江苏省南通市启东市2020-2021学年高一下学期英语期中学业质量监测试卷

Technology is a double-edged sword(双刃剑)— while it brings convenience, it also brings new problems. The sword of "social media" even has its preference: It cuts deeper into girls than boys.

Jean Twenge, a professor at San Diego State University in the US, recently discovered an alarming trend: Since 2010, the number of teenage girls who suffer from major depression, showing signs like self-harm and suicide (自杀), has increased much faster than that of boys. It is social media again that is to blame.

Statistically, girls use social media more than boys. Boys tend to spend their screen time on games, where they talk to their teammates through headphones. Though not directly, this still counts as real human contact. Girls, however, simply type and browse through posts, which is a much more isolated (孤立的) experience. "They're not having a real-time conversation with someone most of the time," Mary Fristad, psychologist at The Ohio State University, told NPR.

And when it comes to online shaming, girls are also more vulnerable than boys. "Girls face more pressure about their appearance, which could be exacerbated (加重) by social media," wrote Twenge. Shannon McLaughlin, for example, is an 18-year-old from Blackburn College in the US. She shared with the Guardian how social media made her feel depressed.

But McLaughlin found a solution. She started volunteering with the National Citizen Service, where she made face-to-face contact with people. "It's so easy to forget the importance of real connections when we have hundreds of people that we're trying to impress at our fingertips," she told the Guardian. And she hopes that others "look up from their phones and focus more on the world around them".

When it comes to figuring out the link between well-being and access to nature, there are big confusing factors. To begin with, what is psychological(心理的)well-being? The World Health Organization defines(下定义)mental health as "a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can deal with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community". That is hard to quantify.

Then there is the question of what "access to nature" means. Some studies measure passive access, or how much green space is available in someone's local area. Others look at active access, which is the actual exposure a person gets to green space. That makes it difficult to compare results and build a coherent(协调的)picture.

A few researchers have tried to assess what the proper dose(剂量)of nature might be. A 2019 study involving almost 20,000 participants in England concluded that at least 120 minutes a week of recreational(消遣的)nature contact was connected with good health or well-being. The team, led by Mathew White, found that the effect peaks at between 200 and 300 minutes a week, with people reporting no further gain after that.

What exactly this means for you—or any individual—is unclear. As other studies indicate, the mental health benefits a person gets from access to nature are likely to be influenced by many factors, including age, gender, personality features, personal preferences and socio-economic status. Your culture matters too—and, so far, most research into the well-being effects of nature has been done in Western societies.

Claire was set up to get her dream job working as a reporter at a popular news station. She went to visit her father before her interview. Her mother, who had always been her biggest supporter, had died a few years earlier.

As she visited her father, she told him about how nervous she was about the interview. Her father said, "You will do great because you are a lot like your mother, and your mother did great at everything."

Claire pictured her mother, the most supportive person she had ever met, and had a realization. Was she really like her mother? She didn't think so. She was so focused on herself that she didn't even know about her family's struggles.

Suddenly, she felt ashamed. She left for the airport with a lot more to think about than her job. An hour before boarding, her sister called to wish her luck. She listened to her sister in a way she had never listened before. She asked her about her kids and her life. Her sister admitted that she wasn't doing very well. She was having a hard time.

Claire ended the conversation with her sister just before boarding started. She made a decision to be more like her mom and take care of what really matters in life. She spent the next few months living with her sister and helping her maintain her house and take care of the kids.

Claire found the courage to do what was right because of her mother. She realized that doing what was right brought on a type of happiness that looking out for herself could never bring. She never regretted her decision. Thanks to the decision, she and her sister grew closer than they had ever been. She learned a lot and felt much better when focusing on more than just herself. She easily got her dream job later that year.

Travel of any kind can be expensive. Experienced RV (房车) travellers already know that there are savings to be found in travelling in an RV.There are ways to make these travels more budget-friendly (省钱的).

Research on the internet. Start by spending some time researching RV sites and campgrounds. You can search for sites by state and region (地区). In addition，you can learn about the choices and facilities.You can save some by determining how much you will spend ahead of time.

Cook your own food. Another great choice you have while RV travelling is having your kitchen.Of course you can still enjoy eating out at local restaurants，but you can be much more budget-friendly. Not only do you save money by cooking by yourself，you can also take the opportunity to enjoy the local food on a farmers' market.

Many activities that allow you to explore your destination are also free. Research some great places to hike. Many other activities sometimes do have a minimal fee. Museums will often have days with no entrance fees..

A. Find low-cost or free activities.

B. Kitchen is always useful for your skills.

C. You can even read helpful guest reviews.

D. Make finding activities a family challenge.

E. However, traveling in an RV is still an expensive choice.

F. There you can enjoy all of the destinations you are eager to visit.

G. One of the biggest expenses while travelling is that of every meal.

I came upon a photograph in the old desk. It was1with age, but if I looked hard enough, I could still make out the2of two little girls, arms wrapped around one another, smiling into the3. What a fold of memories that old photograph brought!

It was from twenty-four years ago when our youngest daughter, Nancy, and Caroline, the beautiful child, were eight years old. They were best4from nursery school.

In third grade, they were put in different classrooms. But they still5to find each other whenever they could—at6, in the lunch line, on the school bus. "7me a seat!" never needed to be said. And they had thought it would8forever. Until one day, in a choked voice, Caroline said: "I'm moving."

Moving. The word made no9to either of them.

"Not fair!" cried out Nancy.

"I'm not going," Caroline said darkly.

And there were desperate phone10and whispered plans that both girls knew would never come to pass.

Sure enough, one day the for-sale sign went up on the11of Caroline's house. And too soon, there was a moving12in her driveway and then three movers were carrying out the kitchen table, the sofa and the animals that two little girls had played with from childhood to adolescence.

People were too busy that day to really13two fourteen-year-old girls in matching jeans, trying to figure out how to say14to each other. But when I looked at that fading picture of Nancy and Caroline, I remembered another image—two girls stood on the lawn with a sold15, tears streaming unashamedly down their cheeks.

Australia is no stranger to wildfires. The country's weather patterns create heat and dryness, fuel occasional bushfires in a natural cycle. However, one that started last September continues to burn, and it may not be natural at all. So far, the fire(burn) 73,000 square kilometers of land, (kill) at least 28 people and destroying 3,000 homesthe process, reported the Telegraph. Scientists say that man-made climate change has played a role in the fire's(create) and duration (持续时间).

The country's temperatures have risen by over one degree Celsius since 1920. The spring of 2019(be) Australia's driest in 120 years. In December, the country saw its(hot) day ever, with an average temperature of 41.9℃.

Researchers believe wildfires like this might become “normal conditions" in the future. They looked at 57 research papers(publish) since 2013, which examinedrelationship between climate change and the risk of wildfires. They found that the link between the two has already been observed in many parts of the world, (include) the western US, Canada, southern Europe, and even Scandinavia.