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 |
第三部分：阅读理解
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
In their book Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living, Robert and Brenda Vale say keeping a mediumsized dog has the same ecological impact as driving 10,000 km a year in a 4.6 liter Land Cruiser.
“We’re not actually saying it is time to eat the dog. We’ re just saying that we need to think about and know the ecological impact of some of the things we do and that we take for granted.”
Constructing and driving the jeep for a year requires 0.41 hectares of land, while growing and manufacturing a dog’s food takes about 0.84 hectares — or 1.1 hectares in the case of a large dog such as a German shepherd.
Convincing flesheating cats and dogs to go vegetarian for the sake of the planet is a nonstarter, the Vales say. Instead they recommend keeping “greener”, smaller, and more sustainable pets, such as goldfish, chickens or rabbits.
The book’s playful title, and serious suggestion that pet animals may be usefully “recycled”, by being eaten by their owners or turned into pet food when they die, may not appeal to animal fans.
Annoying as the idea may be, the question is valid given the planet’s growing population and limited resources, Robert Vale said.
“Issues about sustainability are increasingly becoming things that are going to require us to make choices which are as difficult as eating your dog. It’s not just about changing your light bulbs or taking a cloth bag to the supermarket,” he said.
“It’s about much more challenging and difficult issues,” he added. “Once you see where cats and dogs fit in your overall balance of things, you might decide to have the cat but not also to have the two cars and the three bathrooms and be a meat eater yourself.”
56. The authors gave their book the playful title to________.
A. make it amusing B. create a vivid imageC. show writing skills D. arouse people’ s concern
57. In Paragraph 3 the writer mainly wants to tell us________.
A. the amount of consumed land B. the neglected ecological impact
C. some familiar examples D. some actual figures
58. What does “sustainability” mean according to the passage?
A. Going vegetarian. B. Raising cats and dogs.C. Using a cloth bag. D. Keeping a greener life.
59. What do the authors think of living a sustainable life?
A. Challenging. B. Inspiring. C. Inviting. D. Touching.
Since the gene, called DAF-16 in worms, was found in many animals and in humans, the finding could open up new ways to affect aging, immunity(免疫)and resistance in humans, the scientists said.
“We wanted to find out how normal aging is being governed by genes and what effect these genes have on other traits, such as immunity,” said Robin May of the University of Birmingham, who led the study.
Populations across the world are aging at a surprising pace, bringing potentially big challenges for health and social care systems. A study by Danish scientists last year found that half of babies born in the rich world today will live to celebrate their 100th birthdays. Scientists are eager to find out how people age to try to develop drugs to help them stay healthier as their lives extend.
“What we have found is that things like resistance and aging tend to go hand in hand,” May said in an interview.
May’s team compared longevity, stress resistance and immunity in four related species of worm. They also looked for differences in the activity of DAF-16 in each of the four species, and found that they were all quite distinct.
May said DAF-16 was active in most cells in the body and was very similar to a group of human genes called FOXO genes, which scientists believe play a role in the aging process.
“The fact that subtle（微妙的）differences in DAF-16 between species seem to have such an impact on aging and health is very interesting and may explain how differences in lifespan and related traits have arisen during evolution,” May said.
67. In which section may the text appear in a newspaper?
A. Education. B. Science. C. Entertainment. D. Culture.
68. What can we know from the third paragraph?
A. New ways have been found to affect aging. B. Babies in the rich world will all live longer.
C. Present social care systems are poorly managed. D. Aging populations are causing more challenges.
69. From the text we know that DAF-16_____.
A. is a gene that is only found in worms B. can make people live longer
C. has an effect on aging and immunity D. has been quite familiar to scientists
70. What can be the best title of the passage?
A. Scientists Find Gene Linked to Aging B. Population Aging Faster than Expected
C. How to Make People Live Longer D. Gene Determines How Long We Live
Some people who find themselves facing a problem react by just giving up. But it is not good to escape from problems by giving up or by making excuses for failures. You may be sure that all young people go through the same difficult process that you are going through: meeting new situations, developing new skills, and testing their abilities.
If you are unhappy about something, face it. Try to state the problem in a few words, so that you will know exactly what you are up against. Then see if you can “put your finger” on the cause of your unhappiness.
In many cases, we only “think” there is no solution to a particular problem. But often we can overcome the problem and achieve the goal by making a direct attack.
For example, a boy wanted to be a debater(辩论家). When he tried out for the debating team as a freshman, the coach thought he was hopeless. He was shy; he had a high-pitched voice; and his posture(体态) was poor. Although he was given little hope of success, he took advantage of every opportunity to debate. He studied successful speakers and evaluated his own weaknesses and advantages. Then he spent many hours learning all the facts on the topics for debate, and worked at developing good posture and at speaking clearly. By his junior year, he made the school debating team, and in his senior year he was on the winning team in his state. He achieved his goal because he had made a direct attack upon his problem.
Although direct attack is often the best way to meet problems, we have to be realistic(现实的) in judging situations. Sometimes it is necessary to change either the method or the goal.
A boy who wants to be a great football player may not be too strong and not quite fast enough for football. In this situation, becoming a great football player may be an unreasonable goal for him. However, he may become outstanding in tennis or golf, and satisfy his desire to take part in sports.
A girl who is not good-looking may decide that she cannot win popularity with her face, and so she may try to develop an interesting personality, which eventually will get her much further. In this situation, she must change her method of achieving her goal.
So, although direct attack is often the best way to handle problems, it is important to study the situation and make a wise decision about what to do.
63. From the first paragraph, we can infer that .
A. not all people will meet the problems that they can’t solve
B. not all people can solve the problems that they meet
C. all people will not give up finding the solutions to problems
D. all people will make some excuses for failures
64. The underlined phrase “are up against” in the second paragraph could be best replaced by .
A. are dealing with B. are faced with C. meet with D. look after
65. Which of the following best shows the structure of the text?
(①-⑧ stand for “paragraph 1—paragraph 8”)
A. ① B. ①
② ② ③
③④ ⑤⑥⑦⑧ ④⑤ ⑥⑦⑧
C. ① D. ①
② ② ③
③④⑤ ⑥⑦⑧ ④⑤⑥ ⑦⑧
66. Which of the following is not right?
A. When we meet difficulties, it is the best to give a direct attack.
B. If a girl is not good looking, she’d better change her style of appearance.
C. Whenever we face difficulty, we can find a way out, whatever it is.
D. Both a direct attack and a good analysis of the reality are good for solving problems.
It might have been a really bad stressful day, feeling trapped inside by the cold and snow which surrounded us. My husband was the first to shift his consciousness. He dressed accordingly and announced that he was going outside to build a giant snowman.
At first he stood alone, piling massive amounts of snow. Soon after a neighbor joined in my husband’s quest to embrace the opportunity the winter presented. Maintaining less than desirable attitudes, we reluctantly put on our snow gear(用具) and headed outside. It wasn’t long before we were smiling and enjoying the abundance of snow that Mother Nature had provided. Others came to our yard one by one to give a hand in the making of our giant snowman.
In the end we all stood back and marveled at what we had created. He was eleven feet high, twenty-five feet around at the base and decorated with many household items supplied by various families. There he stood, our glorious, gigantic (巨人般的) snowman.
People drove by and smiled. Some even stopped to enjoy his existence. The spirit that went into creating him seemed to catch on and we all enjoyed it while the cold temperatures allowed.
With the passing of time, the spring made its way back into our yard and the snowman changed form considerably. In a final effort to save what we created for just a little bit longer somebody stopped by and changed the snowman’s remains to look like a rabbit.
As I prepared for the start of another week, I decided to check my email before going to bed. I found a curious message that contained the subject line: enjoy the snowman. I decided to read the message even though I did not recognize who sent it. The words it contained melted my heart.
The email said: … your neighbor looks on in disbelief! I am sure you people are enjoying the sounds and smells, along with sights of spring. The energy displayed in Mr. Snowman or Ms, is filled with vigor and joyous energy. You and your family keep it up, as this is what the world needs now. Love sweet love. More power to you and your loved ones, keep sharing with the world around.
Perhaps it was more than snowman we built that day. I’d like to agree that it was. The message seems clear. Our circumstances will turn out to be what we make of them. The possibilities are endless and the choice is ours.
60. How did the author plan to spend that cold day at first?
A. By having a busy day. B. By staying at home. C. By building a snowman. D. By visiting neighbors.
61. The reason for her husband to make a snowman was that ________.
A. he had to please his neighbors B. he was better at it than others
C. he wanted to cheer himself up D. he must get the last chance before spring
62. From the passage we can know that the snowman_______.
A. was built only by the author’s family B. was surprisingly big in size
C. made people more forgiving D. made building snowman popular
第三部分阅读理解
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
By analyzing academic data from 10 states, representing the testing of more than 7.2 millions of youths, U.S. researchers found that gender differences in math scores were extremely small among all ethnic groups in grades 2-11.
These findings are in contrast to earlier results from 1990 that indicate measurable differences favoring males in complex problem-solving, beginning in the high school years.
Janet Hyde from University of Wisconsin and colleagues reported their study results in the journal Science on Friday.
Currently, women are largely absent from the highest levels of careers in mathematics, the physical sciences, and engineering. In the United States, Ph.D. programs in engineering currently average only about 15 percent women, and similar statistics have led to stereotypes (成见)about girls and women lacking in mathematical ability.
Now, it is clear that the general population no longer shows a gender difference in mathematical skills, according to this latest report.
And this new data on academic performance in the United States shows that students are tested frequently on "recall" and "skill/concept" items, but rarely on "strategic thinking"(战略思维) or "extended thinking" concepts.
If standardized tests do not assess (评估)the sorts of reasoning that are crucial to careers in science and math, then the skills may not be taught, putting American students at a disadvantage to students in other countries where testing and instruction focuses on more challenging content. "This is a gap that should be fixed," Hyde said.
56. What is the best title of the passage?
A. A new study result about math. B. No gender differences in math.
C. Girls are not good at math. D. Girls do better in math than boys.
57. The underlined word “crucial” in the last paragraph most probably means______.
A. necessary B. unimportant C. important D . cruel
58. What Hyde said in the last paragraph means that ________.
A. standardized tests should assess the sorts of reasoning so that the skills may be taught
B. testing and instruction focuses on more challenging content in the USA
C. students in other countries are cleverer than American students
D. students should be tested frequently on "recall" and "skill/concept" items
59. The passage is most probably taken from _______.
A. a science magazine B. a research paper C. a personal diary D. a newspaper