My bookshelves are full of dust — and with good reason. When it comes to cleaning that part of my home, I suffer from the most serious case of avoidance(回避反应症).
The thing is this: when I do set out to clean and re-organize my books, which seldom happens, I place myself into a really bad situation. No sooner do I take a title from the shelf, blow off the dust, and wipe down the cover than I find myself sitting on the floor with legs crossed and my back against the wall. Pretty soon books get piled up on my legs as I am reunited with old friends.
It is as if these books have voices, and each wants to say its piece. “Remember me? I was given to you when you went into the Navy, so that you would never lack for companionship,” one whispers. Another says, “I was your first book of poems, given to you before you learned to love poetry.” And a third, “I was the book that made history so attractive to you.”
Perhaps the greatest pleasure of re-organizing my books are the surprises — or better said, reunions — that occur. During my latest book-cleaning adventure, I found one that had fallen behind the shelf: “Tales of Edgar Allan Poe.” Not an unusual title, but the words written on the first page made it very special: “With Love from Mom and Dad, Christmas 1965.” What’s this? A book on the physics of lasers(激光). It is filled with mathematical statements, and I had bought it at a library sale when I was 12, not long after the laser had been invented. I couldn’t understand a bit of it, but I did learn what “laser” meant.
What I end up with when I empty my bookshelves is a cross-section(横剖面) of my personal history. It’s like a road cut where one sees all the layers of rock going back through time to the beginning of the simplest life forms. The books I’ve read — and kept — are not just old friends. They are my résumé.
| A．He is too busy to tidy up his bookshelves. |
| B．He considers his books valuable wealth. |
| C．He has made a lot of notes in his books. |
| D．He is a lover of science books. |
| A．they bring back happy memories |
| B．they are recorded in human voice |
| C．they say a lot about human history |
| D．they offer good topics for discussion |
| A．Finding some missing books. |
| B．Putting books in good order. |
| C．Learning something new from the books. |
| D．Rediscovering interesting stories behind some books. |
| A．personal history | B．precious notes |
| C．good companion | D．simple life forms |
During her junior year of high school, Diane Ray's teacher handed her a worksheet and instructed the 17-year-old to map out her future financial life. Ray pretended to buy a car, rent an apartment, and apply for a credit card. Then, she and her classmates played the "stock market game", investing（投资) the hypothetical（虚拟的） earnings from their hypothetical jobs in the market in the disastrous fall of 2008. "Our pretend investments crashed," Ray says, still frightened. "We got to know how it felt to lose money."
That pain of earning and losing money is a feeling that public schools increasingly want to teach. Forty states now offer some type of financial instruction at the high-school level, teaching students how to balance checkbooks and buy stock in math and social-studies classes. Though it's too early to measure the full influence of the Great Recession（大萧条）, the interest in personal-finance classes has risen since 2007 when bank failures started to occur regularly. Now, many states including Missouri, Utah, and Tennessee require teenagers to take financial classes to graduate from high school. School districts such as Chicago are encouraging money-management classes for kids as young as primary school, and about 300 colleges or universities now offer online personal-finance classes for incoming students. "These classes really say, 'This is how you live independently,' " says Ted Beck, president of National Endowment for Financial Education.
Rather than teach investment methods or financial skills, these courses offer a back-to-the-basics approach to handling money: Don't spend what you don't have. Put part of your monthly salary into a savings account, and invest in the stock market for the long-term rather than short-term gains. For Ray, this means dividing her earnings from her part-time job at a fast-food restaurant into separate envelopes for paying bills, spending and saving. "Money is so hard to make but so easy to spend," she says one weekday after school. "That is the big takeaway."
Teaching kids about the value of cash certainly is one of the programs' goals, but teachers also want students to think hard about their finances long term. It's easy for teenagers to get annoyed about gas prices because many of them drive cars. But the hard part is urging them to put off the instant satisfaction of buying a new T-shirt or an iPod. "Investing and retirement aren't things teenagers are thinking about. For them, the future is this weekend," says Gayle Whitefield, a business and marketing teacher at Uth’s Riverton High School.
That’s a big goal for these classes: preventing kids from making the same financial missteps their parents did when it comes to saving, spending, and debt. Though the personal savings rate has increased up to 4. 2 percent, that’s still a far distance from 1982, when Americans saved 11. 2 percent of their incomes. “It’s hard for schools to reach strict money-management skills when teenagers go home and watch their parents increase credit-card debt. It’s like telling your kids not to smoke and then lighting up a cigarette in front of them,” Beck says.
Even with these challenges, students such as Ray say learning about money in school is worthwhile. After Ray finished her financial class, she opened up a savings account at her local bank and started to think more about how she and her family would pay for college. “She just has a better understanding of money and how it affects the world,” says her mother, Darleen－and that’s sown to the details of how money is spent from daily expenses to various taxes. All of this talk of money can make Ray worry, she says, but luckily, she feels prepared to face it.The “stock market game” mentioned in Paragraph 1 is meant to.
| A．introduce a new course to students |
| B．help students learn about investment |
| C．teach how to apply for a credit card |
| D．encourage students’ personal savings |
How does the writer show us that schools’ interest in teaching financial classes has increased in paragraph 2_________?
| A．By giving examples. | B．By providing data. |
| C．By raising questions. | D．By making comparisons. |
According to the passage, taking money-management courses will.
| A．better students’ learning methods |
| B．prevent students going into debt |
| C．help students get accepted by colleges |
| D．make students become very wealthy |
After completing the financial class, Diane Ray is likely to.
| A．pay off all her debts. | B．handle her money better |
| C．find a job in a bank. | D．manage the family income |
The passage is mainly about.
| A．ways to teach students to earn money |
| B．how Diane Ray learns to value money |
| C．the push to teach personal finance in school |
| D．how students choose a proper financial class |
Below is an introduction to Top 5 Teen Magazines from the US and the UK.
J-14
Marked to preteen and teenage girls ages 11-19, J-14 --a shortened name of “Just For Teens” --is packed with features like teen gossip, quizzes, fashion advice, posters, and celebrity(名人) interviews in every issue.
Some of the magazine’s most popular features include: “Hot Topic”, “Life’s Big Questions” and “Real Life”. Throughout the year, J-14 publishes several editions, such as “Summer Entertainment Guide”, “Back-to-School Special” and the annual “Best of Year Special and J-13 Teen Icon Awards” issue.
Teens who have a passion for pop culture would love a subscription to J-14 magazine!
Twist
Twist covers the latest fashion and stytles with lots of photos and easy-to-follow how-tos, giving teens both instruction and inspiration to experiment with what works for them. Body image(形象) and relationships are popular topics of interest to teens, and the magazine offers tips on building strong self-esteem.
Additional content in every monthly issue inculdes reader polls, teen celebrity gossip, news and interviews. During the yaer, Twist publishes several special editions about seasonal fashion and major teen events, like prom and back-to-school. The magazine publishes a “Best of Year” issue every December.
Teens who love fashion and celebrity news would love a subscription to Twist magazine!
Discovery Girls
First published in 2000, the magazine often addresses the topics of school, sports, and friendship.
Content in the magazine is created by girls, which gives it the authentic opinions of its target audience. Each bimonthly issus features quizzes, fashion advice, and games in addition to some regular sections that appear in each magazine. Mant of the following sections that appear in every issue also feature content submitted by readers: “The Worst Day”, “Embarrassing Moments”, “The Great Debate” and “Mailbag”.
Young girls and teens would find a friendly, identifiable voice in each issue of Discovery Girls, and parents would approve of giving a gift subscription to this award-winning magazine!
Boy’s Life
First published in 1911, Boy’s Life is written for young males ages 6 to 18 and is distributed in two editions. One edition is printed for the youngest members 6-to-10-year-old Tiger Cubs and first-year Webelos Scouts. The other is for ages 11-18 and is aimed at second-year Webelos Scouts through 18-year-old Boy Scouts.
A central focus of Boy’s Life is encouraging physical activity among boys, like camping, hiking, swimming, and kayaking. Each month, the magazine features articles on history, the outdoors, science, and much more. Fitness, technology, and video game and biik reviews are other common topics Boy’s Life often addresses.
A subscription to Boy’s Life magazine would make a great gift for active young boys!
Seventeen
Seventeen magazine celebrates teens where they are in life while also providing age-appropriate advice to the complex issues young women face every day.
The magazine organizes its content into five sections, such as “Your Body”, a range of fitness motivation and encouragement about positive body image, “Love & Guys”, advice columns and tips on understanding relationships with the opposite sex, and “Your Awesome Life”, personal development tips about hot topics like building confidence and selecting a college, plus inspirational stories about teens.
Special editions include the “Back-to-school Issue” in August and “The Freebie Issue” in May.
Teens who want to look good, feel great, and be their best would enjoy a subscription to Seventeen magazine!According to the passage, what content do J-14, Twist and Discovery Girls share?
| A．Teen gossip. | B．Advice on fashion. |
| C．Sports and friendship. | D．Self-respect building. |
What content does Boys 'Life mainly center on?
| A．Sports. | B．Games. |
| C．Beauty. | D．Education. |
We can learn from the passage that.
| A．J-14 is distributed in two editions for teens of different ages |
| B．the content of Discovery Girls is closely related to teen girls |
| C．Seventeen covers aspects like looking good, keeping fit and writing stories |
| D．all the five magazines mentioned publish special editions except Boys 'Life |
The main purpose of the introduction to the five magazines is.
| A．to distinguish their features |
| B．to explain the secret to their popularity |
| C．to encourage the subscription to the magazines |
| D．to arouse people's interest in reading teen magazines |
Picture a library without books? Well, I can’t. Ever since I was little I would go to the library and take out numerous books. From picture books to beginning chapter books to YA books, books have always been a part of my life. Unlike many people today, I don't own a Kindle or a Nook or any type of e-reader. I prefer the old-fashioned book. There is something about holding a book and being able to turn the pages that I find comforting. In today's 21st century, books may become obsolete. For me that's something I find scary.
I am a fan of the old TV science-fiction series Twilight Zone. One episode（一段情节）is about a librarian who has become obsolete. Though this episode aired in 1961, the writer of the series, Rod Serling was exactly on point when it came to predicting the future.
In fact, in San Antonio, Texas the first-ever bookless library in the country opened. The library is full of iMacs, tablets and iPads which cost a huge $2. 3 million. The library offers around 10,000 e-books. So the question is, is this what the future will soon be? Mary Graham, vice president of South Carolina's Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce states, "This is the future…If you're going to be building new library facilities, this is what you need to be doing."
It is our generation that will be the guinea pigs（试验品）of increasing technology like this. Is this a good or bad thing? Well, digital libraries may help the environment by not using paper; however, I feel like something will always be lacking with a digital book. A digital library is just the beginning.
With all of this new technology, people seem to be more absorbed in their own world. One of my biggest complaints is when I am with my friends and they can't seem to get off their smart phone and talk to me. To make plans with a friend and then have them stuck on their phone the whole time is extremely rude. Not only is it disrespectful, but it reflects the direction of where human interactions are heading. Though social media is great, it also is addicting and has negative effects.
Often when I go on Facebook it just makes me feel worse about myself. I'll see many of my 800 Facebook friends showing off their newest accomplishment or acceptance to college. Additionally, our society is becoming increasingly lazy. For instance, instead of doing mental math, people use their phone to solve 89 + 74. It is simple tasks like these that are allowing people to lack important educational and social skills.
It is up to us to find a balance between technology and human values and interactions. With new technology being created every day, we need to learn how to use it alongside our great minds. After all, inventions are supposed to benefit society not harm it. In the day of technology, who knows what's next?The underlined word "obsolete" （Paragraph l）is closest in meaning to.
| A．outdated | B．complex | C．expensive | D．meaningless |
What can we infer from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2_______?
| A．The episode still enjoys great popularity nowadays. |
| B．Rod Serling liked making predictions about the future. |
| C．The situation of books today is similar to what Rod Serling predicted in the episode. |
| D．The episode airing in 1961 was the most entertaining of the TV science-fiction series. |
What can we learn about the library in San Antonio, Texas?
| A．It is the first-ever library in America. |
| B．It is of no practical use although it costs so much. |
| C．It holds an exhibition of much electronic equipment. |
| D．People can read e-books there with the help of the new facilities. |
Which of the following will the writer probably disagree with_______?
| A．Great as social media is, it does have some negative effects. |
| B．With the increasing use of social media, something will actually be lost. |
| C．Through social media, people can develop educational and social skills around. |
| D．As a result of social media, people may communicate less with the people around. |
The tone of the passage is best described as.
| A．Optimistic | B．Skeptical | C．Supportive | D．Objective |
For years I fought with the bird's nest that sat on top of my head-my Medusa（神话中的蛇发女妖） hair．No matter what I did and how hard I tried, in no way could I make my unruly （乱蓬蓬）hair to my satisfaction．
Growing up in a Russian-Jewish home with parents who thought North American styling products were something illegal such as drugs, I was never allowed to put them in :my hair．¨ Why buy hair gel? Your hair is so beautiful naturally," my mother would say．The teens at school did not agree．From boys 'not wanting to kiss me when we played spin the bottle in Grade 7 to being called the mop, I suffered from my hair．
When I got to university, I believed my hair was a wall that stood between me and everything-finding a part-time job, getting a boyfriend, etc．
If only I could find a way to manage the curls and put it behind bars, I told myself, I would feel secure and sexy．I tried everything: rollers, hairspray, gels and, at one point, an iron．Then, in my second year, a miracle happened．I was asked to be a hair model for Japanese hair straightening, a process by which the molecules（分子）of my curls would be broken and reset in a bone-straight position．I was the perfect candidate, the hairdresser told me． Although they said how hair relaxing could damage the :scalp （头皮）,for the next five years I didn't find them to be true． All of the hairdresser's promises were fulfilled: With my hair straight and smooth, I was no longer the¨ mop"．
However, there was extreme damage done to my wallet． To keep up the straightening cost $ 700 every six months, and that was considered cheap．While some people thought I was crazy, I was willing to do anything to never again feel like that anxious, curly-headed girl in Grade 7．But when I moved out． of my parents" house 'at age 26 and rented an apartment, the upkeep of my new image became too costly．
I couldn't hide from my inner Medusa any longer．It was time to hug her and let her fly．Seeking a choice, I turned to the Internet, Google．After hours of searching, I hit upon a“ curly haired" salon, a place designed for girls like me．I doubted these so-called “Curl Ambassadors" could do anything
without using machine of some sort, and though I bought the service called the “Curly-Doo," I suspected I'd have the same unruly mop at the end of the appointment．
I dragged my feet so hard getting there that I arrived 45 minutes late． I secretly hoped they would turn me away．Instead, my stylist simply said :‘‘You are very late． Let me see your hair" At． that moment, my world and beliefs about myself were turned upside down along with my hair． As my head was in a basin full of freezing-cold water, then covered with a jelly-like jam, I wondered what I had got myself into．
¨ Do you really think this will work?" I asked the stylist, Jones．“ My curls are a disaster．"“No curly hair is hopeless," she replied．“They just haven't found a way to work with it, that's all． "
After the hour was over, Jones had completed her work． She had styled my hair using only her hands, water and a mixture of organic jam． I couldn't believe what I was seeing in the mirror: a naturally curly, Medusa-free me．You could argue that hair is just hair． Yet, it is just such physical features that have such a large influence on how we view ourselves．
According to Jones,75 percent of the population have a wave or curl in their hair and don't know what to do with it． Men cut theirs short． Women flat-iron theirs to death． When I read through a beauty magazine or take the subway to work, it makes me sad to see so many people repressing their natural beauty．
Since then, my world has changed． I have always been outgoing, but these days I seem to be more outspoken and confident than ever． On top of that, friends and co-workers tell me I am looking better than ever, but they don't know the source of the change．
I don't need to tell them* My Medusa hair speaks for herself．What can we learn about the writer's hair in the first place?
| A．Her parents considered it was bird's nest． |
| B．Teens at school laughed at it as Medusa hair． |
| C．She hated it because it couldn't be straightened． |
| D．North American styling products harmed her hair． |
Japanese hair straightening caused a problem for the writer that．
| A．her wish to feel secure and sexy didn't come true |
| B．her hair was seriously damaged after the straightening |
| C．the cost to keep her hair straight was too high for her |
| D．she was called ¨the mop" with her hair straight and smooth |
The writer waswhen she went to the “curly haired" salon．
| A．hesitated | B．excited | C．disappointed | D．determined |
What was the reaction of the stylist in the salon when she saw the writer?
| A．She was very angry because the writer was late． |
| B．She thought totally the writer's hair was a disaster． |
| C．She was calm and sure of her work． |
| D．She thought there was no way to fix the writer's hair． |
The writer's world has changed because she．
| A．has removed her inner Medusa |
| B．has removed her curls on her head |
| C．has found a way to straighten her hair in the stylish salon |
| D．has found the admiration for her from her friends and co-workers |
The best title of the passage can be．
| A．A Successful Stylist |
| B．My Medusa Hair |
| C．Road to Beauty |
| D．Accept the Way We Are |
Most parents of kids under age 8 don't worry about how much time they spend watching TV or using other media, from computers to smart phones to tablets PCs, according to a new survey that found a child's use of media often reflects how much time parents spend in the similar way．
¨We generally found that media use is not a source of conflict in the home" for families with young children, Ellen Wartella, a researcher from Northwestem University, told USA Today． She led a survey of 2,326 parents who have children 8 and younger．It found that in 80 percent of families, children's media use was not a problem, with 55 percent “not too" or“ not at all" concerned about it． It also showed parents have more positive than negative feelings about how media consumption affects a child's learning and the development of creativity．The exception is video games, which are viewed more negatively than TV, computers or mobile devices．“Parents rated video games as more likely to have a negative effect on children's school performance, attention time, creativity, social skills, behavior and sleep than any other medium," the researchers said in a news conference about the survey．
¨The findings exposes a generational shift （转移） in parental attitudes about technology's role in young children's lives," said Wartella．“Today's parents grew up with technology as a central pact of their lives, so they think about it differently than earlier generations of parents, instead of a battle with kids on one side and parents on the other, the use of media and technology has become a family affair． "
The researchers identified three media environments created by parents: media-centric （39 percent of families） , media-moderate （45%）and media-light （16%）． Children in media-centric families spend at least three hours more each day watching TV or using computers, video games and tablet PCs don't make parenting easier．And 88 percent of parents say they are most likely to turn to toys or activities to keep their children occupied．Slightly fewer turn to books （79%） and TV（78%）．
The survey didn't look at how media affects children． That's a topic that the American Academy of Pediatrics has handled a number of times． The AAP says studies have found too much media use can lead to attention- problems, school difficulties, sleep and eating disorders and being fat． In addition, the Internet and cell phones can provide platforms for illegal and risky behaviors．¨By limiting screen time and offering educational media and non-electronic formats （格式）such as books, newspapers and board games, and watching television with their children, parents can help guide their children's media experience． Putting questionable content into context and teaching kids a700ut advertising contributes to their media literacy （素养） ," it says．
The pediatricians' group says parents should have “screen-free zones" and TV should be turned off during dinner． At most, it recommends children and teens engage with entertainment media for no more than two hours a day and that should be high-quality content． It is important for kids to spend time on outdoor play, reading, hobbies and using their imaginations in free play．“ Kids under 2 should not use television and other entertainment media because their brains are developing quickly and they learn best from direct human interaction," the group says．
An article on screen time by t．he Mayo Clinic also notes problems linked t．o over screen time, including being fat, irregular sleep , behavioral problems , weak school performance , violence and less time for active and creative play．Parents have more negative than positive feelings about media consumption like．
| A．computers | B．smart phones |
| C．video games | D．tablets PCs |
Most parents don't worry about kid's media use because．
| A．they can limit the screen time |
| B．they want their children happy |
| C．they also grew up with technology |
| D．they can teach their children themselves |
From the data of the survey, we learn．
| A．children in media-centric families are smarter than others |
| B．children in media-light families spend one hour watching TV |
| C．more than half of the parents think children's media use was a problem |
| D．media-centric children spend more than three hours each day on media use |
To make parenting easier, most parents probably．
| A．try to persuade their children to read books |
| B．ask their children questions while watching TV |
| C．allow their children watching TV or using computers |
| D．turn to toys or activities to keep their children occupied |
Which of the following is a suggestion by the researchers?
| A．Media use time for babies under 2 should be limited． |
| B．Entertainment media use should be high-quality content． |
| C．Schools should provide more time for active and creative play． |
| D．Home media use should provide platforms for illegal and risky behaviors． |