While reading a story on 20-somethings complaining about how the economy is ruining their life plans, I couldn't help but think the 20-somethings sound like a bunch of spoiled children who grow up expecting everything to be easy for them. As a 20-something myself, I certainly share their disappointment –my husband and I probably won't be able to buy a house until we're in our forties, and we two are burdened by student loans. But why should it be different? Being young people in America, shouldn't they take up all of the challenges and opportunities that this country offers?
Consider some of these views shared in the story: Jennifer, 29, owner of a two-bedroom apartment with her husband, worries that she won't be able to have children for at least a decade because they can't afford to buy a house yet.
I read that, and I thought what planet she is living on where you need to own a house in order to have kids? Has she ever visited a developing country, or even downtown areas in this one? Home ownership is a luxury（奢华）, not a fertility requirement.
A 26-year-old man in the story is disappointed that he can't afford to get a Ph. D. in literature. Well, that sounds a bit like expressing disappointment that no one will pay you to write poetry on the beach in Thailand for five years.
Yes, it's sad that these young people feel so lost. But I think the problem is their extremely high expectations, not economic reality. Beth Kobliner, author of Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, says that she thinks people's expectations grow up when their wealth appears to be increasing. Their parents probably see their home values rise along with their investments. "So we have people who have grown up in an environment where people have great expectations of what living well means," says Kobliner.
This recession（经济衰退） will certainly play a role in forcing those expectations into more realistic group. In the meantime, it seems much better for our mental health to focus on being grateful—for our one-bedroom apartments, for living in modern cities, or perhaps just for being able to eat three meals a day—than on longing for some kind of luxurious life. What makes the author think the 20-somethings sound like a bunch of spoiled children?
| A．They expect everything to be easy for them. |
| B．They complain that the economy is ruining their life plans. |
| C．They are unwilling to face all of the challenges. |
| D．They are burdened by student loans. |
Which of the following is NOT one of the complaints of the 20-somethings?
A. They can't have children for at least a decade for they can't afford to buy a house.
B. They have only a one-bedroom apartment to live in.
C. They can't buy a house until 40 and are burdened by student loans.
D. They despair of not being able to afford to get a Ph. D. in literature.What's Kobliner's attitude towards the 20-somethings with high expectations ?
| A．Unbearable. | B．Opposing. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Understanding. |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．Young people afford to continue their education |
| B．Young people can't afford to buy a house |
| C．Young people's high expectations lead to despair |
| D．The 20-somethings' high expectations |
MONTAGNE: In the summer of 2011, the world first heard of a small island in Norway under the most terrible of circumstances. Utoya Island was a youth camp run by Norway's Labor Party. One day in July, a heavily armed, right-wing extremist stepped onto the island and began shooting at random. Sixty-nine people died, over 100 were wounded; almost all, young people. This month, artist Jonas Dahlberg was appointed to create a memorial. He described to us the experience he imagines for those who come to the island.
DAHLBERG: You start your walk through a forest of evergreens on a wooden pathway. After a while, this pathway starts to go down into the landscape.
MONTAGNE: Down into the landscape, and into a short tunnel. When you come out, you are unable to go any farther. You can't get to the tip of the island because it has been cut off. So all you can do is look across a narrow channel of water at what is now a wall of polished stone, carved with the names of the dead.
DAHLBERG: It becomes almost like a gravestone. You cannot reach it. It's close enough to be able to read, but it's forever lost for your possibility to reach.
MONTAGNE: It's being called a memory wound. Exactly what do you mean by that?
DAHLBERG: During my first site visit, the experience of seeing those gunshots—and you can see it was like being in an open wound. And it took me to a stage of deep sadness where it was hard to breathe. So I didn't want to illustrate loss; I wanted to make actual loss. It's just a cut through the island.
MONTAGNE: On the day of the massacre, just hours before launching his shooting on the island, the killer set off a bomb in downtown Oslo, leaving eight people dead. As those events were unfolding, artist Jonas Dahlberg had been out with his brother, and stopped in at a seaside village.
DAHLBERG: In the harbor, it was silent, and this is the higher end of summer. So, it's normally a very lively place. And it was total silence there; and it was a very, very strange feeling in the whole small village. And it's totally impossible to grasp what is going on. And then it just kept on. It's still almost impossible to understand it. It's also one of the reasons why it's so important with memorials for these kind of things. It's to maybe help a little bit to understand what was happening. So it's not just about remembering. It's also about trying to just understand.
MONTAGNE: Artist Jonas Dahlberg designed the memorial for the 69 who died at a youth camp on Utoya Island. The attack was the deadliest in Norway since World War II. That memorial will open in 2015. And to see a virtual version of what it will look like, go to our website, at npr.org. This is Renee Montagne at NPR news.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Utoya Island was the only bloody shooting spot planned by the killer. |
| B．Utoya Island used to be a youth camp site and now has been reduced to total silence. |
| C．Dahlberg and his brother witnessed the shooting on Utoya Island. |
| D．Visitors to Utoya Island can touch the names of the victims carved on the polished stone. |
By the underlined phrase “a memory wound”, Dahlberg means all the following EXCEPT that ________.
| A．the artist plans to slice through the end of an island to make actual loss |
| B．memorials are supposed to be not only about remembering but helping people to understand what was happening |
| C．this memorial shows the gunshots vividly to the visitors for them to understand what was happening |
| D．the space between is meant to symbolize how those who were killed are gone but are not forgotten |
Which of the following pictures shows the design of the memorial?
A． |
B． |
C． |
D． |
Consumer electronics once again topped the list of the most wanted gifts this holiday season. “Seventy-six percent of consumers who plan to buy holiday gifts say that they will spend money buying at least one technology product; definitely a solid vote of confidence for technology.” Steve Koenig is with the Consumer Electronics Association. He says the group’s latest research also shows that Americans this year are spending more on technology products.
“Here in 2012, $252 on average–the technology spend for consumers this year.” From tablet computers to smartphones, American shoppers have been lining up to get the newest and coolest electronic devices on the market. There are more choices today than ever before. “It’s kind of hard to make a decision.”
Tablet computers are one of the best-selling products this year. Brian Tong is Senior Editor of CNET.com. The website reports on tech news and examines the latest electronic products. He says the Apple iPad Mini is one of the most popular tablets. Its starting price is $329. One of Apple’s biggest competitors is the Google Nexus 7. It starts at $199.
“The hardware inside is more powerful than what’s in the iPad Mini, but also it offers you a lot of things like maps that work better than Apple’s maps.” Brian Tong says there is one reason why people may like the iPad Mini more than the Nexus 7. “If you just want to read books and surf the Internet, you don’t really need to get an iPad Mini, but if you want the largest group of apps that’s where the iPad and Apple’s ecosystem shines the most.”
Elman Chacon is with the electronics store Best Buy. He says another hot product this season is smart cameras. They connect to the Internet through Wi-Fi. This makes it easy for users to email or upload photographs directly from the camera. “You can literally take a picture, upload it into your Facebook in a matter of seconds. These things are pretty cool because they do a lot of things.”
Streaming media boxes also connect to the Internet. People are able to watch web content such as movies and YouTube videos on their televisions. Another popular item is wireless speaker systems. The newest ones work with any device that has Bluetooth technology, including smartphones, laptops and tablets.
With the growing popularity of Internet shopping, many consumers will visit a store first to look at a product, and then go online to find it at a lower price. Stores like Best Buy understand that and they want to stay competitive.
“We have something called the perfect match promise which means if you buy a certain device and you find it cheaper within 30 days we’ll go ahead and price match that for you.” Elman Chacon said. According to Brain Tong, ________.
| A．the Apple’s iPad Mini is more suitable for enthusiastic readers |
| B．the hardware in iPad Mini is more advanced than that in Nexus 7 |
| C．Nexus 7 has fewer apps than iPad Mini |
| D．iPad mini is more eco-friendly |
If you’ve discovered that a certain device you bought at Best Buy is more expensive than one at another store, ________.
| A．you are sure to get double the amount you paid |
| B．you can return the device and get your money back |
| C．the store will return the price differences |
| D．the store will lower the price within 30 days |
Which of the following would be the best gift for a cab driver?
| A．Smart cameras. | B．Streaming media boxes. |
| C．Wireless speaker systems. | D．Tablet computers. |
The Festival of Cultures is an annual event to celebrate the wide range of cultures found in our great state. People representing 40 cultural groups will share their traditions and customs. Here are just a few of the festival's many activities.
Crafts: See the fine art of basket weaving from Vietnam and Zimbabewe. Watch the delicate art of making paper umbrellas from Thailand and the decorative craft of paper picado, or paper cutting, from Mexico. All craft demonstrations provide a firsthand view of how things are made. You will appreciate the process involved in making these products.
Music and Dance: Experience musical instruments that you have never heard before. Listen to the music of a sho from Japan, a bull-roarer from Australia, a sitar from India, and a chakay from Tailand. You will also be entertained by folk dances from around the world, such as the troika from Russia and the mayim mayim from Israel. From 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. on August 14, special folk-dancing classes for children will be offered. Children ranging in age from 6 – 8 can learn the kinderpolka from Germany. Children ranging in age from 9 – 12 can learn the raspa from Mexico.
Storytelling: Listen for hours as professional storytellers charm you with captivating tales. Fables, folktales, and ballads from various countries will be told. By popular demand, Gwendolyn Washington, a famous African American storyteller, is back.
Food: Enjoy irresistible foods from other countries, such as gyros from Greece, seafood paella from Spain, crepes from France, and tandoori chicken from India. These tasty dishes will be difficult to pass up.
The festival of Cultures is sponsored by the World Marketplace. For more information about the festival, call (800) 555 – 0199.In the festival, you are most likely to see the art of making _______.
| A．paper. | B．umbrellas. | C．bamboo beds. | D．flower vases. |
Which of these is a dance from Germany?
| A．The troika. | B．The raspa. | C．The kinderpolka. | D．The mayim mayim |
The underlined word “irresistible” means ________.
| A．in large quantities | B．with natural tastes |
| C．not able to be refused | D．hot but delicious |
For a family with children aged 6—12, which day would be the best bargain for visiting the festival?
| A．August 11 | B．August 12 | C．August 13 | D．August 14 |
Losing weight comes with a lot of health benefits—including making your brain sharper.
Yes, it turns out that overweight may damage cognitive functions (认知功能) such as memory and attention. There have been few studies of overweight and cognitive functioning, possibly because it is generally believed that it is not a primary risk cause for poor cognitive performance. Losing weight, therefore, may help improve these mental functions, according to a new research led by John Gunstad, assistant professor of psychology at Kent State University.
Growing evidence suggests that being fat is linked to cognitive deficits (缺陷). So Gunstad and his team guessed that losing weight might improve mental function. For their study, they measured memory and attention in a group of 150 overweight participants, some of whom had some kind of operation for weight loss and some did not. All of the volunteers completed mental skills tests to assess their abilities of memory and attention at the beginning of the study, and again 12 weeks later. To begin with, about 24% of the patients showed damaged learning and 23% showed signs of poor memory when tested. At the end of the study, those who had lost weight after operation improved their scores into the average or above average range for cognitive functions. Scores for the volunteers who didn’t lose weight dropped even further.
The study helped Gunstad to find out whether losing weight had any effect on mental function. Now that he’s seen the positive effect that weight loss can have on memory and attention, he says he will next study those who choose to lose weight by the traditional way—eating healthier and getting more active. He expects that losing weight in this way will have a similarly positive effect on the brain. “If we can improve the condition with operations, then we can probably produce the same change with behavioral weight loss as well,” he says.There is less research on overweight and cognitive functions because researchers _____.
| A．believe overweight only affects our body |
| B．have focused on ways to sharpen people’s mind |
| C．do not consider overweight a main cause for low cognitive ability |
| D．are clear about the relation between weight and mental functions |
The result of Gunstad’s study shows that ______.
| A．losing weight has little effect on people’s memory |
| B．losing weight can improve people’s mental functions |
| C．overweight people are likely to have psychology problems |
| D．overweight people’s abilities of concentration differ greatly |
What is Gunstad planning to prove next in his research?
| A．Slim people are smarter than overweight people. |
| B．Healthy diet is better than exercise in losing weight. |
| C．Traditional ways of losing weight are better than operation. |
| D．Overweight people will get smarter by taking more exercise. |
Which of the following is the best title for th e text?
| A．Body Weight and Health |
| B．Losing Weight by Operation |
| C．Ways to Improve Mental Functions |
| D．Losing Weight to S harpen Your MindD |
In the early hours of March 8, a Boeing 777 took off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Its destination was Beijing. But for unknown reasons, it never arrived there.
There were 239 people on the Malaysia Airlines flight, including 154 Chinese. As of March 13, 12 different countries, including Malaysia, China, Vietnam and the US, were searching for the plane.
The disappearance is an “aviation (航空) mystery”, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, the head of Malaysia’s Civil Aviation Authority, said on March 10.There was no clear sign of a crash by March 13.
Between 1-2 hours after takeoff, the plane suddenly lost contact with people on the ground. The weather was clear, and the pilots didn’t make any calls . No evidence was found in the area where the flight last made contact. People are also talking about a possible hijacking (劫机).
International police agency Interpol confirmed on March 9 that at least two passengers on the flight had used stolen passports to get on board. “We are looking at all possibilities,” said Malaysian Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein. The incident is now being called simply a “plane disappearance”.
So, what are some possible causes of a plane disappearance? An AP story provided a summary.
1. A failure of the plane’s body or its engines. However, even if both engines stopped working, the plane could still glide (滑翔) for up to 20 minutes, giving pilots time to make an emergency call.
2. Bad weather. Planes are designed to fly through most severe storms. However, in June 2009, an Air France flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed during a bad storm over the Atlantic Ocean.
3. A bomb. Throughout history, several planes have been brought down by bombs.
4. An accidental shoot-down by some country’s military. In July 1988, the US Navy accidentally shot down an Iran Air flight. In September 1983, a Korean Air Lines flight was shot down by a Russian fighter jet.
No matter how unlikely a situation, it’s too early to determine what really happened to MH370. It could take months, if not years, to rule out any possibilities, say experts..How many cities are mentioned in this passage?
| A．Four cities. | B．five cities. | C．Six cities. | D．Seven cities. |
What could the underlined phrase “rule out” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．cross out | B．get rid of | C．take out | D．take the place of |
What could be the best title of the passage?
| A．An Air Crash | B．The Causes of the Disappearance |
| C．The Disappearance of MH 370 | D．An Aviation Mystery |
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