Well, parents, surprise! Lots of us are using Twitter and Facebook to thumb rides, and not just to school. It’s awkward to be refused when you call a friend and ask for a ride. But with Twitter, you just look for other people heading the same way.
It may sound risky, so many teens stay within their own social circles to find rides, and don’t branch out beyond friends when asking on Twitter just like me, but to some young people, especially those taking longer trips, stranger danger is less of a concern.
“I think the digital connection of young people is really key, because younger generations grew up sharing things on line, sharing files, photos, music, etc, so they’ve been very used to sharing,” said Juliet Schor, a sociology professor at Boston College.
The sharing economy got big during the recession (经济衰退), allowing people to access more goods, services using technology and even to share costs. And that technology, for me, is what the car was for my mom, a gateway to more freedom, like what my friend Earl says, “The symbol of freedom isn’t the car any more because there’s technology out there connecting you to a car.”
According to the researchers at the University of Michigan, 30 years ago, eight in ten American 18-year-olds had a driver’s license compared to six in ten today. So it’s not that surprising that on my 16th birthday I wasn’t rushing to get a license but an iPhone.
“Driving, for young people, does mean they have to disconnect from their technology, and that’s a negative. So if they could sit in the passage side and still be connected, that’s going to be a plus.” Schor continued.
To me, another plus is that ridesharing represents something, something much bigger than trying to save money. I see it as evidence that people still depend on each other. My generation shares their cars and apartments the way neighbors used to share cups of sugar. For the system to work, some of us still need our own cars. But until I get my own version of the silver Super Beetle, you can find me on Twitter. The American teens like me, prefer to possess an iPhone as a birthday gift because _______.
| A．it is most fashionable and cool |
| B．they are bored with driving cars |
| C．they are fond of being connected |
| D．it is much cheaper than a car |
We can learn from the text that _______.
| A．Twitter is a website for teens to make friends and achieve goals |
| B．ridesharing can be seen as a sign that people still count on each other |
| C．driving cars for teens means a plus and connecting with technology |
| D．having a car and cost-sharing symbolize more freedom for the author’s mother |
Professor Juliet would agree that _______.
| A．young people will sit waiting to be contacted by reading a passage |
| B．sharing economy is bound to be responsible for the recession |
| C．young people tend to share a car with strangers by means of Twitter |
| D．being connected via technology comes first for young people |
The best title for the passage is probably _______.
| A．Twitter, an Awesome Website | B．Cars or iPhone |
| C．Teens Use Twitter to Thumb Rides | D．Cool Teens on the Go |
Yawning sends out certain messages -either “Oh ，this movie is so boring” or “I probably need to get some sleep”. But did you know that a yawn can also help your brain to cool down when it is overheated?
A new study, led by a research team at Princeton University, has indicated that yawning could be the brain’s natural way of regulating temperature. People yawn more often when the temperature outdoors is lower than their body temperature but are less likely to yawn when it is hotter outdoors, according to Sciencedaily. com.
The research team did an experiment on 160 people, 80 in summer and 80 in winter, to examine how often they yawned at different air temperatures. The study found that people yawned more often in winter than in summer. Scientists say that when the air temperature is lower outside the body, there is heat exchange between the overheated brain and the cool air. But when the air temperature is higher than or equal to the body, people are less likely to yawn because the hot air they breathe in will make the brain even hotter.
When people yawn, their jaw is also stretched ，which increases blood flow and may also help cool the brain
The study showed that the amount someone yawned could be related to the amount of time they spent outside. The longer they spent outside in summer, the less they yawned. Nearly 40 percent of participants yawned within their first five minutes outside, but after that the percentage was reduced to less than 10 percent.
However, the result was the opposite in winter. The number of people who yawned increased when they spent more than five minutes outdoors. But the change was only slight compared to summertime.
According to Gallup, this is the first report to show that yawning frequencies change depending on season. This could help us to understand better the way our brains work. It may also help us understand the reason why frequent yawning can sometimes be a sign of brain disease.The purpose of the experiment is ______.
| A． to prove people yawn in winter and in summer equally |
| B． to indicate brain can regulate temperature naturally |
| C． to find the frequency of people’s yawning |
| D． to show the real reason why people yawn |
The information we get from Paragraphs 5 and 6 is that ______.
| A． longer outdoor summertime results in more yawns |
| B． yawning frequency changes with outdoor time |
| C． yawning frequency increases with outdoor time |
| D． longer outdoor wintertime leads to fewer yawns |
Acorrding to the text ，people yawn more often ______.
A, when the air temperature is lower outside the body
B. when the hot air breathed in makes the brain hotter
C. when the air temperature is higher than the body
D. when the air temperature is equal to the bodyWhat could be the best title for the text?
| A． Yawning Is A Sign of Brain Disease |
| B． Yawning Carries Some Information |
| C． Yawning Benefits Your Body |
| D． Yawning Cools Your Brain |
Some young Cambodians are learning a new sport — skateboarding. The country’s first skateboard park is located on the grounds of a local charity group at the edge of Phnom Penh, the capital.
Sports like Khmer boxing and soccer are wildly popular in Cambodia. But Chea ，who has been skating for 6 months ，says skating has already become his favorite sport.
The skaters are learning tricks like launching off a jump or half-pipe and flying through the air on their narrow wooden boards.
A non-governmental organization called Skateistan Cambodia organizes weekly programs at the park. Skateistan started its work in Afghanistan years ago. Rory Burke is working with the group which expanded to Cambodia last year.
Rory Burke points out, “Yeah, it’s definitely not a typical Cambodian pastime (消遣）.And I think the idea of ‘why skateboarding’is that it’s not been done before here. We want to use skateboarding as something saying, ‘Hey，this is new ，this is something different.，And that kind of itself becomes a little bit of hook. People see it and they think and they say, ‘Wow, what is that?，and they want to get involved. ”
Skateistan partners with local groups that work with young people. The park is on the grounds of the group known as PSE, where children attend school and learn a trade. There are almost one hundred twenty participants. They all come from troubled lives.
Seventeen-year-old Sang Rotha is a student at PSE. “Sometimes I don’t do well on subjects like math,”he says, “I feel bad when I find it hard to keep up with my lessons. So that is why I skateboard -to improve my bad feelings. ’，
He says he began skateboarding more than a year ago. Before he started training, it seemed very easy. But it was very difficult to learn tricks, and he got hurt a lot from falling off.
Rory Burke says learning to deal with the difficulties is part of the lesson for these young skateboarders.According to the passage, PSE is a group ______.
| A． that works with Cambodian students |
| B． for young Cambodians to learn a trade |
| C． for young Cambodians in troubled lives |
| D． for young Cambodians taking skateboarding |
What is said about skateboarding in the passage?
| A． It is easy for young Cambodians to learn. |
| B． It is a good sport to help regain good feeling. |
| C． It originated in Afghanistan years ago. |
| D． It is as popular as Khmer boxing in Cambodia. |
The underlined part a little bit of hook probably means ______.
| A． something strange | B．something quite new |
| C． something different | D．something attractive |
It can be inferred from the passage that skateboarding is becoming ______.
| A． a sport liked by most young Cambodians |
| B． an increasingly popular sport in Cambodia |
| C． a sport used to better young Cambodians’ life |
| D． a good way to train young Cambodians’ learning skills |
People think what I do is so wonderful because I interview stars. And I have to admit that when I first started working at Sassy in 1987 I was excited about that part of my job for the first couple of months，anyway. Then I noticed how stars would fool me around for months. I could never get enough time with a star to find out anything interesting, and some acted just simply rudely. I started hating the way I was treated, and I was really disappointed to see that these people I had worshipped (崇拜）before were pretty ordinary. So I decided I would just tell the truth instead of keeping up their myths(神秘）.If the star was a bad guy, I would say so. If I thought anyone was stupid, I did not hold back that information.
I thought readers would appreciate that kind of honesty. Surprisingly, many of them hated me for it. I have gotten so many attacks on my character. In their eyes，being famous is everything, even more desirable than being truly creative and talented
Why do we need stars? In fact, the media created stars to satisfy our basic need for gossip (闲话）.Over time, talking about people we have never met and we are never likely to meet has become what we are crazy about. Thus, some people are more interested in the personal lives of the stars than in the lives of their own family and their own friends. That is why it is so ridiculous when a star wants to discuss only his or her work in an interview -as we care. We want the dirt on their personal lives.
There is another reason we worship stars. As a whole, our society is not as religious as it once was. It seems that people need something to fulfill them the way religion once did. Star worship exists as an unfulfilling desire for true heroes.
We make them stars, but then their reputation makes us feel unimportant, and we truly feel better about ourselves when they die. I am part of this whole process. No wonder I feel soiled at the end of workday.What are the stars like according to the author?
| A． They always treat others rudely. |
| B． They always talk about something dull. |
| C． They are acutually ordinary people. |
| D． They are usually honest and polite, |
We worship stars because ______.
A, we need true mental heroes to support us
B. we can learn something useful from famous stars
C. we concern about the stars ，family and friends
D. we like talking about the stars ，dressing stylesWhen the author is writing this article ，his tone sounds ______.
A, excited B. angry C. worried D. calmWhat is the main purpose of the author writing the passage?
| A． To show the disadvantages of working with stars. |
| B． To remind us not to worship famous stars blindly. |
| C． To laugh at the failures of stars he has interviewed. |
| D． To talk about the reasons why we worship stars. |
A father in Wuhan, nicknamed "Eagle Dad" for his controversial parenting style, has dismissed critics' claims that he pushes his 4-year-old son too hard.
Police officer Wang Shaoyan came under the spotlight this month after his child took part in an 18-kilometer race in the Hubei provincial capital.
Some parents attacked his methods of extreme physical training, while others reacted strongly to his admission that he regularly exposes the youngster to cold showers. "I just want my son to reach his full potential," Wang said, adding that 4-year-old son not only runs 3 km every day he also takes cold showers from time to time to strengthen his body's resistance and willpower.
"He has never taken any sick leave from kindergarten," he said proudly. However, some parents find his methods too extreme.
"I'm not sure a 4-year-old is prepared for such intense training," said Zhang Ruxia a woman who gave birth to two boys in October in Tianjin. "You can have good intentions to train your child at an early age but you also have to consider whether he can take it." Wang responded by saying children are too young to make decisions, and it is up to parents to lead them on the right path.
"I read many materials before and the whole process is step-by-step without pushing or imposing on my son," Wang said. The father said he was not acting rashly but following a scientific way of education. He said the doubts about his methods reflect the declining standards of modern education.
"Many people in Japan give their children cold showers too ,and no one is fussing about it，" he said. The traditional way of education applied by most of his peers might not necessarily help bring the best out of a child he said.
Wang said in addition to the physical training, he has also laid out a detailed and particular program to strengthen the intelligence of the child. "I have hired some university students to expand his knowledge in natural sciences, while playing the video for English-language teaching as well," he said.For what reason was Wang made known to the public?
| A．He employed some college students to teach his son. |
| B．He made his kid take a long distance race. |
| C．He exposed his 4-year-old to cold showers. |
| D．He forced his youngster to run 3 km every day. |
Which statement is supported by the parents who hold the opposite opinion?
| A．Extreme physical training can explore children's full potentials. |
| B．Taking cold showers regularly is beneficial for children's development. |
| C．It's up to parents to lead children on the right path. |
| D．The way to educate children should agree with their age. |
What does the phrase "fussing about” probably mean in the 8th paragraph?
| A．Minding about. | B．Paying attention to. |
| C．Laughing at. | D．Talking about. |
In Eagle Dad’s opinion, his extreme parenting was questioned because____.
| A．he didn’t take it step by step in a scientific way |
| B．the highly tense work-out was misunderstood |
| C．modern education is not challenging enough |
| D．some parents were jealous of his success |
I moved from Chicago to Brooklyn in July of 2010，just in time to watch my mother die. Our parents were both gone now； I took with me as many things they had left behind as I could.
I was out walking one Saturday later that summer when something caught my eye - a pale green dress. Laid out on the pavement was stuff like earrings, glass candle-holders, books. Hanging on the fence behind were a few pairs of jeans and a green cotton dress.
The woman, the host o£ the stoop (门廊）sale, looked like she was getting rid of a past she didn’t need or want. A dress that was too big for her. A chest of drawers that took up too much space, space she needed, maybe, to heal ，recover, or grow.
I wasn’t planning on buying anything really, but now I needed to show her that I appreciated her things and I would give them a safe home. Then I had my first stoop sale —I paid her 20 dollars for her green cotton dress and her blue candle-holder,
From that day on, I became interested in stoop sales. Some of my favorite things are from someone else’s life. I find no joy in shopping at regular stores any more. I love trying to sniff out a memory from a bud vase or a drawer. It is comforting to know that someone has breathed and laughed inside a sweater before me.
A few weeks ago, I carried my mother’s dresses to a friend’s stoop. These were her best items ，which were once worn by the most important person in my life. For many hours, I watched from across the path people advancing the stoop, some leaving with Mom1S dress. I used to think that her stuff was as forever sacred (神圣的）as my memory of her, I know now that once I love a scarf or shirt too dearly，it needs to find a new home. Even that green dress is long gone by now.
The author took her mother*s dresses after her death because ______
| A．she valued the things used by her mom |
| B．she didn’t want to throw them, away |
| C． she could sell them later |
| D． they were her mom’s best items |
From the passage, we know that ______.
| A． the things the author bought from the woman are too big |
| B． the author is fond of imagining others’ life experiences |
| C． the author will never shop at regular stores any more |
| D． the author still keeps most of her mom’s things |
In the last paragraph ，the author tries to tell us that ______.
A her mom is the number one person in her life
B. she didn’t really want to sell her mom’s dresses
C. she still thinks of her mother quite often
D. love doesn’t mean holding on to something tightly
It can be inferred that the author will ______.
| A． not sell her own things at stoop sales |
| B．keep her mom in her mind in another way |
| C． be sad about all the memory of her mom |
| D． move to another city for a new life |
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