Kelly Reeves was getting ready for a trip when her phone slipped into a sink full of water. Panic moment! She quickly picked up the wet phone and tried to turn it on, but nothing worked. Her first reaction? She got dressed, drove to the nearest store, and bought a new mobile at full price.
A new study finds that fear of losing your phone is a common illness. About 66 percent of those surveyed suffer from nomophobia or “no mobile phone phobia”. Interestingly, more women worry about losing their phone than men.
Fortunately, there’s a solution.
The first step is to figure out if you have nomophobia. Checking your phone too often is one thing, but the true sign of a problem is that you can’t conduct business or go about your routine when the fear becomes so severe.
Do you go to unusual lengths to make sure you have your phone? That’s another sign of a problem. If you find you check your phone plenty of times per hour, or a total of an hour per day, there may be a problem.
Some of the treatments are similar to those for treating anxiety attacks: leaving the phone behind and not checking e-mail or text messages, and then learning to tolerate the after anxiety. Even if this leads to a high level of worry and stress, the solution is to push through the fear and learn to deal with not having your phone.
Of course, there are also technological alternatives. Luis Levy, a co-founder at Novy PR, says he uses an application called Cerberus that can automatically track the location of his phone. To find it, he can just go to a website and see the phone’s location.
He also insures his phone through a service called Asurion. The company’s description of its product reads like a prescription for anxiety：“60 million phones are lost, stolen or damaged each year. You’ll have complete peace of mind knowing that your phone is protected and you can quickly reconnect with family, friends and work, as soon as the very next day!”Why does the author mention Kelly’s experience in the first paragraph?
| A．To introduce the topic for discussion. |
| B．To inform us that mobile phones are useful. |
| C．To warn us that we should be careful. |
| D．To tell us we should get phones ready for a trip. |
The underlined word “nomophobia” in Paragraph 2 means “ ” .
| A．habits of using mobile phones |
| B．fear of losing mobile phones |
| C．eagerness for new mobile phones |
| D．independence of mobile phones |
Which of the following is a way to treat nomophobia?
| A．Avoiding using a phone for some time |
| B．Learning more about modern technology |
| C．Protecting one’s phone against any damage |
| D．Not using a mobile phone in one’s daily work |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Attitude toward mobile phones |
| B．New mobile phone technology |
| C．Disadvantages of mobile phones |
| D．Solutions to nomophobia |
Apple Seeds
Circulation (发行量): 1 Year, 9 Issues
Cover Price: MYM 44.55
Price For You: MYM 33.95
Product Description: Apple Seeds is an award winning magazine filled with stories for kids aged from 7 to 9. The cover is very soft, providing durability that allows each issue to be enjoyed for many years to come. Besides, there is a big surprise for you--it’s being sold at a more favorable discount than usual.
Better Life
Circulation: 1 Year, 12 Issues
Cover Price: MYM 44.55
Price For You: MYM 15.00
Product Description: Designed for those who have a strong interest in personal lifestyle, Better Life is America’s complete home and family service magazine. It offers help with food, recipes, decorating, building, gardening, family health, money management, and education.
Humor Times
Circulation: 1 Year, 12 Issues
Cover Price: MYM 36.00
Price For You: MYM 11.95
Product Description: Humor Times Magazine is for those who love to laugh! Full of cartoons and humor columns, it shows up in your mailbox once a month and keeps you smiling all year round! In today’s world, you need a reason to laugh. So let’s find it in Humor Times.
News China
Circulation: 1 Year, 12 Issues
Cover Price: MYM 47.88
Price For You: MYM 19.99
Product Description: News China Magazine is the English edition of China Newsweek. The magazine covers the latest Chinese domestic news in politics, business, society, environment, culture, sports and travels, etc. It is the first comprehensive news magazine for readers interested in China.What do we know about Apple Seeds?
| A．You can receive it every month if you purchase it. |
| B．The soft cover enables it to be read and kept long. |
| C．It offers the biggest discount among all the magazines. |
| D．The magazine is going to surprise you for many years. |
Better Life can help you in .
| A．beautifying your house |
| B．finding interesting stories for your kids |
| C．ordering food from restaurants |
| D．learning about sports and travels |
What kind of people may buy News China?
| A．People who have an interest in personal lifestyle of the Chinese. |
| B．People who have a strong sense of humor and love to laugh. |
| C．People who are interested in news around the world. |
| D．People who want to learn about China’s politics, business and culture. |
Which magazine may best help relieve your work stress?
| A．Apple Seeds | B．Better Life |
| C．Humor Times | D．News China |
When I was 11, I threw a glance into Dad’s lunch box and made the unexpected discovery that my mother still showed her love towards my father. The evidence, a napkin resting on top of the sandwiches packed in wax paper, was certain “Love you!” she had written on the napkin. “Meat loaf for supper!”
Mom penned all kinds of messages to Dad on those paper napkins, and he saved a whole pile of them. What embarrassed me as a kid has become a precious memory of my parents.
It also started my own brand of lunch box notes. When my kids were young, I’d glue little drawings on their lunches. Lots of sketches (素描) of our dog, Max, along with smiling flowers. When they were teenagers, I’d copy words of wisdom from great people, Einstein, for example, or Bruce Springsteen. Then, my kids grew up making their own handwritten notes. And my husband writes me love notes on recycled paper, because he’s all about being green.
Friends who know about my lunch box notes eagerly share stories of their own family traditions. So many focus on food. Maura’s mom always drew hearts on the shells of hard-boiled eggs. Melinda wrote messages on her kids’ bananas.
We’re into the third generation of lunch box notes in our home. Whenever my 3-year-old grandson, Clayton, spends the night, he knows his lunch is going to have a napkin note from Grandma in the morning. Last week, I drew a picture of me, waving widely and shouting his name. He took one look at it and screamed, “Where’s Grandpa?” I added a man in a clean shirt. “You forgot his tie,” he said. I quickly drew a line of stripes (条纹) down the front of the shirt. Clayton smiled. “Grandpa,” he whispered, running his fingers across the napkin. “It’s you!”When the author first saw Dad’s lunch box notes, she felt ______.
| A．moved | B．nervous |
| C．awkward | D．proud |
What did the author put in the lunch boxes when her kids were in their teens?
| A．Words of love. |
| B．Famous words of wisdom. |
| C．Pictures of their pet and flowers. |
| D．Eggs painted with hearts. |
It can be inferred that ________.
| A．the author’s husband is an environmentalist. |
| B．the author’s children dislike making lunch box notes. |
| C．the author’s grandson likes drawing pictures on napkins. |
| D．the author’s friends all had their brand of lunch box notes. |
If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven't you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?
According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.
The study also found the effect is greater, the younger people learn a second language.
A team led by Dr Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of "early bilinguals" who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.
Scans showed that grey matter density (密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference.
"Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language," said the scientists.
It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.
Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. "Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible (灵活的),"he said. "You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas."
The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and 34. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. "Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world," explained the scientists.The main subject talked about in this passage is ______.
| A．science on learning a second language |
| B．man’s ability of learning a second language |
| C．1anguage can help brain power |
| D．1anguage learning and maths study |
In the second paragraph, the writer mentions “exercise” in order to ______.
| A．say language is also a kind of physical labor |
| B．prove that one needs more practice when he (she) is learning a language |
| C．to show the importance of using the language when you learn the language |
| D．make people believe language learning helps grey matter work well |
The underlined word “bilingual'’ probably means ______.
| A．a researcher on language learning |
| B．a person who is good at learning foreign languages |
| C．a person who can speak two languages |
| D．an active language learner |
As you grow older, you’ll be faced with some challenging decisions--like whether to cut class or try cigarettes. Making decisions on your own is hard enough, but when other people get involved and try to pressure you one way or another it can be even harder. People who are your age, like your classmates, are called peers. When they try to influence how you act, to get you to do something, it’s called peer pressure.
Peers can have a positive influence on each other. Maybe another student in your science class taught you an easy way to remember the planets in the solar system. Maybe you got others excited about your new favorite book, and now everyone’s reading it. These are examples of how peers positively influence each other.
Sometimes peers influence each other in negative ways. For example, a few kids in school might try to get you to cut class with them; your soccer friend might try to convince you to be mean to another player and never pass him the ball.
It is tough to be the only one who says “no” to peer pressure, but you can do it. Paying attention to your own feelings and beliefs about what is right and wrong can help you know the right thing to do.
You’ve probably had a parent or teacher advising you to “choose your friends wisely.” Peer pressure is a big reason why they say this. If you choose friends who don’t cut class, smoke cigarettes, or lie to their parents, then you probably won’t do these things either, even if other kids do.
If you continue to face peer pressure and you’re finding it difficult to handle, talk to someone you trust. Don’t feel guilty if you’ve made a mistake or two.For whom is the passage most probably written?
| A．Students. | B．Parents. |
| C．Teachers. | D．Doctors. |
In the last three paragraphs, the author mainly_____.
| A．explains why friendship is so important |
| B．gives advice on how to deal with peer pressure |
| C．discusses how peers influence us |
| D．shows how to make more good friends |
Which of following may help handle peer pressure?
| A．Spending more time with classmates. |
| B．Taking up more relaxing hobbies. |
| C．Choosing friends with no bad habits. |
| D．Helping others who are in trouble. |
What is the topic of the passage?
| A．Friendship | B．Making decisions |
| C．Self-confidence | D．Peer pressure |
No one likes to make mistakes. But a new study says organizations learn more from their failures than from their successes, and keep that knowledge longer.
One of the researchers was Vinit Desai, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. He worked with Peter Madsen from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University in Utah.
They did not find much long-term "organizational learning" from success. It is possible, they say. But Professor Desai says they found that knowledge gained from failure lasts for years. He says organizations should treat failures as a learning opportunity and not try to ignore them.
The study looked at companies and organizations that launch satellites--and other space vehicles. Professor Desai compared two shuttle flights.
In two thousand two, a piece of insulating(隔热的) material broke off during launch and damaged a rocket on the Atlantis. Still, the flight was considered a success.
Then, in early two thousand three, a piece of insulation struck the Columbia during launch. This time, the shuttle broke apart on re-entry and the seven crew members died. NASA officials suspended all flights and an investigation led to suggested changes.
Professor Desai says the search for solutions after a failure can make leaders more open-minded. He points to airlines as an example of an industry that has learned from failures in the past.
He advises organizations to look for useful information in small failures and failures they avoided. He also urges leaders to encourage the open sharing of information. The study appeared in the Academy of Management Journal.
The mistakes we learn from do not have to be our own. We recently asked people on our Facebook page to tell us a time they had done something really silly.
Fabricio Cmino wrote: Not long ago I wanted to watch TV, but it wouldn't turn on, so I did everything I could to start it. Thirty minutes later my mum showed up and, passing by, said to me "Did you try plugging it'? I’m just dusting, Mum!”So she wouldn't notice how dumb I am sometimes!
Bruno Kanieski da Silva told about a time he looked everywhere for his key. It was in hispocket. He wrote: I always promise I will never do it again, but after-a few weeks,where is mywallet? For sure it will be in a very logical place.What we get from failure differs from that from success in that_______.
| A．what we learn from failure is more powerful |
| B．what we learn from success does no good to us |
| C．the knowledge gained from failure is important for a company |
| D．the knowledge gained from failure lasts longer |
From the passage, we can infer that________.
| A．The insulating material problem in 2002 didn't arouse enough attention |
| B．There were no astronauts on Columbia |
| C．In spite of the problem, Atlantis was considered a success |
| D．Columbia exploded during its launch time |
The writer gives the last two paragraphs to show that________.
| A．many people make mistakes in the world |
| B．mistakes were a very embarrassing thing when found by others |
| C．we can also draw a lesson from others' mistakes |
| D．making mistakes was a necessity |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Only organizations can learn from mistakes |
| B．We can also learn from failures that have been avoided. |
| C．Lessons from the shuttle flights are more important. |
| D．Leaders often lack an open mind and seldom share information. |