C

   Being able to multitask—doing several things at the same time—is considered a welcome skill by most people. But if we consider the situation of the young people aged from eight to eighteen, we should think again.

What we often see nowadays is that young people juggle an ever larger number of electronic devices(电子产品)as they study. While working, they also surf on the Internet, send out emails, answer the telephone and listen to music on their iPods. In a sense, they are spending a significant amount of time in fruitless efforts as they multitask.

Multitasking is even changing the relationship between family members. As young people around them. They can no longer greet family members when they enter the house, nor can they cat at the family table.

Multitasking also affects young people’s performance at university and in the workplace. When asked about their opinion of the effect of modern gadgets(器具)on their performance of tasks, many young people gave a positive response(反应). However, the response from the worlds of education and business was not quite as positive. Educators feel that multitasking by children has a serious effect on later development of study skills. They believe that many college students now need help to improve their study skills. Similarly, employers feel that young people entering the job market need to be taught all over again, as modern gadgets have made it unnecessary for them to learn special skills to do their work.

What does the underlined word “juggle” in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?

A. Want to buy               B. Take the place of.

 C. Use at the same time        D. Seek for information from.

In Paragraph 3, the author points out that      .

A. family members do not cat at the family table

B. family member do not greet each other

C. young people live happily in their families

D. young people seldom talk with their family members

What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A. Multitasking is harmful to young people’s development.

B. Young people benefit a lot from modern gadgets

C. Multitasking is an important skill to young people.

D. Young people must learn skills for future jobs.

The author develops the passage mainly by    .

 A. providing typical examples               B. following the natural time order

  C. comparing opinions from different fields

 D. presenting a cause and analyzing its effects

I am a psychologist. I first met Timothy, a quiet, overweight eleven-year-old boy, when his mother brought him to me to discuss his declining grades. A few minutes with Timothy were enough to confirm that his self-esteem(自尊) and general happiness were falling right along with them. I asked about Timothy’s typical day. He awoke every morning at six thirty so he could reach his school by eight and arrived home around four thirty each afternoon. He then had a quick snack, followed by either a piano lesson or a lesson with his math tutor. He finished dinner at 7 pm, and then he sat down to do homework for two to three hours. Quickly doing the math in my head, I found that Timothy spent an average of thirteen hours a day at a writing desk.

What if Timothy spent thirteen hours a day at a sewing machine instead of a desk? We would immediately be shocked, because that would be called children being horribly mistreated. Timothy was far from being mistreated, but the mountain of homework he faced daily resulted in a similar consequence —he was being robbed of his childhood. In fact, Timothy had no time to do anything he truly enjoyed, such as playing video games, watching movies, or playing board games with his friends.

Play, however, is a crucial part of healthy child development. It affects children’s creativity, their social skills, and even their brain development. The absence of play, physical exercise, and free­from social interaction takes a serious toll on many children. It can also cause significant health problems like childhood obesity, sleep problems and depression.

Experts in the field recommend the minutes children spend on their homework should be no more than ten times the number of their grade level. As a fifth­grader, Timothy should have no more than fifty minutes a day of homework (instead of three times that amount). Having an extra two hours an evening to play, relax, or see a friend would soundly benefit any child’s life quality.

1.What does the underlined word “them” in the first paragraph probably refer to?

A. Timothy’s parents.                                                        B. Timothy’s grades.

C. Psychologists.                                                              D. The students.

2.What did the writer think of Timothy after learning about his typical day?

A. Timothy was very hard­working.

B. Timothy was being mistreated.

C. Timothy had a heavy burden.

D. Timothy was enjoying his childhood.

3.Which of the following statements best describes the writer’s opinion?

A. Children should be allowed enough time to play.

B. Playing board games works better than playing video games.

C. The more they play, the more creative children will become.

D. The depression caused by homework makes children unwilling to play.

4.According to the passage, how long should a third­grader spend a day doing homework?

A. About ten minutes.

B. No more than twenty minutes.

C. No more than thirty minutes.

D. About fifty minutes.

  All schoolchildren should have "happiness" lessons up to the age of 18 to combat(fight) growing levels of depression, according to a senior Government adviser.

   Pupils should study subjects such as how to manage feelings, attitudes to work and money, channeling (引导) negative emotions and even how to take a critical view of the media, said Lord Layard, a professor of economics at the London School of Economics.

   The proposal comes only days after the Government said that lessons in manners—including respect for the elderly and how to say "please" and "thank you" should be taught in secondary schools to combat bad behavior.

   Lord Layard said, "Learning hard things takes an enormous amount of practice. To play the violin well takes10,000 hours of practice. How can we expect people to learn to be happy without massive amounts of practice and repetition?"

   It is believed that at least two percent of British children under 12 now struggle with significant depression. Among teenagers, the figure rises to five percent. AUNICEF study involving 21 developed countries showed that British children were the least satisfied with their lives, while the World Health Organization predicts that childhood psychiatric (精神)disorders will rise by 50 percent by 2020.

   In a speech at Cambridge University, Lord Layard said the Government's lessons in manners did not go far enough. "We need a commitment to producing a major specialism in this area, with a serious teacher training program," he said.

   However, happiness lessons have been criticized by academics. Frank Furedi, a sociology professor at Kent University and author of Therapy Culture, said, "In pushing emotional literacy, what some teachers are really doing is abandoning teaching. They are giving up and talking about emotions instead, so that children value all this non-discipline-led activity more than math, English or science. What is amazing about this is that time and time again, research says that it does not work. "

Frank Furedi believes that ______.

A. happiness lessons should be taught to children

B. happiness lessons are just a waste of time

C. formal teaching can go side by side with happiness lessons

D. formal teaching should not give way to happiness lessons

We can conclude from the passage that _______.

A. the British Government hasn't fully realized the problems with British students

B. Lord Layard thinks little of the Government's lessons in manners

   C. British students are not well-behaved enough

   D. lessons in manners have brought about positive changes in British students

Which of the following methods does Lord Layard use to show learning to be happy takes practice?

A. Comparison.    B. Description.     C. Argument.   D. Analysis.

What does Lord Layard think of the Government's lessons in manners?

A. They are quite enough to solve the present problem.

B. They can hardly meet the special demands of education.

C. They are only focused on a major specialism.

D. They will probably end up in failure.

What do we know about British children from the passage? 

A. They are the least happy among 21 developed countries.

B. They suffer depression at an earlier age.

C. They are the easiest to suffer childhood psychiatric disorders.

D. Their standard of living is the lowest among 21 developed countries.

Today, as in every other day of the year, more than 3,000 US adolescents (少年) will smoke their first cigarette on their way to becoming regular smokers as adults.During their lifetime, it can be __1__ that of these 3,000 about 23 will be murdered, 30 will die in traffic __2__， and nearly 750 will be killed by a smoking­related disease.The number of deaths __3__ by cigarette smoking outweigh all other factors, whether __4__ or involuntary, as a cause of death.Since the late 1970s, when daily smoking among high school seniors __5__ 30%, smoking rates among __6__ have declined.While the decline is impressive, several important issues must be __7__.First, in the past several years, smoking rates among youth have __8__ very little.Second, in the late 1970s, smoking among __9__ high school seniors exceeded(超过) that among female by nearly 10%.The statistic is reversing.Third, several recent studies have __10__ that high school dropouts(辍学者)have excessively __11__ smoking rate, as much as 75%.Finally, though significant declines in adolescent smoking have __12__ in the past decade, no definite __13__ for the decline to exist.Within this context, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) began its current __14__ to take the most effective measures to __15__ smoking level among youth.

1.                A．inferred        B．believed        C．expected D．hoped

2.                A．peaks          B．accidents       C．problems D．jams

3.                A．damaged        B．caused         C．led D．made

4.                A．happy          B．healthy         C．voluntary D．crazy

5.                A．had            B．totaled         C．got  D．reached

6.                A．youth          B．students        C．girls D．boys

7.                A．raised          B．lifted           C．asked    D．questioned

8.                A．grown          B．changed        C．risen D．declined

9.                A．old            B．male           C．young    D．female

10.               A．insisted         B．indicated       C．denied    D．wondered

11.               A．large          B．small           C．high  D．low

12.               A．sunk           B．set            C．produced  D．occurred

13.               A．reasons        B．causes         C．ways  D．results

14.               A．survey         B．study          C．figure D．effort

15.               A．stop           B．reduce         C．forbid D．limit

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Love is blind”? If so, you are already   21   with a type of mistake in our attempts to understand others: halo effects. This type of mistake    22   to the fact that once we form an overall impression of somebody, it could have strong effects on our   23     of his personality.   24  , halo effects are both common and powerful. For example, most organizations contain one or more “superstars”--- people who have earned the reputation for being unusually   25    and capable. Once they have gained such a “halo”, everything they do receives good   26   . Ideas that would be regarded as just so-so if suggested by someone else are seen as    27   when proposed by these persons. And actions that might be considered risky if taken by others are seen as brave when carried out by these “chosen” men and women.

As you can see, halo effects carry high costs. They may lead some persons to have an   28     high opinion of their own worth, while making things  29   for others who are equally deserving. Further, by giving too much influence to persons who are not ready to receive it, and by preventing hidden talent from being   30   , they can harm organizations as well as individuals. Clearly, then, it is important to recognize the existence and impact of halo effects; only then can their harmful effects be avoided.

21. A. familiar                            B. wrong                      C. connected                 D. bored

22. A. adds                          B. extends                    C. keeps                       D. refers

23. A. choices                      B. memories                 C. judgments                D. requirements

24. A. Unfortunately             B. Probably                  C. Hopefully                 D. Generally

25. A. amusing                         B. conscious                 C. fashionable               D. talented

26. A. comment                   B. reply                        C. effect                       D. opportunity

27. A. average                      B. excellent                  C. funny                       D. similar

28.A. unexpectedly               B. understandably          C. unreasonably            D. unsuccessfully

29. A. difficult                            B. disorderly                 C. valuable                   D. significant

30. A. harmed                      B. discovered                C. wasted                     D. protected