选择知识点

    It's apparently become a trend in schools around the world to ban students from using the term, "best friends", according to psychologist Dr. Barbara Greenberg. The movement, which is believed to have started in Prince George's school in South London, isn't intended to discourage close friendships, but rather encourage a wider friend group, Greenberg says.
    "Let's face it. You can't ban somebody from having a close relationship, and you can't really ban somebody from having a best friend but what the schools are trying to do is foster the idea of kids having more than a single friend", Greenberg said.
    The idea is to increase the number of interactions a student may have with different members of his or her peer group. "I see kids come in all week long who are feeling awful because they are either nobody's best friend or their best friend has moved on", Greenberg says.
    Jay Jacobs, who operates Timber Lake Camp in New York, stresses the downside of not fostering multiple relationships at a young age, for exactly that reason． "I think that there are problems in just having one friend," Jacobs says. "Remember as you grow up, interests change, and children go in different directions."   Jacobs adds that teachers at Timber Lake, which changes positions between Glen Cove in winter and Shandake in summer, have made it a point to promote a more inclusive environment for years.
    Jacobs reminds people that, "As you grow up, interests change, and children go in different directions", so having only one friend can be risky. He holds the belief that children will be better set up for success later in life if they get used to having a wider friend group at a young age. "It's about promoting kindness, looking to children to be kind to one another and to be aware of what it looks like when you're not", Jacobs says.


Why do schools ban the term "best friends"?
A. To make students concentrate on their studies. B. To encourage students to make more friends. C. To prevent students from falling in love at a young age. D. To discourage students from having a close relationship.
Why are some kids feeling awful according to Greenberg?
A. Their best friends have moved house. B. They are banned from making best friends. C. They are under great pressure from study. D. Their best friends have started new friendships.
What does the underlined word "downside" in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A. Mistake. B. Difficulty. C. Drawback. D. Burden.
What would be Jay Jacobs" attitude to Greenberg's idea?
A. Supportive. B. Doubtful. C. Opposed. D. Unconcerned.

It was hard to accept， but the sad day had finally arrived． I still remember the tears welling up in my six-year-old sister's eyes as she looked around the empty closet in wonder． The space once filled with her clothes now held only loneliness and sorrow． This little child had come to the realization that her father was gone． He had left us， and there was simply no way to change it．
Being the oldest of four girls has never been easy， but with the departure of our father， our world and dreams were broken beyond repair． My mother， the most amazingly warm-hearted person in the world， has worked harder than anyone should simply to mend our broken household． However， long hours at work often prevented her from physically being there in our times of need． This is where I have stepped up as the temporary caretaker of my three small sisters．
Many students write college essays about their leadership positions in school and the community but I feel that my greatest accomplishment is the role I have played within my own family．
Senior year in high school is not simple for anyone， especially when it feels like the entire world is resting on your shoulders， but this is how I have felt for the past two years， I have continually tried to fulfill the dream my mother holds for my future． My mother was not able to complete her college education， and so this success is her top significance for her children．
A leader is defined as one who has influence on others． I hope that my leadership affects the lives of my sisters and everyone around me． In dedicating myself to my family and school， I have set goals that I will do anything to accomplish． I am an extremely determined individual， and my university will help me take the next step in climbing the ladder of success．



What does the author intend to do in Paragraph 1？ ______

A. Show a topic for discussion．
B. Provide some advice for readers．
C. Summarize the following paragraphs．
D. Introduce some background information．

What was the author's dream in her senior year in high school？ ______

A. To be admitted into a college．
B. To look after her sisters well．
C. To set an example to her sisters．
D. To lead her family out of trouble．

What is the author's present life like？ ______

A. Happy and quiet．
B. Hard but hopeful．
C. Busy but successful．
D. Inspiring and rich．

What role does the author play in her family？ ______

A. A winner．
B. A teacher．
C. A leader．
D. A dreamer．

It's a real case of fish out of water． Blennies （鲇鱼） in the South Pacific Ocean are gradually relocating to land to escape their predators （捕食者）， in an example of evolution in action．
Fish first began crawling onto dry land about 400 million years ago， kicking off an evolutionary chain of events that led to humans． But their reasons for exiting the sea have been uncertain．
To look for clues， Terry Ord at the University of New South Wales in Australia has been studying several species of blennies at Rarotonga， the largest of the Cook Islands．
At low tide， blennies are commonly found swimming in rock pools around the edges of the island． But when high tide moves in， they climb up to dry land and move around the rocks until the tide retreats．
The researchers found that this is most likely to avoid predators that swim in with the rising tide - mainly bigger fish like lionfish．
To test what would happen if blennies did not have an escape plan， they made blenny models and sank them in the sea． The mimics ended up with wounds， bite marks and chunks-missing．
Of course， there are still dangers for blennies on land， like the occasional bird attack， but the predation risk on land is a third that of underwater．
What's more， moving onto land has additional benefits for blennies． Holes in the rocks provide sheltered nests for laying eggs， and they can maintain their diet of bacteria．
In fact， several species of blenny fish at Rarotonga have already made the full transition to land-dwelling （陆生的） species． They continue to breathe with their gills， but have developed stronger tail fins and jump from rock to rock．
Ord believes that many evolutionary processes have been driven by the need to escape predators． "It is often assumed that animals move homes to find new sources of food， but in many cases， escaping predators is a stronger motivation．" he says．



Why do blennies climb to dry land when high tide comes？ ______

A. To acquire better health．
B. To search for more food．
C. To seek safer living conditions．
D. To adapt to a new environment．

What does the underlined part "The mimics" in Paragraph 6 refer to？ ______

A. The rocks in the water．
B. The predators of blennies．
C. The researchers of blennies．
D. The models of blennies．

What can be concluded from the last paragraph？ ______

A. Ord's research opens a new view．
B. Ord wonders why animals move homes．
C. Ord shows us the benefits of blennies" evolution．
D. Ord has discovered how fish have become land dwellers．

Which of the following could be the best title for the text？ ______

A. Blennies" Living Habits
B. Why Blennies Choose to Live on Land
C. Blennies" Evolutionary Process
D. How Blennies Escape from their Predators

On her first day tutoring students from low-income families at au after-school program in New York City，Alyssa Kapasi noticed how many kids were lining up for free sandwiches and fruit in the cafeteria．Many of these students don't get enough to eat at home，so a school lunch or an after-school meal might be the most food they would get all day．
Kapasi，who attends private school，was shocked．She was determined to help．"I want other kids to understand that if you see a problem，you don't have to wait to be an adult to fix it，"says Kapasi．She and a group of friends are now putting their programming skills to work to create a mobile app called Food For Thought．Through the application，parents will be able to pay for their own children's meal and will be presented with an option to donate 2-3 dollars to pay for a meal of another student．Other donors will also be able to donate money to help children get lunch in their community．
One creative characteristic of the app is that the receivers of the contributions will be anonymous．To receive financial help a family will need only a recommendation from a school administrator，and no one else has to know．"I want to make my platform an application that all users feel no shame in using，"says Kapasi．
"It astonished us that in one of the wealthiest and most advanced countries in the world there are still communities that are going hungry．By giving parents an easy option，we encourage their giving and raise their awareness that there are students in their children's school who are in need，"Kapasi says．She hopes to have the app ready to be used in New York City-based schools during the new school year．



What does the author intend to do in Paragraph 1？ ______

A. Explain how shocked Kapasi was．
B. Evaluate Kapasi's experience as a volunteer．
C. Tell how the idea for the app came to Kapasi．
D. Describe how the after-school program went on．

What can the app be used to do？ ______

A. Teach students to be independent．
B. Improve students" programming skills．
C. Buy school lunches for children in need．
D. Allow parents to keep in touch with their children．

Which of the following best explains"anonymous"underlined in Paragraph 3？ ______

A. Inspired
B. Selective
C. Certain
D. Unnamed

What is Kapasi's future plan？ ______

A. To use the app in softie schools．
B. To encourage students to donate．
C. To get more parents to visit schools．
D. To make parents aware of world hunger．

A crew of six teenage girls completed a nine-day sailing trip in the US recently，after braving seasickness and strong winds．
For the past three years，the Sea Cadet teenagers who set sail were all male．Roger Noakes，who captained the boat，said this was the first time he'd taken out an all-female crew．
The girls asked for an all-girls trip in August this year．The crew set sail along with three adults，Noakes and two Sea Cadet representatives．The original plan was for the girls to sail 24 hours a day in rotating shifts（轮流换班）along the coast and then return．Things turned out differently，however． "The first night was rough because the wind was really hard．The waves were going up and down，"said Abby Fairchild，16．"Everybody got seasick．"Noakes gave the girls the option of just sailing in the bay and not going into open water．"But they decided they were going．"
The teenagers then sailed a long way overnight and slept in shifts．"We've learned everything from steering（掌舵）the boat itself to putting up the sails to cooking while we have rough seas，"said 15-year-old Olivia Wilcox．
The teenagers stopped on land in Massachusetts．They didn't make it to their original destination in Maine，where they were supposed to have a celebratory dinner，due to the weather and winds．They said they weren't disappointed，however，as they'd learned a lot．"They learned about boating，and above all，they built confidence and character，"said Noakes．



What was special about the US Sea Cadet trip this year？ ______

A. It was the longest sailing trip ever．
B. It was the first all-female-crew sailing trip．
C. It was the most dangerous sailing trip ever．
D. It was the first sailing trip for teenagers．

What happened on the crew's first day of the trip？ ______

A. They all got seasick．
B. They regretted taking the trip．
C. They decided to stay in the bay．
D. Some of them were injured．

Which of the following best describes these young sailors？ ______

A. Determined and cooperative．
B. Hard-working and talented．
C. Understanding and creative．
D. Adventurous and skillful．

According to Noakes，what was the sailors'greatest benefit from the trip？ ______

A. They acquired excellent sailing skills．
B. They learned to work in teams．
C. They built confidence and character．
D. They knew the sea better．

Hawking was perhaps the most famous scientist in the world when he died in 2018 at age 76．His 1988 book，A Brief History of Time，sold ten million copies and made him an unlikely superstar even to people who sweated through high school science．
Humor was always a big part of Hawking's effort to bring physics to the masses．In his 2010 book，The Grand Design，for instance，he recounts how，in 1277，the Catholic Church declared scientific laws such as gravity to be wrong，since they seemed against God's idea．"Interestingly，"the text adds jokingly，"Pope John was killed by the effects of the law of gravity a few months later when the roof of his palace fell in on him．"
Hawking was only 21 when he was diagnosed with the disease ALS．For most people，the condition would have been a disaster．But Hawking rolled over hardship as if it were just a pebble under his wheelchair．"Life would be tragic，"he once said，"if it weren't funny．"He kept smiling even though he spent more than 50 years in a wheelchair．
"He loved adventure and fun，"says Mlodinow，who once took Hawking on a punt-boat trip down the fiver Cam in Cambridge，England，despite the obvious danger of the boat turning over．"You know about when he went on the Vomit Comet？ It's a plane that flies in a parabolic（抛物线的）path so you are weightless，like you are in space．A lot of people vomit，but he loved that sort of thing．"And he was 65 at the time．
Hawking's greatest hit，humor-wise，was probably the cocktail party he threw in 2009．It was a"welcome reception for future time travelers，"he said，so naturally，he sent out the invitations the day after the party．No one showed up yet．"Maybe one day someone living in the future will find the information and use a wormhole time machine to come back to my party，proving that time travel will one day be possible，"Hawking explained．And if that happens，don't be surprised if Hawking is there too．After all，he never missed a chance to have fun．



What does the text mainly tell us about Hawking？ ______

A. He related physics to humor closely．
B. He made great contributions to physics．
C. He went through many funny experiences．
D. He was optimistic about the future of science．

What can we learn about Pope John？ ______

A. He was not in favor of God．
B. He was a scientist like Hawking．
C. He was opposed to the law of gravity．
D. He was killed due to the discovery of gravity．

What drove Hawking to go on the Vomit Comet？ ______

A. His fondness of adventure．
B. The invitation from his friend．
C. The requirements of his work．
D. His desire for recovery from ALS．

What can be inferred from the last paragraph？ ______

A. The cocktail party was a great success．
B. The possibility of time travel was not proved．
C. Hawking was a man who enjoyed holding parties．
D. The wormhole time machine was used at that time．

It's not easy feeling like you're always under the spotlight being judged for each little mistake you make．Your mind is in an endless circle playing what you said and did over and over again．You wish you had a time capsule to go back and make things fight if you find mistakes．You fear what others will think about you and that they will reject and dislike you．You seek to be socially perfect．
Academically，you work long endless hours just to make those excellent marks．Although most would say"it's good to have high standards，"they have no idea about the internal hell you put yourself through to achieve perfection．If you come up less than your desired goal you feel as though you have failed，but you're far from failing，you just don't see it that way．So instead you are telling yourself that you're stupid，and not smart．The pressure you place on yourself weighs you down and you wear the"not good enough"label each and every day．
You not only have high standards for yourself but you also have them for others．If people don't perform up to your expectations，then you think them incompetent．This causes a lot of frustration because you can't trust anyone to get things right．So instead of being a team player you fly solo（单飞）and try to do two or three jobs at once．Your unrealistic expectations cause you to criticize and judge others and that leads to problems in other areas of your life．
The attempt to be perfect is called perfectionism and it's the unachievable American dream that's damaging our emotional and mental health．We strive for perfection with our body，in our performance，and in our relationships． In a society that overstates mistakes，is it any wonder that so many young people attempt the impossible task of being perfect？
We all have flaws，fears，and make mistakes，and that's perfectly OK．It's our imperfections that make life interesting and they help us grow into a stronger more adaptable person．We don't have to strive to achieve the impossible．We are designed to be perfectly imperfect．



What might be the most suitable title of the text？ ______

A. Far from failing
B. Perfectly Imperfect
C. Perfectionism Phenomenon
D. Unachievable American Dream

Which of the following is a perfectionist most likely to agree？ ______

A. Nobody is perfect．
B. Be generous with praise．
C. There is no best，only better．
D. A contented mind is an everlasting feast．

What can we infer from the underlined sentence in paragraph 4？ ______

A. More and more people are tolerating mistakes．
B. The society is partly to blame for perfectionism．
C. Many young people find it impossible to be perfect．
D. It's unusual for a society to seek perfectionism nowadays．

What does the author think of imperfection？ ______

A. It's part of our life．
B. It's unbearable．
C. It deserves to be overcome．
D. It does harm to our mental health．

A new algorithm（演算法）raises parking rates in busy neighborhoods and lowers them elsewhere，guaranteeing free parking spots regardless of location，Christopher Intagliata reports．
If you drive in a city，you've no doubt experienced the headache of circling block after block，cruising for parking．But scientists who study that phenomenon have a solution to free up more spots："You make them more expensive，so people have to decide whether to park farther away and Pay less，or closer and pay more．"Itzhak Benenson，a system scientist at Tel Aviv University．
San Francisco has piloted a program that raises parking rates based on demand-and it's been shown to reduce cruising．But the sensors required for those systems can cost millions of dollars to install and operate，Benenson says．So instead，writing in IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Magazine，he and his colleague Nir Fulman describe an algorithm that can determine smart pricing，without the use of sensors．
They tested it on the Israeli city of Bat Yam，near Tel Aviv．First，they divide the city into zones．They estimate the parking demand in each zone，by calculating the number of apartments and offices there．Then they take account of parking supply in the area，along with how wealthy potential parkers might be．Using that data，the algorithm suggested pricing for each zone that would guarantee a 90-percent occupancy rate of parking spots city-wide．Meaning 10 percent of spots were always available to drivers willing to pay the price，regardless of neighborhood．
Of course，not everyone will agree that raising parking prices will reduce the press of parking．Last time Benenson proposed hiking rates for city residents？"I got about 100 reactions on the web and 99 of them that said they have never heard such a stupid statement from the professors，and I should be punished and fired．"
Eventually，he says，it"11be up to cities themselves to estimate their residents'political appetites for an easier parking spot．



What does the underlined word"them"in paragraph 1 refer to？ ______

A. Parking spots．
B. Parking rates．
C. Busy neighborhoods．
D. New algorithms．

How does the new algorithm work？ ______

A. Adopting different parking rates．
B. Counting the apartments and offices．
C. Making farther parking spots more expensive．
D. Setting the price of parking spots with sensors．

Which is the process of carrying out the smart pricing？ ______
①Choosing a target city．
②Counting the parking demand．
③Dividing the city into zones．
④Suggesting pricing for each zone．
⑤Considering the parking supply．

A. ②⑤④③①
B. ①③②⑤④
C. ②⑤①③④
D. ①③④②⑤

What will the public think of Benenson's smart pricing？ ______

A. Supporting．
B. Disapproving．
C. Optimistic．
D. Controversial．

Want to explore new cultures， meet new people and do something worthwhile at the same time？ You can do all the three with Global Development Association （GDA）． Whatever stage of life you're at，wherever you go and whatever project you do in GDA， you'll create positive changes in a poor and remote community （社区）．
We work with volunteers of all ages and backgrounds． Most of our volunteers are aged 17-24． Now we need volunteer managers aged 25-75． They are extremely important in the safe and effective running of our programmes． We have such roles as project managers， mountain leaders， and communication officers．
Depending on which role you choose， you could help to increase a community's access to safe drinking water， or help to protect valuable local cultures． You might also design an adventure challenge to train young volunteers．
Not only will you help our young volunteers to develop personally，you'll also learn new skills and increase your cultural awareness． You may have chances to meet new people who'll become your lifelong friends．
This summer we have both 4-week and 7-week programmes：

Country	Schedule
	4-week programmes	7-week programmes
Algeria	5 Jul．-1 Aug．	20 Jun．-7 Aug．
Egypt	24 Jul．-20 Aug．	19 Jun．-6 Aug．
Kenya	20 Jul．-16 Aug．	18 Jun．-5 Aug．
South Africa	2 Jul．-29 Aug．	15 Jun．-2 Aug．

GDA ensures that volunteers work with community members and local project partners where our help is needed． All our projects aim to promote the development of poor and remote communities．
There is no other chance like a GDA programme． Join us as a volunteer manager to develop your own skills while bringing benefits to the communities．
Find out more about joining a GDA programme：
Website： www．glodeve．org
Email： humanresources@glodeve．org



What is the main responsibility of volunteer managers？ ______

A. To seek local partners．
B. To take in young volunteers．
C. To carry out programmes．
D. To foster cultural awareness．

The programme beginning in August will operate in ______ ．

A. Egypt
B. Algeria
C. Kenya
D. South Africa

The shared goal of GDA's projects is to ______ ．

A. explore new cultures
B. protect the environment
C. gain corporate benefits
D. help communities in need

The problem of robocalls has gotten so bad that many people now refuse to pick up calls from numbers they don't know． By next year， half of the calls we receive will be scams（欺诈）．We are finally waking up to the severity of the problem by supporting and developing a group of tools， apps and approaches intended to prevent scammers from getting through． Unfortunately， it's too little， too late． By the time these "solutions"（解决方案） become widely available， scammers will have moved onto cleverer means． In the near future． it's not just going to be the number you see on your screen that will be in doubt． Soon you will also question whether the voice you're hearing is actually real．
That's because there are a number of powerful voice manipulation （处理），and automation technologies that are about to become widely available for anyone to use． At this year's I/O Conference， a company showed a new voice technology able to produce such a convincing human-sounding voice that it was able to speak to a receptionist and book a reservation without detection．
These developments are likely to make our current problem with robocalls much worse． The reason that robocalls are a headache has less to do with amount than precision． A decade of data breaches （数据入侵） of personal information has led to a situation where scammers can easily learn your mother's name， and far more． Armed with this knowledge， they're able to carry out individually targeted campaigns to cheat people． This means for example， that a scammer could call you from what looks to be a familiar number and talk to you using a voice that sounds exactly like your bank teller's， tricking you into "confirming" your address， mother's name， and card number． Scammers follow money， so companies will be the worst hit． A lot of business is still done over the phone， and much of it is based on trust and existing relationships． Voice manipulation technologies may weaken that gradually．
We need to deal with the insecure nature of our telecom networks． Phone carriers and consumers need to work together to find ways of determining and communicating what is real． That might mean either developing a uniform way to mark videos and images，showing when and who they were made by，or abandoning phone calls altogether and moving towards data-based communications-using like FaceTime or WhatsApp，which can he tied to your identity．
Credibility is hard to earn but easy to lose， and the problem is only going to get harder from here on out．



How does the author feel about the solutions to the problem of robocalls？ ______

A. Panicked．
B. Confused．
C. Embarrassed．
D. Disappointed．

Taking advantage of the new technologies， scammers can ______ ．

A. aim at victims precisely
B. damage databases easily
C. start campaigns rapidly
D. spread information widely

What does the passage imply？ ______

A. Honesty is the best policy．
B. Technologies can be double-edged．
C. There are more solutions than problems．
D. Credibility holds the key to development．

Which of the following would be the best title for the passage？ ______

A. Where the Problem of Robocalls Is Rooted
B. Who Is to Blame for the Problem of Robocalls
C. Why Robocalls Are About to Get More Dangerous
D. How Robocalls Are Affecting the World of Technology