As the coronavirus spreads, remote work arrangements preserve continuity and allow people to stay busy doing something familiar during a time of crisis. At first glance, telecommuting (远程办公) might not seem so bad.
While it works well for some, it doesn’t for everyone. Working remotely has widespread negative consequences, including people spending time working that they might otherwise have spent with family or friends – because they can easily cross their work-life boundaries, they end up working longer hours.
People who telecommute may also have trouble freeing themselves from work and from the technology that enables it, which contributes to the harmful consequences of reducing face-to-face time and personal interactions. When humans rely on technology, we may forget how essential these interactions are to human happiness.
As a university professor, my days consist of social interactions with students and colleagues. I generally find those conversations and the resulting relationships inspiring and rewarding. The coronavirus situation means that countless teachers like me face the possibility of standing in front of a camera instead of a classroom. I’d prefer doing that to canceling class, but I can’t help wondering whether my job, along with so many others, is about to experience a great and potentially permanent change.
I wonder how many faculty members might be laid off if the university decides teaching remotely is good enough, or how many people will be let go when their bosses realize they don’t need to show up every day, or even at all. Finally, here’s the most important question: whether people believe their firsthand, lived experiences can be replaced – and not just during a pandemic (大流行病).
The coronavirus will accelerate our rush into the arms of technology. Ironically, our faith in technology may end up speeding up our own obsolescence (过时).
1.According to the text, what may telecommuting result in?
A.Shortened working hours.
B.Loss of personal freedom.
C.Increased family happiness.
D.Fewer personal interactions.
2.Which is true about the author?
A.She loves teaching in front of a camera.
B.She enjoys popularity among her students.
C.She considers social interactions to be beneficial.
D.She’s concerned about the spread of coronavirus.
3.What does the author intend to express in Paragraph 5?
A.Anxiety over the future.
B.Expectation of education.
C.Views on unemployment.
D.Love for lived experience.
4.Which section of a website is the passage probably from?
A.Fashion. B.Opinion.
C.Health. D.Events.
Life expectancy in the United States has been in decline for the first time in decades, and public health officials have identified a series of potential causes, including inaccessible health care, rising drug addiction and rates of mental health disorders, and socio-economic factors. Now, a study led by the Yale School of Medicine has attempted to find out the relative impact of two factors most often linked to life expectancy – race and education – by looking at data about 5,114 black and white participants in four U.S. cities.
The lives and deaths among this group of people – who took part in the study approximately 30 years ago when they were in their early 20s – show that the level of education, and not race, is the best predictor of who will live the longest.
Among the 5,114 people followed in the study, 395 had died. These deaths were occurring in working-age people, often with children, before the age of 60. The rates of death among participants in this group did clearly show racial differences, with approximately 9% of blacks dying at an early age compared to 6% of whites. There were also differences in causes of death by race. For instance, black men were significantly more likely to die of murder and white men from AIDS. The most common causes of death across all groups over time were cardiovascular disease and cancer.
But there were also obvious differences in rates of death by education level. Approximately 13% of participants with a high school degree or less education died compared with only approximately 5% of college graduates.
Strikingly, when looking at race and education at the same time, the researchers found that differences related to race almost disappeared: 13.5% of black subjects and 13.2% of white subjects with a high school degree or less died during the course of the study. By contrast, 5.9% of black subjects and 4.3% of whites with college degrees had died.
Therefore, improving overall quality of education is something tangible that can help reverse (扭转)this troubling trend in reduction of life expectancy among middle-aged adults.
1.What can we learn about the participants in the study?
A.The whites are more aggressive.
B.The whites got higher education.
C.More blacks than whites died young.
D.More whites than blacks died of cancer.
2.Compared with education, the influence of race on death rates is .
A.significant B.unnoticeable
C.growing D.long-lasting
3.What does the underlined word “tangible” probably mean?
A.Realistic. B.Creative.
C.Challenging. D.Temporary.
4.What can be inferred from the research findings？
A.People can get smart through learning.
B.One should not discriminate other races.
C.People don’t enjoy equal rights for education.
D.One can live longer by getting more education.
Hot dogs, peanuts, an orderly green field: Sal Miyake loves everything about her first baseball game– a love shared by author Scott Simon as a kid at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois.
Sal is the main character in Simon’s first kids novel, Sunnyside Plaza. To create her world, Simon made use of his job at a halfway house when he was 19 years old. He cared for adults with mental disabilities. Working the evening shift, he made sure they brushed their teeth and took their medicine before bedtime.
“All my life I’ve wanted to write about that experience,” said Simon, a journalist who hosts Weekend Edition Saturday for a radio station. He said the job changed his life.
Like Simon’s long-ago clients, Sal lives in a home for adults with mental challenges. It’s called Sunnyside Plaza. Sal is kind and hard-working, and she helps the cook in the kitchen every day. She is also very observant. Sal may not be able to read, but she notices details that others often miss. When some of her Sunnyside friends begin to die, Sal tries to figure out why. Because of her disability, people don’t always take her seriously, but others help, sometimes in surprising ways.
At the halfway house, “I enjoyed getting to know people who at first sight seemed a world away from me,” said Simon. “Then I realized how much we had in common. We talked and joked. I liked spending time with them.” One of Simon’s favorite memories: taking 12 of the residents to a Chicago Cubs baseball game, where their amazement mirrors Sal’s in the book.
Simon based Sal on several people he knew, and he did additional research to make sure her voice and viewpoint are believable. “I wanted to get all this right,” said Simon. “The books you read when you’re young really stay with you.” For him, this meant the classics his mother guided him to, including his favorites Black Beauty by Anna Sewell and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
1.What do we know about Sal Miyake from the text?
A.She resembles Simon in personality.
B.She is an imaginary person in a fiction.
C.She loves playing baseball with Simon.
D.She works in Sunnyside Plaza as Simon did.
2.What does Simon think of his job at the halfway house?
A.A means of earning his living.
B.A chance to make foreign friends.
C.A platform to improve his baseball skills.
D.An experience influencing his life greatly.
3.What can be learned about the novel Sunnyside Plaza?
A.It reflects Simon’s working experience.
B.Its main character was based on Simon.
C.It was written in memory of Simon’s mother.
D.It has encouraged thousands of disabled men.
4.Which can be a suitable title for the text?
A.Classics Reading Makes a Great Writer
B.Working Experiences Change Your View
C.Life-changing Job Inspires First Kids Novel
D.Helping the Disabled Brings You Happiness
Which country can you travel to in 2020 that will allow you to go for longer, enjoy a higher standard, and save more money? The following destinations offer accommodation, transportation, and food for less.
Kyrgyzstan, $25/day
Kyrgyzstan is the choice for most travelers interested in trying out Central Asia, and most well-suited to travelers of all budgets. Food is cheap, so is getting around using the minibuses. You can find hostels and local home stays for less than $10. Meals cost $4 – $8 per day.
Romania, $33/day
If you are planning a European trip that’s affordable and a little bit off the beaten path, Romania is perfect for you. Unlike other popular places, many charming towns here remain unknown to most foreigners. You can also take free walking tours in the numerous historical sites. Hostels run $10 – $15 per night, food is hearty and delicious, and the public transportation is reliable and affordable. Meals cost $10 – $15 per day.
Arizona & Utah, $55/day
For an American Southwest road trip, you’ll spend an average of $110/day when you are solo. If you have just one other person, you’d be able to split the costs almost perfectly in half. If you have two other people along, take it down to one third and so on. The more the merrier.
South Africa, $40/day
Any hostels in South Africa are in beautiful settings and each has a unique personality, and affordable too. Food can get expensive. To save money, cook your own food. Grocery stores are plentiful and have reasonable prices. By at least cooking your own breakfast, you can save a lot of money. The best (and possibly cheapest) way to get around the country is to rent a car and share with 3 other people. Meals cost $12 – $15 per day.
1.What makes Romania different from the other places?
A.Nice hostels.
B.Delicious food.
C.Less-visited towns.
D.Cheap transportation.
2.What may the author recommend for travelling in South Africa?
A.Drive your own cars.
B.Cook your own lunches.
C.Stay in excellent hotels.
D.Find unique travel partners.
3.What feature do the four destinations share?
A.They’re famous for historical places.
B.They’re the best places for travelling.
C.They have convenient public transportation.
D.They’re good travel choices for saving money.
假设你是红星中学高三学生李华。请根据以下四幅图的先后顺序，给学校英文报投稿，记述学校法制宣传周期间的系列活动。
注意：1. 词数不少于60
2. 开头已给出，不计入总词数。
提示词：模拟法庭 moot court
Legal Awareness Week was opened in our school. A series of activities were carried out.
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假设你是红星中学高三学生李华。你的英国好友Jim在给你的邮件中提到新冠病毒爆发给他带来了焦虑，并询问你在疫情期间的生活。请给他回邮件，内容包括：
1．安慰与鼓励；
2．疫情期间你的生活与学习情况；
3. 疫情给你带来的思考。
注意：1．词数不少于50；
2．开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
提示词：新冠病毒 novel coronavirus；
Dear Jim,
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Yours,
Li Hua
