Do you know what a resolution (决心) is? It’s a kind of promise. Most of the time, we make promises to other people. For example, “Mum, I promise I’m going to tidy my room when I get back from school.” However, promises you make to yourself are resolutions, and the most common kind is New Year’s resolutions. The start of the year is often a time for making resolutions. When we make resolutions at the beginning of the year, we hope that we are going to improve our lives. Some people write down their resolutions and plans for the coming year. This helps to remember their resolutions. Others tell their families and friends about their wishes and plans.

There are different kinds of resolutions. Some are about physical health. For example, some people promise themselves they are going to start an exercise programme or eat less fast food. Many resolutions have to do with self-improvement. These are about making yourself a better person. Some people might say they are going to take up a hobby like painting or taking photos, or learn to play the guitar. Some resolutions have to do with better planning, like making a weekly plan for schoolwork. For example, a student may have to find more time to study.

Although there are differences, most resolutions have one thing in common. People hardly ever keep them! There are good reasons for this. Sometimes the resolutions may be too difficult to keep. Sometimes people just forget about them. For this reason, some people say the best resolution is to have no resolutions! How about you? Will you make any resolutions next year?

1.What is a resolution?

2.When do people often make resolutions?

3.Who do some people tell their resolutions to?

4.How many kinds of resolutions are mentioned in the second paragraph?

5.What do you think is a good way to keep resolutions? (自拟一句话作答)

See Through the News

①Mark Twain once said: “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”

②This is especially true when talking about news stories we read online every day. Have you ever noticed that some stories don’t seem true? These stories are known as “fake news”, and have become common on social media (社交媒体).

③In a new study, researchers from MIT found that lies and fake news spread faster and farther than true stories on social media.

④They analyzed (分析) more than 126,000 stories shared by 3 million users on Twitter. It turned out that fake stories often reached between 1,000 and 100,000 people, but true stories reached just a little over 1,000.

⑤This may be because fake news can easily catch people’s attention. Fake news stories often talk about widely-discussed topics which are easy for people to argue about. They also have new and surprising information. Fake news stories are more sensational (耸人听闻的) and might make people feel angry or surprised.

⑥In 2017, the Wenzhou Evening News reported that a girl was not allowed to take her college entrance exam because she showed up two minutes late. Many internet users became angry after hearing this, believing that the school was being unreasonable. But in fact, the girl was 17 minutes late. Students are usually allowed to take the exam as long as they arrive no later than 15 minutes after the exam starts. But the girl was two minutes later than allowed.

⑦Luckily, there are more and more programs to help stop fake news. Nearly one third of teenagers in the United States find many stories online are not true after taking a news literacy class. In Britain, several famous reporters will go to around 1,000 secondary schools. While there, the reporters will give students lessons on how to identify fake news. The best thing for us to do is to think critically (批判地) and check carefully before sharing a story.

1.What did the researchers from MIT find in their study?

A.People are more interested in reading real news than fake stories.

B.Fake news can reach more people than real news on social media.

C.There are more fake news stories than real stories on social media.

D.Social media will make it impossible to spread real news to others.

2.What is the fifth paragraph mainly about?

A.How fast fake news can spread. B.What topics fake news is about.

C.Why fake news spreads so fast. D.What people think of fake news.

3.What is the writer’s main purpose in writing this passage?

A.To help readers be more careful with fake news.

B.To explain reasons behind people’s news sharing.

C.To introduce different ways to identify fake news.

D.To encourage readers to stop reading news online.

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