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.
1.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
2.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
3.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
4.The best title for the passage is probably _______.
A. Twitter, an Awesome WebsiteB. Cars or iPhone
C. Teens Use Twitter to Thumb RidesD. Cool Teens on the Go
One of India’s top engineering schools has restricted Internet access in its boarding houses, saying addiction to surfing, gaming and blogging was affecting students’ performance, making them lonely and even suicidal.
Authorities at the best Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mumbai said students had stopped socializing and many were late for morning classes or slept through them. “Now, a student doesn’t even know who lives two doors away from him because he is so busy on the Internet,” said Prakash Gopalan, dean of Student Affairs. “The old dormitory culture of companionship and socializing among students is gone. This is not healthy in our opinion.”
IITMumbai, with about 5,000 students, is one of the seven IITs across India which are considered to be among the finest engineering schools in the world. They are also a talent pool for global technology giants. But their hard courses, tough competition and lonely campus lifestyle have taken an effect on students. Depressive and dysfunctional lifestyles are known to be common among IIT students, and at least nine have committed suicide in the past five years. Students have unlimited free Internet access in their boarding houses to help them in their studies, but many also use it to surf, chat, download movies and music, blog and for gaming.
“Starting Monday, Internet access will be banned between 11 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. at IITMumbai’s 13 boarding buildings to encourage students to sleep early and to try and force them out of their shells.” Gopalan said. But the move has not gone down well with students who say they hate their lives being regulated. “Now they will say we need to listen to a lullaby (摇篮曲) to go to sleep.” said Rajiv, an electronics student.
1.According to the text, the students addicted to the Internet in IIT-Mumbai are likely to ______.
A. perform well in studiesB. participate in social activities
C. know their classmates better D. feel lonely and even suicidal
2.The underlined word “dysfunctional” in Paragraph 3 most probably means “______”.
A. unpopular B. meaningful C. abnormal D. exciting
3.What measures have been taken in IITMumbai?
A. Students must go to bed before 11 p.m.
B. Students are forbidden to surf the Internet on campus.
C. Students have unlimited free Internet access in their dormitories.
D. Internet access is unavailable in deep night in boarding buildings.
4.We may infer from the last paragraph that ______.
A. all electronics students hate the banning order
B. some students complain about the banning order
C. there is no Internet access on the IIT campus ever since
D. more students prefer listening to music to surfing the Internet
I’ve often wondered if I might do more good as a travel agent rather than as a psychologist. It seems that I have been more dramatically affected by certain kinds of travel experiences than I ever have.
My trip to Iceland is a fine example of that. The plan was to spend two days in a remote mountain hut in Iceland. I was working on a photographic book about winter in Iceland and needed to capture images of this amazing region of high mountain peaks, smoky volcanoes, and lakes with floating icebergs.
The moment after we arrived, the weather turned extreme making visibility impossible. It snowed so much and the wind blew so hard that we couldn’t leave the tiny hut. To stay warm, we walked around in circles much of the day inside the tiny hut. We tried to call for help but the radio did not work. Day after day, we watched our supplies of food and fuel grow dangerously short. We got acute cabin fever (幽居病) and started going for walks and ski expeditions outside. Even when the weather finally broke, nobody came to get us even though it was three days beyond our scheduled pickup. By the time the rescue team came to pull us out, we had all given up hope.
From then on, the world looks different to me, as does my life. It would have taken me years of psychotherapy to get to the same point.
Almost everyone has a story to tell, and interestingly, most of these experiences were not altogether pleasant at the time. In fact, it appears that the most constructive life-changing journeys were those that involved some sorts of awful and uncomfortable events that forced the person to develop new resources, increase confidence, and solve problems in new ways.
1.The writer went to Iceland to ______.
A. enjoy the natural beautiful floating icebergs
B. take photos about the region for a book
C. collect materials for psychological research
D. challenge the high mountains there
2.During the trip in Iceland, those travelers faced difficulties EXCEPT that ______.
A. they got lost in the mountain
B. they were short of food and fuel
C. they couldn’t see the surroundings clearly
D. they failed to get in touch with the rescue team
3.From Paragraph 3, we learn that the travelers ______.
A. were in despair before they were rescued
B. stayed in the hut for three days altogether
C. got sick because of going for ski outside
D. got rescued immediately the weather turned fine
4.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. The writer is a travel agent who loves difficult challenges.
B. In Iceland the weather is always extreme and it snows a lot.
C. The travellers were so depressed that they needed psychotherapy.
D. Awful journeys may become life-changing events that inspire people.
假设你是李华，你的英国笔友Bob将于九月到你所在城市的建新华文学校学中文，来信请你在学校附近为他找一套住房。请根据图画提供的信息，写信介绍住房的情况，并告知住房面积为25平方米，月租500元。
注意：1. 词数：100左右。
2. 参考词汇：房租 rent (n.) 。
Dear Bob,
__________________________________________________________________________ _
_______________________________________
__________________________________ ______
Yours,
Li Hua
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空。
Joyce: What do you think of the lead teacher’s speech?
Caroline: I think it was __1.__ (interest).
Joyce: __2.__ do I. I hear Mike is likely to win all the prizes in the exams this year.
Caroline: Yes, his teacher says so. He __3.__ (work) hard at his lessons every evening for months. He want to go to Oxford University next year.
Joyce: I hope he will realize his goal.
Caroline: I hope so. __4.__ I think he works too hard. I hope he’ll go out and enjoy __5.__ for a change. How about your son Carl?
Joyce: Don’t mention him. Carl never starts studying.
Caroline
: You’re joking. I heard that Carl __6.__ (win) the composition prize.
Joyce: You have made __7.__ mistake. That is White Carl. My son is Brown Carl. The whites live in the same community __8.__ we do. White Carl has always been so hard working. He wants to be a __9.__ (write). My son likes going to the concert. He only likes singing.
Caroline: __10.__ he practices singing, he will become a singer in the future.
Joyce: Not all people can become a singer. I don’t think he has the talent.
I am a mom of two young children whom we home-school. This that they are with me almost constantly. Whenever possible I will random acts of kindness; things like paying for the order behind me in the drive-thru lane, holding doors, etc. So, they are very with the concept and are, of course, to also do "nice" things for others.
Just a few days ago we stopped our local grocery store to pick up a few things which quickly turned into an entire cart load of stuff. We got into one of the two open checkout lanes and waited our . While waiting a young man came up behind us with only a few in his basket. I told him to go ahead of us as we were in no .
He seemed very pleasantly surprised and graciously . As he began putting his items on the belt the clerk began to her till tape so we had a fairly long wait in line. My kids were very behaved but they were still children; they asked questions, they talked , they moved around and they were generally very entertaining. (To me, anyway.)
I could see the young man watching and listening with a smile on his face.
We were putting our groceries on the when the clerk finished with order. What I didn't know was that he had heard my kids bubble gum. I had agreed they could have some. , he picked up a pack of bubble-gum and asked the clerk to ring it through twice before putting it back. He then told my kids that he bought their gum their mom was enough to let him go ahead in the queue.
The experience really drove home the that good begets(产生，引起) good for my lovely little kiddos（亲呢的称呼：小伙子）.
1.A．tellsB. leavesC. means D. ensures
2.A. entertainB. serveC. functionD. perform
3.A. importantB. impressiveC. suitableD. simple
4.A. satisfiedB. occupiedC. familiarD. pleased
5.A. supportedB. taughtC. encouragedD. supposed
6.A. nearB. by C. withD. against
7.A. opportunityB. returnC. turnD. time
8.A. fruitB. vegetablesC. itemsD. sales
9.A. timeB. hurryC. caseD. sense
10.A. acceptedB. collectedC. carriedD. agreed
11.A. changeB. removeC. continueD. stop
12.A. badlyB. poorlyC. wellD. ill
13.A. constantlyB. immediatelyC. usuallyD. rudely
14.A. beltB. benchC. basketD. cart
15.A. herB. hisC. their D. our
16.A. complain aboutB. allow forC. ask forD. concern about
17.A. SoB. ButC. OrD. For
18.A. when B. unlessC. becauseD. until
19.A. happyB. helpfulC. seriousD. nice
20.A. ideaB. rewardC. chance D. instruction
