22. What is special about Wonder? A. It is adapted from a bestseller. C. It tells a story about an animal.

B. It is about a special friendship.

D. It is a musical appealing to music lovers.

23. Which two movies will compete for the same awards? A. Coco and The Disaster Artist.

B. Coco and Wonder. D. Coco and Ferdinand.

C. The Disaster Artist and Wonder.

B

There are plenty of mindless activities to keep a child busy in this information age. Yet despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Alice wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition which she won last year.

As a writer, I know about winning contests—and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection letter from the publisher. I also know the pressure of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn’t win the contest again? That’s the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and destroyed hopes can resurface in our children.

A revelation(启示）came last week when I asked her, “Don’t you want to win again?” “No,” she replied. “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”

I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地）told them. Telling myself that I was an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it. Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting (借鉴) my daughter’s experience.

While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.

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24. The underlined sentence probably means that the author was __________. A. trying to let her daughter enjoy her own life B. helping her daughter develop real skills for writing C. making sure that her daughter would win the contest

D. trying to get her daughter to do the thing as the author wished 25. Why did Alice want to enter this year’s writing contest? A. She wanted to share her story with readers. B. She had won a prize in the previous contest. C. She believed she possessed real talent for writing. D. She was sure of winning with her mother’s help.

26. The author took great pains to improve her daughter’s stories because _________. A. she was afraid that Alice’s imagination might run wild while writing B. she did not want to disappoint Alice who needed her help so much C. she wanted to help Alice realize her dream of becoming a writer D. she believed she had the knowledge and experience to offer guidance 27. What does the writer mean to tell us in the last two paragraphs? A. Children need more room to develop. B. Parents should co-opt children’s experience. C. Children should be provided enough help.

D. Parents need to remind their children of their own choices. C

Social media is one of the fastest-growing industries in today’s world. Your friends’ lives may look more exciting than yours on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but new research shows it is because they are faking (伪造) it.

A recent survey has found around two-thirds of people on social media post images to their personal information to make their lives seem more adventurous. And more than three quarters of those asked said they judged their peers based on what they saw on their Instagram, Snapehat or Facebook pages.

The British survey, by smart phone maker HTC, found that, in order to make our own pages and lives

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appear more exciting, six percent also said they had borrowed items to include in the images in order to pass them off as their own. More than half of those surveyed said they posted images of items and places purely to show off, causing jealousy among friends and family.

Behavioral psychologist Hemmings said the trend was unsurprising due to the rise of social media. “We’re living in a world of instant communication.” she said. “Fashion and style used to live and die in magazines; now people are in search of authentic, peer-to-peer recommendations as well, making social media an equal power house to magazines and newspapers.”

“With images being shared in an instant, we desire to know what our friends are wearing, or what super stars are buying, as soon as they have got them.” Such is the influence of social media sites like Instagram, 76 percent of those asked also said seeing items on social media influences them to buy them, with men more likely to take style advice and buy what they see. 28. How do some people make their lives appear more exciting? A. By buying pictures. C. By making up stories.

B. By posting images. D. By risking their lives.

29. What does the underlined word “jealousy” in Paragraph 3 mean? A. Adventure.

B. Conflict.

C. Envy.

D. Misunderstanding.

30. What can we learn from Hemmings?

A. The trend reflects the development of social media. B. Fashion and style no longer exist in magazines. C. Magazines and newspapers are less important. D. The trend is beyond people’s expectation.

31. Which of the following best describes social media like Instagram? A. Positive.

B. Creative.

C. Persuasive.

D. Honest.

D

Reading is the ability to process text, understand its meaning and to integrate it with what the reader already knows. Of all the reading skills speed-reading is a necessary skill in the Internet age. We skim over articles, e-mails and WeChat to try to grasp key words and the essential meaning of a certain text. Surrounded with information from our electronic devices, it would be impossible to cope if we read word by

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word, line by line. But a new trend calls on people to unplug and enjoy reading slowly, listing benefits beyond the intelligent stimulation.

A recent story from The Wall Street Journal reported on a book club in Wellington, New Zealand, where members meet in a cafe and turn off their smartphones. They sink into cozy chairs and read in silence for an hour. Unlike tradition book club, the point of the slow reading club isn’t exchanging ideas about a certain book, but to get away from electronic devices and read in a quiet, relaxed environment. According to The Wall Street Journal, the Wellington book club is just one example of a movement started by book lovers who miss the old-fashioned way of reading before the Internet and smartphones.

Slow readers, such as The Atlantic’s Maura Kelly, say a regular reading habit sharpens the

mind, improves concentration, reduces stress levels and deepens the ability to sympathize. Another study published last year in Science showed that reading novels helps people understand others’ mental states and beliefs, a fundamental skill in building relationships.

Yet technology has made us less attentive readers. Screens have changed our reading patterns from the top-to-right, left-to-right sequence to a wild skimming and skipping pattern as we hunt for important words and information. Reading text punctuated with links leads to weaker comprehension than reading plain text. The Internet may have made us stupider, says Patrick Kingsley from The Guardian. Because of the Internet, he says, we have become very good at collecting a wide range of interesting news, but we are also gradually forgetting how to sit back, reflect, and relate all these facts to each other.

Slow reading means a return to an uninterrupted, straight pattern, in a quiet environment free of distractions. “Aim for 30 minutes a day,” advises Kelly from The Atlantic. “You can squeeze in that half hour pretty easily if only during your free moments, you pick up a meaningful work of literature,” Kelly said. “Reach for your e-reader, if you like. Kindles make books like War and Peace less heavy, not less substantive, and also ensure you’ll never lose your place.”

32. The book club in Wellington mentioned in Paragraph 2 shows____________. A. the new trend of slow reading B. the decline of electronic devices C. the importance of exchanging ideas D. the increasing number of club readers 33. According to Patrick Kingsley, people are stupider partly because of_____________. A. a non-stop reading pattern

B. the straight, left-to-right screen

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