Why do people feel so rushed? Part of this is a perception (认知) problem. Generally, people in rich countries have more free time than they used to. This is particularly true in Europe, but even in America free time has been inching up. Women's paid work has risen a lot over this period，but their time in unpaid work，like cooking and cleaning, has fallen even more significantly, thanks in part to dishwashers, washing machines and microwaves, and also to the fact that men shift themselves a little more around the house than they used to.
The problem, then, is less how much time people have than how they see it. Ever since a clock was first used at a workplace to record labor hours in the 18th century, time has been understood in relation to money. Once hours are financially quantified (量化), people worry more about wasting, but tend to save or use them more profitably. When economies grow and incomes rise, everyone's time becomes more valuable. And the more valuable something becomes, the rarer it seems.
Once seeing their time in terms of money, people often grow stingy with the former to maximize the latter. Workers who are paid by the hour volunteer less of their time and tend to feel more upset when they are not working.
The relationship between time, money and anxiety is something Gary Becker noticed in America's post-war boom years. "If anything, time is used more carefully today than a century ago," he noted in 1965. He found that when people are paid more to work, they tend to work longer hours, because working becomes a more profitable use of time. So the rising value of work time puts pressure on all time. Leisure time starts to seem more stressful, as people are forced to use it wisely or not at all. Women's time in unpaid work has fallen partly because ______.
| A．men's ability to support a family has been improved |
| B．men's involvement in housework has increased |
| C．women's leisure time was taken up by heavy housework |
| D．women become more skilled at household equipment |
From the second paragraph, we learn that ______.
| A．labor hours were recorded with a clock |
| B．people haven't realized the value of time |
| C．more work hours bring in more money |
| D．The rise of incomes makes time less valuable |
The underlined phrase grow stingy with can probably be replaced by "______".
| A．refuses to delay | B．intend to kill |
| C．try to accumulate | D．hesitate to spend |
According to Gary Becker, what causes people feel anxious about time?
| A．The wrong way of time being spent. |
| B．People's willingness to work hard. |
| C．The increasing value of work time. |
| D．More and more leisure time. |
Sports shoes that work out whether their owner has enough exercise to warrant time in front of the television have been devised in the UK.
The shoes — named Square Eyes — contain an electronic pressure sensor and a tiny computer chip to record how many steps the wearer has taken in a day. A wireless transmitter passes the information to a receiver connected to a television, and this decides how much evening viewing time the wearer deserves, based on the day’s efforts.
The design was inspired by a desire to fight against the rapidly ballooning waistlines among British teenagers, says Gillian Swan, who developed Square Eyes as a final year design project at Brunel University to London, UK. “We looked at current issues and childhood overweight really stood out,” she says. “And I wanted to tackle that with my design.”
Once a child has used up their daily allowance gained through exercise, the television automatically switches off. And further time in front of the TV can only be earned through more steps.
Swan calculated how exercise should translate to television time using the recommended daily amounts of both. Health experts suggest that a child take 12,000 steps each day and watch no more than two hours of television. So, every 100 steps recorded by the Square Eyes shoes equals precisely one minute of TV time.
Existing pedometers （计步器） normally clip onto a belt or slip into a pocket and keep count of steps by measuring sudden movement. Swan says these can be easily tricked into recording steps through shaking. But her shoe has been built to be harder for lazy teenagers to cheat. “It is possible, but it would be a lot of effort,” she says. “That was one of my main design considerations.”According to Swan, the purpose of her design project is to ________.
| A．keep a record of the steps of the wearer |
| B．deal with overweight among teenagers |
| C．enable children to resist the temptation of TV |
| D．prevent children from being tricked by TV programs |
Which of the following is TRUE of Square Eyes shoes?
| A．They regulate a child’s evening TV viewing time. |
| B．They determine a child’s daily pocket money. |
| C．They have raised the hot issue of overweight. |
| D．They contain information of the receiver. |
What is stressed by health experts in their suggestion?
| A．The exact number of steps to be taken. |
| B．The precise number of hours spent on TV. |
| C．The proper amount of daily exercise and TV time. |
| D．The way of changing steps into TV watching time. |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Smart Shoes Decide on Television Time |
| B．Smart Shoes Guarantee More Exercise |
| C．Smart Shoes Measure Time of Exercise |
| D．Smart Shoes Stop Childhood Overweight |
Pearl Buck(1892—1973)was born in Hillsboro, West Virginia. She grew up in China, but was educated at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College. After her graduation she returned to China and lived there until 1934 with the exception of a year spent at Cornell University, where she took an MA in 1926.Pearl Buck began to write in the twenties; her first novel, East Wind; West Wind, appeared in 1930.It was followed by The Good Earth (1931),Sons(1932),and A House Divided(1935),together forming a trilogy(三部曲)on the stories of the family of Wang. The Good Earth stood on the American list of bestsellers for a long time and earned her several awards, including the Pulitzer Prize and the William Dean Howells Medal. She also published The first Wife and Other Stories(1933),All Men are Brothers(1933),The Mother(1934),and This Proud Heart(1938).The biographies(传记)of her mother and father, The Exile and Fighting Angel, were published in 1936 and later brought out together under the title of The Spirit and the Flesh(1944).
Pearl Buck’s works after 1938 are too many to speak about. Her novels have continued to deal with the differences between East and West. Her interest has spread to such countries as India and Korea.
Pearl Buck was active in many charity(慈善)organizations; in particular she set up an organization for the adoption of Asian-American children and took an active interest in children with low IQ.
What is the correct time order of the following events?
a. Pearl Buck took an MA at Cornell University.
b. Pearl Buck published The First Wife and Other Stories.
c. Pearl Buck’s first novel, East Wind; West Wind appeared.
d. Pearl Buck published the biographies of her mother and father.
| A．a,b,c,d | B．a,d,c,b |
| C．a,c,b,d | D．a,d,b,c |
We can learn from the passage that_______.
| A．Pearl Buck attended a college in China |
| B．The Good Earth was well-received by American readers |
| C．Pearl Buck stayed in China in 1926 |
| D．Pearl Buck stopped writing in 1938 |
According to the passage, Pearl Buck was interested in______.
| A．American history | B．politics in India and Korea |
| C．writing novels about war | D．doing charity work |
In which part of a magazine would you probably read the passage?
| A．People | B．Politics | C．Travel | D．Business |
When I was growing up, I was ashamed to be seen with my father. He was severely disabled and very short, and when we would walk together, his hand on my arm for balance, people would stare. If he ever noticed or was bothered, he never let it on.
It was difficult to coordinate(协调)our steps---his slow, mine impatient---and because of that, we didn’t say much as we went along. But as we started out, he always said, “You set the pace, I will try to adjust to you.”
He never talked about himself as an object of pity, nor did he show any envy of the more fortunate or able. What he looked for in others was a “good heart”, and if he found one, the owner was good enough for him.
Now that I am older, I believe that is a proper standard by which to judge people, even though I still don’t know accurately what a “good heart” is. But I know the times I don’t have one myself.
Unable to engage in many activities, my father still tried to participate(参加) in some way. I now know he participated in some things indirectly through me, his only son. When I played ball(poorly),he “played” too. When I joined the navy ,he “joined” too. And when I came home on leave ,he saw to it that I visited his office. Introducing me, he was really saying, “This is my son, but it is also me, and I could have done this, too, if things had been different.”Those words were never said aloud.
He has been gone many years now, but I think of him often. I wonder if he sensed my unwillingness to be seen with him during our walks. If he did, I am sorry I never told him how sorry I was, how unworthy I was, how I regretted it. I think of him when I complain about small affairs, when I am envious of another’s good fortune, when I don’t have a “good heart”.
At such times I put my hand on his arm to regain my balance, and say, “You set the pace, I will try to adjust to you.”The author felt unhappy walking with his father because___.
| A．he was pitiful for his father’s physical disability |
| B．it was hard for them to walk at the same pace |
| C．he didn’t want others to know he had an ugly father |
| D．it was not easy for his father to keep balance |
In the father’s view, the most important quality a good person should have is___.
| A．beautiful appearance | B．excellent health |
| C．a smart head | D．a good heart |
It can be inferred from the text that_____.
| A．the father was proud of his only son |
| B．the father took part in all his son’s activities |
| C．the author was upset when asked to his father’s office |
| D．the author was a good ball player and outstanding soldier |
According to the last paragraph, by saying “You set the pace, I will try to adjust to you.”, the author means that____.
| A．he is now glad to help his father to walk |
| B．he regrets his unwillingness to walk with his father |
| C．he will follow father’s standards of being a good man |
| D．he will never forget how mentally strong his father was |
A new study shows students who write notes by hand during lectures perform better on exams than those who use laptops(笔记本电脑).
Students are increasingly using laptops for note-taking because of speed and legibility(清晰度).But the research has found laptop users are less able to remember and apply the concepts they have been taught.
Researchers performed experiments that aimed to find out whether using a laptop increased the tendency to make notes “mindlessly” by taking down word for word what the professors said.
In the first experiment, students were given either a laptop or pen and paper. They listened to the same lectures and were told to use their usual note-taking skills. Thirty minutes after the talk, they were examined on their ability to remember facts and on how well they understood concepts.
The researchers found that laptop users took twice as many notes as those who wrote by hand. However, the typists performed worse at remembering and applying the concepts. Both groups scored similarly when it came to memorizing facts.
The researchers’ report said,“ While more notes are beneficial, if the notes are taken mindlessly, as is more likely the case on a laptop ,the benefit disappears.”
In another experiment aimed at testing long-term memory, students took notes as before but were tested a week after the lecture. This time, the students who wrote notes by hand performed significantly better on the exam.
These two experiments suggest that handwritten notes are not only better for immediate learning and understanding, but that they also lead to superior revision in the future.
More and more students favor laptops for note-taking because they can .
| A．write more notes | B．digest concepts better |
| C．get higher scores | D．understand lectures better |
While taking notes, laptop users tend to be .
| A．skillful | B．mindless |
| C．thoughtful | D．tireless |
The passage is likely to appear in .
| A．a newspaper advertisement | B．a computer textbook |
| C．a science magazine | D．a finance report |
How fit are your teeth? Are you lazy about brushing them? Never fear: An inventor is on the case. An electric toothbrush senses how long and how well you brush, and it lets you track your performance on your phone.
The Kolibree toothbrush was exhibited at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. It senses how it is moved and can send the information to an Android phone or iPhone via a Bluetooth wireless connection.
The toothbrush will be able to teach you to brush right(don’t forget the insides of the teeth!)and make sure you’re brushing long enough.“It’s kind of like having a dentist actually watch your brushing on a day-to-day basis,” says Thomas Serval, the French inventor.
The toothbrush will also be able to talk to other applications on your phone, so developers could, for instance, create a game controlled by your toothbrush. You could score points for beating monsters among your teeth.“We try to make it smart but also fun,” Serval says.
Serval says he was inspired by his experience as a father. He would come home from work and ask his kids if they had brushed their teeth. They said“yes,” but Serval would find their toothbrush heads dry. He decided he needed a brush that really told him how well his children brushed.
The company says the Kolibree will go on sale this summer, for $99 to $199,depending on features. The U.S.is the first target market.
Serval says that one day, it’ll be possible to replace the brush on the handle with a brushing unit that also has a camera. The camera can even examine holes in your teeth while you brush.Which is one of the features of the Kolibree toothbrush?
| A．It can sense how users brush their teeth. |
| B．It can track users’ school performance. |
| C．It can detect users’ fear of seeing a dentist. |
| D．It can help users find their phones. |
What can we learn from Serval’s words in Paragraph 3?
| A．You will find it enjoyable to see a dentist. |
| B．You should see your dentist on a day-to-day basis. |
| C．You can brush with the Kolibree as if guided by a dentist. |
| D．You’d like a dentist to watch you brush your teeth every day. |
Which of the following might make the Kolibree toothbrush fun?
| A．It can be used to update mobile phones. |
| B．It can be used to play mobile phone games. |
| C．It can send messages to other users. |
| D．It can talk to its developers. |
What is Paragraph 5 mainly about?
| A．How Serval found out his kids lied to him. |
| B．Why Serval thought brushing teeth was necessary. |
| C．How Serval taught his kids to brush their teeth. |
| D．What inspired Serval to invent the toothbrush. |
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