It used to be a matter of fact when Peter Pan — a character from James Matthew Barrie’s 1911 book — said: “All children, except one, grow up.”
But this “fact” doesn’t seem to apply to today’s world anymore.
According to the NPD Group, a US market research company, sales of toys to adults in the UK increased by more than 20 percent in 2016, three times the pace of the children’s toy market itself. These toys ranged from puzzles and Lego building sets to vehicle models and action figures. And more than half of the sales came from millennials — people born between the 1980s and 2000s.
“Adults of the 21st century are channeling their inner child, one toy at a time,” commented website Koreaboo. This is also why these adults are sometimes referred to as “kidults”.
According to Frederique Tutt, an analyst at NPD, the motivation of these grown-ups is to escape the stress of today’s fast-paced world. They are driven toward the more immediate pleasures brought by toys than those brought by, say, getting a promotion, which is far less easy to achieve.
“It reminds me of the playful side of life,” Rob Willner, a 25-year-old PhD student in the UK, told The Telegraph when talking about his love for Lego, which he said brings him both comfort and entertainment.
Despite this, some social scientists see the trend as disturbing. To Frank Furendi, a professor at the University of Kent in the UK, the fact that so many adults are pursuing “the thrills of youth” is the evidence that “adulthood has got nothing attractive about it anymore”, he told The New York Times. “That’s actually quite sad.”
But scientists are probably just worrying too much. According to Canadian comic book artist Todd McFarlane, collecting toys could simply be a way for people to express their individuality. “It’s just pop culture stuff. It’s stuff that says, ‘I like a little of this and I like a little of that’,” he told ABC News. “It’s no big deal.”
So now that over 100 years have passed since Peter Pan, perhaps it’s time to introduce a new “fact”, as stated in the tagline (标语) of the UK fashion brand KIDULT: “Growing old is mandatory (被迫的), but growing up is optional.”
1.What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 2 imply?
A. Something old is not suitable for a new world.
B. Many adults still have some childlike features.
C. All children grow up as they become adults.
D. It’s difficult for some children to grow up in today’s world.
2.Which of the following statements is true?
A. Frederique Tutt believes that some adults enjoy playing with children’s toys to escape the stress.
B. Rob Willner believes that the pleasure brought by toys is easier to achieve.
C. Frank Furendi believes that the thrill of youth does not attract adults.
D. Todd McFarlane is worrying too much about collecting toys.
3.What is the writer’s attitude towards the trend of growing kidults?
A. Supportive. B. Doubtful.
C. Critical. D. Indifferent.
4.What can be the best title for the passage?
A. Growing Old Or Growing Up B. Toys Sales On The Rise
C. Staying Young Forever D. Kidults In Fashion Again
Ninety percent of Americans drive to work every day although working from home is on the rise. If you’re lacking for topics of conversation at a party, chatting about your commute is a pretty safe bet.
According to a recent study, driving for more than two hours each day can steadily decrease the IQ of middle aged drivers. The Sunday Times of London detailed the study, which looked into the lifestyle choices of over 500,000 Britons between the ages of 37 and 73.
When looking at the data of the 93,000 participants who drove more than two to three hours per day, the study found a noticeable dropoff in brainpower, measured by intelligence and memory tests. The study found similar results with participants who took part in several hours similarly sedentary (久坐的) activity, like television watching.
As it turns out, stimulating activity stimulates your brain, while non-stimulating activity, well, doesn’t stimulate your brain.
“Cognitive (认知的) decline is measurable over five years because it can happen fast in middle-aged and older people. This is associated with lifestyle factors such as smoking and bad diet — and now with time spent driving,” Kishran Bakrania, a medical epidemiologist at the University of Leicester told the Times.
Fortunately for most Americans, the average commute time was recorded at approximately 26.5 minutes according to the 2015 United States Census.
And if you think that the way to pump up your IQ is through brain games, think again. Just try and avoid those long hours on the road if possible, and if you happen to have free time on your commute, be sure to use it wisely.
1.According to the passage, which of the following may be of help to our brainpower?
A. Watching TV. B. Having sports.
C. Driving long time. D. Sleeping.
2.Why does the writer mention “results with people participating in similarly sedentary activities” in para 3?
A. To make a contrast. B. To give an example.
C. To make a description. D. To give more evidence.
3.We can infer from the passage that ________.
A. long time drive may decrease the driver’s IQ
B. smoking and bad diet can cause cognitive decline
C. people should participate in more stimulating activities
D. an increasing number of Americans drive to work every day
At 27, after serving in World War II, I dreamed of owning a piece of land. So I moved from central Illinois to Shelbina, Missouri, and bought 236 acres for $6,000. The plot of land was situated on a dirt road and was half farmland and half trees, with an old house that had no running water or electricity. Obviously, it was not what you’d call prime real estate. But it was mine.
I was alone for the first time in my life, and I found it liberating. My days were filled from dawn until dusk with plowing and planting corn. Dinnertime came and went, and I barely remembered to eat.
I wouldn’t say I was a great success at farming in Missouri. However, when I went to the store to buy some plowshares, I met a nice woman named Claudette working behind the counter. I also ran into her at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Shelbina each week. I found out later that her manager kept asking her about “that tall boy (and eligible bachelor) from Illinois living out in the country in an old house with no water, no electricity and no housekeeper.”
Claudette and her sister soon visited my farm and put up some curtains. To show my appreciation, I took Claudette out for a ride in my 2½-ton Studebaker truck. We married in 1954 and have now been together for more than 62 years!
I later sold the Missouri farm for a $3,500 profit and bought 40 acres in Illinois. For many reasons, buying the Missouri farm was a good idea. I will always cherish memories of owning the farm and meeting my beloved.
1.When the author bought the plot of land in Shelbina, ________.
A. it was well equipped B. he was unsatisfied with it
C. it was not a real estate D. he worked very hard on it
2.The underlined word “liberating” in paragraph 2 can be replaced by the word ________.
A. upset B. interesting
C. free D. boring
3.The author regards buying the Missouri farm as a good idea because _______.
A. he was able to sell it at the price of $3,500
B. he could recall plenty of experiences in his own farm
C. he got the chance to meet his wife working at a church in Shelbina then
D. he could purchase another house in Illinois as a result of successful farming
假设你是吴东，你在网上认识了一个美国朋友Jack，他来信向你诉说交朋友的烦恼，要求你就friendship这个话题发表你的观点和看法并给他一些建议。于是你根据你所了解的情况给他回了一封e-mail.
写作内容：
1.友谊是每个人生活中最重要的事情之一，没有朋友，人会孤独的；
2.多与朋友交流，让朋友知道你想与他交朋友以及你对朋友及友谊的理解；
3.真正的朋友应该同甘共苦；
4.邀请朋友参加一些活动如游泳、球赛等，赢得真正的友谊。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
故宫the Palace Museum
Dear Mary,
Here’s a good opportunity for you to learn about the Chinese culture right in China. _______________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下画（___）横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词。
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
My son I and I went to the café this morning. I order a cup of nice coffee and a cake. And I bought to my son a cup of hot milk. My son soon started a conversation to a man sitting next to us. I was very surprising. Because he was not real very outgoing with people he didn’t know. After the man left, I asked my son when he talked with that man. My son said, “He looked lonely, and I wanted make him feel a little better.” After hear what he said, I was very proud for her at that moment.
It was the ambition of an eleven years old boy in Kansas City to be an enginedriver. Born without arms, he had been sent to special schools 1.he learned to use his 2.(foot)as “hands”. He spend all hiss spare time 3.(watch)trains and one day his dream came 4.(truth). Seeing a deserted engine, the boy climbed in, he had no 5.(difficult) in starting it up with his feet. Soon he was traveling along 6.forty miles an hour. Signalmen could not see the young driver, so they set out 7.(stop)the train. Meanwhile the boy reached Missouri, stopped the engine himself, and then 8.(make)it go backwards. When he was near home, a railwayman caught up with the engine and stopped it. At first, he was very angry, but he smiled when the boy said 9.(simple), “I like trains.” “Well, I’m glad you don’t like planes!” answered 10.railwayman.
