and I are?” she demanded. Before I could answer, she gave out the reason for her question. She had just returned from renewing her driver’s license at a government office. Asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation, Emily hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself. “What I mean is,” explained the woman, “Do you have a job, or are you just a ...?” “Of course I have a job,” answered Emily. “I’m a mother.” “We don’t list ‘mother’ as an occupation ... ‘housewife’ covers it,” said the recorder.

I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the same situation. This time it was at our own Town Hall. The clerk was a woman. “And what is your occupation?” she asked. What made me say it, I do not know. The words simply jumped out. “I’m ... a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.” The clerk paused, her ball-point pen frozen in mid air, and looked up as though she had not heard right. I repeated the title slowly, emphasizing the most significant words.

“Might I ask,” said the clerk with new interest, “just what you do in your field?”

Coolly, I heard myself reply, “I have a continuing program of research in the laboratory and in the field. I’m working for my masters (the whole family) and already have four credits (all daughters). I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most jobs and the rewards are in satisfaction rather than just money.”

There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up and personally showed me out. As I drove into our driveway, I was greeted by my lab assistants—ages 13, 7, and 3. And upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (six months) in the child-development program. I felt successful!

Motherhood...what a glorious career, especially when there is a title on the door. 24. The purpose of Emily’s story is to_______________.

A. prove that being a housewife is shameful B. show how angry Emily was with the author C. tell readers that Emily had no work in reality

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D. introduce the topic of “motherhood” as a job

25. On hearing the title of the author’s occupation, the clerk felt ______.

A. bored and disappointed

B. surprised and curious

C. satisfied and respectful D. interested and thrilled 26. What do you know about the author’s family?

A. Her daughters are all involved in a child-development program. B. Her family is supported by her work as a Research Associate. C. She has four daughters and the youngest is six months old. D. There are at most five members in her family.

27. The manner of speaking in which the author writes the text is ______.

A. indifferent D. humorous

C

Birds in eastern North America are picking up the pace along their yearly migratory(迁移的) paths. The reason, according to researchers, is rising temperatures due to climate change.

Using migration information collected in eBird, a citizen science program database containing 10 years’ worth of observations from amateur birdwatchers, assistant professor of biology Allen Hurlbert, Ph.D., and his team analyzed when 18 different species of birds arrived at various points across their migration journeys.

Pushing migration earlier in the year could negatively affect birds over the long term, Hurlbert said. “Timing of bird migration is something critical for the overall health of bird species,” he said. “They have to time it right so they can balance arriving on breeding(繁殖) grounds after there’s no longer a risk of severe winter conditions. If they get it wrong, they may die or may not produce as many young.”

Hurlbert said, the speed at which a species migrates is the biggest influence on how strongly it responds to increasing temperatures. Slow migrators were the most adaptable to changes. Additionally, the length of the migration path affects how quickly birds move from one location to another.

“It makes sense that if you take your time to move north, you’re sort of checking

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B. cautious C. objective

out the surroundings around you,” he said. “If the conditions seem too cold, you can decide there’s no point in moving on that day. Species that tended to advance quickly, as well as those migrating from greater distances, such as Central or South America, were less able to adapt to temperature changes.”

However, being a slow traveler does not free a species from all climate change-induced migration challenges. Because they stay in one spot longer, such birds have heavier habitat and food requirements, making them more dependent upon the resources that are available along their paths. That reliance could become a greater problem if climate projections for the next 50 years to 75 years hold true, Hurlbert said. Climatologists predict the Northeast will continue to warm at a faster pace than the Southeast, potentially forcing slow migrators to move even slower and put greater difficulty on their migratory routes. 28. The rising temperatures led to _______________. A. the speed-up of birds’ migration

B. the weakness of the birds’ physical health C. the birds’ less demand for food D. the variation of breeding grounds

29. According to Hurbert, wrong timing of bird migration can lead to ___________. A. a risk of wrong migration paths B. change in life habit C. a lack of natural resources D. decrease in bird population 30. What is the most important factor in adapting to climate change for birds? A. The cycle of migration. B. Migration speed.

C. Their local habitat.

D. The temperature along the migratory path.

31. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about? A. Climatologists’ prediction. B. Climate changes’ bad effects.

C. Challenges of slow migrators’ migration.

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D. Changes of birds’ migratory routes.

D

In the past decade, the use of social media has grown in a way that no one could have guessed. It has turned some teenagers into celebrities(名人) and turned the famous into the infamous, overnight.

A key feature of social media, however, is its volatility. Trends come and go, disappearing almost as quickly as they appeared. So, what were the key social media trends of 2018?

Short video apps such as TikTok and its Chinese equivalent Douyin, took the world by storm. The Telegraph reported that TikTok was ranked 8th on Apple’s App Store in April. And Douyin had more than 300 million domestic monthly active users in June, CNBC said.

Why are these short videos – which are rarely longer than a few minutes – so popular? Jiang Yige, Singapore-based analyst at FengHe Fund Management, has a theory. Short videos are “just right to fill in the little gaps in our busy schedules,” he told CNBC.

These videos – apart from being very convenient – are important to teenagers because they allow them to express themselves, according to Teen Vogue.

The sense of community that users of short video app get is another appealing feature. Liza Koshy, a user of the US app Musically who has over 2 million followers, said that she was thrilled when anyone said that her video had “inspired” them. “It’s really cool … because I think as social creators that’s what we all are,” she added.

Live streaming is another feature of our social media life that now seems as natural as sunrise. It’s a pretty neat idea: You can watch anyone, anywhere, live.

However, China has taken live streaming to a whole new level. In China, more than 100 million viewers monthly watch a live streaming video. Forbes thought that a number of factors had led to the popularity of live streams. Among them is viewers’ ability to interact while remaining anonymous.

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