Marian Bechtel sits at West Palm Beach’s Bar Louie counter by herself, quietly reading her e-book as she waits for her salad. What is she reading? None of your business! Lunch is Bechtel’s “me” time. And like more Americans, she’s not alone.
A new report found 46 percent of meals are eaten alone in America. More than half(53 percent) have breakfast alone and nearly half(46 percent) have lunch by themselves. Only at dinnertime are we eating together anymore, 74 percent, according to statistics from the report.
“I prefer to go out and be out. Alone, but together, you know?” Bechtel said, looking up from her book. Bechtel, who works in downtown West Palm Beach, has lunch with coworkers sometimes, but like many of us, too often works through lunch at her desk. A lunchtime escape allows her to keep a boss from tapping her on the shoulder. She returns to work feeling energized. “Today, I just wanted some time to myself,” she said.
Just two seats over, Andrew Mazoleny, a local videographer, is finishing his lunch at the bar. He likes that he can sit and check his phone in peace or chat up the barkeeper with whom he’s on a first-name basis if he wants to have a little interaction(交流). “I reflect on how my day’s gone and think about the rest of the week,” he said. “It’s a chance for self-reflection. You return to work recharged and with a plan.”
That freedom to choose is one reason more people like to eat alone. There was a time when people may have felt awkward about asking for a table for one, but those days are over. Now, we have our smartphones to keep us company at the table. “It doesn’t feel as alone as it may have before all the advances in technology,” said Laurie Demeritt, whose company provided the statistics for the report.
1.What are the statistics in paragraph 2 about?
A.Food variety.
B.Eating habits.
C.Table manners.
D.Restaurant service.
2.Why does Bechtel prefer to go out for lunch?
A.To meet with her coworkers.
B.To catch up with her work.
C.To have some time on her own.
D.To collect data for her report.
3.What do we know about Mazoleny?
A.He makes videos for the bar.
B.He’s fond of the food at the bar.
C.He interviews customers at the bar.
D.He’s familiar with the barkeeper.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A.The trend of having meals alone.
B.The importance of self-reflection.
C.The stress from working overtime.
D.The advantage of wireless technology.
During the rosy years of elementary school(小学), I enjoyed sharing my dolls and jokes, which allowed me to keep my high social status. I was the queen of the playground. Then came my tweens and teens, and mean girls and cool kids. They rose in the ranks not by being friendly but by smoking cigarettes, breaking rules and playing jokes on others, among whom I soon found myself.
Popularity is a well-explored subject in social psychology. Mitch Prinstein, a professor of clinical psychology sorts the popular into two categories: the likable and the status seekers. The likables’ plays-well-with-others qualities strengthen schoolyard friendships, jump-start interpersonal skills and, when tapped early, are employed ever after in life and work. Then there’s the kind of popularity that appears in adolescence: status born of power and even dishonorable behavior.
Enviable as the cool kids may have seemed, Dr. Prinstein’s studies show unpleasant consequences. Those who were highest in status in high school, as well as those least liked in elementary school, are “most likely to engage(从事) in dangerous and risky behavior.”
In one study, Dr. Prinstein examined the two types of popularity in 235 adolescents, scoring the least liked, the most liked and the highest in status based on student surveys(调查研究). “We found that the least well-liked teens had become more aggressive over time toward their classmates. But so had those who were high in status. It clearly showed that while likability can lead to healthy adjustment, high status has just the opposite effect on us.”
Dr. Prinstein has also found that the qualities that made the neighbors want you on a play date—sharing, kindness, openness—carry over to later years and make you better able to relate and connect with others.
In analyzing his and other research, Dr. Prinstein came to another conclusion: Not only is likability related to positive life outcomes, but it is also responsible for those outcomes, too. “Being liked creates opportunities for learning and for new kinds of life experiences that help somebody gain an advantage, ” he said.
1.What sort of girl was the author in her early years of elementary school?
A.Unkind. B.Lonely. C.Generous. D.Cool.
2.What is the second paragraph mainly about?
A.The classification of the popular.
B.The characteristics of adolescents.
C.The importance of interpersonal skills.
D.The causes of dishonorable behavior.
3.What did Dr. Prinstein’s study find about the most liked kids?
A.They appeared to be aggressive.
B.They tended to be more adaptable.
C.They enjoyed the highest status.
D.They performed well academically.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Be Nice—You Won’t Finish Last
B.The Higher the Status, the Beer
C.Be the Best—You Can Make It
D.More Self-Control, Less Aggressiveness
书面表达
假如你的朋友向你征求学习英语的方法。请就下面的内容写一封回信。
1．朗读背诵，帮你记忆，养成用英语思维的习惯。
2．多听，多交际，可以提高听说能力。
3．记日记，提高书面表达能力。
注意：1. 背诵learn…by heart；用英语思维think in English
2．词数100左右
3．信的开头已给出，不计入词数。
Dear Simon,
I have received your letter about asking me for the advice about learning English. ______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Best wishes.
Yours truly,
Mary
短文改错
By midday the sun was very strong, Jim was so tired to walk. There was no trees near the road, so he rested under a big rock. After drinking some water, he took his shirt, lying down on the ground and fell asleep at once. He was very tired that he didn’t wake up until the evening. He was just about to jump while he felt something moving near his feet. He looked up and saw a long black snake. Jim was so frightening that he didn’t dare to move. The snake began to crawl (爬) across his legs. It crawled on and on until it was disappeared under the rocks, Jim jumped to his feet, picked up his shirt and ran down the road.
Laptop computers are popular all over the world. People use them on trains and airplanes, in airports and hotels. These laptops connect people to their workplace. In the United States today, laptops also connect students to their classrooms.
Westlake College in Virginia will start a laptop computer program that allows students to do schoolwork anywhere they want. Within five years, each of the 1500 students at the college will receive a laptop. The laptops are part of a $10 million computer program at Westlake, a 110-year-old college. The students with laptops will also have access to the Internet. In addition, they will be able to use e-mail to “peak” with their teachers, their classmates, and their families. However, the most important part of the laptop program is that students will be able to use computers without going to computer labs. They can work with it at home, in a fast-food restaurant or under the trees—anywhere at all!
Because of the many changes in computer technology, laptop use in higher education, such as colleges and universities, is workable. As laptops become more powerful, they become more similar to desktop computers. In addition, the portable computers can connect students to not only the Internet, but also libraries and other resources. State higher-education officials are studying how laptops can help students. State officials are also testing laptop programs at other universities, too.
At Westlake College, more than 60 percent of the staff use computers. The laptops will allow all teachers to use computers in their lessons. As one Westlake teacher said, “Here we are in the middle of Virginia and we’re giving students a window on the world. They can see everything and do everything.”
1.The main purpose of the laptop program is to give each student a laptop to ________.
A.use for their schoolwork B.access the Internet
C.work at home D.connect them to libraries
2.Which of the following is true about Westlake College?
A.All teachers use computers. B.1500 students have laptops.
C.It is an old college in America. D.Students there can do everything.
3.A window on the world in the last paragraph means that students can ________.
A.attend lectures on information technology
B.travel around the world
C.get information from around the world
D.have free laptops
4.What can we infer from the passage?
A.The program is successful.
B.The program is not workable.
C.The program is too expensive.
D.We don’t know the result of the program yet.
We often think of future. We often wonder what the world would be like in a hundred years’ time.
Think of space, perhaps a permanent (永久的) station on the moon will have been set up. Perhaps people will be able to visit the moon as tourists. Cheap rockets for space travel will have been developed, permitting long journeys throughout the solar system (太阳系). When that time comes, people will be taking holidays in space and visiting other planets. Great progress will have been made in medicine, too. Perhaps a cure will have been discovered for the most terrible of all diseases (疾病)— cancer. Pollution is a problem we must solve. In a hundred years’ time it will have been controlled.
The world will have been developed — even Antarctica. There will be large cities in Antarctica. We already have supersonic (超音速的) flight, but in a hundred years’ time we will have supersonic land travel as well.
We will have used up most of earth’s land to build our cities, so floating cities will have been built. The Japanese already have plans for cities of this kind. And there will be cities under the sea. The first of these will have been completed.
1.We will have developed ________ in a hundred years’ time, permitting long journeys all over the solar system.
A.cheap rockets for space travel. B.a plane
C.a spaceship D.a satellite
2.Man will also have supersonic land travel ________
A.in a year B.about half a century later
C.in the year 2005 D.about a century later
3.Which of the following is true? ________
A.There must be a permanent station on the moon in the future.
B.There will be no pollution in the future.
C.There is no cities in Antarctica now.
D.We may find a treatment for cancer in the future.
4.The last paragraph mainly talks about ________
A.we’ll make good use of space on the earth.
B.cities under the sea.
C.Japan will first build floating cities.
D.earth’s land is in danger.
