To Friend or Not To Friend
We all love our parents and turn to them when we’re in need, but would you like them to hear the conversations you have with your friends on the school playground or lunch queue? Social networking sites have become extensions of the school hallways, so would you add your parents as “friends” and allow them to view your online activities and conversations with friends?
In the past the generation gap included a technology gap, where children were up to date with latest technology and parents were left behind, content to continue their day to day lives as they always had because they had no need to know more about technology. However, more and more parents are beginning to realize just how important social networks are in their lives. This realization has given many parents the motivation to education themselves about social networking sites.
These days many people are attracted to social networking sites because they can choose who they have around them; there’s also a certain amount of control over privacy that we don’t get in real life. Sometimes we feel that privacy is violated when we must accept a “friend” request from a parent or family member.
It’s a difficult choice whether or not to allow a parent to become a part of our online lives. On the one hand we don’t want to “reject” their request because that might hurt their feelings or make them feel you have something to hide. On the other hand if you do accept, then you could have a sense of being watched and no longer feel free to comment or communicate the way you did before.
A recent survey suggested that parents shouldn’t take it personally if their child ignores their request, “When a teen ignores a parent’s friend request, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are hiding something, but it could mean that this is one part of their life where they want to be independent.”
Perhaps talking with parents and giving explanations would help soften the blow if you do choose not to add them to your friends list. From Paragraph 2, we learn that _______.
| A．parents feel secure about their privacy online |
| B．social networks successfully fill the generation gap |
| C．parents have realized the importance of social networks |
| D．social networks offer a platform for parents to communicate |
Teenagers may refuse a parent’s friend request because _______.
| A．they hide something from their parents |
| B．they are unwilling to be watched by parents |
| C．their parents tend to fall behind in technology |
| D．their parents make negative comments on them |
The passage is mainly about _______.
| A．privacy online |
| B．social networks |
| C．the generation gap |
| D．parents’ friend requests |
The passage is written mainly for _______.
| A．parents | B．teenagers |
| C．teachers | D．researchers |
They’re WILD animals
By Ernst-Ulrich Franzen
March 11, 2010(3) Comments
The story about the woman who lost some fingers while feeding a bear at a zoo in Manitowoc, after she ignored warnings and barriers(栅栏), reminded me of the story I heard about a couple who put their baby on the back of a wild horse in South Dakota to get a really cute picture. We all do silly things at times — no one is immune — but treating wild animals as lovely pets has to fall into a special category. Teddy bears and Disney movies aren’t actually representative of real bears.
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1. TosaLeft - Mar 11, 2010 10:46AM
Don’t you think that maybe, just maybe some alcohol was involved?
2. tk421 - Mar 11, 2010 11:09 AM
It was already approved that alcohol was involved. Stories that begin with a drunk person saying “Hey, I got an idea, watch this!” rarely end well.
3. Tristan Kloss - Mar 11, 2010 11:41 AM
Alcohol certainly isn’t involved when people decide to keep “pets” like chimpanzees, baby tigers, etc. Stupidity, definitely. Dogs are pets because of thousands of years of domestication. Even farm animals, which have been kept by humans for thousands of years as well, aren’t let in the house. So why keep animals that treat human contact with, at best, indifference(冷淡、不在乎) and, at worst, violence?In Ernst-Ulrich Franzen’s opinion, the woman lost her fingers because ________.
| A．the zoo keepers didn’t warn her of the danger |
| B．she didn’t know the bear was a wild animal |
| C．she was somehow influenced by cartoon characters |
| D．she climbed over the barriers and angered the bea |
TosaLeft thinks the wounded woman ________.
| A．may have been drunk | B．may be a little stupid |
| C．was addicted to wine | D．fed wine to the bear |
tk421 means a drunk person ________.
| A．should be forbidden to enter the zoo |
| B．usually gets himself into trouble |
| C．is often fond of making up stories |
| D．usually likes to show himself off |
What does Tristan Kloss think of people treating wild animals as pets?
| A．Kind. | B．Illegal. |
| C．Loving. | D．Stupid. |
One day in l965, when I worked at View Ridge School in Seattle, a fourth-grade teacher approached me. She had a student who finished his work before all the others and needed a challenge. "Could he help in the library?" She asked. I said, "Send him along."
Soon a slight, sandy-haired boy in jeans and a T-shift appeared. "Do you have a job for me?" he asked.
I told him about the Dewey Decimal System for shelving books. He picked up the idea immediately. Then I showed him a stack of cards for long-overdue books that I was beginning to think had actually been returned but were misshelved with the wrong cards in them. He said, "Is it kind of a detective job?" I answered yes, and he became working.
He had found three books with wrong cards by the time his teacher opened the door and announced, "Time for break!" He argued for finishing the finding job; She made the case for fresh air. She won.
The next morning, he arrived early. "I want to finish these books," he said. At the end of the day, when he asked to be a librarian on a regular basis, it was easy to say yes. He worked untiringly.
After a few weeks I found a note on my desk, inviting me to dinner at the boy's home. At the end of a pleasant evening, his mother announced that the family would be moving to neighbouring school district. Her son's first concern, she said, was leaving the View Ridge library. "Who will find the lost books?" he asked.
When the time came, I said a reluctant good-bye. I missed him, but not for long. A few days later he came back and joyfully announced: "The librarian over there doesn't let boys work in the library. My mother got me transferred back to View Ridge. My dad will drop me off on his way to work. And if he can't, I'll walk!"
I should have had an inkling(感觉) such focused determination would take that young man wherever he wanted to go. What I could not have guessed, however, was that he would become a wizard of the Information Age: Bill Gates, tycoon of Microsoft and America's richest man. What was the author when the story happened?
| A．A teacher. | B．A librarian. |
| C．A detective. | D．A professor. |
What was the boy told to do on his first day in the library?
| A．To rearrange the books according to the new system. |
| B．To put those overdue books back to the shelves. |
| C．To find out the books with wrong cards in them. |
| D．To put the cards back in the long-overdue books. |
The boy got transferred back to View Ridge because _______.
| A．he did not like his life in the new school |
| B．the transportation there was not convenient |
| C．he missed his old schoolmates and teachers |
| D．he was not allowed to work in the school library |
What impressed the author most was that the boy _______.
| A．had a thirst for learning |
| B．had a strong will |
| C．was extremely quick at learning |
| D．had a kind heart |
A German study suggests that people who were too optimistic about their future actually faced greater risk of disability or death within 10 years than those pessimists( 悲观者)who expected their future to be worse.
The paper, published this March in Psychology and Aging, examined health and welfare surveys from roughly 40,000 Germans between ages 18 and 96. The surveys were conducted every year from 1993 to 2003.
Survey respondents (受访者) were asked to estimate their present and future life satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 10, among other questions.
The researchers found that young adults (age 18 to 39) routinely overestimated their future life satisfaction, while middle-aged adults (age 40 to 64) more accurately predicted how they would feel in the future. Adults of 65 and older, however, were far more likely to underestimate their future life satisfaction. Not only did they feel more satisfied than they thought they would, the older pessimists seemed to suffer a lower ratio (比率) of disability and death for the study period.
“We observed that being too optimistic in predicting a better future than actually observed was associated with a greater risk of disability and a greater risk of death within the following decade,” wrote Frieder R. Lang, a professor at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
Lang and his colleagues believed that people who were pessimistic about their future may be more careful about their actions than people who expected a rosy future.
“Seeing a dark future may encourage positive evaluations of the actual self and may contribute to taking improved precautions (预防措施),” the authors wrote.
Surprisingly, compared with those in poor health or who had low incomes, respondents who enjoyed good health or income were associated with expecting a greater decline. Also, the researchers said that higher income was related to a greater risk of disability.
The authors of the study noted that there were limitations to their conclusions. Illness, medical treatment and personal loss could also have driven health outcomes. However, the researchers said a pattern was clear. “We found that from early to late adulthood, individuals adapt their expectations of future life satisfaction from optimistic, to accurate, to pessimistic,” the authors concluded.According to the study, who made the most accurate prediction of their future life satisfaction?
| A．Optimistic adults. |
| B．Middle-aged adults. |
| C．Adults in poor health. |
| D．Adults of lower income. |
Pessimism may be positive in some way because it causes people ______.
| A．to fully enjoy their present life |
| B．to estimate their contribution accurately |
| C．to take measures against potential risks |
| D．to value health more highly than wealth |
How do people of higher income see their future?
| A．They will earn less money. |
| B．They will become pessimistic. |
| C．They will suffer mental illness. |
| D．They will have less time to enjoy life. |
What is the clear conclusion of the study?
| A．Pessimism guarantees chances of survival. |
| B．Good financial condition leads to good health. |
| C．Medical treatment determines health outcomes. |
| D．Expectations of future life satisfaction decline with age. |
Do you love the holidays，but hate the pounds that follow? You are not alone. Holidays are times for feasting and celebrating. Many people are worried about their weight.With proper planning，though，it is possible to keep normal weight during the holidays.Whether it is celebrating at the office party or sitting down for the traditional family dinner，regard eating as a time for tasting a variety of the foods.The idea is to enjoy the holidays but not to eat too much. You don't have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy.
Here are some tips for preventing weight gain and maintaining physical fitness：
Don't skip meals.Before you leave home，have a small，low-fat meal or snack.This may help to avoid getting too excited before delicious foods.
Control portions.Use a small plate (about 10 inches) and put aside the large ones that may encourage you to “load up.” You should be most comfortable eating an amount of food about the size of your fist. Once you have your “tasting” serving，move away from the buffet(自助餐). Doing so will make it less tempting to be eating constantly as your appetite is inspired by the sight of food.
Begin with soup and fruit or vegetables. Fill up beforehand on water-based soup and raw fruit or vegetables. Or drink a large glass of water before you eat to help you feel full.
Stick to physical activity. Don't let exercise take a break during the holidays. A 20-minute walk after a meal can help burn off excess calories.
Avoid high-fat foods. Dishes that look oily or creamy may have a large amount of fat. Choose lean meats. Fill your plate with salad and green vegetables. Use lemon juice instead of dessert or butter.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．You had better turn your attention away from delicious foods. |
| B．Drinking some water or soup before eating helps you eat less. |
| C．Holidays are happy days with pleasure but they may bring weight problems. |
| D．Physical exercise can reduce the chance of putting on weight. |
Which of the following CANNOT help lose weight according to the passage?
| A．Lean meats. |
| B．Dessert or butter. |
| C．Raw fruit or vegetables. |
| D．Physical exercise. |
Many people can't control their weight after the holidays mainly because they _______.
| A．can't help being tempted to eat constantly |
| B．take part in too many parties |
| C．enjoy delicious foods |
| D．can't help turning away from the foods |
If the passage appears in the newspaper，you think it should belong to ______ Column.
| A．Holidays and Festivals | B．Health and Fitness |
| C．Fashion and Frontier | D．Student Times Club |
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What does the writer of this ad intend to say by naming General Electric, IBM, Ford, etc.?
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How many ways are mentioned in the ad for people to get in touch with the Harcourt Learning Direct?
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