About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table. I couldn’t help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked, “So, how have you been?” And the boy who could not have been more than seven or eight years old replied, “Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately.”
This incident stuck in my mind because it strengthened my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed” until we were in high school.
The evidence of a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don’t seem childlike any more. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to.
Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists. Why?
Human development is based not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of access to social knowledge. Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new situation. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages: traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.
In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation machine has been fixed in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information, indiscriminately, to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation, many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more vivid moving pictures.
Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information to which children have access. Reading and writing involve a complex code of symbols that must be memorized and practised. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials.Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn about the adult world _________ .
| A．through touch with society |
| B．gradually and under guidance |
| C．naturally and by biological instinct |
| D．through exposure to social information |
In the author’s opinion, the phenomenon that today’s children seem adult like is caused by _____.
| A．the widespread influence of television |
| B．the poor arrangement of teaching content |
| C．the fast step of human intellectual development |
| D．the constantly rising standard of living |
Why is the author in favor of communication through print for children?
| A．It enables children to gain more social information. |
| B．It develops children’s interest in reading and writing. |
| C．It helps children to memorize and practise more. |
| D．It can control what children are to learn. |
What does the author think of the change in today’s children?
| A．He feels amused by the children’s adultlike behavior. |
| B．He thinks it is a phenomenon worthy of note. |
| C．He considers it a positive development. |
| D．He seems to be upset about it. |
Dear David,
I’m glad you would like to share your feelings with me．It’s hardly surprising that your feelings of not being “grown up” have come on strongly at this point in your life, just before you’re about to become a father．You are asking: Will I make a good father? How will I cope? I think nearly every man must have the occasional feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy before the birth．
It’s difficult, honestly, to feel grown-up unless you have something less grown-up to relate to．The boss with a hen-pecking wife may feel like a seven-year-old when he’s at home．But as he walks through the office door, and knows he’s going to be surrounded by staff for advice, he grows into a fully mature man．And I think it’s a mistake to imagine that we all feel, as we age, a kind of progress of states, from the baby to the adult．Most people feel, on Tuesday, about three years old, and on a Wednesday, around 80．
There’s a common remark that“all men are little boys”, but it’s not true．It’s more true that men often behave like little boys．But nearly all people, at some moments in their lives, are able to be greatly mature．．Once your baby arrives, you’ll soon feel less childlike．When your child tries to put its fingers into the electric plug, the adult in you will rise up to prevent it．
Comfort yourself, David, with two truths．One is that your friends laugh when they talk about this subject because they, like you, feel frightened．And remember that people who haven’t grown up don’t go around talking about the fact．
Good luck to you and your little one．
Sincerely Yours,
Miss Advice According to the passage, Miss Advice thinks David’s self-doubt ________．
| A．valuable | B．unusual | C．natural | D．bearable |
From Paragraph 2, we can learn that people’s sense of maturity ________．
| A．will increase with age |
| B．is obviously seen at home |
| C．changes with different situations |
| D．becomes stronger with familiar people |
Miss Advice holds that ________．
| A．all men behave like little boys |
| B．people tend to laugh at the subject |
| C．men with a baby feel more grown-up |
| D．people enjoy talking about their immaturity |
Miss Advice wrote the letter to ________．
| A．offer suggestions to a future father |
| B．teach people how to grow up |
| C．encourage people to be responsible |
| D．solve problems of the less grown-up D |
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Email: bdu@chinadaily．com．cn;URL:http://www．chinadaily．com．cn/bdu If you get into BDU, you can ________．
| A．get the information of the latest business activities taking place in China |
| B．get the most important business information in the world |
| C．know more than what you expect in China |
| D．get all the information in China Daily |
This advertisement will be very helpful to ________．
| A．Chinese people | B．foreign travelers |
| C．foreign business people | D．China Daily reporters |
To get the information from BDU every day, you must ________．
| A．understand Chinese |
| B．know something about the mouse |
| C．know how to operate a computer |
| D．how to use a fax machine |
Going on holiday not only makes you feel good while you’re there, you also gain the health benefits for months, new research shows．
Jetting off to destinations such as the Maldives cuts your blood pressure, helps you sleep better and bounce back from stress, it found．The benefits last at least a fortnight longer than the vacation and can be felt for months in some cases where it is claimed．Experts say workers should always take their full holiday entitlement（权利）each year, but as many as one in three don’t．
The study compared key health markers in holidaymakers visiting Thailand, Peru or the Maldives, with people who stayed at home and continued working．The average blood pressure of those on holiday dropped by six percent while the workers saw their blood pressure rise by two percent over the same period．The sleep quality of holidaymakers improved by 17 percent while that of the non-holidaymakers deteriorated by 14 percent．
The study also found the ability of vacationers to recover from stress, known as the stress-resilience test improved by 29 percent．There was a 71 percent fall in stress resilience scores among workers．Tests showed a fall in blood glucose levels, reducing the risk of diabetes （糖尿病）, trimmer waistlines and improved mood and energy levels, with the effects sustained for at least two weeks after returning home．
The Holiday Health Experiment was conducted by tour operator Kuoni and Nuffield Health, the UK’s largest healthcare charity．According to the passage, how many people go on holiday?
| A．Two thirds． | B．One third． |
| C．17 percent． | D．A quarter． |
Which of the following can we infer from the passage?
| A．The further you go, the better you get the benefits． |
| B．Most people like to stay at home during the holiday． |
| C．The result of the study is mostly based on the description from the people involved． |
| D．Holiday makers are more adaptable than non-holidaymakers． |
The author intends to tell us that ________．
| A．we have to go on holiday as much as possible |
| B．you’ll certainly get depressed if you don’t go on holiday |
| C．we had better go on holiday for the benefits of health |
| D．it is best to go to foreign countries like Maldives |
The best title of the passage is ________．
| A．A Holiday Health Experiment |
| B．Health Benefits from Holiday |
| C．Health Problems of Having Holiday |
| D．Key Health Markers in Holidaymakers |
Is the ‘Go to College’ Message Overdone?
Even in a weak job market, the old college try isn’t the answer for everyone. A briefing paper from the Brookings Institution warns that “we may have overdone the message” on college, senior fellow Isabel Sawhill said.
“We’ve been telling students and their families for years that college is the only way to succeed in the economy and of course there’s a lot of truth to that,” Ms. Sawhill said. “On average it does pay off… But if you load up on a whole lot of student debt and then you don’t graduate, that is a very bad situation.”
One comment that people often repeat among the years of slow job growth has been the value of education for landing a job and advancing in a career. April’s national unemployment rate stood at 7.5%, according to the Labor Department. The unemployment rate for high-school graduates over 25 years old who hadn’t attended college was 7.4%, compared with 3.9% for those with a bachelor’s degree or more education. The difference is even bigger among those aged 16-24. The jobless rate for those with only a high school diploma in that age group is about 20%. At the same time, recent research by Canadian economists cautions that a college degree is no guarantee of promising employment.
Ms. Sawhill pointed out that among the aspects that affect the value of a college education is the field of one’s major: Students in engineering or other sciences end up earning more than ones who major in the arts or education. The cost of tuition and the availability of financial aid are other considerations, with public institutions generally a better financial bargain than private ones.
She suggested two avenues for improving the situation: increasing vocational(职业的)-technical training programs and taking a page from Europe’s focus on early education rather than post-secondary learning. “The European countries put a little more attention to getting people prepared in the primary grades,” she said. “Then they have a higher bar for whoever goes to college—but once you get into college, you’re more likely to be highly subsidized(资助).”
She also is a supporter of technical training—to teach students how to be plumbers, welders and computer programmers—because “employers are desperate” for workers with these skills.People usually think that _____.
| A．the cost of technical schooling is a problem |
| B．one will not succeed without a college degree |
| C．technical skills are most important for landing a job |
| D．there is an increased competition in getting into a college |
What does the underlined part “taking a page from” mean?
| A．Hearing from. | B．Changing from. |
| C．Differing from. | D．Learning from. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Public institutions charge more for education. |
| B．European universities are stricter with students. |
| C．Students with certain skills are in great demand. |
| D．Canadian students prefer to major in engineering. |
Ms. Sawhill may probably agree that _____.
| A．too much stress has been put on the value of college degrees |
| B．technical training is more important than college education |
| C．a college degree will ensure promising employment |
| D．it’s easier for art students to find favorite jobs |
The extraordinary Eastgate Building in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital city, is said to be the only one in the world to use the same cooling and heating principles as the termite mound(白蚁堆).
Architect Mick Pearce used precisely the same strategy when designing the Eastgate Building, which has no air-conditioning and almost no heating. The building—the country’s largest commercial and shopping complex—uses less than 10% of the energy of a conventional building of its size. The Eastgate’s owners saved $3.5 million on a $36 million building because an air-conditioning plant didn’t have to be imported.
The complex is actually two buildings linked by bridges across a shady, glass-roofed atrium(天井) open to the air. Fans suck fresh air in from the atrium, blow it upstairs through hollow spaces under the floors and from there into each office through baseboard vents(通风口). As it rises and warms, it is drawn out via ceiling vents and finally exists through forty-eight brick chimneys.
During summer’s cool nights, big fans blow air through the building seven times an hour to cool the empty floors. By day, smaller fans blow two changes of air an hour through the building, to circulate the air which has been in contact with the cool floors. For winter days, there are small heaters in the vents.
This is all possible only because Harare is 1600 feet above sea level, has cloudless skies, little dampness and rapid temperature swings—days as warm as 31℃ commonly drop to 14℃ at night. “You couldn’t do this in New York, with its fantastically hot summers and fantastically cold winters,” Pearce said.
The engineering firm of Ove Arup&Partners monitors daily temperatures. It is found that the temperature of the building has generally stayed between 23℃ and 25℃, with the exception of the annual hot period just before the summer rains in October and three days in November, when a doorkeeper accidentally switched off the fans at night. And the air is fresh—far more so than in air-conditioned buildings, where up to 30% of the air is recycled. Why was Eastgate cheaper to be built than a conventional building?
| A．It was designed in a smaller size. |
| B．No air conditioners were fixed in. |
| C．Its heating system was less advanced. |
| D．It used rather different building materials. |
What does “it” refer to in Paragraph 3?
| A．Fresh air from outside. | B．Heat in the building. |
| C．Hollow space. | D．Baseboard vent. |
Why would a building like Eastgate Not work efficiently in New York?
| A．New York has less clear skies as Harare. |
| B．Its dampness affects the circulation of air. |
| C．New York covers a larger area than Harare. |
| D．Its temperature changes seasonally rather than daily. |
The data in the last paragraph suggests Eastgate’s temperature control system_____.
| A．allows a wide range of temperatures |
| B．functions well for most of the year |
| C．can recycle up to 30% of the air |
| D．works better in hot seasons |