Nowadays, social networking addiction has become a rising concern. Social networking addiction is a phrase sometimes used【1】(refer) to someone spending too much time using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other forms of social media-so much that it【2】(influence)other aspects of daily life.

Addiction usually refers to habitual【3】(behave) that are difficult to control and it may lead to negative effects. In most addictions, people feel forced to do certain activities so often that they become a harmful habit,【4】then affects other important activities such as work or school.

In that context, a social networking addict could【5】(consider) someone with a powerful inner drive to use social media repeatedly-【6】(constant) checking Facebook status updates or following people’s profiles on Facebbook, for example, for hours on end.

But it is hard to tell when fondness for【7】activity becomes a dependency and crosses the line into a damaging habit or addiction. Does【8】(spend) three hours a day on Twitter reading random tweets from strangers mean you’re addicted【9】Twitter? How about five hours? You could argue you were reading headline news or【10】(need) to stay current in your field for work, right?

There are always articles that say people born into wealthy families are better looking and have a better family background than you, but these people do work harder than you. Are you a loser if you were raised in an ordinary family? Should you feel guilty that you sleep eight hours a day because Ivanka sleeps five?

If you just want to keep a stable nine-to-five job, does it mean you are not ambitious? How about if you don’t work out or eat healthy, does that mean you will not find your Mr. or Miss Right? There is a tendency in media nowadays to encourage elitism. They are trying to brainwash young people into thinking that they should invest a huge amount of time and money in bodybuilding and appearance enhancement so as to improve the quality of their life and join the elites. But what’s the disadvantage of being of average quality? Do you really need to go to the gym five days a week unless you are a gym maniac (狂人)? Do you really need to break your neck and sacrifice to earn your first pot of gold only to worry constantly about how to be accepted into high society later?

Don’t let the idea of elitism get to you. Everybody has a right to live the life they want. Human beings should not be judged as a success or failure based on whether they are a part of the elite or not. As long as you lead a happy and comfortable life, why bother to chase after other people’s shadows? Choose your own life path and go for it.

【1】The author mentions the example of Ivanka to .

A.stress the importance of family background in one’s growth

B.emphasize beauty plays a decisive role in one’s career

C.show it is one’s own effort that counts in success

D.express sympathy for those less fortunate people

【2】What do the underlined words “kill for” in paragraph 1 mean?

A.Have a burning desire for.B.Show a strong hatred for.

C.Feel dissatisfied with out of envy.D.Attempt to escape from in reality.

【3】What’s the author’s opinion of an ordinary office clerk?

A.He’d better follow the tendency encouraged by the medium.

B.He needs to invest time and money in changing himself.

C.He’s fine as long as he lives happily and comfortably.

D.He ought to have stronger motivation for success.

【4】What is the message mainly conveyed in the story?

A.Every man is the architect of his own fortune.

B.Follow your own course and let people talk.

C.Laziness in youth spells regret in old age.

D.He who does not advance loses ground.

【2】Bullying can also be with words-saying or writing things that are not nice. Another type of bullying is social-embarrassing someone or telling other people not to be friends with them. Bullying involves an imbalance of power. Maybe one person has private information or is more popular, or maybe they are physically bigger and stronger.

Bullying usually involves more people than you think.【3】Sometimes other people help the bully or join in. Then there are the kids that support-they support the bullying by being an audience. They laugh or encourage the children who are bullying in other ways. Some children see what is happening and want to help. Others may comfort and defend the person being bullied.

Does your school do anything to prevent bullying? Why don’t you create a student anti-bullying group? This group can do many things. Let the head teacher know how well the school is doing with fighting bullying and give them advice.【4】Make posters and displays or take over the school’s social media for a week to send out anti-bullying messages.

Bullying is a social problem and it needs a solution from society. The next time you see someone being cruel to someone else, take a stand! Don’t laugh or ignore what’s happening-tell an adult as soon as possible and help everyone to realize that bullying is not OK.【5】

A.Choose an anti-bullying slogan for your school.

B.There are the people who bully and those who are bullied.

C.Bullying is not just physical, like hitting or kicking someone.

D.To stop bullying we need everyone to be brave and take a stand.

E.Bullying behaviors have the potential to happen more than once.

F.Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations.

G.People who are bullied are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety.

I was lacking in everything needed to start a new friendship.

My parents moved to the town when they decided to look for new jobs but they didn’t realize I was really hurt when I said goodbye to my old friends. It felt awful to be a new student in the school and when my classmates were chatting, what I could do was to be caught up in my thoughts watching the clouds outside the window. I was not good at math or history; nor was I good at drawing or dancing. I was shy and timid. I had a few friends back at my hometown and it seemed that they were the only ones who I could be friends with for my whole life. I felt I had achieved a point of saturation with regard to having friends and I could make no further addition to my friend list. I was ashamed of myself, so I believed I deserved no notice from others until Emily came to my world.

Emily was fearless, outspoken and easy to go. She was everything I was not and I was too shy to come out of my shell. I met Emily in school almost every day and yet I never talked to her. We were in the same class but we were like poles apart. How I wished I could be like her or at least be a friend of hers!

It was another ordinary day.

I wandered to the bus stop in the morning and waited for the school bus. Birds were singing songs with their friends but who could I sing songs with? I got on the bus and went straight to my usual seat, complaining in a low voice about getting up early and going to school like every other day, and about how things were going to be the same all over again. Little did I realize something different would happen that day.

Para. 1:

When I got up to get down the bus, my schoolbag was stuck in the armrest. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Para. 2:

I got noticed by Emily, who brought me courage to start a new friendship!

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1. 比賽時(shí)間、地點(diǎn)；

2. 參賽要求。

注意：

1. 詞數(shù) 100 左右；

2. 可以適當(dāng)增加細(xì)節(jié)，以使行文連貫。

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Age of Envy: How to Be Happy When Everyone Else's Life Looks Perfect

We live in the age of envy. Career envy, kitchen envy, children envy, food envy, upper ay envy, holiday envy. You name it, there's an envy for it. Human beings have always felt what Aristotle defined in the 4th century BC as pain at the sight of another's good fortune, stirred by the feeling of 'those who have what we ought to have'.

But with social media, says Ethan Kross, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, 'envy is being taken to an extreme. ' We are constantly bombarded by 'photoshopped lives, ' he says, 'and that exerts a toll on us the likes of which we have never experienced in the history of our species. '

Clinical psychological Rachel Andrew says she is seeing more and more envy in her consulting room, from people who 'can't achieve the lifestyle they want but which they see others have. ' Our use of platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, she says, amplifies (放大) this deeply disturbing psychological discord (失調(diào)), 'I think what social media has done is make everyone accessible for comparison, ' she explains. 'In the past, people might have just envied their neighbors, but now we can compare ourselves with everyone across the world. '

And those comparisons are now much less realistic. Andrew has observed among her patients that knowing they are looking at an edited version of reality is no defense against the emotional force of envy. 'What I notice is that most of us can intellectualize what we see on social media platforms—we know that these images and narratives that are presented aren't real, we can talk about it and rationalize it—but on an emotional level, it's still pushing buttons. If those images or narratives tap into what we aspire to, but what we don't have, then it becomes very powerful. '

According to Dryden, a cognitive behavioral therapist, when it comes to the kind of envy inspired by social media, there are two factors that make a person more vulnerable (易受傷害的): low self-esteem and deprivation intolerance, which describes the experience of being unable to bear not getting what you want. To overcome this, he says, think about what you would teach a child. The aim is to develop a philosophy, a way of being in the world, which allows you to recognize when someone else has something that you want but don't have, and also to recognize that you can survive without it, and that not having it does not make you less worthy or less of a person.

We could also try to change the way we habitually use social media. Kross explains that most the time, People use Facebook passively and just idly, lazily reading instead of posting, messaging or commenting. 'That is interesting when you realize it is the passive usage that is supposed to be more harmful than the active. The links between passive usage and feeling worse are very robust—we have huge data sets involving tens of thousands of people, he says. While it is less clear how active usage affects well-being, there does seem to be a small positive link, he explains, between using Facebook to connect with others and feeling better.

Dryden differentiates between unhealthy envy and its healthy forms, which, he says, 'can be creative. ' Just as hunger tells us we need to eat, the feeling of envy, if we can listen to it in the right way, could show us what is missing from our lives that really matters to us, Kross explains. Andrew says, 'It is about naming it as an emotion, knowing how it feels, and then not interpreting it as a positive or a negative, but trying to understand what it is telling you that you want. If that is achievable, you could take proper steps towards achieving it. But at the same time, ask yourself, what would be good enough? '

This will change your mind.

If you’ve done a lot of traveling, you’ve probably noticed that the bookstores at airports all look pretty similar. They’ve all got familiar logos, the walls of inviting plane snacks, and, of course, the towers of new hardcover books. Chances are you’ve wanted to grab one of those books for the plane ride. However, those hardcover books are a little pricey. Is it worth it to splurge, just to relieve the midair boredom?

Yes it is—because of a cool program that these bookstores have in place. These similar airport stores are all owned by the company Paradies Lagardère, and all of those stores take part in what’s called the “Read and Return program.” It’s exactly what it sounds like. Whenever you buy one of those books, you’ve got six months to finish it and bring it back to the same, or another, Paradies Lagardère location. When you do that, you get half your money for the original purchase back.

If you’re going on a trip, buy that book you’ve been dying to read. When you go back to the airport for the return trip, bring the book back with you and get half the money back. While you’re still in the bookstore, go ahead and get that other book you’ve been dying to read. Or the sequel to the book you read on the way there. Either way, your boredom on the flight back will be cured. And it gets better: the book you gave back will be re-sold for half price! Here’s what you can get for free at an airport.

There are two things you do need to make sure of. You have to bring back the receipt to get your money back. Also, the book needs to be in decent condition. But other than that, this program couldn’t be easier. In a way, it’s like a buy-one-get-one-half-off deal for books. Or get two books for the price of one-and-a-half. Either way, count us in.

【1】What does the underlined word “splurge” in paragraph 2 mean?

A.Spend the money.B.Take the effort.

C.Take the trouble.D.Spend the time.

【2】How does the “Read and Return program” run?

A.You can read books for free in any Paradies Lagardère store.

B.You can buy books for half price in airport bookstores.

C.You need to return the book to the same store where you buy it.

D.You can get half your money back if you return the book timely.

【3】What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A.It is difficult to take part in the program.

B.The receipt is necessary if you want to return the book.

C.The program is popular with readers.

D.The program runs successfully.

【4】Why does the author write this passage?

A.To encourage people to read on airplanes.

B.To introduce Paradies Lagardère company.

C.To advertise the “Read and Return program”.

D.To show the advantages of reading on airplanes.

Innovative Designs for Accessibility

Deadline: 2020-04-30

Award: $ 7,500 CAD

Open to: University students

The Innovative (創(chuàng)新的) Designs for Accessibility student competition challenges students across Canada to use their creativity to develop innovative, cost-effective and practical solutions to accessibility barriers for people with disabilities. (Read more)

Clean Tech Competition

Deadline: 2020-04-13

Award: $ 28,000

Open to: Students 13-15 years old

The Clean Tech Competition is a unique, worldwide research and design challenge for pre-college youth. The competition is designed to build a deeper understanding of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) related concepts, recognize outstanding talent, and prepare the next generation of globally competitive innovators. (Read more)

Agile Robotics Competition

Deadline: 2020-04-10

Award: $ 17,500

Open to: Adults

Agile Robotics Competition is a simulation-based (仿真) competition designed to promote agility(靈活) in industrial robot systems by employing the latest advances in artificial intelligence and robot planning. The competition will be held virtually (虛擬的), so there is no need to travel to compete. The competition will use the Gazebo simulation tool. (Read more)

Wearable Robotics Innovation Challenge

Deadline: 2020-04-24

Award: $ 5,000

Open to: Everyone

The Wearable Robotics Association is inviting entries that represent the most innovative new ideas in wearable robotic technology. The review committee will select as many as ten finalists. The one considered to be the most innovative will be announced at the conference and will receive $ 5,000 to accelerate the new technology. (Read more)

【1】Which competition favors competitors with a creative mind in helping the disabled?

A.Innovative Designs for Accessibility.B.Clean Tech Competition.

C.Agile Robotics Competition.D.Wearable Robotics Innovation Challenge.

【2】What’s the aim of Clean Tech Competition?

A.To make a research about STEM.

B.To encourage university students to be innovators.

C.To help students prepare for the university.

D.To find talented teenagers and develop their ability to innovate.

【3】What can we know about the four competitions?

A.They are open to everyone.B.Every competitor can get an award.

C.They are held in April.D.They are held virtually.

1. 報(bào)告的時(shí)間和地點(diǎn)；

2. 報(bào)告的主要內(nèi)容（例如：飲茶是中同特有的文化，茶在我們生活中扮演重要角色等）。

注意：

1. 詞數(shù)100左右；

2. 可以適當(dāng)增加細(xì)節(jié)，以使行文連貫。

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Aristotle was a great philosopher, and many of his writings and teachings have formed the way we think about philosophy today.

At eighteen, Aristotle went to Plato’s Academy【1】(study) and stayed there for almost twenty【2】(year). From there, Aristotle went to the island of Lesbos,【3】he researched botany and zoology. After that, he went on to tutor Alexander the Great, as well as Ptolemy and Cassander. Perhaps the fact that he tutored several kings【4】(be) the reason why he is still so famous today. However, Alexander the Great began to suspect Aristotle was making threats against his life.【5】(eventual), after Alexander’s【6】(die)，Aristotle【7】 (force) to flee and died of natural causes in Euboea.

Aristotle added much to the field of philosophy. He also made【8】significant contribution to science while he was alive. Aristotle’s writings and philosophy have influenced such famous Christian thinkers【9】 Chaucer, Dante, and Thomas Aquinas. Furthermore, Friedrich Nietzsche took much of his political philosophy from Aristotle, and Ayn Rand looked up to him as well. With so many people【10】(look) to Aristotle for philosophic cues（提示）,it is no wonder that his works have survived the test of time.