Children today would rather read, do housework or even do homework than play outside--- and they get out half as much as their parents did when they were young.
According to a UK study, those growing up during the 1970s and 1980s enjoying more than two hours of outdoor activities each weekday, and nine hours on weekends—whatever the weather is. But their children play outside for just over one hour each weekday, and fewer than five hours on Saturdays and Sundays.
So, the UK started an activity to encourage children to give up 30 minutes of screen time a day to play outdoors.
The Wild Network, born on September 25, 2013, is joined by more than 300 organizations, large or small. It tries to attract children away from television and computer screen and into woods and parks.
It is the biggest ever activity to reconnect children with nature and outdoor activities, and it plans to help improve children’s health.
Suggestions on how to get more time in nature including collecting fruits, camping, watching autumn colour on trees and so on.
This is not the first time the message of less screen, more play has been brought up. Children in the 1980s were encouraged to do the same by BBC TV show Why Don’t You, which encouraged children to “turn off your TV set, and go to do something less boring instead”.
You can learn more about the activity by visiting Http://www. Projectwildthing.com.
| A．today’s children have more free time |
| B．today’s children spend more time outdoors |
| C．the parents had more free time when they were young |
| D．The parents spent more time outdoors when they were young |
| A．encourage children to spend more time outdoors |
| B．encourage children to play with their parents outdoors |
| C．encourage children to spend more time on their studies |
| D．encourage parents to spend more time with their children |
| A．It was set up this year |
| B．It was the best ever activity |
| C．Both large organizations or small can join it |
| D．You can learn about it from the show Why Don’t You |
| A．Camping | B．Collecting fruits |
| C．Bird watching | D．Autumn clour watching |
| A．start an activity | B．play outdoors |
| C．do homework | D．do housework |
When Goldie Nejat began developing robots in 2005， she spent much of her time knocking on doors to let people know how her robots worked but few showed interest．"But now，it's different，"says Nejat，"People calling from around the world ask when my robots are going to be ready．"
Nejat's robots are designed to fill an increasing need： care﹣giving for the old． The population of the people over age 80 will be 426 million in 2050， three times larger than that now．
Such robots could be especially useful for patients with Alzheimer's disease（老年痴呆症）．They can help with everyday activities from preparing food to reminding（提醒）the patients of taking their medicine．They can also play games with patients to keep them active．
Some have worried that care﹣giving robots might reduce（ 减少）human interaction（ 互动）and cause more humans to lose their jobs．"But the aim is to support human care， not to take the place of it，" says Brian Scassellati． He has tested robots with different patients， and found that daily interaction with robots can help children with autism spectrum disorder（ 自闭症障碍） improve social skills．
As a field grows， scientists aim to understand human﹣robot relationships better．Do robots offer advantages because they don't have feelings and don't give opinions？ Will patients lose interest？
"One thing is clear，" Scassellati says，"Robots can provide care for the customers and the need for that will increase in the future．"
（1）Nejat's robots are designed to ．
| A． |
work in the factory |
| B． |
make phone calls |
| C． |
take care of the old |
| D． |
knock on doors |
（2）The writer starts the passage by ．
| A． |
telling two stories |
| B． |
comparing two facts |
| C． |
raising a question |
| D． |
giving an example |
（3）The main idea of Paragraph 3 is ．
| A． |
what the robots can do |
| B． |
what serious problems the robots cause |
| C． |
what the old people can do |
| D． |
what the old people think of the robots |
（4）According to Scasellati， we can infer that Nejal's robots ．
| A． |
will have fellings soon |
| B． |
can take the place of humans |
| C． |
should be produced more |
| D． |
won't give their own opinions |
People say laughter is the best medicine， but sometimes too much of a good thing may not be so good． What happened to me last night made me deeply understand the meaning of that．
Last night I was alone at home． When I was watching a funny movie， I suddenly started laughing and couldn't stop myself．
At first， I was feeling good．
But after about 5 minutes， I came to know I wasn't going to stop at all， I began to feel a little worried．
Time for bed． But I couldn't sleep because I kept laughing．So I got up and started doing some housework． I cleaned my apartment， laughing hard．I washed all the dishes left over from dinner，still laughing crazily． I tried to hold my cat in my arms， but it ran away from me in fear． I spent the rest of the night in front of my computer， of course， still laughing．
When time finally came to get ready for work， I realized that I simply couldn't go to the office like that． I decided to call my boss for leave， but laughing was the only thing I could do on the phone．
After listening to my"lovely" laughter for a few minutes， my boss couldn't help shouting angrily，"Are you mad？ You're fired（解雇）!"
Suddenly I woke up． Thank God! I just had a dream．
（1）What happened last night made the writer ．
| A． |
understand something |
| B． |
forget his pain |
| C． |
keep doing housework |
| D． |
get a good job |
（2）When the writer was watching a movie， he suddenly started ．
| A． |
crying |
| B． |
coughing |
| C． |
jumping |
| D． |
laughing |
（3）The cat ran away because ．
| A． |
it was going to sleep |
| B． |
it was afraid of the writer |
| C． |
it wanted to have dinner |
| D． |
it saw a mouse running |
（4）How did the writer's feelings change in the story？
| A． |
relaxed﹣angry﹣ good |
| B． |
good﹣ excited﹣worried |
| C． |
good﹣ worried﹣relaxed |
| D． |
worried﹣good﹣angry |
Jiqing Street in Wuhan is a good place to try local food and experience the everyday life of local people．Since Wuhan was unlocked on April 8， there have been many people lining up at snack shops there．
In the evening， hundreds of street﹣ side stalls（摊位）come out on the street and provide popular snacks and local food at low prices． Travelers can enjoy hot dry noodles，tasty chicken soup and Chinese dumplings…Don't miss Jiujiu duck necks．Chi Li，a popular writer，tells a love story of a beautiful lady who sells duck necks in this street in her novel Life Show． Thousands of people come to search for the scenes（场景） in the novel．
Local people like to order several best﹣known dishes and some bottles of beer and spend their evening time with friends there．For travelers，another exciting thing is the folk music performed by folk musicians at your table．You can enjoy delicious food when listening to music．
With the street becoming busy， the city began to breathe again．
（1）Jiqing Street is a good place to ．
| A． |
study English |
| B． |
try local food |
| C． |
tell love stories |
| D． |
go skating |
（2）According to the passage， Chi Li mentions in her novel Life Show．
| A． |
Chinese dumplings |
| B． |
hot dry noodles |
| C． |
chicken soup |
| D． |
duck necks |
（3）How do you understand the underlined part "the city began to breathe again" in the last paragraph？
| A． |
The air becomes fresh again． |
| B． |
The water gets clearer． |
| C． |
The city becomes lively again． |
| D． |
The food gets nicer． |
（4）The material is probably from ．
| A． |
a travel website |
| B． |
a history book |
| C． |
a science magazine |
| D． |
a dictionary |
Protect the sea with us!
Volunteers from all over the world are welcome!
|
You will help recycle plastics． teach children how to protect the sea in local schools． join in weekly beach clean﹣ups with local students and teachers． |
|
You need to be at least 18 years old． to be able to speak Chinese． to be interested in protecting the sea． to be able to start work on Monday． |
|
You can have colorful activities． have three meals a day． stay in a beach room． |
|
Join us now! |
（1）Volunteers will teach children ．
| A． |
how to protect the sea |
| B． |
how to write a letter |
| C． |
how to speak Chinese |
| D． |
how to play the piano |
（2）Volunteers need to start work on ．
| A． |
Sunday |
| B． |
Monday |
| C． |
Friday |
| D． |
Saturday |
（3）Volunteers can ．
| A． |
leave at any time |
| B． |
haveagood pay |
| C． |
do some business |
| D． |
stay in a beach room |
It might be fun to use your smartphone， but be careful． Too much screen time may be harmful to your health．
First， it is bad for your eyes． A researcher called Sarah Hinkley says the problem comes from the blue light that the screen gives out． Looking at a smartphone for a long time can cause eye strain（劳损），headaches and dry eyes． So it is a good idea to take a break every 15 minutes when you are working at a computer or using a smartphone
Second， screen use can do harm to children's brains． A new study shows that using screens too much can affect（影响） how children's brains grow． If children use screens for more than one hour a day， they might have lower levels of white matter in their brains． White matter is a key to the development of language and reading skills．So it is wise to cut down the time of children using all kinds of screens．
Third， using screens too much will affect your sleep． According to a study， about 95% of the people between the ages of 13 and 64 use electronics before bed， especially the young people under 20． Doctors say that the light from those electronics at night may make you excited before you go to bed． Then it's hard for you to get enough sleep． So you'd better turn off smartphones，TVs， and all other screens an hour before your bedtime．
To keep healthy， doctors and researchers strongly advise that you shouldn't use screens for long hours．
（1）The blue light from your screens can cause ．
| A． |
eye strain |
| B． |
headaches |
| C． |
dry eyes |
| D． |
all of the above |
（2）According to the passage， you can't sleep well because you ．
| A． |
take a break every 15 minutes |
| B． |
have lower levels of white matter |
| C． |
use screens too much before bed |
| D． |
are the people from 13 to 64 |
（3）Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage？
| A． |
Using smartphones for long hours does harm to your eyes． |
| B． |
A lot of screen time affects children's brain growth． |
| C． |
The light from electronics at night may make you excited． |
| D． |
People of all ages mustn't use electronics． |
（4）You may read the passage in ．
| A． |
a science magazine |
| B． |
a travel diary |
| C． |
a guide book |
| D． |
a novel |
（5）What is the main idea of the passage？
| A． |
The ways to keep healthy． |
| B． |
The harm of using screens too much． |
| C． |
The ways to use screens． |
| D． |
The advantages of using screens． |