Nowadays, we can read almost all “truths” on social media sites. But are they really reliable? Sites such as the micro messaging service Twitter, the social networking site Facebook and the photo-sharing app Instagram might “misrepresent the real world,” according to a study by computer scientists from McGill University and Carnegie Mellon University.
The scientists warn that gathering information about public views and trends from these sites is unwise. There are still large parts of the population who do not take part in social media activities. Also, there's a risk that many social media users are under- represented. Instagram, for example, appeals to younger adults in urban areas while Pinterest is used mainly by females aged 25 to 34. And only 5 percent of Twitter users are over 65 years old, according Io the study.
However, this is not the only issue, according to the scientific team. The design of a website can influence how people behave online, creating what the researchers call “Internet bias.” For example, micro-blogging sites such as Weibo promote “popular” stories. It saves time for some, but it also limits readers' choice of what they see. In the end, many people open those stories and make them more “popular.” But it's not because they choose those stories. Rather, it is because the content is right in front of them.
Besides, it's possible that not everyone on your social networks is real. There might actually be a few fake accounts among them. Fake “bots” pretend to be human and are often included when measuring or predicting human behaviors online.
The findings might be more important than you would think, since many social media studies “are used to inform and justify decisions and investments among the public and in industry and government,” said Derek Ruths, assistant Professor at McGill's School of Computer Science.
If the team is right, you might have to think carefully the next time you say, “It's true, you know; I read it on Weibo.”
1.Why does the author mention Twitter, Facebook and Instagram?
A.Because they are the best social media sites today.
B.Because they are not in favor of the current study.
C.Because the public are sharing truths on these sites.
D.Because information on these sites may not be reliable.
2.How is the passage developed?
A.By giving examples. B.By making comparisons.
C.By dividing into groups. D.By analyzing cause and effect.
3.Which word can best describe the author's attitude toward information on social media sites?
A.Ambiguous. B.Favorable.
C.Disagreeable. D.Cautious
4.What's the author's main purpose in writing the passage?
A.To analyze why information gathered from social media sites may not be trustworthy.
B.To remind readers of things they should watch out for when using social media.
C.To point out the advantages and disadvantages of social media.
D.To recommend popular social networking sites for readers.
When one man offered to take a woman stranger's baby so that she could rest on a recent flight, many people on the plane watched it.
“It was so touching,” one passenger, Andrea Byrd said. She shot a photo of the man carrying the baby up and down the aisle（通道） and posted it on Facebook, where it's since gone viral.
“I was in tears,” Byrd wrote in the post, which has been shared almost 100,000 times. “Not because he was white and she was black... but because it showed me today that there are, still good people out there in a world full of evil.”
The Southwest Airlines flight was heading from Minne- apolis to Atlanta on September 5.
The mom, Monica Nelson, who is pregnant, said she had been nervous about traveling alone with her 20- month-old son Luke. When he grew annoyed and wouldn't rest, the man seated next to them surprised her by offering to help, she said. He walked up and down the aisle holding the boy, soothing him to sleep.
“It was such a relief because I was a little worried traveling with him without my husband there to help out,” said Nelson, a teacher who lives in Atlanta. “I'm still very grateful- he was so kind.”
She said the man's name is Rcid, and she learned that he also has a son named Luke.
Byrd said she was particularly touched by the scene because she has two children of her own and could put herself in the mom's shoes. Now their story has touched thousands of people across the world, reminding people how powerful a simple act of kindness can be.
“It's good to know the world is not all bad,” Nelson said, “There are some really great people out there.”
1.How did the man help the woman in the flight?
A.He helped the baby to feel relaxed.
B.He gave his own seat to the woman.
C.He carried the baby up and down in the air.
D.He posted a photo of the woman on Facebook.
2.What was the result after Andrea Byrd posted the photo online?
A.The man suddenly became successful.
B.So many people were touched by the story.
C.Monica Nelson decided not to take a flight again.
D.The young mom and the man became good friends.
3.What does the underlined word soothing mean in paragraph 5?
A.To please somebody to make him sleep for long.
B.To ease somebody to make him feel comfortable.
C.To force somebody to be quiet and silent soon.
D.To sing songs to make him feel happy slowly.
4.Which statement about the man is TRUE?
A.His son's name is Luke. B.He is kind to Andrea Byrd.
C.He prefers to post photos online. D.He loves helping pregnant women.
Ask 9-year-old Annie what the worst thing was that ever happened in her house last year, and she won’t tell you that it was her parents divorcing, although they did. No, what Annie remembers most are the horrible fights leading up to the announcement about the divorce which was, as it turned out, and despite her parents anxiety about telling her, “not that big of a deal.” “I already knew they were not getting along well,” Annie says, “Every night after I went to bed, l would hear my parents fighting.” It made me really unhappy. When they finally decided to get a divorce, all of that stopped.
Annie's experience is more common than you might think, and there is a great deal of evidence to suggest that “staying together for the sake of the children” is not all it's cracked up to be, and may do more harm than good. According to psychologist Lynn Martingdale, hearing their parents argue is often more stressful for children than separation and divorce, and if you think that your children don’t know that there's trouble in family, then you're kidding yourself. The home life of children whose parents have an unhappy marriage is often far from ideal, and what's worse, parents will compound the problem by taking their unhappiness out on the children.
The Center for Moving Forward conducted a study in 2014 in which they followed 25families whose parents had been in marriage counseling. After tracking these families for 5 years, they found that the children of the parents who had eventually gotten divorced were not worse off than the children of those who had remained together, and in some cases had fared better. The study took into consideration, social and the children's general sense of well-being.
1.Why was Annie really unhappy according to paragraph 1?
A.Her parents fought every night. B.Her parents finally got divorced.
C.Her parents decided to abandon her. D.Her parents got along badly with her.
2.Which statement may psychologist Lynn Martingdale agree with?
A.Separation and divorce will hurt the children most.
B.Keeping an unhappy marriage hurts children more.
C.Children can't understand their parents' marriage well.
D.Children can’t feel the unhappiness from their parents.
3.What's the function of the last paragraph in the passage?
A.To give an example of divorce.
B.To support Annie's correct answer.
C.To further clear the author's view point.
D.To highlight the importance of the study.
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A.Divorce Is Good for Children B.Divorce Is Not the Worst Thing
C.Fighting Is Often Stressful D.Staying Together Is for Children Only
Everything I Never Told You: A novel by Celeste Ng
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Synopsis（梗概）：
“Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet... ” So begins the , story of this novel, about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee; their middle- daughter, a girl who inherited her mother's bright blue eye and her father's jet-black hair. Her parents are determined that Lydia will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue----in Marilyn's case that her daughter should become a doctor rather than a homemaker, in James's case that Lydia should be popular at school, a girl with a busy social life and the center of every party.
When Lydia's body is found in the local lake, the balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together falls into chaos, forcing them to confront the long-kept secrets that have been slowly pulling them apart. James, consumed by guilt, sets out on a reckless path that may destroy his marriage. Marilyn, is determined to find a responsible party, no matter what the cost is. Lydia's older brother, Nathan, is certain that the neighborhood bad boy Jack is somehow involved. But it's the youngest of the family--- Hannab who observes far more than anyone realizes and who may be the only one who knows the truth about what happened.
A profoundly moving story of family, history, and the meaning of home, Everything I Never Told You is both a good page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, exploring the divisions between cultures and the conflicts within a family, and uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.
1.What type of writing is this passage?
A.An exhibition guide. B.An announcement
C.A book review. D.An advertisement
2.How many people in the Lee family are mentioned according to the passage?
A.Four. B.Five.
C.Six. D.Seven.
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.James wants his daughter to be a homemaker.
B.In Hannah's eyes, Jack is actually the real killer.
C.Lydia takes on the high expectations of the family.
D.The family always live in harmony with each other.
假定你是李华，你校下个月将举办“京剧进校园”活动。请你邀请来自澳大利亚的交换生Peter参加此次活动，并根据以下提示用英文给他写一封邮件，内容包括：
1.活动的时间和地点；
2.活动内容：艺术家表演、介绍京剧历史和主要角色等；
3.活动目的：传承、发扬传统文化。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头和结尾已为你写好，不计人总词数。
参考词汇：京剧：Peking Opera
Dear Peter,
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（^），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划- .横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
A terrible thing was happened in a zoo yesterday. A man was biting seriously by a tiger. The public felt frightened. Later word came the man tried to avoid buy tickets and went into the dangerous area in the zoo. This made the tiger angrily and it attacked him. Animals had their own nature. Once they are in threat, they will do terrible things. Therefore, visitors should behave them and obey the rules of the zoo. But still a lot of people throw food to animals, what does harm to their healths. It is our duty to protect animals.
