |
| D．prove their groups to be strict |