In bringing up children, every parent watches eagerly the child's acquisition (学会) of each new skill m the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing. It is often tempting to hurry the child beyond his natural learning rate, but this can set up dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in the child. This might happen at any stage. A baby might be forced to use a toilet too early, a young child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads. On the other hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses his natural enthusiasm for life and his desire to find out new things for himself.
Parents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children. Some may be especially strict in money matters. Others are severe (严格的) over time of coming home at night or punctuality for meals. In general, the controls represent the needs of the parents and the values of the community as much as the child's own happiness.
As regards the development of moral standards in the growing child, consistency is very important in parental teaching. To forbid a thing one day and excuse it the next is no foundation for morality (道德). Also, parents should realize that "example is better than precept". If they are not sincere and do not practice what they preach (说教), their children may grow confused when they grow old enough to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent fooled.
A sudden awareness of a marked difference between their parents' principles and their morals can be a dangerous disappointment.Eagerly watching the child’s acquisition of new skills, _________________.
| A．should be avoided |
| B．is universal among parents |
| C．sets up dangerous states of worry in the child |
| D．will make the child lose interest in learning new things |
In the process of children’s learning new skills, parents _________________.
| A．should encourage them to read before they know the meaning of the words they read |
| B．should expect a lot of the children |
| C．should achieve a balance between pushing them too hard and leaving them on their own |
| D．should create as many learning opportunities as possible |
The second paragraph mainly tells us that _________________.
| A．parents should be strict with their children |
| B．parental controls reflect only the values of the community |
| C．parental restrictions vary, and are not always for the benefit of the children alone |
| D．it’s parents’ and society’s duty to control the children |
The word “precept” in Paragraph 3 probably means “_________________”.
| A．opinion | B．punishment | C．behavior | D．instruction |
In terms of moral matters, parents should _____________________.
| A．follow the rules themselves |
| B．be aware of the huge difference between adults and children |
| C．forbid their children to follow hook teachings |
| D．always ensure the security of their children |
The word I’m going to introduce to you today is-phubbing. Let’s see the definition of this term:phubbing n. the act of snubbing(冷落)someone in a social setting by looking at your cell phone instead of paying attention As you can probably guess, phubbing is a blend of phone and snubbing. The term was coined by a 23-year-old Melbourne resident Alex Haigh. Obviously, he got fed up with how people are always checking Facebook or Twitter on their phones when they are supposed to be interacting with someone face to face. He wanted to put an end to this social phenomenon, therefore he came up with this catchy term.
And it did catch on. The word’s earliest media mention dates back to June 2012, and in a little over a year’s time, phubbing has already been picked up by almost all the mainstream media outlets one can think of.
Here is a typical example from the British newspaper The Independent. In the article titled The Rise of Phubbing, which was published on August 5, 2013, Tom Chatfield writes, there’s an uncomfortable truth at the heart of phubbing: other people are easier to handle when seen on screen. They’re less likely to demand unreasonable efforts such as undivided attention or clean shirts.
While the term phubbing has undoubtedly taken off, some people question why it is called phubbing instead of phnubbing. Alex Haigh has not personally addressed the issue, but word has it that phubbing sounds more crispy and thus easier to remember.
Phubbing is indeed a univers al problem that can no longer be ignored. So why do people keep phubbing each other if they know it’s rude? Is there anything we can do to stop it? Or maybe we should just be more kind, because sometimes there are good excuses to phub.
I think there is plenty we can do to try and stop phubbing. For starters, we can jo in Alex Haigh in his Stop Phubbing campaign. Remind our friends and family that phubbing is not appreciated. We can also make or download some anti-phubbing posters to spread the word in public places. And don’t forget that some phubbers simply do not realize the harmful effect their behavior has on others，so be b rave enough to stop them, even if you are a total stranger.This passage is mainly talking about __________.
| A．the rise of phubbing in all the mainstream media outlets |
| B．a new term “phubbing”and its problem |
| C．the campaign of keeping phubbing |
| D．different opinions on phubbing |
The author’s attitude towards the act of phubbing can be described as ___________.
| A．bearable | B．Unacceptable |
| C．reasonable | D．understandable |
What can we infer from this passage?
| A．People are easier to handle when seen on screen. |
| B．Alex Haigh doesn’t like the term “phnubbing” |
| C．More and more people have become phubbers. |
| D．We can phub if we have proper excuses. |
The writer suggests we should __________.
| A．stop phubbing in public places |
| B．not be afraid of the harmful effect |
| C．be brave to support a st ranger phubbing |
| D．remind our friends of Stop Phubbing campaign |
Your brain isn’t a muscle, but you can treat it like one
Many people focus on physical fitness, but few know that brain fitness is also something you can work on. In fact, you can exercise your brain as often as you do to your arms or legs-and the results can be positive and empowering.
To improve your brain, you can’t simply repeat the same exercises over and over. Just as lifting a two-pound weight will stop challenging you, so will repetitive exercises such as crosswords or Sudoku. Once you master easy exercises, you must move on to harder ones in order to push your brain-like your muscles-to a new level.
The science behind brain training
Scientists once believed that your mental abilities were fixed in adulthood. Since studies have shown just the opposite, millions of people around the world have adopted the new practice of brain training. The most popular of these brain training products is made by the San Francisco-based Lumosity. Lumosity’s scientists with an experienced team of game designers have developed a fun，effective online brain training program that measures, tracks, and adapts to your progress, so you’ll always be challenged.
Promising studies on the effects of brain training
In a 2013 Stanford study, a treatment group of 21 breast cancer survivors used 12 weeks of Lumosity training to work on processing speed, mental flexibility, and working memory tasks. On average, those who trained improved on tests of these abilities, compared to a group that did not train with Lumosity.
There is even some evidence suggesting that Lumosity may be beneficial to normal, healthy adults. In a 2011 study by Lumosity and San Francisco State University researchers. 13 people who trained over 5 weeks improved working memory scores by 10％and attention scores by 20％.
Brain training is designed to meet real-life needs
The design of brain train ing is targeted at real-life benefits instead of improving game scores. Better attention, for example, can mean greater focus in the classroom or at an important business meeting. With improved processing speed, you might react and adapt faster to the demands of a busy life. And a better memory could mean stronger, longer relationships with the people closest to you.We can learn from the passage that _________.
| A．brain training speeds up the recovery of breast cancer |
| B．your brain is like a muscle because it gives you power |
| C．people’s mental abilities can’t develop after they grow up |
| D．Lumosity can measure, track and suit your level as you improve |
Which skill may brain training not improve?
| A．Better attention. |
| B．Better writing skills. |
| C．A better memory. |
| D．Higher processing speed. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．People should care more about physical health instead of mental health. |
| B．Brain training has been proved effective through scientific researches. |
| C．A bad memory is the only reason for weak relationships with people. |
| D．Playing online games is the best way of brain training. |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Brain Training Makes a Difference |
| B．Train Your Brain like a Muscle |
| C．Lumosity, Your Best Choice |
| D．How to Train Your Brain |
Are you single or married? Are you a cat or a dog owner? Do you exercise, or are you a “couch potato” (a person who sits on the sofa all day watching TV, eating and basically doing nothing)? These questions and many others are about your lifestyle.
People in the United States feel that they can choose their lifestyles and even shape their own identities. The great variety of lifestyles leads to constant national discussion of choices that people make. This freedom of choice is fun and exciting, but it also creates stress and uncertainty. In newspapers, lifestyle issues are discussed in the features or style section. In The Chicago Tribune this section is called “Tempo”. People turn to this section for lively discussion on lifestyle choices they face with regard to their personal identities, their families, and their social lives.
Many American people believe that they can make their lives happy and satisfying despite their problems. If they lack confidence or tend to feel anxious, shy, angry, or depressed, they believe that they can change themselves. Self-help books, magazines, and feature articles are filled with advice from experts about steps to take to become a happier or more satisfied person and to improve one’s self-respect. Part of this research for self-improvement is a belief that even one’s own appearance can be controlled. This is why there are so many articles in the newspaper about looking young, wearing the latest fashions, and becoming physically fit.
Lifestyle choices also involve moral and social issues. How should children be raised? How should people behave on a date? How should elderly people be treated? How can people stay happily married? All these kinds of issues are constantly discussed and are constantly changing. Not only are experts such as psychologists consulted, but stars from the political and entertainment worlds are held up as lifestyle leaders as well. In the newspaper, feature articles called profiles（简介）discuss in detail the personal lives or public work of movie stars, authors, artists, and excellent individuals who are not stars. The lifestyle choices these people make contribute to the public discussion of all the issues that people think about.
A well-known advertising slogan is “Just do it.” In the culture of the United States, people believe that they can take action and become the kind of people they want to be and live the way they want to live.The section “Tempo” in The Chicago Tribune mainly discusses _________.
| A．lifestyle choices |
| B．current affairs |
| C．experts’ opinions on life |
| D．how to improve one’s self-respect |
According to the author, Americans are pretty sure that they can _________.
| A．live a happy life in spite of their problems |
| B．solve all the problems in their life |
| C．improve their life by following the elders’ advice |
| D．control their own appearance |
According to the passage, people’s opinions on moral or social issues can be influenced by _________.
| A．their bosses |
| B．family members |
| C．friends and colleagues |
| D．experts and famous people |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．Changes in the lifestyle |
| B．Choosing the Way We Live |
| C．Lifestyles in the United States |
| D．Make Our Lives Happy |
When Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, it was a revolution in communication. For the first time, people could talk to each other over great distances almost as clearly as if they were in the same room. Nowadays, though, we increasingly use Bell’s invention for taking photographs, surfing the internet, or watching videos, rather than talking. Over the last two decades a new means of spoken communication has appeared: the mobile phone.
The first real mobile telephone call was made in 1973 by Dr Martin Cooper, the scientist who invented the modern mobile handset (手机). Within a decade, mobile phones became available to the public. The streets of modern cities began to feature sharp-suited characters shouting into giant plastic bricks. In Britain the mobile phone quickly became the same with the “yuppie”, the new type of young urban professionals who carried the expensive handsets as status symbols. Around this time many of us said that we would never own a mobile phone.
But in the mid-90s, something happened. Cheaper handsets and cheaper calling rates meant that, almost overnight, it seemed that everyone had a mobile phone. And the giant plastic bricks of the 80s had changed into smooth little objects that fitted nicely into pockets and bags.
Moreover, people’s timekeeping changed. Younger readers will be amazed to know that, not long ago, people made spoken arrangements to meet at a certain place at a certain time. But later Meeting time became inexact under the new order of communication: the Short Message Service （SMS） or text message. Going to be late? Send a text message! It takes much less effort than arriving on time, and it’s much less awkward than explaining your lateness face to face and the text message has changed the way we write in English. Traditional rules of grammar and spelling are much less important when you’re sitting on the bus, hurriedly typing “Will B 15mm late - C U @ the bar. Sorry! -).”
Alexander Graham Bell would be amazed if he could see how far the science of telephony has progressed in less than 150 years. If he were around today, he might say “That’s gr8! But I’m v busy rite now. Will call U 2nite.”What does the underlined part in Para.2 refer to?
| A．Houses of modern cities. | B．Sharp-suited characters. |
| C．New type of professionals. | D．Mobile phones. |
According to Paragraph 4, why did Meeting time become inexact?
| A．People were more likely to be late for their meeting. |
| B．SMS made it easier to inform each other. |
| C．Young people don’t like unchanging things. |
| D．Traditional customs were dying out. |
If you want to meet your friend at the school gate this evening, which of the following message can you send him?
| A．Call U@ SKUg8 2nite. | B．IM2BZ2CU 2nite. |
| C．W84U@ SKUg8 2nite. | D．CU@ the bar g8 2nite. |
What does the passage mainly tell us about?
| A．Alexander Graham’s invention. |
| B．SMS as a new way of communication. |
| C．The development of the mobile phone. |
| D．New functions of the mobile telephone. |
Having taken a room at the hotel at which he had been instructed to stay, Smallwood went out; it was a lovely day, early in August, and the sun shone in an unclouded sky. He had not been to Lucerne since he was a boy, but remembered a covered bridge, though not clearly, a great stone lion and a church in which he had sat, bored yet impressed while they played an organ (风琴); and now wandering along a shady quay (码头) he tried not so much to find his way about a half-forgotten scene as to reform in his mind some recollection of the shy and eager boy, so impatient for life, who so long ago had wandered there. But it seemed to him that the most lively of his memories was not of himself, but of the crowd; he seemed to remember the sun and the heat and the people; the train was crowded and so was the hotel, the lake steamers were packed and on the quays and in the streets you found your way among the holiday-makers. They were fat and old and ugly and strange.
Now, in wartime, Lucerne was as deserted as it must have been before the world discovered that Switzerland was the play-ground of Europe. Most of the hotels were closed, the streets were empty, the boats for hire rocked (摇晃) lazily at the water’s edge and there was none to take them, and in the avenue by the lake the only persons to be seen were serious Swiss taking their dogs for their daily walk. Smallwood felt happy and, sitting down on a bench that faced the water, surrendered (听任) himself to the feelings. The blue water, snowy mountains, and their beauty hit you in the face. So long, at all event, as the fine weather lasted he was prepared to enjoy himself. He didn’t see why he should not at least try to combine pleasure to himself with advantage to his country.We can infer that Smallwood went to Lucerne _________.
| A．to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the area |
| B．to do something as told |
| C．to visit his friend there |
| D．to get in touch with the shy and eager boy |
He felt that the city _________.
| A．was more crowded than it used to be |
| B．had changed out of all recognition |
| C．had been ruined by becoming an attraction |
| D．was quieter than he remembered it |
He was prepared to enjoy himself as long as _________.
| A．he was serving his country |
| B．he was making a profit |
| C．the pleasant weather continued like this |
| D．he could stay in Lucerne |
After reading the passage, we can draw a conclusion that _________.
| A．Smallwood’s former visit to Lucerne was made in peacetime |
| B．Smallwood was pleased by the sound this time |
| C．Smallwood was very nervous when he got to Lucerne |
| D．A war would soon break out in Lucerne |