Dear Gregory,
Merry Christmas! You are now the proud owner of an iPhone. Hot Damn! You are a good & responsible 13 year old boy and you deserve this gift. But with the acceptance of this present comes rules and regulations. Please read through the following contract. I hope that you understand it is my job to raise you into a well rounded, healthy young man that can function in the world and coexist with technology, not be ruled by it. Failure to comply with the following list will result in termination of your iPhone ownership.
1. It is my phone. I bought it. I pay for it. I am loaning it to you. Aren’t I the greatest?
2. If it rings, answer it. It is a phone. Say hello, use your manners. Do not ever ignore a phone call if the screen reads “Mom” or “Dad”. Not ever.
3. It does not go to school with you. Have a conversation with the people you text in person. It’s a life skill. *Half days, field trips and after school activities will require special consideration.
4. If it falls into the toilet, smashes on the ground, or vanishes into thin air, you are responsible for the replacement costs or repairs. Mow a lawn, babysit, stash some birthday money. It will happen, you should be prepared.
5. Turn it off, silence it, put it away in public. Especially in a restaurant, at the movies, or while speaking with another human being. You are not a rude person; do not allow the iPhone to change that.
7. Learn to live without it. Be bigger and more powerful than FOMO – fear of missing out. Leave your phone home sometimes and feel safe and secure in that decision. It is not alive or an extension of you.
8. Keep your eyes up. See the world happening around you. Stare out a window. Listen to the birds. Take a walk. Talk to a stranger. Wonder without googling.
9. If you will mess up. I will take away your phone. We will sit down and talk about it. We will start over again. You and I, we are always learning. I am on your team. We are in this together. It is my hope that you can agree to these terms. I hope you enjoy your awesome new iPhone. Merry Christmas!
xoxoxo MomThe author’s main purpose in writing the article is to ________
| A．explain to George the function of the new mobile phones. |
| B．show George how much thought has been put into this gift |
| C．inform George of good manners he has to follow in public |
| D．make a deal with George on the use of his Christmas gift-iphone |
If Gregory lose hus iphone,he ________
| A．has to pay for a new one himself |
| B．will get a new one from his parents |
| C．will never receive gifts from his parents |
| D．must learn to live without a phone |
We can learn from the article that George’s parents________
| A．set rules and regulations in every aspect of his life |
| B．expect him to do something in return for this gift |
| C．are worried about his manners and carelessness |
| D．don’t want him to be addicted to electronic products |
George has to follow the rules below EXCEPT that ________
| A．be sure to answer his parents’ call |
| B．keep the phone in silence when is at the cinema |
| C．record his life as much as possible using the phone |
| D．bring the phone with him on field trip when necessary |
The Purpose of Boredom Being bored can encourage people's creativity-partly to escape the horrible，frustrated．And meaningless feeling of boredom-recent studies find．It could even be true at work．
Psychologists at the University of Central Lancashire had participants copy numbers out of the telephone book for 15 minutes，while others went straight into a standard creativity task．
Both groups were asked to come up with as many different uses as they could for a plastic cup．The group that felt more bored came up with more uses．
Dr．Sandi Mann，one of the study's authors said．" Boredom at work has always been seen as something to he removed．hut perhaps we should be welcoming it in order to encourage our creativity．What we want LO do next is to see what the practical implications of this finding are．Do people who are bored at work become more creative in other areas of their work-or do they go home and write novels？"
In a later study，Dr．Sandi Mann found that creativity was reduced when people were still bored but didn't have the chance to daydream．
While we tend to think of boredom as something；that certainly leads to trouble-drinking，gambling．and antisocial behavior，this research suggests different possibilities．
More than anything，the feeling of boredom is a 8trong signal that we are stuck in some kind of rut and we need to seek out new goals．In the study above，this research led participants to new ideas．
Usually people will do anything to avoid being bored．as it's such an aversive experience．But creative people，like writers，sometimes talk about seeking out boredom．
Here is the comedy writer Graham Linehan talking about boredom Lo The Cuardian．"I have to use all these programs that cut off the Internet，force me to be bored，because being bored is an essential part of writing，and the Internet has made it very hard to be bored．The creative process requires a period of boredom ，of being stuck．That's actually a very uncomfortable period that a lot of people mistake for writer's block，but it's actually just part of a long process．"
So，when you start to feel bored ，instead of g7ancing at your smartphone．，try being bored for a bit．Who knows what creative thought might come of it？From the study of Dr．Sandi Mann，we can learn that________．
| A．boring tasks make people creative |
| B．daydreaming may increase creativity |
| C．plastic cups can be used very creatively |
| D．copying numbers might be very interesting |
The underlined word "aversive" in Paragraph 8 probably means________
| A．common | B．unpleasant |
| C．unusual | D．personal |
According to Craham Linehan________．
| A．glancing at a smartphone is a solution． |
| B．he is forced to feel bored by the Internet |
| C．the boredom period is a block for writers |
| D．being stuck for a period benefits him a lot |
What is the author's attitude towards boredom？
| A．Critical | B．Cautious |
| C．Positive | D．Unclear |
In the last few years the popularity of eBooks has exploded．The advantages are clear：You can carry as many hooks with you as you want．You can simply download ever7 book you like and instantly start reading instead of having to wait for the book to arrive by mail．
However，one thing hadn't changed．If you wanted to rent a book you were still forced to use hardcopy books．Until now that is．Amazon．com recently announced the start of a new program where you can rent eBooks．
Where to rent eBooks？
As mentioned before，Amazon．com is the first and currently the only retailer (零售商) that has a program in place for renting eBooks．Luckily，Amazon is the largest online retailer in the world and their eBook assortment (分类) is massive．They are also the producer of the Kindle，the most popular eReader，which means you can be sure that the eBooks you rent will work．
You can currently only rent eTextbooks．But this is likely to change as soon as the word gets out that you can save money by renting eBooks．
Why rent eBooks at Amazon？
~ Save money：Save up t0 80% of the normal price of the eBook．
~ Decide how long you rent：From 30 days t0 360 days，you decide how long you want it．You can extend the time by as little as a day．Or simply buy the eBook if you want to keep it after all．
~ Use any device：If you rent an eBook from Amazon，you can read it on your PC，Mac，iPad，iPhone，Android device，Windows Phone 7．Blackberry．or Kindle．
~ Keep your notes：Do you like to keep annotations (注释) and highlights in your eBooks？Don't worry．You can always revisit your notes and highlights through Amazon．com．
How to rent eBooks？
Simply search for the eBook you want to rent on Amazon．com and select the "Rent eBooks" option．After that，a new page will open where you can select how long you’d like to rent the eBook．You can read eBooks for a period of 30 t0 360 days．
You decide how long you need the eBook．1f you later find out you need it for longer．you can simply extend the time．Or buy it for the normal price whenever you want．
Once you've chosen the Lime you want to rent the eBook，you simply go to checkout．Or you can use the "Rent now" button．According to the passage，_________
| A．eBooks will be changed into other types by Amazon．com |
| B．eBooks will replace hardcover hooks in the next few years |
| C．readers get a discount of at least 20% of the normal price |
| D．readers are able to rent eBooks only at Amazon．com now |
To rent an eBook online，which of the following goes last？
| A．open a new page |
| B．select the "Rent eBooks" option |
| C．choose a rental date |
| D．press "Rent now" button |
The main purpose of the passage is to_________．
| A．inform and explain |
| B．discuss and assess |
| C．compare and evaluate |
| D．describe and argue |
I may not be the wisest person on this planet．but I will tell you a little secret to happiness：Help other，，and live life．It is that simple．Just help a friend study for a test，or volunteer at a nursing home ．I learned this after a long，hard search．
I was feeling really down because my long4ime friend had died．Then I started a six-week volunteering at a nursing home all day every Saturday．My routine was to serve the meal and clean up．After that，I would wait for the head nurse to tell me what to do．
One day I was told to go to Room 117 to make sure the patient was all right．In the room I found a boy of eight sitting in his bed watching a movie．I was shocked to see a child in this seemingly forgotten nursing home for the old．He was so small and weak that you had to look closely to find him．He motioned for me to sit down．I grabbed his medical chart from which later I found out he had a terminal illness．
We started to talk，and I found out that his family rarely visited，and all he did ever7 day was watch TV．I wanted to cry for him，and for my lost friend．As we talked，he had a smile on his face，and I asked him why．
"The entire two hours I've been here you've never lost that smile．With this horrible disease，how do you still manage to stay happy？"
He thought for a moment，and then said that too many people are dead even before they die．
They walk around feeling that God has cursed (诅咒) them and that they have nothing to live for．
The boy said that he would not be like that．He wakes every morning thankful to see another sunrise．He keeps his window open so that he can smell the flowers and feel the heat of the sun．He also said that he has hope．
"Too many people haven't seen much of that around here，" he said，" Life is full of hope and we need to live life before it is gone．"
I don’t know what happened to him．I assume he passed away，but his lesson lives on．I now wake up and live each day to the fullest．The key to life is not money or fame，but the lessons we learn from it．The nursing home in the passage is mainly for_______
| A．the elderly | B．the homeless |
| C．the disabled | D．the abandoned |
The boy stayed happy mainly due to_______．
| A．wonderful TV programs |
| B．his positive attitude |
| C．good medical condition |
| D．others' encouragement |
The writer participated in the volunteering job in order to_______．
| A．find out the secret |
| B．search for help |
| C．enrich experiences |
| D．get out of sadness |
What would be the best title for the passage？
| A．A Lesson in Hope |
| B．The Life of a Sick Boy |
| C．A Voluntary Job |
| D．The Meaning of Life |
Everybody in this world is different from one another．But do you know that understanding differences can help you better manage your money？
As we grow up，we gradually develop a set of our own values or beliefs．These are influenced by society，our family，the education we receive and so on．Once this value system is set up，it's not easy to change later in life．
Financial experts say that everyone also has their own belief of how to manage their finances．This is part of our value system and it has a great impact on the way we look after our money．
According to our different values，experts put us in three categories．They are：the ant，the cricket and the snail．
The ant-works first
Just like ants who work heart and soul in summer in order to store food for winter，these people don't care about enjoying the moment．They work very hard and save money they earn so that they can enjoy life when they get old and retire．The ant loves to save but they could make more out of their money if they were willing to invest in some funds and stocks with low risk．
The cricket-fun first
The cricket wants to enjoy everything now and doesn't think too much about the future．They even borrow money when they really want something．Many young people now belong to this group．These people have little savings．When they get old，they might have problems．They should learn to save and buy insurance．
The snail-lives under pressure
The snail refers to people who make life difficult for themselves．They take big long-term loans from the bank in order to buy things such as luxury houses．They are happy to take big loans even though they are not sure whether they can afford it．This can cause problems in the future．They should plan more carefully．People with the character of the snail would like to __________．
| A．enjoy life at the moment without thinking much about the future |
| B．put work before everything else |
| C．live a luxury life at all costs |
| D．take the risk of investing a large sum of money |
Our beliefs and values are affected by the following except __________．
| A．society | B．our family |
| C．education | D．money |
This passage mainly talks about __________．
| A．the spending nature of people |
| B．the relation between man and insects |
| C．the insects in nature |
| D．the problems with dealing with money |
Which of the following has the character that the author prefers？
| A．The ant | B．The cricket |
| C．The snail | D．None of the above |
A device that stops drivers from falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months．
The system，called driver Alert，aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20%—40% that are caused by tiredness．Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30% of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue．
Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband．The device，worn by drivers or pilots gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey．After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing the steering wheel(方向盘)．A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound and the driver’s response．
Tiredness is directly related to a driver’s response time．Usually，a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond，but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds，it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy．
In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds，showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest．If the driver’s response continues to slow down，the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warms that the driver must stop as soon as possible．
The device has been delivered to the department’s laboratories for testing．If these tests，scheduled for six months’ time，are successful，the markers will bring the product to market within about a year．According to the text，Driver Alert ______．
| A．aims to reduce tiredness-related accidents |
| B．has gone through testing at laboratories |
| C．aims to prevent drivers from sleeping |
| D．has been on sale for 12 months |
How should a driver respond to the sounds from Driver Alert？
| A．By sounding a warning |
| B．By touching the wristband |
| C．By checking the driving time |
| D．By pressing the steering wheel |
We can learn from the text that the driver needs to stop for a break when his response time is ______．
| A．About 400 milliseconds |
| B．below 500 milliseconds |
| C．over 500 milliseconds |
| D．about 400 minutes |
When the driver gets sleepy while driving，Driver Alert ______．
| A．moves more regularly |
| B．stops working properly |
| C．opens the window for the driver |
| D．sounds more frequently and loudly |